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»,

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,

INCLUDING

ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, ann GEOLOGY.

(BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE ‘MAGAZINE OF BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY, AND OF

LOUDON AND CHARLESWORTH’S ‘MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.’)

CONDUCTED BY

Sir W. JARDINE, Barr., F.L.S.—P. J. SELBY, Esq., F.LS.,

GEORGE JOHNSTON, M.D.,

CHARLES C. BABINGTON, Esa., M.A., F.LS., F.G.S.,

J. H. BALFOUR, M.D., Prof. Bot. Edinburgh,

AND ©

RICHARD TAYLOR, F.L.S., F.G.S.

—— eee eee?

VOL. V.—SECOND SERIES.

Pen

st “<ahsoniay Ine}

Y cx é

Ses \05)

LONDON:

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1850.

*6Omnes res create sunt divine sapientiz et potentie testes, divitie felicitatis

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ex ceconomia in conseryatione, proportione, renovatione, potentia majestatis elucet.

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

LINNZUs.

5G Daido op cole og JIMA ene

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The Dryads come, and throw their garlands wild

And odorous branches at our feet ; the Nymphs

That press with nimble step the mountain thyme

And purple heath-flower come not empty-handed,

But scatter round ten thousand forms minute

Of velvet moss or lichen, torn from rock

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All, all to us unlock their secret stores

And pay their cheerful tribute.

J. Taytor, Norwich, 18148.

a&LERE FLAMMARM.

i ocala

Ror.

CONTENTS OF VOL. V.

[SECOND SERIES. ]

NUMBER XXV.

Page

I. Observations on the Conjugation of Closterium Ehrenbergii. By

the Rev. W. Smirn, F.L.S. (With a Plate.) .........06 Seah ve ce eemanaes cos

II, On the Terebrating Mollusca. By Witxiam Crark, Esq. ...... 6

If. Descriptions of Aphides. By Francis Wauxer, F.L.S. ......... 14

IV. Contributions to the Botany of South America. By Joun

PURE RNS AE SERRA RNS. wee nis ciny cs vs'eva'sekw edu Gh geared vusscndandetoes SE:

V. Observations on the Structure of the Orchidacee, particularly

thet uudee,.. ty Proll: Ps TINE 3. novesesstevsscdebncces epieh cused ninae 36

VI. On the occurrence of Charadrius virginiacus, Borkh., at Malta.

Byte amniennawh, MOA CoB AG.S. 55. giescebsodehcccabecasectecas Ssenes AO

VII. Notice of a new Genus of Cestoid Worm. By M. P. J. Van

Benepen. Communicated by J. I. Antincs, A.B., M.B.(Lond.) ... 42

VIII. Description of a new species of Veronica. By Joun Batt,

BAU As” eanscscaceanss Gbienaiinwmrseisemn cians ann decane sdtecuceseasnseaaecve eke 47

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Ipswich Museum............ 48—69

Botanical Notes, by J. Ball, Esq.; Echinorhinus spinosus, by W. P.

Cocks, Esq.; On the Presence of Entophyta in healthy living

Animals, by Dr. Leidy ; Description of a new species of Parrot,

by G. R. Gray, Esq., F.L.S.; On Decay in Fruit; Presidency of

the Linnzean Society ; Meteorological Observations and Table. 70—80

NUMBER XXVI.

IX. On the British species of Chara. By Cuarues C. Basrneton,

M.A,, F.L.S. &e. BOOTHS HEHEHE OH HOGER EOE HEHEHE SHEET ETHEHHH eer eteenetese serene 81

lv CONTENTS.

Page

X. Observations on the species of Zermitide of West Africa, de-

scribed by Smeathman as Termes bellicosus, and by Linnzus as 7’. fa-

talis. By T.S.Savace ...... eenadodtUunperumansnan aes sat aeuwninaep ose smaated 92

XI. On a supposed new species of Glyceria. By Frepericx

TowNseEND, B.A. .....06 Seidlbaians siolewinrSak cle eau cae a daeweanatememme metas setnelenatae setae 104

XII. Supplementary Notes on British Odostomie. By J. G. Jer-

RIES: PUR Ge LisSe waete lee icccbolotesdedee sousonde sesuan sacl a beenbeeeeeraner 108

XIII. Notes upon the smaller British Moths, with descriptions of

some nondescript or imperfectly characterized species. By Joun Curtis,

BGs, BSD. GLC. -..cccnceacescesasscneenenseesosasunastersaccoaiss=bvesmnes deaeeeie 110

XIV. On Deposits of Diatomaceous Earth, found on the shores of

Lough Mourne, County Antrim, with a record of species living in the

waters of the Lake. By the Rev. W. Smiru, F.L.S. ........scccceseesees 121

XV. Notes on Chalcidites, and descriptions of various new species.

By Francis WALKER, F.L.S. .......secscsrcsseccsrscscncacscnrerssnseessars 125

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Botanical Society of Edinburgh ;

Tpswich Museum <2... ....svescs0ssseesssiseneesveotarcseecssanambitve 1383—152

Notice of specimens of the Wheat Midge from Nova Scotia, by J. W.

Dawson ; On the Characters and Intimate Structure of the Odo-

riferous Glands of the Invertebrata, by Dr. Leidy; Journey to

explore the Natural History of South America; On the genus

Gregorina; Nyctotherus, a new genus of Polygastrica allied to

Plesconia, by Dr. Leidy; Meteorological Observations and

Table sans scbsaswes soe tna nsnboupheunsest san ceaeagBuee saaesns Wueacgbans 152—160

NUMBER XXVII.

XVI. On the recent Foraminifera. By Witiram Cuark, Esq. ... 161

XVII. On the Watery Secretion of the Leaves and Stems of the

Ice-plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, L.). By Dr. Aueusrus

Voetcxer, Prof. of Chemistry Royal Agricult. College, Cirencester... 171

XVIII. On the Anatomy of the Freshwater Bryoxoa, with de-

scriptions of three new species. By Ausany Hancock, Esq. (With

POU ce HUCAP Nt cons cucits ede apncenenndaesecexepat a eo ee ee 173

XIX. Contributions to the Botany of South America. By Joun

Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. ...... Banhetenssiparesns det oan hones saeetee ame 204

XX. Notes on Montacuta ferruginosa. By Josnua Auper. (With

BUDIALE.))., seissconaesscaasentecaenonden nuaeaee tt tine ot eatnech atte DreREee nenseneedeae 210

XXI. Characters of several new East Indian and South African

Helices, with remarks on some other species of the Genus occurring at

the Cape of Good Hope. By W. H. Benson, Esq. ...scccecsseecsecsnes 213

CONTENTS. NI

Page

New Books :—The Natural History of Ireland.—Vols. I. and I. Birds,

comprising the Orders Raptores, Insessores, Rasores, and Gralla-

fores; by William: Thompson), Bag.) siviweies.scedesssiscocsecsertocecve 218

Proceedings of the Zoological Society .........ssescscsssseceeoscees 224—233

Notice of Powerful Bears, probably cozeval with the Great Fossil Deer

of Ireland; On the employment of Tar to preserve Wheat from the

Attack of the Weevil, by M. Caillat; Dr. Robert Ball; Metamor-

phoses of Donacia sagittaria ; Wild Animals of Ancient Britain ;

Errata in Mr, Babington’s paper on Chara; Meteorological Ob-

Ser MaMe ANG: PAINE? Vege sci PeKk otandwsc cove ss acseeecacwaceud sas 234—240

NUMBER XXVIII.

XXII. Notes on the Salmon and Bull-trout. By Joun Bracxwatt,

Me MMs nell seae a eens cove ar as kovatWy iscusa soem ie rdenstneneees fddvesnseres 241

XXIIT. Contributions to the Botany of South America, By Joun

Mivens, Bisq:, B.R:S.,-FL.S) ooo. 0c Abe psoohoncnoponcraecnanscdes* Re wcasecace 247

XXIV. Heights of some points of the Cotswold Hills, with some

experiments with the Aneroid Barometer. By W. Henry Hyerv,

Beet le seresa de eRe ola ic celine seks: einiacisis eels Wise ekesix spn sige nie ceasne a> 255

XXV. On the Embryogeny of Hippuris vulgaris. By Joun Scorr

Sanverson, F.B.S.E., Member of the Royal Medical Society of Edin-

Neca hesakh + -chknaaoannctnra ss =adccereson te itis Savicme sis seine anatecieen ans 259

XXVI. Notice of some of the rarer Plants observed in Orkney

during the Summer of 1849. By Joun T. Syme, Esq. .............00008 266

XXVII. Descriptions of Aphides. By Francis Watker, F.L.S.... 269

XXVIII. Notes on a species of Hydra found in the Northumber-

land Lakes. By Atspany Hancock, Esq. (With two Plates.) ......... 281

Proceedings of the Zoological Society; Botanical Society of Edin-

BD aod ststnme disci Sine maniicsionay (26 ofouins takai anetsenaisaviowens's 290—309

Descriptions of new species of Birds of the Family Caprimulgide, by

John Cassin ; Former existence of Gigantic Bears in Ireland ; On

some new genera and species of Entozoa, by Dr. Leidy; On the

mouthless Acari which have been formed into the genus Hypopus,

by F. Dujardin ; Meteorological Observations and Table ... 310—3820

NUMBER XXIX.

XXI1X. On the Nostochinee. By Joun Raters, M.R.C.S. (With

CAVES) counwSievcedvadees dhe PA at oeartite Saat esiien salen owiteteneerkt d

vl CONTENTS.

Page

XXX. On Trichites, a fossil genus of Bivalve Mollusks. By Joun

oRIT eG. (CW Ath a PAPC.) ioc cade sasecttsiendevenedaua tune salaspaeagen uses 343

XXXI. Characters of nine new or imperfectly described species of

Planorbis inhabiting India and China. By W. H. Benson, Esq....... 348

XXXII. Observations on the Littorinide. By Witt1am Crarx,

BM Me were selsaeeaseneessrenswesaecas usiduosnn elon stages esiteelaee eae an taeiteannty 352

XXXIII. Notices of British Fungi. By the Rev. M. J. Berxexey,

M.A, F.L.S., and C. E. Broome, Esq. (With two Plates.) ......... 365

XXXIV. On the species of Cercolabes confounded under the name

of C. prehensilis. By J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., Pres. Bot. Soc. &. ... 380

XXXV. On the characteristic Fossils of the Chalk Formation. By

L. Von Bucu. Communicated by Prof. J. NIcon .......cecsssssccecsces 381

XXXVI. Descriptions of British 4phides. By Francis WaLker,

BM Siiaaahsneiah-Weucmesinniess nehecseaaeasneeestescas 41 Uaeeisuy es ceua “anise eeaeenee 388

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Linnzean Society; Botanical

Society of -Bdinbursit | sc2.Jc.dcccsuc~ ces panvaewe AERA cee 395—424

On the Pathology of the Silk-Worm (Bombyx Mori, L.); Examination

of the Blood, by F. E. Guérin: Meneville; British Museum; Eechi-

nocactus Eyriesii, by J. Toulmin Smith, Esq. ; Cause of the Potato

Disease ; On the Nature of the Gregarine, by Dr. F. Stein; Way

in which Toads shed their Skins ; Meteorological Observations and

MD RDLE ss iiss seokstadue dé csaneesSaencavn ge none eee Saceuteaysexcassenee 424—432

NUMBER XXX.

XXXVII. Notes on an Examination of Lamarck’s species of Fossil

Terebratule. By Tuomas Davipson, Esq., Member of the Geol. Soc.

of France. [Illustrated by figures of all the species drawn from the

original specimens. (With three Piates.)...... Saas yoewekeds obi; a kteeeeme «. 433

XXXVIII. On the Internal Structure of Zerebratula pectuncu-

loides, Schl., Terebratula pulchella, Nils., and Terebratula Deslong-

champsii, nob. By Tuomas Davipson, Esq. (With a Plate.) ......... 449

XXXIX. On some Inhabitants of the Freshwater Muscles. By

CP VOGT Veg ak woe dace ses cnwes cUencen resto ocweg ned son tds etlcan semen weenie ateeaeeets 450

XL. Notices of British Fungi. By the Rev. M. J. Beneclll M.A,,

F.L.S., and C. E. Broome, Esq. (With two Plates.)........sceresssesees 455

XLI. On Hyoscyamus and Physochlena. By Joun Miers, Esq.,

BRS.) FALLS. © vacscsvecsosisee teens vec ave ougresesiieep asics ans aesep@@ahpans sacs 467

XLII. On the genus Waltonia. By Tuomas Davipson, Esq. (With

BP late.) .ccccenseesnce scars scasisilenpincene sacs s(sehamaans Set aaeReetaais onda 474

CONTENTS. Vil

Page

XLIII. On the Operculum of Gasteropodous Mollusca, and an at-

tempt to prove that it is homologous or identical with the second Valve

OF Conehifera.) )By.d.H.Gray, Hag. BRiSe ssciccicccconcsssececeassenss 476

XLIV. On Cannabis indica, Indian Hemp. By Avexanper Curts-

T1soNn, F.B.S.E., Member of the Royal Medical Society ..............006 483

Proceedings of the Linnzan Society ; Zoological Society ; Botanical

RPICEY OLE DULE NG ys ccsete cates vane oaics etsvardncs cases tesdese 493—509

On Scolicia prisca, a Fossil Annelide of the Chalk, by A. de Quatrefages ;

Description of a new species of Gorgonia from Australia, by J. E.

Gray, Esq., F.R.S.; Yellow Rain—Distribution of Plants; Popular

Impressions in India regarding the Natural History of certain

Animals, by H. Torrens, Esq., B.A. &c.; on Cyprea umbilicata and

C. eximia of Sowerby, by J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S.; the Hippopota-

mus at the Zoological Gardens, by Prof. Owen, F.R.S.; Meteoro-

logical Observations and Table ...........ccssssscscssaseseceeee 509—519

EROGX rn cscscthavess a aus clageiaSiacs sisialasisla'nctere Be cule ciswie w capenae cenamen ale sive obenes Caesar LO

PLATES IN VOL. V.

Piate I. Conjugation of Closterium Ehrenbergii.

IT.

ps Anatomy of Freshwater Bryozoa.

VI. Anatomy of Hydra.—Montacuta ferruginosa.

VII. Anatomy of Hydra.

ghee } British Nostochinez.

X. Trichites nodosus.

ee } New British Fungi.

XIII.

XIV.

XV. Lamarck’s Terebratula.—Structure of Terebratula pectuncu-

loides.—Waltonia Valenciennesii.

\ Lamarck’s Terebratule.

ERRATA.

Page 353, line 3, for misdated read misstated.

—— 362, line 26, for corde read corda.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[SECOND SERIES.]

66 sesserseerseeeeeee DEY litora spargite muscum,

Naiades, et circdm vitreos considite fontes :

Pollice virgineo teneros hic carpite flores :

Floribus et pictum, dive, replete canistrum.

At vos, o Nymphe Craterides, ite sub undas ;

Ite, recurvato variata corallia trunco

Vellite muscosis e rupibus, et mihi conchas

Ferte, Dez pelagi, et pingui conchylia succo.”

N. Parthenii Giannettasii Ecl. 1.

No. 25. JANUARY 1850.

I.—Observations on the Conjugation of Closterium Ehrenbergii.

By the Rev. W. Smiru, F.L.S.

{ With a Plate. ]

THE conjugation of Closterium Ehrenbergii (Menegh.), under

the name of Closterium lunula, has been described in a paper by

M. Morren, ‘ Annales des Sciences } Vaturelles,’ 2nd ser. tom. v.

1836, but the phenomenon does not appear to have met the eye

of any late observer im this country, and is wholly unnoticed by

the acute and careful authors of the ‘ British Desmidiez.’

I have had an opportunity, during two successive seasons, of

noticing the circumstance in question, and the facts elicited seem

to vary in some important respects so materially from those re-

corded by M. Morren, and are in themselves so different from the

ordinary phenomena which acconipany the conjugation of other

Closteria, or indeed of any other of the Desmidiee, that I have

thought it might be interesting to those engaged in such inves-

tigations to state the particulars which have fallen under my

notice.

On the 23rd March 1848, I first discovered Closterium Ehren-

bergit in astate of reproduction. On this occasion the period of

conjugation had evidently nearly expired, as but few individuals

were in that condition, and the mucus stratum, which results

from the aggregation of conjugating fronds, had almost wholly

Ann. & Mag. N, Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 1

2 Rev. W. Smith on the Conjugation of

disappeared. On the 29th of January 1849, I again, in a differ-

ent locality, met with conjugating fronds, and on this occasion

in great abundance and in very perfect condition. Conjugation

was evidently but just commenced, the mucus envelope was ge-

neral, the fronds exhibited the peculiar condition of the internal

granular mass which betokens the approaching change, and were

in those relative positions which, as will be seen hereafter, indi-

cate a tendency to unite in the formation of sporangia. .A few

days later, multitudes of individuals were found in every stage of

conjugation, and the process continued until the beginning of

March, towards the middle of which month few perfect fronds

could be discovered, and the sporangia, hitherto in vast numbers,

were fast disappearing: the mucus which held them in suspen-

sion, and floating on the surface of the water, having become

dissolved, they were only to be discovered upon a very careful

search, entangled in the filaments of other plants or mixed with

the earth at the bottom of the pool. At a later period, and in

the locality of 1848, I found a few conjugated fronds on the

7th of May 1849.

The period of conjugation of this species would therefore ap-

pear to be during the first three or four months of the year.

M. Morren has noted it to occur in April, and again in June, re-

marking, that probably two generations had lived in this inter-

val. This opinion does not however seem to be borne out by the

facts I have observed, as in no case have I been able to detect

the plant in the same locality for more than a month or six weeks

at one time, nor has it ever reappeared in any quantity im the

same pool. I have occasionally tound single fronds of Clostertum

Ehrenbergii in running water, but on all the occasions previously

mentioned, it has occurred im clear shallow pools or marshes

formed by springs on the open moorlands between Wareham and

Corfe Castle.

I proceed to notice the phenomena of conjugation as they

successively presented themselves. The first is an alteration in

the granular condition of the endochrome. This, from a light

yellowish green, passes to a much darker shade, and the larger

granules or “diaphanous vesicles” of Ralfs, which were ori-

ginally few in number and arranged in a somewhat irregular

longitudinal series (Pl. I. fig. 1), become exceedingly numerous

and pervade the entire frond. While this change is about taking

place, the fronds approach in pairs, approximating by their con-

cave surfaces, and finally coming into such close neighbourhood

that their inflated centres are in contact and their extremities

slightly overlapped (fig. 2). In a short time, probably in the

course of twenty-four hours, a remarkable change takes place

both in the appearance and condition of the fronds ; a mass of

Closterium Ehrenbergii. 3

delicate mucus is secreted around the approximated fronds ; these

remove to a little distance from each other, undergo “ self-divi-

sion,” and present altogether an irregular oval figure, the outline

of which is formed by the periphery of the mucus, the four divi-

sions of the fronds being placed in the middle in a somewhat

quadrilateral manner (fig. 3). During the progress of self-divi-

sion the internal membrane of the cell-wall becomes enlarged

at the suture or line of separation, and projects in the form of

an irregular cone with a blunt or rounded apex forming a beak,

whose side view presents a triangular outline. This beak be-

comes filled with endochrome, either by the dilatation or increase

of the contents of the half-frond, and the divided frond assumes

the appearance of one with two unequal segments, being what

M. Morren calls “ une Closterie & deux cones inégaux ” (fig. 3).

On these membranous expansions, at the concave surfaces of the

fronds and close to the original sutures, there appear, almost

simultaneously with the formation of the beaks, two circular

projections, which rupturing at their apices, give egress to the

delicate sacs which inclose the endochrome, and which drawing

with them their contents and meeting with the endochrome-sacs

emitted through similar projections from the other half-fronds,

form by their connection irregular masses which quickly conso-

lidate and assume the appearance of perfectly circular, smooth

dark-coloured balls, the sporangia of Ralfs and seminules of

Morren (figs. 4, 5).

The discharge of the endochrome and formation of the spo-

rangia are accomplished with much rapidity, and may often be

seen taking place in the field of the microscope, the whole ope-

ration not occupying more than a few minutes. It will be seen

from an inspection of the figures, that during the formation of

the sporangia there appears to be a second development of mu-

cus in the form of rings around the reproductive bodies ; this 1s

probably only the effect of the pressure produced by the growth

of the sporangia on the mass of investing mucus. It will also

be seen that the pale transverse band adopted by Ralts as a cha-

racter of the genus Closterium, and which in figs. 1 and 2 occu-

pies the centre of the undivided frond, is, upon self-division

taking place, removed a little towards the extremities of the half-

fronds (fig. 8). The reason as well as the cause of this motion

{ am unable to explain, but it seems to confirm the propriety of

adopting the band itself as a permanent and important cha-

racter.

With regard to the subsequent changes which take place in

the sporangia, the time which elapses before they produce young

fronds, and the mode in which such evolution of a fresh race is

accomplished, I have not been fortunate enough to ascertain any-

4 Rev. W. Smith on the Conjugation of

thing with certainty. I preserved a mass of the conjugated

fronds and multitudes of the perfect sporangia in water, which I

frequently changed, for-more than four. months, but could not de-

tect any appearance of young fronds, nor did I notice any mate-

rial change in the sporangia until decomposition supervened with

the increased temperature of the season.

M. Morren contends that a sporangium becomes converted

into a single frond, and gives a series of figures in illustration of

the changes which the sporangium undergoes until it becomes

“ une Closterie & deux cones inégaux” (fig. 7a, b,c,d). NowaslI

have shown that this form is the result of the self-division of the

ordinary frond and invariably precedes conjugation, I am disposed

to think that M. Morren has mistaken fronds thus divided, and

afterwards thrown out of their relative positions, for modified

sporangia. Certain it is that among myriads of conjugated

fronds and their sporangia I have been unable to trace the gra-

dations figured by M. Morren, nor have I on any occasion de-

tected the slightest modification in the sporangia after their full

maturation. A divided frond smaller than the others, or one in

which the self-division has been arrested, may occasionally be

discovered, but the very rarity of such examples precludes the

idea that such forms result from the normal development or

growth of the sporangia.

How the species in Closterium Ehrenbergii may be renewed,

appears still involved in the same uncertainty as that which en-

velopes the propagation of every other species of Desmidiee. Self-

division in the case before us seems only to accompany conju-

gation, and will not, as in the other Desmzdiee, account for the

existence at certain periods of vast multitudes of the fronds.

Another mode of increase, analogous to the propagation by zoo-

spores in Spheroplea crispa and other Algz, has been assigned

to the Desmidiee, and it has been alleged that the endochrome

escapes in the form of zoospores, and becomes transformed into

new fronds. M. Morren not only affirms this to be the case, but

gives a figure illustrative of the conversion of these zoospores, or

as he terms them “ propagules,” into new fronds. Mr. Ralfs

merely observes that the escape of the granular contents of the

mature frond is probably one mode by which the Desmidiee are

increased. He however regards the “ swarming of the granules”

(a curious circumstance observable in the Desmidiee and other

Algee, and which I am disposed to regard as a disturbance at-

tendant upon the decay of the granular mass) as identical with

the movement of the zoospores, and after accurately describing

the phenomenon, goes on to state, that with the history of these

granules after their escape from the frond he was altogether un-

acquainted. ir. Kalfs afterwards gives a figure (British Des-

Closterium Ehrenbergu. 5

midiez, pl. 27), upon the authority of his coadjutor Mr. Jenner,

representing the bursting of the sporangiuin and the growth of

the young fronds from its contents in Clostertum acerosum, so

closely resembling the figure by M. Morren of the conversion of

the propagules of Closterium Ekrenbergii into young fronds, that

I cannot but believe a similar phenomenon to have been noticed

by both observers, and am inclined to accept the view of Mr. Jen-

ner as the correct one, and to regard propagation by zoospores

or “ propagules” as one not yet satisfactorily established in the

Desmidiee.

Increase by self-division, where a single frond separates into

two equal parts, and generates at the suture two new segments

respectively attached to the old, and thus forms from itself two

perfect fronds, is one mode by which these minute organisms

multiply with amazing rapidity; but this is merely a repetition

or increase of the individual ; the species must be renewed by

another method, and that I believe to be the result of conjuga-

tion, or in other words, the conversion of the sporangial contents

into young fronds ; the subject however still requires elucidation

from the cautious and skilful use of the microscope.

I may remark in conclusion, that in a generic arrangement,

based upon the reproductive organs, Closterium Ehrenbergii will

stand apart from all other Desmidiee. In it alone a pair of con-

jugating fronds produce two sporangia. It is however allied to

others of the present genus through Closterium lineatum, the spo-

rangium of which, according to Mr. Ralfs, is binate, and shows

a disposition to separate into two parts.

Wareham, November 1, 1849.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE I.

Fig. 1. A single frond of Closterium Ehrenbergii in its ordinary condition.

Fig. 2. Two fronds approaching and in the apposition which precedes con-

jugation.

Fig. 3. Conjugating fronds undergoing self-division, the upper showing the

protuberances through the torn apices of which the contents of the

divided fronds pass into the sporangia.

Fig. 4. Conjugating fronds showing the passage of the endochrome-sac and

its contents.

Fig. 5. Conjugated fronds having perfected their sporangia.

Fig. 6. Development of the “ propagules ” into young fronds (after Morren).

Compare with the figure given in the ‘ British Desmidiez,’ pl. 27, of the

conversion of the sporangial contents into young fronds in Closterium

acerosum.

Fig. 7. a,b, c,d. Development of a sporangium into “ une Closterie a deux

cones inégaux,” from Morren.

The figures are all magnified 100 linear. Length of ordinary frond +; of

an inch; greatest breadth of ditto 33; length of divided frond 73, ;

length of beak .3,,; diameter of sporangium 444.

6 Mr. W. Clark on the Terebrating Mollusca, and on the

Il.—On the Terebrating Mollusca.

By Witi1am Crarx, Esq.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN, Norfolk Crescent, Bath, Oct. 12, 1849.

“Scire tuum, nihil est, nisi te scire hoc, sciat alter.”

‘Tus quotation, from one of the most sagacious of the satirists,

is not meant to be applied here, as A. Persius employs it, to lash

the inordinate vanities of authors craving to have their lucubra-

tions committed to the press, but m its simple sense, as an in-

contestable aphorism, that unless we communicate our ideas and

what we know to others, our knowledge is vain and nought. In

conformity with this application of the sentiment above, I pro-

pose to state some important facts which I believe at present are

not generally known relative to the boring Pholades and other

Acephala, and particularly on the identity of Pholadidea papy-

racea and Pholas lamellata of authors, together with some curious

facts in the organization of the Bivalve Mollusca.

To carry out these views, it will in the first place be necessary,

to enable malacologists to form just conclusions on the matters I

have sketched out, to furnish them with a correct account of the

animals of Pholadidea papyracea and Pholas lamellata, accom-

panied by a short summary of comparison, after which I trust I

shall be able to place the vexata questio of the boring functions

of the Acephala on the irrefragable bases of certainty ; and lastly,

J shall communicate a most curious fact connected with the tes-

taceous Acephala, which, if hitherto unknown and now established,

must be considered most important, inasmuch as it will add a

function of the first consideration to the ceconomy of these ani-

mals.

Pholadidea papyracea, Brit. Moll.

Pholas papyracea, auctorum.

Animal elongated, subcylindrical; mantle closed, except a

small rayed aperture for the foot, as long as one exists, and

which corresponds in position with a similar aperture in the

membrane connecting the doming of the shell, and is styled by

Dr. Turton a “ spiracle,” but which may perhaps in this species,

the only one of the Pholades that has it, be for the purpose of a

partial issue, or rather protrusion, without the solution of con-

tinuity of the ventral membrane of the animal, of the hyaline

cylindrical appendage which exists in all bivalves, to secure for

it a point of support when the foot becomes so much diminished

as not to afford one. Im all other bivalves this stylet is not

visible, being imbedded in the body and upper part of the pedi-

cle of the foot, which is the leaning-stock or point of resistance,

Identity of Pholadidea papyracea and Pholas lamellata. 7

except in the Anomie, Ostree and Pectinide, in which, as the

foot is reduced almost to nothing, the mass of the body is the

only point d’apput; but when the dome of the shell of the Pho-

ladidea papyracea is removed, the dark basal point of the stylet

presents itself in the centre of the mottled belly, precisely where

the foot is placed in the group of the Pholades, and im this case

it appears to act as a substitute.

The siphonal apparatus consists of a long elastic sheath,

which is often protruded to double the length of the shell, but

in a state of half-extension it becomes highly corrugated ; ‘it is

clothed with a dull red-brown epidermis, under which it is

bluish white ; the margin of its terminus is finely frmged with

short white colon within the sheath are the anal and Hnantehihl

tubes, the former with the margin quite plain, but exserts a tu-

bular hyaline process; the latter is encircled by about twenty

white cirrhi of different lengths.

The liver is green, and situated as usual on the dorsal range.

There are on each side the body a pair of pale reddish brown

elongated suboval branchie, the upper one being much the

smallest, which are finely striated on the outer surfaces ; their pos-

terior extremities suddenly become linear, and are then deposited

in the branchial tube ; there are also two long flat linear palpi on

each side, with lanceolate points; these are more striated than

the branchize. The body is centrally subglobose, but tapers pos-

teally and anteally to a blunt terminus, and the whole of it pre-

sents, especially in the genial season, a mottled mass of flaky

white subrotund spots or dots, with one of the termini of the

elastic appendage appearing in the centre of the anterior extre-

mity. With regard to the foot, as I have already observed, not

a trace is visible, having vanished for reasons to be spoken of in

another place.

Pholadidea papyracea, Brit. Moll.

Pholas lamellata, auctorum.

Animal nearly of the form we have just described; mantle

closed, except a large aperture for the passage of the foot, which

in this form of the P. papyracea is most apparent. The branchial

processes and siphonal tubes are, in the most minute points,

similar to those organs in the form styled Pholadidea papyracea

to which we refer; the body, as in it, is subglobose, and pro-

duced posteally and anteally to an obtuse point, and it is gene-

rally of a bluish hyaline colour, with some fine anastomosing

lines throughout its surface, but has nothing of the mottled ap-

pearance of Pholadidea papyracea; the shape of the branchiz is

the same as in its congener, but their striz are more delicate and

colour of the palest yellow ; these are the mere variations of ado-

lescence, and generally prevail where specific identity cannot be

8 Myr. W. Clark on the Terebrating Mollusca, and on the

doubted, and they are deposited partially as in its congener, m

the branchial tube ; the palpi and liver exhibit no variation. I

now come to the most decided difference between the two ani-

mals ; the foot, in the form we are now describing, is propor-

tionally larger than in any other of the Pholades, of hyaline tex-

ture, springing from the centre of the body with a long cylin-

drical pedicle ; it has a subclavate appearance, truncate at the

terminus, which is of suboval form and pointed anteally and pos-

teally, and there is no outward visible trace of the curious elastic

stylet common to all bivalves, and so conspicuous in the ventral

tissue of the form Pholadidea papyracea.

I will now make a short comparison of the two forms: it will be

observed that it is stated, in the form Pholadidea papyracea, that

the mantle is closed, except a very small aperture or “ spiracle”

for the foot, if it still exists; but in the form Pholas lamellata

there is a large aperture for a foot, that is, larger in proportion

than in any of the Pholades. The branchie, palpi, and elabo-

rate siphonal apparatus are precisely the same with only varia-

tions of colour ; the bodies of the two are of the same shape, but

differ in colour and markings, the one being intensely mottled,

the other hyaline ; the body of the one having no foot attached

to it, but the other a very /arge one. These are the principal

variations, and certainly constitute a very general difference of

aspect between the animals of the two forms, and it must be ad-

mitted that conchologists and even malacologists, who have not

examined with care all the conditions and incidents attached to

them, have had a primd facie case for doubting their identity ;

but notwithstanding these great and visible discrepancies, I think

I shall, by a suite of facts, observations, and reasoning thereon,

be able decisively to settle their specific identity.

But before I apply to this discussion, I propose to communi-

cate what I consider to be the real agent of the Acephalous Mol-

lusca in the operation of excavating their dwellings. This abrupt

imroad on a subject only just mooted, will however, from the facts

adduced, shorten the discussion when we revert to the subject

we have for the moment abandoned, as they will I think satis-

factorily account for some of the great variations of aspect be-

tween the Pholadidea papyracea and the so-called Pholas lamellata

and other apparent anomalies. I disclaim all merit for the great

discovery of the animal functions that are the principal agents

of the excavating powers of the Acephala, and which will I think

for ever set at rest the endless discussions thereon, by placing

the subject on the indestructible bases of certainty.

This great result is due to the genius and talents evinced by

Mr. Albany Hancock, in his paper in the ‘ Annals’ of October

1848, “ On the Boring of the Mollusca into Rocks.” If any con-

siderations are due to me, they are of the most negative character,

Identity of Pholadidea papyracea and Pholas lamellata. 9

and only consist in the circumstances, that during the summers

of 1848-9 I sedulously for several weeks examined the Pho-

lades, both in situ and in the closet, when after a careful inves-

tigation I arrived at the same conclusions with respect to the

boring agents of the bivalves as Mr. Hancock ; and I have the

notes of them now by me, written before Mr. Hancock’s publi-

cation, which I intended to lay before the public; that gentle-

man has anticipated me, the whole merit is his, and I cordially

apply to him the motto, “ Palmam qui meruit, ferat.” I will now

state some facts which perhaps have escaped Mr. Hancock’s at-

tention, corroborative of his positive discovery.

I revert for a moment to the consideration of the identity of

Pholadidea papyracea and the Pholas lamellata of authors, on

which point Professor Forbes and Mr. Hanley, in the ‘ British

Mollusca,’ have concurred, having in some measure relied on my

authority communicated many years ago. The investigation in

the last summer (1848) was undertaken by me both with the

view of making an attempt to discover the terebrating powers of

the Acephala, particularly of the Pholades, and for further proofs

of the identity of the two forms styled by authors Pholadidea

papyracea and Pholas lamellata.

In the course of my examinations I was startled by the great

variations in the organs of the two forms of this Pholas, which,

twenty years ago, when I first examined this species, appear not

to have so rigorously excited my notice; doubts arose in my

mind, that I might be wrong in my former determinations of

identity, and I wrote to Dr. Battersby to express them to him

and Mrs. Griffith, both of Torquay ; the latter a lady naturalist,

who has taken great interest in this question ; but in the present

summer of 1849, after a continued investigation of fourteen

weeks, my doubts were dispelled, and I stated personally to Dr.

Battersby, that after a careful review of all the evidences that pre-

sented themselves, I reverted to and relied on my original deter-

minations of identity of the two forms of Pholadidea papyracea.

This change of opinion arose from the observation that in the

adult Pholadidea papyracea, the mottled appearance of the belly,

so dissimilar to that of the form Pholas lamellata, was due to the

extension of the reproductive membranous organs of the ovarium

and the spermatozoa, occupying the space usually appropriated

to the foot, which I found had disappeared. This anomalous

appearance excited my attention, and the reflection that with

nearly absolute ceteris paribus, in the generalities of all the Pho-

lades, there was no substantial reason why one species should

always be deprived of the foot, when all the others possessed that

appendage, and as I had come to the conclusion, that it was

the boring instrument, I felt assured that this anomaly was only

10 Mr. W. Clark on the Terebrating Mollusca, and on the

an apparent one, dependent on certain conditions connected with

the growth of the animal; and as the very large anterior gape in

all the Pholades is the site of the powerful foot, and is never

closed up during their existence, except in this species, I became

fully convinced, that the foot,—having finally performed its tere-

brating functions, the animal consequently having arrived at full

growth (the test of which is the doming and formation of the

caliciform incipient tubing, which is in Pholadidea papyracea,

the last vestiges of the protecting tubes of the Teredinide)—had

become absorbed, on the well-known principle, that an organ

from want of use is often, especially in the lower animals,

followed by its total disappearance. This vanishing, depaupe-

ration, and withering away of a foot now become useless, and as

it were extinct from its complete inclosure, after it had per-

formed its appointed duty of excavation, is in strict conformity

with Lamarck’s views (see page 158, last edition of the ‘ Ani-

maux sans Vertébres’). Thus two most important facts are made

evident by this phenomenon, which incontestably proves that the

foot, agreeably to Mr. Hancock’s views, is the excavator of the

animal’s dwelling; and it stamps with additional consideration

the Lamarckian doctrine of the progression and advancement of

animality resulting from a want requirimg to be supplied, which

is effected by the concentration of the whole mass of vital energies,

the circulation, nervous influences, aided by caloric, the gases,

electricity, &c., in forcing and producing the supply of the parti-

cular want. That great philosopher instances the addition of

tentacula to the Helices in explanation of his views; and this

doctrine is strongly corroborated, if the fact of the obliteration

of the foot in Pholadidea papyracea is considered, e contrario, as

a retrocession in animalization. This phenomenon also proves

that nature never permanently retains what is superfluous, or

refuses, as far as its power extends, to supply urgent require-

ments.

This important proof of the soundness of the laws promul-

gated by M. Lamarck, that nature mechanically produces the

progressive march of animal improvement, almost makes us in-

cline to assent to the high and metaphysical researches of that

great naturalist, that the doctrine is not without foundation, that

the first sparks of vitality arise from gravitation and molecular

adherence, aided by the gases put in action by caloric, electri-

city, &e.* If we adopt this view, we admit that the germ of yita-

lity communicated to matter arises from the mechanical power

entrusted to nature; but we must not for a moment forget that

* We would respectfully decline following our correspondent in these

speculations.—R. T.

Identity of Pholadidea papyracea and Pholas lamellata. 11

nature can do no more than perform the high behests of the

Deity, nor exceed those limits of action confided to her by the

Great Ruler of the universe, who is the ens entium, and the first

cause of all that exists.

I revert to the boring Mollusca. Mr. Hancock has in many

consecutive pages taken the pais to show, that mechanical

boring, the solvents, and the ciliary currents, cannot be the causes

of excavation. I shall not for a moment dwell on these agents,

which are utterly worthless, and incapable of producing the effects

attributed to them; but it may not be amiss to adduce some

further observations corroborative of Mr. Hancock’s position,

that the foot is the true terebrating agent. As regards the

Pholades, Saxicave, and the Venerirupis perforans of authors,

they all inhabit the great littoral tracts of red sandstone on the

Devon coasts, near Exmouth; this stone is composed of mole-

cular grains so feebly conglomerated, that there is not the least

necessity for the surface of the foot to be armed with siliceous

points ; the most gentle rubbing of that muscular coriaceous or-

gan will amply suffice to hollow out the cubicula of the molluscan

inhabitants of the red sandstone on the Devon coasts. The Pho-

lades at Exmouth, and I believe elsewhere, are rarely or ever

found in calcareous substances ; the Saxicave are always in the

sandstone ; the Modiolina gastrochena is never taken but in the

coralline zone,—I speak of Exmouth,—and bores both stones and

shells, as well as often forms its case of coarse agglutinated grains

of sand or corally spoil. When the Sazicave and Modiolina gas-

trochena are located in calcareous deposits, it is probable that

nature in this case provides the foot or mantle with siliceous

points ; but I think the attrition of the foot, aided by fine simple

sea-sand, is sufficient to rub down the cavities as fast as the ani-

mals grow. I corroborate by a thousand observations, that in

the Saxicave and Modiolina gastrochena, which have the foot

slender and feeble, their mantles are strengthened by the most

powerful muscular bands and fillets, which vary so much in

shape, disposition and intensity, that I have in some cases used

them successfully for specific distinction; and I have not the

least doubt, as Mr. Hancock states, that this powerfully-armed

ventral portion of the mantle of the closed boring Acephala is

fully adequate to rub down their habitations. I believe that the

foot or mantle of the entire class of Acephala has the power of

terebrating, if circumstances require the exercise of it. It may

be observed that many of the Pholades are not in all circum-

stances borers ; many of them,—I may name the Pholas dactylus

and P. candida at Exmouth, in the sandy districts,—pass their

entire existence in pure sand ; the same condition attaches to the

Venerirupis perforans and many other bivalves. As to the borers

12 Mr. W. Clark on the Terebrating Mollusca, and on the

in wood, as the exotic: Pholas striata, the Teredines, and Xylo-

phaga dorsalis, the foot is the undoubted agent of perforation,

and in this class is probably armed with rasping additions, and

it cannot be doubted has the power to rub down the hardest

oak faster than the animal can require ; in fact, the harder wood,

as oak, is more easily comminuted than the spongy deal or elm

plank.

T take leave of this part of my present paper by again acknow-

ledging the great service Mr. Hancock has conferred on malaco-

logical science, by definitively, as I think, determining the true

functional causes of the terebrating powers in the Acephalous

Mollusca.

I return to the question of the identity of the two forms of

Pholadidea papyracea. I have already shown that the great va-

riation in colour and markings between the adult Pholadidea

papyracea and the young shell styled Pholas lamellata is the

effect of generative influences, and that its conspicuous foot, when

it arrives at full growth, which is testified by its becoming com-

pletely domed, is depauperated and finally obliterated. These two

great and principal variations of aspect between the two forms

of Pholadidea papyracea, resulting from states of transition, ha-

ving I trust been satisfactorily disposed of, and every other part

of the animal exhibiting a prototype similarity, it is impossible,

as I think, to entertain further doubts of the positive identity of

the two shells usually termed by authors Pholas papyracea and

P. lamellata. 1 may add, that 1t has been asked in objection,

how is it that twenty Pholadidea papyracea are taken for one Pho-

las lamellata, and that the two forms are not more frequently

met with in the transition states? This objection quickly yields

to a just view of the Pholades as regards habitat and other in-

fluences.

The Pholades are usually inhabitants of the littoral zone, but

by no means always so, as some species also mhabit the more

pelagic zones ; the littoral shells are found in the superficial area

of the red sandstone rocks from half-tide to the lowest littoral

limits, and probably beyond, where they are unapproachable, at

the depth of a very few inches ; the whole area of the lower por-

tion of the littoral zone is occupied by péle-méle colonies of Pho-

las parva, Saxicava rugosa and Pholadidea papyracea, generally

of adult proportions, with an intermixture of a comparative pau-

city of the form Pholas lamellata. The Pholas dactylus and P.

- candida usually inhabit the higher levels of the littoral zone. The

fact of the deficiency of the young of the Pholadidea papyracea

is occasioned solely by the pre-occupation of the area of the sand-

stone rocks by the species I have mentioned, mostly adult ; and

when the genial season of reproduction arrives, the fry are ejected,

Identity of Pholadidea papyracea and Pholas lamellata. 13

and vast numbers become, as I believe is the case with all the

Mollusca, at least the majority, the prey of the Echinodermata,

Crustacea and other eyemies ; therefore ouly a comparatively few

survive, to continue the race and keep up the stock diminished

by the annual demand for them, rarely for bait, but chiefly to

supply the cabinets of the sheli-collectors. These are the causes

which fully account for the circumstance of twenty adult Pho-

ladidea papyracea occurring for one in a state of adolescence ;

thus, in conformity with the Malthusian doctrine, the ground

being pre-occupied, no more stock can be admitted until some

of the older colonists are removed, and reproduction is conse-

quently limited by the ova becoming the prey of a multitude of

enemies.

I will say a few words on the pelagic Pholades inhabiting

masses of stone dredged up in the littoral zones of the Devon

coasts, six or eight miles from land. These shells, whether they

are the two forms of Pholadidea papyracea, or the Pholas parva or

P. dactylus, are always dwarf. I have a curious series of minute

and completely adult Pholadidea papyracea not exceeding a

quarter of an inch in length. Such shells are considered by the

inexperienced observer as proofs that at all ages the Pholadidea

papyracea is completely covered with a dome and continues gra-

dually to increase : this is impossible, as when the dome and cali-

ciform posterior extremity are once formed, all further growth is

for ever terminated. The pelagic Pholades rarely exceed half an

inch in length, consequently these dwarf forms are the result of

locality, depth of water and many other conditions. In the deeper

zones, the young forms of the present species, instead of being

found in the proportion of one to twenty of the adult shells, ap-

pear in equal numbers: this discrepancy in the proportions of

the young shells inhabiting the littoral and pelagic zones, must

arise from the circumstance that in the deeper waters there 1s

more room for reproduction, more sustentation and fewer ene-

mies; this view corroborates the doctrine above, accounting for

the disparity of numbers in the littoral zones between the young

and old shells of this species. I have omitted to mention that I

possess these shells in a genuine state of transition taken by

myself in situ, and not produced by the arts of fraudulent

dealers.

I terminate the present paper by stating a fact of the greatest

importance in the ceconomy of the Bivalves, which I believe is

not generally known, and which was discovered by me twenty

years since, but not then promulgated, except to a few friends,

and lately I named it to Professor Forbes: though the fact was

new then, I do not vouch that it is so now, as from my long seces-

sion from malacological pursuits, many of the recent discoveries,

14 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

scattered in the various works on natural history, may have

escaped my attention.

All malacologists are acquainted with the existence of the hya-

line cylindrical elastic stylet that is found in the bodies of all

bivalves, whether great or small; I have seen this organ men-

tioned in a work on natural history that has escaped my memory,

with the addition that its use is entirely unknown. Whilst dis-

secting the Pholadidea papyracea and other Pholades, in which

this stylet is easily detected, and in which the larger end is im-

bedded in the muscular fundus of the body and foot, instead of

drawing it forth as I had often done, I was induced to trace its

course, and found that it terminated in the stomach, and had

attached to it a light yellow doubled-up corneous subtriangular

plate, wrinkled into three bluntly pointed lobes at one end, and

at the other a membrane by which it is affixed to the elastic

stylet. This discovery at once made evident the use of this ap-

pendage, and that it was an elastic spring to work the corneous

plate or attritor, by the muscular action of the foot and body, to

divide and comminute the food, and especially the minute crus-

taceous and testaceous alimentary matters received into the sto-

machal cavity ; it appears then that this appendage acts as a giz-

zard, and the Bivalve Mollusca are thus supplied with a mastica-.

tory apparatus very analogous to the gizzards of some of the

Gasteropoda.

I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant,

WiiiamM CLARK.

IlI.—Descriptions of Aphides. By Francis Wacker, F.L.S.

(Continued from vol. iv. p. 202.]

72. Aphis Persice, Sulzer, &c.

Aphis Persice has been described by several authors, but I

believe that this name will apply to two species, and I defer

giving the references until I can ascertain to which of these they

most probably belong.

This Aphis feeds on the peach, Amygdalus Persica, in Europe

and in North America, and on the sloe (Prunus spinosa) ; the

latter tree is its origmal habitation, but the mtroduction of the

peach into England caused a partial change in its nourishment.

It sometimes passes from the peach to the cherry, and multi-

plies thereon. Schmidberger states that there are sixteen gene-

rations in one year, and that some of the young ones of the

second generation acquire wings.

The viviparous wingless female. It appears on the buds of the

peach-tree before the end of March, and when young is yery

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 15

dark green, but when full-grown it is pale green, oval, convex,

plump, and smooth, but not shining : the front is slightly convex,

and not notched : the limbs are pale yellow; the feelers towards

their tips, the tip of the mouth, the feet, and the tips of the

shanks and of the nectaries are brown: the feelers are rather less

than half the length of the body ; the first and the second joints

are not angular ; the fourth joit is much shorter than the third ;

the fifth is shorter than the fourth; the sixth is much shorter

than the fifth ; the seventh is more than twice the length of the

sixth; the nectaries are about one-sixth or one-eighth of its

length.

lst var. Pale green mottled with dark green.

2nd var. Pale yellowish green.

ord var. Of a fine amber colour. Intermediate varieties also

occur.

4th var., &c. In midsummer the masses on the young shoots

are very thick, and the insect then has a great variety of

tints; its colour passes from pale red or green to the hue of

a mellow peach, or to dark red, and sometimes the whole of

the body is black: the legs are red; the four hinder thighs

except the base, the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks,

are black.

5th var. Pale red, shining, reddish green beneath : the back,

with the exception of a line along the middle and the borders of

the segments, is red: the feelers are black, green at the base, and

shorter than the body : the mouth is green; its tip, the eyes and

the nectaries are black, and the latter are one-twelfth of the

length of the body : the legs are black: the fore-thighs, the base

of the other thighs, and the shanks except their tips are yellow.

On the cherry in July.

6th var. Bright red, with four or more indistinct rows of little

black dots along the back: the head is dark red : the feelers are

white, dark red at the base, black towards the tips, and rather

more than half the length of the body : the mouth and the legs

are dull white; the tip of the mouth, the eyes, the nectaries, the

hind-thighs except the base, the knees, the feet, and the tips of

the shanks, are black. End of July.

In this form it is especially subject to the attacks of its enemies:

Trombidium holosericeum devours it ; and an Aphidius, an Allotria,

Ceraphron Carpenteri, and Myina Chaonia are its parasites.

‘7th var. The feelers are brown, pale yellow at the base; the

mouth is pale yellow with a brown tip: the nectaries are pale

yellow with brown tips, and are one-sixth or one-eighth of the

length of the body: the legs are pale yellow; the feet and the

tips of the shanks are brown.

8th var. The body is black, aud other varieties occur when it

16 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

is more or less varied with red: there are no tubercles in front of

the head.

The viviparous winged female. The pupa appears before the

end of April, and the wings are unfolded in May. The insect

is then black: the fore-chest and the abdomen are green ; the

former has a broad black band across it, the disc of the latter is

black, and there are rows of black spots on each side : the feelers

are slender, and nearly or quite as long as the body; the base

of the third joint is pale yellow; the fourth joint is very much

shorter than the third ; the fifth is much shorter than the fourth ;

the sixth is more than half the length of the fifth; the seventh

is nearly as long as the third, and thrice the length of the sixth :

the mouth is pale green with a brown tip: the nectaries are black,

and about one-sixth of the length of the body : the legs are pale

yellow ; the feet, the tips of the thighs and of the shanks, and

nearly the whole of the hind-thighs are black: the wings are

colourless, and longer than the body; the wing-ribs are pale

green ; the wing-brands are pale brown, and the veins are darker ;

the second vein diverges from the first, but is nearly parallel to

the third ; the forks of the latter begin usually at one-third and at

two-thirds of the length ; the fourth is slightly curved at its base,

but nearly straight towards its tip; the angle of the brands whence

it springs is very slight.

Ist var. The abdomen is dark reddish green, with a row of

black spots on each side: the feelers are shorter than the body :

the mouth is dark yellow; its tip is black: the nectaries are as

long as one-twelfth of the body: the thighs are black with the

exception of the base: the wing-ribs and the rib-veins are pale

yellow.

2nd var. The abdomen is black: the nectaries are about one-

tenth of the length of the body: the mouth is red with a black

tip: the shanks, with the exception of their tips and the fore-

thighs towards the base, are also red: the wing-brands are dull

buff. End of July.

3rd var. Dark brown: the abdomen is dull yellow; the dise

of its back and a row of spots on each side are black : the feelers

are black, very slender, and a little longer than the body: the

mouth is yellow ; its tip and the eyes are black : the nectaries are

dull dark yellow, and as long as one-eighth of the body: the legs

are black, slender, and rather long; the thighs towards the base

and the shanks with the exception of their tips are yellow. End

of September.

In October this variety, which is of large size, occurs in abun-

dance beneath the leaves, and is surrounded by flocks of bright

green little ones, which as they continue to grow assume a bright

pale red or yellow colour, and a variety of other tints.

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 17

4th var. The body is black: the abdomen is dark reddish

green.

Variations of the wing-vems. Ist var—There is no upper

branch in the first fork of the third branch-vein, but the lower

branch is subdivided.

2nd var. There is no second fork.

3rd var. The lower division of the second fork sends forth an

additional branch which does not reach the border of the wing.

The oviparous wingless female. This appears in October, and is

bright red and velvet-like, slightly oval, rather convex: the head

is black: the disc of the abdomen is dark red: the feelers are

black, white towards the base and as long as the body: the nec-

taries are white, with black tips: the legs are white ; the tips of

the thighs are pale brown ; the feet and the tips of the shanks

are black.

The winged male. The body is black: the abdomen is dark

yellowish red, with a row of black spots on each side : the feelers

are black, and as long as the body: the mouth is dull yellow,

black towards the tip: the nectaries are pale yellow with black

tips, and as long as one-fourth of the body : the thighs are black,

pale yellow at the base; the shanks are dark reddish yellow,

their tips and the feet are black : the wing-ribs and the rib-veins

are pale yellow ; the brands are pale brown ; the veins are brown.

Ist var. The abdomen is dark red.

2nd var. The disc of the abdomen is blackish.

ord var. The abdomen is very dark green, almost black above :

the feelers are longer than the body ; the fourth joint is much

shorter than the third; the fifth is shorter than the fourth ; the

sixth is less than half the length of the fifth; the seventh is

longer than the fourth, and thick till near their tips: the base

of the mouth is dull yellow : the nectaries are as long as one-sixth

of the body: the thighs at the base and the shanks except their

tips are yellow. It pairs with the oviparous female at the end

of October and in the beginning of November.

Length of the body $-13 line; of the wings 23-44 lines.

The wingless and the winged females as usual appear alter-

nately, and the peach-tree sometimes loses all its leaves from

their ravages. Formica nigra is almost constantly attracted by

it on the peach-tree ; but when it swarms on the sloe in hedges,

its original condition, large troops of Formica rufa come to feed

on its honey.

73. Aphis Rumicis, Linn.

Aphis Rumicis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 734. 5 ; Faun. Suec. 979 ;

Fabr, Syst. Ins. 11. 385. 11; Syst. Ent. 735. 10; Ent. Syst. iv.

213. 12 ; Syst. Rhyn. 296. 12; Schrank, Faun. Boic. ii. 1.111.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 2

18 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

1204; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. i. 2203 ; Stew. El. Nat. Hist. u. 110;

Kalt. Mon. Pfian. 1. 81. 58.

A. Papaveris, Fabr. Gen. Ins. 803; Ent. Syst. iv. 218. 38;

Syst. Rhyn. 299. 38; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. i. 2202; Schrank,

Faun. Boic. uu. 1. 118. 1225 ; Rossi, Faun. Etruse. 263. 1392 ;

Leon Duf. Rech. sur les Hémipt. iv. 242. pl. 9. fig. 114, 115 ;

Fonscol. Ann. Soc. Ent. x. 162.

A. Fabe, Scop. Ent. Carn. 139. 408; Gmel. Syst. Nat. 1.

2210; Kirby and Spence, Intr. Ent. 1. 175 ; Bingley, Hist. Nat.

ill. 189; Curt. Journ. Royal Agric. vol. vu. 418. pl. R. f. 21, 22,

X. pt. i. pl. U. f. 1-4.

A. Atriplicis, Fabr. Ent. Syst. iv. 216.

A. Aparines, Fabr. Syst. Ent. 735. 8; Sp. Ins. 385. 2? 9; Ent.

Syst. iv. 211. 10; Syst. Rhyn. 291. 5? 10; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat.

1. 2208 ; Schrank, Faun. Boie. i. 105. 11838.

A. armata, Hausm. Ill. Mag. 1. 439. 30.

A. Cracca, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 735. 13; Faun. Suec. 986; Fabr.

Sp. Ins. u. 390. 46; Deg. Ins. m. 39.5 or 8? pl. 2. fig. 14, 19;

Scop. Ent. Carn. 407; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat, 1. 2205 ; Schrank,

Faun. Boic. 111. 119; Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 86. 62.

A. Vicia, Fabr. Sp. Ins. n. 390. 46; Ent. Syst. iv. 220. 51;

Syst. Rhyn. 301. 51.

A, Thlapseos, Schrank, Faun. Boic. 1. 118. 1227.

A. Gali? Kalt. Mon. Pflan. 87. 63.

A. Geniste, Scop. Ent. Carn. 1389. 409 ; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat.

i. 2210; Fons. Ann. Soc. Ent. x. 103; Kalt. Mon. Pflan. 90. —

66. .

A. Laburni, Kalt. Mon. Pflan. 85. 61.

A, Euphorbie? Kalt. Mon. Pflan. 94. 69.

Rumicifex, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. 2™¢ série, v. 478.

Meconaphis, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. 2™ série, v. 478.

Craccifex, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. 2™ série, v. 478.

Genistifex, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. 2™® série, v. 478.

A, Acetose, Linn. Syst. Nat. u. 734, 6; Fabr. Syst. Ins. i.

389. 43; Ent. Syst. iv. 220. 49; Syst. Rhyn. 301. 49; Geoff.

Ins. 496. 9; Reaum. Ins. i. 286 ; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. i. 2208.

A. Gali Seabri.? Schrank, Faun: Boie. u. 1. 105.

Cinara Rumicis, Sir Oswald Mosley, Gard. Chron. 1. 747.

A. Dahlia? Sir Oswald Mosley, Gard. Chron. i. 628.

The collier or black dolphin feeds on the following plants :—

Papaver Rheas. Rumex crispus.

somniferum. conglomeratus.

Hydrolapathum. Tragopogon pratense.

Rumex acutifolius. Serratula arvensis.

obtusifolius. Centaurea Calcitrapa.

Acetosa. Euphorbia Paralias.

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 19

Arctium Lappa. Chenopodium album.

Solanum. . Senecio vulgaris.

Scabiosa. Arctium minus.

Valeriana officinalis.

Inula dysenterica.

Hypericum perforatum,

Carduus lanceolatus.

Eryngium campestre. hirsutum.

Fumaria officinalis. quadrangulare.

Cochlearia Armoracia. Scorzonera.

Datura Stramonium.

Capsella bursa-pastoris.

Cichorium Endivia.

Lycopersicum esculentum.

Brassica Rapa.

Erodium cicutarium.

Lotus corniculatus.

Faba vulgaris.

Pisum sativum.

Phaseolus vulgaris.

coccineus.

Ononis.

Spinacia oleracea.

Vicia.

Mentha hirsuta.

Cracca.

Lamium purpureum.

Digitalis purpurea.

Cnicus arvensis.

palustris.

Anthriscus.

AEgopodium.

/Ethusa.

Galium Aparine.

verum.

Mollugo.

Achillza Ptarmica.

Nerium Oleander.

Atriplex hastata.

Lactuca.

Matricaria Chamomilla.

Chrysanthemum segetum.

leucanthemum.

Helichrysum chrysanthemum.

Beta vulgaris.

Cytisus Laburnum.

Genista tinctoria.

anglica.

Ulex europzeus.

Asparagus officinalis.

Sium latifolium.

Dahlia superflua.

frustrania.

Polygonum Persicaria.

Myosotis scorpioides.

Solidago virgaurea.

Pastinaca sativa.

Daucus Carota.

Anagallis arvensis.

Angelica sylvestris.

Verbena.

Persicaria.

Urtica urens.

Viburnum Opulus, &c. &e.

The winged race migrate to the bean in May, and then bring

forth their offspring, which at the end of June leave the withered

flowers, and fix themselves along the sutures of the pods where

their mouths can find an entrance.

- The viviparous wingless female. When young it is linear, and

dark red: the limbs are paler: when full-grown it is oval, con-

vex, plump, and dull black, and has a row of punctures on each

side : the feelers are white with black tips, and much shorter than

the body; the fourth joint is much shorter than the third ; the

fifth is hardly shorter than the fourth ; the sixth is about half the

length of the fifth ; the seventh is full as long as the third; the

mouth is white with a black tip: the nectaries are as long as one-

eighth of the body : the legs are white ; the hind-thighs excepting

the base, the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks, are

black.

Ist var. The body is dark green.

2nd var. The body is purplish black.

20 My. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides-

3rd var. The body is bronze black.

4th var. The body is shining.

5th var. The body is covered with a white bloom.

6th var. There are two stripes of white powder on the back.

7th var. The feelers and the mouth are black, dull white

towards the base.

Sth var. The feelers are nearly as long as the body.

9th var. The nectaries are as long as one-sixth of the body.

10th var. The nectaries are as long as one-twelfth of the

body.

Lith var. The tips only of the hind-thighs are black.

32th var. The legs are quite black.

13th var. Like the last, but the shanks and the fore-thighs

are dull white.

14th var. The body is dull sooty black, oval, short, and plump :

the front is convex, and has a tubercle on each side: the feelers

are much shorter than the body ; the first and the second joints

are not angular ; the fourth joint is much shorter than the third ;

the fifth is shorter than the fourth; the sixth is much shorter

than the fifth; the seventh is more than twice the length of the

sixth.

15th var. The body is black, shining, and has a slight purple

tint : the feelers are white, black at the base and towards the tips,

shorter than the body: the eyes and the mouth are black; the

base of the latter is dull white : the nectaries are as long as one-

sixth of the body : the legs are white ; the hind-thighs, excepting

the base, the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks, are

black.

16th var. The body is dull black: the feelers are white, blackish

at the tips, and half the length of the body : the base of the mouth

is dull white: the legs are white; the feet and the tips of the

shanks are black: when very young it is dark green with paler

limbs.

17th var. The body is very dark green, of moderate size, some-

times nearly black : the feelers are dull white with black tips, and

nearly as long as the body: the mouth is also dull white; its tip

and the eyes are black: the nectaries are black, and as long as

one-fourth of the body: the Jegs are white : the knees, the feet,

the tips of the shanks, of the hind-thighs, and sometimes also of

the middle thighs, are black. On Genista anglica during the

summer.

18th var.? The body is oval, dull dark red, covered with a

white bloom: the feelers are white with black tips, and hardly

more than half the length of the body: the mouth is white; its

tip and the eyes are black: the nectaries are black, and as long

as one-eighth of the body: the legs are yellowish white; the

Mr. F'. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. jae

knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks are black : it is smaller

and narrower than the preceding variety, and its colour is less

intense: when very young it is “linear, and sometimes of a pale

red or green colour: the pupa agrees in colour with the wingless

Aphis, ‘and has sometimes a green tinge. This, which may be

a distinct species, also feeds on Genista anglica.

19th var. The body is black, oval, convex, plump, smooth, and

shining, but often covered with a white bloom: the antennz are

white with black tips, and about half the length of the body ;

sometimes they are black, dull white towards the base: the

mouth is white, black towards the tip: the nectaries are as long

as one-sixth of the body: there is a short tube at the tip of the

abdomen : the fore- and the middle-legs are sometimes black, but

more often white, with the exception of their knees, feet, and the

tips of their shanks: the hind-legs are black with white shanks.

On the furze in the autumn, often attended by Formica nigra.

20th var. Black, oval, convex, of moderate size: the feelers

are pale green, and shorter than the body ; their tips are black:

the mouth also is pale green ; its tip and the eyes are black : the

nectaries are pale green, and rather less than one-sixth of the

length of the body ; their tips are black: the legs are pale green,

and moderately long; the feet and the tips of the shanks are

black. Its colour when young is dull dark green. On Dahlia

superflua in the middle of June 1846.

21st var. Very dark green, sometimes almost black : the feei-

ers and the mouth are dull white with black tips, and the former

are nearly as long as the body: the eyes and the nectaries are

black, and the latter are as long as one-fourth of the body: the

legs are white; the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks

and of the hind-thighs, and sometimes also of the middle-thighs,

are black. On Genista anglica in June.

22nd var. Velvet-like black : the feelers are white with a black

tip to each joint, and a little shorter than the body : the nectaries

are shorter than one-twelfth of the body : the legs are white with

the exception of the knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks.

Middle of October.

23rd var. Deep black: the feelers are white, and more than

half the length of the body; they are brown at the base and

towards the tips: the mouth is black: the nectaries are as long

as one-tenth of the body: the legs are white; the four hinder

thighs excepting the base, the feet, and the tips of the shanks,

are black.

24th var. The nectaries are as long as one-sixth of the body:

the legs are black ; the shanks are yellow with black tips: the

wing-ribs are white ; the wing-brands are pale brown ; the veins

are brown ; sometimes it is covered with a white bloom, and its

22 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

feelers are gray towards the base and at the tips. When young

the fore-part of the body is green; the limbs are white, but the

feelers are sometimes pale green.

25th var. Small, black, shining, not very convex, with a

slight green tinge, and having a row of punctures on each side

of the body: the feelers are about half the length of the body :

the mouth is dull green with a black tip: the nectaries are not

one-twelfth of the length of the body : the legs are dull green.

26th var. Black: feelers black, shorter than the body, pale

towards the base: the nectaries about one-eighth of the length

of the body: legs yellow; four hinder thighs excepting the base,

knees, feet and tips of shanks, black.

27th var. Body dull reddish green.

28th var. The body is dark green.

29th var. The body is small, black, slightly covered with a

white bloom, increasing in breadth from the head till near the

tip of the abdomen, which has a rim on each side: the feelers are

shorter than the body : the nectaries are about one-eighth of its

length. Found on Galium Mollugo i October near Newcastle

by Mr. Hardy.

Length of the body 1-1 line ; of the wings 23-35 lines.

The viviparous winged female. While a pupa it has a row of

white spots on each side of the abdomen, and its rudimentary

wings are very dark green: the fore-border and the hind-border

of the fore-chest are dark green: the abdomen is black, but its

colour is not so intense as that of the chest, and sometimes it is

shghtly tmged with green: the feelers are black, and shorter

than the body: the eyes are black and shiming: the mouth is

black; its base is dull green: the nectaries are black, and

rather less than one-sixth of the length of the body: the

legs are black, and moderately long; the shanks, and the fore-

thighs except their tips are yellow: the wings are colourless,

and much longer than the body ; the wing-ribs are pale yellow ;

the wing-brands and the veins are pale brown; the second vein

diverges from the third, but more from the first ; the first fork of

the third vem begs after one-third, and the second still more

beyond two-thirds of the length ; the fourth is curved moderately

and equally throughout its length ; the angle of the brand whence

it springs is distinct. Much infested by Leptus Aphidum.

Ist var. While a pupa it is pale dull olive-green, and covered

with a white bloom ; the wings are unfolded in the beginning of

July, and the insect is then small, black, and shining : the abdo-

men is very dark green or black, and has a slight white bloom

beneath : the feelers are black, and a little shorter than the body ;

the fourth joint is a little shorter than the third; the fifth is as

long as the fourth; the sixth is much shorter than the fifth, but

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 23

more than half its length ; the seventh is longer than the fifth :

the mouth is dark green ; its tip, the eyes and the nectaries are

black, and the latter are nearly one-fifth of the length of the

body : the legs are black ; the shanks except their tips, and some-

times the thighs of the fore-legs are dull yellow; in the four

hinder legs, the shanks except their tips, and sometimes the

thighs from the middle to the base are pale yellow: the

wings are colourless, and much longer than the body; the

wing-ribs are pale yellow; the wing-brands are dull yellow or

brown, and the veins are of the latter colour. It often frequents

the mulberry in the autumn, and brings forth its young ones

thereon.

2nd var. The body is black: the abdomen is very dark green :

the feelers are black, and nearly as long as the body: the mouth

is also very dark green with a black tip: the nectaries and the

tube at the tip of the abdomen are black, and the former are as

long as one-sixth of the body : the legs are black ; the base of the

fore-thighs and the shanks except their tips are dark yellow: the

wing-ribs are pale yellow; the brands are pale brown ; the veins

are brown.

3rd var. The body is black: the abdomen is dark green: the

feelers are a little shorter than the body : the mouth is dull yel-

low with a black tip: the nectaries are black, and as long as one-

sixth of the body : the legs are black ; the base of the fore-thighs

and the shanks except their tips are dark yellow: the wing-ribs

and the rib-veims are pale yellow; the brands are pale brown ;

the other veins are darker.

4th var. The body is black and very small: the feelers are a

little shorter than the body: the nectaries are as long as one-

eighth of the body: the wing-ribs and the rib-veins are yellow ;

the brands are brown: the other characters like those of the

preceding variety.

5th var. While a pupa it resembles in colour the 11th variety

of the wingless Aphis, but the white parts are more dull: there

is a row of white powder spots on each side of the body: the

rudimentary wings are pale green.

6th var. The body is black and somewhat shining : the feelers

are rather more than half the length of the body: the mouth

does not reach the middle hips: the nectaries are about one-

twelfth of the length of the body : the wings are longer than the

body ; the wing-ribs are dull green ; the brands and the veins are

brown.

7th var. While a pupa it is pale dull olive-green, covered with

a white bloom, and its limbs agree in colour with those of the

wingless female on the broom. When winged it is small, black,

and shining: the abdomen is very dark green, or black, with a slight

24 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

white bloom beneath: the feelers are black, and a little shorter

than the body ; the fourth joint isa little shorter than the third ;

the fifth is as long as the fourth; the sixth is much shorter than the

fifth, but more than half its length ; the seventh is longer than

the fifth : the mouth is dark green ; its tip and the eyes are black :

the nectaries and the legs are black; the former are nearly one-

fifth of the length of the body ; the shanks except their tips and

the four hinder thighs from the base to the middle are yellow:

the wings are much longer than the body ; the wing-ribs are pale

yellow ; the brands are dull yellow; the veins are brown. On

Genista anglica during the summer.

8th var. Like the preceding, but the fore-thighs and the fore-

shanks are dull yellow with black tips; the four hinder shanks

are pale yellow with black tips: the wing-brands are brown.

9th var. While a pupa it 1s gray: the abdomen is black, with

three interrupted white bands, and has also four white spots near

the tip : the rudimentary wings are dull green.

10th var. The body is small, and black : the feelers are longer

than the body : the eyes are red: the nectaries are as long as one-

sixth of the body: the legs are yellow; the thighs from the mid-

dle to the tips, the feet, and the tips of the shanks, are black :

the wing-ribs and the rib-veins are pale yellow ; the wing-brands

and the other veins are pale brown.

11th var. The body is black, stout, and shining: the feelers

are much shorter than the body: the mouth is pale yellow ; its

tip and the eyes are black: the nectaries are black, and about

one-sixth of the length of the body : the legs are pale yellow; the

hind-thighs except the base, the feet, and the tips of the other

thighs and of the shanks, are brown: the wing-ribs and the

brands are dull yellow ; the veins are brown. On Rumez crispus.

While a pupa the legs are black ; the fore-thighs are yellow at

the base: the rudimentary wings are dark green.

12th var. The four hinder thighs are quite black.

13th var. The body is deep black: the feelers are black, and

shorter than the body: the eyes and the mouth are black ; the

base of the latter is dull white: the nectaries are black, and as

long as one-eighth of the body : the four hinder thighs, the feet,

the knees, and the tips of the shanks are black: the wing-ribs

are pale yellow; the brands are pale green; the veins are pale

brown.

14th var. With a row of white spots on each side of the back.

15th var. Like the last, but the feelers are much shorter than

the body: the mouth is dark green at the base: the nectaries

are as long as one-tenth of the body: the legs are black; the

fore-thighs at the base, and the shanks excepting their tips are

dull yellow : the wing-ribs and the brands are brown.

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. - Ba

The oviparous wingless female. Found with the preceding, which

it much resembles, but the hind-shanks are black, wide, and

slightly curved. The eggs are laid in the beginning of October,

and occur in abundance on the spikes of the furze.

The winged male. While a pupa it resembles the wingless

Aphis: the feelers are rather more than half the length of the

body : the nectaries are as long as one-tenth of the body: the

legs are dull pale green; the feet and the tips of the thighs and

of the shanks are black: the rudimentary wings are dull green.

When the wings are unfolded it is black, and very small: the

feelers are nearly as long as the body; the fourth joint is very

nearly as long as the third ; the fifth is as long as the fourth ; the

sixth is about half the length of the fifth ; the seventh is longer

than the fifth : the mouth is yellow with a black tip: the shanks

except their tips, and the four anterior thighs at the base are

yellow: the wing-ribs are yellow; the brands and the veins are

brown.

74. Aphis Symphyti, Schrank.

Aphis Symphyti, Schrank, Faun.-Boie. ii. 1. 107.

‘The viviparous wingless female. In August 1847 I found this

species im great profusion under the leaves of the comfrey

(Symphytum officinale) near Tottenham, but could see it nowhere

else, notwithstanding the common occurrence of the plant. The

grub of Agromyza?, of an orange colour and above one line in

length, frequently devours it; an Aphidius and an Allotria are

also among its enemies. It is a small species, oval, plump,

bright yellow, with dark green nectaries ; the head is often dark

green, and sometimes this colour extends partly or wholly over

the body, and is more or less mingled with yellow. It discolours

the leaves of the comfrey, which are nevertheless adorned by its

bright and many-coloured clusters. The forehead is convex in

the middle, and has a slight tubercle on each side at the base of

the feelers: the mouth reaches the middle hips: the feelers are

setaceous, and shorter than the body ; the fourth joint is shorter

than the third; the fifth is a little shorter than the fourth; the

sixth isa little more than half the length of the fifth ; the seventh

is more than twice the length of the sixth: the fore-chest has a

suture across the middle ; its sides are slightly convex : the nec-

taries vary in length from one-sixth to one-twelfth of the length

of the body, and in. some cases where they are shortest, the legs

also are very short, and the feelers are much less than half the

length of the body: the fore-legs are but little shorter than the

hind-legs ; the shanks are straight.

Ist var. The body is dark green, with a white bloom, and

mottled with paler green : the feelers are yellow with brown tips,

26 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

and a little shorter than the body : the eyes are black : the mouth

is pale yellow with a black tip: the nectaries are black, and

nearly as long as one-fourth of the length of the body : the tube

at the tip of the abdomen is pale green : the legs are yellow, and

moderately long ; the feet and the tips of the shanks are brown.

2nd var. The body like the last, but with a metallic lustre.

The viviparous winged female. This, as usual, has a dark colour

on the chest, the breast, and some parts of the abdomen. Soon

after the middle of the fore-border of the wing its main vein

begins to widen rather abruptly into an irregularly spindle-shaped

brand: the fourth vein springs from a hardly perceptible angle

of this brand, and is moderately curved ; the third vein is obsolete

at its source ; it is forked after one-third of its length, and forked

again long after two-thirds of its length: in some instances the

lower branch and in others the upper branch of the second fork

are wanting; the first vein diverges from the second more than

the second diverges from the third. It sometimes contaims ten

young ones, all of the same size. ;

1st var. While a pupa it resembles the wingless insect, but

the body is elliptical, the feelers and the legs are darker, the

rudimentary wings are pale green. The winged Aphis is black :

the borders of the fore-chest are green: the abdomen is dark

green: the feelers are black, and shorter than the body: the

mouth is black, dark green at the base: the nectaries are black,

and as long as one-sixth of the body: the legs are black, and

moderately long; the fore-thighs are yellow at the base: the

wings are colourless, and very much longer than the body; the

wing-ribs are pale yellow; the brands and the veins are brown.

Length of the body 3-3 line; of the wings 13-21 lines.

75. Aphis Nymphee, Linn.

Aphis Nymphee, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 714. 10; Faun. Suee.

9838; Fabr. Ent. Syst. iv. 214. 18; Syst. Rhyn. 297. 18; Schrank,

Faun. Boic. i. 1. 117. 1224; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. 1. 2204;

Miller, Ins. 1264; Turt. 1. 703; Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 104. 79;

Fonscol. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. x.

A. Butomi, Schrank, Faun. Boic. ii. 114. 1212.

Nympheifex, Amyot, Aun. Soc. Ent. Fr. 24 série, v. 478.

This species feeds on the following water-plants : Nymphea

alba, N. lutea, Alisma Plantago, Butomus umbellatus, Potamo-

geton natans, Sagittaria sagittifolia, Utricularia vulgaris, Hydro-

cotyle vulgaris, Fontederia cordata, and some other species. It

has an unfailing supply of moist and nourishing food, and ac-

cordingly seems to multiply more abundantly than any other

species.

The viviparous wingless female. Deep olive-green, shining, and

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 27

having a metallic tint: the front has a tubercle in the middle

and a smaller one on each side: the feelers are black, very often

pale green at the base, and much shorter than the body; the first

and the second veins are not angular ; the fourth is much shorter

than the third; the fifth is a little shorter than the fourth ; the

sixth is much shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is about thrice

the length of the sixth : the mouth is dull green ; its tip and the

eyes are black : there is a red spot, sometimes obsolete, on each

side of the abdomen by the nectaries which are reddish yellow

with black tips, and about one-sixth of the length of the body:

the legs are black, moderately long, and slightly covered with a

white bloom. The young one is comparatively pale, narrow, flat,

and linear.

lst var. Reddish green, mottled with black.

2nd var. Nearly black.

The viviparous winged female. This much resembles the pre-

ceding form, with the exception of its darker colour, and of the

usual difference in structure : the wings are colourless, and much

longer than the body; the first vein hardly diverges more from

the second than the latter does from the third; the third vein

has its first fork after one-third, and its second still further

beyond two-thirds of its length ; the fourth vein is more curved

at its base than towards its tip, and the angle whence it springs

is very slight. Length of the body 1 line ; of the wings 3 lines.

Variation in the wing-veins. The upper division of the second

fork is wanting.

The glutinous matter which covers this species assumes, like

that of Aphis Roboris, a fine red colour when mixed with Canada

balsam.

76. Aphis Sambuci, Linn.

Aphis Sambuci, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 734.4; Faun. Suec. 998 ;

Fabr. Syst. Ins. n. 384. 3; Ent. Syst. iv. 211. 4; Syst. Rhyn.

294. 4; Lister, Ins. 397. 40; Geoff. Ins. 1. 495. 3; Frisch. Ins.

un. 14. pl. 18 ; Réaum. Ins. ni. 281-350. pl. 21. fig. 5-15 ; Gmel.

ed. Syst. Nat. i. 2202; Bonnet, Hist. Nat. 1.; Berk. Syn.i. 110;

Stew. El. 1. 110; Turt. 11. 703 ; Schrank, Faun. Boie. nu. 1. 111.

1202; Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 83. 60.

Cinara Sambuci, Sir Oswald Mosley, Gard. Chron. 1. 827.

Sambucifex, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 24 série, v. 477.

The viviparous wingless female. This is oval, dull, very plump,

and of a deep green colour: the sutures of the segments beneath

are more distinct than those above : the feelers are slender, seta-

ceous, almost white, and about one-third of the length of the

body: the mouth is pale green: the eyes are dark brown: the

nectaries are dark green, and about one-twelfth of the length of

28 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

the body : the legs are dull pale green, slender, and rather short ;

the knees are somewhat darker. On the leaves of the elder in

the middle of March 1846.

1st var. Extremely dark green, apparently black, covered with

a white bloom, and having a row of pufictures on each side of the

body: the front is slightly convex, and not notched: the feelers

are black, and rather more than half the length of the body ; the

first and the second joints are not angular; the fourth joint is

much shorter than the third; the fifth is a little shorter than the

fourth ; the sixth is much shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is

much more slender than the sixth, and nearly twice its length:

the eyes are also black: the mouth is very dark green: the nec-

taries are black, and about one-eighth of the length of the body,

and slightly tapering: the legs are very dark green, and mode-

rately long. When young it is green, linear, and somewhat

narrow and flat. In thick swarms on the shoots of the elder,

which are sometimes quite hidden by the clusters, from the end

of May to July.

2nd var. Like the preceding, but with a reddish tinge.

ord var. The body is green.

4th var. The nectaries are about one-sixth of the length of the

body.

The viviparous winged female. While a pupa it is elliptical,

rather paler and more fiat than the wingless female, and it has

interrupted white bands across the abdomen: the chest and the

rudiments of the wings are green, and they have sometimes a

reddish tinge. When winged the body is rather large, black,

shining, nearly linear : the feelers are black, stout and thick, and

more than half the length of the body ; the fourth joint is much

shorter than the third; the fifth is full as long as the fourth;

the sixth is rather more than half the length of the fifth; the

seventh is longer than the sixth: the abdomen beneath and the

mouth are very dark green: the nectaries are black, and about

one-sixth of the length of the body: the legs are black ; the

fore-thighs are dark green at the base: the wings are slightly

gray, and not much longer than the body; the wing-ribs are

yellowish white ; the brands are pale brown ; the veins are black,

strongly marked, and very slightly clouded ; the first vein diverges

more from the second than the second from the third ; the latter

is obsolete at its source, and its first fork is after one-third, and

its second still more after two-thirds of its length ; the fourth

vein is moderately curved at its base, nearly straight towards its

tip, and the angle whence it springs is very slight. Length of

the body 1-1} line ; of the wings 23-33 lines.

[To be continued. ]

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Salpiglossis. 29

IV.—Contributions to the Botany of South America.

By Joun Minurs, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S.

[Continued from vol. iv. p. 363.]

SALPIGLOSSIS.

Upon a former occasion (fw. op. i. p. 172) many reasons were

adduced to show why the tribe of the Salpiglossidee, as constituted

by Mr. Bentham (DC. Prodr. x. 190), could not be maintained,

and I proposed to limit that tribe simply to Salpiglossis, Browallia,

Leptoglossis, and anew genus Pteroglossis, all being distinguished

by their singularly dilated stigma and the peculiar mode of eesti-

vation of the corolla. A careful examination of Leptoglossis

schwenckioides has since then offered reasons for placing that

genus among the Petuniee. The Salpiglossidee, however, as

thus limited, are evidently most intimately allied to the Petuniea,

agreeing with them in a somewhat similar form of stigma, the

development of their stamens, their capsular fruit, and the very

spiral form of the embryo in Salpiglossis, and differmg from them

only in their didynamous stamens and the estivation of the

corolla. The didynamous arrangement of the stamens does not

appear to me to offer a sufficient reason for keeping them in an

ordinal point of view apart from the Petuniee, and for retaining

them in the Scrophulariacee ; indeed in the Petuniee and Nico-

tianee, we find an evident tendency towards a didynamous struc-

ture, for one of the stamens is constantly shorter than the others,

which are in two pairs, while the anther of the fifth is always

somewhat smaller, and frequently almost sterile; and on the

other hand, I have observed occasionally in Salpiglossis a fifth

fertile stamen, showing a disposition to return to its normal con-

dition ; and I have also before me an instance of a flower with

three pairs of stamens, varying in length, with a seventh shorter

one, the anther of which, though smaller than the others, is fer-

tile. The position of the Sa/piglossidee in the natural system

appears to me therefore manifestly in the family which I propose

to call Atropacee, or if considered only as a suborder, Atropinee,

according to the arrangement there shown (loc. cit. p. 165).

There is little in the genus Sa/piglossis that calls for observa-

tion ; one peculiar feature however claims attention, the singular

form of its pollen-grains: these are comparatively large and rea-

dily distinguished under a common lens, each granule consisting

of four agglutinated spherical globules similar in form to the

simple pollen-grains of most Solanacee and Scrophulariacee :

three of these globules are on the same plane, the other being

superimposed in the centre, thus forming a sort of rounded tetra-

hedron, and they adhere so completely that they cannot be sepa-

30 Mr. J. Miers on the genus Salpiglossis.

rated without bursting. The fact is noticed by Mr. Hassall in

his memoir “ On the Structure of Pollen” (Ann. Nat. Hist. vii.

100), who states that so curious a circumstance is not singular,

as it occurs in Oxyanthus in Cinchonacee, Leschenaultia in Goode-

niacee, and in some species only of Kpilobium in Onagracee :

the same is also observable in all the genera of the EHpacridee

and of Ericacee, with the exception of Clethra, where they are

simple. From these analogous facts it is evident that this com-

pound structure of the pollen-grains is not of sufficient import-

ance to affect in any way the ordinal position of Salpiglossis.

Mr. Bentham mentions only a single species of this genus, as

he considers all our garden kinds as mere varieties of S. sinuata.

On this head I may remark, that I found in Chile, plants which

I always considered to be two very distinct species, viz. S. stnuata

(my S. glutinosa) and my S. purpurea (Trav. il. p. 531); but I

have little doubt that S. picta, S. Barclayana, S. fulva, S. inter-

media, &c. are all hybrid productions from these two species. I

always met with S. stnuata growimg near the coast, its corolla

being constantly of a yellowish white, with brownish stripes ; on

the contrary, I invariably found S. purpurea at a much greater

elevation near the foot of the main Cordillera, or within its

gorges, its flowers being always of a dark lilac, with deep purple

lines, and never of the yellowish hue so conspicuous in S. sinuata.

I cannot however refer to my original specimens, as they were un-

fortunately lost off Cape Horn with my general Chile collections ;

but the coloured drawings of both species made in 1820, and

which I have preserved, serve to impress these facts strongly on

my memory. From the several dried specimens of Salpiglossis

in Sir Wiliam Hooker’s herbarium collected by Gillies, Cuming

and Bridges, we may detect at a glance the two different species.

The following I consider as the amended diagnosis of this

genus :—

Satpietossis, R. & P. (char. emend.).—Calyz tubulosus, 10-

nervis, 5-dentatus, dentibus subzequalibus, attenuatis, obtu-

siusculis. Corolla ifundibuliformis, tubo imo cylindraceo,

superne campanulata, compressa, limbo 5-lobo, obliquo, sub-

bilabiato, lobis profunde emarginatis, superiore majore, erec-

tiore, zestivatione reciprocativa*. Stamina 5, inclusa, quorum

4 didynama, quinto breviori, sterili ; filamenta subulata, e con-

strictione tubi orta; anthere ovate, 2-lobe, basi cordate, sub-

versatiles, lobis adnatis, rma marginali dehiscentibus ; pollen

compositum, e granulis 4 aggregatis, quorum 1 superpositum.

Ovarium conicum, disco carnoso sub-2-lobo impositum, 2-locu-

lare ; placente centrales, dissepimento utrinque adnate, multi-

* Ann. Nat, Hist. 2nd Ser. vol. iii. p. 172.

_ Mr. J. Miers on the genus Salpiglossis. 31

ovulate. Stylus exsertus, apice compressus, incrassatus, sub-

incurvus. Stigma majusculum, transverse dilatatum, semi-

lunare, bilabiato-emarginatum. Capsula oblonga, calyce per-

sistente tecta, 2-locularis, septicido-2-valvis, valvis chartaceo-

coriaceis, 2-fidis, placenta centralidemum solutis. Semina plu-

rima, minuta, subangulata, hilo laterali; testa striato-rugosa.

Embryo intra albumen carnosum spiraliter curvatus, teres, ra-

dicula arcuata, ad angulum basalem spectante, cotyledonibus

4-plo longiore.—Herbz Chilenses glanduloso-pubescentes ; folia

alterna, lanceolata, inferioribus sinuato-laciniatis, petiolatis, su-

perioribus linearibus, sessilibus, sinuatis, floriferis linearibus,

subbracteiformibus. Inflorescentia paniculata, floribus pedicel-

latis, pedicels extra-axillaribus ; corolla straminea vel pur-

purea, lineis anastomosantibus picta.

1. Salpiglossis sinuata, R. & P. Syst. Veg. 163; Prodr. tab. 19.

S. glutinosa, Miers, Trav. 1.531. 8. straminea, Hook. Ezot.

Fl. p. 229. 8S. picta, Sweet, Br. Fl. Gard. tab. 258; Hook.

Bot. Mag. tab. 3365 ;—omnino viscoso-pubescens, foliis infe-

rioribus laxis, lanceolatis, acute pinnatifido-incisis, superiori-

bus breviter petiolatis, inciso-dentatis, laciniis acutis, floralibus

sessilibus, linearibus, integris, bracteiformibus ; corolla lineis

violaceis picta, tubo lutescente, limbo stramineo.—Chile, ora

littorali, in herb. Hook. (Gillies, Mathews, Cuming, Bridges).

This plant, well known in our gardens, grows to the height of

2 or 3 feet. Its leaves are of more delicate texture, always longer,

narrower, and more deeply incised into acute segments than in

the following species: they are 5 inches long, including the

petiole, on which they are decurrent, and 14 inch broad, or 7

lines across at the base of the incisures. I observe a note upon

my drawings, stating that in this species, the two lower stamens,

between which the sterile one is situated, form the longest pair,

while in S. purpurea the same stamens form the shorter pair,

and I have found this in the dried specimens I have examined,

but I cannot at this distance of time assert it to be a fact of

constant occurrence.

2. Salpiglossis purpurea, Miers, Trav. 11. p. 531 ;—viscoso-pubes-

cens, foliis radicalibus confertis, elliptico-oblongis, apice obtu-

siusculis, imo in petiolum elongatum cuneatis, margine grosse

et obtuse dentatis, crassis, caulinis integrioribus, lanceolatis,

obtusis, petiolo abbreviato, floralibus linearibus, sessilibus, brac-

teiformibus ; corolla tubo purpureo, limbo violaceo, reticulatim

picta.—In Andibus Chilensibus, v. s. in herb. Hook., Gillies

(S. andicola, MSS.).

Var. 8. atropurpurea, Graham. Corolla reticulatim nigro-picta,

limbo profunde purpureo. Cuming.

32 Mr. J. Miers on the genus Pteroglossis.

This plant seldom exceeds a height of 15 or 18 inches: it has

a stronger and more woody stem, and may easily be distinguished

from the former species by its radical leaves, which are of thicker

texture, broader in proportion, shorter and more elliptic, with

short obtuse teeth, and not deeply divided with acute incisures,

as in S, picta: the radical leaves, including the attenuated pe-

tiole, are 34 inches in length, the limb being 2} inches long and

11 Imes broad.

PTEROGLOSSIS.

Among the very curious and interesting plants collected by

Bridges in the vicinity of Coquimbo, is one that will constitute a

new genus, near Salpiglossis. It is a plant with pinnatifid leaves,

only in a few of the lower axils, those above being reduced to a

linear form; its ascending stems are widely diffuse im many

spreading dichotomous branchlets, which are very slender and

terete ; the leaves at each axil are gradually diminished to the

size of very short linear bracts, which support a few solitary one-

flowered peduncles. The corolla, though smaller, has much the

shape of that of Salpiglossis, with didynamous included stamens,

and it possesses the peculiar estivation of the Salpiglossidee.

The most remarkable feature consists in the unusually broad ex-

pansion of its stigma, which hoods the lower pair of stamens,

somewhat after the manner of Nierembergia, its winged appen-

dages being quite membranaceous, decurrent for some length

upon the style, and marked with numerous parallel radiating

nervures, which terminate in its lacerated or crenulate margins.

The name above proposed is derived from zrepov, ala, and

yAodooa, lingua, because of its broadly winged stigma.

Preroctossis (gen. nov.).—Calyx tubulosus, subcylindricus,

breviter 5-dentatus, 10-nervis, dentibus acutis. Corolla in-

fundibuliformis, tubo imo coarctato, hine ventricoso, 15-striato,

limbo expanso, inequaliter 5-lobo, sub-bilabiato, lobis omni-

bus emarginatis, superior longiori et latiori, zestivatione reci-

procativa*. Stamina 4, didynama, inclusa, postica longiora ;

filamenta dilatata, apice angustata. Anthere ovate, 2-lobe,

imo divaricate, apice sine connectivo in sinu apicifix, rima

marginali dehiscentes. Ovarium disco carnoso sub 2-lobo im-

positum, stipitatum, 2-loculare, placentis centralibus disse-

pimento adnatis, multiovulatis. Stylus apice dilatatus, in-

flexus. Stigma bialatum, emarginatum, superne carinatum,

infra planum, glandula viscoso in sinu notatum, alis latis,

membranaceis, in stylum longe decurrentibus, radiatim nervo-

sis, margine sublaceratis, staminibus inferioribus amplecten-

* Ann. Nat. Hist. 2nd Ser. iii. p. 172.

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Pteroglossis. 33

tibus. Capsula calyce persistente tecta, 2-locularis, 2-valvis,

valvis semibifidis, placenta centrali demum solutis. Semina

ignota.—Planta Chilensis subglabra, radice lignosa perenni,

caulibus plurimis adscendentibus, gracilibus, laxis, divaricatim

ramosis ; folia alterna, inferioribus sinuato-pinnatifidis ; pedun-

culi uniflori, axillares, paniculam laxam efformantes.

1. Pteroglossis lava ;—subglabra, ramosissima, ramis plurimis,

teretibus, gracilibus, laxe divaricatis, nodis distantibus ; foliis

axillaribus, inferioribus oblongis, sinuato-pinnatitidis, in pe-

tiolum spathulatis, sub lente minutissime pubescentibus, me-

diis linearibus, supremis floriferis in bracteis parvis decrescen-

tibus: pedunculis solitariis, viscoso-pubescentibus, unifloris ;

floribus parvulis ; corolla straminea, lineis violaceis picta.—

Coquimbo, in herb. Hook. (Bridges, no. 1839).

This plant has very much the habit of Schwenkia americana :

the root is ligneous, as well as a short perennial woody stump,

from which arise several somewhat erect branches 12 to 18

inches long, which are evidently deciduous ; these are slender,

terete, glabrous, flexuosely brachiate at each axil, and again

dichotomously branched : below, the axils are more approximate,

above widely distant. The lower leaves are sinuato-pinnatifid,

about 1 to 11 inch long including the petiole, and 3 lines broad

Including the segments; to the naked eye they appear quite

smooth, but under the lens they are seen to be invested by nu-

merous, very short, minute hairs: these leaves gradually dimi-

nish to the size of 3 to 1 inch long and only half a line broad,

and as they ascend they become smaller, till they arrive at the

terminal floriferous branchlets, where they assume the form of

linear bracts, scarcely a line in length and 3th of a line broad;

from each of these springs a very slender glandular pubescent

peduncle, about half an inch in length, bearing a solitary flower ;

the calyx is 1} line long, tubular, and crowned by five equal

fleshy erect teeth; the corolla is about 4 lines long, of a yel-

lowish colour, marked by about fifteen violet-coloured, parallel,

branching lines ; the tube is contracted and cylindrical below for

one-third of its length, above this it is ventricose, with a border

of five, oblong, rcunded and emarginate patent lobes, the upper

one of which is somewhat longer and broader; they assume in

zstivation that peculiar mode of plication which I have called

reciprocative (Joc. cit. 172); the didynamous stamens are in-

cluded, arising from the contracted portion of the tube; the

ovarium is oblong, 2-grooved, imbedded in a fleshy 2-lobed cup

borne upon a short stipitate support, and surrounded by the in-

duvial remains of the corolla; the style is slender, the length of

the stamens, inflexed at its apex, and gradually widening consi-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 3

34. Mr. J. Miers on the genus Leptoglossis.

derably by the broad decurrent wings of the stigma, which hood

the anthers of the somewhat shorter pair of stamens: the stigma

is broad, membranaceous, deeply emarginate at its apex, consti-

tuting two distinct rounded wi ngs, marked by numerous radia-

ting nervures ; it forms altogether a galeate head, flattened on the

under side and keeled on the upper surface by the prominent

sharp margin of the style, which carinated edge is terminated in

the sinus by a viscous globular gland. The capsule is small,

consisting of two bifid valves, parallel to the dissepiment, and

iclosed by the persistent calyx. I had no opportunity of exa-

mining its seeds *,

LEPToGLossIs.

This genus was founded by Mr. Bentham, in the ‘ Botany’ of

the Voyage of the Sulphur, for a Peruvian plant, which has not

yet been figured, nor have the details of its structure been

hitherto delineated or minutely examined. It possesses much

the habit of a Browallia, to which it offers some resemblance

in the form of its corolla; but it differs from that genus m

having a fifth sterile stamen and in the shape of its stigma,

which is intermediate between that of Pteroglossis and of Salpi-

glossis or Nierembergia. No opportunity had presented itself for

examining the eestivation of the corolla of Leptoglossis when I

offered the remarks upon the tribe of the Salpiglossidee (Aun.

Nat. Hist. 2nd Ser. 11.173) ; but recent observation has enabled

me to state that it is decidedly imbricative, and as far as can be

judged from well-macerated dried specimens, it is apparently of

that modification which I have called replicative (Joc. cit. 173),

the postical lobe being altogether interior, as in Nierembergia

and Petunia. The alliance of Leptoglossis is clearly with the two

latter genera, agreeing with the former in its small lanceolate

leaves, its calyx, its slender tubular corolla, in the dilatation of

its stigma, in the long stipitate support of the ovarium, in its

persistent ‘hy pogynous “glands, and in its stipitate capsule. With

the latter genus it agrees in the obliquity of the border of its

corolla, and the somewhat palate-like enlargement of the tube

below the throat. The position of Leptoglossis is manifestly

among the Pefuniee, and not in the Salpiglossidea, as suggested

in the tabular arrangement (/oc. cit. p. 165). It appears to me

to hold no relation whatever to Schwenkia.

The following generic character has been made, after a careful

analysis of the plant referred to :—

Lerroctossis, Bth.non D.C. Char. emend.—Calyz brevis, tu-

bulosus, nervis 15 in seriebus 5 ternariis pressius ordinatis,

* This plant, with its analytical details, will be shown in plate 52 of the

‘ Illustr. South Amer. Plants.’

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Leptoglossis. 35

interstitiis eveniis membranaceis, 5-anguloso-sulcatus, 5-den-

tatus, dentibus acutis linearibus callo-mucronatis. Corolla

tubularis, elongatus, tubo imo carnosulo 5-sulcato constricta,

medio subcylindrica, in faucem antice breviter ventricosa,

limbo obliquo, 5-lobo, lobis suborbicularibus, 2 anticis mino-

ribus reflexis, postico erectiusculo, zstivatione imbricata, veri-

similiter replicativa. Stamina 5, ineequalia, inclusa, quorum

4 didynama, cum quinto sterili ; fidamenta subdilatata, tenuis-

sima, posticorum e coarctatione tubi orta, anticorum dimidio

breviora medio corollee inserta, sterili sub- breviore intermedio ;

anthere in faucem conniventes, stigmate deflexo cireumplexee,

2-lobze, in sinu apicifixe, lobis basi divaricatis, apice sine con-

nectivo connatis, et rima marginali bivalvatim transverse hian-

tibus ; posticorum dimidio minore ; sterili oblonga, cassa, erecta.

Pollen simplex, globosum, 3-sulcatum. Ovarium oblongum, co-

nicum, longiuscule stipitatum, glandulis 5, carnosis, coloratis,

subliberis, rotundatis, summo stipitis connatis, et discum hy-

pogynum cupuliformem persistentem fingentibus, 2-loculare,

placentis centralibus, multiovulatis, dissepimento utrinque ad-

natis. Stylus tenuis, inclusus, apice incurvatus, compressus,

valde dilatatus. Stigma emarginato-2-labiatum, lobis latis-

simis, brevibus, truncatis, intus incrassatis et viscoso-glandu-

losis, inferne longe auriculatis et membranaceis, antheras am-

plectentibus. Capsula calyce persistente tecta, 2-locularis,

septicide 2-valvis, valvis semibifidis, placenta centrali demum

solutis. Semina plurima, parva, reticulato-favosa ; cetera ig-

nota.—Herba Peruviana viscoso-pubescens ; folia alterna, parva,

sessilia, lanceolata, integra ; cyme plurime, alterne, terminales,

ex axillis foliorum superiorum lateraliter orte, longe et paten-

tim pedunculate ; flores parvult, pedicellati, confer ti; corolla

allida.

1. Leptoglossis Schwenkioides, Bth. Voy. Sulph. 14:3 ;—undique

viscoso-pubescens ; foliis lineari-lanceolatis, acutis, 1-nervus,

apice callosis, sessilibus, in turionibus szepe fasciculatis, supe-

rioribus decrescentibus ; corolla tenui, glabra, intus imo re-

trorsim pilosa.—Peruvia, v. s. in herb. Hook. (Huamantango,

Barclay ; Peru, Mathews, no. 1011; Cuming, no. 1010).

This plant has very much the habit of some of the small-leaved

species of Petunia ; its branches are virgate, the leaves 6 to 9 lines

long, 1 to 12 line broad; the floral branchlets are about 1 inch

long, generally with three to five flowers at the extremity of each ;

the pedicels are very short ; the calyx 2 lines in flower, 3 lines in

fruit ; the tube of the corolla is 8-9 lines in length, 1 line broad,

the border 3-4 lines in diameter ; the capsule is 2 lines long *.

* A figure of this species, with sectional details, will be given in plate 53

of the ‘ Illustr. South Amer. Plants.’

36 Prof. Link on the Structure of the Orchidacez.

V.—Observations on the Structure of the Orchidacee, particu-

larly the Vaidee. By Prof. H. F. Link *.

Linpey, who has contributed so much to the knowledge of the

Orchidacez, gives them the following character in his ‘ Vege-

table Kingdom.’ He ascribes to them a trifoliate calyx, a tri-

foliate corolla, the third segment of which, the labellum, is of

very different form from the other two; further, three stamens,

of which either the two outermost are abortive, and only the in-

termediate one bears an anther, or the intermediate one is abor-

tive, and the two outer bear anthers; finally, three divisions of

the stigma. In reference to the stamens and the stigma he

wholly follows R. Brown. But he directs attention to an ano-

maly, relating to the stigma, which consists in the fact that the

seminiferous portions of the ovary are not opposite to the lobes

of the stigma, but alternate with them, as the seedless portions

occur in a line with the lobes; so that we ought therefore to say

that the ovary consists of six carpellary leaves.

R. Brown came to the idea that the Orchidacez have properly

three stamens, from the circumstance that there occurs very fre-

quently, especially in the New Holland Orchidacez, on each side

of the anther-bearmg column, an appendix which represents

those stamens. He observes indeed, that those appendices also

occur when, from a higher degree of development, three stamens

are present, for we have examples of this; and he does not con-

ceal that these appendices are devoid of vessels, but he adds that

he does not consider the presence of these as determining an

organ. It appears to me however, in opposition to the opimion

of this celebrated observer, that the presence of such vessels 1s

indispensably necessary to the determination of an organ. For

in all the organs of the Phanerogamia the vascular bundles (of

spiral or pseudo-porous vessels, or both together) form the foun-

dation of the organ, nay, even determine its form, and there is

no organ of any importance without them. In the Naiadez, and

if instead of Phanerogamia we use the more definite word Pha-

nerophytes, in the Mosses, tubes or elongated cells occur instead

of them in the interior of the organ. From this it follows that

they are the sap-bringing vessels. It is requisite to know there-

fore what is the condition of the vascular bundles in the column

of the Orchidacean flower, when stamens and style are united.

Before we enter upon this inquiry, the followmg remarks are

necessary. All botanists, except Linnzeus, make the labellum a

division or leaflet of the perigone and of its inner circle, which

* Extract from a Treatise read before the Berlin Academy of Sciences ;

translated from the ‘ Botanische Zeitung,’ by Arthur Henfrey, F.L.S.

Prof. Link on the Structure of the Orchidacer. 37

Lindley calls the corolla.. Yet the labellum never stands in a

circle with the two leaflets of this corolla, but always with the

column (columna, gymnostemium), in which stamens and style are

blended together ; indeed in most cases it is itself confluent with

this. Lindley himself mentions this, and adds, that im some

species of the Cape genus Pier; ygodium the labellum proceeds

from the apex of the column. If in these cases we should assume

an external adherence of the labelluin to the column, which how-

ever in some, especially in Scaphyglottis, could not be supposed,

on account of the insensible transition, then the base of it

ought to stand in a circle with the leaflets of the corolla, which

never happens. Even in the cases where the labellum appears

quite separate from the column, in Cattleya, many Mazillarie,

and also in our indigenous species of Orchidacez, there is always

a confluence of the base with the column, above the leaflets of

the corolla. It does not admit of doubt, that the prevalence of

the number three in the class of Monocotyledons gave rise to the

idea that the labellum belongs to the corolla. But facts are pre-

ferable to opinions.

Moreover if we examine the upper side of the column in the

indigenous Orchidacee, e. g. in Orchis itself, we see a part, broad

below and running up into a point above, embracing the two

anther-cells. This is evidently a connecticulum ; that is, the upper

expanded part of the stamen, which bears the two chambers of

the anther. If we make a transverse section, first through the

upper part of the column, where the excavation of the stigma is

still shallow, we see a large vascular bundle on the outer side;

further in, another smaller; but not a trace of a vascular bundle

on either side. Lower down, where the cavity of the stigma is

much expanded, we find three vascular bundles, but in a straight

line from the upper surface to the cavity of the stigma. The

three vascular bundles cannot therefore denote three stamens,

but belong only to the one stamen and the style, im which the

vascular bundles usually surround the stigmatic canal on two or

three sides. The lateral wings, which are here very thick and

arched, certainly have delicate spiral vessels, but horizontal m

direction, while if they belonged to stamens they ought to run

vertically from below upward.

When we examine, further, the column of one of the Vandee

or Epidendree, we find the operculum of the anther, which like-

wise represents a connecticulum, distinctly surrounded by another

part, which is very often furnished with various appendices and

wings, clearly belonging to the external envelope of the column.

I have given an enlarged transverse section in my Anatomical

Plates, pl. 19 & 20, from Epidendrum elongatum. Here the stig-

matic canal is surrounded by a quantity of vascular bundles,

38 Prof. Link on the Structure of the Orchidacee.

among which one on each side might readily be supposed to

indicate a stamen on each side. The other canal, which is there

represented, originates from the confluence of the labellum with

the column, and whenever fertilization was artificially effected, I

found poilen-tubes in this canal also. Similar transverse sections

of the column of other Vandee always exhibit a quantity of vas-

cular bundles surrounding the stigmatic canal. It is clear there-

fore that there is still another part which surrounds the column,

and with the labellum represents a special organ, which must be

referred to the Linnean nectary or to an accessory corolla (para-

corolla). This accessory corolla has two lips; one, the upper lip,

blended with the column, the lower lip being the labellum.

The comparison of the Orchidacee with the Alpiniacez lies

near, and indeed has been occasionally made, although mostly

superficially. The calyx of the Alpiniacee is spathaceously tri-

foliate, and, according to Lindley, corresponds to the calyx of

the Orchidacez : the corolla of the Alpiniacez always has two

divisions ; the outer tripartite envelope can only be compared, ac-

cording to Lindley, with the corolla of the Orchidacee, where

however that third leaflet is wanting, being absorbed, as it were,

into the labellum situated above it. There is nothing in the

flower of the Orchidacez corresponding to the inner division of

the flower of the Alpiniacez, unless the envelope of the column,

above spoken of, is taken into consideration. This, together with

the labellum, corresponds to the imner portion of the flower of

the Alpiniaceze, in which there is always a well-marked labellum,

and very. often, for instance in Hedychium and Globba, an upper

lip, which is merely not blended with the stamens and style as

in the Vandee. This upper lip is often wanting and the label-

tum exists alone, as in Alpinia, Zingiber and Kempferia, just as

in our indigenous Ophrydee. The connecticulum is very much

expanded in the Alpiniacez, and so it is in the common anthers

of the Ophrydee, as well as in the calyptrate anthers of the

Vandee, and indeed in all Orchidaceze the two anther-cells are

connected above by a membranous or fleshy portion, which may

be aptly named a connecticulum.

As to the anthers, I will merely observe that the pollen of the

Vandee does not always lie naked upon the cellular body which

serves as its basis, but is inclosed in a delicate membrane of an-

gular parenchymatous cells, as I have distinctly seen in many,

particularly in Huntleya violacea.

Cypripedium is not diandrous. The column divides into two

branches, each of which bears an anther-cell with two pollen-

masses. This division of the column alone distinguishes this

genus from the rest. Only one anther exists, but its chambers

are very much separated, as is usual in the Alpimacee. My re-

Prof. Link on the Structure of the Orchidacee. 39

searches were made on Cypripedium spectabile, as the commonest

species in our gardens. When we examine a transverse section

of the column, it may readily be imagined that the two anthers

are actually separate. There are three vascular bundles around

the stigmatic canal, and besides these, another above and one on

each side, as if belonging to two anthers. But we see just the

same in Calanthe veratrifolia, to which we certainly cannot ascribe

two separate anthers. As a general rule however, there exist

other vascular bundles besides the three situated around the

stigmatic canal ; these have already been spoken of.

In regard to the stigma, there is no doubt that we must, with

Robert Brown, call it three-lobed. In every transverse section

made through the column, we find a triple excavation of the

stigmatic canal. These excavations are often divided again. Thus

we find it in Gongora maculata, of which I have given a mag-

nified representation im the Anatomical Plates (Heft i. tab. 20) ;

_ also in Stanhopea eburnea and Mazillaria macrochila, &e. Lind-

ley’s view that the capsule is composed of six carpellary leaves is

confirmed by transverse sections at the apex of the germen.

I have nothing new to add to what I formerly made known

relating to the remarkable structure of the germinating embryo

(Select Anatomico-Botanical Plates, part 2. pl. 7); and I still

believe that the embryo is not a tuber, in its rudimentary con-

dition, but is nevertheless formed in an analogous manner.

It might be said that the formation of tubers is an especial

peculiarity of the Orchidaces, for when the roots are not tuber-

ous, the stem strives to become so. The pseudo-bulbi, as Lind-

ley calls them, are tuberously-developed internodes. The in-

ternal structure is the same as in the stem of Monocotyledons in

general ; woody bundles are situated in a circle in a loose paren-

chyma; only here, from the thickness of the internode, there are

more circles than is usual elsewhere. A speciality occurs in

these. Each woody bundle is composed, as usual, internally of

spiral vessels, on the outside of which lie pseudo-porous vessels ;

to these follow pseudo-porous parenchymatous cells which be-

come successively narrower, and at last appear as prosenchyma-

tous cells ; at the outvide, where the larger parenchyma begins,

he the tubercular tubes of which I will speak immediately. To-

ward the interior, near the axis of the tuberous internode, we

find the same series, only the pseudo-porous vessels are wanting.

Those tubes which I have mentioned are relatively rather wide,

without transverse septa, so far as I have examined, and, at re-

gular intervals, stand elliptical papille surrounded by a rim of

the same form. At first sight they appear like the common so-

called pores or bright spots, but they project distinctly from the

front of the tubes, and are more or less filled with a dark gra-

40 Mr. H. E. Strickland on the occurrence of

nular mass, which however is sometimes absent. They stand on

all sides of the tubes, both toward the axis and toward the pe-

riphery of the internode. I have found them in all the Orchi-

daceze that I have examined, but never in stems which are not

thickened, nor in the leaves*.

Finally, a few observations on the aérial roots of the Orehi-

dacee. They seldom pass into the earth, even when this is

placed in their way ; they grow on long and freely in the air, nay

sometimes in an upward direction. Only to the cracked bark of

trees, to which the plants are attached, they adhere by means of

fine hairs. Meyen observed that the outer layer of these roots

is composed of spiral cells, and this layer is of tolerable thick-

ness. This is succeeded by a rather lax parenchyma, but in the

vicinity of the ligneous nucleus, as I will temporarily call it,

scattered spiral cells occur again, their convolutions bemg more

lax. The ligneous nucleus is composed, as in the roots of all

Monocotyledons, of one or more circles of vascular bundles, in a

parenchyma of narrow cells, which are narrower than in the rind,

and therefore form no true pith. In the hairs a delicate spiral

fibre is rolled up in close convolutions, but the base is expanded

and devoid of spiral fibres, although spiral cells lie beneath.

Moreover these hairs, like all radical hairs, have no transverse

septa. The occurrence of abundance of spiral cells directly in

these aérial roots, which very seldom descend into the earth, may

contribute to the discovery of the at present enigmatical function

of these cells, since they never absorb nor carry onward coloured

tiuids, like the spiral vessels.

VI.—On the occurrence of Charadrius virginiacus, Borkh., at

Malta. By H. E. Srricxzanp, M.A., F.G.S.

I narpty know whether the occurrence of a new or unrecorded

species of bird at Malta is to be regarded as forming an addition

to the European fauna, because geographers are I believe not yet

agreed as to whether Malta belongs to Europe or to Africa. But

in either case the discovery of Charadrius virginiacus at Malta is

not the less interesting, for this species has not as yet, I believe,

been noticed in either of those two quarters of the globe to which

that island is intermediate.

I have lately found an accidentally mislaid letter, addressed

to me in 1846 by Capt. H. M. Drummond, 42nd R.H., whose

valuable papers on the birds of Corfu, Crete, Macedonia, and

* Lindley remarked the existence of these tubercles in Oncidium altis-

simum, in his ‘ Introduction to Botany,’ but gave no particular account of

them.—A. H.

Charadrius virginiacus at Malta. 41

Tunis are well known to the readers of the ‘Annals.’ In this

letter he mentions having procured at Malta “a little golden

plover, which, on comparing with C. pluvialis, I find quite di-

stinct, being only the size of C. morinellus, and much longer in

the tarsus. It was shot in company with another of the same

species in March 1845. They are occasionally observed in Malta

every second or third year, generally early im spring, and have

never been noticed in company with C. pluvialis, but generally

solitary or in pairs. They have not been observed with black on

the breast. ‘The man who shot it forms me that he has fre-

quently killed them, and that he can immediately recognise

them by the note, which is peculiar, differing from that of C. plu-

vialis, and more resembling that of C. hiaticula.”

Capt. Drummond has subsequently been in England, and

showed a specimen of this bird to Mr. Yarrell, who ascertained

it to be the Charadrius virginiacus.

This species possesses a far more extensive geographical dis-

tribution than the better-known Charadrius pluvialis. The latter

occurs throughout Europe, and is recorded as far east as Trebi-

zond and Siberia. But C. virginiacus not only frequents the

whole of North and South America, but extends over the Poly-

nesian Islands to the Malay Archipelago and India, as well as to

Australia and New Zealand*. We have now evidence of its

visiting Malta for a short time early in spring, a fact which clearly

proves that it must winter in Africa, and, occasionally at least, pass

the summer in some part of Europe, though it has never yet been

obtained in either of these contments. This has probably been

owing to the resemblance of its plumage to that of C. pluvialis,

which bird is recorded by Malherbe in his ‘ Faune Ornitholo-

gique de la Sicile, by Schembri in his ‘ Catalogo Ornitologico

del Gruppo di Malta,’ and by Von der Mile in his ‘ Beitrage

zur Ornithologie Griechenlands,’ but without any indication of

their having noticed the C. virginiacus.

The distinctions between C. pluvialis and C. virginiacus are

numerous, and are carefully pomted out by Sir W. Jardine in

his edition of ‘ Wilson’s American Ornithology,’ vol. i. p. 362,

It will therefore suffice to mention here that C. virginiacus is

rather smaller than C. pluvialis, has rather longer tarsi, and has

the under wing-covers and axillary feathers of a gray brown,

while in C. pluvialis they are pure white.

* The Australian C. xanthocheilus of Jardine’s ‘ Illustrations of Orni-

thology,’ plate 85, and of Gould’s ‘ Birds of Australia,’ vol. vi. plate 13,

is certainly identical with C. virginiacus. The true C. wanthocheilus of

Wagler inhabits New Zealand (in company with C. virginiacus); and, ac-

cording to Mr. Gray’s Catalogue, there are three specimens of it in the

British Museum from Van Diemen’s Land, though it seems to be omitted

by Mr. Gould.

42 M. Van Beneden on a new genus of Cestoid Worm.

American specimens of C. virginiacus are somewhat larger

than the Indian and Maltese ones. Both varieties however have

been recently found by Capt. Drummond in Bermuda. In a

list of the Birds of peaittt9 by Mr. H. B. Tristram, which is on

the point of being published by Sir W. Jardine in his ‘ Contri-

butions to Ornithology,’ these two varieties are regarded as di-

stinct species, as appears from the following passage: “ No. 46,

Charadrius marmoratus [i. e. virginiacus], American golden

plover. No. 47,Charadrius..... ?, an unnamed species smaller

than the American and perfectly distinct. Not unfrequent here.

It has been also found in Malta by Capt. Drummond, 42nd

R.H.”

VII.— Notice of a new Genus of Cestoid Worm. By M. P. J. Van

Benrpen*. Communicated by J. T. Antipexr, A.B., M.B.,

(Lond.).

Tue researches of M. Beneden in the lower forms of animal

existence have rightly secured him the reputation of an original,

diligent, and careful observer ; and every communication there-

fore from him deserves the attention of the naturalist. This

leads us to give an abstract of his notice of a new genus of Ces-

toid Worms, and of a proposed amended arrangement of them.

M. Beneden discovered the new entozoon at the commence-

ment of the spiral intestinal lamina of the skate, in company

with other worms of the genus Bothriocephalus. Before enter-

ing on its description, he would premise that, as the Cestoidee go

through several phases of existence, a species is not represented

by the adult state only, but by its several successive generations

by gemmation, and of which the last only is furnished with

sexual organs; and that it is consequently necessary to describe

separately those various phases and to give them special names.

Thus the first stage of existence may be called the scolexoid,

being that of the scolewe or young worm on its escape from the

ovuin ; the second, the s¢robiloid, from the word strobilus of

M. Sars, designating the analogous stage of the Meduse; the

third and last, the proglottoid, from the term proglottis, applied

by M. Dujardin to the separated joints of the Cestoidee.

Owing to the striking peculiarities of the newly-discovered

worm, M. Beneden has felt it necessary to constitute a new ge-

nus, of which it is at present the only example. This new genus

is designated Echinobothrium, and presents the following cha-

racters :—

First, or Scolevoid generation, unknown.

* Extracted from vol. xvi. of the ‘ Bulletin de Académie Royale de

Belgique.’

M. Van Beneden on a new genus of Cestoid Worm. 48

Second, or Strobiloid. The body elongated, flattened, termi-

nated by a distinct head, assuming the form of a hammer, and

having two rows of hooks ; neck supporting three rows of spines

on each side. The lemniscus protrudes in the median line. Length

of worm 5 to 6 millimetres.

Third, or Proglottoid. Body elongated, rounded, no external

opening except that for the lemniscus to escape ; lemniscus rugose

at the base, and when unrolled nearly as long as the body.

Length of body 1 millimetre. Ova very minute, +35th of a mil-

limetre in diameter.

Echinobothrium typus. Scolexoid stage unknown. In the

Strobiloid, a distinct head, neck and trunk exist. The general

form is that of Helminthoid worms,—that one mostly assumed

by naturalists to be the perfect condition of such beings.

The head resembles in its great mobility that of Scolex, or of

Tetrarhynchus. It may elongate itself into the figure of an arrow-

head, or become contracted into a rounded form; and such

changes take place with astonishing rapidity. The head is flat-

tened like the rest of the body, and has two overlyimg very con-

tractile fleshy lobes apphed to one another. Within the head

and towards its fore-part hes a bulb, rather more transparent

than the surrounding tissues, and supporting two rows of hooks,

one beneath the other, as seen on viewing the flat surface of the

head. This bulb expands itself abruptly, giving off a process on

each side the head, which then resembles in figure that of the

hammer-headed shark. The hooks previously seen within the

head now fringe the extremities of these processes, and in situa-

tion resemble that of the eyes of the fish just named. ‘This ap-

pearance is to be seen only in certain positions of the head.

Nine of these hooks have been counted disposed in one row ;

they are all of about the same length and shape, tapering to a

point which is curved inwards, and exhibit near their middle a

slight enlargement. . They are very readily detached.

In the interior of the head, posterior to, and nearer the sur-

face than the bulb, are four flexuose cords, extending thence to

the last joint of the animal. These cords resemble those met

with in most Tenioid worms, and which M. E. Blanchard has, in

some examples, succeeded in injecting.

The neck is clearly defined by constrictions, from the head in

front and the trunk behind. It is nearly as long as the head,

flattened like it, but narrower ; and on each side is armed with

three rows of spines, in which circumstance this worm differs

from all other Helminths. The spines are nearly of the same

length, straight, tapering, with a trifid base imbedded in the soft

substance of the animal. Each row has twelve to thirteen closely

44. M. Van Beneden on a new genus of Cestoid Worm.

implanted but distinct spines, directed backwards, and like those

of the head easily separable.

The trunk forms the remainder of the body, made up of nu-

merous segments, first indicated by delicate lines, and towards

the posterior extremity by deep constrictions, which ultimately

end in transverse fission.

The individual joints constitute the last or adult phase of the

worm on the completion of their development, which may occur

before their separation from the strobiloid animal. The four

cords seen in the latter belong also to this third generation, which

however alone possesses a sexual system.

The development of these segments is by gemmation, differing

it will be found in no essential points from that in Polypes, if an

extended view of the process be taken.

Third or Proglottoid generation. Along with yet entire arti-

culated worms, joints are met with livmg independently as Tre-

matodes, but are the analogues of complete or adult Meduse

derived from the fission of the Strobila. After their separation

from the strobiloid parent, these joints increase in size so consi-

derably as to equal that of two or three yet attached segments.

They also undergo a change of form ;—losing their flat rib-

bon-like form, they become rounded or purse-shaped. In gene-

ral characters and in their movements they resemble Planaria,

but have been yet more frequently confounded with Trematoda.

Their investing integument offers nothing peculiar. Its sur-

face presents neither cilia nor folds, but is occasionally furrowed.

Its continuity is uninterrupted, except at the opening by which

the lemniscus escapes; no mouth or respiratory organ being

apparent. The internal organs maintain an adhesion with the

external wall.

No evidence supports the notion that the organ variously

called the lemniscus, cirrhus, cirrhule, and penis, belongs to the

reproductive apparatus; and the observation of the passage of

spermatozoa by it is illusory, for we have examined this organ in

every stage of development, and at the period of its greatest

vigour, without perceiving the least indication of such a passage.

The anatomical character of the lemniscus is also opposed to

such a phzenomenon.

In our opinion this appendicular organ performs the same

office as the tubes of the Tetrarhynchus, viz. that of affixing the

animals to the tissues, or of infolding them more completely in

the mucus in which they live.

Its position varies in different genera: in the Helminth in

question it occupies the median line about the posterior third of

the body. It is distinguishable when inclosed in its sheath ; is

M. Van Beneden on a new genus of Cestoid Worm. 45

larger at the base, where it is covered with asperities, and when

unrolled nearly equals the body in length.

The lemniscus is also lodged in a sac resembling the sheath of

the tube of Tetrarhynchus, and unrolls itself like that tube. A

very perceptible retractor muscle arises from the bottom of the

sheath, and thence extends to the extremity of the lemniscus.

We agree with Siebold, that, like as in the Trematoda, the

Nematoidea and other worms, there exists one organ for the for-

mation of the germ, and another for that of the vitellus. The

germigenitor (germigéne) occupies almost the whole length of

one side of the body, having a coiled form, and 1s easily detected

when containing germs.

The yitellogenitor (vzte/logéne) is made up of cells more or less

round, often very clear, and which are distributed throughout

the parenchyma in large number. Ova im their interior are often

to be seen in course of development. We believe that the cells

rupture, scattermg the vitelline globules in the cavity of the

body, which then envelope the germinal vesicles after they have

undergone contact with the spermatozoa.

A dull white organ is also seen in the centre of the body,

which, when the animal is compressed, appears a tortuous cord,

like the testes of insects. It has distinct walls, and may be com-

pletely uncoiled. We have supposed this tube might terminate

at the base of the lemniscus, but have been unable to determine

this opinion by observation. We regard this organ as the testes,

but do not think it discharges its product externally.

In the interior of the body we have observed ova in course of

development, having experienced the action of the spermatozoa;

but as there is no perceptible opening externally, we are compelled

to admit fecundation to result from the spermatozoa of the same

animal, which implies complete hermaphrodism.

Helminthologists generally admit the existence of natural

vents for the escape of the reproductive products, but, in the

worm described, nothing of the sort is seen. When the skin of

an animal, on the object-glass of the microscope, ruptures, the

ova escape through the rent.

The ova are very small, measuring but >35th of a millimetre,

but are not otherwise remarkable. It is worth while to observe,

however, the great difference in size the ova present in animals

closely allied. Thus in Bothriocephalus flos the ova at the time of

their discharge have eight or nine times the volume, and admit

of the ready observation of their cells in process of organization.

Affinities —The Echinobothriumis allied to the Bothriocephale,

but cannot be included in that or any established genus. In

seeking to classify this worm we have been struck with the sin-

46 M. Van Beneden on a new genus of Cestoid Worm.

gular confusion presented by the genus Bothriocephalus, and with

the necessity of another arrangement of Cestoid worms.

The primary character to be adopted is taken from the pre-

sence or absence of hooks on the head, according to which we

divide the Cestoidee into Acanthocephale and Anacanthocephale.

The first, the more numerous, forms two very natural families,

one of which has a circle of hooks with four surrounding sucking-

discs, whilst the second possesses from two to four extremely

contractile lobes. The former family is that of the Teniordee,

the latter that of the Bothrioidee, which includes a portion of the

Bothriocephale.

The Anacanthocephale are at present constituted of a single

family, embracing all the unarmed Bothriocephale.

We present the following as the first sketch of an arrange-

ment of the Cestoidee, for numerous investigations are still

needed to acquaint us with all the genera at each epoch of their

development.

CESTOIDE.

Section I. ACANTHOCEPHALS.

Family I. Tenioidee.

Genera. Tenia. . . . . . Tenia Solium.

Halysis . . . ... 4H. genettse (Gerv:).

Trienophora. . . . T. nodosus.

Family Il. Bothrioidee.

Genera. Acanthobothrium, n.g. Bothriocephalus bifurcatus.

Echinobothrium, n. g.. E. typus.

Dibothryorhynchus ._ D. lepidopii.

Tetrarhynchus . . . Rhyne. corollatus.

Section II. ANACANTHOCEPHALS.

Family I. Bothriocephalide.

Genera. Phyllobothrium, n. g.. Bothriocephalus tumidulus.

B. flos.

Fimbriaria? . . . . Tenia malleus.

Bothridium . . . . B. megalocephalum.

Bothriocephalus . . B. latus.

B. punctatus.

Schistocephalus B. solidus.

Cryptocephalus, n. g.

Mr. J. Ball on a new species of Veronica. 47

VIII.— Description of a new species of Veronica.

By Joun Batt, M.R.LA.

SeveRaL years ago I gathered upon the steep crags of the

Pagna della Croce, one of the highest peaks of the Apuan Apen-

nines, specimens of a Veronica which accidentally remained un-

examined until the present year. Although resembling in many

respects V’. aphylla, L., my specimens differ in so many essential

particulars, that 1 am induced to distinguish them by a specific

name ; and I subjoin a description of the proposed new species,

together with that of V. aphylla, from which the diagnosis will

more readily be made.

V. longistyla, nobis. Caule brevissimo, repente, ceespitoso, filiformi ;

foliis inferioribus minimis, superioribus subrosulatis, omnibus ob-

ovato-spathulatis, aeutiusculis, grandiuscule crenato-serratis ; pe-

dunculo scapiformi adscendente, vix pollicari, supra in pedicellos,

2—4 erectos, bractets linearibus et capsulis 3-4 longiores, diviso ;

corolla parva, filamentis styloque breviort; capsula matura late

obcordata, profunde emarginata, calycem sesquilonga, stylo bre-

viori, semiibus lentiformibus, albo-hyalinis, glabris. Herba tota

pilis brevissimis articulatis, superne glandulosis, adspersa.

V. aphylla, L. Caule brevissimo czespitoso ; foliis rosulatis, late

obovato-spathulatis, obtusis subintegerrimis ; pedunculo scapiformi

erecto, 1-3 pollicari; supra in pedicellos 2-4, bracteis capsulisque

viz duplum longiores, diviso; corolle segmentis latis, filamenta

stylumque superantibus; capsula matura odovato-elliptica, sinu

brevissimo emarginata, calyce et stylo duplum longiore ; seminibus

lentiformibus, luteis, glabris. Herba tota pilis articulatis, glandu-

losis, crebris, obtecta.

V. longistyla differs at first sight from V. aphylla in its smaller

size, more slender habit, and in its less abundant and less glan-

dular pubescence ; but the most certain characters must be sought

in the completely different shape and much smaller size of the cap-

sule, and in the much greater length of the style, which is longer

instead of being one-half shorter than the ripe capsule, as in V.

aphylla. 1 have to call attention to the description of the capsule

of V. aphylla given by Mr. Bentham in the tenth volume of the

‘Prodromus.’ It is there stated that the capsule is obcordate, and

that eminent botanist, to whom I have submitted a specimen of

V. longistyla, observes, “I do not find so much difference in the

form of the capsule;” he however further observes, “I have but one

specimen of V. aphylla in good fruit.” I have gathered V. aphylla

in fruit in Dauphiné, in the cantons of Berne, Glaris, Tessin, and

Valais in Switzerland, in the Tyrol, and in several parts of the

Carpathians, and with the specimens before me I do not find any

difference in the form of the ripe fruit, which is as I have above

48 Zoological Society.

described it, with a very slight notch at the summit, and by no

means obcordate. The descriptions of other eminent authors are

by no means concordant. According to Koch and Wahlenberg

the capsule is obcordate ; Bertoloni describes it as “ subrotundata

emarginata ;’ while Reichenbach says, “ capsula obovato-trian-

gulari, vix emarginata.” I am disposed to believe that the Italian

plant known to Bertoloni, and possibly also the specimen in good

fruit preserved in Mr. Bentham’s herbarium, may be V. longi-

styla, while the common alpine plant known to Reichenbach is

the true V. aphylla.

The difference of habit and appearance between the plant here

described and the ordinary V. aphylla might be referred to the

peculiarity of its birthplace upon the arid marble rocks of the

Carrara Apennines; but it would be a large concession to the

views of those who most believe in the modifying influence of

external conditions, to suppose that they can so far change the

form of the essential organs of vegetation as would be required

if these plants be not specifically distinct.

Having lately received Corsican specimens of Veronica repens,

Lois., from my friend M. Jordan of Lyons, I may remark that

that plant appears to me to be a mere variety of V. serpylli-

folia, L. It differs from the mountain form of that plant, known

to the Scotch botanists as V. humifusa, Dicks., in no respect

except in the somewhat more hairy segments of the calyx, and

apparently in the leaves being rather more fleshy than im the

Scotch plant.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Jan. 9, 1849.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The following papers were read :—

1. DrescRIPTIONS OF THREE NEW SPECIES OF DELPHINID2. By

J. E. Gray, Esa., F.R.S.

The species which form the subject of the present communication

were collected by Dr. Dickie, R.N., during his voyage in the Pacific,

and have been transferred by him to the British Museum.

DeLPHINuS EvuTrRoPIA.

Nose of skull rather longer than the length of the brain-cavity,

rather dilated on the sides before the notch, very convex and rounded

above; triangle elongate, produced before the tooth-line, concave on

the sides, and strongly keeled in the ceutre behind; hinder edge of

blow-hole rather prominent. Intermaxillar wide, convex above, leaving

a rather broad open space in front. Palate rather concave in front,

convex in the centre behind, the hinder part keeled on each side.

inca

Zoological Society. 49

Lower jaw thick, blunt, and rather produced beyond the upper in

> ° 34

front. Skull rather compressed behind. Teeth ,., rather slender,

cylindrical, conical at the top. The frontal ridge half the distance

between the notch and the convexity of the condyles ; condyles large,

rather oblique ; foramen magnum rather wider than high.

in. lin.

en etn Gmtare hse oe ini oa ay bo GO

(TEE cout Sane A I lela AAD

Of teeth-lime: spk scdete ss ss 6 10

INE, FOWEE JOWE <'o0- 2. a ininel els ws LE 11

WWikele atratety, 5 625.6 sco. s ours. 013 Pak sent Or

HINGREE A eS Pe AS Siete te od 6 5

at middle of beak ........ 2 10

- of middle of intermaxillar.. 1 3

— at condyles above........ 3 3

Height of each condyle .......... lys3

Sailarony Hote 2. sl sty oo. OC TO

LAGENORHYNCHUS CLANCULUS.

Skull wide and rather high behind; beak flat, outline wide at the base,

rapidly tapering and acute in front, but rather convex on the sides ;

sides slightly rounded, the hinder edge near the notch only slightly

turned up and rounded ; lower jaw high behind ; triangle extending to

near the middle of the beak. Teeth = small, cylindrical, curved, ra-

ther acute at the top ; the lower front one very small. Intermaxillaries

broad, hard.

ie a thes

| VORA ee 14 6

BABs EER ca Bahri tcncs «at ates Fie

aS E bs) oleae, ch on orcs diate

—— of teeth-lme ............ 6 6

GE NOMEN IEW «oko 'ocere appt 5s | ean

of symphysis of lower jaw.. 1 4

DCO ESTs) an aaa a ape 4.

LC Tr oT RES Capea en SPUR AE ee IN” MH

— at middle of beak ........ ee |

— of intermaxillar in middle ie 4

of condyles above ........ 210

Hab. Pacific.

Very peculiar for the elongation and reflexion of the beak before

- the notch, and the regular beveling of the sides of the beak.

LAGENORHYNCHUS THICOLEA.

Skull rather narrow behind ; beak elongate, almost one-fifth longer

than the length of the head, rather dilated and concave above behind,

with the side edges in front of the notch elongated, keeled, and turned

up ; the middle of the beak flat, with flat shelving sides, the shelving

part being broader, and forming a slight keel in front. Intermaxillaries

flat, gradually tapering. Triangle to the middle of the beak concave on

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 4

50 Zoological Society.

the sides, and keeled in the middle behind. Teeth 5 ? very slender,

curved, elongate, conical, tapering, acute; the front very small.

ans wilt

Length of skull entire.... 14 6 end of nose injured.

ECR ely is Eke Bi nevt

of teeth-line fe |

of lower jaw 12 3 entire.

Width -atorbits’ $250.45 fae

at motchon, sa Syl

at middle of Henle 2” 12

=e peel 1 9

ML MIGGIE! S52 52 3

Width of condyles ...... eaten (

Hab. West Coast of America.

2. DrescRIPTIONS OF APPARENTLY NEW SPECIES OF APTERA

FROM New ZEALAND. By ApAm Wuirte, F.L.S. etc.

MyGa.e (CTreNn1IzA) ANTIPODUM.

Chelicera deeper than long, ochrey-brown, the top at the base

somewhat hollowed, smooth ; sides smooth, front and tip with several

short hairs.

Cephalothorax rotundo-ovate, pale ochrey-brown, the sides in front

somewhat grooved. lHyes situated on a slight elevation in front of

cephalothorax : the two posterior eyes on each side close to each other.

Legs of a pale brown, but deeper in colour than the cephalothorax.

Abdomen of the same pale brown as the legs, covered with rather

long hairs ; the tail nearly as long as the abdomen, the terminal jomt

elongate, slender, oradually thinner.

Hab. New Zealand.

Myeae (CTENIZA) HEXOPS.

Chelicera deep black, much deeper than long; above somewhat

narrowed; the top and the greater part of the sides quite smooth ;

the front and a narrow line on the sides slightly punctured, each of

the punctures supplied with a hair.

Cephalothorax fulvous yellow, oval, somewhat truncated behind

and slightly sinuated ; two small silky whitish spots on the fore-part

behind the first row of eyes; eyes situated on a slight elevation of

cephalothorax, which is deep brown; a narrow brown line extending

down the middle of the back, but not reaching the end.

Legs of a pale brown, sparingly furnished with rather long hairs ;

the femoral joints somewhat thickened.

Abdomen black, covered with shortish hairs, which in some lights

have a greyish tinge ; the hairs on the under side of the body greyish.

Tail about half the length of abdomen; the last joint the longest,

and gradually more slender from the base.

Hab. New Zealand (Port Nicholson).

This species is very remarkable from its possessing only six eyes.

DoLOMEDES LATERALIS.

Cephalothorax of a very pale brown, with a faintish lme down the

Zoological Society. 51

middle ; a very distinct white line from the anterior angle of the ce-

phalothorax, continuing down the side and carried along each side of

the abdomen; the cephalothorax and abdomen on the inner edge of

the white line of a deeper brown colour; the legs and palpi of a pale

ochrey-yellow, with many black hairs.

Chelicera covered with greyish hairs.

Hab. New Zealand.

This species, which is described from a male, differs from the Dolo-

medes mirificus, Walck. Apt. i. 355, and the Dolomedes sagittiger,

as well in markings as in size.

' DOLOMEDES SAGITTIGER.

Cephalothorax of a very deep brown ; the extreme edge of the sides,

where the legs are inserted, pale; a wide yellowish longitudinal line

from the anterior angle of cephalothorax; the outside edges with

some brown points; the inner edge with some simuations; the band

does not reach the end of the cephalothorax ; the middle of the cepha-

lothorax with a narrow white line extending from behind the second

Ime of eyes, almost to the end; on each side of it in front a short

interrupted line, somewhat rounded in front.

Abdomen deep brown, the sides of a palish hue as far as the middle.

The eyes of the first row very small.

Legs deep brown, with darker coloured hairs.

Hab. New Zealand.

This species seems to be closely related to Dolomedes mirificus,

Walckenaer, Aptéres, i. 355.

Artus Darwinil.

Chelicera black, with greenish reflexions, punctured and striated in

front, and somewhat impressed at the end; palpi pale brown.

Cephalothorax deep blackish brown, highly polished, considerably

paler in the middle of the back ; front part projecting very consider-

ably over the chelicera; the front edge behind the first row of eyes

with several tufts of short close-set black hairs.

Eyes with the middle pair of first row very large ; the lateral eyes

of first row placed somewhat behind the middle pair, and larger than

the two hind eyes ; the eyes on the second line very small, nearer the

lateral eyes of first row than those of the third.

Legs: First pair very long, deep blackish brown ; femoral joint

rather longer than the tibial, which is double the length of the genual

joint ; the tarsal joint pale at the end; a small spme near the end of

the femoral joint on the inside; a longer spine about the middle of

the genual joint; three spines placed after each other on the inner

edge of tibial joint; second, third and fourth pairs of legs of a

pale yellow, smooth, with a few short bristly hairs on the inside and

outside.

Abdomen small, at the base projecting slightly over the cephalo-

thorax with a broad pale line down the middle; an impressed dark

longitudinal line in the middle.

Hab. New Zealand.

This makes a third species of dttus from New Zealand ; the other

52 Zoological Society.

two recorded species are Attus abbreviatus, Walck. Aptéres, i. 477,

and Attus Cookii, Walck. i. 478. Most probably the Aftus Phri-

noides, Walck. i. 479, is from the same country, and doubtless many

other species will yet be found.

SPHASUS GRACILIPES.

Cephalothorax and abdomen covered with shining silvery hairs.

Legs fulvous.

Cephalothorax narrowed in front, with a slight groove from the end

of the narrowed part on each side extending to the middle of the back ;

the posterior part ovate.

Abdomen nearly three times the length of the cephalothorax, much-

elongated and attenuated at the end.

Hab. New Zealand.

EPEIRA VERRUCOSA, Walckenaer, Aptéres, ii. 135.

Hab. New Zealand.

The specimens in the Museum collection are not in very good con-

dition, but seem to agree in nearly every important particular with the:

species to which I have referred it ; the posterior lateral eye however

can scarcely be said to be almost on the same line as the anterior.

TEGENARIA ANTIPODIANA.

Labium nearly as wide as long, truncated at the end.

Cephalothorax gradually convex above, deep ferruginous brown,

with two wide longitudinal fulvous bands.

Legs ringed with yellow and brown, the first two legs with the rings

obsolete.

Abdomen as long as cephalothorax, but not quite so broad, appa-

rently without any impressed points in the middle.

This species appears to differ from the Tegenaria australensis,

Walckenaer, Apteres, ii. p. 12. Lucas, Ann. Soc. Ent. France, in

many particulars, especially in the marking of the cephalothorax and

the shape of the labium.

DANDRIDGIA DYSDEROIDES.

Chelicera as long as the cephalothorax.

Cephalothorax elongated, square in front, slightly wider just behind

the middle; a slight groove down the middle.

Eyes situated on two lines, the posterior line the longer; the two

middle eyes of first line nearer each other than the outer eye; the

posterior line with the middle eyes rather nearer each other than the

side eyes.

Legs elongated, first pair the longest, second pair rather longer

than the fourth, the third considerably shorter than the fourth.

Abdomen small, shorter than cephalothorax, smooth.

Hab. New Zealand.

Named after Mr. Joseph Dandridge, an apothecary, who lived in

Moorfields more than a hundred years ago, and who has left copious

evidence in his MSS. (now preserved in the British Museum) of his

love of arachnology.

Puaxancium Listert.

Chelicera enormously long; first jomt not quite so long as the

pense

Zoological Society. 53

second, and like it rough, with outstanding short spines, the end very

slightly thickened ; the end of the second joint gradually thickened,

with two claws, one fixed, with a small tooth inside near the base,

followed by a deepish notch ; the moveable claw with a largish tooth

about the middle, which fits into the notch of fixed claw.

Hab. New Zealand.

CHELIFER PALLIPES.

Claws and body of a deep brown, the legs pale, the claws with a

greenish hue, and furnished with many pale hairs; abdominal seg-

ments edged with palish; the femoral joints of legs much-com-

pressed.

Hab. New Zealand.

3. NOTICE OF THE CAPTURE OF ORTHAGORISCUS MOLA OFF THE

Cuesit Bank, Dorsetsuire. By Masor Parwey.

In this communication, which was addressed in the form of a letter

to Mr. Gray, Major Parlby stated that in the beginning of June 1846

the specimen in question was observed almost daily in the West Bay,

sometimes sailing about slowly with half its dorsal fin above the sur-

face of the water, sometimes moving with great rapidity, playing about

and splashing the water violently, or blowing like a whale or grampus.

As it generally kept off and on between the mackerel and the shore,

the fishermen attributed their ill suecess with the shoals, which never

left the deep water, to the presence of this unusual visitant ; and it is

remarkable that on the day after its capture they took upwards of

20,000 fish.

The capture happened on the 13th of June, in consequence of the

Sunfish swimming directly into the centre of the line of nets. When

entangled in the first net it exerted itself so powerfully that it broke

through, and was only secured by the yawl or outer net and the co-

operation of about forty men, who finally succeeded im landing it on

the Chesil Bank : and even here its vigour was so great that it dashed

about the pebbles, according to the fishermen’s account, like a shower

of grape. It expired in about three hours, after uttering “hideous

groans,” like those of a horse dying of the staggers.

On the capture becoming known to Major Parlby and Mr. Fox,

surgeon, of Weymouth, they hastened to inspect the fish, and found

that the skin was entirely covered with a white mucous slime, upon

the removal of which the real colour of the integument was discovered

to be of a dull dirty brown colour, and the texture to resemble the

most beautiful shagreen.

Major Parlby and Mr. Fox having jointly purchased the fish, pro-

ceeded to have it prepared for the British Museum, to which insti-

tution they subsequently presented it.

The dimensions are as follow :— ft. in.

‘Votalicnat hare tack lk Ged

Height of dorsal fin ........ 2 5

Breadth of it at base........ 1-3

Height of ventral fin ....<... 2 3

Girth’ A. Pe AP et thie 9 0

54 Zoological Society.

January 23.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The following papers were read :—

1. ON SOME NEW OR LITTLE-KNOWN SPECIES OF MONKEYS.

By Joun Epwarp Gray, Esa., F.R.S. Etc.

The older authors have described two species of White-nosed Mon-

keys which have been called Hocheurs by the French.

In the British Museum we have specimens of each of these species,

and also of two very distinct kinds, which appear either not to have

oceurred to preceding authors, or to have been confounded by them

with the species described by Erxleben.

CERCOPITHECUS MELANOGENYS. The Black-cheeked Monkey.

Dark olive, minutely yellow grisled; face, cheek, forehead, chest

and hands black ; a large cordate spot on the ncse and a small spot

on each temple white. Throat, under-part of the body and inside of

the legs whitish ; the front of the shoulders, outside of the limbs, end

of the tail blackish. Ears, the middle of the back, and upper part of

the tail, rufous.

In the British Museum collection there is a half-grown specimen

of this species which died in a menagerie near London, and was said

to have come from Western Africa.

The Black-cheeked Monkey is easily known from Cercopithecus

nictitans by its yellow punctulated fur and cordate form of the spot

on the nose; the latter character equally distinguishes it from Cerco-

pithecus petaurista, from which it is also separated by the black-

ness of its cheeks and the greyness of the outside of the limbs, and the

redness of the middle of the back and the tail.

This species was indicated in the ‘Annals of Natural History’ for

1845, but is redeseribed here for the purpose of comparison with

the next.

CercoprrHecus Lupio. The Ludio.

Blackish, minutely yellow grisled ; face, temple, crown of the head,

shoulders and fore-legs, black ; outer side of the hinder legs and end

of tail blackish ; large oblong spot on the nose white; throat, upper

part of the inside of arms, and lower side of the body, whitish ; ramp

and under side of base of tail dark reddish brown.

Hab. West Africa.

In the British Museum there is a nearly full-grown specimen of this

species, which was procured from a menagerie in Liverpool, and was

said to have been brought from the west coast of Africa.

This is at once known from two other species which have the fur

punctated with yellow, viz. C. petaurista and C. melanogenys, by the

large size and erect oblong form of the white spot on the nose, and

especially by the absence of any white on the cheek or temples ; it is

easily distinguished also by the general black tint of the fur, and

especially by the red hairs of the rump.

In the course of last year there was exhibited in the Gardens of the

Society a short-tailed American monkey, which was regarded by several

Zoological Society. 55

eminent zoologists as a species of Cebus which had lost part of its tail ;

but there was a peculiarity in the position of the thumb as regarded

the fingers, which at once showed that whatever might be the natural

length of its tail, it evidently did not belong to the genus Cebis as at

present restricted. The examination of the animal after death showed

that it was a most distinct genus, and nearly related to, ifnot a variety

of, Brachyurus Ouckari of Spix.

I may observe that the genus Brachyurus was established by Spix

in his work on American Monkeys for two species, viz. 1. the Szmia

Chiropotes of Humboldt (the 8. Sagulata of Trail), which has been

generally referred to the genus Pithecia ; and 2. Brachyurus Ouakari.

Spix in the same work restricted the genus Pithecta to the Saki or

Long-haired American Monkeys.

The examination and comparison of the skuli of the short-tailed

monkey and of the allied genera have induced me to think that the

American Monkeys with long hairy tails, and with six grinders, may

be divided into two very natural subfamilies, characterized by the

position and form of the cutting teeth.

The first of these groups I should propose to call Callitrichina :

they have small erect cutting teeth, forming a regular series with the

canines. This group contains the genera Callithrix and Chrysothriz,

with small diurnal eyes, and Nyctipithecus, with large nocturnal eyes.

The second group, which may be called Pitheciana, have the cutting

teeth large, converging together, and separated from the canines by

a large space, and their under ones more or less shelving. This group

contains three genera, viz. :—

1. Pithecia. The fur elongate, dry, harsh; the tail club-shaped ;

the crown like a wig, and the chin slightly bearded ; the lower cutting

teeth rather shelving.

This is the genus Pithecia, as restricted by Spix, the Yarkea ot

Lesson, containing P. monachus, P. leucocephalus, and P. rufiventei

of Geoffroy.

Spix (tab. 37. f. 4) figured a skull which appears to belong to a

species of this genus, but he does not indicate its name.

2. Brachyurus. The fur silky, short; tail elongate club-shaped ;

the crown like a wig, and the chin largely bearded on each side; the

lower cutting teeth are rather shelving ; limb short and straight. Con-

taining Cebus satanas of Hoffmanseg, which is the type of Spix’s

genus.

Lesson has given the name of Chiropotes to this group, and Cucajao

to a second group, established on the Sima melanocephalus of Hum-

boldt, which is probably only a badly stuffed specimen of this species.

Spix, in his work on Brazilian Monkeys, figures a skull which ap-

pears to belong to this genus, but it is like several others on the same

plate, without any name, t. 37. f. 5.

3. Ouakaria. The fur short, silky ; tail short, subcylindrical, the

crown with short hair; the chin scarcely bearded ; the lower cutting

teeth very much shelving ; legs elongate.

This genus forms part of the genus Brachyurus of Spix; and if

Spix had not evidently described the teeth, &c. of his first species in

56 Zoological Society.

his generic character, I should have been induced to have retained for

this group the name of Brachyurus, which is more applicable to it

than to the one to which it is applied; and indeed M. Isidore Geof-

froy appears to have so applied it.

Several species have been described which chiefly differ in the length

of the tail; as, 1. Ouakaria Spixi; Brachyurus Ouakari, Spix,

Brazil, t. 8, with the tail about one-third the length of the body.

2. Ouakaria calvus; Brachyurus calvus, I. Geoff. Rev. Cuvier. 1847,

137, much paler in colour, but it is very doubtful if the shortness of

the tail does not depend on the imperfection of the specimen, and the

colour on partial albinism.

We have specimens of B. calvus in the British Museum, presented

by M. Bourcier. The skull may be thus described :—

The cutting teeth projecting ;

the upper one broad, especially

the two middle ones; lower one

elongate, narrow, more sloping,

and projecting like those of Indri.

Canines conical, far away from

the cutting teeth, leaving a large

vacancy ; flattened in front ; they

are flattened before and behind,

placed rather obliquely, with a

sharp inner edge. The skull is

very unlike that of the Cebide ;

most allied to that of Pithecia

leucocephala,but the cutting teeth

in that species are not so proclined.

The converging, slender, shelving, cutting teeth in the lower jaw

of this genus, as well as its slender limbs and the shortness of its tail,

bear a certain resemblance to the Indri amongst the Lemuride.

The form of the lower jaw also offers a good character for the

distinction of the genera.

1. Lower jaw not dilated behind. 2. Lower jaw dilated behind.

Atelina (part). Mycetina.

Ateles. Mycetes (much).

Cebina. Lagothrix (moderately).

Cebus. Atelina (part).

Pitheciana (part). Brachyteles (moderately).

Pithecia. Callitrichina.

Jacchina. Callithrix.

Jacchus. Chrysothrix.

Midas. Nyctipithecus.

Pitheciana (part).

Brachyurus. Ouakaria.

2. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF HERPESTES.

By J. E. Gray, Esa., F.R.S. etc.

HERPESTES PUNCTULATUS.

Reddish grey, minutely black and grey punctured; face redder.

Zoological Society. 57

Under-fur black ; long hair brown, upper half whitish, with a broad,

black, subapical band and a bay tip. Tail-end black.

Haé. South Africa; Port Natal.

This species is allied to H. Mutgigella in size, appearance, and the

black tip of the tail, but differs from that species in being redder, and

in the face being red bay.

It agrees with H. badius, A. Smith, in the colour of the end of the

tail; but that species differs from it in the nearly uniform bay colour

and in the length of the hair.

I may here remark, that H. badius offers two very distinct varieties,

one being uniform red bay, the hair being of a uniform colour ex-

cept a few just over the shoulder-nape which have a black subapical

ring. This is the variety figured by Dr. Smith in the ‘ South African

Zoology. The other with most of the hairs of the back and sides

having long white tips edged below with a black band, giving the

back a grisled appearance.

The foregoing papers were followed by an address from Dr. MEL-

VILLE, M.R.C.S., in continuation of his observations commenced on

December 12, 1848, concerning the Ipb—eau VERTEBRA, of which he

has furnished the following abstract :—

I employ the term ‘ vertebra’ in the extended sense in which it is

used by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire and Prof. Owen, as equivalent to a

segment of the endo-skeleton, or to the proximal, more or less ossi-

fied, element of that skeleton.

The ideal or typical vertebra is the most complicated possible ver-

tebral segment, exclusive of the ichthyic or other peculiarities ; it

furnishes the key to the actual vertebree in the same individual series

or in the skeletons of the different vertebrate classes.

An actual vertebra may exist as a unity prior to, or even during

chondrosis, but becomes resolved by ossification into a variable num-

ber of distinct and independent ultimate elements; which therefore

are not repetitions of one and the same elementary ‘body’ or

‘Jamina.’

The number of these ultimate elements varies in the actual ver-

tébree in the same spinal column, and also in those constituting the

skeletons of the different vertebrated animals.

The ideal vertebra contains the greatest number of these elements,

most of which form arches attached to, or springing from, a central

piece or element, and protecting the great nervous and vascular axes

and the visceral system.

The upper or neural arch is composed generally of three elements,

two lateral, (neural laminee, or neuropomata) ; and an upper or mesial

piece, (neural spine, or neuracantha), which may be subdivided in

the median plane.

The inferior or heemal arch is also constituted when most developed

(tail of the lepidosiren) by three elements; the two lateral (hemal

laminze or angiopomata) and the azygos inferior one (angiacantha

or heemal spine), which is never subdivided. This arch is most

58 Zoological Society.

generally present in the caudal region, disappears in the trunk, and

reappears in the cervix. In man it only exists at the junction of the

occipital and atlantal vertebrae, forming the so-called ‘body of the

atlas,’ which is regarded by me as the hemal arch of the third

cranial vertebra displaced backwards to the intervertebral interspace,

as in the caudal region.

The visceral arch, which is also inferior but external to the last,

may be regarded as composed of an azygos inferior and two lateral

elements. The former is the sternal segment and may be subdivided

mesially. Each lateral piece is also resolvable generally into an upper

segment (vertebral rib or pleura); and a lower one usually cartila-

ginous (sternal rib or hypopleura), which may be subdivided into two

or three pieces (three in Plesiosaurus).

The segmentation of the vertebree is partly due to the laws which

preside over their genesis, and partly determined by teleological causes.

Several of the elements unite to form the vertebra of the anthro-

potomist ; thus the constituents of the neural arch coalesce with the

centrum in the dorsal vertebrze ; while in those of the cervical, lum-

bar and sacral regions, the abortive pleural complements also are an-

chylosed to the elements just mentioned.

In fishes, the lower part of the vertebral body is formed by the ex-

panded bases of the angiopomata, which meet those of the neuropo-

mata and enclose the proper centrum; but in the higher vertebrata

the greater development of the centrum excludes the angiopomata

from any share in the body, and displaces them backwards to the in-

tervertebral interspace next in succession.

The coexistence of the visceral and heemal arches is seen in fishes,

in the cervical region of many lacertze, and in the tails of the lizards

and crocodiles, &e.

Therefore the one is not convertible into the other, as has been

supposed by Professor Owen, who regards the sternum and sternal

ribs in the thorax as the equivalents of the angiacantha and angiopo-

mata, the latter beimg dislocated from their normal attachment to the

centrum and suspended to the extremities of the corresponding pleural

elements constituting the sternal ribs, while the former is expanded

and sometimes divided mesially to form the sternum.

I am therefore compelled to suggest a new nomenclature of the

elements of a typical vertebra more conformable to nature than

that employed by Professor Owen, who has used the same term for

several distinct objects, and given two different appellations to the one

and the same element.

My view of the typical vertebra is that which has been adopted

by the distinguished German anatomists Muller, Rathke, &c.

The cranial vertebrze are three in number, and may be named, from

before backward, the frontal, parietal and occipital vertebrae.

The supposed nasal vertebra has no existence, the bones presumed

to constitute it belonging to different categories.

Each cranial vertebra is composed of a centrum, a neural and a

visceral arch; the hzemal arch is present only in the third or occipital

vertebra forming the so-called ‘body of the atlas.’

Zoological Society. 59

Between the neural arches of the cranial vertebra pass out diverti-

cula of the cerebral vesicles to the ‘sense-capsules,’ as well as the

ordinary cerebro-spinal sensero-motor nerves. The primary segments

of the brain are three in number. The special sense nerves, and those

of the cerebro-spinal system, correspond in number to the cranial

vertebral segments. The auditory capsule is intercalated between the

neuropomata of the second and third cranial vertebre ; the optic

nerve issues between those of the first and second, while the corre-

sponding capsule is contained in the orbital cavity, protected by cer-

tain bones, pro-orbital, meso-orbital and meta-orbital, &c. ; the olfac-

tory capsules are situated in front of the first vertebra, and are thus

enabled to approximate mesially, separated only by the prolongation

of the body of the frontal vertebra.

The occipital vertebra has for its centrum the basi-occipital, for its

neuropomata the ali-occipital, and for its neuracantha the supra-

occipital, which is sometimes divided into two.

The basi-sphenoid is the centrum of the second or parietal vertebra ;

the neuropomata are termed ali-parietals, and the divisions of the

neuracantha parietals.

The centrum of the frontal or most anterior vertebral segment is

formed by the pre-sphenoid, the neuropomata by the ali-frontal, and

the divided neuracantha by the frontals.

The squamosal and mastoid bones may be regarded as belonging

to the same category as the ossa Wormiana, namely, the accessory

neuropomatous pieces.

The post-petrosal bone in the Chelonia is erroneously regarded by

Professor Owen as the equivalent in the occipital vertebra of the an-

gioparal element of the body of the vertebra in fishes, or of the infe-

rior transverse process in the higher vertebrata, since both receive the

same name in his system.

The mastoid is also regarded by Prof. Owen as the ‘ parapophysis’

of the parietal vertebra.

The visceral arch of the frontal vertebra is formed by the palato-

maxillary apparatus exclusive of the pro-maxilla, and by the malleus

leucus with the lower jaw in the mammalia, or by the os quadratum

and Meckel’s cartilage with the appendages in birds and reptiles.

The corresponding arch of the parietal is formed by the anterior

horn of the hyoid bone, and that of the occipital by the posterior

cornua and body of the same bone.

February 13.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The Secretary reported that a male Giraffe had been fawned in the

menagerie on the previous day. The produce of the mother, who

was imported in 1836, thus amounted to five males, all of whom.

with one exception, were in full health and vigour.

The papers communicated were—

1, DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS TOMIGERUS,

Spix. By G. B. Sowrersy, F.L.S. etc.

TOMIGERUS PRINCIPALIS, n. sp. Tom. testd rotundato-trigonalis,

60 Zoological Society.

compressiusculd, tenui, levigatd, pallescente, lineis brunneis non-

nullis, per paria dispositis, cinctd; spird subelatd, anfractibus

quinque, quorum duobus primis nigricantibus, tertio quartoque

pallidis, brunneo-unifasciatis, ultimo magno, posticée gibbo, infra

planulato ; aperturd axi paralleld, auriformi ; peristomate late

expanso, albo, margine dextro producto, rotundato-subangulato ;

aperturd intus lamellis senis instructd, duabus in pariete aper-

turali, quarum posticd compositd, tribus in margine basalt, und

compositd postice furcatd anticé bifidd in margine dextro.

This is the largest species of this genus we remember to have seen ;

for which reason we have named it 7’. principalis. It is of a some-

what triangular form, rounded at the angles, and rather compressed,

not being nearly so globular as the remaining three species. The

substance of the shell is rather thin, it is smooth and of a pale colour

with several brown transverse lines disposed in pairs; the spire is

rather elevated, consisting of five volutions, of which the first and

second are small and very dark-coloured, the third and fourth are

pale with a brown band, and the fifth is large, and gibbose posteriorly,

its anterior margin white, and it is flattish and brown anteriorly ; the

aperture is parallel to the axis, ear-shaped, with a broadly expanded

white peristome, whose right margin is produced and forms a rounded

angle; the aperture is furnished within with six lamellar teeth, two

on the columellar side, of which the posterior is compound, three

within the basal margin; and a single compound plate which is fur-

cate posteriorly and bipartite anteriorly within the right hand margin.

In Mr. Cuming’s collection.

From Pernambuco.

2. DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEWLY DISCOVERED SPECIES OF

Cyctostroma. By G. B. Sowersy, F.L.S.

1. Cycitosroma rormosum. Cycl. testd suborbiculari, subdepres-

sd, tenuiusculd, spiraliter striatd, tricarinatd, fulvo-rufescente ;

spird brevi, acuminatd, anfractibus quinis rapide crescentibus,

rotundatis, carinis duabus validis, allicantibus castaneo-arti-

culatis ; anticé striis subobsoletis, gradatim majusculis, cari-

nique tertid umbilicum circumferente; suturd validd, levi ;

aperturd magnd, fere circulari, postice paululim acuminatd,

peritremate latiusculo reflexo, incisuris parvis tribus, ad carinas

externas idoneis ; umbilico magno, profundo, spiraliter striato,

striis exterioribus gradatim majusculis.

This very handsome Cyclostoma bears a general resemblance to

C. Cuvierianum, though easily distinguishable by having three distinct

keels, by having a more acuminated apex, and by the latter having

the spiral strise decussated by other sharp striz parallel with the

lines of growth. The C. formosum is nearly orbicular, though some-

what depressed ; it is rather thin and smooth, and of a reddish fulvous

or brown colour: its spire is rather short, but acuminated, consisting

of five volutions which are of a roundish form and increase rapidly,

and are ornamented with two keels which are of a pale colour, spotted

with chestnut brown: anteriorly the striee are rather indistinct, but

Zoological Society. 61

larger; and there is a thick keel surrounding the umbilicus; the

suture is distinct and smooth, but belted posteriorly by the middle

keel ; the aperture is large, nearly circular, slightly acuminated poste-

riorly, with a rather broad reflected peritreme, in which are three

little cuts answering to the ends of the external keels ; the umbilicus

is large and deep, spirally striated within; the outer striee being the

larger.

From Madagascar, in the collections of A. L. Gubba, Esq., Havre,

and Mr. Cuming.

2. CycLostoma APLusTRE. Cycl. testd suborbiculari, tenuius-

culd, levi, albicante, fasciis nonnullis posticis, angustis, castaneis,

subinterruptis, striisque tenuissimis spiralibus, ornatd ; spird le-

vatiusculd, subacuminatd, apice obtuso; anfractibus quinis rotun-

datis, creberrimé transversim striatis, striis posticis fortioribus,

anticis feré obsoletis ; umbilico magno, intus spiraliter striato,

striis tenuissimis; aperturd feré circulari, postice paululim

acuminatd, peritremate tenui, acuto, supra umbilicum paululim

reflexo.

A species somewhat resembling C. ligatum, but differing in several

characters. It is suborbicular and thin, smooth, whitish, posteriorly

with several narrow slightly interrupted chestnut-coloured bands and

close-set very slender spiral striz ; the spire is rather elevated and

acuminated, but the apex is obtuse: volutions five, very regularly

rounded, and very finely transversely striated, the transverse strize

decussating the spiral strize, and the posterior strize being the most

distinct, the anterior being almost undistinguishable: the umbilicus

is large, very finely spirally striated within; aperture large, nearly

circular, slightly acuminated posteriorly, with a thin, sharp-edged

peritreme which is rather wide and slightly reflected over a part of

the umbilicus.

From Madagascar, in the collection of A. L. Gubba, Esq., Havre.

3. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF Buxtimus. By Lovet.

Reeve, F.L.S.

Buuimus 1rroratus. Bul. testd acuminato-oblongd, medio ven-

tricosd, anfractibus sex, subrotundatis, striis tumidis elevatis

interruptis oblique exsculptis, infra suturas peculiariter con-

centrice crenulatis, columellé stricté uniplicatd; rufescente-

purpured, epidermide tenui cinerascente, fulvo hic illic punctatd,

indutd, columelld cerulescente-albd, labro incarnato-roseo.

Hab. ?

This beautiful species, received by Mr. Cuning from A. L. Gubba,

Esq. of Havre, is materially distinct from any hitherto described. It is

of a swollen ovate form with the spire rather sharply acuminated, and

the columella is distinguished by a sharp winding plate. The ground

colour of the shell is a reddish purple, the last whorl beimg particu-

larly characterized by a thin ash-coloured epidermis sprinkled with

light fulvous spots all inclining towards the lip, which is of a delicate

flesh-pink.

62 Zoological Society.

4. DescripTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF Box ToRTOISE FROM

Mexico. By J. E. Gray, Esa., F.R.S. etc.

In a collection of reptiles recently received from Mexico are two

specimens of a Box Tortoise, which, beside differing from the com-

. mon box tortoise of North America, in being of a more elongated

form, both agree in two characters, which are not found in that

species or in any other species of the genus; first, in having an

additional vertebral plate ; and secondly, im the hind feet being only

armed with three large claws: there is no appearance of the fourth

claw, and even scarcely any rudiment of the fourth toe found im the

other specimens of this genus, and in all other Himyde.

This species will form a section or subdivision of the genus, which

may be called Onychotria.

Cistupo (OnycuoTRriA) Mexicana. Three-toed Box Tortoise.

Shell oblong, dark-brown, pale, spotted and rayed, spot and rays

sometimes confused.

Vertebral plates with a nearly continued keel, and with a small

intermediate one between the usual fourth and fifth plates.

The hinder margin acute revolute.

The head pale brown; the legs yellow or orange spotted, with five

unequal claws.

The hind legs brown, uniform, with only three large claws, the

middle and the front one largest.

The sternum flat; the gular plates wide in front, and suddenly

narrowed behind.

Hab. Mexico.

There was a specimen of the Kinosternon scorpiodes, and of the

Gopher, Testudo gopher, in the same collection: the latter only dif-

fered from the usual North American specimen in being rather larger

and. blacker.

February 27.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The following paper were read :—

1. DESCRIPTION OF SEVEN NEW SPECIES OF MARGINELLA.

By Joun 8S. GaAsKoIn.

MARGINELLA QUADRILINEATA. Marg. testd oblongo-ovatd, pal-

lidé virescente, nitidd; lineis rufis quatuor, equidistantibus,

transversis ; basi rotundatd, levi; aperturd latd antice pre-

cipue; canali latissimo ; labio lato, marginato, ultra apicem

extenso; columelld anticé quadriplicatd, plicis duabus anticis

concurrentibus canalem intermediam formantibus ; apice oblito.

Shell oblongo-ovate, of an uniform, opaque, pale-greenish colour,

highly polished, with four distinct, nearly equidistant, very narrow,

uninterrupted, even, red lines or bands, surrounding the shell from

the upper or outer edge of the incrassated margin of the lip, which con-

tinuing within the columella, extend over the earliest formation of

whorls: these lines are equally conspicuous on the inside of the last

whorl, and no doubt throughout the whole inside of the shell. The

same pale-greenish colour pervades the inside as the outer part ; base

Zoological Society. 63

round and smooth ; aperture wide, especially at the anterior portion,

where the columella suddenly contracts in diameter, subspiral, curved

posteriorly ; channel very broad, which and the edge of the lip are

subpellucid and whitish ; at the anterior part of the columella are

four prominent rather tenuous plaits :the first two conjoin and form

the inner side of the channel ; the two posterior are on the columella ;

between the imer side of the channel and the anterior third of the

columella is a concavity ; lip thick, smooth, extends beyond the apex,

no trace of crenulation, strongly marginated, and the margin has its

upper edge or rim of a darker colour than the shell; it proceeds over

the arch of the channel, and becomes obliterated just above the third

plait ; apex imperceptible.

Long, 59°, of an inch; wide, ;435 of an inch.

Hab.

The only specimens I have seen of this species are an adult shell in

the cabinet of Mr. Metcalfe, and an adult and a young one in my own ;

all of which were brought to this country in H.M.S. the Samarang.

It cannot be confounded with any known species of Marginella ;

the four narrow conspicuous red lines or bands, the two anterior plaits

being a bifurcation of the inner wall of the channel, the wide aperture,

and general form of the shell are ample distinctives.

Marernetia pupica. Marg. testd oblongo-ovatd, albidd, fasciis

sex vel septem, transversis, continuis, pallidissime viridi-fulvis ;

maculis distinetis pallidissime brunneis interruptis ; bast rotun-

datéd ; aperturd latiusculd ; labio crasso, marginato, ultra api-

cem extenso ; columelld quinqueplicatda ; canali lato et profundo ;

margine interno labii minute denticulato ; apice lato, obtuso.

Shell oblong-ovate, of a white colour, having six or seven very faint

greenish-brown bands traversing the shell from the border of the

aperture to the upper edge of the margin, interrupted by rather large,

distinct, very light-brown spots or markings; these bands have be-

tween them broad white lines, which are the colour of the shell; the

posterior end of the shell is in an evenly projecting ridge or varix,

surrounding the spire; base round, colour of the shell; aperture

rather wide, curved (bowed) ; lip thick, extending a little beyond the

apex, as described in reference to the posterior portion of the shell ;

margin rather thick, and extending over the arch of the channel ; the

columella is furnished with five plaits, the three anterior are promi-

nent, especially the second, which extending over the base obliquely,

forms a thickened varix ; small obtuse denticulations exist along the

whole inner edge of the lip; channel deep and wide ; apex broad and

obtuse.

Long, 28, of an inch; wide, ;18, of an inch.

Hab. Central America.

Cab. Metcalfe, Gaskoin, Cuming.

In size, form, markings, fewer plaits, the denticulations on the

inner edge of the lip, &c., separate this species from all others ; its

nearest affinity may be the Marginella tessellata, Lam., although

even that affinity is very distant ; in the size remarkably so.

64. Zoological Society.

MARGINELLA TRIPLICATA. Marg. testd ovatd, ventricosd, ful-

vescente, levi, nitiddque ; apertura angustd ; labio tenut, inflexo,

marginato ; columelld anticé triplicatd; canali nullo; spird

subelatd, anfractibus distinctis, apice acutiusculo.

Shell ovate, ventricose, of a general light fawn colour, without bands

or other markings, smooth and shining ; base round, aperture rather

narrow ; lip thin, much-inflexed, marginated ; three fine white plaits

are situated at the anterior portion of the columella, equidistant ; the

first forms the termination of the columella, the second passes very

slightly on to the base, in a parallel direction to the first, the third

not at all so; these plaits convey an idea as though they were differ-

ently produced to those of the generality of the Marginelle ; that is,

in not being formed on the columella, but as though the columella

had been delved in itself, leaving the lines or plaits projecting ; and

the semblance of a fourth plait is given by the depth and abruptness

of the notch beyond the third: channel none; spire slightly promi-

nent, with distinct whorls; apex subacute.

Long, ;34, of an inch; wide, 2°, of an inch.

Hab. The Philippines, &e.

The gibbosity and sudden tapering of this shell, the uniformity of

its coloration, in having but three plaits, and those at the anterior end

of the columella, and its short but perfect spire, distinguish it from

any species yet described.

I had intended, on determining to describe this shell, to have re-

tained for it the appellation by which it is so well known to many

naturalists and collectors—Marginella angystoma, although by whom

so designated I have been unable to learn, it never having before been

described nor figured ; but finding afterwards that M. Deshayes has

described and published a fossil species found at Grignon under that

name, I am obliged to forgo my wish, and have called it from perhaps

a more leading characteristic—Marginella triplicata.

MARGINELLA SERRATA. Marg. testd elongatd, subcylindricd,

pallidd; aperturd angustd; columella anticé quadriplicatd ;

labio tenui, inflexo, valde serrato dentibus sex vel octodecim ;

margine crasso ; spird subelatd, anfractis distinctis, apice obtu-

siusculo,

Shell elongated, subcylindrical, of a very light greyish colour, some-

times with light brown cloudings ; base rather round, aperture narrow,

columellar side nearly straight, with four nearly transverse equidistant

plaits at the anterior portion, the first continuing to form the inner

side of the channel, the second and the third passing obliquely for-

wards over the base, and the fourth in no degree so ; lip slightly spiral,

inflexed, thin, and deeply serrated at its entire edge, forming sixteen

to eighteen teeth ; margin thick, and continuous over the arch of

the channel, and, like the lip, is of a lighter colour than the rest of

the shell; spire somewhat prominent, whorls distinct ; apex rather

obtuse.

Long, 35, of an inch; wide, 545, of an inch.

Hab. The Mauritius.

Cab. Cuming.

Zoological Society. 65

This species approaches nearest in form to the Mary. triticea of

Lam., but has a much narrower aperture, and the edge of the lip is

strongly serrated its entire length.

MARGINELLA CONTAMINATA. Marg. testd oblongo-ovatd, pallidé

Jloris lactis colore; extus tenuissimé striatd; aperturd latd,

labio crasso, columella sexplicata, plicis tribus anticis prominen-

tioribus ; margine lato, planulatogue ; apice prominente obtu-

Sissimo.

Shell oblongo-ovate, of an uniform pale cream colour, without

bands or markings; internally the colour is somewhat darker; ex-

ternal texture of the shell is finely striated : the striee terminate ante-

riorly at the thickened varix over the arch of the channel curving to-

wards the columella, and in a similar manner at the edge of the white

deposit around the spire ; base round, aperture wide, slightly curved;

on the columella are six or more white plaits, the three anterior being

rather prominent, the first continuing to form the inner side of the

channel; the second forms a varix on the base of the shell; the

channel broad and deep; a white deposit exists on the columella

within the aperture, which widens and thickens outwardly from about

the anterior fourth of the aperture, covering the plaits and proceeding

over the arch of the channel, forming there a ridge or varix at its

posterior edge, and diminishing in width as it approaches the lip,

along the whole length of which it continues forming a broad flat

margin, and terminates around the spire, which is also covered by it:

apex slightly prominent, very obtuse.

Long, 1 inch; wide, 55, of an inch.

Hab. ?

Cab. Cuming, Gaskoin.

It differs from Marginella cornea, Lam., in its more elongated

form, the number, distribution and construction of the plaits, in its

broad, flat margin, in the thinness and planeness of the lip internally,

the varix at the anterior part of the base, &e.

MARGINELLA LINEATO-LABRUM. Marg. testé ovatd, levi, an-

Sractibus postice rotundatis, pallidée flavescente, nigro lineato-

punctatd; spird prominente ; basi rotundatd; aperturd latis-

simd ; columelld quadriplicatd ; labio crassiusculo, marginato,

lineis octo vel novem transversis, supra labrum et marginem

continuis.

Shell ovate, smooth, the whorls even (not crenulated), of a light

ellow-brown colour, having on the last whorl nine rows of distinct

small black spots, or short markings, obliquely longitudinally place ¢,

the two posterior rows of which are continuous along the whorls of

the spire even to the apex; spire very prominent, whorls rather gib-

bous ; base round ; aperture very wide ; the columella has four white

prominent plaits, the two anterior passing obliquely outwards, the

first to form the inner elevated side of the channel, the two posterior

are transverse ; lip, slightly bowed, is thick and marginated, and has

eight or nine nearly equidistant, dark-reddish, somewhat broad lines

crossing its edge and continuing over the margin ; margin continuous,

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 5

66 Zoological Society.

but with much less thickness, over the arch of the channel, and with

the first or anterior plait; channel broad and deep, obtuse.

Long, 6°, of an inch; wide, 3°. of an inch.

Hab.

Cab. Cuming.

The only specimen I have seen of this peculiar species is not in fine

condition ; when so, it must be very beautiful. It differs from Mar-

ginella Faba, Linn., in the evenness of the shoulders of the whorls,

its less attenuated form, and the linear markings of the margin, &c.

MARGINELLA PULCHERRIMA. Marg. testd oviformi, fulvescente,

JSasciis albis quinque, angustis, transversis, maculis linearibus

nigris, in centros fasciarum conspicuis ; interstitiis fascid prima

ad secundam fasciam, tertidque ad quartam, lineis plurimis

tenuissimis fulvescentibus longitudinalibus notatis; apertura

albd, latiusculd ; columelldé quinque-plieatd ; labio tenui ; apice

distineto.

Shell oviform, shining, of a light fawn colour, with five transverse,

distinct, narrow, even, uninterrupted white bands surrounding the

shell, from the edge of the lip, the two anterior terminating at the

columellar edge of the aperture, the others proceeding inwards over

the columella ; the posterior is always the least distinct (conspicuous) :

floating, as it were, in the centre of these white bands, are very dark-

brown or black, equidistant, linear markings or streaks, and similar

markings in colour and form radiate obliquely on the slight ridge

which encircles the spire: the spaces of the shell between the an-

terior band and the second, and between the third and the fourth,

are occupied by numerous, fine, longitudinal and parallel light-brown

lines, the other spaces between the bands are irregularly marked with

the same colouring, varying in individual specimens, in intensity of

coloration, especially in the middle space (that between the third and

the fourth bands); base round ; aperture white, rather wide, flexuous

posteriorly ; five plaits on the columella; the three anterior project ;

the first is continuous with the inner side of the channel, the second

takes a similar direction behind it, passing obliquely over the base of

the shell, and next this is a white varix following outside the aperture

a similar direction, on which are four or five dark-brown spots; lip

thin, no margin; apex perceptible.

Long, 2°, of an inch; wide, 24, of an inch.

Hab. West Indies.

Cab. British Museum, Metcalfe, Gaskoin, &c.

Differs from the Voluta catenata of Montagu* (Marginella of

others) in having but four distinct, and one rather obscure, bands; im

these being uninterrupted, and the linear markings floating in their

centres, and not linking interrupted or disjointed portions of the bands,

as in M. catenata; in the dark colour, and the more oviform shape.

I have hitherto found this species among parcels of Marginella sagit-

tata of Hinds.

* Which I believe to be a West Indian production only, and not as Montagn

was led to suppose, a British species. I have found the Marginella catenata fre-

quently among the small West Indian Marginellz, as have many others, and from

no other source did Montagu himself obtain it.

«J

Ipswich Museum. 6

IPSWICH MUSEUM.

On Thursday the 13th December was celebrated the second Anni-

versary of this very promising Institution. By half-past twelve there

was a very numerous and respectable assemblage, when the Rev.

Samuel Hinds, D.D., Lord Bishop of Norwich, entered, accompanied

by the Rev. Robert Eden, M.A., F.S.A., his Lordship’s Chaplain,

the Revds. the Professors Sedgwick and Henslow, the Rev. E. Sidney,

the Hoa. and Rev. F. De Grey, the Rev. A. B. Power, the following

Fellows of the Linnean, Geological, Astronomical and Zoological

Societies, Mr. G. Ransome, Mr. May, Mr. John Gould, Mr. Richard

Taylor, Capt. Ibbetson, Mr. G. Waterhouse, Mr. J. S. Bowerbank,

Mr. L. Reeve and other gentlemen, several of whom were most hos-

pitably entertained during their stay in Ipswich by G. Ransome, Esq.,

and C. May, Esq.

The Bishop of Norwich having taken the chair addressed the

meeting as follows :—Mr. Kirby, the time-honoured President of

this Institution, being unable to attend as usual, it has fallen to my

lot to occupy the chair. Before entering on the business of the day,

however, permit me to express the great gratification I feel at the

opportunity which this meeting has afforded me of introducing myself

to some sort of acquaintance with a great number of those among

whom my lot is now cast, and whose welfare it will be my duty

henceforward, as well as, I assure you, my earnest desire, to pro-

mote in every possible way. I may be permitted to express, at the

same time, my sympathy with the sadder feeling which, no doubt,

my occupancy of this chair today will have awakened in the minds of

many, who remember their connection with one who is now no more ;

one who was not only a zealous friend of the Ipswich Museum, but

an ardent supporter and patron of every enterprise which had for its

object the intellectual advancement and the moral elevation of his

fellow-men. I regret that my habits and pursuits but ill qualify me to

- contribute to this meeting the enlivening anecdote and the interesting

information which he, on these occasions, always had at command, from

the stores of his own observation, and from his researches in a parti-

cular branch of Natural History ; but I wish to assure you that Iam

not the less alive to the value of this Museum and of Museum meet-

ings, especially a Museum which is the resort and the property of the

humbler classes, of the artisan, the mechanic, the mere day work-

ing man. That I believe is the distinctive feature of this Institu-

tion. I know of no other characterized in the same manner. Now,

I conceive this to be a very interesting point of view. No question,

perhaps, at this moment, is more important, socially and morally,

than the question, how the humbler classes of our brethren, those

who have to earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brow,—

how they are to employ their little leisure time, so as at once to

make it available for the relaxation and recreation that are necessary

for them, and, at the same time, to be improving themselves? A

museum appears to me to combine the two objects most excellently ;

it is amusing and it is instructive. The objects which they find in

the Museum, together with the instruction which they derive from

68 Ipswich Museum.

other sources here, constitute a knowledge which comes across them

in their daily avocations: things which cross their path in the field,

or in their workshop, and which would never otherwise, perhaps,

have been so much as observed, now become the means of interest,

of instruction, and of improvement to them. ‘The Museum is in this

manner, I should say, to them the acquirement of a new faculty, of

a new power; and | cannot but hope and believe, although the In-

stitution has been in existence but two years, that the result has

been altogether satisfactory, and even beyond what could have been

expected from it. I shall not detain the meeting longer from so much

that is valuable and interesting, to which we are looking forward, and

I shall, therefore, at once call upon Mr. Ransome to read the Report.

George Ransome, Esq., then read the Keport, containing a view of

the objects and progress of the Institution, from which we give the

following passage :—

«« And how, it may be asked, does the Institution intend to accom-

plish these purposes? or how does it tend to advance the education

of the people? If any presume that we merely gratify an idle curi-

osity, we answer that we have evidence to assure us that we not only

very greatly increase the gleaners of knowledge, but that we add to

the number of the real cultivators and reapers in the fields of science,

and especially in the various departments of Natural History. We

lay the foundation of future inquiry ; we awaken the mind. From

the advantages afforded them in the Museum, by the sight of speci-

mens, by lectures and classes, the visitors become admirers ; the ad-

mirers, students ; the students, collectors ; the collectors, donors, pre-

senting specimens, and adding their ideas to the parent stock. Such

is the assistance we have received, and are continually receiving, not

only from our home friends, but from those who visit foreign lands.’’

A tribute of well-merited gratitude and respect was then paid to

the memory of Dr. Stanley, the late bishop of the diocese, and the

lamented President of the Linnean Society.

“We have now amelancholy part of our Report to dwell upon, the

loss by death of Dr. Stanley, the late Bishop of Norwich, an early

friend and a generous patron of the Museum. _ Its design and object

were peculiarly dear to him ; he was a warm advocate in its behalf—

he was greatly instrumental in promoting its success. He gave us the

right hand of fellowship, and advanced our interests to the utmost of

his power. We owe hima lasting debt of gratitude, and his bust and

faithful portrait will long continue to associate his name and memory

with an Institution which he admired, loved and cherished.”’

The Rev. Professors Sedgwick and Henslow, and the Rev. E. Sid-

ney, also dwelt upon the many excellences of Dr. Stanley in terms

of the most affectionate remembrance. Several gentlemen haying

addressed the meeting, Mr. Ransome proposed the names of the

Rev. M. J. Berkeley, the eminent cryptogamic botanist, G. Water-

house, Esq., and Dr. A. B. Garrod, as Honorary Members. Mr.

R. Ransome rejoiced in common with the company present at the

success of the Institution ; thus far it had eminently prospered. The

working classes had shown their esteem for it by the extraordinary

amount of their visits, and that, too, without one single instance of

Ipswich Museum. 69

either disorderly conduct or damage to anything in the Museum.

He hailed the circumstance of the Bishop coming forward to walk

in the steps of his highly respected predecessor, as an omen for the

future success of the Institution.

The Bishop of Norwich was much obliged to the meeting for the

kind compliment, and for the hearty welcome which he had found in

Ipswich. In supporting that Institution, in giving it what encourage-

ment and countenance were in his power, in treading in the footsteps

of his lamented and honoured predecessor, he felt that he was doing

no more than a bare duty, for he could not but recollect that the Mu-

seum was a Museum for the people. He could not but congratulate

the meeting on the result of what had taken place that day. These

meetings were a most important arrangement in conjunction with the

Museum itself; he might say that they gave life to the dead speci-

mens with which they were surrounded.

The Dinner, which was numerously attended, was presided over by

J. C. Cobbold, Esq., M.P. for Ipswich, supported by H. E. Adair,

Esq., M.P., A. S. Adair, Esq., M.P., and J. H. Hardcastle, Esq.,

M.P.; the Bishop of Norwich, and many of the Clergy. His Lord-

ship, in responding to a toast from the chair, remarked that it was

quite true, as the Chairman had observed, that this was the first

occasion upon which he had been called to respond to the toast of

“The Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese.” It was peculiarly gratify-

ing to him that the first occasion of his doing so should be at a meet-

ing of this particular description. It was a token of an improved and

enlightened spirit of the age. The time, he hoped, was now quite

gone by, when scientific and natural truth was considered not only

at variance with, and distinct from, religious truth, but principally

in opposition to it. As Professor Sedgwick had very forcibly pointed

out that morning, the Word and Works of God were only books

which we must trace to the same Divine authorship—different vo-

lumes of a revelation of mercy ; and he was persuaded, that the more

they compared the one with the other, in an honest and right spirit,

the more He would enable us to illustrate and confirm the one by

the other. The Museum and its meetings had a direct connection

with the ministry ; for an Institution which tended obviously to

withdraw the humbler classes from debasing scenes and habits, and

which rendered these classes industrious, sober, and honest, was an

Institution that was co-operating with the ministrations of the clergy ;

to a certain extent it occupied the same ground, that was to say, it

prepared the objects of their ministrations for the more ready ap-

plication of the Divine word.—A meeting like the present was com-

mon ground for all. Whatever might be our differences or disagree-

ments on politics or on religion, here, at least, we were united—we

were one. The Museum, and its meetings, which were very important

adjuncts, furnished us with the materials of a temple of charity.

On the previous Wednesday evening a highly interesting lecture

had been delivered by Professor Owen upon the extinct gigantic

wingless birds of New Zealand, which we hope to notice in a future

number.

70 Miscellaneous.

MISCELLANEOUS.

BOTANICAL NOTES.

Odontites verna, Reich., and its allies.—In the course of a very

short tour in the eastern Pyrenees during the past autumn, I did not

fail to observe the forms of this group which happened to come in

my way, especially with a view to distinguish the plant which I have

described ina recent number of this Journal as O. Bertolonii ; I failed

however to find any forms which should not be referred to O. verna.

The state of the latter plant which I found abundantly in cultivated

land in the mountainous region of northern Catalonia, has larger fruit

than it is usually found to possess, but the form of the capsule and

calyx-segments is quite normal, and does not approach to my 0. ro-

tundata. I have recently received from M. Jordan of Lyons spe-

cimens of three forms of this group detected by that accurate observer

in the neighbourhood of Lyons, and named by him respectively

Euphrasia verna, Bell., EL. serotina, Lam., and EF. divergens, Jordan.

The first of these agrees with the common European Odontites verna ;

the second is the more slender plant which J} bave distmguished as

var. elegans, and which is not in my opinion specifically distinct ; |

the third is a plant with which I was not previously acquainted, and

which appears to have strong claims to rank as a distinct species. In

habit, and in the size and form of the capsule, it resembles O. Berto-

lonii, but the leaves, instead of being ovate and distinctly toothed,

are almost linear, with one or two scarcely perceptible teeth, those of

the branches being usually entire ; the calyx-segments are short (one-

third of its length) and triangular, as in O. rotundata, and M. Jor-

dan observes that they are adpressed to the ripe capsule, which is

not the case in the common species. This latter character it is dif-

ficult to verify in dried specimens, but it appears to be likewise cha-

racteristic of O. rotundata. The flowers are too imperfect for de-

scription in M. Jordan’s specimens of O. divergens, but they appear

to be much smaller than in the other allied species.

Rhinanthus major and R. angustifolius.—In the tenth volume

of DeCandolle’s ‘ Prodromus,’ Mr. Bentham enumerates England

amongst the native localities of both the above-named species of

Rhinanthus, although the former alone has hitherto been enumerated.

as a British plant. If, as Mr. Bentham seems to consider, the cha-

racter derived from the presence or absence of a membranous edge to

the seeds be not trustworthy, it is difficult to assign any more con-

stant character by which to distinguish these species; but such has

not been the result of my observations, so far as they have extended.

I shall briefly note the forms with which I am acquainted :—

R. major, Ehrh.?, Benth. in DeC. Prod. Hairy calyces and

broadly winged seeds. France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and

Hungary. (J. B. spec. in herb.).

R. major, [3. alpina, Benth. Calyces nearly or quite glabrous, seg-

ments more acute, broadly winged seeds. Alps, Apennines, Riesen-

gebirge, and Carpathians. (J. B. spec. in herb.).

A specimen without ripe fruit from the herbarium of the late Pro-

a i a ie

Miscellaneous. TE

fessor Graham, marked ‘ Durham, 1836,’ seems to me to agree with

this form, but I have not seen any undoubted English specimens.

R. angustifolius, Gmel. Calyces glabrous, with acute segments,

leaves very narrow, seeds nearly or quite wingless. Scotland (Fort

George, Professor Balfour ; corn-fields in Nairn, Mr. Stables).

This plant appears to me to be rare on the continent of Europe.

I have found it near Cracow; but though Mr. Bentham says, “in

Europe medi et preesertim australioris pascuis,”’ I have never seen

specimens from the south of Europe. It is true that if the character

derived from the seeds be not permanent, it is very difficult to distin-

guish this from R. major, (3. alpina, Benth., as the latter plant has

frequently very narrow leaves ; but as I have already observed, I am

not able to confirm the asserted variableness of the form of the seeds,

which are constantly winged in all the specimens of R. major which

I have examined.

It may be suspected that two other described species, R. buccalis,

Wallr., and R. Retchenbachii, Drejer, constitute between them a va-

riety of R. angustifolius, having the same relation to that plant that

the common European R. major has to the variety 3. alpina of

Bentham. J. Baw.

ECHINORHINUS SPINOSUS.

Falmouth, Dec. 7, 1849.

Srr,—I send a short description of a splendid specimen of the

“ Echinorhinus spinosus,” Blainv., caught yesterday a few miles from

the harbour by one of Mrs. Chard’s trawl-boats—for your Journal,

should you consider it worth insertion.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

R. Taylor, Esq. WP: Cocks:

Description.—Head depressed ; eyes bright, copperish ; nose ob-

tuse ; mouth large ; teeth in both jaws broad and low, the edge nearly

horizontal. Body thick, 2 feet in depth and 7 in length (from snout

to commencement of caudal fin) ; pectoral fins small, truncated ; dor-

sal two, placed very far back, opposite to abdominal fins.

Surface of skin polished and covered with strong bony spines of

various sizes and heights, arising from circular bases from 4th to 4ths

of an inch in diameter.

Colour.—Back and sides dark leaden gray ; abdomen, throat, &c.,

dirty yellowish white, clouded all over with light gray and brown ;

base of fins brownish.

A white line extended from the base of the pectoral fins to com-

mencement of the caudal. Five large branchial apertures.

It weighed more than 200 lbs.

On the Presence of Entophyta in healthy living Animals.

By Dr. Lerpy.

From the opinion so frequently expressed, that contagious diseases

and some others might have their origin and reproductive character

through the agency of cryptogamic spores, which, from their minute-

ness and lightness, are so easily conveyed from place to place through

72 Miscellaneous.

the atmosphere by means of the gentlest zephyr, or even the eva-

poration continually taking place from the earth’s surface ; and from

the numerous facts already presented of the presence of cryptogamic

vegetation in many cutaneous diseases and upon other diseased sur-

faces, I was led to reflect upon the possibility of plants of this de-

scription existmg in healthy animals, as a natural condition ; or, at

least, apparently so, as in the case of entozoa. Upon considering

that the conditions essential to vegetable growth were the same as

those indispensable to animal life, I felt convineed that entophyta

- would be found in healthy living animals, as well, and probably as fre-

quently, as entozoa. The constant presence of mycodermatoid fila-

ments growing upon the human teeth, the teeth of the ox, sheep,

pig, &e., favoured this idea, and accordingly I mstituted a course of

investigations, which led to the discovery of several well-characterized

forms of vegetable growth, of which, at present, I will give but a short

description, for the purpose of establishing priority, and propose

giving a more detailed account of them, with figures, on some future

occasion.

Enterobrus, a new genus of Confervacee. Simple, attached, iso-

lated filaments consisting of a long cylindrical cell, (containing pro-

toplasma, granules, and large translucent globules enveloped in a

primordial utricle,) with a distinct coriaceous peduncle or stipe of

attachment, and at length producing at the free extremity one or two,

rarely three, shorter cylindrical cells (filled with the same matter as

the parent cell).

Enterobrus elegans. Filaments olive-browa, brownish yellowish,

or colourless, at first forming a single spiral turn, and then passing in

a straight or gently curved line to the free extremity. Pedunele, or

stipe of attachment, adhering very firmly, coriaceous, uniformly

brownish, narrower than the frond-cell, papillary, columnar, elon-

gated conical or pyramidal, expanded at base and at point of attach-

ment to frond-cell, marked with longitudinal lines, and frequently

with transverse annular constrictions, with no definite interior strue-

ture. Length from 1-3750th to 1-400th of an inch ; breadth 1-3200th

to 1-1666th. Frond-cell much elongated, frequently reaching the

length of 2 or 3 lines, uniformly cylindrical, excepting at free extre-

mity, where it is usually clavate; breadth in full-grown individuals

pretty uniformly 1-935th of an ich. Contents consisting of a

colourless protoplasma, with more or less numerous, fine, translucent,

yellowish or colourless granules, measuring about 1-15,000th of an

inch, and numerous large, colourless, transparent globules or vesicles

filled with fluid, averaging the 1-2870th of an inch in diameter. End-

cells only existing in full-grown individuals, one, usually two, rarely

three in number ; the first one cylindrical, 1-86th of an inch in length

by 1-1000th m breadth, filled with more granules and less globules

than the parent cell ; end-cell clavate, 1-135th of an inch long by

1-750th broad, at the clavate end 1-638th, filled with granular matter

and a few globules.

Length of full-grown individual 2 to 3, sometimes 4 lines.

Hab. Grows from the basement membrane of the mucous mem-

Miscellaneous. 73

brane of the small intestine of Julus marginatus, Say, occasionally

from the same membrane at the commencement of the large intestine,

and also from any part of the exterior surface of Ascaris infecta and

Aorurus ; entozoa infesting those portions of the intestinal canal of

this animal.

The youngest individuals of Enterobrus which I ever detected,

measured 1-380th of an inch in length by 1-1060th in breadth, but

the most usual sizes vary from the 1-150th of an inch to the full-

grown individual. At all ages they contain the same character of

contents, but in the younger ones the large globules are usually pre-

dominant, sometimes to such an extent as to exclude the other mat-

ters. When quite young they are usually more or less clavate and

straight ; a little more advanced they form a gentle curve, about one-

eighth of a circle. A little older, the distal half or third becomes

uniformly dilated, and forms an obtuse angle with the other portion ;

after this, as it continues growing, it usually forms a single spiral turn,

becomes uniformly dilated, and thus advances to the full-grown in-

dividual. The cell-contents consist principally of large transparent

globules, with granules and protoplasma in the interstices. Frequently

the cells are found distended with the globules to such an extent that

the other matters almost, and occasionally even entirely disappear.

Iodine turns the protoplasma and granules deep yellow or very deep

brown, and causes the rupture of the globules, when a clear fluid is

observed to exude ; very slightly coloured purplish, cr undergoing no

change of colour from the iodine. Solution of iodine, acetic acid, salt

water, or the prolonged action of water alone, causes a contraction of

the cell-contents from the sides of the permanent cell-wall, but they

are still held together by an apparent delicate membrane of the cha-

racter of a primordial utricle. Frequently in dead individuals, the m-

terior contents shrink to two-thirds, occasionally to one-third the dia-

meter of the cell calibre, and almost eight to twenty times the diameter

of the cell from each extremity, when they have the appearance of a

shrivelled granular membrane. In these latter cases the characteristic

globules and granules have disappeared, and their place is more or

less occupied with water, and yellowish globular, highly refractive

bodies, which resemble oil. These latter globules vary in size froma

mere point up to one-fourth the diameter of the cell. The smaller

ones are contained within the shrivelled primordial utricle with a few

of the larger ones, and a number of the latter occupy a position be-

tween the primordial utricle and the cell-wall, apparently formed by a

conjunction of the smaller globules and an exudation through the

primordial utricle during the act of contraction consequent upon de-

composition. They are insoluble in alcohol, but are soluble in ether

and solution of potassa ; in fact in all their properties they resemble

oil. Can these oil globules be the result of decomposition ?

The protoplasma or fluid of the cells is colourless or faintly yel-

lowish, contracts or coagulates upon the application of alcohol, and is

coloured brown by iodine, having all the characters usually possessed

by that albuminoid fiuid found in all young vegetable cells, and deno-

minated protoplasma by H. von Mohl.

74: Miscellaneous.

The clear granules are minute, yellowish, and resemble fine oil glo-

bules. They are turned deep brown by the action of iodine.

The clear globules appear to consist of a delicate vesicular membrane

probably derived from the primordial utricle, filled with a colourless

fluid.

No circulatory or other movement, as in Achyla prolifera, exists in

the cell-contents. The end-cells of the full-grown individuals are

usually two in number, and much shorter than the parent cell.

Occasionally I -have found three end-cells, more frequently but one.

These cells are formed from the parent cells by a contraction first

taking place in the contents with the primordial utricle, a partition

from the permanent cell-wall forming afterwards.

The end-cells are probably spore-cases ; their contents are usually

a dense mass of fine granules, similar to those of the parent cell, with

a few intermingled globules. I never saw any movement, molecular

or other, in the contained matter, except during decomposition.

A question may arise as to the true situation of this plant among

the Cryptogamia. I have placed it in the order Confervacee, from

the diagnosis given by Endlicher in his ‘Genera Plantarum’ : “ Fila

capillaria, membranacea v. filamentosa, intus v. extus articulata, sim-

plicia v. ramosa, libera (i. e. haud in frondem coalita), interdum tamen

reticulatim contexta, viridia v. rarius fusca aut purpurea, in formis

infimis hyalina,” &c.

Cladophytum, a new genus of Entophyta allied to the Mycoder-

mata. Filaments minute, attached by means of a roundish nucleus,

simple, or compounded near the base of attachment, with mimute

lateral ramuli, inarticulate, and with no evidence of interior structure.

Cladophytum comatum. Filaments delicate, regular, colourless,

simple, more frequently branched near the base at very acute angles,

growing in more or less dense bunches from a yellowish rounded or

oval, attached, nuclear body varying in size from 1-7500th to 1-600th

of an inch. Lateral ramuli very minute, measuring in length from

1-15,000th to 1-3000th of an inch, and passing off at acute angles.

No indication of articulation or interior structure.

Length from 1-666th to 1-120th of an inch.

Hab. Growing more or less profusely from the mucous membrane

of the small intestine of Judus marginatus, occasionally from the same

surface at the commencement of the large intestine, from any part of

the exterior surface of entozoa infesting those cavities, and also from

any part of the surface of Enterobrus elegans.

Arthromitus, a second new genus of Entophyta allied to the My-

codermata. Filaments always simple, cylindric, articulated, without

ramuli, attached by means of a nuclear body, and with no evidence

of interior structure.

Arthromitus cristatus. Filaments delicate, straight or inflected,

growing in tufts usually of moderate density, from minute, attached,

yellowish, rounded or oval nuclear bodies. Articuli short, cylindric,

uniform, measuring 1-9090th in. in length by 1-15,000th in breadth,

with no traces of interior structure.

Length 1-375th to 1-46th of an inch ; breadth 1-15,000th in.

Miscellaneous. 75

Hab. Same as Cladophytum comatum, but rarely growing in such

dense tufts.

The three genera of Entophyta of which I have now spoken, are all

so constantly found in the Julus marginatus, that I look upon it as

a natural condition, and should I hereafter meet with an individual

without them, I will consider it a rare exception, because, in one

hundred and sixteen individuals which I have examined during the

past thirteen months, in all seasons, and af all ages and sizes of froth

one up to three inches of the animal, | have invariably found them.

It cannot be supposed that these are developed and grow after death,

because I found them always immediately upon killing the animal.

Whilst the legs of fragments of the animals were yet moving upon

my table, or one-half of the body even walking, I have frequently

been examining the plants growing upon part of the intestinal canal

of the same individual. And upon the entozoa, these entophyta will

be frequently found growing, whilst the former are actively moving

about. I found among others an Ascaris three lines long, which had

no less than twenty-three individuals of Enterobrus, averaging a line

in length, besides a quantity of the other two genera growing upon

it, and yet it moved about in so lively a manner that it did not ap-

pear the least incommoded by its load of vegetation. This specimen

I have preserved in a glass cell in Goadby’ s solution, and exhibit it

to the Academy.

The animals were uniformly enjoying good health, 7. e. all the or-

ganic and animal functions were natural; they eat, grew, reached

their definite size, reproduced, and, in fact, presented all those actions

characteristic of the normal state of existence of the animal.

The genus Julus is an extensive one, and its species are found in

all the great parts of the globe, and as their habits are the same, the

conditions for the production of the entophyta wil! be the same ; and

I think I do not go too far when I say, they will be constantly (cand

throughout the genus in any part of the world, so that naturalists

and others may, upon examination, readily verify or contradict the

statements which I have this evening presented.

From these facts we perceive that we may have entophyta in

luxurious growth within living animals, without affecting their health,

which is further supported by my having detected my codermatoid

filaments in the caecum of six young and healthy rats, examined im-

mediately after death, although they existed in no other part of the

body. These filaments were minute, simple and inarticulate, measur ing

from 1-5000th to 1-1428th in. in length, by 1-16,000th ‘of an al

in breadth. With them were also found two species of Vibrio.

Even those moving filamentary bodies belonging to the genus

Vibrio, 1 am inclined do think, are of the character of algous vegeta-

tion. Their movement is no objection to this opinion, for much higher

confervee, as the Oscillatorie, are endowed with inherent power of

movement not very unlike that of the Vibrio, and indeed the move-

ment of the latter appears to belong only to one stage of its existence.

Thus, in the toad (Bufo americanus), in the stomach and small in-

testine, there exist simple, delicate, filamentary bodies, which are of

76 Miscellaneous.

three different kinds. One is exceedingly minute, forms a single

spiral, is endowed with a power of rapid movement, and appears to

be the Spirillum undula of Ehrenberg ; the second is an exceedingly

minute, straight and short filament, with a movement actively mole-

cular in character, and is probably the Vibrio lineola of the same

author; the third consists of straight, motionless filaments, mea-

suring 1-1125th in. long, by 1-15,000th broad ; some were however

twice, or even thrice this length, but then I could always detect one

or two articulations, and these, in all their characters, excepting want

of movement, resemble the Vibrio. In the rectum of the same animal

the same filamentary bodies are found, with myriads of Bodo intes-

tinalis; but the third species, or longest of the filamentary bodies,

have increased immensely in numbers, and now possess the movement

peculiar to the Vibrio lineola, which however does not appear to be

voluntary, but reactionary ; they bend and pursue a straight course,

until they meet with some obstacle, when they instantly move in the

opposite direction, either extremity forward.

But it must not be understood that these facts militate against the

hypothesis of the production of contagious diseases through the

agency of Cryptogamia. It is as well established that there are mi-

croscopie Cryptogamia capable of producing and transmitting disease,

as in the case of the Muscardine, &c., as that there are innocuous and

poisonous fungi. But to suppose that they are the sole cause of con-

tagious disease, is to doubt the possibility of other causes, such as a

change in the chemical constitution of the atmosphere, the elements

of our food, &c., and is as ridiculous as the psoric origin of most

diseases of that miserable charlatanry denominated homceopathy.

In many instances it is difficult to distinguish their character whether

as cause or effect, as upon diseased surfaces, in Tinea capitis, aphthous

ulcers, &c. Ina post-mortem examination in which I assisted Dr.

Horner, a few weeks since, twenty-eight hours after death, in mode-

rately cool weather, we found the stomach in a much softened con-

dition. In the mucus of the stomach I detected myriads of myco-

dermatoid filaments, resembling those growing upon the teeth ; sim-

ple, floating, inarticulate, and measuring from 1-7000th to 1-520th

of an inch in length, by 1-25,000th of an inch in breadth. It is

possible they may have been the cause of the softened condition ; but

I would prefer thinking that swallowed mycodermatoid filaments

from the teeth, finding an excellent nidus in the softening stomach,

rapidly grew and reproduced themselves. In the healthy human

stomach these do not exist.

In the stomach of a diabetic patient, I found so very few that they

probably did not grow there, but were swallowed in the saliva.

Dr. Leidy afterwards exhibited numerous drawings of the entophyta

described by him, and also specimens, beneath the microscope, grow-

ing from the mucous membrane of the small intestine of Julus, and

from the exterior surface of entozoa infesting that cavity.—Proceed-

ings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. iv.

p- 225.

Miscellaneous. "7

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF PARROT,

BY G. R. GRAY, FSQ., F.L.S. ETC.

Psrrracus Rtprexrii.

Uniform dark bronze colour, with the lesser and under wing-coverts

bright yellow; the feathers of the thighs orange-yellow.

Total length 9 inches 6 lines; bill, from gape, 10 lines; wings

5 inches 6 lines; tail 3 inches 3 lines; tarsi 6 lines.

The greater uniformity of colour at once distinguishes it from the

allied species, Psittacus Meyeri and P. rufiventris of Dr. Riippell.

The specimen from which this description is taken lived for up-

wards of twelve months in the Society’s collection, and is believed to

have been brought to this country from the river Nunez. I have

named it in honour of my distinguished friend, whose labours have

contributed so largely to our knowledge of African zoology.—From

the Proceedings of the Zoological Society .

ON DECAY IN FRUIT.

Even the meanest subjects afford matter for admiration when

attentively observed. Nothing at first sight could appear less in-

teresting than the mode in which decay takes place im fruit; yet

several distinct phenomena are exhibited, even in the same individual

variety. In Apples, for instance, every housewife has observed that

her fruit sometimes rapidly passes into a moist loathsome mass, while

at other times it becomes a brown or black mummy. In the former

case either some Penicillium or Mucor is almost invariably present ;

in the latter there is sometimes a fungus of a totally different type,

though frequently there is no indication, at least externally, of any

parasite.

An appearance, so very strange, presented itself a few days since

in a basket of common Codlins, that a specimen was at once brought

to us for examination. The whole of the outer surface had assumed

a pale gray opake tinge, as if it had been scalded, the substance

meanwhile feeling extremely hard and glassy, reminding one forcibly

of the potatoes described by Martius affected with the dry rot (Trock-

enfiule). Here and there beneath the cuticle beautiful radiating

threads were observed, evidently indicating the presence of a fungus,

but as they did not proceed to any further development, we could

not ascertain of what species they were the mycelium. The gray

tinge soon assumed, in portions of the surface, a deep brown tint,

though the greater part sti remained pale. A section exhibited

three different strata, the central one apparently sound, but rapidly

becoming reddish brown, and collapsing in a very different way from

what would have been the case with healthy tissue ; surrounding this

was a thin layer of brown, evidently diseased, if not actually dead

cells, and beyond this a superficial stratum of pale gray tissue. In

none of these was there any trace of fungus threads except where

the radiating flocci, above mentioned, were visible; the brown cells

had lost their granular contents, and the walls of the gray cells were

very irregular and collapsed, so as to present a confused appearance

78 Miscellaneous.

under the microscope. After exposure to the air for two days, a

crop of fungi appeared on the cut surface ; but, strange to say, the

central portion, consisting of the two internal strata, was covered

with a species of Ozdium of a grayish tint, while the external ring,

which had now lost all rigidity, was occupied with a white circle of

Penicillium glaucum passing on the inner edge into the greenish

tinge of adult tufts of that fungus. We do not recollect to have

seen anything of the kind before, and we record it with the greater

pleasure, as it shows how much ground there is for observation,

even in objects which we tread every day under foot.

The Oidiuim is a most beautiful object under the microscope. It

is a form of Oidium fructigenum, differing merely in its rather grayer

tinge and diffuse mode of growth, owing probably to its having liberty

of free development, instead of being forced to break out through the

cuticle, in which it forms little tufts which are often arranged con-

centrically. In intimate structure it precisely resembles the type

which is admirably figured by Corda in his ‘ Icones Fungorum,.’—

Gardeners’ Chronicle.

PRESIDENCY OF THE LINNAAN SOCIETY.

The anonymous writer of the paragraph in the ‘ Athenzeum,’ in

which it was asserted that there was “a strong feeling among the

Fellows”’ of the Linnzean Society “in favour of biennial election to

the Presidency,” is, of course, very angry at the notice on the sub-

ject in the last Number of the ‘ Annals.’

In a paragraph (Atheneum, Dec. 8) the writer attempts to elude

the charge of having made a false statement. The expression, ‘a

strong feeling among the Fellows,” must evidently have been in-

tended to convey that such feeling prevailed among the majority,

or at least some considerable number of the Fellows: and this, we

again assert, is wholly without foundation. ‘‘ We stated,” says the

writer, “what we knew to be the fact, that many of the Fellows in-

clined towards a biennial election.”” Who, then, is this wonderful

wE, that pretends to know so much of the feelings and opinions of

the Fellows of the Linneean Society? And what does he call many?

ten, five, or two? Or perhaps he considers his we a host in itself.

If however he would append his initials, which (to use his own

phrase) ‘have not yet transpired,” and which probably might be

deciphered as easily as our R.T., the public might be enabled to

judge of the value of his statements. The right of the author of the

paragraph to entertain any opinion he pleases was never questioned

(although he falsely charges us with assuming “that no opinion dif-

fering from our own can be held’’); nor did we enter at all upon the

question as toa biennial election ; what we protested against was, that

he should obtrude his private fancies upon the public, pretending that

they were the strong feeling of a large body of Fellows. We also

object that recourse should have been had to the hackneyed news-

paper expedient for setting an unfounded rumour afloat by such an

insinuation as the followimg:—‘ It has not yet transpired whether

the invitation has or has not been received conditionally by Mr.

Meteorological Observations. 79

Brown”’—thus pretending to assume either that it was in contem-

plation to propose to him to accept the Presidency on some conditions

different from those of the Charter, or that he himself desired to do

so: whereas the writer, if he has the acquaintance with the affairs of

the Society to which he pretends, must have been perfectly aware that

no such question had ever been broached.—R. T.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR NOV. 1849.

Chiswick.—November 1. Fine. 2. Foggy: very fine. 3. Densefog. 4. Foggy:

cloudy at night. 5. Cloudless and fine. 6. Clear. 7. Rain. 8. Densely over-

cast. 9. Overcast: fine: overcast. 10. Exceedingly fine. 11. Clear and fine:

fogey at night. 12. Foggy: hazy. 13. Fine: rain. 14. Heavy rain: clear at

night. 15. Clear: cloudy: clear. 16. Fine. 17. Clear. 18. Overcast: slight

rain: showery at night. 19. Hazy. 20. Uniformly overcast. 21, Hazy. 22.

Foggy : overcast. 23. Overcast: rain. 24. Foggy. 25. Foggy: cloudy: clear.

26. Foggy: cloudy and cold: clear: sharp frost at night. 27. Sharp frost:

clear: foggy. 28. Frosty and foggy: clear and frosty: foggy. 29. Overcast :

fine: overcast. 30. Constant rain. 4

Mean temperature of the month ............066 Spoceec contest AN OO

Mean temperature of Nov. 1848 ...........+++ SOS CORRES SIAOGe 41 ‘18

Mean temperature of Nov. for the last twenty-three years 43 °41

Average amount of rain in November ......seesssseseeeees .-. 2°56 inches.

Boston.—Nov. 1. Cloudy. 2. Fine. 3,4. Foggy. 5,6. Fine. 7. Cloudy:

rain a.M.and p.m. 8—10. Cloudy. 11. Fine. 12. Foggy. 13—17. Fine.

18. Clondy: rain a.m. 19, 20. Fine. 21, 22. Cloudy. 23. Cloudy: rain p.m.

24—96. Fine. 27. Fine: snow a.m. 28. Snow. 29. Cloudy. 30. Rain:

rain A.M.

The following are the averages for Oct. 1849, with which we have been favoured

by our correspondent Mr. W. Veall of Boston, whose report did not arrive in time

for our last Number.

Barometer. Thermometer. Rain in inches.

29°46 488 3°32

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire— Nov. 1. Rain during night: cleared p.m.

2, Raw frost a.m.: rain: fog r.m. 3. Raw frost again: threatening rain. 4,

Fine a.m. : rain and high wind p.m. 5. Heavy showers all day. 6. Hard frost

A.M.: storm of snow p.m. 7. Frost: snow nearly all day. 8—10. Slight drizzle:

damp all day. 11. Heavy rain and thick. 12. Dull a.m.: fine noon: wet p.m.

13. Heavy showers, with blasts. 14. Clear and cold, with showers. 15, 16.

Frost ; clear and fine. 17. Close rain and inist all day. 18. Rain during night:

mild: rain, 19. Rain during night: cleared: warm. 20. Rain and fog all day.

21. Fair, but dull. 22. Rain and fog throughout. 23. Rain and fog: cleared

p.M. 24. Frost, hard: grew mild. 25, Frost not so hard: rain: fog. 26. Frost

hard again. 27. Frosthard all day. 28, Frost very hard. 29. Snow: hard

frost: rain p.m. 30. Thick fog: heavy rain : cleared.

Mean temperature of the month ...... poinconieconcesadconsonbsc Fo C2220)

Mean temperature of Nov, 1848 .......... cusprcnadesaeor seondada Ne!

Mean temperature of Nov. for the last twenty-five years ... 40 °4

Mean rain in November for twenty years .........sssseeeees +» 3°60 inches.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—Nov. 1. Fine: large halo: aurora, 2. Showers,

3. Fine: showers. 4. Cloudy: showers. 5. Showers. 6,7. Snow: snow-

showers. &. Snow-showers: rain. 9, Cloudy. 10. Showers. 11. Bright:

cloudy: aurora, 12. Bright: clear: aurora. 13. Showers: aurora. 14. Bright:

clear: aurora. 15. Bright: frost: showers. 16. Clear: frost: clear. 17,

Showers: rain. 18. Drizzle: clear. 19. Fine: clear: aurora. 20. Drizzle:

damp. 21. Cloudy: damp. 22. Fine: clear. 23. Rain. 24, Fine: clear:

aurora. 25. Fine: frost: clear. 26. Rain. 27. Clear. 28. Clear: frost: cloudy.

29. Bright: showers. 30. Fine.

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THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[SECOND SERIES.]

No. 26. FEBRUARY 1850.

IX.—On the British species of Chara. By Cuaruns C.

Basineton, M.A., F.L.S. &.*

Srnce the genus Chara ceased to be considered as Phanerogamic

and was placed as a Natural Order of Cryptogamic plants, its

species have been excluded from our popular floras, and conse-

quently suffered undeserved neglect from British botanists. The

kindness of my friend Professor Henslow having recently placed

in my hands a set of foreign specimens of Chara, which had been

sent to him by Professor Alex. Braun of Freiburg in Breisgau,

together with that botanist’s notes upon some English Chare

submitted to his inspection, I have been induced to attempt the

arrangement of our native species in a more complete manner

than has as yet been done.

Since the time of Smith, who described all the British species

known to him in his ‘ English Flora’ (i. 6) which was published

in 1824, only one complete account of our species has appeared,

viz. that by Hooker (Eng. FI. v. pt. 1. 242) im the year 1833,

for Hassall’s notice of them (Brit. Freshwater Alg. i. 94) cannot

be considered as original. In that work Sir W. J. Hooker has

characterized eight species, viz. 1. translucens; 2. flexilis ; 3. ni-

difica ; 4. gracilis ; 5. vulgaris ; 6. Hedwigit ; 7. aspera ; 8. hispida.

More recently two have been added to this list, one by the Rev.

M. J. Berkeley (Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2824) as the C. pulchella

(Wallr.), which is considered in this paper as forming one species

in combination with C. Hedwigit under the name of C. fragilis ;

and another by Mr. VD. Moore (Lond. Journ. Bot. 1. 43) as the

C. latifolia (Willd.). The former botanist has also greatly elu-

cidated the cbscure subject of specific distinctions in this genus

by his elaborate remarks in the same work under C. Hedwigit

(Eng. Bot. Suppl. 2762). We have still to add an elegant little

plant detected many years since in the fens of Cambridgeshire

by Professor Henslow, and formerly supposed to be C. gracilis,

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Jan. 10, 1850.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 6

82 Mr.C.C.Babington on the British species of Chara.

but confidently referred by Professor Agardh, when in the year

1833 we had the pleasure and advantage of his company in an

excursion into the fens, to his C. hyalina. Owing to the total

absence until recently of nucules or globules from the specimens

obtained, this plant has not, I believe, been published as a native

species, although very many named samples of it have been dis-

tributed amongst botanists by Professor Henslow and myself. In

this paper I have identified it with the C. tenuissima (Desy.), as

is indeed done by Agardh, although he has preferred the name

of C. hyalina; and have added to the list the C. polysperma

(A. Braun), C. syncarpa (Thuil.), C. mucronata (A. Braun), C.

prolifera (A. Braun), C. Borrert (Bab.), and C. erinita (Wallr.),

thereby raising the number of our species to sixteen.

All these species, except two, are preserved in the herbaria of

Prof. Henslow and myself, and as neither of us has paid any pe-

culiar attention to this genus, but only collected such specimens

as came accidentally under our notice, it is highly probable that

several additions to the list will soon be made, and it is chiefly

with the view of leading to such discoveries that it is now pub-

lished.

In France, according to the list given by Lamotte (Cat. des

Pl. Vasc. de Europe centrale) in 1847, nineteen species are

found; in Germany we learn from the same book that there are

eighteen species. Reichenbach (Fl. Germ. exc. 148 and 843) in

1833 described sixteen German species ; and Fries (Summa Veg.

Scand. 60) records fifteen species as natives of Scandinavia, but

adds the remark, “‘ spec. nondum pl. explor.”

Since a considerable part of this paper was written, a valuable

memoir by Prof. A. Braun has appeared in the ‘ Kew Miscellany ’

(i. 193), entitled “ Charze australes et antarcticee,” but including

remarks upon the differences between the supposed genera Chara

and Nitella, and pointing out new characters for their distinction.

Notwithstanding the apparent value of these characters, I have

thought it better to retain the name of Chara for the whole of

the group until they have been carefully studied in the living

plants, and their constancy and universality more fully proved.

They are prefixed to the usual sectional characters in the en-

suing arrangement of the species, in which I have followed that

given by Prof. Braun in the above-mentioned memoir. I have

also largely availed myself of the same distinguished botanist’s

valuable paper in the ‘ Flora, oder Botanische Zeitung’ of Re-

gensburg (xvill. 49), and his “‘ Esquisse monographique du genus

Chara” in the ‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles’ (ser. 2. 1. 350),

and have found the account of the species given by Mutel in his

‘Flore Frangaise’ (iv. 159), and the plates in the ‘ Atlas de la

Flore de Paris’ by Cosson and Germain, very useful.

Mr. C. C. Babington on the British species of Chara. 83

Nat. Order. CHARACEM, Rich.

Genus Cuara, Linn.

Section I, Nitella. Crown of the nucule of “ten cells, form-

ing two circles one lying upon the other, never spreading, gene-

rally falling off before the maturation of the seeds ” (A. Braun).

Stems more or less pellucid, composed of a single tube.

A. Nitelle vere. Gilobules terminal at the furcation of the

branchlets.

a. Fureate. Branchlets only once divided with one-jointed segments,

6-—8 in a whorl, similar.

1. C. flewilis (Linn.) ; nioneecious, stem slender equal flexible

transparent, branchlets pointed but not mucronate nearly equally

forked or trifid, nucules and globules together in the forks of

the branchiets without bracts.

C. flexilis, Zinn. Sp. Pl. 1624 (in part); Eng. Bot. t. 1070; A.

Braun in Flora, xviii. 50; Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 2.1. 351.

C. Brongniartiana, Wedd. in Cat. Fl. Paris. 152.

Nitella Brongniartiana, Coss. et Germ. Fl. Paris. 682; Atl.t.40C.

Rather slender, green, pellucid. Primary branchlets seldom

more than once divided. Sometimes the axillary branchlets are

much more divided and clustered, when it has passed for C. nidi-.

fica with collectors. Nucules with six striz.

Henley near Ipswich, Buddle. Yarmouth, Mr. D. Turner.

Berrmgton Pool, Salop, Rev. E. Williams. In the river at Bed-

ford, Dr. Abbot ; Smith. Richmond, Yorkshire, Mr. J. Ward.

Stowting, Kent, Rev. G. H. Smith. Whitehorn, Wigtonshire ;

Clova, Forfarshire, Prof. Balfour. Reche Lode, and Lord’s Bridge

near Barton, Cambridgeshire.

Annual. May. “April to August,” Sm.

2. C. syncarpa (Thuil.) ; dicecious, stem slender equal flexible

transparent, branchlets bluntish apiculate nearly equally forked

or trifid, nucules or globules at the forks of the branchlets

without bracts.

C. synearpa, “ Thuil. Fl. Par. 473 ;” A. Braun in Flora, xviii. 51 ;

Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 2.1. 352; Mutel Fl. France. iv. 160.

Nitella synearpa, Coss. et Germ. Fl. Par. 682 ; Atl. t. 39 (not good).

A slender diaphanous plant closely resembling C. flevilis, but

dicecious. Nucules with five striz and scarcely any crown. It

is the supposed C. gracilis of Mr. W. Wilson in Hook. Bot.

Mise. i. 336. No. 2.

Woodmancote, Sussex, Mr. Borrer. Cwm Idwel, Caenarvon-

shire. Ma’am, Galway.

Annual. May.

84 Mr.C.C. Babington on the British species of Chara.

b. Mucronate. Branchlets usually repeatedly divided, terminal seg-

ments of two joints, last jot usually resembling a mucro. Branch-

lets 6—8 in a whorl, similar.

3. C. translucens (Pers.) ; moncecious, stem thick equal flexible

transparent, sterile branchlets simple not jointed, upper ones end-

ing in two or three short points, fertile whorls of small trifur-.

cate branchlets very small and closely placed, nucules small

oblong usually in threes just below the three bracts surround-

ing the terminal globule.

C. translucens, Pers. Syn. Pl. ii. 531; Eng. Bot. t.1855 ; 4. Braun

in Flora, xvii. 51; Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 2. 1. 352; Hook. Eng. Fl.

v. pt. 1. 245 ; Mutel Fl. Franc. iv. 160.

Nitella translucens, Coss. et Germ. Fl. Par. 682; Atl. t. 40 B.

A strong plant. Fertile whorls so disposed amongst the

branchlets as to appear to be capitate. Globules solitary. Nu-

cules with seven strize. The fruit appears to be wrongly drawn

in ‘ Eng. Bot.’

Deep stagnant pools. “ Near Shrewsbury, Rev. E. Williams ;

Browston and Belton, Suffolk, Sir W. J. Hooker ; Scotland ;”

Sir J. E. Smith. Bagnley Moor, Cheshire, Mr. W. Wilson. Tot-

teredge, Middlesex, Mr. E. Forster. Loch Lubnaig, Perthshire ;

Lochnaw, Wigtonshire ; near Liverpool; Prof. Balfour. Near the

Fairlop Oak in Hainault Forest, Essex.

Annual. July.

4, C. mucronata (A. Br.) ; moneecious, stem slender equal flex-

ible transparent, branchlets strongly mucronate nearly equally

forked or trifid, nucules and globules together at the forks of

the branchlets without bracts.

C. mucronata, 4. Braun in Flora, xviii. ; Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 2.1. 351;

Mutel Fl. Franc. iv. 161.

Nitella mucronata, Coss. et Germ. Fl. Par. 683; Atl. t. 40 D.

Rather thick for its length. Secondary branchlets once or

twice forked or trifid, the terminal subdivisions rather shorter

than the others. “ Nucules with four or five striz.”

Marsh ditch at Hast Grinstead, Sussex, Mr. Borrer.

Annual. July.

5. C. gracilis (Sm.!) ; moneecious, stem slender equal flexible

transparent, branchlets in lax whorls repeatedly divided into

three or four segments, terminal segments mucronate shorter

than the others, globules and nucules each solitary but to-

gether at the subdivisions of the branchlets without bracts.

C. gracilis, Sm.! Eng. Bot. t. 2140; Reich.! Iconog. t. 793; A.

Braun! in Flora, xviii. 53; Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 2.1. 351; Mutel

Fl. France. iv. 160; Hook. Eng. Fl. v. pt. 1. 245 (in part).

Mr. C. C. Babington on the British species of Chava. 85

Nitella gracilis, dgardh Syst. Alg. 125; Coss. et Germ. Fl. Par.

683; dél. t. 41 E.

A very small and slender plant, its branchlets spreading in a

lax open manner, and much longer than those of C. tenuissima.

Nucules subglobose, with four or five striz, large in proportion

to the plant.

My judgement of this species is formed from the plate in

‘Eng. Bot.’ and a small but good specimen of the original plant,

for which I am indebted to Mr. Borrer.

Mr. Wilson’s C. gracilis from Cwm Idwel is C. syncarpa.

St. Leonard’s Forest, Sussex, Mr. Borrer.

Annual. September ?

6. C. tenuissima (Desv.) ; moneecious, stem slender equal flexible

transparent, branchlets short in dense compact subglobose whorls

repeatedly divided into 8-7 segments, terminal segments mu-

cronate longer than the others, globules and nucules each so-

litary but together at the subdivisions of the branchlets with-

out bracts.

C. tenuissima, Desv. “ Journ. Bot. ii. 313; Reich.! Iconog. t. 792 ;

A, Braun! in Flora, xviii.53 ; Mutel Fl. France. iv. 159.

C. glomerata, 4. Braun! in Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 2. i. 351, not N. glo-

merata, Coss. et Germ.

C. batrachosperma, Reich. Iconog. t. 794.

Nitella tenuissima, Coss. e¢ Germ. Fl. Par. 681 ; Atl. t. 41 F.

N. hyalina, 4gardh! Syst. Alg. 126, not DeCand.

A very small slender plant, its short much-divided branchlets

forming little globular compact masses which are often much in-

crusted. Nucules subglobose, with 6-8 striz, three times the

diameter of the branchlets and placed outside of them. Globules

much larger than the nucules.

I have recently (Aug. 6, 1849) found a profusion of ripe nu-

cules and a few globules upon this plant in Bottisham Fen, and

with the assistance of Messrs. J. D.C. Sowerby and J. W. Salter

have succeeded in satisfactorily ascertaining their positions to be

in accordance with the section in which the plant is here placed.

In peaty ditches and pits in the fens of Cambridgeshire.

Annual. July, August.

B. Tolypella (A. Braun). Globules placed laterally on the nodes

of the chief ray of the branchlets between the lateral rays

(bracts) which are always shorter than the chief ray.—Rays

of many gradually decreasing jomts.

Note.—This little group of singular plants presents more dif-

ficulty than either of the other sections, and I am very far from

being convinced that a correct view of it is taken below. My

86 Mr.C.C. Babington on the British species of Chara.

original idea was that the plants only formed one species, but

further study has convinced me that they are far too different to

allow of their being lumped to that extent, and I am reduced to

the necessity of considering them all as distinct. They appear

to be very short-lived, and in all probability will be found to

produce two crops in the year, one in the spring and the other

autumnal.

7. C. Smithii; dicecious, stem slender equal flexible transparent,

branchlets blunt those forming the primary whorls simple sterile

long jointed (?), the others on axillary branches numerous

densely crowded bearing four (three short and one long)

bracts at their first node, globules stalked subtended by the

three shorter bracts, nucules unknown.

C. nidifica, Sm. Eng. Bot. 1703 (principal figure).

A small plant remarkable, like the following species, for its

bird’s-nest-like masses of branchlets which spring from the axils

of the simple branchlets forming the primary whorls. It is only

known to me from the figure in ‘ Eng. Bot.’ and from some re-

marks for which I am indebted to Mr. Borrer, and upon which

the above specific character is founded.

As the C. nidifica (Mill.) is stated by Professor A. Braun

(Hook. Kew. Misc. 1. 200) to be “peculiar to the north of

Europe, and particularly to the Baltic,’ and can therefore

scarcely be the same as this plant, which was found “in a ditch

which I believe the tide never reaches” (Borrer in Eng. Bot. Suppl.

fol. 2762, note) ; and as the plate im ‘ Fl. Danica’ is far too im-

perfect to allow of its identification with either of our Tolypelle ;

I have thought it better, with the concurrence of Mr. Borrer, to

confer a new name upon this plant, which was unfortunately

made the representative of his C. nidifica by Smith by placing a

figure of it in the principal place on the plate im ‘ English Bo-

tany.’ I have the authority of the same botanist for saying that

the following species was the plant really intended to bear that

name. The confusion has originated from the idea prevalent at

the time when the figure was published, that the dicecious plant

from Lancing was a form of the moncecious one found at Cley.

Unfortunately these plants are so evanescent that it is only by

chance that they are again found in their original localities, where

their seeds probably remam dormant until favourable cireum-

stances cause them to germinate.

Lancing, Sussex (1804-5), in a ditch which the tide probably

never reaches ; not in Shoreham Harbour, as erroneously stated

in ‘English Botany.’ Mr. Borrer.

Annual. Autumnal.

‘

Mr. C. C. Babington on the British species of Chara. 87

8. C. prolifera (A. Braun) ; monecious, stem slender equal flexible

transparent, branchlets blunt those forming the primary whorls

simple sterile long usually of three or four joints, the others

on axillary branches numerous densely crowded bearing four

(three short and one long) bracts at their first node, globules

sessile (?) in company with one or more nucules and “ sub-

tended by the three shorter bracts.”

C. prolifera, 4. Braun in Flora, xviii. 56; Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 2. i.

352:

C. glomerata, Mutel Fl. France. iv. 161, not 4. Braun nor N. glo-

merata, Coss. et Germ.

A small plant easily confounded on a superficial view with the

preceding, from which it is distinguished by being moneecious.

Nucules small with faintly marked strie. Granules apparently

sessile. The presence of decided bracts distinguishes this plant

and the preceding and following from C. polysperma and C. flex-

ilis, the species with which they are in the most danger of being

confounded. There can be no doubt that the three smaller ap-

pendages are really bracts, although, in all probability, the longer

(fourth) one is a subdivision of the branchlet.

In brackish (?) ditches. Cley, Norfolk, Mr. D. Turner. Cop-

ford, Essex.

Annual. April. “August to October,” Sm.

9. C. Borreri; moncecious, stem slender equal flexible transpa-

rent, branchlets strongly mucronate those of the primary whorls

simple sterile long jointed, the others on axillary branches

numerous densely crowded bearing four (three short and one

long) bracts at their first and also sometimes second node,

globules stalked or sessile in company with several nucules

and subtended by the three shorter bracts.

C. nidifica, Borr.! in Eng. Bot. Suppl. fol. 2762, note.

Closely resembling C. prolifera and C. nidifica, but consider-

ably larger ; agreeing with them in most respects, but essentially

different in its branchlets being “suddenly contracted below the

acute apiculus.” It also differs by sometimes producing a second

cluster of bracts and fructification on its branchlets, and also oc-

casionally having one on the larger “ bract,” which is thus shown

to be more correctly a subdivision of the branchlet than a bract.

The three true bracts are placed on the under side of the

branchlet and at right angles with it, the fourth supposed

“bract” is lateral and usually points upwards; and their ar-

rangement is believed to be exactly like that in C. prolifera and

C. Smithii. This plant is chiefly known to me from the descrip-

tion in ‘ Bnglish Botany,’ and from some manuscript notes, for

88 Mr. C.C. Babington on the British species of Chara.

which I am indebted to Mr. Borrer ; and as it does not seem to

have been noticed elsewhere, I have ventured to record it as a

new species, and honour it with the name of my valued friend.

In a marsh ditch at Henfield, Sussex, Mr. Borrer.

Annual. July.

10. C. polysperma (A. Br. !); moncecious, stem slender equal

flexible transparent, branchlets finely pointed those of the pri-

mary whorls sterile once or twice unequally branched: middle

subdivision longest, the other branchlets on axillary branches

numerous densely crowded much subdivided with short inter-

nodes, nucules and globules placed at the nodes of the branch-

lets “ between the lateral rays ” (or bracts ?).

C. polysperma, 4. Braun “ Fl. Bad. Crypt. ;? Flora, xvii. 56; Ann.

Se. Nat. ser. 2.1. 352; Mutel Fl. France. iv. 162.

C. fasciculata, “ Amici,’ A. Braun.

A small plant resembling the preceding species, and having

hike them bird’s-nest-like masses of branchlets. My specimens

are slightly incrusted, as is stated to be the case in those found

in France. Nucules small with faintly marked striz. Granules

small.

I gathered this species in the year. 1833 near Haslingfield in

Cambridgeshire, but have not been able to find it there again.

As numerous specimens were obtained by a party at that time, it

is probably preserved in many collections under the name of C.

nidifica, with which denomination it was’sent to Prof. Braun and

named by him as above. Mr. Borrer possesses specimens found

at Livermere near Bury St. Edmonds by the Rev. G. R. Leathes.

Annual. April. ;

Section II. Chara. Crown of the nucule of “ five cells forming

a simple circle and sometimes spreading, persistent ” (A. Braun).

Stems usually coated with smaller tubes.

Chare vere. Granule taking the place of one of the bracts.—

Diplostephane (A. Br.). A double row of spines (stipules)

at the base of each whorl.

a. Stem coated with as many tubes as there are branchlets in each

whorl.—Branchlets coated.

11. C. ecrinita (Wallr.) ; dicecious, stem slender coarsely striated

thickly beset with setaceous patent clustered spines, branchlets

abbreviated, bracts whorled slender equal, nweules narrowly ob-

long shorter than the bracts.

C. eriita, Wallr. Ann. Bot. 190. t. 3; A. Braun in Flora, xviii. 70 ;

Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 2.1. 355; Mutel Fl. France. iv. 165.

C. canescens, Reich. Fl. exe. 150.

Hippuris, &c., Plukn. Phytog. t. 193. f. 6. Wallir.

Mr. C. C. Babington on the British species of Chara. 89

Stems slender, erect, flexible even when dry, smooth, not

opake, densely crowded, slightly branched, pale green. Lower

whorls rather distant, upper ones gradually closer, of 8—10 short

branchlets each with six nodes and a whorl of five bracts at each

node. Bracts usually as long as the internode. Nucules soli-

tary with thirteen striz and a prominent crown. My British

specimens are of the male plant only.

Wallroth refers Pluknet’s Irish plant to this with certainty ; I

have doubts.

In stagnant ponds. Burdock Pool, Falmouth, Cornwall, Rev.

W. L. P. Garnons.

b. Stem coated with twice as many tubes as there are branchlets in

each whorl. Branchlets coated, uppermost joints sometimes naked.

12. C. vulgaris (Linn. ?) ; moncecious, stems scabrous finely stri-

ated brittle, upper part of the branchlets without external

tubes, bracts only on the inner side of the branchlets long :

two 2—4 times as long as the nucules, and two equaling them.

C. vulgaris, Linn. Sp. Pl. 1624 (in part) ; Eng. Bot. t. 336; Ag.

Syst. dig. 128; Hook. Eng. Fl. v. pt. 1. 246.

C. foetida, 4. Braun “Fl. Bad. Crypt. ;? Flora, xviii. 63; Ann.

Sc. Nat. ser. 2. 1. 354 ; Mutel Fl. Franc. iv. 162 ; Coss. et Germ.

Fl. Par. 679; Atl. t. 37.

Plant diffuse, almost always incrusted. Branchlets appearing,

at the first view, joimtless, minutely pointed. Nucules with

thirteen striz and a short crown, accompanied by the globule.

Bracts thick.

Varying greatly in appearance, size and roughness, sometimes

hispid, sometimes much denuded of the outer tubes in the upper

part. A very much condensed form is the C. montana (Schultz),

Reich. Fl. exsic. 2143. The Linnean C. vulgaris appears to

include this and several other species.

Ditches and streams: common. C. montana, Gilsland, Cum-

berland, Mr. W. Christy.

Annual. June to August.

13. C. hispida (Linn.); moncecious, stem thickened upwards

spirally sulcate rough brittle beset with setaceous spines,

branchlets elongated, bracts whorled (inner ones much longer),

nucules ovate shorter than the bracts solitary, accompanied by

a globule.

C. hispida, Linn. Sp. Pl. 1624 ; Eng. Bot. t. 436; Wallr. Ann. Bot.

187.t. 4; Hook. Eng. Fl. v. pt. 1. 246; 4. Braun in Flora, xviii.

66; Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 2.1.355; Mutel Fl. Franc. iv. 163; Coss.

ef Germ. Fl. Paris. 679 ; Atl. t. 38 B.

Stems opake, greenish white, usually imerusted, covered with

90 Mr.C.C. Babington on the British species of Chara.

minute tubercles ; spines generally very numerous, sometimes

almost wanting; whorls of elongate, acuminate (by having the

terminal segment denuded of outer tubes) branches, each of

which has about six nodes and a whorl of 4—5 short bracts at

each node.

Pits and deep ditches, especially on a peaty soil.

Annual. May to August.

14. C. tomentosa (Linn.) ; dicecious (?), stem thickened upwards

spirally suleate rough brittle armed with scattered obtuse pa-

pille, branchlets incurved, bracts unilateral ovate-oblong mu-

cronate-acute, nucule shorter than the bract on each side of it

longer than the three in front.

C. tomentosa, Linn. Sp. Pl. 1624; Fries! Herb. Norm. v. 100 ; Mu-

tel Fl. France. iv. 163; Reich.! Fl. exc. 150.

C. latifolia, Willd.! “ Berol. Schr. ui. 129 ;” Hook. Icon. t. 532.

C. ceratophylla 6. macroptila, 4. Brawn in Flora, xvii. 65 ; Ann. Se.

Naé. ser. 2. 1. 355.

The granules and nucules are probably upon different plants.

Stem opake, whitish green, covered with very minute tubercles,

and bearing distant somewhat whorled short obtuse papille.

Branchlets like the stem ; their terminal division thicker, inflated,

of one pellucid tube. Bracts pellucid, barren ones unilateral (?).

“ Nucule with a large ovate bract on each side, and three small

linear-oblong ones in front, also having three minute acute tu-

bercles on the opposite side of the stem. Globule from a whorl

of two or three large bracts not having smaller ones in front,

but with two or three tubercles on the opposite side of the stem.”

Hooker.

In the foreign plant (Reich. Fl. exsic. 92, which is the au-

thentic C. latifolia, Willd.), the bracts are apparently whorled.

Fries’s specimen (Herb. Norm. v. 100) is without any incrusta-

tion, smooth and scarcely twisted. Our plant is certainly the

C. tomentosa (Linn.), C. latifolia (Willd.), and the C. ceratophylla

(Wallr.) is a variety of it.

Belvidere Lake, Westmeath, Ireland, Mr. D. Moore.

c. Stem coated with three times as many tubes as there are branchlets

in each whorl.

15. C. aspera (Willd.) ; dicecious, stem finely striate smooth

flexible beset with setaceous patent spines, branchlets abbre-

viated, bracts whorled slender (two inner ones ionger), nucules

narrowly oblong shorter than the bracts.

C. aspera, “ Willd. in Berol. Mag. d. N. ii. 298 ; Wallr. Ann. Bot.

185. t.6.f.3; 4. Braun! in Flora, xviii. 71 ; dnn. Se. Nat. ser. 2.

i. 356 ; Mutel Fl. France. iv. 164; Coss. et Germ. Fl. Paris. 680 ;

Atl. t.38D; Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2738; Fries! Herb. Norm. ii. 100.

Mr. C. C. Babington on the British species of Chara. 91

Stems erect, not opake, pale green, densely crowded ; spines

usually scattered, often very short, or irregularly collected in

whorls (when it much resembles C. crinita, Wallr.) ; whorls of

6-9 branchlets of six nodes and a whorl of 4—5 bracts at each

node ; bracts as long as the internode or shorter than it. Nucules

solitary, with twelve or thirteen striz and a prominent crown.

Distinguished from C. crinita, as is well remarked by Prof.

A. Braun in his letter to Prof. Henslow, “by the more slender

outer tubes of the stems.” I am doubtful concerning the plant

figured by Greville (Scott. Crypt. Fl. t. 339), for he places nucules

and granules upon the same plant.

In stagnant water. Orkney, Mr. Clauston. Prestwich Car,

Northumberland, Mr. Robertson; Greville. Irthing, Durham,

Mr. Bowman; Hooker. Cleifiog Farm, four miles from Holy-

head, Anglesea, Mr. Wilson. Carlton, Notts, Mr. Borrer. Bur-

dock Pool near Falmouth, Cornwall, in company with C. crinita,

Rev. W. L. P. Garnons. Loch of Skaill, Orkney, Miss Watt.

In the river Shannon near Portumna, Galway, Mr. D. Moore ;

Prof. Balfour.

16. C. fragilis (Desv.) ; moncecious, stems slender finely striated

smooth not spinous, last 1-3 joints of the branchlets without

external tubes, bracts on the inner side of the branchlets about

as long or longer than the oblong nucules.

C. fragilis, “Desv. ap. Lois. Not. Fl. Prane.137;? A. Braun in Flora,

xvi. 68; Ann. Se. Nat. ser. 2.1. 356; Reich.! Fl. exsic. 94; Mutel

Fl. Franc. tv. 164 ; Coss. et Germ. Fl. Paris. 680; Atl. t. 38 C.

C. pulchella, Wallr. Ann. Bot. 184. t.2; Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2824 ;

Ag. Syst. Alg. 129.

C. Hedwigi, dg. Syst. Alg. 129; Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2762.

Slender, green, not incrusted. Main stem and branches

usually with equally long branchlets. Nucule with thirteen or

fourteen striz and a long crown, accompanied by the globule.

Bracts usually shorter than the nucules, but one equaling them

in length ; sometimes (C. fragilis longibracteata, A. Braun!, C. de-

licatula, Ag.?) longer than them.

The C. Hedwigit scarcely differs except in being very brittle

when dry, the bracts shorter, and the branchlets of the main stem

usually much longer than those of the branches.

Ponds. Sussex, Rev. M. J. Berkeley. Derwentwater, Rev. E.

A. Holmes. Serk, Rev. T. Salwey. Paradi, Guernsey.—Var. lon-

gibracteata ; West Chiltington Common, Sussex; Berrington

Pool, Shropshire.—C. Hedwigit ; Kast Gristead, Sussex ; Sand-

wich, Kent, Rev. M. J. Berkeley.

Annual. June to August.

92 Mr.T.S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa.

X.— Observations on the species of Termitidee of West Africa,

described by Smeathman as Termes bellicosus, and by Linneus

as T. fatalis. By T. 8S. Savace*.

Havine read a condensed account and many extracts from

the communication of Dr. Smeathman to the Royal Society

of London on the insect in question, it seemed to me that no

room was left for the discovery of additional facts. But, resi-

ding in the locality of the Termes, I felt a desire to know per-

sonally their ceconomy ; first, from motives of interest in the

general subject of natural history; and secondly, in order to

discover some way of preventing their supposed attacks on our

buildings.

As I proceeded, I noticed some mistakes made by Dr. Smeath-

man or his many copiers, which induced me to record my own

observations. Of these the following is a summary.

I would here remark, that I have never seen the original nor

entire publication of Dr. Smeathman’s paper; but what I have

seen, is sufficient to show that he was an acute observer, a

man of indomitable perseverance and accurate to a remarkable

degree. The best account that I have read of his paper is that

of Edward Newman, Esq., F'.R.S., in his ‘ Familiar Introduction

to the History of Insects.’ It is free from the marks of a pru-

rient imagination, and indicates more of a desire to relate the

simple truth in the history of the insect than any that I have

seen. The figures, however, which stand at the head of his

account are decidedly bad.

The first thing that strikes a visitor who is familiar with

Adamson’s and Smeathman’s observations, when he arrives on

the coast of Africa, is the great sparseness of the Termites’ hills.

Instead of “ acres so thickly covered as to appear like the huts of

native settlements,” his eye may wander over acres without seeing

one ; one cause of this sparseness may have arisen to some extent

from the introduction of civilization. The visitor usually lands

first at the European or American settlements, where the hills in

their immediate vicinity are mostly destroyed. This has been

done, first, from the notion that the msect “ate down their

dwellings ;” and, secondly, from the superiority of the clay of

which they are constructed, which is ased for building purposes.

At no point, however, between Cape Verd and the Gaboon river,

will the stranger remark them for their numbers.

They more frequently occur on plane and flat lands; making

their appearance especially soon after the lands have been cleared

for planting, at which time trees are left girdled and prostrate to

decay.

* From the Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. of Philadelphia, vol. iv. No. 11.

Mr. T. 8. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa. 98

The features which first strike the beholder are their great size

and form. These have been well represented by Smeathman,

though two hills cannot be found exactly like. Their contour is

generally that of a hay-stack—the surface never regular, always

marked with protuberances and upward projections, often not

unlike “ turrets,” as termed by Smeathman.

Sometimes the hill presents the aspect of a mound having

been worn down by the heavy rains, or, if in the vicinity of a

village, by children playing upon it. In such cases they may be

forsaken.

When they present distinct upward projections or turrets, they

are known to be in the process of enlargement. This is always

the mode in which these insects increase their domiciles. Turrets

are projected one after another, and the intervening spaces filled

out, so as to make a continuous surface. Within each of these

turrets is a cavity which leads down as a passage into the inte-

rior of the hill, or terminates in some other passage, keeping up

a free communication throughout the structure. When hills

present in their general outline the form of a hay-stack, they

have arrived at their maximum size. Their height in such cases

is from 12 to 15 feet perpendicular measurement, the cireum-

ference at base from 50 to 60 feet; at two-thirds the height, or

around the base of the “dome,” from 30 to 40 feet.

The materials have for their base clay, generally strongly

tinged with oxide of iron in the recent state ; after exposure to

the sun and atmosphere it takes on a light colour, approaching

a dull yellow, in some cases white. There is an admixture, more

or less, of other substances incidentally occurring, as gravel,

leaves, straw, &c.

Sometimes the clay presents a dark, slaty aspect, which is in-

correctly stated in books to be an indication of a different species

of insect. This fact is owing to different-coloured clays exist-

ing in different localities.

The strength of these structures is incaleulably great; as an

evidence of this, Smeathman states that they are often mounted

by wild bulls, and four men were known to stand on one to spy

a vessel at sea. But more than this, they would sustain more

wild bulls and men than could possibly mount them. The particles

of clay are cemented together by a fluid excreted from the mouth

of the insect (not as Smeathman says, by gums elaborated from

the different kinds of wood on which they feed). This, by ex-

posure to the sun and atmosphere, becomes exceedingly hard and

tenacious on the surface, added to which, the action of the well-

known principle in mechanical philosophy involved in the arched

form of the structure gives to it a vast degree of strength. This

feature in the ceconomy of the Termes fatalis—the strength of

94 Mr.T.S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa.

the domiciles—is a wise provision in nature. It guards the hills

against the heavy wasting rains of the country, and enables them

to resist the shock of decayed falling trees, which so often occur

on recently cleared grounds. When it is known that it is the

practice of the natives of Africa not to plant the same piece of

ground two years in succession, but let it lie fallow four or five

years, and clear up a new spot every year, and as many trees are

girdled and left to decay and fall, the wisdom of this feature will

be understood.

On clearing away the shrubbery and grass around the base of

a hill, several covered ways or clay tubes will be seen leading to

neighbouring stumps and decayed logs. These tubes, sometimes

12 inches in diameter at base, gradually diminish, ramifying as

they proceed outward. If their connection with the hill be

broken, as many holes will be seen, constituting mouths of pas-

sages, which run in a sloping direction to a depth of 12 or 18

inches under the domicile. These passages expand into basement

rooms, bounded by clay pillars, supporting a series of archwork

on which rest. the “cellular work,” “royal apartments,” and

superincumbent interior portions of the structure.

The exterior of the hill consists of a clay wall varying in thick-

ness on the different sides from 6 inches to 1} foot. Through-

out this wall there are cavities, cells and passages, anastomosing

and running from the base to the apex, forming a communica-

tion with the “dome.” Within, at the base, elevated to a height

of one to two feet above the surface of the ground, and central in

respect to the circumference of the hill, is the apartment of the

king and queen, styled by Smeathman “the royal chamber,”

surrounded by many other apartments or chambers, containing

eges and young of various sizes and stages of growth, all sup-

ported by the archwork mentioned.

It will be observed, that Mr. Smeathian states that the “royal

apartments” are on a level with the surface of the ground ; but,

in every case, I have found them elevated from 1 to 2 feet, de-

pending on the height of the structure. Indeed, at certain sea-

sons, this elevation becomes a matter of necessity in many lo-

calities. Were it otherwise, the royal pair would be in danger

of inundation during the long and violent rains of that country.

Immediately above the royal apartments, extending across

and up the sides of the hill to about two-thirds their height,

are the “nurseries ” of Smeathman, a yellow, dry, comb-like gra-

nulated substance, inclosed in moist red clay, so moist that it

can be made by the hands into balls. In this substance are nu-

merous narrow serpentine cavities or cells, containing eggs and

young in different stages. Scattered on the surface are perceived,

in a recent state, many minute white globular fungi. Imme-

Mr. T. S. Savage on the Termitidee of West Africa. 95

diately above, and interior to the nurseries, lie the ‘‘ magazines ”

of Smeathman, rising to the height of about a foot. These are

a cellular arrangement of soft clay, filled with a dark brown gra-

nulated substance, supposed by Mr. Smeathman to be the “ food.”

It is very moist, and appears to be vegetable substance, commi-

nuted and reduced to this state by the insect.

Between the royal apartments and nurseries is the first-floor

of Smeathman ; immediately above the magazines is the second ;

then comes the “ dome,” a large cavity in the upper part of the

structure. With the dome there is a communication by nume-

rous passages with the different parts of the hill, and thus a free

circulation of warm air kept up, giving a uniform temperature to

the domicile. The principles of philosophy known in the tendency

of air to an equilibrium, its ascent when rarefied, condensation

and descent in coming in contact with a colder ‘mediom, thus

securing a uniformity of temperature, are all involved in this

peculiarity of structure.

The statement of Dr. Smeathman respecting the primary size

and subsequent mode of increase of the royal apartments is a

matter of deduction, though undoubtedly correct. In small hills

the queen is found of corresponding size. As the hills increase,

the size of the queen and her apartments are known to increase.

The adjacent portions must be taken down to meet this enlarge-

ment. ‘This is true also of other portions of the structure. As

the outer projections, or turrets, are sent up from within, and the

intervening spaces filled out, a portion of what was previously

the exterior must be removed, to admit of the expansion of the

interior arrangements, the nurseries, magazines, &c. This changer

and removal must be more or less true, also, of almost all par es

of the domicile.

The community was divided by Smeathman into three orders :

Ist, the workers ; 2nd, soldiers; 3rd, the perfect insects, male

and female, or king and queen ; a fourth order or state was sub-

sequently noticed by Latreille among another species in the south

of France, at Bordeaux (Termes lucifugus). It was afterwards

observed in the East Indies, and incidentally noticed by an ano-

nymous writer in manuscript on a Ceylonese species (Kirby and

Spence’s Introduct. vol. i. p. 33). This was the nympha or

pupa state of the workers, in which rudimental wings were ob-

served. The same state was inferred and averred of T. fatalis,

by Messrs. Kirby and Spence, and adopted by compilers. I have

never known this inference to be confirmed by any observer wri-

ting on the African species; but I am happy-in being able to

assert the fact from personal observation, and, furthermore, to

declare the same of the soldiers. I have seen both with rudi-

mental wings distinct. Messrs. Kirby and Spence suppose the

96 Mr. T.S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa.

pupze to be equally active with their respective larvee, which is

not the case ; they are exceedingly delicate and sluggish.

Of these several orders, the labourers are by far the most nu-

merous. They seem to be susceptible of two divisions-—larger

and smaller labourers. The latter exceed the former in numbers,

and are found chiefly in the domicile. The work about the hill,

such as constructing, repairing, bearing away the eggs from the

maternal department, &c., seems to be done by them. Of the

larger size, some few are found in the hill, but they exist in

greater numbers in the covered ways, about and in the objects

of plunder. The mandibles of this division are very hard and

strong, and admirably adapted to the performance of what I sup-

pose to be their part in the community, which is the comminu-

ting of the different kinds of wood on which they prey, and the

reducing of the clay from which their hills are made to a port-

able condition. A like division of labour I have noticed among

the Driver Ants of Africa (Anomma arcens and A. rubella).

Messrs. Kirby and Spence are incorrect when they say (Intro-

duct. vol. 1. pp. 40, 41) that “they carry in ther mouths a

mass of mortar half as big as their bodies, ready tempered, made

of the finer parts of gravel, which, worked up to a proper con-

sistence, hardens to a substance resembling stone, of which their

nests are constructed.” The amount each insect carries at a

time is so small as to be hardly perceptible to the naked eye.

When the work is done it presents a minutely granulated appear-

ance, like that of the “ nurseries.” Nor is it already “ tempered,”

ready to be laid. The insect, when it arrives at the place of de-

posit, stops for an instant, and retaining its hold on the piece of

clay, undergoes a slight tremulous movement, more perhaps like

the spasmodic action of vomiting, when a fluid being seen to be

excreted from the mouth over it, the clay is deposited. This cor-

rects the supposition of Smeathman, that the cementing medium

was guin obtained from the trees on which they preyed. The

outer surface of the work when recent presents a red, moist,

granulated appearance, but when acted on by the sun and atmo-

sphere it approaches a dull white or yellow, and is highly indu-

rated, more so than simple clay dried in the sun can be. It

however falls far short of the hardness of stone; as the hill is

penetrated, the clay becomes softer until the interior is found to

be so plastic that it can be made into balls under the pressure of

the hand. The young of this order are seen of all sizes; the

nymphe of Latreille differing from the others apparently m no

respect but that of their rudimentary wings.

Soldiers —Of this order there seems to be ground for two

divisions also, larger and smaller.

When a breach is made in the hill, the smaller soldiers are

Mr. T.S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa. 97

seen with the labourers in small numbers, and retreat with them

to the interior. Then appear the larger soldiers, whose duty

especially it is to defend the community. Their conduct, fero-

cious aspect, &c. have been well described by Smeathman, and

need not be here repeated. It has been said, however, whether

by Mr. Smeathman or not, I cannot state, that in the act of

biting “they never quit their hold even though they are pulled

limb from limb” (Kirby and Spence, Introduct. vol. ii. p. 40).

This assertion has been correctly made of the Driver Ants of

Africa (Anomma arcens and A. rubella), but cannot be of the

Termes fatalis. It is the habit of this insect to let go imme-

diately after biting, and strike as fiercely at another place, doing

this several times in quick succession. The manner in which its

jaws operate will not admit of a continued hold. Like scissors

(unlike the mandibles of the Anomma) they cross each other,

separating the fibres by a clear cut through.

In about fifteen minutes after the attack of the enemy, the

work of reparation begins by the labourers, who, accompanied by

a few of the smaller soldiers, and occasionally a larger, appear

in great numbers. In view of the duty performed by these two

orders, it is a surprising fact that both males and females are

without eyes.

These, at particular seasons, leave the hills in vast numbers.

“The rains,” as they are familiarly termed in Africa, begin in

May, sooner or later, and continue with some intermissions until

October. During the month of July, and sometimes extending

into August, an intermission takes place under the name of

“middle dries,” dividing them into “early and latter rains.”? At

the beginning of these seasons—“ early and latter rains,’’—the

Termes swarm (if it may be so called) in incalculable numbers.

At their exit so rapid is their ascent, that they present the ap-

pearance of smoke rising from all parts of the hill. The holes

through which they escape are temporary, created for this pur-

pose, and closed when the swarming ceases. During this pro-

cess, the atmosphere for many rods distant seems to be filled

with them. Birds are then seen whirling and darting through

the air in quick pursuit—all orders of insect-eating animals are

now on the alert. Barn-yard fowls are seen to jump up several

feet from the ground to catch them as they descend. Indeed,

men as well as brutes make them their prey. All tribes of Afri-

cans however do not eat them. The Grebos, who inhabit Cape

Palmas, and among whom these observations were made, reject

them as food. Why, it is difficult to tell, unless it be from the

trouble attending their capture. It is not from any fastidiousness

of taste, for they are known to eat snakes, toads, grubs, beetles,

and even putrid meat, with zest. Tribes about fifty miles to the

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 7

98 Mr.T.S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa.

windward of Cape Palmas use them as food. To catch them,

bowls of water are set on the ground, into which they fall as

their wings drop off. They are then roasted as shrimps, and the

larger beetles (Goliathi) are said to be equally sweet. ;

The individuals of the two sexes appear to be about the same

size when they issue from the hill, not exceeding half an inch.

The largest queen I have ever seen at the head of a community

measured 43 inches in length.

Messrs. Kirby and Spence state that the queen lives but two

years, which is incorrect. I have observed the yearly increase of

hills for five years or more, and, when dissected, they have yielded

a queen of corresponding size. To say that a successor to the

original one might have been elected would be gratuitous.

Nothing is known of their habits to warrant such an assertion,

while everything we do know goes to prove that they live for

many years.

It is stated also, that but one queen is ever found in a hill.

This, too, is incorrect. But one is generally found. I have

known two to occur. They were contained in the same struc-

ture, called by Smeathman ‘the royal chamber,” but separated

by a septum of clay. The hill was of the usual size. It was

“dug down” by a colonist at Cape Palmas, who, knowing that

I was investigating the habits of the insect, kindly brought them

to my residence. I regretted exceedingly my inability to decide

the question which arose to my mind at first sight, “ Is it a case

of bigamy ?” The person who discovered them took no notice,

and was unable to say that he saw even one king. It occurred

to me that it might be an anomaly. I therefore made inqui-

ries at Montserrado and the different European settlements that

I visited, and ascertained that the same thing had occurred at

those points, though it was considered quite unusual.

I am able here to confirm the truth of Mr. Smeathman’s state-

ment, that the king and queen are permanently inclosed in their .

apartment, which has been doubted by the eminent writer of the

article Termitide, in the ‘ British Cyclopedia of Natural History’

(understood to be J. O. Westwood, Esq.).

The sentence in which the doubt occurs runs as follows :—

“ The young queen of the hive swarms is followed by a portion

of the community ; and the female after swarming, and the loss

of her wings, is guarded by the worker ants ; there is, therefore,

so much analogy in these circumstances that we are almost

tempted to consider that Smeathman must have erred in stating

that the working Termites imprison both the king and queen

Termes. That it should be necessary for the latter to be care-

fully guarded will be very evident ; but why the king in his help-

less and wingless state (for we consider that the loss of wings is

Mr. T.S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa. 99

consequent upon and not precedent to pairing) should be shut up,

seems questionable. We make these observations with hesitation,

because Latreille, and Kirby and Spence seem to adopt, without

hesitation, this statement of Smeathman.”

I feel it my duty to notice particularly this doubt, coming as

it does from a source of such high respectability as the present

Corresponding Secretary of the London Ent. Soc., J. O. West-

wood, Esq.

It should be remembered that in penning this doubt, Mr. West-

wood was sitting within-doors at Hammersmith, England, many

thousand miles distant from the scene of Mr. Smeathman’s patient

and prolonged observation. Mr. Smeathman states what he knew

to be a fact, and respecting which I can see no way in which he

could be mistaken. Mr. Westwood misapprehends a remark of

Mr. Smeathman on their “ swarming,” if it can be so called. I

do not understand Mr. Smeathman to state that the queen is

accompanied by any other individuals than those of the two

sexes—other perfect males and females. He says that as workers

are always to be found on the surface of the ground, the king and

queen are captured by them, and thus made to become the heads

of new communities. On what foundation ¢hzs statement rests

I know not ; but must confess that in this part of their ceconomy

I think there exists a lacuna yet to be filled. As to the state-

ment, however, involving the perpetual imprisonment of the

king and queen, I have no doubt. The facts respecting the struc-

ture of the “royal chamber” sufficiently prove it. Any one who

has seen a fully-developed queen will say that she is incapable of

progression, and the fact that no aperture has been discovered

in the “ chamber” among the many hills dissected at different

seasons, sufficient to admit of the ingress and egress of the king,

aud hardly of the larger class of soldiers, must suffice.

It has been stated also by compilers of Smeathman, that the

insect shrinks from light, which is a reason for their constructing

covered ways. But if it be remembered that the two orders—

soldiers and workers-—are perfectly blind, the assertion must

appear to be gratuitous. The true cause of their erection of

covered ways would seem to lie in the fact that the imsect is a

prey to a vast number of other insects, reptiles, &c.

Smeathman and others state that Termes bellicosus is the insect

which devours dwelling-houses, furniture, &c. This also I con-

sider an error. I doubted its accuracy at the commencement of

my observations, and made inquiries subsequently of intelligent

observers at Sierra Leone and Montserrado, all of whom confirmed

me in my doubts. The white ants found in our houses preying

on our furniture, books, &c. are smaller, and larger m proportion

to their breadth, than 7. bellicosus. The soldiers which accom-

100 Mr.T.S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa.

pany the labourers and are found with them in their covered ways

along the sills, floors and roofs of our houses, differ palpably mm

these respects from those of T. bellicosus. I made known my

doubts on this point to my correspondent Mr. Westwood of

London, proving the truth of my statement by specimens taken

from my own dwellings, but, unfortunately, the bottles containing

them were broken, and I failed of my object. I consider these

house-eaters as the 7. arborum of Smeathman. One of their

nests, indeed, I found in the roof of my office, and by them great

damage was done to the building ; besides many books were de-

stroyed, having been eaten through and through. Another nest

also was found in a small out-building ; the insects of these two

nests corresponded to those found in my dwellings, &c., while

marked differences existed between the latter and 7. bellicosus.

I regret exceedingly that the steps to prove this opinion have

failed in the manner above stated. I hesitate not, however, to

assert it, confirmed as it is by other observers.

Hills dissected.

Hill 1st—Opened 22nd March, 1842. General outlines very

much like those of a hay-stack ; situated in a valley.

Measurement.

Circumference at base «0/5. <=): . 22) 0.) open

fe at 2 height from base . . . 25,,

Height from apex to base on the surface . . 13 ,,

is a vs perpendicular >... 6h saa

The work was begun with three men at 20 minutes past 4 P.M.,

and required 24 hours to accomplish it. :

The material was red clay, obtained about two feet below the

surface-soil, the latter being a mixture of sand and decayed vege-

table matter brought down from the surrounding hills. The

surface was highly indurated, receiving a slight impression from

a single blow of the mattock.

The order first seen was the workers, who instantly retreated

on exposure to the external air. They were succeeded by one

and then another, and then many of the larger class of soldiers,

who, rushing out in great rage with jaws extended, threatened

vengeance on the intruders.

The experiment of permitting them to bite was tried several

times, when it was perceived that a drop of brownish fluid was

exuded upon the part. The sensation was like that of a minute

sharp-cutting instrument, the jaws moving in cross direction hke

SCISSOrS.

On breaking several of the upward projections or “ turrets,”

they were perceived to be hollow, leading into the “ dome,” and

Mr. T.S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa. 101

the main passages in the walls down to the basement. These

several passages were smooth, as if by being well-worn by con-

stant tread, and it undoubtedly is through them that their food

is brought from below to the “magazines.” The first fragment

of the hill exposed numerous apparent perforations, from the

size of a shot to that of a dollar, which were increased by every

stroke ; these were the different passages, running in every direc-

tion and anastomosing with each other, keeping up a communi-

cation throughout the domicile.

The walls seemed to be about 12 inches thick, and contained

numerous cavities or cells of various sizes and shapes, with young

in different stages of growth, extremely white and delicate. They

communicated with each other and with the main passages. The

number of young contained in them varied from twelve to twenty.

When several were found in one cell, they were regularly and

closely packed, with their heads converging towards the bottom.

The first idea which this arrangement presented to my mind, was

that of pigs in an autumnal night, stowed in the angle of a “ Vir-

ginia fence.”

Having beaten away the wall of the hill, a layer of light brown

spongy substance was seen, its structure irregularly cellular and

inclosed in red moist clay of corresponding form ; the “ nurseries”

of Smeathman. The cells contained young of different sizes ; on

the surface were visible numerous scattered minute white glo-

bular bodies, probably fungi. Messrs. Kirby and Spence sup-

pose them to belong to the genus Mucor. But the Mucorini

are generated from decayed animal and stercoraceous matter.

Without a microscopic examination, they seem to me to be as-

signed more naturally to the Trichocisti, perhaps Trichia, the pin-

head fungi, which are known to spring from decayed vegetable

substance. It is highly probable that the material of which these

nurseries are made is at base vegetable matter. hei extent,

as thus observed, is from the base to two-thirds the height of

the sides of the hill. Centrally to these, and lying immediately

under the floor of the “dome,” was a series of cellular work, en-

tirely of clay, filled with a chestnut-brown substance, very moist,

having the appearance of rasped or gnawed wood, and other

vegetable matter. These are Smeathman’s “ magazines” and

“food,” which, with the nurseries, constitute almost two-thirds

of the contents of the structure.

Throughout the nurseries were found young in different stages

of growth: those in the external cells were smaller and mostly

without rudimental wings ; those in the interior cells were larger,

with distinctly developed mandibles and rudimentary wings ge-

nerally, the pupe of soldiers. The young in the interior of this

cellular work, with a few exceptions, were assuming the yellow

102 Mr. T.S. Savage on the Termitidee of West Africa.

colour which marks the head and thorax of the workers and

soldiers in their perfect or active state ; the exceptions were of a

pure white.

As the larger passages were opened, a strong current of warm

air from within was perceptible. I attempted to look down the

“dome,” but was compelled to withdraw immediately, my respi-

ration being affected, and the glasses of my spectacles coated

with a film of moisture; a strong, peculiar, but not unpleasant

odour was perceived. It was observed, that the deeper we pene-

trated, the more numerous became the young, and the more ad-

vanced were they in growth.

The structure called the “ royal chamber” by Smeathman was

discovered in a position central in respect to the circumference of

the hill, and about 18 inches above the surface of the ground.

Around and beneath it was a connected series of clayey cellular

work, in which were found the young, as before stated. The

chamber was of an oblong shape, rounded at the ends and sides ;

flattened and thick above and below. It was supported on one

side by two pillars about three-quarters of an inch in diameter ;

on the other, it was attached to the surrounding clay-work. I

accidentally broke open the inclosure, being misled by the state-

ment of Smeathman, that it was situated on a level with the sur-

face of the ground. The queen was discovered, surrounded by

a large number of the larger labourers, a few soldiers, and some

of the more advanced pupz, all of whom were running rapidly

round her, manifesting the greatest perturbation. The queen

made great efforts at progression, constantly turning her head

and thorax from side to side, but without moving in the least

her huge abdomen. Her whole length was 42 inches. The king,

evidently in great alarm, made repeated efforts to conceal himself

under the abdominal folds of his consort.

On examining further the “royal chamber,” a wide cavity was

observed running horizontally along the upper part or roof, ex-

ternally, but without any signs of communication with the mte-

rior. On the under surface of the roof, or ceiling, is a long de-

pression, corresponding in shape to the body of the queen, which

gives her that freedom of motion necessary to the extension of

her eggs. This motion is compound, first in a longitudinal,

then transverse direction, alternately elongating, contracting and

widening her body, which is marked with short, thick, transverse

bands. The skin is thrown into folds, while these bands operate

as so many fixed points or centres of muscular action, forcing

the eggs through their ducts to the place of exit.

For some time after exposure, the queen continued the expul-

sion of her eggs, but not, as I am inclined to think, to the usual

extent. They were white and very minute, and left untouched

Mr. T. S. Savage on the Termitide of West Africa. 103

by the workers, who evidently continued in a state of the greatest

alarm.

The floor of the chamber was perfectly plane and smooth, ex-

hibiting not the slightest impression from the body of the queen.

The roof in the centre was 3 of an inch thick ; the floor about 3;

at the line of conjunction about 4. Posteriorly im the line of

junction between the roof and floor was a small aperture, sheltered

from above by a spur of clay running downwards, which was the

only way discovered of ingress and egress. It could not have

admitted an insect larger than the soldiers, and even to them, as

it then appeared, it must have been a “strait gate.’ The king

could not have passed, and, consequently, not the queen. It had

the appearance of having been repeatedly closed and opened by

collections of clay around it.

That the queen is inclosed for life, is evident from the fact that

she is, from her great size, incapable of progression of herself, or

of being transported by any means within the power of the com-

munity.

On clearing away the refuse at the base of the hill, the orifices

of the main passages under the basement were discovered; de-

scending in a sloping direction, they led to large vacant rooms,

made by the pillars supporting the archwork, on which rests

the interior of the structure. These pillars or columns were of

an irregular, rounded shape, from 3} to 23 inches in diameter,

and stood on the solid ground about 6 inches high.

On visiting this hill the next morning, all the passages in that

portion of the wall not dissected were found well closed with

fresh deposits of clay, and also a continuous layer spread over

the remaining central cellular work. This was done during the

night by the surviving members of the community for their pro-

tection against the cool air of the night, the rain, and hostile

insects.

The opening of a hill is the signal for the gathering of all

their foes,—ants, reptiles, &c. ; hence the speedy closing of their

various entrances is a step of primary importance.

Another hill, previously dissected, was, after a time, so far

repaired as to be externally perfect. On taking it down again,

though the cellular work was apparently restored, no queen was

found nor royal apartments; a few workers were all the insects

discovered, and they were collected in the cells in the walls of

the hill.

Hill 2nd.— Opened Feb. 3rd, 1847.

Circumference at base . . . . 26 ft. 10 in.

Height on the outer surface . . 8, 6,,

A diagonal section was made by a cross cut saw, beginning

just below the upper floor of Smeathman.

104 Mr. F. Townsend on a supposed new species of Glyceria.

The walls were much the thickest on the north side, nearly

double those on the south, measuring 14 foot through.

It being in a locality where sand and gravel abounded, their

materials were freely mixed with the clay.

The covered ways leading from the base to objects ef plunder

at a distance were in this case larger and more numerous than

any I have seen before. The main one measured 12 inches in

diameter, and gave off several branches which proceeded in va-

rious directions. These were traced to sticks, stumps and logs,

which afforded them prey.

In this case the labourers in the hill were generally of the

smaller class, while those in the covered ways and in the stumps

were larger, having strong, stout jaws, well-adapted to the gnaw-

ing of wood. The “royal chamber” was found raised about 13

foot above the level of the ground.

Hill 3rd.—Cireumference at base, 50 feet. Height, 14: feet.

The notes do not state whether this is the perpendicular height

or not. Several fresh turrets were erected on the top, having a

moist, deep red, granular appearance.

The structure called the “royal chamber ” measured externally

10 inches in length, internally 8 inches. Its height from the

level of the ground was 2 feet 8 inches. The length of the queen

43 inches.

Shrubs or small trees are frequently seen growing up through

the hills. Such trees are never seen dead, consequently are not

eaten by the insect.

XI.—On a supposed new species of Glyceria.

By Freperick Townsenp, B.A.*

In 1846 I drew up a description of a supposed new species of

Glyceria, which had probably been confounded with other de-

scribed species, viz. G. fluitans and G. plicata ; and a paper on the

three plants was read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh

on November 9 in that year, but for the purpose of adding the

results of further observations, it was not then published. Re-

vised characters for, and some remarks upon, the three supposed

species are now again submitted to the Society.

In my former paper I applied the name of G. hybrida to the

new plant ; but as the use of that word might lead to erroneous

theoretical conclusions, I now substitute the name of G. pedicel-

lata. The specific characters may stand as follows :—

1. Glyceria fluitans (R. Br.). Panicle simple, elongate, sub-

secund, spreading whilst in flower, otherwise close ; branches

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh Dee. 13, 1849.

Mr. F. Townsend on a supposed new species of Glyceria. 105

simple, lowermost mostly in pairs; rachis smooth ; spikelets

linear, of 7-12 acute florets ; outer pale oblong-lanceolate, length

exceeding twice its breadth: apex acute, somewhat apiculate ;

anthers five times as long as broad; sheaths even; careopsis

linear-elliptical.

Var. 8. Inflorescence spiked.

Rachis perfectly smooth, never swollen as in G. plicata. Leaves

pungent ; sheaths roughish ; ligule obtuse, frequently obscurely

three-toothed. Panicle subsecund, elongate ; branches not bear-

ing more than five spikelets, one branch only of each of the lower-

most clusters bearing several spikelets ; uppermost spikelets of

the branches and rachis mostly sessile or upon short rigid pedi-

cels ; pedicels more or less scabrous. Inner pale equaling the

outer in length or surpassing it. Anthers purple, sometimes

yellow. Careopsis linear-elliptical.

It flowers from June to September, sometimes bearing a second

crop late in the year, and is universally distributed. It grows in

stagnant and running water.

2. G. pedicellata. Panicle simple, elongate, subsecund; branches

simple, always spreading, lowermost mostly in threes; rachis

smooth ; spikelets linear, of 7-16 obtuse florets ; outer pale ob-

long, twice as long as broad: apex entire or slightly and irre-

gularly denticulate-crenate; anthers three times as long as

broad ; sheaths sulcate.

Rachis perfectly smooth, never swollen as in G. plicata.

Leaves plicate, acute ; sheaths roughish ; ligule obtuse, somewhat

apiculate. Panicle subsecund, elongate; branches not bearing

more than six spikelets, one branch only of each of the lowermost

clusters bearing several spikelets ; spikelets more or less stalked ;

pedicels slender, flexible. Outer pale strongly mbbed when dry,

more membranous than in the other two species; inner pale

rather shorter than the outer. Squamule with an inflated ap-

pearance. Anthers always yellow; lips incurved after bursting.

The careopsis has not been observed.

It flowers from June to September, and has been noticed in

several places in Cambridgeshire, and at Dovedale near Blockley,

Worcestershire. It is found in stagnant and running water.

3. G. plicata (Fries!). Panicle compound ; branches compound,

always spreading, lowermost mostly in fives, uppermost

crowded; rachis scabrous above; spikelets linear, of 7-12

rather obtuse florets ; outer pale oval, not twice as long as broad :

apex obtuse-angled, obscurely three-toothed ; anthers twice as

long as broad ; sheaths sulcate ; careopsis roundish-elliptical.

Var. 8. Panicle simple.

~Rachis more or less rough from just below the panicle and

106 Mr. F. Townsend on a supposed new species of Glyceria.

upwards, wavy and twisted above, and frequently with a swollen

appearance. Leaves _plicate, rather obtuse, more flaccid and

of a darker green than in the other two species; sheaths sul-

cate, rough ; ligule obtuse, apiculate, obscurely three-toothed or

entire. Panicle often drooping, not so elongate as in either of

the above; clusters arranged at shorter distances; branches

often spreading in all directions from the twisting of the rachis,

uppermost crowded, a single branch often bearing sixteen or

more spikelets, two branches of each of the lowermost clusters

bearing several spikelets; spikelets shorter than in either of the

above, uppermost spikelets of the branches and rachis sessile or

upon short rigid pedicels; pedicels always scabrous. Florets

smaller than in either of the above. Inner pale rather shorter than

the outer. Anthers purple, sometimes yellow. Careopsis round-

ish-elliptical, and at once distinguishable from that of G. fluitans,

which is linear-elliptical.

It flowers from June to September, sometimes bearing a se-

cond crop late in the year, and is of frequent occurrence. It

grows in stagnant and running water. This is the G. plicata

(Fries), ‘Herb. Normale Suec.’ fase. 5. No. 91, and is thus proved

to be the plant described under that name by him.

Glyceria fluitans may at once be distinguished by its even

sheaths, those of the other species under consideration being

sulcate. G. pedicellata may be known from G. plicata by its

spikelets being much longer and florets larger, its panicle simple

and elongate, ¢ one branch only of each cluster beari ing more than

one spikelet, and the whole plant of a lighter green and more

wire-like. A common observer might at a glance distinguish

the plants by these characters.

The character of the inflorescence in G. pedicellata appears

constant, whilst in the other plants it is variable, and for this

reason I have noticed varieties derived from the form of inflo-

rescence. By a compound panicle I understand that the main

branches develope other branches upon which the spzkelets are

arranged, and the panicle is thus twice compound ; in the simple

panicle the pedicels of the spikelets spring directly from the main

branches.

The name pedicellata has been chosen in consideration of the

pedicels of the spikelets being longer and more decided in that

plant than in the others, which have frequently quite sessile

spikelets.

I have met with no description of G. pedicellata. From its

having somewhat intermediate characters, it has probably been

confounded both with G. fluitans and G. plicata. With regard

to published figures, of which there are many, I will venture a

few remarks. The figure given by Reichenbach (Icon. Fl. Germ.

Mr. F, Townsend ona supposed new species of Glyceria. 107

vii. t.79) is an excellent one of G. plicata ; except the fruit, which

is a tolerable representation of that of G. fluitans, as will be seen

by reference to Nees von Esenbeck (Gen. Pl. Fl. Germ. Monocot.

i. 57), whose figure of the fruit is exactly that of G. plicata ; the

rest of the plate by the latter author is not sufficiently accurate.

By Parnell (Brit. Grasses, t. 45), as far as I can judge, a fair figure

is given of G. pedicellata ; and in Curtis (Fl. Lond. i. t. 18) also

is to be found a good plate of the same plant: the form of the

panicle is good; but the outer pale is too long, and the magni-

fied representation still less accurate ; the anthers and leaves are

accordant. There only remains one other figure to be noticed,

viz. that given in ‘English Botany’ (t. 1520); it is however so

faulty that I can determine nothing with sufficient accuracy.

Since the above was forwarded to the Botanical Society at

Edinburgh on Nov. 29th, 1849, some “ Remarks on G. fluitans

and G. plicata” have appeared in the ‘ Phytologist’ (mi. 734)

from the pen of Mr. W. H. Purchas, on whose paper I should

wish to say a few words. In G. fluitans I have not myself ob-

_ served any characters by which specimens with appressed branches

may be distinguished from those with the branches divaricate ;

colour is the only distinction which Mr. Purchas has remarked,

and of this he appears to speak only from recollection and to

consider almost valueless.

G. plicata a. of the same paper is certainly my G. pedicellata ;

but these plants do not agree in the proportion of the outer pale ;

in the latter the outer pale is twice as long as broad, in the

former it is less than twice as long as broad. The character

taken from the position of the apex of the outer pale with re-

spect to the floret next above (when first attempting to distin-

guish the plants) I thought might be of value, but afterwards de-

termined it to be worthless. The plicature of the leaves may be

found in all these plants, but not generally in G. flutans, whilst

in G. pedicellata and G. plicata I have found the plicature pretty

constant. That a specimen from Mr. Moore agrees with this plant

is possible, as the two latter plants possess some characters in

common and were not then distinguished ; but an original speci-

men from that botanist preserved in Mr. Babington’s herbarium

is the G. plicata of this paper.

The description of G. plicata B, which Mr. Purchas thought

to be my plant, is that of G. plicata (Fries), with the exception

of the proportion of the outer pale and the character given of the

leaves. It is curious that Mr. Purchas should never have ob-

served the leaves to be folded, as I have found them very con-

stantly so, having examined plants from numerous localities in

several countries. The panicle has truly a “ fuller look,” “from

the greater number of compound branches,” as well as from

108 Mr. J.G. Jeffreys on British Odostomiz.

their being arranged at shorter distances. The same botanist

also observes, that “two branches of each whorl are almost

constantly compound,” and this character I have taken the

liberty of inserting im other words in my observations on this

plant. The remainder of his paper accords with my own obser-

vations, with exceptions which have been already noticed. I have

however frequently found this plant in stagnant pools, and can-

not as yet discover that either of the three affects peculiar situa-

tions.

There is only one more remark to be made, and this respecting

the suspected hybrid origin of the plant; Mr. Purchas seems to

imply that I held that opinion, but in my original but unpublished

paper it was expressly stated that my convictions were that it could

not be a hybrid, and the plant was therefore considered by me as

a species ; the unfortunate choice of a name has not unnaturally

conveyed a wrong impression of my views.

XII.—Supplementary Notes on British Odostomiz.

By J. G. Jerrreys, F.R. & LS.

Since the publication of my paper on this subject in the ‘ An-

nals of Natural History’ for November 1848, the discoveries of

that indefatigable conchologist Mr. Barlee, and the communica-

tions of other scientific friends, have induced me to notice the

following additions of species and localities :—

Odostomia pallida var. a. Guernsey, Mr. Barlee.

Var. 6. Loch Fyne, A. MacNab.

O. Rissoides var. b. Lerwick, Mr. Barlee.

O. alba var. a. This has been lately found by Mr. Alder on

the coasts of Northumberland and the Isle of Man, and described

by him in the Transactions of the Newcastle Naturalists’ Club,

under the name of O. fulva. It appears to attain a greater size

than any other of the true Odostomie.

O. nitida monstr. Lerwick, Mr. Barlee.

O.albella var.a, minor, sutura profundiore. Lerwick, Mr. Barlee.

O. acuta. In this species, as well as plicata and unidentata,

may be detected, by the aid of a good magnifying glass, faint but

regular spiral striz.

O. turrita. Birtabuy Bay, co. Galway, Mr. Barlee.

O. cylindrica. Lerwick, Mr. Barlee.

O. plicata var. a. Northumberland coast, Professor King.

Guernsey ; Burrow Island; Mr. Barlee.

O. unidentata. Arran Island and Birtabuy Bay, co. Galway ;

Burrow Island ; Mr. Barlee.

Mr. J.G. Jeffreys on British Odostomiz. 109

O. conoidea var. a. Arran Island, co. Galway; Guernsey ;

Mr. Barlee.

O. diaphana. Lerwick, Mr. Barlee.

O. decorata (un. s.).

Testa ovato-oblonga, diaphana, nitida, alba, per dimidium in-

feriorem anfractis cujusque striis impressis undulatis circa 15

sculpta ; anfractus 5, convexi, ultimo plusquam @ test zquante ;

apex obtusus; sutura subobliqua, profunde incisa; apertura

ovata, subtus rotundata, superne ad mediam anfractis ultimi

inflexa ; peristoma OE os umbilicum includens ; plica in-

conspicua. Long. }5, lat. 4; une.

Burrow Island, Mr. Bean and Mr. Barlee.

In my former paper I had confounded this species with O. ob-

liqua, but am now satisfied of its distinctness, by reason of the

spire being less oblique, the whorls more convex, the regular and

close strize on the lower half of each whorl, the absence of a fold

on the pillar, and especially of the well-defined umbilicus. IT re-

ceived the species some years ago from Mr. Bean under the MS.

name of decorata; and as this name has been used by British

conchologists, it may be inexpedient to change it for perhaps a

more appropriate appellation. It differs from O. diaphana in its

less cylindrical form and the greater convexity of its whorls, be-

sides possessing spiral strize and an umbilicus, which are wanting

in the other species.

O. obliqua. Lerwick, Mr. Barlee.

O. insculpta. Dunvegan, Skye ; Oban ; Burrow Island; Mr.

Barlee.

O. truncatula (n. s.).

Testa oblongo-cylindrica, tenuis, nitida, alba, striis subtilibus

spiraliter corrugata preesertim in anfractibus apicalibus, longitu-

dinaliter ad suturam striis undulatis sculpta; anfractus 6, con-

vexiusculi, turriculati, sensim increscentes, primo velut exciso ;

sutura obliqua, profunda; apertura ovalis, superne in angulum

contracta, subtus effusa; peristoma fere continuum, postice re-

Aap — nullus ; denticulus conspicuus, pliczeformis.

Long. 2, lt. zp une.

Plymouth, very rare; Mr. Barlee. I have only seen one adult

specimen. This species has somewhat the form of “ Turbo sub-

truncatus,’ Mont., which is the young of Truncatella Montagut ;

and the specimens recorded by Montagu as having been found

“in sand from Salecomb” may possibly be referable to it. It is

however a true Odostomia, and differs in form and markings from

any of its congeners. The animal appears to have a yellowish

colour.

O. dolioliformis. Burrow Island; west coast of Scotland ;

Mr. Barlee.

110 ~==Mr. J. Curtis on some nondescript or imperfectly

O. spiralis. Burrow Island, Mr. Barlee.

O. interstincta. Burrow Island ; Bantry Bay; Mr. Barlee.

Var. a. Guernsey, Mr. Barlee.

O. indistincta. Guernsey, Mr. Barlee.

O. excavata. land’s End, Mr. Barlee ; Exmouth, Mr. Clark,

who notices that his specimen has “a strong conspicuous fold or

tooth about the middle of the columella.”

O. scalaris var. a. This is proposed to be distinguished by

Messrs. Forbes and Hanley as the typical species, the name of

rufescens being appropriated by them to the other species or va-

riety. I however believe the latter to be only a northern form

or variety.

O. lactea.- Guernsey ; Burrow Island ; Mr. Barlee.

The variation of form in many of the species appears to be

very considerable ; and it would be easy to add several others to

the list.

XIII1.—Notes upon the smaller British Moths, with descriptions

of some nondescript or imperfectly characterized species. By

Joun Curtis, Esq., F.L.S. &e.

Family Torrricip2£.

1. Genus 946, 4°*. Tortria (Ainectra) Pilleriana, Hib. pl. 27.

f. 1729, and luteolana, Hib. pl. 21. f. 186, is a very variable

species, and differs from the other Tortrices in the form of the

palpi. Several specimens were taken by W. W. Saunders, Esq.,

at the back of the Isle of Wight. The larva lives principally upon

the vine, and is very destructive in the vineyards of France, but

it will feed also on Stachys germanica, and in the capsules of Iris

fetidissima, which abounds at Niton.

2. 28. T. croceana, Hib. pl. 19. f. 120; Modeeriana, Haw. I

took this rare species on 8rd July, 1842, on Bordean-hangers,

near Petersfield, Hants.

3. Genus 947, 2. Amphisa Walkerana, Curt. Brit. Ent. pl. 209.

In the summer of 1827 Mr. H. Walker took two males of this

curious little moth near Lanark, which I described and published

the following year, and he afterwards saw it flying in some abun-

dance over heathy districts, the end of March, in the sunshine

about noon, on Tinto, a hill near Lanark.

__* As great confusion often arises for want of references to some access-

ible work, the numbers of the genera and species of Curtis’s Guide, 2nd ed.,

have been added, as well as those of the ‘ Brit. Ent.’

characterized species of British Moths. 111

On the authority of Zeller, Mr. Doubleday has changed my

name for “prodromana,” vide “ Hiib. Caterpillars, Tortrices 4,

Genuine B, ¢, fig. c,” and on referring to the plate where the

moth is figured with its wings closed, I am not satisfied that it

represents my insect: it has simple antenne, it is much lighter

than any I have seen, and the shoulder-marks are different :

nevertheless it may represent the female.

4. Genus 950, 23. Spilonota tetragonana, Step. I took a spe-

cimen 11th July, 1842, on a hedge bounding a wood going to

Woolmer Forest from Selborn.

5. 26. Spilonota sylvestrana, Curt., was first discovered by

Mr. Dale at Bournemouth, and from the 23rd June to the Ist

July we found it there in 1846. It inhabits the Pinasters on the

cliffs, and we beat it into our nets in the daytime. It has been

distributed amongst entomologists by the name of “ duplana” of

Hubner, pl. 36. f. 229 & 230, to which it is not unlike, but much

smaller: it also resembles the small dark varieties of S. com-

tana, Hiib.

It is gray: head grisly and crested; palpi horizontal, very

scaly, second joint rhomboidal, apical not apparent ; basal joint

of antennz stout ; they are closely annulated with black : wings

deflexed in repose; superior oblong, tip rounded ; gray, trans-

versely but irregularly striped with brown and chestnut, one-third

of the base and a space towards the posterior margin darker, at

the centre of this is a brownish-ochreous orbicular but not well-

defined patch ; the costa is spotted gray and dusky ; the cilia are

griseous with a black line at the base: under-wings pale golden-

brown ; cilia tinted, with a darker line: the under-side is of an

uniform pale golden-brown, the costa slightly spotted: hinder

tibize stout, with a pair of spurs below the middle, a little longer

than the apical pair : expanse from 6 to 63 lines.

6. 27. Spilonota (Sideria) achatana, W.V.; marmorana, Hib.;

Curt. Brit. Ent. pl. 551. The 12th July, 1848, I beat four out

of blackthorns by Pole Hill, near Uxbridge.

7. Genus 955, 5. Anchylopera Lyellana, Curt. Brit. Ent.

fol. 376, having been first added to our British fauna by Sir

Charles Lyell, who took it in June at Kinnordy in Forfarshire, I

named it after my friend, but it seems to have been described

previously by Treitschke under the name of Phoxopteryx myrtil-

lana, and has been since figured by Duponchel, vol. x. pl. 253.

f. 4.

8. 8. A. diminutana, Haw.; cuspidana, Treit. I have taken it

the middle of August at Mickleham in Surrey, and Mr. Dale

finds it at Lulworth in Dorsetshire.

112 Mr. J. Curtis on some nondescript or imperfectly

9. Genus 957, 12. Carpocapsa nigricana, Haw. Our speci-

mens do not agree with the Fabrician description, but Haworth’s

insect seems to be the Grapholitha nebritana of Treitschke, and is

the “ Pisana” of Guené, according to examples from Paris, which

Mr. Doubleday obligingly showed me. This is a most interest-

ing species, as it is the parent of the maggots in peas, which we

have so long endeavoured to rear, but unsuccessfully.

10. 25. C. Queketana, Dale, was first discovered I believe on

a bank going to Burkham on the south side of the river the end

of April 1842. I fear this name will fall, as Doubleday considers

it the 7. fractifasciana of Haworth, and the Eriopsila caricana

of the continent.

11. Genus 959, 1. Cnephasia bellana, Curt. B. E. pl. 100. Im-

mediately after a most successful entomological tour made in

Scotland by Mr. Dale and myself, during the summer of 1825,

I published this beautiful species, beg one of the novelties I

detected ascending Arthur’s Seat. Nine years after it was de-

scribed by Stephens as the 7. Penziana?; T. octomaculana, Haw.,

being given as a variety. Wood of course followed in the same

wake, and has consequently figured my new species as ‘ Penziana,’

and omitted to delineate ‘ octomaculana,’ which is distinct enough

from C. bellana, but considerably like, if not identical with, Htib-

ner’s Penziana, pl. 14. fig. 85.

Here is one amongst hundreds of instances in which names

have been changed and misapplied from either ignorance or ca-

price to the destruction of science, creating a mass of confusion,

which it is to be hoped Mr. Henry Doubleday and Mr. Stainton

will eventually set right.

12. 2. C. octomaculana, Haw. MSS., expands from 10 to 11

lines: it is pale fuscous: superior wings white or grayish-white

with two irregular brown bands; the first near the base angu-

lated, edged with black and not reaching the immer margin, se-

cond crossing the middle obliquely, very irregular, dotted with

black, forming a kind of triangle on the costa united to a rhom-

boidal spot on the dise and detached from a smaller one on the

inner margin ; towards the apex is a spot leaving a pale patch on

the costa, and a smaller one nearer the tip ; towards the pos-

terior margin are two or three irregular oblique lines of black

dots.

Of this rare species, which has never been described, I caught

two the 19th July, 1825, which flew out of a stone wall near the

Inn at the base of Ben Lawes.

13. 3. C. cretaceana, Curt. It expands 10 lines, and is chalk-

white: superior wings with very faint indications of spots and

bands freckled with gray : inferior wings pale fuscous. I never

characterized species of British Moths. 113

met with this imsect but once, and then in abundance on the

paling round Dover Castle in July 1829. I suspect it is only a

strong variety of C. octomaculana, as some of my specimens ap-

proach that insect.

14. 10. C. rectifasciana, Haw. I am not satisfied that this

is the insect figured by Hiibner (pl. 38. f. 238) under the name

of T. hybridana: it is larger and darker, and the markings have

a different character ; indeed it reminds me more of a variety of

T. comitana.

Mr. Doubleday having applied my generic name to that por-

tion of the group which is not typical, it becomes necessary to

repeat, that the type of Cnephasia is a species abundant on elm-

trees, the 7. logiana of Haworth, which im 1826, when I esta-

blished its characters, was believed to be synonymous with the

Linnean species, as well as with the 7. pascuana of Hibner,

pl. 16. f. 99. The name Sciaphila, which Mr. Doubleday has

substituted for Cnephasia, was not published by Treitschke until

1829, and could not therefore be applied to my group, even had

it not been preoccupied by Schénherr for a genus of Curculionide

four years before Treitschke adopted it. It may be as well to

correct the spelling of Hiibner’s name, which in his letterpress

is pascuana, but by an error of the engraver the s has been con-

verted into an 7, making the unmeaning word pasiuana, and pas-

sana of Doubleday’s list.

15. Genus 960, 1. Orthotenia (Euchromia, Step.) formosana,

Curt. B. E. fol. 364. This was described by me in 183], not as

the T. formosana of Hiibner as indicated by Mr. Doubleday, a

species I am unacquainted with, as well as his 7. flammeana,

neither of which can I find in the Index to Hiibner’s works nor

in Treitschke. °

16. 13. O. Arbutana, Hib. pl. 31. f. 195. Mr. Dale feels

confident this is the 7. Arbutella of the Linnzan cabinet.

17. 7. O. alternana, Curt. ib. : Daleana, Doub., was also de-

scribed in ‘ Brit. Ent.’ in 1831, where I adopted the names in

the Ist ed. of my ‘ Guide,’ and not of the ‘ Wiener Verzeichniss,’

where I am unable to find 7° alternana ; and even if it be there,

I must protest against the superseding of established specific

names, unless the name has been employed in the same group

previously. If such be the case in the present instance, I fully

approve of the name of my friend, which Mr. Doubleday pro-

poses.

18. 8. O. gramineana, Curt. ib., also described on the above

page of ‘Brit. Ent.’ At that time I stated it was “ most allied

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 8

114 Mr. J. Curtis on some nondescript or imperfectly

to and the size of O. cespitana, Hiib.,”’ an opinion which has re-

cently been confirmed by Mr. Doubleday.

19. 9. O. cespitana, Curt. ib. Mr. Doubleday being satisfied

that this is not Htibner’s insect, but one described in the ‘ Isis’

by Mad. Lienig as 7. palustrana, my name must be transferred to

the preceding species. I regret to see it separated from Ortho-

tenia and made one of a new genus called Mizxodia by Guené,

for surely it cannot be necessary to form a genus to receive a

species so closely allied to O. cespitana, that one may be mistaken

for the other : sections are infinitely better, and to these we must

come at last, when we have been overwhelmed with the burden

of generic nomenclature. This extravagant rage for making

genera has however had its use, having led to a refinement of

discrimination which has been most beneficial in correcting the

slovenly habits of investigation that attached even to the mag-

nates of the last century and somewhat later.

20. “Genus 963, 6. Cochylis marmoratana, Curt. Brit. Ent.

fol. 491. The species since described under the name of /uteo-

lana by Stephens, and figured by Wood, pl. 37. f. 1140, appears

to be a variety of my marmoratana.

21. Genus 967. Peronea, Curt. Brit, Ent. fol. & pl. 16. Since

this genus was published in 1824, prodigious strides have been

made in entomology, and large quantities of these Tortricide have

been bred by Mr. Doubleday, who considers a vast number of

the species merely varieties of two types, viz. 7. cristana, W. V.,

and T. hastiana, Linn. If Lepidoptera vary to such an extent,

it may be well asked, ‘ What is a species ?’

Family CRAMBID&.

22. Genus 991”. Anerastia, Zell. ; Abraxes, Guide.

2. Farrella, Curt. Cab. Expanse 11 lines ; and similar in form

to A. Marisci or T. lotella, Hib. pl. 48. f. 334. It is whitish,

the horns are very slender and flesh-coloured, as well as the back

of the thorax: superier wings narrower than in Joftella, gray

freckled with brown ; the costa brown, with a white streak from

the base to near the tip, and a suffused space of ochreous flesh-

colour along the centre ; before the middle, on the inner margin,

is a black dot, and three more beyond the middle in a curve, one

being on the costa, another on the inner edge of the white streak,

and a third below it: inferior wings pale silky smoky lilac.

Yor a specimen of this pretty and distinct species I am in-

debted to Mr. H. F. Farr: two or three were taken at the North

Lighthouse, Lowestoft, the beginning of June 1840.

23. Genus 993, 9>. Phycita bilineata, Curt. Cab. It is the

characterized species of British Moths. 115

size of P. fusca, Haw., but of a pale mouse-colour with a slight

ochreous tinge, and the upper wings are narrower with a pale

irregular transverse line, a little more than one-third from the

base, but it does not seem to reach the costa, and there is an in-

distinct blackish dot on the disc : the under-wings are pale smoky

with a nacreous silky surface : the antenne are very slender and

apparently simple, but it is avery old and imperfect male which

I took when residing in Norfolk.

24. Genus 994, 6. Eudorea Portlandica, a name given to this

moth by Mr. Dale, from his finding it only in the Isle of Port-

land. It seems to me to be the E. pheoluca, described and figured

in the Linn. Entom. vol. i. p. 306. No. 15. fig. 13.

25. 6°. E. concinnella, Curt. Cab., expands 7 lines, being

much smaller than H. Mercurella, Linn., which it most resem-

bles: it is however entirely of a dark brown ; nearly one-third

from the base of the upper wings is a curved whitish striga, and

intermediate between it and the shoulder is another ; on the disc

is an indistinct black Q, beyond it an oblique white line, sud-

denly curved near the costa; a line of black dots at the base of

the cilia, forming a little black spot near the middle, surrounded

by gray scales, extending irregularly along the posterior margin:

under-wings pale brown, whitish at the base.

I cannot remember where I took this distinct and unique spe-

eimen, unless it was at Bournemouth.

26. 8. E. lineola, Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. 170. It expands 8 lines,

is white, head, palpi and thorax grisly ; abdomen fuscous, edges

of segments white: superior wings rather narrow, clouded with

brown ; the base is brown with an oblique black and white costal

stripe, reaching only half across and forming on the costa, with

the next, a white patch ; this second line is white, very tortuous

and margined with black externally ; to the centre loop 1s attached

a black oval spot ; above it, but nearer the middle, is a small white

dot in a black ring, and beyond it a black Q, white in the

centre ; towards the hinder margin is an oblique sinuose white

striga with a large curve, filled internally by a brown patch, and

externally at the costa and opposite extremity are two other

brown patches, the latter with a black arrow-head ; these leave a

semi-oval white space on the hinder margin, at the centre of which

is a small brown spot bearing black pointed dots extending along

the cilia, which is spotted black: under-wings fuscous-white,

with a transverse pale sinuated line nearly parallel to the mar-

gin, as noticed in ‘ Brit. Ent.— Wood’s fig. 1446 is not good.

27. 9. E. Resinea, Haw. Lep. Brit. p. 499. Mr. Stephens

having described this species under the above title in 1834, I

116) - Mr. J. Curtis on some nondescript or imperfectly

consider that it is quite unnecessary to disturb a name by which

it was so well known, to admit one proposed by Guené, who in

a letter calls it delunella. It was no doubt negligent of Haworth

to transcribe Linnzeus’s characters of his Tinea Resinella, which

he did with 7s, but as there is no such Linnean insect as Tinea

Resinea, no confusion can arise from retaining Haworth’s and

Stephens’s name, by which it is identified in all our catalogues

as well as by Wood’s figure 1448, and an appropriate name it is,

as the moth is always found on the trunks of Conifer.

28. 13. E. angustea, Curt. B. E. fol. 170, expands 7 lines.

It is ashy-brown, the upper wings very narrow and gradually

tapering to the base, towards which is an oblique broadish pale

curved line, dark outside ; on the dise are a minute oval and the

usual Q spots, but indistinct ; and beyond them a very oblique

simuose pale narrow line well defined, the inner margin brown ;

base of the cilia gray with a line of black dots : under-wings pale

yellowish-fuscous.

Wood’s figure 1450 is not my H. angustea, but merely a va-

riety of LE. Mercurella. The only specimen I possess I caught

in adamp cave at Tunbridge Wells the end of Aug. 1819, where

I saw many more.

29. 14. E. alpina, Dale’s MS. It expands 9 lines and may

be only a large variety of the foregoing, but all the examples are

paler, with an additional black oval spot below the minute one

on the disc, and upon the under-wings is a pale transverse striga

nearly parallel with the margin.

Mr. Dale’s specimens were taken on Schichalion.

Family Trneipa.

30. Genus 1008. Depressaria, Haw.; Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. &

pl. 221.

20. D. bipunctosa, Curt. Guide. It expands 11 lines and is

whitish-ochre, the spaces between the marginal nervures of the

upper wings are slightly fuscous, and on the disc of each are two

distinct black dots, forming a longitudinal curved line, with an-

other at the base, and the apex of the costa and posterior margin

bear ten black spots: the under-wings are pale fuscous : antenne

and legs fuscous. -

This is not a variety of Hibner’s 7. Verbascella, as I once

suspected, and it certainly is not of any species I possess. It is

the torm of D. liturella, W. V., but is smaller, and at once di-

stinguished by the colour of the legs, the uniform tint of the

upper wings, with the dotted costa and darker under-wings. The

only specimen I have seen was taken in the New Forest by Sir

Charles Lyell about twenty years since.

characterized species of British Moths. bE?

31. Genus 1009. Anacampsis, Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. 189.

5. A. lucidella, Step. ; Cleodora lucidella, Wood, pl. 40. f. 1240.

This rare insect I found on some rushes near Newchurch in the

Isle of Wight, the 1st of July, 1842, and Mr. Dale has taken it

in the New Forest.

32. 26. A. Lyellella, Curt. It expands 6 lines and is cream-

coloured : antennz and legs mouse-colour, the latter spotted and

striped with black externally : superior wings with three black

costal spots, first a long one next the shoulder, a second at the

centre, and a third further and larger ; on the inner margin is

an oblong patch, neither reaching the base nor the anal angle,

yet extending more than midway to the costa; apex brownish

with a black semicircle inclosing a dot at the tip: under-wings

broad, suddenly pointed, pale fuscous and iridescent.

My specimen was taken by Sir C. Lyell the 9th of April in

the New Forest.

33. Genus 1013. Cleodora, Step.; Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. 671.

6>. C. neuropterella, Zell. This insect, which I supposed was

the T. falciformis of Haworth, I took in Aug. at Mickleham. One

of my specimens expands 11 lines: the upper wings are falcate,

ochreous shaded to white on the interior margin; the nervures

and spots between them are rosy-fuscous or mouse-colour.

34, Genus 1015. Aphelosetia, Step. ?

6>. A. Inulella, Curt. It expands 5 lines and is white: scales

on head depressed; palpi recurved, scaly to the apex: superior

wings narrow, lanceolate, ochreous, and freckled; costa, a line

along the middle, with the radiating nervures and inferior margin

white, and sometimes there is an oblique white stripe near the

inner angle directed towards the tip ; cilia long, pale, and dotted

at the base: inferior wings silky dove-colour, nearly as broad as

the superior, truncated at the extremity, the apex produced ; cilia

long and thick ; hinder tibize stout, with hairy scales.

Very like A. rufo-cinerea, Haw., at first sight, but besides other

differences, the under-wings are not lanceolate, which indicates

an affinity to Cleodora. 1 bred two from flowers of Inula dysen-

terica the 28th of Ang. 1848, collected near Ryde in the Isle of

Wight, and no doubt the caterpillars fed upon the seeds in the

receptacles.

35. Genus 1017. Damophila, Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. 391.

3. D. brevicornis of Dale and the ‘Guide’ is the Butalis eratella

of Zeller, Mr. Stainton informs me.

36. Genus 1021. Pancalia, Curt. Brit. Eut. fol. 304.

2. P. fusco-cuprea, Haw., I have taken at Podimore, | near Sher-

borne in Dorset, the 8th of October.

118 =-Mr. J. Curtis on some nondescript or imperfectly

3. P. fusco-enea, Haw., is twice as large as the foregoing spe-

cies. I have met with it the middle of August on the Downs

near Lulworth, and also at Mickleham.

37. Genus 1023. Microsetia, Step.

4. M. sericiella, Haw. I found this little moth in abundance

on the flowers of Euphorbia amygdaloides in Grovely Wood, near

Wilton, the 9th May 1842.

Genus 1025. Argyromyges, Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. 284.

38. 1. A. Autumnella, Curt. B. E. pl. 284. This species is

now decided to be the T. Clerckella of Linneus, and the 4.

Clerckella of our cabinets is called scztella.

39. 1>. A. Acerfoliella, Curt. ; Padifoliella, Stain. The male

expands 4 lines, and the antennz are longer than the wings: it is

sickly-white, superior wings very narrow, falcate, fuscous with a

pure white stripe along the interior margin, surrounding a long

oblique curved line at the anal angle; the apex attenuated, in-

curved, spotted black and white with a very black dot at the tip:

inferior wings very narrow, smoky as well as the long cilia. The

Female is near 5 lines in expanse, fuscous ; head and thorax white :

superior wings very narrow, less falcate than in the male and

terminating like a feather, rich brown, the interior margin pure

white with the imner edge irregular, forming a square near the

base, an oblique lobe at the middle, and a loop at the anal angle,

inclosing a brown spot; the cilia of the apex is white with black

crescents on the extremity of the costa and round the tip, where

there is a black dot ; inferior wings very narrow and taperimg to

a point.

For a pair of this rarity I am indebted to Mr. T. Desvignes,

who took several in September and October flying out of maples

and whitethorns in Whittlebury Forest. The sexes seem to vary

considerably, but neither of them agrees with Hiibner’s figure of

T. Padtfoliella, p\. 46. £.316, im which the costa is white and the

interior margin spotted dark, whereas in our species it is exactly

the reverse.

40. 16. A. hortella, Fab., 1 took in a plantation near Wands-

worth the 19th of May.

41. 21. A. Cydoniella, Step., is the lautella of Heyden. I

found a beautiful specimen in Muller’sCopse at Glanville’s Woot-

ton the 18th May 1842,

42. 6>. A. maritima, Stain. MS. The 26th of August, 1836,

I first discovered this species on the banks of the river by St.

Vincent’s Rocks. It was tolerably plentiful.

43. 7. A. obscurella, Step. Ill. iv. 259. This insect occurs

characterized species of British Moths. 119

amongst long grass in young plantations. I have taken it near

Glanville’s Wootton, Dorset, the 18th May.

Genus 1028. Telea, Step.

44. 2. subfasciella, Step. Ill. iv. 247. This I met with the

30th June at St. Martha’s, near Guildford; the 9th July on

Turk Mountain, near Killarney; and the 11th August at

Mickleham.

45. 8. Curtisella, Don.; cenobitella, Hib. It is now believed

that the black 7. obscurella of Hiibner and the T. picepennis of

Haworth are only dark varieties, but I have not seen any inter-

mediate ones.

46. Genus 1030, 2. Ypsolophus, Persicellus, Haw., I find is

not a variety of his Y. bifasciatus, the T. sylvella of Hiibner ; but

a distinct species.

Genus 1031. Cerostoma, Lat. ; Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. 420.

47. 4. C, Xylostella, Linn. I have a specimen expanding

72 lines, with the stripe on the inner margin of the upper wings

nearly concolorous with the rest, but I believe it is only a variety

of this common species.

48. 5. C. Dalella, Stain. Syst. Cat. p. 11. This species was

first given to me many years since by Sir C. Lyell, who took it

at Kinnordy, and the beginning of August 1825 I discovered it

amongst heath on the face of a rock in the Isle of Bute. As it

agreed pretty well with Hiibner’s fig. 164. pl. 24, I gave it as

his 7. vittella in my ‘ Guide.’

Genus 1031. Acrolepia, Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. & pl. 679.

This is a very remarkable group, so greatly resembling the

Tortricidae, that a careless observer, omitting to examiue the palpi,

would at once include it in the wrong family. In 1888 this ge-

nus was established in my ‘ Brit. Ent.’ by dissection and elabo-

rate definitions, and as Zeller did not publish the group until

nearly two years after, his name and not mine must fall by the

law of priority, which Mr. Stainton very justly recognises to its

fullest extent.

49. 1. A. autumnitella, Curt. B. E. ib. I should not hesitate

to adopt Mr. Stainton’s opinion, that my species is the Tortriz

pygmeana of Haworth’s ‘ Lep. Brit.’ p. 439, if he did not give

4 lines as the expanse of the wings, for my examples measure

from 54 to 53 lines. Wood’s figure 1136 of Kupacilia pygmeana,

as he calls it, after Stephens, is apparently identical with my in-

sect, as well as Duponchel’s Hamilis Lefebvriella (v. 11. p. 141.

pl. 290. f. 11). Since this genus was published in the ‘ Brit.

Ent.’ I have seen specimens of A. autummnitella, flying m the day-

120 Mr. J. Curtis on some new species of British Moths.

time about rose-trees in my garden at Hayes, the beginning of

April.

50. 2. A. Betulatella, Curt. B. E. pl. & fol. 679. The only

specimens I have seen were taken by Mr. Dale off birch-trees at

Castle Eden Dene the beginning of August 1837. I have how-

ever a new species to describe which I shall name

51. 3. Marcidella, Curt. Cab. It expands 63 lines, and is

pale rusty-ochre : palpi recurved and tapering ; antenne slender,

white, and dotted; head and back of thorax whitish : superior

wings oblong, very much mottled, the costa arched and minutely

spotted, with a dusky patch just beyond the middle, terminating

internally in a longitudinal black line ; from the outer angle pro-

jects obliquely a short brown line, and at the centre of the pos-

terior margin may be traced an imperfect ring inclosing two or

three short black streaks on the nervures ; on the i tenior mar-

gin, before the middle, is a pale conical spot, with a dark margin

next the base ; cilia fuscous with a dark line at the base and two

little black lines at the tip, forming one or two white dots; m-

ferior wings as broad as the superior, very pale mouse-colour,

apex ovate-lanceolate.

A pair of this moth was given to me by Mr. Robertson I

think: the specimens have a worn or faded appearance.

52. 6. A. granitella, Fischer, has been sent to me by Mr. Dale.

It is allied to the genus Cer baioia!

Genus 1088. Gracillaria, Haw.; Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. 479 ; Or-

nix, Treit.

53. 1. G. Tazella, Curt. Cab., expands 34 lines, and is si-

milar to O. Meleagripennella of Hiibner, but the wings are not

so narrow, and a double white spot near the tip of the costa di-

stinguishes it. It is white ; the hairs projecting from the fore-

head are brown : antennz long and dotted : superior wings broad

towards the apex, fuscous, with a hlac tinge at the extremity ;

ten white semicrescents ornament the costa, two at the apex

nearly uniting and inclosing a black dot, which is bounded by

black and white lines like a feather ; the fringe is white with a

fine black line ; on the interior margin are two black spots, with

white ones between them: inferior wings lanceolate and mouse-

colour : abdomen fuscous spotted with white, the apex tufted in

the male; the organs of generation bright ochreous : legs white

and spotted.

The 2nd June 1839, I beat a few specimens out of yew-trees

at Micklehanf.

Genus 1040. Pterophorus, Geoff. ; Curt. Brit. Ent. fol. 161.

54. 17. P. similidactylus, Curt., Dale. As neither Stephens’s

Rey. W. Smith on Deposits of Diatomaceous Earth. 121

description nor Wood’s figure answers to my insect, I will’add the

characters of this species, which was unknown until I took three

flying near the ground bya hedge at Niton, in the Isle of Wight,

the 30th of July 1828.

It expands 1 inch and is yellowish-white : the superior wings

are more or less freckled, deeply cleft, the upper lobe narrow and

curved, the costa and inferior margins are tawny, forming an

oblique line towards the extremity composed of two trigonate

spots, that on the costa being the larger: inferior wings yellow-

fuscous, divided into three rays, without any lobe on the abdo-

minal one: legs white ; thighs and hinder tibiz tawny, the latter

~ tipped fuscous ; anterior tibiz clavate and brown, except at the

base, intermediate clubbed or tasseled with brown scales at the

apex, and another similar tassel at the middle.

P. similidactylus varies in colour greatly, for one of my speci-

mens is of an uniform dove-colour, except the darker markings

on the upper wings, and the white but spotted legs. It is distin-

guished from the allied species by the narrow upper lobe of the

superior wings and the tasseled spotted tibiee.

18, Belitha Villas, Barnsbury Park, lst Jan. 1850.

XIV.—On Deposits of Diatomaceous Earth, found on the shores

of Lough Mourne, County Antrim, with a record of species

living in the waters of the Lake. By the Rev. W. Smiru, F.L.S.

Durine a late visit to the North of Ireland I had placed in my

hands, by Mr. J. M‘Adam of Belfast, a small quantity of earth

which from its peculiar appearance he fancied might contain the

shells of “Infusoria.” <A very slight examination convinced me

of the correctness of this conjecture, and proved that the entire

substance of the earth in question consisted of a mass of un-

broken or fragmental siliceous shells of various Diatomacee.

Being desirous of ascertaining the exact nature of the deposit

from which the earth had been procured, and how far it had

claims to the character of “ fossil,” a term which has frequently,

but I fear without sufficient consideration, been given to similar

collections of these beautiful exuvize, and understanding from Mr.

M‘Adam that the determination of the poimt would be of some

importance as regarded a paper on the Geology of the district

which he hoped in a short time to prepare for the ‘ Annals,’ I

determined to visit the spot, and record the particulars required

from personal observation. F

Lough Mourne is a sheet of fresh water of about two miles in

circumference, lying amidst a range of low hills to the north-east

of the town of Carrickfergus, at the distance of four miles from

122 Rev. W. Smith on Deposits of Diatomaceous Earth

that town, and about fifteen from Belfast. It occupies a basin

in a plateau which does not appear to have any land of a much

greater elevation in the immediate neighbourhood ; the lake is

therefore fed by the surface-drainage of a very small district, and

has no further apparent sources of supply, with the exception of

a spring at the north-west corner, the produce of which is of

little importance. It is however worthy of note, that a small

stream, sufficient to turn the wheel of a corn-mill in the neigh-

bourhood, approaches within a few hundred yards of the lake,

and falling into a natural pit or cavity, is lost to view, and is said

to reappear at some distance southwards, and there unite its

waters with those of the streamlet flowing from the lake, to

whose larger mass it had thus fastidiously refused to contribute

its supply. However this may be, it is certain that the lake

itself is not subject to any serious disturbance from the sudden

increase of its waters by floods or otherwise, and that its quiet

depths and great purity are peculiarly favourable to the develop-

ment of Diatomacee. The level of the water however appears to

have been lowered to the extent of several feet by deepening the

outlet from the lake, a course which seems to have been adopted

in the hope of increasing the supply to a mill now in ruins, a

fate not unnaturally the result of so reckless an expenditure of

the capital represented by the waters of the natural reservoir,

thus improvidently drained of its contents. The facts I have

mentioned will account for the circumstances to which I proceed

more particularly to refer, and which I noted during a brief sur-

vey of the shores of the lake in company with Mr. Geo. C. Hynd-

man and Mr. J. G. Smith on the 6th Sept. 1849.

On the north-east shore of the lake, at the height of about

four or five feet from the present level of its waters, there occurred

a stratum of diatomaceous earth corresponding with that alluded

to in the opening of this paper. This layer was about six inches

in depth and of great purity, containing but little foreign matter,

and that chiefly the decayed filaments of the water-plants to which

the living Diatomacee had been attached, or in company with

which they had floated to their present position. This deposit

when moist was of a dull gray colour, and resembled soft, freshly

made soap; when placed upon the tongue, the taste was that of

a smooth oleaginous substance. The sensation thus perceived is

no doubt to be attributed to the extreme minuteness of the shells

and their usually rounded outline, presenting no angles to grate

upon the papille of the tongue or finger. When dried in mass,

the earth is of a delicate cream-colour, when pulverized of a pure

white, and forms, as I have proved, an excellent material for

polishing silver plate. This layer must have required a long

series of years for its gradual accumulation: its elevation from

on the shores of Lough Mourne. 123

the surface of the lake is accounted for by the lowering of the

level of the waters before mentioned; and its position on the

north-east shore is no doubt to be ascribed to the circumstance

that south-west winds prevail at the season when the filaments

to which the Diatomacee are attached, are loosened by the cold

of autumn and winter.

At the present level of the water in the lake, near the spot

where the layer now mentioned is found, there does not appear

to be any fresh deposit of a similar character. This may possibly

be owing to the more abrupt shelving of the bank, not affording

a resting-place for the floating weeds ; but on advancing towards

the south and on the level strand of a little bay, there formed by

a bend in the outline of the shore, a second deposit occurred

evidently of a more recent formation. It was found covering

the mud in a very thin stratum, and much more intermixed

with earthy and other matters than the layer on the north-west

shore. This layer is probably the result of accumulations made

since the deepening of the outlet from the lake, and the date of this

operation, and the comparative thickness of the layer itself, might

possibly afford materials by which an estimate might be formed

of the period occupied in the accumulation of the older deposit.

The hurried nature of my visit did not permit me to make the

inquiries necessary for such an investigation. No further deposits

were found, nor were there any appearances of such on the western

shore of the lake.

As important in determining the character of the deposits

found, I made a gathering of such living Diatomacee as were

within my reach, and I now subjoin a list of the species, disco-

vered on a careful examination of all the collected materials,

adhering throughout to the nomenclature of Kiitzing in his

‘Bacillarien oder Diatomeen.’ As a curious illustration of a

“ multum in parvo,” I may mention that a drop which adheres

to the point of a knife, dipped into water, holding the earth of

the earlier deposit in suspension, will be found to contain nearly

all the species mentioned below, and of some of these hundreds

of individuals.

I have marked (+) those species which were found living in

the lake ; with one or two exceptions all the others were common

to either deposit. In the older, or that from the north-east shore,

the most conspicuous species and occurring in great abundance

was Surirella splendida. The Epithemie were also exceedingly

numerous. In the more recent deposit, Surirella splendida was

in very small quantity, but its place was in some degree supplied

by the beautiful Melosira arenaria, which I could not detect in

the former. The Epithemia, which I have dedicated to one of

my companions in a most agreeable excursion (whose reputation

124 Rev. W. Smith on Deposits of Diatomaceous Earth.

as an acute observer in another department of natural history is

not unknown to the readers of the ‘ Annals”), is a large and hand-

some species intermediate between HE. zebra and E. granulata,

but distinguished from both by its stouter habit, the regular

convexity of its dorsal outline, and its rounded ends.

description in a note*.

+Epithemia Musculus.

4r zebra. +Gomphonema acuminatum.

aR ocellata. +—— constrictum.

+—— gibba. geminatum.

+ turgida. +Navicula nobilis.

granulata. T major.

Hyndmanii. +—— viridis.

+Himantidium pectinale. + sphzerophora.

Fragilaria virescens. + radiosa.

capucina. —— nodosa f. striata.

+Cyclotella operculata. —— binodis.

minutula. —- lata.

+Melosira orichalcea. — dicephala.

+ arenaria. —— mesolepta.

Campylodiscus noricus. a; elliptica.

Surirella splendida. firma.

+—— bifrons. tT attenuata.

+ Solea. +Stauroneis Phcenicentron.

+—— elliptica. punctata.

+Synedra capitata. lanceolata.

‘i biceps £. recta. cardinalis.

T ulna. di lineolata.

sigmoidea. amphicephala.

+Cocconeis Pediculus. — Platystoma.

+Cymbella Ehrenbergi.

+Cocconema Cistula.

+Amphora ovalis.

cuspidata. Tabellaria fenestrata.

+Cocconema lanceolata. ventricosa.

ap cymbiformis.

ladda

It is evident from the above that neither of the deposits found

can with strictness be termed fossil ; that they are simply the

siliceous coverings of species, the greater number, if not all, of

which, still inhabit the waters of the lake, having required no

doubt a lengthened period for their accumulation, but still one

comparatively recent, and which cannot be regarded as conferring

a fossiliferous character on the deposit itself.

In the ‘ Magazine of Nat. Hist.’ for July 1839, an interesting

description of an “ Infusorial” earth found on drainmg Lough

Island-Reavey, co. Down—is given by Dr. Drummond of Bel-

fast : I have been enabled by the kindness of W. Thompson, Esq.

of that town to compare this deposit with those I have here

noticed. Although occurring under very similar circumstances,

* Epithemia Hyndmanii, W. Sm. EE. major, a latere secundario valde

et eequaliter convexa, apicibus obtusissimis rotundatis non recurvatis, striis

transversalibus moniliformibus vix convergentibus: a latere primario ob-

longa medio valde dilatata. Long. s$5-7}5 uncie.

Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chaleidites. 125

and in a locality not very distant from mine, the earth from Lough

Island-Reavey is almost wholly different, including but few spe-

cies, and the more numerous of these found but sparingly in the

Lough Mourne deposits.

The following make up nearly the entire mass of the earth

described by Dr. Drummond :—

Navicula gracilis. Tabellaria fenestrata.

Himantidium arcus. ventricosa.

pectinale.

A few frustules of the following also occur :—

Surirella splendida. Epithemia zebra.

Navicula viridis. Cocconema lanceolata.

The profusion in which N. gracilis, H. pectinale and T. fenes-

trata occur in this deposit, would lead to the conclusion that the

waters of the lake in which it had been found were the drainage

of a subalpine district, whose surface was almost exclusively

peat, while the Lough "Mourne deposit would, even to the phi-

lomicros unacquainted with its locality, indicate the neighbour-

hood of clear springs, grassy pastures and a low elevation. In

this way these minute organisms may afford matter for interest-

ing speculation, and when occurring in a fossil state may possibly

be made available in the researches of the geological inquirer.

Wareham, January 10, 1850.

XV.—Notes on Chalcidites, and Descriptions of various new

species. By Francis Waker, F.L.S.

[Continued from vol. iii. p. 210.]

Cavuponlia, nN. g.

Fem. Head and chest convex, very finely shagreened : head thick,

a little broader than the chest : feelers slender, subclavate ; first joint

long, slender ; second cup-shaped ; third and fourth very small ; the

following from the fifth to the tenth successively but slightly de-

creasing in length and increasing in breadth; club long-elliptical,

broader than the tenth joint, and more than twice its length: chest

spindle-shaped, much developed: fore-chest rather long, having a

slight transverse ridge near the hind-border whence it declines and

grows narrower and forms a short neck : shield of the mid-chest very

long; sutures of the parapsides distinct for rather more than two-

thirds of the length of the chest, but thence quite obsolete; axille

parted by rather less than one-fifth of the breadth of the chest;

scutcheon nearly conical, with a slight transverse suture towards the

hind-border ; hind-scutcheon transverse, but rather large : hind-chest

well developed, obconical, declining, with a ridge along the middle

and asuture on each side : petiole short : abdomen long-oval, smooth,

shining, slightly concave above, rather deeply keeled beneath, some-

what broader and a little shorter than the chest ; metapodeon occu-

126 Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites.

pying nearly one-fourth of the back; octoon and all the following

segments of moderate size; the keel beneath forms an angle beyond

one-half of its length, and thence rises abruptly to the tip, and emits

the oviduct at about half its length between the angle and the tip:

legs slender: wings of moderate size; ulna shorter than the hume-

rus; radius full as long as the ulna; cubitus moderately long, full

one-fourth of the length of the radius; brand small, round.—This

genus is allied to Trigonoderus, Hetroxys and Notanisus.

Caudonia Agylla, fem. Aneo-viridis, abdomine rufo basi cupreo

apice viridi, antennis nigris, pedibus rufis, alis subfulvis.

Head coppery : eyes and eyelets dark red: feelers black, shorter

than the chest; first joint tawny, piceous at the tip: chest coppery

green : front of the fore-chest almost black : hind-chest brassy : ab-

domen pale red, dark bronze-colour at the base above, green at the

tip: oviduct tawny: legs pale red; four hinder feet tawny with

piceous tips: wings pale tawny; veins darker tawny; brand pale

brown. Length of the body 14 line; of the wings 23 lines.

England. In the collection of Mr. Dale.

Encyrtus Statius, fem. Cyaneus, capite cupreo, abdomine nigro,

antennis piceis albo-cinctis apice nigris, pedibus nigris, tarsis ful-

vis, alis nigro-fuscis. i

Head and chest convex: head coppery, large, most roughly punc-

tured, hardly broader than the chest ; crown and front very broad :

eyes dark red: feelers subclavate, more than half the length of the

chest; joints from the first to the sixth piceous ; first joint long,

slender, broader towards the tip; second cup-shaped ; the following

joints to the eighth slightly and successively decreasing in length ;

seventh and eighth joints white; club black, long-conical, broader

than the eighth joint and more than twice its length: chest very

short, a little longer than broad, dark blue, very finely punctured :

fore-chest very short, but visible above : shield of the mid-chest short

and broad; no traces of the sutures of the parapsides; axillz long

and narrow, just meeting on the back; scutcheon large, obconical,

rather flat above, with a very slight furrow from the fore-border to

the disc : hind-chest and petiole extremely short: abdomen trian-

gular, flat, smooth, shining, black, shorter than the chest, but ex-

ceeding it in breadth near the base: legs stout, black; feet tawny

with piceous tips; fore-feet darker than the rest ; middle legs having

the feet dilated as usual, and the tips of the shanks armed with

two black spines: wings dark brown, somewhat dilated above the

humerus ; veins piceous; ulna not half the length of the humerus ;

radius and cubitus shorter than the ulna; brand extremely small.

Length of the body } line; of the wings 1 line.

England. In the collection of Mr. Dale.

Callimome eurynotus (Foerster MSS.), mas. Viridis, abdomine

purpureo basi cyaneo, antennis nigris, pedibus flavis, femoribus et

metatibiis viridibus, alis limpidis.

Head and chest convex, green, finely shagreened, rather thickly

Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites. 127

pubescent : head hardly broader than the chest: eyes and eyelets

red : feelers black, compact, rather stout, nearly filiform, clothed with

yellow down, nearly as long as the chest; first joint long, slender,

green ; second cup-shaped, shining, not pubescent; third and fourth

extremely minute; fifth and following joints nearly equal in length ;

club long-conical, rather more than twice the length of the preceding

joint: chest long-elliptical: fore-chest rather long, narrower and

rounded in front; its length rather more than half its breadth: shield

of the mid-chest very long; sutures of the parapsides very strongly

marked ; axille parted by rather less than one-fourth of the breadth

of the chest ; scutcheon nearly rhomboidal, almost smooth at the tip,

where it forms aridge and thence declines very abruptly ; hind-scut-

cheon short but distinct : hind-chest of moderate size, obconical. de-

clining, nearly smvoth : petiole very short : abdomen convex, spindle-

shaped, smooth, shining, bright purple, rather hairy, bright blue at

the base, narrower than the chest and but little more than half its

length ; metapodeon occupying about one-third of the back, concave

at the base; its hind-border convex, and passing over the back of

the octoon which is short ; ennaton longer than the octoon ; decaton

longer than the ennaton; the three following segments shorter:

sexual parts piceous, rather long: legs yellow; hips, thighs and hind-

shanks green; trochanters and knees tawny; tips of feet brown:

wings colourless, pubescent ; veins brown; ulna full half the length

of the humerus; radius rather more than one-third of the length of

the ulna; cubitus very short, not more than one-third of the length

of the radius; brand very small, forked, emitting a short branch.

Length of the body 14 line; of the wings 3 lines.

Allied to C. versicolor and to C. cyaneus.

Prussia. In the British Museum.

Ormyrus ceruleus(Foerster MSS.), fem. Viridi-cyaneus, purpureo

et cupreo varius, antennis nigris, tarsis fulvis, proalis plerumque

Suscis.

Head finely shagreened, bright green, purplish blue on the crown;

broader than the chest: eyes and eyelets red : feelers black, clavate,

not longer than the chest; first joint long, slender; second cup-

shaped; third and fourth very small ; the following from the fifth to

the tenth successively increasing in breadth, but hardly decreasing in

length; club conical, broader than the tenth joint and about thrice

its length : chest blue, nearly elliptical, very convex, shining, trans-

versely rugulose, but appearing almost smooth, the marks being very

slight : fore-chest very short ; its length not more than one-eighth of

its breadth: shield of the mid-chest large, roughly punctured, much

broader than long; sutures of the parapsides indistinct; scutcheon

obconical above, having a rim behind whence it declines abruptly

and forms a>right angle; axille parted by nearly one-third of the

breadth of the chest: hind-chest transverse, rough, very short:

petiole extremely short: abdomen long, obconical, convex, shining,

rather hairy, especially towards the tip, finely punctured, denticulate

and with rows of large punctures across each segment, smooth at

128 Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites.

the base, tapering towards the tip, keeled beneath, about twice the

length of the chest; metapodeon bright coppery green along the

hind- border, rather less than one-fourth of the length of the abdo-

men ; octoon coppery green, not half the length of the metapodeon ;

ennaton a little longer than the octoon, coppery, purplish blue at

the base; decaton a little longer than the ennaton, with which it

agrees in colour; protelum coppery, much shorter than the decaton ;

paratelum spindle-shaped, slightly compressed, much longer than the

decaton ; telum about half the length and breadth of the paratelum :

oviduct springing from the base of the abdomen and reposing in a

groove from thence to the tip: legs bluish green ; shanks armed with

two spines at their tips, those of the four hinder shanks long; tro-

chanters piceous ; knees and feet tawny; tips of the latter piceous :

wings pubescent, but nearly naked at the base, and along two nar-

row lines which have a common source and pass along nearly the

whole length of the wing; there is a large pale brown spot in the

disc of each fore-wing beneath the ulna; veins piceous; ulna a little

more than half the length of the humerus ; radius about one-fourth

of the length of the ulna; cubitus thick and extremely short, not

half the length of the radius; brand none. Length of the body 13

line ; of the wings 2 lines.

Prussia. In the British Museum.

Pachyneuron Pruni (Foerster MSS.), fem. Viridi-cyaneus, abdo-

mine angusto, antennis nigris, pedibus fulvis, mesotarsis et meta-

tarsis flavis, alis limpidis.

In structure like P. formosum: head and chest greenish blue,

finely shagreened: feelers black: abdomen oval, smooth, shining,

green or bluish green, depressed above, keeled beneath, much nar-

rower but not longer than the chest : legs tawny ; hips green ; middle

and hind feet yellow with piceous tips: wings colourless ; veins

piceous ; ulna thick, less than half the length of the humerus ; radius

nearly twice the length of the ulna; cubitus as long as the ulna;

brand small. Length of the body 4—# line; of the wings 3-14 line.

Prussia. In the British Museum.

Pteromalus laticeps (Foerster MSS.), fem. Aineo-viridis, capite et

scutello cyaneis, abdomine purpureo-cupreo, basi viridi, antennis

nigris, pedibus flavis, femoribus protibiis et protarsis fulvis, alis

limpidis.

Head and chest convex, finely shagreened : head dark blue, a little

broader than the chest: eyes and eyelets red: feelers pubescent,

black, clavate, as long as the chest; first joint long, linear, bright

pale yellow; second piceous, shining; third and fourth very small ;

the following joints from the fifth to the tenth successively increasing

in breadth and decreasing in length; club conical, hardly broader

than the tenth joint, but about twice its length : chest coppery green,

nearly oval, narrower behind: fore-chest rather short, convex in

front, concave behind ; its length about one-fourth of its breadth :

shield of the mid-chest broader than long; sutures of the parapsides

Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites. 129

very indistinct ; axilla parted by nearly one-fourth of the breadth of

the chest; scutcheon dark blue, truncate-conical, with a very indi-

stinct transverse suture across the disc: hind-chest well developed,

obconical, declining, somewhat excavated at the base, and having a

ridge along the middle and a rim on each side: petiole very short:

abdomen nearly oval, smooth, shining, purplish bronze, bright green

at the base, flat above, keeled beneath, slightly tapering at the tip,

narrower and much shorter than the chest; metapodeon conical,

convex till near its tip, occupying nearly one-fourth of the length of

the back ; octoon not half the length of the metapodeon ; each of the

four following segments as long as the octoon ; telum narrow, some-

what longer ; the abdomen forms a very obtuse angle in the middle

of the underside: legs tawny ; four hinder legs with bright pale yel-

low shanks and feet, tips of the latter piceous: wings colourless,

pubescent; veins tawny; ulna full half the length of the humerus ;

radius longer than the ulna ; cubitus rather more than half the length

of the ulna, slightly curved; brands very small. Length of the

body 13 line; of the wings 33 lines.

Prussia. In the British Museum.

Smiera Ampyx, fem. Ferruginea, pedibus flavis, alis limpidis.

Tawny: feelers linear, rather longer than the chest: mouth yellow:

petiole as long as the abdomen, which is elliptical, smooth, shining,

slightly compressed, much shorter and narrower than the chest:

fore-legs and middle-legs yellow: hind-coxe large, armed above

toward their tips with a few small teeth; hind-thighs dilated, beset

with a row of small teeth along the underside, and armed with a larger

tooth at the base: shanks curved, fitted to the thighs, each ending

in a spine: wings colourless ; veins piceous ; a small brown spot on

the stigma. Length of the body 1} line; of the wings 2 lines.

West Indies. In Mr. Clear’s collection.

Smiera Fidius, fem. Rufa, nigro flavoque varia, antennis nigris,

alis limpidis.

Red : head finely punctured ; front and underside yellow : eyes and

eyelets pale red: jaws curved, each armed with three short brown

teeth: feelers linear, black, somewhat piceous beneath, as long as

the chest ; first joint long, slender, yellow, black at the tip: thorax

roughly punctured ; sides marked with yellow: breast mostly black :

a black line passes along the back of the scutum of the mesothorax :

metathorax black : petiole short : abdomen obconical, downy, shining,

very finely punctured, black towards the tip, narrower and a little

longer than the chest : fore-legs and middle-legs bright yellow ; hind-

cox yellow, tinged with red above, and each having a black spot

on the outside; hind-thighs red, each armed beneath with a row of

small teeth along the lower edge, and having a larger tooth at the

base: hind-shanks curved and applied to the thighs, yellow towards

the base which is black, having a black band across the middle,

reddish at the tips which are produced into spines: hind-feet yellow,

' their tips piceous : wings colourless ; veins piceous; ulna above half

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.2. Vol. v. 9

130 = Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites.

the length of the humerus; radius a little longer than the ulna; cu-

bitus short, hardly one-fourth of the length of the radius, with which

it forms a very acute angle; stigma very small. Length of the body

24 lines ; of the wings 3 lines.

West Indies. In Mr. Clear’s collection.

Smiera Pratinas, mas. Rufa, nigro varia, antennis nigris, pedibus

nigro flavoque variis, alis fuscis.

Bright red: head and chest roughly punctured : crown of the head

black; a spot of the same colour along the lower edge of the eye:

fore-chest with a large black spot on its back, and a smaller spot on

each side; there is also a small black spot on each of the epimera of

the middle chest : petiole long : abdomen smooth, shining, short, broad

not nearly so long as the chest : feelers black, nearly linear, as long

as the chest ; first joint rather broad, red at the base, forming a very

obtuse angle beneath ; second and third joints very short ; fourth and

following joints of moderate size, hairy, closely joined together, and

successively decreasing in length; tenth and three following joints

yellow: fore-legs and middle-legs simple, hairy ; hips and thighs red,

the latter tinged with black ; shanks black with yellow tips; feet

yellow; the joints successively decreasing in length till the fifth, which

is somewhat longer than the fourth: hind-legs red; hips large, ob-

clavate, black towards the tips, and that especially on the upper side ;

thighs very large, compressed-oval, armed beneath with about twelve

small teeth ; shanks dark red, black at the base and towards the

tips, curved and fitted to the thighs : wings dark brown ; veins pitch-

colour. Length of the body 2 lines; of the wings 4 lines.

West Indies. In Mr. Clear’s collection.

Chalcis Resus, fem. Nigra, pedibus flavis, metafemoribus nigro

vittatis, alis sublimpidis.

Black ; head and thorax dull, punctured, clothed with bright yel-

low hairs, especially at the tip of the scutellum : abdomen smooth,

shining, clothed above with a few hairs: antennz black: legs yel-

low ; hind-thighs black on the inside and having a large spot of the

same colour on the outside, armed beneath with eight small black

teeth, and having also one larger yellow tooth near the base: wings

nearly colourless or slightly tinged with brown ; squamulz yellow;

veins piceous, paler towards the base of the wings. Length of the

body 3 lines; of the wings 5 lines.

Sierra Leone. In Mr. Clear’s collection.

Palmon Idomene, mas et fem. Cyaneo-viridis, abdomine eneo aut

purpureo, subtus fulvo, oviductu corporis longitudine, antennis

pedibusque flavis, metapedibus purpureo-fulvis, alis sublimpidis.

Male. Head and chest scaly : head green, hardly broader than the

chest which is bluish green: eyes and eyelets red: abdomen obclavate,

slender, flat, bronze-colour, tawny beneath towards the base, nearly

as long as the chest: feelers subclavate, yellow, less than half the

length of the body; first joint long, slender, linear; second cup- ~

Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites. 131

shaped; third and fourth very minute; fifth and following joints

subquadrate, of moderate size, successively but slightly decreasing

in length; eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth joints forming an oval

club which is broader than the tenth joint and more than twice its

length: legs yellow; fore-legs and middle-legs of moderate size ;

fore-feet having the first joint long and dilated, the second, third

and fourth very small, the fifth longer; middle-feet with the first

joint dilated and very long; the second large, but smaller than the

first ; the third, fourth and fifth very short: hind-legs tawny, tinged

excepting the feet with bluish purple; hips very long; thighs very

large, compressed-oval, armed on the inside with several teeth,

rather less dilated than those of the female ; shanks curved and fitted

to the inside of the thighs; first and second joints of feet dilated,

second much shorter than the first; third, fourth and fifth pale yel-

low, very small; claws and foot-cushions black: wings rather narrow ;

fore-wings slightly tinged with brown ; veins tawny ; humerus long ;

ulna much shorter ; radius about one-third of the length of the ulna;

cubitus much shorter than the radius ; stigma very small.

Female. Abdomen purple, compressed, nearly as long as the chest,

tawny and keeled beneath; the keel increasing in depth from the

base to the tip: oviduct and its sheaths yellow and as long as the

body: thighs and hind-hips tinged with bluish purple ; feet simple,

first joint long, second and following joints very small. Length of

the body 14-14 line; of the wings 23 lines.

Sierra Leone. In Mr. Clear’s collection.

Urolepis Cychreus, mas. Cupreus, antennis fulvis, pedibus rufes-

centibus, alis immaculatis.

Copper-colour : head and chest convex, very minutely shagreened :

head a little broader than the chest: eyes and eyelets piceous; the

latter near together on the crown of the head, the middle one a very

little in advance of the other two: front green, slightly impressed :

feelers tawny, nearly filiform, rather shorter than the chest; first

joint long, slightly curved ; second long cup-shaped ; third and fourth

very small; fifth and five following joints of moderate and nearly

equal size; eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth joints forming a long

conical club, which is twice the length of the tenth joint : chest large:

fore-chest short, narrower in front: scutum of the middle-chest

broad; sutures of the parapsides indistinct, especially towards the

hind-border where they approach each other ; axillz large, separated

by rather less than one-third of the breadth of the scutum ; scutel-

lum nearly hexagonal, with a transverse line near its hind-border :

hind-chest large, obconical, slightly declining, having a ridge down

the middle and one on each side, whereby it is divided into two

compartments ; it is rugulose on the outer sides of the compartments,

on the tip of whose middle ridge there is a shield-shaped protu-

berance : petiole very short : abdomen nearly round, smooth, shining,

slightly convex, a little more than half the length of the chest ; first

segment large, its disc hollow; second large ; third and following

132 Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites.

segments short: legs dull red ; feet pale red, their tips brown : wings

ample, tinged with tawny colour; veins tawny ; ulna hardly half the

length of the humerus; radius longer than the ulna; cubitus much

shorter than the ulna; stigma small, brown. Length of the body

1} line ; of the wings 21 lines.

*e F ound on the edge of the pond in the Zoological Gardens,

Pheenix Park, Dublin (in September), where Notiphila cinerea and

Ephydra littoralis (or coarctata) were abundant. -Perhaps a parasite

of the latter, as Ur. maritimus is of Ephydra riparia.” Haliday MSS.

In the collection of Mr. Haliday.

Panstenon Pidius, mas. Cyaneo-viridis, abdominis disco purpureo-

cupreo, antennis fulvis, pedibus flavis, alis perangustis.

Body bluish green, very long and narrow: head and chest scaly :

head much broader than the chest ; front impressed : feelers tawny,

slender, filiform, inserted in the front, nearly half the length of the

body ; first joint long and rather stout ; second stout and cup-shaped ;

third and fourth hardly visible; fifth and following joints small,

nearly equal in size; eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth forming a

spindle-shaped club about twice the length of the tenth joint: chest

spindle-shaped : fore-chest short ; scutum of the middle-chest rather

long ; sutures of the parapsides not distinct ; scutellum obconical, of

moderate size: hind-chest large, subquadrate, hardly declining:

petiole yellow, nearly one-sixth of the length of the abdomen, which

is spindie-shaped and somewhat shorter than the chest; disc pur-

plish copper ; segments of moderate size, slightly decreasing towards

the tip: legs pale yellow, long and slender; middle-feet and hind-

feet pale straw-colour ; tips of the feet tawny: wings extremely nar-

row, with a slight yellow tinge, more or less shorter than the body ;

veins yellow; ulna much shorter than the humerus; radius shorter

than the ulna; cubitus of eo ies length ; stigma small. Length

of the body 2 line ; of the wings #1 line.

Distinguished from P. Onylus by its much narrower wings and by

other characters.

Ireland. In Mr. Haliday’s collection.

Panstenon Oxylus, reared by Mr. Haliday from the pupa of a Di-

pterous insect (Agromyza Pisi, Kaltenbach) on the pea.

Prosopon montanum.—Female. Head and chest brassy green,

covered with fine scales : feelers black, clavate, twelve-jointed, about

one-third of the length of the body; first joint long, rather slender,

tawny beneath and at the base ; second cup-shaped ; third very short ;

fourth and following joints short, closely joined together, successively

but slightly decreasing in length; tenth, eleventh and twelfth joints

forming an elliptical club which is broader than the ninth joint and

more than thrice its length: abdomen smooth, purple varied with

green and copper colour on the sides and at the tip, somewhat ellip-

tical, nearly flat above, slightly keeled beneath, a little broader and

longer than the chest; first segment short, convex along the hind-

border ; second rather longer, also convex on the hind- border ; third

Zoological Society. 133

short, with a straight hind-border ; fourth, fifth and sixth of mode-

rate size, with straight hind-borders; seventh extremely small :

middle-legs not dilated.

In other characters it resembles the male.

Found by Mr. Haliday with the ¢ on mountain heaths near Belfast,

both pretty common.

Ericydnus Aimnestus, fem. Viridis, antennis nigris, abdomine basi

pedibusque rufis, alis vie ullis.

Head and chest dark green, shining, convex, very finely sha-

greened : head broader than the chest; crown large ; front convex :

eyes and eyelets dark red: feelers black, clavate, much shorter than

the body; first joint long, slender; second long cup-shaped ; third

and following joints to the ninth successively shorter and broader ;

tenth, eleventh and twelfth joints forming a spindle-shaped club

which is more than twice the length of the ninth joint : chest ellip-

tical: fore-chest short, narrower in front: scutum of the middle-

chest short and broad ; scutellum obconical: abdomen sessile, con-

vex, dark green, obconical, pale red towards the base, narrower and

much shorter than the chest; there are a few hairs towards the tip

which is deeply keeled beneath: legs pale red; middle legs dilated

as usual, their shanks armed with long spines; hind-shanks rather

dark; tips of the feet brown: wings rudimentary. Length of the

body 2 line. L£. strigosus 2?

Ireland. In Mr. Haliday’s collection.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

J ZOOLOGIGAL SOCIETY.

Feb. 27, 1849.— William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The following papers were read :—

1. DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW SPECIES OF CYPRHA.

By Joun S. GAsKOIN.

CypR2ZA CRIBELLUM. Cyp. testd subcylindricd, levi, albd, bruneo

omnino obtectd, preter maculis numerosis, testd concoloribus,

Sere circularibus, inequalibus et irregulariter dispensatis ; mar-

ginibus bruneo-rufescente punctatis ; basi subplanulatd, albd ;

aperturd latd, precipue antice ; columelld ventricosiusculd ; den-

tibus labit prominentibus, equalibus, circa quindecim ; dentibus

columellaribus subobsoletis (preter dente primo) circa duodecim;

dente primo majus prominente deinde anticé est incisura pro-

funda; sulco columellari nullo, extremitatibus anticis leviter

productis, externé valdé convergente ; canali lato et profundo ;

extremitatibus posticis obtusis ; canali postico lato, aperturd

recté continuo; margine externo incrassato; spird laté umbili-

cata.

Shell subcylindrical, smooth, white, covered by a dark-brown coat-

ing except at numerous nearly circular white spots, of unequal sizes

and irregular distribution, thus leaving at those spots the colour of the

134 Loological Society.

shell to view; the line of meeting of the two mantles of the mollusc

on the dorsum is generally perceptible ; internally of a brown colour ;

outer edge of the margin more or less dotted with rather large dark

reddish-brown dots, similar dottings, but less in degree, on the colu-

mellar side of the base ; base rather flat, white (white deposit, on the

centre of the columellar side, semitransparent); aperture wide, espe-

cially anteriorly, inner edge of the lip spiral; columella slightly ven-

tricose ; teeth on the lip prominent, even, extending partly on to the

base, about fifteen in number, -those on the columella very slightly

prominent (excepting the first), not extending on the base,—about

twelve in number ; the first greatly projects, between which and the

inner anterior extremity is a deep notch,—no columellar groove,—and

at the posterior half of the aperture the teeth exist along the outer,

those on the inner edge being mere indications of teeth ; extremities,

anterior very slightly produced, the outer one converging greatly ;

posterior extremities obtuse, very slightly produced; channels, ante-

rior wide and deep, posterior rather wide and in a straight line with

the aperture; margin, only on the outer side, incrassated; spire

widely umbilicated.

Long, 44 of an inch; wide, % of an inch.

Hab. Mediterranean Sea.

Cab. Gaskoin, Saul, &c.

This species differs from Cyprea Cribraria of Linn. in the general

conformation of the shell, being more cylindrical, in its short, obtuse

extremities, its wide aperture, particularly anteriorly, the large dot-

tings on the margin, the character of the teeth, the internal colour of

the shell, &c.

CyPpR& PULICIS VARIETAS. Cyp. testd longiore, dentibus nu-

merosioribus minutioribusque, supra labrum circa viginti-novem,

supra columellam cirea viginti-tribus ; canali postico denticu-

lato.

Shell longer in form, of a light reddish-brown colour, aperture

narrower and straighter, teeth finer and much more numerous than

the ordinary form, being about twenty-nine on the lip, while the pro-

totype has about nineteen, and on the columella side, about twenty-

three, against from fourteen to seventeen; posterior channel more or

less denticulated.

Hab. ?

Cab. Cuming, Gaskoin.

2. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF NUTCRACKER.

By Joun Govuxp, F.R.S. erc.

NUCIFRAGA MULTIPUNCTATA, Gould.

Crown of the head and nape of the neck brownish black ; feathers

of the face, sides of the neck, back, chest and abdomen brownish

black, with a broad and conspicuous mark of dull white down the

centre ; wings glossy greenish black, the coverts and secondaries with

a lengthened triangular mark of white at the tip, a faint trace of a

similar mark appearing on the tips of the primaries ; tail glossy green-

ish black, the two centre feathers slightly, the next on each side more

Zoological Society. 135

largely, and the remaining three extensively tipped with white, the

extent of the white increasing as the feathers recede from the centre ;

under tail-coverts white ; upper tail-coverts and thighs striated with

white.

Total length, 144 inches ; bill, 14; wing, 82; tail, 7; tarsi, 15.

This species exceeds in size both the NV. caryocatactes and N. he-

mispila, but at the same time has a smaller and more slender bill than

either of those birds; it also differs from both of them in its length-

ened and cuneiform tail; it has a greater quantity of white on the

apical portion of the tail-feathers than the European species, but less

than is found in the NV. hemispila; the white markings of the back

and the entire under surface are also much larger and more numerous

than in either of the other species, and are most remarkably developed

on the scapularies.

The only specimen I have seen of this fine species is in the Museum

of the Philosophical Society at York ; its precise habitat is unknown,

but as other species which were certainly from Simla in India accom-

panied it, we may reasonably conclude it was from that country.

3. NOTES ON THE DISSECTION OF THE PARADOXURUS TyPUs,

AND OF Dipeus Heyrtius. By H. N. Turner, Jun.

Having received, through the liberality of the Society, a few of

the animals that have died in the menagerie in the course of the pre-

sent winter, I feel bound to lay before them, as well as I may be able,

whatever details of structure I observe which may be new, or may

- give rise to ideas calculated to assist in the advancement of the science.

Since the Society have done me the honour to insert in their Pro-

ceedings* the somewhat lengthened communication which I was last

permitted to lay before them, I hope that the remarks I have now to

offer, some of which have a bearing on the same subject, may also

prove acceptable.

It formed part of my object in that paper to demonstrate that the

Viverrine group, (of which the Paradoxuri are now universally ad-

mitted to form a part,) are so closely allied to the Cats as to safely

warrant their being united with them in one family, instead of being

looked upon as a section intermediate to the canine and feline groups,

or, on account of their number of tuberculous molars, more closely

allied to the former, in which light they have very frequently been

considered: and I think it will be apparent, from the observations I

have now to bring forward, that the genus Paradoxurus, one of the

least exclusively carnivorous of the order, and formerly associated

with the Bears in the plantigrade division, has a much closer relation-

ship with the group, which, from its being pre-eminently carnivorous,

is usually considered as “typical”’ of the order, than naturalists have

been wont to anticipate. It is not unfrequently the case, that when

an affinity between two species or genera is established upon essen-

tial peculiarities of structure, certain minor details, or even habits and

actions of the animal, remind one so forcibly of the relationship we

* See also vol. iii. p. 397 of thisJournal.

4a: =

aad

136 Zoological Society.

have already proved to exist, that they assume an unlooked-for de-

gree of interest; and, having kept for some time a living specimen

of the common Paradoxurus, I think a few of the observations I have

made upon it may on this account be interesting, in connection with

the structural peculiarities which the receipt of a dead one has enabled

me to remark.

The claws are as retractile as in the domestic Cat, although from

the absence of the long and soft hair, with which the sides of the toes

are clothed in the latter animal, they are fully exposed when in the

retracted position. But on examining the claws of the Paradoxure,

it becomes obvious that the raising of the point from the ground is

not the only means employed by Nature to maintain their sharpness.

Every one must have observed in the common Cat, as well as in the

larger species preserved in our menageries, the habit of occasionally

scratching or dragging with the claws against the surface of any hard

substance, a process not apparently caleulated to improve their sharp-

ness, but obviously intended to aid the shelling off of the outer layer

of the claw, which is continually renewed by growth from the root,

and the blunted point is thus occasionally replaced by a new one. I

have not observed this habit in the living Paradoxurus; but on ex-

amining the claws of the dead one, I noticed that some of them were

much larger than others, these being worn and blunted at the point,

while the smaller ones were sharp; also that the series of claws on

each foot were irregular as to their sizes, and that the corresponding

claws on the opposite feet in some cases differed greatly in size; so

that it would appear, that in the absence of the scratching propensity,

the claws scale off naturally, and to a much larger extent at a time

than in the Cats. I have occasionally noticed my living specimen with

a claw apparently loose, but the casting off of the outer layer of the

nail is a difficult thing to verify by actual observation.

On one occasion, my specimen having escaped from his cage, on my

seizing him by the neck for the purpose of replacing him therein, he

made use of his claws to defend himself, just as a cat would naturally

be expected to do; while it is well known that any animal of the dog

tribe, being seized in that manner, is helpless, having no instinct

prompting him to make use of his extremities against his captor; in

this tribe also the paws are never used for seizing, but only for the

purposes of locomotion, and to steady the prey upon the ground,

while the teeth perform their office. The positions sometimes assumed

by the Paradoxurus in a state of repose, also resemble those of the

cat; for instance, it frequently lowers the body between the fore-paws,

approximating the shoulder to the foot, while the elbow remains raised

by the side: the canine animals, on the other hand, zever crouch with-

out applying the elbow to the ground. The Paradoxurus again re-

sembles the Cat in the habit of occasionally bending the head verti-

cally beneath the neck while asleep, a position never assumed by the

Dog. ,

In all the anatomical characters which in my former communica-

tion I assigned to the Felidee (in which family the viverrine section is

included), the Paradoxurus fully agrees ; those presented by the gene-

Zoological Society. 137

rative and odoriferous organs are the most remarkable. There is no

true musk-bag, simply the two secerning pouches situated one on each

side the anus, which are so common among the carnivora. In addition

to these, there is at the base of the prepuce, an oval, flat, naked space,

which is not simply a secreting surface, as stated by Mr. Gray in a

paper contributed to the Proceedings a few years back, but contains

a number of minute orifices, each opening into a somewhat cylindrical

glandular sac: these are arranged vertically side by side, and, toge-

ther with the anal pouches, secrete the substance which imparts to

the animal its characteristic odour. The generative organs are alto-

gether very largely developed; the prostate is large, of a slightly

lobulated form, and the urethra passes obliquely through its centre.

Cowper’s glands, whose presence is characteristic of the Felide, are

remarkably large, causing a prominence externally posterior to the

scrotum ; and, as usual in the family, each is surrounded by a power-

ful muscular envelope, which is at least an eighth of an inch in thick-

ness ; the fibres converge to a tendinous portion, which extends, from

the point where the duct issues, some distance on each side of the

gland ; the size of these organs altogether is about equal to that of

the testes. The length of the penis, from the orifices of Cowper’s

duct to the meatus urinarius, is a little more than three inches ; it is

perfectly flexible in every part, and therefore the os penis must be

either very minute or wanting; this is another feline character, since

in the Bears and Weasels, as well as in the Dogs, the bone forms a

considerable part of the organ. The glans is cylindrical, it tapers a

little for about six-tenths of an inch, then terminates suddenly in a

small conical point, in the groove around the base of which is situated

at the lower part the urethral orifice. The body of the glans has a

slight median groove beneath, and its whole surface is covered with

horny spines directed backwards. Cuvier, who alludes to a similar

peculiarity in the Cats, makes no mention of it, either in the Ichneu-

mon, the Civet, or the Hyzena. Its existence is therefore an interest-

ing mark of affinity between two genera apparently so dissimilar, al-

though, from its inconstancy, it will not serve as a character of the

family. In the Paradoxurus the spines are minute, very numerous,

and regularly distributed *.

The same organs in the Jerboa present some peculiarities worthy

of notice. I will observe, in addition to what has before been described,

that Cowper’s glands are each curved upon itself in a manner similar

to the vesiculze seminales. The two sharp-pointed bony stylets with

which the upper part of the glans is armed, and which have been

mentioned by authors, arise about the middle of the dorsum of the

glans, one on each side of a prominence of its substance ; they are

* Since the above was written, I have received the body of a male Coatimondi.

I alluded to that animal in my former paper, as being placed by Cuvier among the

list of those possessing the vesicule seminales, which, I observed, required con-

firmation. I can now assert that they do not exist; the walls of the vasa defe-

rentia are swollen immediately before these vessels enter the urethra, and the

prostate has a more sudden projection at its upper end than I have observed in

the musteline animals that I have dissected. The absence of the vesiculz semi-

nales is then a constant character of the true Carnivora.

138 Zoological Society.

gently curved, and rather suddenly pointed at the end. In the re-

cumbent condition they incline a little towards each other, just over-

hanging the extremity of the glans, and bear some resemblance to the

pointed lower incisors of some small Rodent. The glans itself appears

tripartite at the extremity, there being a deep fissure running the whole

length of its under surface, and just at the extremity another on each

side : at the meeting-point of the fissures is the urethral orifice. Just

behind the origin of the bony stylets the presence of a small ossicle

can be distinctly felt within the substance of the glans.

A very remarkable peculiarity in this little animal is, that amidst

the long white hairs which clothe the lower part of the foot is a small

sharp horny spike, situated just below the base of the middle toe, as if

it were intended to enter the ground, and thus prevent the animal from

slipping when it alights. This I have reason to believe is not generally

known, although it must I think be alluded to by Dr. Shaw in his Ge-

neral Zoology, since he there remarks, ‘‘ There is also a very small spur

or back-toe, with its corresponding claw:”’ and subsequently adds,

‘nor does any vestige of it appear in the figure given by Dr. Pallas of .

the skeleton.”’ This may well be, since it is simply a cutaneous deve-

lopment, having no connection with the skeleton whatever. I have

looked at the specimens of the Jerboa in the British Museum, but in

consequence of their beg dried and mounted, the little appendage,

which is concealed by the hair, was not to be perceived; but in the

Alactaga, as well as the same circumstances would permit, I could see

that a little horny process existed, but was rough and blunt.

In the dissection of an animal whose only mode of progression con-

sists of leaping with the hinder extremities, and which differs from

the other jumping Mammalia in the circumstance, that in the position

of rest the extremity only of the metatarsus is applied to the ground,

the muscles of the leg may be expected to afford some points of in-

terest. The most striking of these are, that none of the muscles situ-

ated upon the tibia remain fleshy for more than about half the length

of that bone, each terminating in a long tendon; and that upon the

foot itself there are no muscles whatever, the actions of the flexors

of the toes being relieved by a strong ligament, which arises from the

os calcis, and divides into five, giving one to the middle toe, two small

sesamoid bones being developed in it ; and two divisions to each of the

other toes, the index and the annularis, each of which has also its

sesamoid bones, those furthest from the axis of the foot being rather

largely developed, extending some distance over the sides of the arti-

culation. The ligament near its origin contains three little supernu-

merary bones, one on the outer, two on the inner side ; the latter are

grooved for the passage of the tendon of the flexor perforans. On

the homology of this tendon I have next to remark. It might very

naturally be expected, that in animals having no thumb on the hinder

extremity, and in which the fibula is in great part wanting, the flexor

longus pollicis, which in man has its origin in the fibula, would be

either much reduced or absent ; but so far from such being the case,

it will be seen, on reference to any work on the comparative anatomy

of the muscular system, that this muscle exists, and that its tendon

Zoological Society. 139

becomes entirely confluent with that of the flexor longus digitorum.

But further, I think it will appear that in those lower Mammalia, in

which the thumb or the fibula, or both, are wanting or imperfectly

developed, it is the flexor longus digitorum that is reduced in size, and

the flexor longus pollicis that becomes the principal muscle acting on

the toes. The dissection of the Jerboa made this homology very

evident. The large flexor muscle which gives the perforating tendons

to the toes arises, as may be expected, partly from the tibia as well

as from the fibula; but it is distinctly shown to be the flexor longus

pollicis, from the fact that its tendon passes through a distinct sheath,

separate from and posterior to that which contains the tendons of the

other two muscles, namely the flexor longus digitorum and the tibi-

alis posticus. Of these, which are both very small, the former shows

its homology most clearly, by arising from the surface of the tibia,

immediately below the insertion of the popliteus. The tibialis pesticus

is an extremely minute and delicate muscle, arising only from the

tibia.

In the Rabbit the two perforating flexors form a single muscle,

having the proper origins of both ; lower down they become to a cer-

tain extent separable, but the tendons are completely reunited before

they pass the ankle, which they do in the place belonging to the

flexor longus pollicis. This compound muscle, occupying the whole

posterior surface of the bones of the leg, so pushes round the tibialis

posticus, that it takes the chief part of its origin from the inner side

of the tibia, which in Mammalia generally is free from muscular

attachment. In the Paradoxurus I found that the flexor longus

digitorum has, in addition to its usual attachments, a point of origin

in the head of the fibula; but then the bones are separate, and the

flexor longus pollicis is a distinct muscle, having also origin in both

bones, and each tendon passes the ankle in its usual place*.

March 13.—W. Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The following papers were read :—

1. NOTICE OF A PECULIARITY OF STRUCTURE OBSERVED IN THE

AORTA OF THE WiLp Swan. By Joun Davy, M.D., F.R.S.

L. & E., INspecror-GENERAL oF ArRMy HoOspiIrALs, ETC.

(ComMMUNICATED By Mr. GULLIVER.)

When engaged in examining anatomically this bird (a full-grown

female, killed m the neighbourhood of Chatham in February 1839),

my attention was arrested by a peculiar appearance in the inferior

* Since writing the above I have taken opportunities of looking at the same

muscles in a Fox and in a Monkey (Cercopithecus pygerythrus). The former animal

differed from the Paradoxurus, and resembled the Jerboa, in the great extent of the

flexor longus pollicis and the much-reduced size of the tibialis posticus, which here

also terminates in a long slender tendon, showing an interesting correspondence of

adaptive character in two animals, in which the motion of the hind-limbs is vi-

gorous, but of one kind only. In the Monkey the flexor longus pollicis is a much

larger muscle than the flexor longus digitorum, and has considerable attachment

to the tibia.

Meckel and Cuvier allude to the union of the two long flexors in the Rabbit

before they pass the ankle, but neither author informs us at which point that takes

place.

140 Zoological Society.

portion of its aorta, which I shall briefly describe with the hope of

leading to further inquiry. Before the ischiatic arteries are given off,

the aorta is comparatively large and is enveloped externally in a dense

fibrous coat, possessing very little elasticity : below the origin of these

arteries, the trunk of the aorta suddenly becomes small, and continues

small and tapering to its termination ; and this change is accompanied

with an alteration in the structure of its external coat. In place of a

dense fibrous envelope, it is now sheathed in a substance very like

muscular fibre, and which from its properties I believe to be a mus-

cular layer. It is of some thickness, of a reddish hue, slightly elastic,

easily broken, and divided by a ligature and easily separated into ~

longitudinal fibres of considerable length. Under the microscope

each filament appears to be composed of nearly parallel fibres of ex-

treme delicacy, and destitute of those peculiar markings which be-

long to the fibres of the voluntary muscles generally and to some of

the involuntary. Moreover, when placed in a warm damp atmo-

sphere, at a temperature between 80° and 90° Fahr., it rapidly putre-

fies and is reduced to a poultaceous or semifluid consistence. These

properties seem to characterize it as a muscular structure; I would

not dwell on any one in particular, but rather on the assemblage of

them. An attempt of late has been made to revive the old doctrine

of the muscularity of the middle coat of the arteries, founded almost

exclusively on microscopical appearances. The structure described

above, I consider not of the nature of the middle arterial coat, be-

lieving that that coat is not truly muscular, but rather of the nature

of the muscular coat of the intestmes, to which, in point of colour,

consistence, the effect of a ligature, its microscopical appearance and

proneness to putrefy, it is so very similar.

If this structure be admitted to be muscular, it may be viewed as

accessory and of a use similar to that of the accessory hearts of the

Chimera and Torpedo, and destined to some peculiarity of function

which further research is required to determine.

Before concluding this notice, I may mention incidentally that I

availed myself of the opportunity afforded by this Swan to examine

the air contained in its osseous air-cells. I found it to be composed

of about 83:3 per cent. azote, and of 16°7 per cent. oxygen, tested by

means of lime-water and phosphorus. It was collected from the cells

belonging to the cervical vertebree,—cells by means of which this part

of the bird is happily buoyant, floating in water, even when deprived

of its feathers and integuments and detached from the trachea. And,

further, I may mention, which was new to me, that its large mtestine

is almost as amply provided with villi as its small; and that even the

isthmus or narrow neck of each of its large czeca is similarly provided

with villi. Some other animals, especially birds, may be analogous

in this respect ; but in no other instance in which I have yet examined

the large intestines in search of villi have I found them.

29. Norres oN THE SKULL oF Eauus Hemionus anp Equus

Kianc. By J. E. Gray, Esa., F.R.S.

Mr. Hodgson has lately sent to the British Museum three speci-

mens of the Horse, which he had described under the name of Equus

Zoological Society. 141

Kiang ; unfortunately they were so destroyed by imsects during their

passage from India, that it was impossible to preserve any part of

them except the skull and the bones of the limbs.

As a doubt had arisen as to the distinction of this species from the

Hemione, Equus Hemionus, of Kutch, I have compared these skulls

with the skull of the latter belonging to an imperfect skeleton, which

was kindly presented to the Museum, with the skin, by the Karl of

Derby, from an animal which lived some time in Knowsley Park.

The forehead of all the three specimens of #. Kiang is rather con-

vex between the eyes, and the centre of the face is narrow and keeled

on the sides; while in the skull of #. Hemionus the forehead is flat

between the eyes, and the centre line of the face is rather broader and

rounded gradually off on the sides, and the incisive bone is longer and

more gradually arched, making the incisor more perpendicular in the

latter than in any of the former.

But the most distinctive character between the four skulls is im the

position of the infraorbital foramen. In 2. Hemionus it is high up,

about one-third the space between the face-line and the back edge of

the teeth ; it is far back, being directly over the front end of the cheek-

ridge and the back edge of the third grinder: while in all the three

specimens of the skulls of #. Kiang this foramen is lower down, being

nearly in the centre of the space between the face-line and the base

of the teeth, and it is placed in a line over the back edge of the

second grinder, some distance in front of the end of the cheek-

ridge.

The under surface of the body of the posterior sphenoid is narrow

and convex in E. Hemionus, and broad and flat in E. Kiang. The

vomer is much more compressed in the latter than in the . Hemionus.

I am not certain that the distinctions here described may be suffi-

cient to show that these two animals are separate species, but they

indicate the necessity of the subject being more fully examined.

In the position of the suborbital foramen the 2. Kiang more nearly

resembles the LZ. asinus, and the HL. Hemionus that of LE. Zebra and

EF Burchellit.

Two of the skulls of the 2. Kiang show the small rudimentary

grinder in front of the other ; but this tooth is to be more or less di-

stinctly observed in the skulls of the other Equide in the Museum

collection. I may observe, that in the skull of Kqguus Burchellii in

the British Museum collection, this tooth is placed on the inner side

of the first true grinder.

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE ANIMAL OF TRIGONIA, FROM ACTUAL

DISSECTION. By G. Huxtey, Esa., R.N., wirH AN INTRO-

DUCTORY NOTE BY Proressor E. Forses, F.R.S. erc. erc.

The accompanying account of the animal of T77gonia was forwarded

to me by Mr. Huxley, Assistant-Surgeon to the Rattlesnake, now sur-

veying in the Eastern and Australian Seas, under the able command

and scientific zeal of Capt. Owen Stanley.

The great number, beauty and geological importance of the species

142 Zoological Society.

of this interesting genus have made especially valuable a knowledge

of the structure of its animal. Quoy and Gaimard were the first to

give any account of it, and a figure and description of the animal of

Trigonia were published from their drawings and notes in the zoolo-

gical division of the Voyage of the Astrolabe*. Since then I am not

aware of this curious creature having been re-observed, though much

has been written respecting its systematic position. As in such a case

a verification of the evidence we possess, through a new and accurate

set of observations, is of almost as much importance as the descrip-

tion of an unobserved animal, the Zoological Society may consider

Mr. Huxley’s notes in the light of a valuable contribution to mala-

cology.

Both accounts confirm the idea suggested by the shell of its position

among the Arcacee, and its close affinity with Nucula and Arca. The

degree of union of the mantle-lobes, and the development of siphonal

tubes in this family, as among the neighbouring Mytilide, is of ge-

neric and not sectional significance.

I add the description of the animal given by the French naturalists

for comparison :—

«T’animal a le manteau ouvert dans les trois quarts de sa circon-

férence inférieure. I] est frangé sur ses bords, avec de petites taches

ou lunules blanches qui alternent avec des stries rayonnées. On voit,

au sommet de ce manteau, les impressions denticulées de la charniere,

et en avant et en arriére, les muscles qui unissent les valves. Le pied

est grand, robuste, sécuriforme, trés recourbé en arriére, tranchant et

denticulé sur son aréte, de chaque cété de laquelle sont des laciniures,

au tiers antérieur seulement. Il ne nous a pas paru se dilater comme

dans les muscles. Les branchies sont grandes, libres, subtriangulaires,

en pointe, reposant, de chaque coté de la racine du pied, leur doubles

lamelles. Les palpes buccaux sont excessivement petits, réunis dans

une partie de leur ¢tendue. L’anus est a lextrémité d’un court

pédicule. La disposition du manteau et le manque de tubes rap-

prochent ce mollusque de celui des Nucules, dont il différe cependant

par la disposition des branchies et la briéveté des appendices de la

bouche.”

Description of Trigonia.

The mantle-lobes are rounded and plaited, to correspond with the

ribs of the shell. The edges of the mantle are marked with white

spots; posteriorly, opposite the anus they are provided with short

convex appendages. The mantle-lobes are disunited throughout, not

joining until they reach the upper surface of the posterior adductor,

some distance above the anus.

The gills are somewhat triangular, extending backwards almost

horizontally on each side of the visceral mass. Lach gill is formed

of three stems, fixed at one extremity, free and pointed at the other,

and giving attachment throughout their whole length, on one side to

depending filaments, which become shorter as they are more posterior.

* Vol. iii. p. 476, Mollusques, pl. 78. f. 5.

Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 143

The filaments are formed of a tubular horny thread, supporting on

one side a broad membranous fringe. I could perceive no trace of

vessels in this fringe, but it appeared to be covered by an epithelium

(ciliated ?).

The mouth is placed at the anterior and superior part of the ani-

mal, between two thickish horizontal lips. The labial tentacles are

two on each side, rather long, lanceolate, and slightly pectinated. The

anus is placed posteriorly and superiorly between the gills, and just

about the posterior adductor muscle.

The so-called “foot” is composed of two portions, an upper and

quadrilateral (properly the abdomen), and a lower pointed part (the

true foot), the two being set at right angles to one another.

The first portion is sharp-edged and slightly pectinated posteriorly,

marked by a groove bounded by two folded lips anteriorly. The

second portion is slightly pectinated along its lower edge, pointed

anteriorly, prolonged behind into a curved process, where it joins the

superior portion.

Visceral mass.—The mouth opens by a very short cesophagus into

a wide pyriform stomach, surrounded by a dark dendritic liver. The

stomach narrows into a long intestine, which descends for the whole

length of the abdomen, and forms one or two loops in the substance

of the generative gland; then passes up again above the stomach,

penetrates the heart, and passing between the two small lateral mus-

cles of the foot, terminates in the anus.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH.

December 13, 1849.—Dr. Lowe in the Chair.

The following communications were read :—

1. “Onthe Plants of the Valley of Fatana, Taheite,”’ by Archibald

Sibbald, M.D., R.N. The author gave a list of the species observed

by him in the Valley of Fatana, in Taheite, with their native names,

and remarks on their properties, and the uses to which they are ap-

plied by the inhabitants. The paper was accompanied by specimens

of the “Tapa”’ cloth, and an account of the mode in which it is pre-

pared from the bark of the bread-fruit-tree, Artocarpus incisa.

Mr. M‘Nab exhibited a book containing specimens of native cloths

collected during Captain Cook’s voyages among the South Sea Islands.

2. “On some Scotch Freshwater Algz,”’ by Wyville T. C. Thom-

son, Esq. The author laid before the Meeting specimens of fresh-

water Algze, collected during the past summer chiefly in the west of

Scotland. Of the genus Batrachospermum, specimens of B. atrum

were exhibited, of a very large size, found in Ayrshire during the

month of October. Mr. Thomson remarked, that the supposed

rarity of this species probably originated in its being sought for at

the wrong season ; he had found it sparingly during the early part of

the summer attached to stones at the bottom of still, clear pools, the

specimens being usually about an inch or an inch and a half high.

When found in the end of autumn, however, the plants were free,

floating on the surface of the water or attached to the ice. At this

144, Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

time the specimens occupy, when laid out, a space from six to nine

inches in diameter. Specimens were also exhibited of B. moniliforme,

stagnale and proliferum from Ayrshire, the latter two being consi-

dered by Mr. Thomson as forms of the first depending on situation.

Mr. Thomson corroborated Mr. Berkeley’s observations on the

capsular fructification of Chetophora tuberculosa, and exhibited a

series of specimens connecting this species with C. elegans, of which

he considered it the mature state, enlarging, softening, and breaking

down, by the imbibition of water, for the escape of the spores from

its ripe capsules. He exhibited a number of other beautiful speci-

mens of freshwater Algze.

3. “On peculiar Cells found in the Style and other parts of cer-

tain species of Grevillea, Banksia, Manglesia, and other Proteacee,”

by Spencer Cobbold, Esq. The author mentioned the occurrence, in

the stem, leaves, floral envelopes, and fruit of various Proteacee, of

certain peculiar cells, which in their simplest stage of development

are transparent, fusiform, and of variable size, but generally much

larger than the cells composing all other tissues of the same organ,

and containing in their interior cellules of various colours, and a

nucleus attached to or bulging out from the cell-wall. He considered

that whatever be the function of these bodies, there is one special

end to which they seem destined, viz. the formation of peltate hairs,

which occur in great abundance over nearly all the organs of some of

the species examined.

4. “On the Plants used for forming Hedges and Fences in

Southern India,” by H. Cleghorn, M.D., H.E.1.C.8. The author

adverted to the remarkable prevalence of thorny shrubs and prickly

plants in the flora of the Peninsula; where they are a continual an-

noyance to the traveller, and a frequent cause of admission into hos-

pital—especially during the hotter months, when the leaves having

dropped off, the spines are left bare and exposed. Notwithstanding

the abundant provision for the extensive diffusion of hedges and

fences, it is universally admitted that the bleak and barren tracts

stand pre-eminently in need of these appliances, for the development

and preservation of their agricultural resources, which suffer from the

depredations of wild animals and stray cattle.

He exhibited drawings of Opuntia Dillenii, Haw., prickly pear ;

Agave cantula, Rox., aloe (with a sample of its fibres used for cordage) ;

Luphorbia tirucalli, L., milk bush, and L. antiquorum, L. These,

with the bamboo, are commonly employed in the enclosures of South-

ern India.

Cesalpinia sepiaria, Rox., Mysore thorn, is invested with histo-

rical interest, Hyder Ali having encircled the village fortifications

with this plant. The fences are handsome and almost impenetrable.

This, with Pterolobium lacerans, R. Br., and other species, seems

worthy of general introduction, and grows rapidly from seeds.

Capparis sepiaria, L., forms an excellent hedge round Shikarpoor.

Trophis aspera, Retz., is well adapted for the same purpose from its

ramous branches and rigid character. Acacia latronum, Willd., was

also pointed out, aptly designated by Willdenow Frutex horridissimus.

Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 145

This paper will appear in the ‘ Annals of Natural History’ and in the

Transactions of the Society.

Dr. Cleghorn exhibited the fruit of Aristolochia indica, L., and the

strange-looking tuberculated pod of Bignonia xylocarpa, Rox., three

feet long—about the size of a walking-stick. When pendulous from °

the tree, it is a conspicuous object on the Malabar Ghauts.

5. “Ona supposed new species of Glyceria,” by Frederick Towns-

end, B.A. (See p. 104.)

The following office-bearers were elected for the ensuing year :—

President.— Professor Fleming.

Vice-Presidents.—Dr. Neill, Dr. Lowe, Professor Balfour, Dr:

Seller.

Councillors.—Mr. Lawson, jun. ; Mr. Wm. Ivory, W.S.; Dr. Par-

nell; Mr. James Cunningham, W.S.; Mr. J. T. Syme; Professor

Christison ; Professor Goodsir; Mr. Charles Murchison; Mr. J. S.

Sanderson ; Mr. Benjamin Carrington.

Treasurer. —Mr. Brand.

Honorary Secretary.—Dr. Greville.

Foreign Secretary.—Dr. Douglas Maclagan.

Assistant Secretary.—Mr. Evans.

Curator of Museum.—Mr. Wyville T. C. Thomson.

Artist.—Mr. J. M‘Nab.

Assistant Curator.—Mr. G. Lawson.

Jan. 10, 1850.—Professor Fleming, President, in the Chair.

Many donations were announced.

The following papers were read :— :

1. “On the British species of Chara,” by Charles C. Babington,

M.A., F.L.S. &. (See p. 81.)

2. ‘On the Watery Secretion of the Ice-plant, Mesembryanthemum

erystallinum, L.,” by Dr. Augustus Voelcker, Professor of Chemistry

in the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. . (This paper will ap-

pear in our next Number.)

3. “ List of Plants found in the Island of Rathlin,” by Miss C. Gage.

The picturesque and interesting island of Rathlin or Raghery is situ-

ated on the coast of Antrim, bemg three miles distant from the pro-

montory of Fair Head, on the mainland, and nearly five and a half

miles from Ballycastle. In its geological formation it is basaltic, and

presents fine cliffs, with some remarkable columns, more especially at

Doon point on the south-eastern side. Among the plants noticed

were the following :—Galium pusillum, Anagallis tenella, Beta ma-

ritima, Cuscuta epilinum, Helosciadium nodiflorum, Cicuta virosa,

Conium maculatum, Ginanthe fistulosa, Smyrnium Olusatrum, Scilla

verna, Alisma ranunculoides, Elatine hexandra, Sedum reflecum, S.

Rhodiola, Nymphea alba, Nuphar lutea, Ranunculus hirsutus, Oro-

banche major, Draba muralis, Crambe maritima, Brassica oleracea,

Raphanus maritimus, Lavatera arborea, Ulex nanus (introduced),

Hypericum Androsemum, Artemisia maritima, Inula Helenium, I.

dysenterica, Pyrethrum maritimum, Malaxis paludosa, Littorella

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. LO

146 Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

lacustris, Eriocaulon septangulare, Ceratophyllum demersum, and

Asplenium marinum. From Miss Gage’s list there would appear to

be nearly 300 phanerogamous plants and ferns in the island.

Dr. Cleghorn stated that in August last he visited the Giant’s

Causeway and Isle of Rathlin in company with Dr. Merriman of

Kensington and Mr. T. Merriman. They traversed a considerable

portion of the island, observing many of the plants mentioned in the

list, Ulex nanus being in profusion. Sedum reflecum occurs at Fair

Head and in various localities along the Antrim cliffs. Whoever has

experienced the strong currents or boisterous gales in these seas,

will not hesitate to attribute the dissemination of species to their

agency—along with the transport of innumerable migratory sea birds

which whiten the cliff. The party received much kindness under the

hospitable roof of the Rev. R. Gage.

Dr. Cleghorn exhibited the large ligneous fruit of Hydnocarpus

inebrians (Vahl), which is used for poisoning fish in Malabar. Lamp

oil is extracted from the seeds. He showed a drawing of Hrythropsis

Roxburghiana (Lindl.), an extremely handsome tree. The rich scarlet

panicles of flowers burst forth after the monsoon, long before the

foliage appears. Also the fruit of Sterculia feetida (Linn.), a com-

mon forest tree of stately size, widely diffused: the flowers yield an

offensive odour, indicating to the traveller its immediate vicinity when

riding through the jungle. The seeds are roasted and eaten like

chestnuts. Dr. Cleghorn adverted to the difficulty of studyimg timber

trees in the primeeval forests, and stated it to be one of the most dif-

ficult departments of tropical botany.

Dr. Balfour read a letter which he had received from Professor

Fries, dated Upsal, 1st November 1849. In this letter, Fries thanks

the Society for the specimens of Hieracia which had been transmitted

to him, and states that he had found them useful m compiling his

recent work, ‘Symbolz ad Historiam Hieraciorum.’ He promises to

send some critical species in return.

Mr. Wyville T. C. Thomson read a letter from Mr. Westwood,

Dollar, mentioning the discovery of Potentilla tridentata on Ben

Wyvis several years ago. No specimens were sent, and some doubts

were expressed as to the discovery.

Mr, Thomson also exhibited a specimen of Salix retusa which had

been gathered by a friend of his on Ben Lawers.

Mr. M‘Nab exhibited a specimen of the spathe and flowering spa-

dix of Huterpe montana (mountain cabbage palm), and noticed the

rapidity with which the branched spadix is developed. It would ap-

pear that the branches of the spadix are confined by the spathe until

their resiliency bursts it, and the branches at once spread out at right

angles from the common rachis. Although this palm has flowered

frequently of late in the Palm House of the Botanic Garden, it has not

produced perfect fruit as it used to do many years ago.

Dr. Balfour exhibited a specimen of wood hyacinth (dgraphis nu-

tans), gathered by Mr. John Jeffrey, Edinburgh Botanic Garden, near

Lochar, in Fife, in which all the bracts were converted into green leaves,

many of them four to five inches long and one-eighth broad, giving

Ipswich Museum. 147

the plant a very peculiar aspect. This variety was originally intro-

duced from Inverness-shire, and has been cultivated many years in

the Garden at Lochar.

A letter was read from Mr. Hailstone, mentioning that he had

gathered specimens of Cynosurus echinatus near Thorpe Arch, York-

shire.

Mr. J. T. Syme exhibited a specimen of Melilotus arvensis picked

between Inverkeithing and Limekilns. This plant has been observed

in several spots near Edinburgh, more especially at St. David’s and

other parts of Fife.

Dr. Balfour exhibited a specimen of Eriophorum alpinum picked

by him in Durness, Sutherlandshire, 21st August 1827, when accom-

panying the late Professor Graham on a botanical trip. Dr. Balfour

stated that, at that time, he had just commenced the study of botany,

and that the plant was put by him among specimens of Scirpus ce-

spitosus.

IPSWICH MUSEUM.

«On the Gigantic Birds of New Zealand, and on the Geographical

Distribution of Animals :’’ the substance ofa Lecture delivered at the

Anniversary Meeting of the Ipswich Museum, by Professor Owen.

After some appropriate introductory remarks, Professor Owen en-

tered upon the subject of his discourse by narrating the circum-

stances which first brought to his knowledge the fact of the exist-

ence, at some former period, if not at the present time, of gigantic

birds, incapable of flight, in the islands of New Zealand. He exhi-

bited a single fragment of bone, which had been submitted to him

in 1839, which was affirmed to have been found in New Zealand, and

he defined the steps in the series of comparisons which led to the con-

clusion that it must have formed part of a bird as large as the Ostrich,

but of a heavier and less agile species. He next gave an account of

the different species of wingless or struthious birds which were known

to science at that time; he more especially described the Apteryx of

New Zealand, and the Dodo of the Mauritius; and pointed out the

remarkable character of their geographical position. The progressive

steps in the restoration of the probably extinct wingless birds of New

Zealand were then explained and illustrated by the plates of the works

which Professor Owen had published on the subject, and by enlarged

diagrams. The importance attached to the first fragment of bone

stimulating the colonists to special researches, the remains of these

extraordinary birds, which had escaped the notice of Banks and

Solander, and successive naturalists, up to the year 1839, were soon

obtained, and in unexpected abundance and perfection. The bones

of the leg were first transmitted in October 1843, by the Rev. Mr.

Williams, a church missionary, now Archdeacon of the Diocese of

New Zealand. Casts and figures of some of the most remarkable of

these bones were exhibited and explained. They indicated at least

five distinct species, varying in height from three feet to eleven feet.

The average stature of the Ostrich is six feet. The absence of air-

cells in these bones, and their dense structure, confirmed the original

10%

148 Ipswich Museum.

deduction as to the terrestrial character of the birds, and the relative

shortness of the ankle-bone (metatarsus) as compared with that in the

Ostrich, proved the original surmise as to the more sluggish character

of the bird to have been correct.

Successive sets of bones of the great extinct birds were subsequently

acquired, either by purchase or donation, by Professor Owen, who in

1846 published his third memoir on the subject, describing the

structure of the back-bone (vertebree) and the breast-bone (sternum)

of the Dinornis. The latter he described as one of the most charac-

teristic bones in the skeleton of a bird; it usually presents a part

called the “keel,” the depth of which is in the ratio of the size and

power of the muscles used in flight, the keel being totally wanting in

birds that are unable to fly. Thus the breast-bone resembles a shield

in the Ostrich, Emeu, Cassowary, and Apteryx, but each of the

existing wingless birds has the shield-shaped sternum of a peculiar

pattern. The sternum of the Dmornis was equally devoid of a keel,

and in its shape it most resembled the sternum of the Apteryx. From

the size and strength of a bone of the neck (cervical vertebrze), also

described and figured in the third memoir, the author had been led to

certain inferences as to the kind of food on which these gigantic birds

found subsistence in the small island to which they had been so singu-

larly restricted; but still the head and beak were wanting, upon which

any precise idea of the food of the species could be founded.

In 1847, the researches of Mr. Walter Mantell in New Zealand

were rewarded by the discovery of the much-wished-for bones of the

head and beak, and these specimens formed the subject of a memoir,

published in 1848, in which they were described and figured, and

referred to four distinct genera of birds. To two of these genera

belong the largest bones of the wingless birds that have been dis-

covered in New Zealand. They were called Dinornis and Palapteryx

respectively. Magnified diagrams of the skull and beak of each were

exhibited and explained by the Professor ; who concluded by some

general remarks on the geographical distribution of the known exist-

ing and extinct birds, the laws or conditions of which were illustrated

by analogous facts in the distribution of the species of quadrupeds.

Had all the terrestrial animals, he observed, that now exist, diverged

from one common centre within the limited period of a few thousand

years, it might have been expected that the remoteness of their actual

localities from such ideal centre would bear a certain ratio with their

respective powers of locomotion. With regard to the class of Birds,

one might have expected to find that those which were deprived of

the power of flight, and were adapted to subsist on the vegetation of

a warm or temperate latitude, would still be met with more or less

associated together, and least distant from the original centre of

dispersion, situated in such a latitude. But what is the fact? The

species of no one order of birds is more widely dispersed over the

earth than the wingless or struthious kind. Assuming that the

original centre has been somewhere in the south-western mountain

range of Asia, there is but one of the species of flightless birds whose

habitat can be reconciled with the hypothesis. By the neck of land still

Ipswich Museum. 149

uniting Asia with Africa, the progeny of the primary pair created or

liberated at the hypothetical centre might have travelled to the latter

continent, and there have propagated and dispersed themselves south-

ward to the Cape of Good Hope. It is remarkable, however, that

the Ostrich should not have migrated eastward over the vast plains

or steppes which extend along the warmer temperate zone of Asia, or

have reached the southern tropical regions ; it is in fact scarcely

known in the Asiatic continent, being restricted to the Arabian De-

serts, and being rare even in those parts which are most contiguous

to what we may call its proper continent—Africa. If we next con-

sider the locality of the Cassowary, we find great difficulty in con-

ceiving how such a bird could have migrated to the islands of Java,

the Moluccas, or New Guinea, from the continent of Asia. The

Cassowary is not web-footed like the swimming birds ; for wings it

has only a few short and strong quills. How could it have overcome

the obstacles which some hundreds of miles of ocean would present

to its passage from the continent of Asia to those islands; and

furthermore, how is it that no individuals have remained in the

warm tropical southern border of Asia, where the vegetable suste-

nance of the Cassowary seems as abundantly developed as in the

islands to which this wingless bird is now exclusively confined? If

the difficulty already be felt to be great in regard to the insular posi-

tion of the Cassowary, it is still greater when we come to apply

the hypothesis of dispersion from a single centre to the Dodo of the

island of Mauritius, or the Solitaire of the island of Rodriguez. How,

again, could the Emeu have overcome the natural obstacles to the

migration of a wingless terrestrial bird from Asia to Australia? and

why should not the great continent of Asia have offered in its fertile

plains a locality suited to its existence, if it ever at any period had

existed on that continent? A bird of the nature of the Emeu was

hardly less likely to have escaped the notice of naturalist travellers

than the Ostrich itself ; but save in the Arabian Deserts, the Ostrich

has not been found in any part of Asia, and no other species of

wingless bird has ever been met with on that continent : the evidence

in regard to such large and conspicuous birds was conclusive as to

that fact. In order that the Rhea, or three-toed Ostrich, should reach

South America, by travelling along that element on which alone it is

organized and adapted to make progress, it must, on the hypothesis

of dispersion from a single Asiatic centre, have travelled northward

into the inhospitable wilds of Siberia: it must have braved and over-

come the severer regions of the arctic zone : it must have maintained

its life with strength adequate to the extraordinary power of walking

and running over more than a thousand miles of land or frozen ocean

utterly devoid of the vegetables that now constitute its food, before

it could gain the northern division of America, to the southern divi-

sion of which it is at present, and seems ever to have been, confined.

The migration in this case could not have been gradual, and accom-

plished by successive generations. No individual of the large

vegetable-feeding wingless bird that now subsists in South America

could have maintained its existence, much less hatched its eggs, in

150 Ipswich Museum.

arctic latitudes, where the food of the species is wholly absent. If

we are still to apply the current hypothesis to this problem in Natural

History, we must suppose that the pair or pairs of the Rhea that

started from the highest temperate zone in Asia capable of sustaining

their life, must have also been the same individuals which began to

propagate their kind when they had reached the corresponding tem-

perate latitude of America. But no individuals of the Rhea have

remained in the prairies or in any part of North America—they are

limited to the middle and southern division of the South American

continent. And now, finally, consider the abode of the little Apteryx

at the Antipodes, in the comparatively small insulated patch of dry

land formed by New Zealand. Let us call to mind its very restricted

means of migration—the wings reduced to the minutest rudiments,

the feet webless like the common fowl’s, its power of swimming as

feeble! How could it ever have traversed six hundred miles of sea,

that separate it from the nearest land intervening between New Zea-

land and Asia? How pass from the southern extremity of that con-

tinent to the nearest island of the Indian Archipelago, and so from

member to member of that group to Australia—and yet leave no

trace behind of such migration by the arrest of any descendants of

the migratory generations in Asia itself, or in any island between Asia

and New Zealand ?

If these facts were inexplicable on the hypothesis of the dispersion

of the species of the air-breathing animals from a singular Asiatic

centre, we must next endeavour to collect analogous facts, and classify

them, and so try to explain intelligibly, ¢. e. agreeably with the facts,

the true law or cause of the actual geographical distribution of ani-

mals. The time allotted to the lecture obliged the Professor to

limit his remarks on this subject to the quadrupeds of the class

Mammalia.

The dry land of our planet might be divided, in relation to this

inquiry, into the followmg parts :—1. Asia and Europe, which ob-

viously formed one natural tract or continent; 2. Africa; 3. North

America ; 4. South America; 5. Australia; 6. Scattered islands, as

New Zealand, separated by hundreds of miles of sea from any con-

tinent. The most characteristic aboriginal quadrupeds of the first

division were the elephant, rhinoceros, ox, deer, tiger, bear, hyzena,

beaver, hares and rabbits, certain kinds of ape and monkey. In

Africa, the quadrupeds were for the most part similar as to genus,

but different in species. The elephant differed in the structure of

its teeth and feet from that of Asia. The rhinoceros of Africa had

two horns, that of Asia one horn. The camel of Asia has two

humps, that of Africa one hump. The lion represented in Africa

the tiger of Bengal. The hyzena of Southern Africa was spotted, that

of Asia was striped. There were also several quadrupeds of which

no species now exists in Asia, and which are peculiar to Africa; e. g.

the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the orycteropus, &c. Africa is also

remarkable for its numerous species of large antelopes, of which but

few exist in Asia, and none at all in America. In the northern

division of the American continent, many of the mammalian genera

Ipswich Museum. ToL

of the old world were represented, but by distinct species. The

black bear of North America differed from the brown bear of

Europe ; the bison from the aurochs, or any other bovine animal of

Europe, Asia, or Africa. The beaver of Canada was distinct from

the beaver of Europe; but there were some genera of the smaller

quadrupeds quite peculiar to North America.

When we come to compare the mammalia of South America,

almost every aboriginal species belongs to a genus unknown in any

other part of the world. The monkeys which abound in the tropical

part of this continent differ from those of the old world by having an

additional number of certain teeth, and, for the most part, a pre-

hensile tail ; they have also a different physiognomy—the nostrils are

wider apart, giving greater breadth and flatness to the nose: this is

the case without exception among the South American monkeys,

whence they are called Platyrhines in Systematic Natural History.

All the monkeys of the Old World, equally, without exception, have

the nostrils approximated, and they are called Catarrhines: none of

them have the prehensile tail. This fifth member in the Platyrhine

group gives them additional power of grasping and climbing—makes

them even more peculiarly arboreal ; and a similar relation to a forest

country may be traced through most of the peculiar forms of South

American mammalia. The sloths are so expressly adapted for living

in trees, that every other kind of life and mode of locomotion has

been sacrificed, so to speak, to the perfection of their organization as

climbers. Much compassion has been wasted upon their helpless

condition when contemplated in their awkward attempt to move on

level ground—the common theatre of the activities of mammalian

quadrupeds. At the foot of these trees lived the races of armadillo

and ant-eater, also peculiar to South America. Both were destined

to feed on the countless swarms of termites that subsist on the de-

caying timbers, and the armadillos were particularly protected by

their bony armour from the effects of falling boughs and trees.

In Australia the native quadrupeds were not merely distinct in

species and genus from those in other parts of the world, but belonged

to a peculiar division of the class Mammalia, characterized by a port-

able nest for the young, called the ‘marsupium.” Some of these

“marsupial ’’ animals were carnivorous, others herbivorous,—some

terrestrial, others arboreal,—some were burrowers, others swimmers :

among the latter was the curious Ornithorhynchus, with the tail of

a beaver, the skin of a mole, the beak of a duck, and the spurs of a

cock. These creatures performed in Australia all the parts which

the other kinds of quadrupeds performed on the larger continents,

but were of a different and lower grade of organization. New Zea-

land was remarkable for the total absence of any aboriginal species

of terrestrial quadruped. Those that now abound in the island had

been imported by the colonists from Europe, and there was no

natural obstacle to their well-bemg and increase in New Zealand.

Finally, the Professor entered upon the question—How long has

this geographical distribution of animals prevailed wpon the earth ?

and showed that the results of the acquisition and determimation of

152 Miscellaneous.

the fossil remains of the animals buried in the newer tertiary strata,

established the fact that in Europe and Asia, during the period ante-

cedent to any natural evidence of the existence of man, the same

peculiar forms of mammalia, which he had cited as now characteristic

of that tract of dry land, were distributed abundantly over that great

natural continent, from which England had not then become sepa-

rated. That in South America, instead of elephants, rhinoceroses,

oxen, deer, bears, hyzenas, &c., there were found, in the freshwater

deposits of the corresponding period, fossil remains of sloths, arma-

dillos, ant-eaters, many of them of larger size than the existing kinds,

and some, as the megatherium e. g., gigantic. That in Australia the

bone-caves and newer tertiary deposits had already revealed fossil re-

mains of both existing and extinct “ marsupial”’ animals, some also

of gigantic bulk, and all allied or belonging to the present peculiar

genera of that continent. But that no fossil relic of any genus or

species of quadruped known in the rest of the world had been found

in Australia. Lastly, in New Zealand, the strata contemporary with

those from which the fossil quadrupeds above mentioned had been

obtained, had not been found to contain the fossil remaims of any

species of land quadruped, but abounded in the remains of the

wingless birds allied to the little Apteryx, now peculiar to New Zea-

land, but of larger dimensions, and some towering to the extraordinary

height of eleven feet.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Notice of specimens of the Wheat Midge from Nova Scotia.

By J. W. Dawson.

Tuts destructive little creature has, within the last four or five years,

extended its ravages to Nova Scotia. It made its appearance first in

the western counties, and has gradually extended its limits eastward.

It is now found in every part of the province, and has, in some di-

stricts, caused an almost total abandonment of wheat culture. The

specimens accompanying this notice were reared from the larva state ;

and as I believe this has not often been attempted with success, I shall

shortly state the means by which they were obtained.

When I first became acquainted with this insect, I procured speci-

mens of the full-grown larvee and placed them in a phial, with the

view of observing their assumption of the perfect state in spring.

None of them however appeared, and I subsequently learned that

similar experiments had been tried without success ; the belief among

entomologists being, that the larva descends into the ground to com-

plete its changes. I could not however ascertain that this belief

had been confirmed by actual experiment or observation.

To satisfy myself on this point, (obviously of importance in refer-

ence to the means which may be devised for destroying these animals, )

I obtained a fresh supply of the larvee in that motionless and appa-

rently torpid state in which they are found in the ripe wheat in au-

tumn. In the month of November, a few dozens of these larvee were

Miscellaneous. 1538

placed on the surface of moist soil in a flower-pot, in which a carna-

tion was growing. In the course of two days they had, with the

exception of a few which were crushed or otherwise injured, descended

into the ground, leaving their delicate membranous cases on the sur-

face. Their power of burrowing having been thus ascertained, they

were allowed to remain undisturbed during winter, the spot where

they had disappeared being covered with a glass shade. During

winter the flower-pot was watered as the growth of the carnation re-

quired.

A similar experiment having been tried in another pot, the insects

were sought for in the ground after their disappearance. Very few

were found, and these had still the larva form. They were however

most flexible, and showed some degree of activity. On being placed

on the surface they endeavoured to burrow, by means of a worm-like

motion, and in doing so they seemed to have the power of fixing the

anterior part of the body pretty firmly to the soil. They were found

to have penetrated to the depth of about an inch. It thus appeared

that the stiffness and torpidity of the larvee in the ripe grain are but

temporary, and that when they fall from their place within the chaff

scales, upon the moist ground, and cast their skins, they acquire the

activity and strength necessary for penetrating into the soil, while

still in the larva form.

The insects were not again seen until the last week of June, when

they began to appear in the imago state, and as early as the 10th of

July the whole had emerged. At that date there was no wheat in

blossom in this vicinity, but the development of the insects had pro-

bably been hastened by the warmth and shelter of the house. The

emergence of the midges appeared to take place in the evening, but

was not actually observed. After they had taken wing, their pupa-

cases remained projecting from the ground, and were white and

membranous. When examined by the microscope, they showed the

true chrysalis form, the wings and other external organs being di-

stinctly marked on them.

The remainder of the larvee procured in autumn having been kept

dry in a paper box, have lost their orange colour, and appear to be

quite dead, moisture being apparently absolutely necessary to their

entering on the pupa stage.

The insects obtained in the above-described manner were of both

sexes. The females agree in their characters with the figures and

descriptions of the European Cecidomyia Tritici*. The males,

which I have not seen figured or described, are distinguished by their

smaller size, differently-formed abdomen, and longer and more hairy

antennee.

I am not aware whether the mode of hybernation of the wheat

midge or ‘‘ weevil’’ is generally known to farmers in the United

States. If not, it is well worthy of attention, since, by cutting the

wheat early, and carefully collecting the larvee contained in the chaff,

and dust separated from the grain, a large proportion of the ensuing

* Curtis, Journ. of Agric. Soc. England.

154: Miscellaneous.

year’s brood may be destroyed. On the other hand, if the larvee be

allowed to be scattered over the fields or barn-yard, a plentiful supply

of “weevils’’ for the next crop is secured. This method was pro-

posed several years since by Prof. Henslow, but I have not been able

to ascertain whether it has been used extensively in America.—Pro-

ceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. iv.

p- 210.

On the Characters and Intimate Structure of the Odoriferous Glands

of the Invertebrata. By Dr. Lrrpy.

Nature has supplied most or all animals with some means of de-

fence or protection, through which their destruction is rendered

limited. The character of such means varies exceedingly : some are

encased in hard armour; some are endowed with great muscular

strength, some with great rapidity of movement ; others trust to their

minuteness, some to their colour ; others feign death ; many are fur-

nished with formidable instruments, such as teeth, claws, aculei, &e. ;

others are supplied with organs which emit an odour so offensive that

an aggressor is frequently compelled to leave what otherwise would

have been its victim, &c. It is to the last-mentioned organs to

which I at present wish to direct, for a few moments, the attention

of the members; to the organs denominated odoriferous glands of

animals. Bodies of this, or of a homologous character, are possessed

by nearly all animals, but they are not in all used as a means of

defence. They give origin to the odour which appears to be more

or less peculiar to each species of animal, and which probably is in

some way connected with the sexual instinct. The scent-bag of the

Moschus moschiferus is the homologue of the glandulz odoriferze

Tysoni of the human. prepuce; the tegumentary mucous glands of

mollusea, of annelides, of fishes, the tegumentary glands of reptiles,

the perspiratory and sebaceous glands of birds, and of mammals, the

odoriferous glands of insects, the anal sacs of carnivora, &c., are all

probably of a homologous character.

Although varying in the degree of their complexity in different

animals, and in the character of their secretion, yet the essential

structure is the same throughout. Consistmg of tubes or follicles

of basement membrane, their complexity depends upon their greater

or lesser length, their being simple or compound, straight or more or

less convoluted, and isolated or aggregated, in connection with the

mode of supplying to them thew nutritive fluid.

On the interior these cavities or tubes are covered with a single

layer of nucleolo-nucleated organic cells, the true elaborators or

manufacturers of the secreted matters of the glandular bodies.

The secreted matter varies exceedingly in its properties in different

animals ; in odour being found from that of the perspiratory fluid of

man, through a great variety of shades, to that most powerful and

odious of all odours, the secretion of the anal glands of the Mephitis

Americana ; in consistence from a semi-fluid state to the gaseous

fluid of the Brachinus crepitans, &c. It is this which constitutes

Miscellaneous. 155

the material contained within the organic cells intermediate to the

cell-wall and the nucleus.

The cell-wall and nucleus are the agents im connection with the

organic force which produce or elaborate the contained matter. And,

indeed, this is the ultimate fact of all organization ; for all the innu-

merable objects of living nature, with such variety of form, composi-

tion, and colour, from the simplest to the most complex; from the

vibrionic filament to the noble oak, from the Bodo, or Monas, up to

man, are the result of a force in connection with an amorphous vesi-

cle, the organic cell-wall, with the contained nucleus. Wonderful,

indeed, is it that the human mind at length has been enabled to

penetrate so deeply into the mysteries of nature as to discover the

starting-point of life, the stile at which an invisible intangible cause

operates in the production of all those bemgs we call organized.

From this digression I return once more to the consideration of the

odoriferous glands. In many of the higher animals, the structure

of these has been carefully investigated, but not to the same extent

in the lower animals.

In Hemipterous insects these bodies are situated within the pos-

terior part of the metathorax or anterior part of the abdomen, and

consist of one or two, more or less long and convoluted ceeca, which

open exteriorly usually between the coxze of the middle and posterior

legs.

“In the carnivorous Coleoptera they are situated im the posterior

part of the abdomen, on each side of the rectum, and usually open

exteriorly upon the membrane, connecting the inferior and superior

plate of the last abdominal segment on each side of the anal aperture.

They generally consist of a number of follicles, which converge to

one or more ducts, which join the neck of a reservoir for containing

the secreted fluid. A number of these are figured by Dufour in the

‘Annales des Sciences Naturelles’ for 1826.

In the genus of Myriapoda, Julus, the odoriferous glands are

placed upon each side of the body, every segment which has a double

pair of legs possessing a pair of the glands, commencing anteriorly

with the sixth segment, excepting the head, and terminating pos-

teriorly with the penultimate segment. As the number of segments

of the animal varies with its age, so will also the number of the

odoriferous glands. The adult Julus marginatus has usually fifty

pairs ; the Julus maximus, from New Grenada, 8. A., has fifty-eight

pairs, &c.

The orifices of these glands opening exteriorly, correspond to a row

of minute black dots on each side of the body, situated about midway

between the superior and inferior median line.

The glands of Julus consist of a globular body or sac, with an elon-

gated conical neck, and resemble in form a Florence flask with the

mouth drawn to a point. In Julus marginatus they measure 11 line

long, the body being 4 of a line in diameter. In structure they con-

sist of an amorphous transparent basement membrane covered upon

the interior surface with a single layer of secreting cells. The cells

are polygonal, from mutual pressure, measure 1-1612th inch in dia-

156 Miscellaneous.

meter, and are filled with a yellowish fluid, and a fine purplish gra-

nular matter, which in mass gives them a dark purple colour, and

which, in the aggregate of the cells, gives the glands a very deep pur-

ple or almost black colour. When the cells are compressed, or the

contents pressed out, the granules exhibit lively molecular movement.

In the centre of the mass of granular matter of the cell, and only

seen upon compressing the latter, is a round, translucent nucleus,

measuring the 1-5000th inch in diameter, and containing a minute

refractive nucleolus.

The secreting cells vary in colour in different insects, and in the ag-

gregate give the colour to the glandular bodies. The reservoir also is

lined with cells. In Upis Pennsylvanica they are brownish, or nearly

colourless, measure the 1-750th inch in diameter, contain some finely

granular brownish matter, and a large round or oval translucent,

faintly granular nucleus, measuring 1-1250th inch, with a large,

round or oval nucleolus 1-2727th inch in diameter.

The secretion of the glands of Julus marginatus, contained within

the interior of the body, is deep yellow in colour, and contains a few

of the purplish granules of the cells. It resembles oil in consistence,

but is soluble in water and alcohol. It is neither acid nor alkaline ;

evaporates at a temperature of 250° F., without residue ; is acrid to

the tongue, Schneiderian membrane, and conjunctiva; smells like hy-

driodic acid, and stains the cuticle brown. The last two properties

led me to suspect the existence of iodine, but the usual reagents pre-

sented none. It probably belongs to a class of peculiar organic com-

pounds, found in the odoriferous principles of animals, not yet in-

vestigated.

Exteriorly the reservoirs of the odoriferous glands of insects are

furnished with transverse muscular bands of a brownish colour, about

1-1578th inch in breadth, and separated by wide intervals.

In Julus the body of the glands possesses no distinct muscular

bands, but the neck is provided with them.—Proceedings of the Aca-

demy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. iv. p. 234.

JOURNEY TO EXPLORE THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AMERICA.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN, 24 Bloomsbury Street, Jan. 19, 1850.

In the January Number of your valuable Magazine for 1849, you

were good enough to insert extracts from a letter I had received from

Messrs. Wallace and Bates, two gentlemen who are investigating the

Natural History of the Amazon River and its tributaries in South

America, and who consign their collections to me for sale. I now

send you extracts from a letter just received from Mr. Wallace, dated

Sautarem, Sept. 12, 1849, which, if you think sufficiently interesting,

you may perhaps feel inclined to insert :—

“T have got thus far up the river, and take the opportunity of

sending youa few lines. To come here, though such a short distance,

took me a month. I am now waiting here to get to Montalegre, but

the difficulties of getting men even for a few days are very great. Here

Miscellaneous. 157

the country is very sandy and dry, with a scrubby, shrubby vegeta-

tion ; there are however some patches of forest, and in these, Lepi-

doptera are rather abundant ; there are several lovely Hrycinide new

to me, and many common insects, such as Heliconia Melpomone

and 4graulis Dido, abundant, which we hardly ever saw at Para:

Coleoptera I am sorry to find as scarce as ever. I hope however to

do better at Montalegre, as the hills there are near a thousand feet

high, and must I should think produce some. I wish to know what

is thought of Cuyaba in the province of Matto Grosso as a locality ; it

is at the head of the Tapajoz and Paraguay River ; there is a com-

munication from here, salt bemg taken up. I could also from Rio

Nigro get up the Madeira to Matto Grosso city, or up some branches

into Bolivia. Is Bolivia at all known? I see in the Museum Cata-

logue only five or six Erycinide from it, from Mr. Brydges’ collec-

tions. I see there is a branch of the Andes in it the highest in

America, and its capital cities appear higher ground than even Bogota

or Quito. Hither of the localities can be I think quite as easily reached

as the Andes up the Amazon ; at all events I should like to know if

the ground is open and likely to be good, for some future time, if not

just at present. I shall I think get up the Rio Nigro towards the

sources of the Orinooko, but I am rather fearful that all N. Brazil

is rather poor in Coleoptera.

“September 14th.—I believe I shall now start for Montalegre

tomorrow, having a canoe lent me ; I have however found so many new

species of Lepidoptera, that I shall probably stay here a month on my

return before going to Rio Nigro, unless indeed I find Montalegre so

very good as to induce me to spend till December there. I do not

think that you need send me anything till I write again. Pray write

whenever you can, and give me all the information you may be able

to obtain, both as to what things are wanted in any class or order and

as to localities.

“The Tapajoz here is clear water with a sandy beach, and the bathing

is luxurious ; we bathe here in the middle of the day, when dripping

with perspiration, and you can have no idea of the excessive luxury

of it; the water is so warm that then is the healthiest time. Oranges

are about fourpence a bushel here, and are far the best fruit ; large

pineapples twopence to fourpence, but we seldom eat them. The

more | see of the country, the more I want to, and I can see no end

of, the species of butterflies when the whole country is well explored.

Remember me to all friends.”’

1 am, Gentlemen, your obedient Servant,

SAMUEL STEVENS.

ON THE GENUS GREGORINA.

M. L. Dufour has applied the name uf Gregorina to some micro-

scopic organisms which live as parasites in the intestinal canal of

some insects, especially of larve. M. Koelliker found that these

creatures were composed of a single cell, and are as simple as some

of the lower genera of plants. ‘Some objections urged against this

monocellular nature, by Henle and Fantzius, have induced M. Koel-

158 Miscellaneous.

liker to submit the Gregorine to fresh observation. The following

are the conclusions at which he arrives in his last memoir :—

1. The Gregorine are animals.

2. The simple Gregorine are decidedly composed of a single cell.

Their membrane corresponds to the cellular membrane; their con-

tents are those of acell; the vesicle which it contains represents the

nucleus; the granulations (sometimes there is only one) of the latter

are simple or disaggregated nucleoli. These simple Gregorine are

only met with in Annelides.

3. The Gregorine with constricted body most probably correspond

also to a simple cell of a peculiar form. They are met with in in-

sects and crustacea.

4. There is no reason for not considering the Gregorine as animals

which have attained their most perfect state.

5. The cases of pseudo-navicelle with granular contents and with

vesicles probably proceed from a transformation of the Gregorine.

6. The presence of two nuclei or of two cells in the interior of

certain Gregorine indicates either the commencement of their repro-

duction or their transformation into pseudo-navicelle.—Zeitschrift

fiir Wissenschaftliche Zoologie, i. p. 1.

NYCTOTHERUS, a new genus of PotyGastrRica allied to PLESCONIA.

By Dr. Lerpy.

Body ovate, dilated posteriorly, compressed anteriorly, granulated,

longitudinally lined, with an apparent operculum covering its an-

terior half, and having a semicircle of cilia just within its margin in-

feriorly and posteriorly. Centre of the operculated portion furnished

with a large trapezoidal finely granular areola. Posterior part of the

body with a short fissure passing inwards and downwards.

Nyctotherus velox. Body white, ovate, conoidal, anterior margin

rounded, obtuse ; pesteriorly acute. Posterior margin of the apparent

operculum passing in a curved line upwards upon the middle of the

body to within a short distance of the back, and furnished inferiorly

with a point projecting backwards ; with a line passing down from

the back about the middle of the operculum to the trapezoidal areola,

giving the part of the body anterior to this the appearance of a head.

Trapezoidal areola with curved sides, finely granular. Posterior

fissure communicating with the exterior, just above the acute termi-

nation of the body, and passing inwards and downwards, resembles

an anal aperture. Areole of the interior sarcous mass generally

minute, one large and round pretty constantly to be observed at the

inner termination of the posterior fissure.

Length from 1-254th to 1-180th in.; breadth from 1-320th to

1-254th in.

Hab. Commencement of the large intestine of Julus marginatus,

often found in considerable numbers.

Remarks. This genus is closely allied to Plesconia, but possesses no

appendages excepting the semicircle of cilia, just within the edge of

the apparent operculum.

The animal swims in water with great ease and grace. After being

Meteorological Observations. ~ 159

in this fluid some time, the external investment bursts, and allows the

protrusion of globular masses of sarcous matter, as in Leucophrys, but

not to such a great extent.— Proceedings of the Academy of Natural

Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. iv. p. 233.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR DEC. 1849.

Chiswick.— December 1. Very fine. 2. Heavy rain throughout. 3. Rain.

4. Hazy clouds: fine: frosty. 5. Rain with fog: overcast at night: slight frost.

6. Clear sky and low ground-fog: exceedingly fine. 7. Overcast. 8. Rain:

cloudless, and very fine. 9. Frosty and foggy: fine: dense fog. 10. Foggy:

uniform haze: overcast. 11. Overcast. 12. Foggy: cloudy and cold. 13.

Slight drizzle: hazy. 14. Rain: drizzly. 15. Rain: clear atnight. 16. Cloudy:

very fine: drizzly. 17. Boisterous: fine: clear. 18. Densely overcast: rain.

19. Cloudy: fine: clear. 20. Clear and fine. 21. Slight snow-showers. 22.

Frosty: densely clouded. 23. Clear and frosty: cloudless: clear and frosty.

24. Hazy: slight snow: cloudy at night. 25. Clear and fine. 26. Drizzly:

densely overcast. 27. Clear. 28. Drifting snow: clear and frosty throughout :

severe frost at night. 29. Clandy: clear. 20. Clear. 31. Cloudy : fine: overcast.

Mean temperature of the Month .........sssseeeseeeevenees Poo eit’

Mean temperature of Dec. 1848 ............cescescecscecesces 41°75

Mean temperature of Dec. for the last twenty-three years 59 °85

Average amount of rain in December ...........-.0s0eeeeee0e 1°58 inch.

Boston.— Dee. 1. Fine. 2. Rain: rain a.m. andr.m. 93. Rain: rain a.m.

4, Fine. 5. Cloudy: raina.m. andr.m. 6. Fine. 7. Cloudy. 8. Rain:

rain a.M. 9. Fine. 10. Cloudy. 11. Rain: rain a.m.and p.m. 12. Fine.

13, 14. Cloudy. 15. Cloudy: rain a.m. and p.m. 16. Fine. 17. Cloudy: rain

early a.m. 18. Cloudy: rain a.m. and p.m. 19. Fine: rain a.m. and stormy.

20. Fine. 21. Cloudy: rain a.m. 22, Cloudy. 23. Fine. 24. Cloudy:

rain a.m. 25. Cloudy. 26. Fine. 27, 28. Fine: stormy. 29. Fine:

snow a.m. 30. Fine. 31. Cloudy.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire.—Dec. 1. Frost a.m.: fog: wet pM. 2.

Storm of wind and rain. 3. Blowing hard: wet: calmr.m. 4. Fine clear frosty

day. 5. Snow a.m.: wet e.m. 6. Rain and wind. 7. High wind: rain p.m.

8. Rain, but not heavy. 9. Fog and lightrain. 10. Fogallday. 11. Fair and

frosty. 12. Clearand cold. 13. Dull and cold: sleet p.m. 14. Fine a.m.:

cloudy and stormy p.m. 15. Foggy, with showers. 16. Fine a.m.: dull and

damp p.m. 17. Fine, with slight showers. 18. Wet all day. 19, 20. Slight

frost: fine. 21. Slight frost: fine: cloudy. 22. Slight frost: clear and fine. 23.

Hard frost: cloudy p.m. 24. Change: soft: slight shower. 25. Frost again:

mild v.m. 26. Slight frost: shower p.m. 27. Frost: clear: high wind P.M.

28, 29. Very hard frost: sprinkling of snow. 30. Frost: clear and fine. 31.

Frost very hard : thermometer 18°.

Mean temperature of the Month .......esseececeesseeceneeeees Seeks aE

Mean-temperature Of Deci-1848 (3. 5. ccc-cccve+seoseacsceocssadss 39 °8

Mean temperature of Dec. for the last twenty-five years ... 38 °1

AVLen ner ainiitls PICEEMADCTIS Tentnscces ke sccw ee aiisclcdtaslicbe's cos sense 1:40 inch.

Ditto average for twenty years in December .............0000+ 2°94 inches.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—Dec. 1. Fine: cloudy. 2,3. Showers. 4. Snow-

showers. 5. Showers. 6. Cloudy: clear. 7. Cloudy: drizzle. 8. Showers:

drizzle. 9. Cloudy: showers: rain. 10. Drizzle: clear: aurora, 11, 12. Cloudy:

clear: aurora. 13. Cloudy. 14. Rain: cloudy. 15. Cloudy: showers. 16.

Rain : showers: clear. 17. Cloudy: showers... 18, Showers: damp: showers.

19. Bright: showers: sleet. 20. Fine: frost: fine. 21. Fine: frost: aurora.

22. Clear: frost: hazy. 23. Rain: cloudy. 24. Fine: damp. 25, 26. Showers,

27. Hail-showers. 28. Snow-drift: thunder: snow-drift. 29. Cloudy: clear.

30. Showers: cloudy. 31. Clear: cloudy.

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THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[SECOND SERIES.]

No. 27. MARCH 1850.

XVI.—On the recent Foraminifera.

By Wiiiiam Crark, Esq.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN, Norfolk Crescent, Bath, Dec. 1, 1849.

THERE appeared in the ‘ Annals’ for May 1849, a paper of mine

on the recent Foraminifera, containing some new facts and hy-

potheses on the anatomical structure of these polypi; a further

examination during the summer months of this year has enabled

me to confirm the facts I have already made known, to add much

new matter, and to afford such rectifications of the hypothetical

inductions as will stamp them with their proper value. I per-

sist in my view, that all the calcareous organisms styled Fora-

minifera are fixtures for life, as is the case with every other

polyparium of the calcareous division. I considered the speci-

mens alluded to in my first paper decidedly recent, but the pos-

session of others which were undoubtedly alive an hour before I

received them, has convinced me of my mistake. The first spe-

cimens of Dentalina linearis and Marginulina legumen exhibited.

in the same shell one half hyaline, and the other with the am-

mal remains, from which I concluded that the polypi inhabited

only the two or three anterior cells, and the posterior ones were

rendered hyaline by the withdrawal of their contents, either by

absorption or desiccation ; but it is more probable that the entire

shells so often met with, having all their chambers perfectly

hyaline, have been cleared out, at least in those species that have

decided visible apertures, by very minute parasites, and that

where the chambers are partially emptied the enemy has died

before its work was accomplished, in consequence of the orifice

being closed up by agglutinated fine grains of sand. I confi-

dently rely on this explanation, as in long and careful examina-

tions of the Miliolide, I have found in them so many variously

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.2. Vol. v. 11

162 Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera.

formed parasites as to baffle, as yet, any positive determinations

of the real animal inhabitant. It is necessary at once to describe

the animal of Dentulina linearis, an inhabitant of the coral-

line zone of the Devon coast, six miles from shore, in fifteen

fathoms water, as it appeared in a beautiful recent adult speci-

men of many chambers, that it may be referred to in illustration

of the additional observations I propose to make. I believe they

will be found more comprehensive than any that have hitherto

appeared on this very distinct section of the calcareous polypi. I

consider this animal and that of the Marginulina legumen as the

types of a great majority of the Foraminifera.

Genus Dentalina, D’Orbigny.

Dentalina linearis, Mont.

Animal elongated, yellowish or pale red-brown ; it has’ a con-

tinuous subcylindrical membranous tube, coasting one of the

sides of the polyparium or shell from the posterior to the an-

terior chamber. The lobes or parenchymatous matter forming

the mass of the body of the animal are deposited in the palest

brown membranes, and fully fill each and every division of the

shell, being moulded on their forms; these segments are united

to and open into the common canal, which appears to serve for

defecation, the admission of aliment, as an oviduct, and to con-

vey moisture to the animal: the orifice thereof is in the adult

shell terminated by eight slender equidistant pale red pointed

minute tentacula.

In the genial season, July and August, each lobe on its flat

surface is marked with a circle of deeper red than the other part,

and which I may safely term a gemmiferous pullulation, as

therefrom a line of minor gemme is seen proceeding from each

bud to the margin of the common canal to discharge therein

these undoubted germs of reproduction. Thus far, as regards the

animal, no doubt can exist ; but with respect to respiration, the

circulation, the mode of growth of the animal and polyparium, |

these points must be received with caution, as they have not the

test of certainty, though I believe they are substantially correct.

I now state what I have perceived of the increase of the animal

from segment to segment, and the corresponding formation of

the same parts of the polyparium. In the examination of nume-

rous specimens of this species and of Marginulina legumen, in

which the last chamber was incomplete and not domed over, I

have seen at the neck of the antepenultimate chamber a mem-

brane encircling and lining the unfinished wall, and a mass of

parenchyma adjacent, and apparently growing pari passu with

the common membranous tube, which is always kept free and

open, and thus the lobe, tube and chambers are gradually formed

Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera. 163

by the pullulation of the parenchyme and exudation of calcareous

matter from the enveloping membrane until the lobe is complete

and receives the final stigma of eight new tentacula, the old ones

being merged in or become the germs of the new production,

and so on, until nature has finally completed her work. We thus

see that this animal, when the first germ is cast, mereases by

pullulation, and at the same time performs the function of re-

production by committing its gemme to fix themselves in their

natural habitats. From these circumstances it is probable that

the calcareous organisms are solitary, distributed without order,

and fixed to rocks, corals, and other hard submarine substances

by the pointed stylet which is attached to the posterior terminus

of many of the species ; and in fresh specimens of this genus and

Marginulina legumen, the fracture of the attaching stylet is very

visible by a lens of common power; but from the tenuity and

fragility of the penultimate appendages, these organisms almost

always come to us detached, as the substances on which they are

naturally fixed are probably rocks and coral reefs ; we therefore

can scarcely hope to see them in situ; and if they ever come into

the dredge on fragments, they have from their small volume been

passed over without observation, and again cast into the deep.

I still however hope to see them in a state of nature: I have

directed my dredger to bring in all masses from the coralline

zone.

To return to the animal, a curious question arises: Is it a com-

pound being, though a solitary organism? Does the formation

of gemmez on all the lobes indicate that each is a distinct being,

which, instead of opening exteriorly as in many of the other sec-

tions of the compound polypi, receives sustentation from the

common canal? can this continuous tube be merely to serve as

an oviduct ? is it not also to supply each lobe with water, food,

and for depuration ? If these questions are answered in the affir-

mative, each segment may be so far a distinct being, as a com-

mon connection between the whole mass admits of ; on the other

hand, does the isochronal development of gemme in all, the

almost isolated lobes, evidence that the animal is a simple one?

If this creature had the segments inclosed in a simple tube, as

in the Annelidz, I should answer, it is not a compound animal ;

and perhaps even in the first case, those better qualified to judge

than myself, will decide it is a simple being, and that the con-

temporaneous appearance of gemmz merely shows that each

lobe is under a similar stimulus.

As to the movement of the fluids, I cannot believe that the

common canal serves for four distinct functions—for food, the

dejections, regeneration, and aération, without an inconvenient

interference of one organ with another; I am therefore in-

11*

164 Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera.

clined to think there are longitudinal vessels attached to the

walls of the common canal to supply some of these functions,

particularly that to administer, in conjunction with the capillary

filaments, the oxygen. I do not believe there is a circulation be-

yond that of flotation, arising from nervous contraction—I say

nervous, because I shall presently enunciate the reasons for using

this term. The respiration is effected by the very fine capillary

filaments which issue from the foramina of such of these animals

that have them, and which have been named “ pseudopodia,”’ or

“nedes spurii ;” the filaments are only protruded from the last-

formed chambers, which, until new ones are constructed, consti-

tute the limits of the respiratory apparatus, the preceding ones

being closed by the exudation of calcareous matter from the en-

veloping membrane of each lobe, and though the punctures of

former foramina are always seen, they are imperforate. The

sustentation of these animals is undoubtedly the minute animal-

cule received through the orifice into the common canal—the

eight tentacula prove this—and are there digested, and the nutri-

tive fluids enter probably by absorption into each mass of paren-

chyme, the rejectamenta being discharged by the aperture.

On the question of the nervous and muscular influences, which

Lamarck only admits, as independent of sensation and interior

sentiment, in his apathetic animals, amongst which are the Po-

lypi, I must be allowed to make a few observations, to explain

my reasons for not concurring in the views of that great natu-

relist. Lamarck contends that sensation, or interior sentiment,

does not exist in the lower animals, and that in them all move-

ments arise from irritabilities excited by external impressions : I

demur to this doctrine, and firmly believe that no created being

can exist and exhibit evidences of vitality, by motion, without

having implanted in it a certain degree of sensation or interior

sentiment, by the influence of which the nervous and muscular

powers are put in action. I grant that external causes may pro-

duce motions and contractions, not I think by exciting an irrita-

bility mdependent of sensation, as Lamarck terms it, but by the

agents and after the manner I have just stated.

It will be admitted that the sensations in the lower animals,

which are the origin of the nervous and muscular influences, are

of the most subdued qualities ; and though their points of de-

parture, and the muscular supports dependent on them, may not

be discernible by the most powerful instruments, still I believe

that they exist, and produce those movements which are observed

in the monad as well as in man. In the superior and larger ani-

mals, we can perceive the causes of these influences and admit

their existence, because they are apparent; and why not in the

smallest, though they escape our vision? In the nearest fixed

Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera. 165

stars we can observe their proper motions, but in those which are

plunged in the deeper regions of the sphere, these motions,

though we may presume that they undoubtedly exist, are inap-

preciable. Why may we not apply a similar reasoning to the

doctrine of the sensations or interior sentiment, and the resulting

nervous and muscular influences, being implanted i in the lowest

as well as the highly organized animals, according to their seve-

ral structures, and not consign vast classes to exist without sen-

sation? It appears to me that the lines of separation between

apathy, sensation, interior sentiment, and intelligence, as laid

down by Lamarck, are erroneous and arbitrary. I believe that

apathy in its strict sense, as applied to animals, does not exist ;

and I repeat, that the most inferior created animal being is not

without that portion of sensation or interior sentiment, and its

concomitant nervous and muscular influence, that produces the

motions which are the tests of vitality. I may state that Lamarck

does not admit the distinction of intelligence and instinct ; he

very justly considers the different degrees of what is called in-

stinct, in animals, as only subdued intelligences consequent on

their imperfect organs, when compared with the highest standard

—man.

There is a great gulf between the intelligence of the brute

creation and that of man; the impassable line is, that the one

does not fear death, and has no idea of the future, because the

beneficent Creator has not given it sufficient intelligence to rea-

son on matters which will never be granted ; but man fears death

and ardently desires immortality, because his Maker has con-

ferred on him the knowledge of life and death, and it may

therefore reasonably be inferred, that we shall not be tantalized

with a prospective view and hope of these things, if they were not

to be accomplished.

To return to the Foraminifera: I am inclined to think ia the

major part of these organisms, whether straight, arcuated, dis-

coid, alternate, enveloping, rolled en peloton, or whatever confi-

guration they may take, will conform in all the essential gene-

ralities with the structure of the animal—I mean of those parts

of it which I have clearly determined in the Dentalina linearis

and Marginulina legumen, and which I consider may fairly be

constituted the type of that section of the calcareous Polypi

termed Foraminifera: these organisms, from their distinct and

separate growth, show an advance in organization that justly

places them at the head of the calcareous Polypi, and I think it

will be long before this assigned position in the progressive order

of creation will be disturbed. That specialty-differences of a

more or less decided character exist in the component parts of

this group cannot be doubted; such variations are seen in every

166 Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera. 167

division of nature. In this class the greatest deviations are the

polyparia of certain of the Nodosarie, improperly called Lagene,

as the L. levis and its variety L. amphora, and the L. striata

of authors and its numerous varieties, which undoubtedly have

their chambers piled on each other, and form polypiferous stems

varying in the number of the strangulations of separation of

one globe from another; these constrictions are often so in-

tense, as to afford the smallest possible, often doubtful perfo-

rations; they taper from bulb to bulb, and perhaps may only be

hollow on the principle of the wheat straw, to afford increased elas-

ticity to the stems to withstand the agitation of the waters in

their natural habitats of fixity. When a stem is broken into frag-

ments, as I have seen in the Nodosaria levis, the Lagena levis

of authors, by the mere contraction of the drying of a solution

of gum arabic to fix it on a card, in consequence of the extreme

brittleness of the necks of the flask-shaped globules, the ter-

minus, or what conchologists term the aperture, will always be

found under the microscope to be formed, in fresh specimens, of

five or six rough-edged radiations, of a very different character

from the symmetrical ones of those polypi that have eight ten-

tacula, and the counterparts of these irregular radiations in shape

and number will be seen at the basal part of the same object; a

very strong argument that these fragments have parted from

succeeding bulbs at the smallest part of the strangulation, or in

other words at the aperture, leaving the base of the bulb from

which it has been separated imperforate, and showing that the

cylinder of strangulation is only hollow up to that pomt in

which the principle of flexibility is involved. Conchologists have

always considered the long tapering tubes, often as long or longer

than the bulb itself, to be the aperture of an inclosed animal:

if they are nght, it must become enveloped and die, having.

first deposited the germ of the succeeding nodule. This un-

usual and extended form of the neck and aperture only exists,

I believe, in two species of the entire class of Foraminifera, the

Nodosaria levis and N. striata; every other form rarely extends

its neck or aperture much beyond the bulb. These two very sin-

gular exceptions, combined with the extraordinary length of the

strangulations, almost amount to a demonstration, that the Nodo-

saria striata, the only organism admitting of the slightest doubt,

falls into the same category as the N. levis, of which I have seen

a stem of four united strangulations or chambers, and others of

two and three. I therefore think it not improbable that the orga-

nisms, Nodosaria levis and N. striata, are the frames of polyparia

forming stems of nodules, which, when fresh from the coral zone,

are always more or less incrusted, like many of the corallines,

with pulpy eretaceous matter that serves as a nidus for the mi-

Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera. 167

nute polypiferous constructors, which may be either compound

or single animals. Cabinet specimens are almost always polished

by attrition.

This statement is, I believe, the true solution of the condi-

tions of the only two Foraminifera about which doubts can

exist as to the animal; all the rest, without exception, follow

the type of the animals I have described above as to gene-

ralities. I may add, that I have examined with the highest

powers many of the Nodosaria striata, and have not detected a

membranous animal ling, which better observers say they have

seen. When there is a minute perforation at the side of the

neck of the bulb, occasioned by a boring animal, in such, the

chambers sometimes contain the remains of parasites and fine

mud and sand that cause discoloration of the globules, which

authors may have mistaken for parenchymatous matter. It is

also possible that very minute parasites may enter at the stran-

gulated necks when the stem is broken up, and locate themselves

within, in like manner as in the Miliolide, which, I have stated

above, are constantly inhabited by parasites of various species.

Whatever doubt may exist as to the animals of Nodosaria levis

and N. striata, I think there can be none of the N. striata having

its unilocular globules piled one on the other. In this opinion

I am strongly supported by an article in the February Number

of the ‘Annals’ for 1849 by Mr. M‘Coy, who thus observes on

his Nodosaria fusulinaformis :—

“Shell of two or more inflated, pyriform, easily separable

lodges, the first one having a small mucronate point at its

posterior end, and contracted to a very slender, short neck at

the anterior end which joins the pyriform second cell, which is

also contracted to a similar minute neck in front; surface

smooth.”

Mr. M‘Coy also observes, “ that the lodges or cells are almost

always found separated (from the minuteness of the connecting

neck).” Mr. M‘Coy also says, “I have however heard of several

of them being found united in a line by their little necks, and

the posterior cell not being a terminal one.”

This is substantially my account of Lagena levis in my first

paper, and I can truly say, that Mr. M‘Coy’s article never came

to my knowledge until long after it and the present notes were

written. I have scarcely a doubt from the extracts, that these

organisms are of a nearly, if not absolutely identical structure

with Montagu’s Vermiculum leve, our Nodosaria, and the Lagena

levis of authors ; they have the same slender strangulations of

the nodulous Lagene, the fragments of which have so long been

mistaken for distinet objects. The typical Nodosarie have nothing

hke the aspect of the very recent lageniform species, first, I

168 Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera.

believe, introduced into that genus by myself; the necks of the

typical Nodosarie are strangulated, but generally so slightly as

scarcely to detract from their strength, and are consequently

usually found united.

It has been stated that the rough sketch of Nodosaria levis, in

my first paper on the Foraminifera, and which had no reference

to the exact outline of that species, and was merely intended to

illustrate the structure of this organism, has been mistaken by

me for a Nodosaria, not the levis ; I therefore in decided terms

state, that the mistake is not with me, and that the fragment

which all authors constitute the Vermiculum leve of Montagu,

alias their Lagena levis, is the true and identical object I have

seen in a stem of two, three, and four united nodules with elon-

gated necks.

I exclude the family of the Miliolide, hitherto and perhaps

correctly included in the Foraminifera ; I have them now under

investigation ; and will at present only observe, that whatever

their position may turn out to be, they are all inhabited by an

internal animal, as my observations on the buccal pouches of the

Dentaha sutticiently prove.

I hasten to conclude with some remarks on the neglect in which

this microscopic branch of natural history has long been involved.

The causes that have prevented the due consideration of the ani-

mals of the Foraminifera, and their singularly beautiful orga-

nisms, are entirely owing to mistaken ideas of the difficulties at-

tendant on their investigation, the acquisition of the objects, and

the supposed injury to the sight by the use of high microscopic

powers. ‘These objections I think I shall prove to be ideal, and

if we apply the trite aphorism “‘ Omne ignotum pro magnifico ”

to our case, we shall find that if we devote ourselves determi-

nately to careful examination and investigation, all difficulties

will soon disappear, and we shall be surprised at their simple

solutions, because in many cases they have assumed the aspect

of something miraculous, merely from being enveloped in the

meshes of ignorance.

The acquisition of these elegant objects, adorned with sculp-

ture of surpassing beauty, presents no msurmountable difficul-

ties ; every shore coated with sands has a certain line which is

instantly perceived by the experienced observer, and will furnish

a supply of the more common species, and the finer sands of the

coralline zone, five or six miles from the shore, by the dredge, will

afford abundance of the rarer species. There are also in certain

districts marine deposits formed by the subsidence of the waters,

which, though of great antiquity, still exhibit the freshness of

recent origin without a trace of fossiliferous aspect.

As to the sight being injured by a continuous examination of

Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera. 169

these minute objects, I can truly say that this idea is wholly

without foundation if the pursuit is properly conducted, and that,

on the contrary, it is materially strengthened by the use of pro-

perly adapted glasses even of high powers ; and in proof I state

that twenty years ago I used spectacles, but the continued and

daily examination of these minutiz has so greatly increased the

power of vision, that I now read the smallest type without diffi-

culty and without aid. The great point to be attended to is not

to use a power that in the least exceeds the necessity, not to

continue the exercise of vision too long, and never by artificial

light, and to reserve the high powers of certain lenses and the

microscope for important investigations of very moderate conti-

nuance: the really observant eye seizes at a glance the intelli-

gence required, whilst strained, poring, and long optical exertions

are delusive and unsatisfactory, and produce those fanciful ima-

ginations of objects which have really no existence. The proper

time for research after microscopic objects is for one hour after

breakfast, when we are in the fittest state for exertion.

The very minute Foraminifera are always in fine sand, and the

best way to find them is to take from the parcel of sand only as

much as will lie on the point of a very small penknife blade,

spreading it by a slender-pointed cedar stick on a large card,

covered with dull black paper, when, with a proper lens, the

objects by their symmetry and beauty are at once distinguished,

and gathered up by a sable brush into proper receptacles. This

apparently slow but sure mode of finding these minutie by

purely optical exertions will produce a greater supply than by

the wholesale immersion of sand in water and the resulting

collection of a few buoyant objects ; for after all that can be done

by this mode, the sand, when abandoned, will then produce three

times the number that have been acquired otherwise. In the

search of shells of one-tenth inch diameter, perhaps the plan of

immersion may succeed well.

Having disposed of two of the greatest drawbacks in the in-

vestigation of the Foraminifera, it only remains, as concisely as

possible, to conclude the present paper by some remarks illus-

trative of my views in being anxious to rescue this branch of

natural history from its present, I may say, retrograde position,

as regards the knowledge of the animal.

The field of the British testaceous mollusca has been for many

years so sedulously cultivated, that although its products are not

yet exhausted, they have nevertheless become so much dimi-

nished, as is proved by the increasing far-betweens in the disco-

very of new species, as to render it almost a matter of necessity

to look out for “fresh woods and pastures new ;” and where

can we find a more delightful resource, partaking so much of the

170 Mr. W. Clark on the recent Foraminifera.

same character of our accustomed researches amongst the mol-

lusca? Indeed the two pursuits will march in line, as the rescue

from their present neglected and false position of those beautiful

microscopic structures the Foraminifera, which have nearly run

the gauntlet through the invertebrate portion of the order of

nature in search of a resting-place. These objects are not only

interesting to the mere collector, as they admit of an indefinite

preservation without diminution of their singular structural and

sculptural elegances, which, with lenses of ordinary powers, can

be so well observed if they are properly mounted ; but to the geo-

logist the examination of these microcosms and the constructors

thereof, and the bringing to light the vast numbers of still un-

discovered species, are objects of the highest interest and greatest

importance to assist in the solution of many intricate problems,

relative to the structure, conditions, and changes of the crust of

our globe.

To accomplish the important views I have endeavoured to

sketch, and to infuse life, activity and interest into this portion

of zoology, nothing more is required than a point of departure,

which can only be effected by an energetic naturalist imbued

with the “ divinus afflatus,” and whose years are not numbered

as mine, who will undertake the useful and delightful task of

giving a start, or rather an impetus to the present dormant

position of this section of natural history, by throwing our indi-

gena into divisions, genera and species, accompanied by faith-

ful figures. As to classification, the work would be very light.

We cannot adopt one characterized more concisely and distinct-

ively than that of M. D’Orbigny, which I believe will prove

more than sufficiently comprehensive for our hitherto discovered

species. His first prodrome, the Foraminifera, ‘Voyage dans

Y Amérique méridionale, de l’ile de Cuba, des iles des Canaries,’

&c. &c., must form the bases of the classification. The mere sub-

stitution of one artificial system for another will be of no advan-

tage to this branch of science, which, from its malacological neg-

lect, must remain for some years in an unsatisfactory position,

until the animals are more thoroughly investigated ; and when

that is done, the membranous sac, the continuous tube, the

lobes from one to twenty or more, and the terminal tentacula,

will form the main features of all the animals of this class, ex-

cept perhaps a small section of the Stzchostegid@, and possibly the

Miliolide ; these two latter pomts I fully expect in the approach-

ing summer, with the aid of the coralline zones of the South

Devon coasts, to settle in such manner as will be conducive to

the interest of this branch of zoology.

The principal labour would be the collection of the British

articles from various cabinets ; and who will hesitate to offer the

On the Secretion of the Leaves and Stems of the Ice-plant. 171

necessary contributions from his stores in furtherance of such

objects, if undertaken under favourable auspices and competent

qualification ?

I have opened a new field for exertion, particularly for the

younger naturalists, in which honour is to be acquired, and fur-

nished in the higher walks of observation,—a new theme, and I

trust that the “ Hanc exorna”’ will be carried out with a zeal cor-

respondent to the importance of the subject.

I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant,

WitiiaM Crark.

XVII.—On the Watery Secretion of the Leaves and Stems of the

Ice-plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, Z.). By Dr.

Aveustus VoELcKER, Prof. of Chemistry Royal Agricult. Col-

lege, Cirencester *.

A rew months ago I had the pleasure of communicating to the

Botanical Society of Edinburgh the results of an examination of

the watery liquid in the ascidia of Nepenthes destillatoria. Those

present at the meeting, as well as the readers of the ‘ Annals of

Natural History,’ will remember that, in opposition to the state-

ments of most botanists who have directed their attention to the

subject of the watery secretions of the leaves of plants, I found

the liquid in the ascidia of Nepenthes to differ materially from

pure water, inasmuch as it contained from 0°30 to nearly 1 per

cent. of solid substances, partly organic partly imorganic. I

stated at that time my doubts as to the watery secretion of

plants being nothing but pure water, and gave some reasons for

this opinion ; Prof. Balfour, with whom I discussed the subject,

kindly furnished me with the means of investigating this point

still further by favourmg me with fresh specimens of the curious

Ice-plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum), a plant which is re-

markable on account of the gland-like vesicular eminences with

which its leaves and stems are covered. The result of the examina-

tion of the fluid secreted by the leaves of this plant has fully con-

firmed the opinion expressed in regard to the watery secretions of

plants; at all events it has shown me that the secretion of the leaves

of the Ice-plant is not merely pure water, but water containing

several substances in solution. Though I was unable to determine

quantitatively the composition of this secretion on account of the

small quantity of liquid at my command—a quantity insufficient

even for a minute qualitative analysis—yet I had no difficulty

in detecting the chief constituent parts of the flud. The secre-

tion I procured by lacerating the gland-like eminences with

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Jan. 10, 1850,

172 On the Secretion of the Leaves and Stems of the Ice-plant.

which the leaves are covered, with a needle, and collecting the

fluid in a glass bottle. The fluid thus obtained was colourless

and nearly” clear, without smell, and possessing no distinctly

pronounced taste. Litmus-paper dipped in it was very slightly

turned red, showing the presence of merely traces of a free acid

or an acid salt. In order to free it entirely from any particles of

epidermis which might accidentally have mingled with the liquid,

I filtered it through white filtermg-paper. The fluid passing

through the filter slowly was now perfectly clear. On heating

to 212° F. white flakes were separated, which proved to be iden-

tical with vegetable albumen. They were collected ina filter, and

the filtrate evaporated to dryness on a water-bath. During the

evaporation the liquid turned yellow, particularly when evapo-

rated to a small bulk, and left a brownish-coloured, very hygro-

scopic residue, which redissolved in a small quantity of distilled

water, leaving but a trace of a humus-like, dark-coloured organic

substance undissolved.

The chemical nature of the fluid from which the albumen had

been separated, was ascertained as far as possible by the follow-

ing tests :—

‘Ammonia produced no change.

Carbonate of ammonia gave no precipitate.

Carbonate of soda on boiling gave a white precipitate.

Oxalate of ammonia produced no change.

Phosphate of soda and ammonia, added to the concentrated

liquid, gave a crystalline white precipitate of phosphate of mag-

nesia aud ammonia.

Chloride of platinum, added to the concentrated liquid after

the removal of the magnesia, produced a crystalline yellow pre-

cipitate.

The presence of soda was indicated by the yellow colour given

to the alcohol flame.

Lime-water produced a white precipitate.

Sulphate of lime hkewise produced a white precipitate.

Chloride of barium gave a heavy white precipitate.

Nitrate of silver gave a white flaky precipitate, soluble in am-

monia, but insoluble in nitric acid.

Acetate of lead produced a white precipitate.

Basic acetate of lead gave a voluminous white precipitate.

A portion of the water evaporated to dryness and heated to

redness left a white ash which effervesced with acids, indicating

the presence of echanptes, originated from organic acids present

in the fluid.

The nature of the organic acids, which in all likelihood ac-

companied the oxalic acid, I could not determine from want of

material. The presence of oxalic acid however is distinctly indi-

Mr. Hancock on the Anatomy of the Freshwater Bryozoa. 173

eated by the above reactions. They likewise show the presence

of chloride of sodium, potash, sulphuric acid and magnesia.

In comparing this secretion of the leaves of the Ice-plant with

the fluid in the ascidia of Nepenthes, we find a material difference

in their respective compositions, as will be seen by the annexed

table, which exhibits the composition of both fluids. :—

Composition of the fluid in the Composition of the watery secretion

ascidia of Nepeuthes. of the leaves of Mesembryanthe-

mum crystallinum.

Organic matter, chiefly malic anda Organic matter (albumen, oxalic

little citric acid. acid, &c.).

Chloride of potassium. Chloride of sodium.

Soda. Potash.

Lime. Magnesia.

Magnesia. Sulphuric acid.

XVIII.—On the Anatomy of the Freshwater Bryozoa, with de-

scriptions of three new Species. By Atpany Hancock, Esq.*

[With four Plates. ]

Durine a ramble made last July in company with “The Tyne-

side Naturalists’ Field Club ” to the Northumberland lakes, I was

fortunate enough to find two or three species of Bryozoa. Since

then I have revisited the locality twice, and on each occasion

additional species occurred. Thus six or seven forms of these

interesting animals have been found to inhabit two of these

lakes, namely Bromley Lough and Crag Lough. Three of the

species appear to be undescribed ; these I propose to characterize

towards the close of this communication, giving previously an

account of the anatomy of the freshwater Bryozoa so far as I

have been able to determine it.

Amongst the known species was a fragment of Alcyonella,

most probably A. stagnorum; but its characters could not be

determined on account of the imperfection of the specimen.

Fredericella sultana occurred abundantly and of very luxuriant

growth, spreading over the under surface of stones in patches of

three or four inches’ extent. Of the new species two belong to

Plumatella and one to Paludicella, a rare genus, of which there

was but one species previously known, and that I believe had

been found only in Ireland, and in two or three localities on the

continent.

The anatomy of the freshwater Bryozoa had been very little

studied on this side of the Channel before Professor Allman took

up the subject, and he has handled it so well that little is left to

— * Read at a Meeting of the Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club, Dec. 1849.

174. Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

be done. Indeed so complete are the results of this naturalist,

that, perhaps, the publication of my own may appear almost un-

necessary. My investigations, however, carried on as they have

been perfectly independent of the researches of others, may not

be without some value even where novelty is wanting. Micro-

scopic investigations conducted by the aid of transmitted hight

are liable to error. Frequent examinations in such cases are

therefore necessary, and observations independently prosecuted

are of peculiar value. Consequently I do not hesitate to give the

result of my own labours on this subject, fraught as it is with

difficulty, not fearing to mislead in a path already so well trodden.

Of the anatomy of these animals I shall have to confine myself

almost entirely to that of Plumatella, Fredericella and Paludicella.

Of Alcyonella I can say but little, having seen only an imperfect

specimen, and none of the other freshwater forms have come

under my notice.

Plumatella and Fredericella resemble each other very closely in

their anatomical structure, notwithstanding the external differ-

ence of their polypes. Paludicella however shows some very in-

teresting modifications, particularly in the muscular system: but

before entering on the internal anatomy it will be necessary to

examine the characters of the polypidom, and to trace its rela-

tionship to the polype.

The polypidom of Plumatella Allmani, Pl. V. figs. 8, 4 & 5,

and of Fredericella sultana is tubular, branched and carinated on

the upper surface; the walls opake, tough and membranous, in-

clining to horny. Those of the latter, when examined through

the microscope, exhibit a sort of dendritic structure ; the divisions

or branches passing in an irregular spiral direction round the

tube, are flattened, and extensively anastomosing form for the

most part a dense tissue, nowhere more open than just to display

the branched character. The walls of Plumatella do not in the

least exhibit this structure. In Paludicella the polypidom, fig. 2,

is likewise branched and tubular, but not carinated ; it is mem-

branous or horny, and becomes enlarged and contracted at cer-

tain intervals, dividing the whole, as Gf were, into cells or com-

partments, the external surface beg smooth and very glossy.

All these genera have the polypidom lined with a delicate

membrane—the tunic, Pl. IL]. figs. 46,6 & 54, and Pl. IV.

fig. 1b, which is attached only at certain points to the inner sur-

face of the external tube or cell-wall. This in Plumatella and

Fredericella becomes excessively delicate towards the orifice, where

it apparently blends with the tunic. But in Paludicella the union

at this point of the horny wall and tunic cannot be mistaken,

though the blending is so gradual that it is impossible to say

where one ends and the other begins. And when this polype is

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 175

exserted, there is a delicate membranous cup, Pl. IV. fig. 1 d,

projecting upwards from the inner surface of the mouth of the

cell. This cup is the homologue of the circle of setze surrounding

the aperture of Bowerbankia and other marine genera. In Palu-

dicella the tunic is sprinkled with large nucleated cells, fig. 4m,

and at certain intervals bends abruptly inwards, figs. 1 & 2 u,7r,

dividing the polypidom into cells at the points indicated by the

constrictions in the horny tube. Thus each polype is isolated, is

contained in fact within a distinct membranous cell, the end-walls

of which abut against the end-walls of the adjoining cells. The

divisions are therefore double, and being of living membrane and

iu contact, it is probable that all the inhabitants of the polypidom

are in some degree connected in vital action. The end-walls are

considerably thickened in the centre, forming a bulb or boss pro-

jecting into the cell. The polypes of Fredericella are not sepa-

rated the one from the other, though a few divisions appear to

exist ‘at distant points. Thus it would seem that groups of ani-

mals are associated together as it were in one tube. Neither in

Plumatella are the polypes separated.

The polype hes in the longitudinal axis of the cell, Plates IT.

& IV. figs. 2, 2, being provided with numerous muscles for pro-

trusion and retraction. It is held in its place principally by a

membranous tube—the tentacular sheath, Pl. IL. fig. 2 m,n, and

PI. IV. fig. 2d’, d', which blends with the inverted lips of the

tunic, Pl. II. fig. 2 7, a little below the orifice of the cell, and con-

tinuing downwards within the cell incloses the bundle of re-

tracted tentacles, and is attached round the tentacular disc a’.

Digestive System.—The organs of digestion, comprising nearly

the whole of the polype, float freely in the visceral cavity. The

entrance to the alimentary canal is furnished with tentacles,

Pl. IL. fig. 16; these arise from a margin surrounding the oral

opening in two different fashions ; in the one they form a com-

plete circle round the mouth, in the other they are arranged in

a crescentic manner, the limbs of the crescent bemg two arms,

Pl. ILI. figs. 1, 2 & 3c, e& c, extending from the sides of the

mouth, fig. 3 a, having their bases confluent and with a row of

tentacles on their inner and outer margins. Paludicella and

Fredericella, P\. IV. fig. 1 f, and Pl. II. fig. 14, are examples of

the first mode of arrangement ; and Plumatella, P1. ILI. figs. 1, 2

& 3, and Alcyonella of the second. In Paludicella the tentacles

when spread out form a very exact inverted cone, closely resem-

bling the shape they assume in some of the marine species. The

base or dise supporting the tentacles is not exactly circular in

Fredericella ; in this genus it is a little flattened at the point cor-

responding to the space between the oral arms in Plumatella ;

and there is also a delicate transparent membrane, PI. II. fig. 1

176 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

c',c, uniting the bases of the tentacles. In these respects Frede-

ricella shows an approximation to those with oral arms, or as it is

generally termed, a crescentic disc. In these there is always a

similar membrane, Pl. III. figs. 1, 2 & 3e, f & d, at the base of

the tentacles, and in all of them, as well as in Fredericella, this

membrane is attached to the external surface of the tentacles, and

is much wider at the margin than the spaces between them, and

consequently it bags out, giving to the upper portion a flounced

appearance, particularly in the latter, Pl. LI. fig. 1 ce.

The tentacles themselves in all these genera are rather stout

and linear with the end obtuse; they have the appearance of

being tubular, as have likewise the oral arms of Plumatella: the

tentacles are clothed with long cilia, which vibrate upwards on one

side and downwards on the other in the same manner as de-

scribed in the marine species ; and as in them, when the polype

is retracted the tentacles are drawn down in an erect position,

having first been brought together into a compact linear bundle,

Pl. Il. fig. 2 a, and Pl. IV. fig. 2d. They do not appear to be

at all contractile, and in all the species are transparent and almost

homogeneous in their structure. There can be little doubt that

they are not merely tentacles, but that they are likewise respi-

ratory organs: food is brought to the mouth by their ciliary

currents, and also by the action of the tentacles themselves, one

or more of which may frequently be seen bending suddenly in-

wards, and securing such particles as come within their reach.

They occasionally act in concert in the capture of animalcules by

bringing their tips together, thus forming, in those with a cir-

cular disc, a very elegant oval cage, within which the imprisoned

prey may be seen for an instant or two dashing about previously

to passing into the cesophagus or to liberation, which not unfre-

quently happens, the captive proving distasteful to the polype.

The tentacles then may be considered prehensile labial or oral

appendages, notwithstanding their respiratory function, and as

such they are a portion of the alimentary system.

The oral orifice of Plumatella is semicircular, Pl. III. fig. 3 a,

and protected by a strong, rounded, fleshy valve, b, which, ari-

sing from the side of the mouth at the point on the inner margin

of the crescent where the two arms unite, projects upwards and

slightly overhangs the opening. ‘This valve is completely under

the control of the animal, and can be made to act as a sort of

operculum, closing the orifice to prevent the admittance of food ;

or it can be used to force food into the pharynx. The mouth,

Pl. II. fig. 1 d, of Fredericella is likewise semicircular, and is also

provided with a similar valve, e. It is immediately behind it that

the tentacular disc is a little flattened, proving that this point

corresponds to the space between the arms in Plumatella ; indeed

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 177

in some points of view the angles formed by this flattening have

not a little the appearance of rudimentary arms just sprouting.

The cesophagus descends at once in a straight line from the

oral opening. In Fredericella, Pl. I. figs. 1 f & 2 4, it is rather

short and wide, and the walls, which are thick and fleshy,

are parallel throughout, except at the commencement, where

they are a little bulged, forming a sort of pharynx which is lined

with vibratile cilia: the other extremity communicates with the

stomach by a distinct valvular orifice, Pl. IL. figs. 1 g & 2¢—

the cardiac, projecting downwards. The whole surface is covered

with minute circular cells resembling very much the peculiar

structure observed in the marine species, and pointed out by

Dr. Farre in his valuable paper on the Marine Ascidian Polypes

published in the ‘ Philosophical Transactions’ for 1837.

The stomach, figs. 1 2 & 2 d, is more than twice the length

of the cesophagus, tapering slightly downwards and truncate

above ; the lower extremity being obtuse : the walls, like those of

the cesophagus, are thick and fleshy, and are covered with nu-

merous, minute, close-set cells of a glandular character. The

pyloric orifice is circular and well marked, and has the appearance

of being guarded by a sphincter muscle; it is likewise supplied

with vibratile cilia which extend some little way into the stomach.

This orifice is situated above, at one side and a little below the

cardiac opening. ‘The intestine, figs. 1 & 2%, e, is straight, and

a little longer than and nearly as wide as the cesophagus, with

which it lies in contact and to which it is apparently attached ;

the pyloric extremity is obtusely pointed, and communicates by

the side with the stomach; from thence the intestine tapers a

little upwards towards the anal extremity, which, turning out-

wards, passes through the tentacular sheath just below its attach-

ment to the disc supporting the tentacles, and there terminates

in an obtuse perforated point, figs. 1 & 27 & f, which can be

either protruded or retracted to a considerable extent at the will

of the animal. The whole of the alimentary canal is highly irri-

table, particularly the cesophagus and stomach, in the walls of

both of which, minute, transverse strize are distinctly visible, pro-

bably indicating the presence of muscles. The stomach is per-

petually in motion when the animal is displayed, contracting in

an undulating or vermicular manner from above downwards.

The contractions of the cesophagus, too, are very decided on re-

ceiving food, which for a second or two rests in the pharyngeal

enlargement, and is then hurried to the stomach with great

rapidity.

The alimentary canal of Plumatella and Alcyonella does not

vary in any important manner from that of Fredericella. In the

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 12

178 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

two former, however, both the cesophagus and stomach are shorter

than they are in the latter genus.

In all these genera no disturbance of the parts of the alimen-

tary canal takes place on the retraction of the polype: the ani-

mal sinks into the cell with the cesophagus, stomach and intes-

tine erect as they were when the tentacles were exserted and in

full play. Not so however in Paludicella, Pl. IV. fig. 2; mm this

genus the alimentary canal is doubled upon itself when the po-

lype is retracted ; and moreover the parts are somewhat modified,

approximating this form more closely to that of the marine

species.

When the animal of Paludicella is protruded, the cesophagus,

fig. 1 A, is observed to be long and slender, and to have a di-

stinct pharyngeal dilatation at the commencement, where vibra-

tile cilia can be seen in vigorous action. It communicates with

the upper extremity of the stomach by a circular orifice, fig. 2/f.

The stomach, fig. ] 2, is rather short, considerably enlarged above

and tapering to the inferior extremity, where it is rounded: the

walls are thick, and apparently filled with yellowish brown co-

loured granules, probably hepatic as in the marine species. The

intestine, 7, arises from the superior extremity close behind and

a little above the cardia. The pyloric opening is well defined and

circular ; soon after its origin the intestine is suddenly enlarged,

forming an oval swelling, 4, in which the feeces may be seen col-

lecting ; it contracts above this swelling, and continues afterwards

for nearly its whole length of equal diameter ; it passes upwards

in a straight line parallel with the cesophagus, but unattached to

it, and terminates in a rounded anal extremity, /, immediately

below the base of the tentacles where it perforates the tentacular

sheath. The upper end of the stomach, close to the pyloric ori-

fice, is furnished with vibratile cilia, and here the alimentary

matters may be seen rapidly rotating by their influence. The

feeces are formed into small pellets, which, coming from the en-

larged portion, pass up the imtestine and are expelled at the

anal orifice. The whole of the canal is as highly irritable as m

the other species ; the stomach undulating from above downwards

in the same manner, and the cesophagus is equally expert in

transmitting food to the stomach. But neither in Paludicella

nor in the species before alluded to does the pharyngeal swelling -

exhibit in any marked manner the sudden puflings and contrac-

tions so conspicuous in the marine species, and noticed originally

by Dr. Farre.

On retraction of the polype, the alimentary canal of Paludicella

is doubled upon itself im much the same way as in Bowerbankia.

The basal dise of the tentacles is then brought down as far as

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 179

the upper extremity of the stomach, and the consequence is that

the intestine, fig. 2 2, is doubled upon itself a little above the

enlargement, 7, and the cesophagus, e, is forced down by the side

of the stomach, g, and turning upwards again is bent into the

form of an 8.

Vascular System.—This appears to be entirely wanting in

these animals: a species of circulation nevertheless exists. I

have seen on two or three occasions a pretty regular flow of the

fluid in the visceral cavity of Plumatella and Fredericella. Under

ordinary circumstances no fluid can be recognized in this cavity,

from the apparent deficiency of blood-globules or corpuscles of

any kind. Such however probably exist, but the thickness and

opacity of the cell-walls are sufficient to prevent the detection of

minute bodies of this nature. On the occasions alluded to some

of the tissues of the animal appear to have been ruptured, and

small fragmentary particles mingling with the contained fluid

were perceived moving in certain directions. By the aid of these

particles, which were numerous and of various forms and sizes, it

was easy to ascertain that the fluid which bathes the polype cir-

culates in a regular manner within the cavity in which the viscera

float. There can be no doubt that this circulation is caused by

the action of cilia which cover the inner surface of the liming

membrane or tunic, and also clothe the external wall of the re-

tracted tentacular sheath. The current flowed regularly and

steadily ; but when the floating particles approached the surface

of the tunic or tentacular sheath, their motion became accelerated

in a manner that sufficiently evinced the presence of vibratile

cilia. Those on the tunic chiefly determined the direction of the

current, which went with great regularity up one side, crossed

over at the top of the cell, and then went down the other side ;

it crossed again in an opposite direction a little below the stomach,

and so completed the circuit. It was not difficult to ascertain

that the cilia of the tunic on one side of the cell vibrate upwards,

on the other side downwards ; and that all those on the tentacular

sheath vibrate upwards. On one side therefore the currents of

the sheath and tunic oppose each other; and consequently an

eddy was visible near the top of the cell.

It is quite evident then that fluid circulates within the visceral

cavity. What is the nature of this circulation? Is it merely

respiratory, or is it nutritive? It can scarcely be considered an

aérating current, as there is no visible communication between

this cavity and the external water ; and indeed if an orifice exists,

it must be minute and under the control of the animal, or the

protrusion of the polype could not be effected in the manner to

be afterwards described. It is more hkely to be for the purpose

of nutrition,—standing, indeed, in the place of a vascular system.

12*

180 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

The fluid must therefore hold in suspension the products of di-

gestion. These may be supposed to exude through the walls of

the intestinal canal, probably from the enlarged portion of it im

Paludicella, and perhaps also from the upper portion of the

stomach ; and passing into this circulation will go at once to

nourish the various organs of the animal, all of which are bathed

with this vivifying fluid, except the tentacles, which we shall

afterwards see, in all probability, receive blood into their interior

for the purpose of aération. In this way, too, we can understand

the nourishment and growth of the tunic and the maintenance

of the buds (which germinate from it) until they are able by the

aid of their own tentacles to procure food. In no other way can

the development of these buds be so easily explained. The mem-

brane in which they take their origin must either be supplied

with the nutritive fluid in this way or by the agency of vessels ;

but none can be discovered either in the tunic or elsewhere. The

external cell-walls whilst in a growing state must also be nou-

rished by the tunic, which we have seen is united to the external

walls at the orifice of the cell.

The respiratory function we have stated to be exercised by the

tentacles, but there can be no doubt that all the exposed parts

will assist in aératmg the blood. The tentacles are hollow,

and though I could not detect any fluid within them, it is pro-

bable that the blood finds its way into their tubular cavities

through the basal disc; and as they are clothed with strong

vibratile cilia which keep a constant flow of the oxygenating

medium over their surfaces, they would appear well adapted for

breathing organs. It is however difficult to understand how the

oxygenation of the blood goes on when the polype is retracted ;

for at this time the orifice is completely closed by the folding in

of the lips of the cell, and by muscles provided for the purpose.

Professor Allman has supposed that the tube retractors of Palu-

dicella exercise the function also of opening the aperture when

in this state for the purpose of admitting the surrounding fluid.

But I have seen nothing to warrant such supposition; and in-

deed the tentacles being then packed close together within the

sheath, the cilia cease to vibrate, and there is no room in which

the water can flow around them, even supposing an opening to be

so maintained. The tips of the tentacles too of Paludicella and

of several of the marine species when retracted are generally

bent down in a manner to forbid the flow of any fluid whatever

amongst them. It would therefore seem clear, that when not in

action the oxygenation of the blood must almost, if not entirely,

cease in these polypes, as it must do in most of the Mollusca

when closed up in their shelly armature.

Nervous System.—Some years ago Professor Allman discovered

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 181

a ganglion in these animals, and has more recently ascertained

the existence of nerves. I have also detected a large ganglion,

Pl. II. fig. 1 &, in Plumatella and Fredericella. It is situated just

below the entrance to the cesophagus on the external surface, close

to the base of the tentacles and just above the anal orifice. It is

therefore placed between the oral arms in Plumatella, and in

Fredericella at the corresponding point. In the latter I have

observed two or three nerves passing from the ganglion upwards

in the direction of the tentacles, and one apparently going to

embrace the cesophagus ; another that comes from the lower ex-

tremity of the ganglion may also be seen passing downwards

close to the esophagus. This is all I have been able to make

out respecting the nervous system, though undoubtedly more is

to be learnt.

Muscular System.—There are three distinct sets of muscles in

Plumatella and Fredericella ; one for the retraction of the polype,

another to assist in the act of protrusion, and the third probably

accessory in closing the orifice. The first and most conspicuous

set of muscles, the polype retractors, Pl. II. figs. 29,9 & 4f,

and Pl. III. figs. 4 g & 5 3, i, is divided into two equal bundles,

one passing on each side of the polype. These bundles are com-

posed of numerous, stout, isolated fibres, having their origin in

the walls of the cell a considerable way below the retracted po-

lype; and passing upwards have their superior extremities in-

serted at the tentacular disc or base of the oral arms and at the

upper portion of the cesophagus. There are also two similar

bundles of muscular fibres in Alcyonella, but in this genus they

have their origin at or close to the bottom of the cell. When the

animal of Plumatella is exserted, two or three of the stoutest,

Pl. II. fig. 4.9, of these fibres are seen to be attached on each

side further forward than the rest at the base of the oral arms.

Also in Fredericella similar fibres are inserted at the correspond-

ing parts of the tentacular disc. These stout fibres have their

origin a little lower down the cell than the rest.

The function of these two bundles of muscular fibres cannot

for a moment be mistaken: they are for the purpose of drawing

the polype back into the cell; and when it is so withdrawn, the

fibres of this, the most powerful muscle of the animal, may be

seen in a relaxed state and bent upon themselves in a loose un-

dulating manner about the tentacular disc and downwards to

their origin. The few strong fibres alluded to undoubtedly as-

sist in the retraction of the polype; but are also apparently the

principal agents in rotating the head, so to speak, of the polype

when exserted.

The second set of muscles, PI. II. figs. 1 & 2 m, h, 1s composed

of a circle of stout, isolated, radiating fibres, all placed in the

182 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

same horizontal plane, considerably apart from each other, and

attached by their outer extremities to the inner surface of the

tunic some way below the opening ; their mner extremities con-

verging towards the tentacular sheath are attached to it about

one-third from its superior termination. Plumatella has fifteen

or sixteen of these fibres, Fredericella about fourteen. Their ar-

rangement is perfectly symmetrical. They are for the purpose

of preventing the inversion of the whole of the tentacular sheath

on the protrusion of the polype; and thus to confine the oral

extremity within a convenient distance above the mouth of the

cell.

The true value of these muscles will be fully understood if we

refer to the marine genus Bowerbankia, in which they are defi-

cient, and of course the tentacular sheath can be completely in-

verted, and accordingly the animal is enabled to reach toa greater

distance than it could otherwise have done. But an apparatus

of extraordinary beauty 1s provided to obviate the inconvenience

that must have arisen from the great elevation of the tentacular

disc above the support of the horny cell. This is effected by

what may be considered an elongation upwards of the cell.

Numerous setee bound together by a membrane are attached to

the lips of the orifice, so that when the polype is exserted they

stand up in a circle surrounding the lower part of the exposed

portion of the animal and give support to it. By this means the

far-outstretched tentacular disc is brought completely under the

control of the muscles for directing its movements*. We thus

clearly see that this set of radiatimg muscles is a compensation

for the deficiency of the circle of setz in the freshwater polypes.

The third set of muscles, figs. 1 & 2 n, 2, consists of numerous,

separate, fine thread-like filaments placed considerably apart,

without order, but in the same radiating manner as those last

* Dr. Farre has described this apparatus in his paper so frequently re-

ferred to, but seems scarcely to have arrived at a full knowledge of its fune-

tion. He considers that it 1s “‘ for allowing of the freest possible motion to

the upper part of the body in its expanded state, to which it affords at the

same time support and protection.” On examining the animal in action it

is evident that the use of the apparatus is as I have pomted out. The circle

of setze is then seen to compress the lower portion of the extended polype ;

and when the tentacular dise moves from side to side the neck always bends

from the top of the sete at a decided angle, and does not gradually arch

away from the lips of the cell as might be expected were this contrivance

+ for the purpose of giving flexibility. The delicate membrane uniting the setze

is strengthened with numerous, minute transverse fibres, forming the whole

into a powerful sphincter, thus giving great firmness to the part. By this ar-

rangement Bowerbankia is enabled to raise the tentacular dise far above the

polype-cell, and yet to remain as perfectly under the control of the rota-

tory aud retractor muscles as is the tentacular dise of Fredericella and Plu-

matelia, in both of which it is confined close to the orifice of the cell by the

action of the radiating muscular fibres,

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 183

described, immediately above them and extending upwards to

the termination of the cell. These filaments have their outer ex-

tremities attached to the inner surface of the tunic; and con-

verging towards the axis of the cell, their inner extremities are

attached to the upper portion of the tentacular sheath and the

inverted margin of the tunic. These fibres are equally numerous

and fine in both Plumatella and Fredericella, and appear to be

for the purpose of assisting in closing the orifice, acting in har-

mony with the contraction of the upper portion of the tentacular

sheath and the inverted lips of the orifice. They may, acting in

the opposite direction, also assist in opening the channel, but the

tentacles themselves would appear quite adequate to force a

passage on the relaxation of the contractions about the orifice.

The function of these fibres is in fact to keep in unison the tunic

near the opening and the upper portion of the tentacular sheath.

The upper portion of the tentacular sheath and inverted lips

of the tunic are highly contractile, and it is by their agency prin-

cipally that the orifice is closed when the animal is retracted. I

have not however been able to detect any muscular fibres for the

purpose, though at the point, Pl. II. fig. 2, where the inverted

lips of the tanic join to the tentacular sheath, it is suddenly con-

stricted as ii by a powerful sphincter muscle. In fact the whole

of the tunic is undoubtedly contractile, yet in no part of it have

1 detected muscular fibres. By the contraction of this lining

membrane the capacity of the visceral cavity is diminished ; and

thus by the pressure of the contained fluid the protrusion of the

polype is effected. This matter however will be discussed more

fully when we come to speak of this portion of the anatomy of

Paludicella.

To understand the combined action of the various sets of

muscles in Plumatella and Fredericella, we have only to watch

the animal when about to issue from the cell. The first change

observed is the contraction of the tunic, Pl. II. fig. 47,7, and

Pl. III. fig. 4.5, the walls of which are brought nearer together

towards the lower portion of the cell. The pressure thus occa-

sioned on the contained fluid compels the polype to begin its

ascent ; at the same time the sphincter contraction of the upper

portion of the tentacular sheath relaxes, so that the bundle of

tentacles can force their way without difficulty. As the polype

gradually advances upwards the circle of strong radiating muscles

comes into play, and it is a sight of no little interest to watch

them drag upon the tentacular sheath, allowing the inferior por-

tion of it to roll upwards attached to the tentacular disc. As soon

as the ascent is arrested by these muscles, the sheath being in-

verted as far as they will permit, protrusion is complete, and the

tentacles at once assume their proper arrangement.

184 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

The muscular apparatus of Paludicella differs in some respects

from that of Plumatella and Fredericella. In the former there

are six sets of muscles—three in connexion with retraction, two

with protrusion, and one for closing the orifice on the retreat of

the polype. Of the retractors one set acts directly upon the ani-

mal, the other two upon the tubular orifice of the cell. The

former set, Pl. IV. fig. 1 0, the most powerful in the animal, is

similar to the tentacular retractors of Dr. Farre: it differs only

from the polype-retractors in Plumatella and the other genera

already spoken of in not being divided into two bundles. It is

composed of numerous, stout, long, linear fibres originating from

the inner surface of the anterior wall of the cell more than half-

way down; then passing up in front of the polype the superior

extremities are inserted around the base of the tentacular disc.

These fibres draw the polype down into the cell, and like those

of the same muscle in the other Bryozoa, when unemployed lie

in a somewhat cramped and disordered state, fig. 2 J, L.

The second and third sets of muscles are the tube-retractors ;

the former or inferior, figs. 1 p & 2m, m, is much the larger ; it

is composed of four compressed bundles of stout, linear fibres

placed close together, but distinct from each other. These bundles

are associated together in pairs, one on each side of the tube ; the

inferior ends of these pairs of bundles arise wide apart from the

posterior wall of the cell opposite the orifice. As they pass up

the tube the bundles converge, and reaching within a short di-

stance of the lips of the orifice, they are inserted upon the inner

surface of the tube-walls at four opposite points ; the fibres of

each bundle being attached one above the other in the same lon-

gitudinal plane. This peculiar arrangement causes the margins

of the orifice to fold into four portions on the retraction of the

tube ; and its end, fig. 8, consequently assumes a square form, the

angles corresponding to the insertions of the muscular bundles.

The third set of muscles, figs. 1 g & 2 n, n, the superior tube-

retractors, are made up of only four fibres, two on each side of

the cell, having their origin immediately below that of the set

just described ; their other ends are attached to the inner surface

of the tube above the insertion of the inferior set, and at the base

of the membranous cup, fig. 1 /, before alluded to, at the mouth

of the cell. The inferior and superior tube-retractors are ho-

mologous to the double set of opercular muscles described by

Dr. Farre in the marine species, differing only from those in

Bowerbankia densa by being divided into four bundles instead of

into three as they are in that species. The action of these muscles

is obvious. The superior retractors, having their insertion at the

base of the membranous cup at the mouth of the cell, draw it

down base first in the axis of the tube, at the same time folding

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 185

in around it the lips of the cell. The inferior set then taking up

the work complete the mversion of the tube. Dr. Farre, how-

ever, supposed that the opercular muscles were not merely for

drawing the tube in after the retreating animal, but also for the

purpose of closing the orifice. Professor Allman has pointed out

the error of this opinion, and endeavoured to explain the closing

of the orifice by the pressure of the fluid within the cell against

the walls of the inverted tube. We shall directly see, however,

that this theory is unnecessary, there being special muscles pro-

vided for the purpose. Professor Allman is likewise disinclined

to believe that the opercular muscles are really tube-retractors, as

he supposes the muscles for drawing in the polype are sufficient

for the purpose also of drawing in the tube. Were these latter

muscles used to invaginate the tubular orifice of the cell, we

should expect to find them in action so long as the animal was

retracted ; but we have already seen, that when the polype is

in this state, they are invariably relaxed and lie in a disordered

undulating manner, perfectly at rest. The tube-retractors on

the contrary are always tense and in vigorous action during the

retracted state of the polype, evincing I think in a satisfactory

manner that their function is to retract the tube and to maintain

it in an invaginated state,—unless we are to suppose that they

are constantly employed in keeping open the channel as sug-

gested by Professor Allman. They will certainly have a tendency

to pull asunder the walls of the mverted tube, yet I have never

seen the channel thus opened, although these muscles are never

otherwise than as represented in Pl. IV. fig. 2, when the polype

is retracted. And moreover the tips of the tentacles, as exhibited

in this figure, are frequently doubled down, showing that the

tentacular sheath must be to some extent relaxed, and that

there is no stress whatever on it, as there would be were the

polype-retractors used to draw in the orifice.

The fourth set of muscles to be described is for closing the

orifice. This set is composed of two sphincters: one, fig. 2 0, of

these is made up of several fibres passing round the tube at the

place of insertion of the inferior tube-retractors, and is of consi-

derable breadth ; the other, p, is formed of only two or three

fibres, which encircle the same tube at the insertion of the supe-

rior tube-retractors. The action of these sphincters cannot be

mistaken ; they effect the closing of the orifice on the retraction

of the animal; being at the same time antagonistic to the open-

ing tendency of the tube-retractors, which, diverging from their

insertions, must in some measure bring the walls of the inverted

tube asunder. These sphincters are not readily distinguished, but

having seen them in several individuals, I have not the slightest

doubt of their existence. Deeming however that it would be

186 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

satisfactory to see whether a similar apparatus for closing the

orifice could be found in the marine species, I examined specimens

of Bowerbankia, and had the satisfaction of detecting sphincter

muscles in the same situations. At the point of insertion of the

inferior tube-retractors—according to Dr. Farre of the upper set

of opercular muscles—the circular fibres are very distinct and nu-

merous, forming a large portion of the inverted tube into a broad

sphincter. These fibres are so conspicuous that it seems strange

how they could have escaped the notice of so close and accurate

an observer as Dr. Farre. It is possible enough, however, that

they might be less developed in the species examined by him*.

The sphincter at the point of insertion of the superior tube-re-

tractors 1s not readily observed ; but when the polype is exserted

there can be no doubt of its existence.

The fifth set of muscles, figs. 1 & 5 ¢, h, isin connexion with the

tunic or lining membrane of the cell, and is precisely similar to

the parietal muscles described by Dr. Farre in the marine spe-

cies. This set is formed of short, transverse belts, arranged in

pairs, considerably apart from each other, which are to be found

almost from end to end of the cell, but most conspicuously to-

wards the lower extremity. There appears to be two sets of these

fibres, one down the back, the other down the front of the cell ;

but I could not arrive at any very satisfactory conclusion respect-

ing their arrangement, neither could I determine their exact re-

lationship to the tunic,—whether they are attached to it by their

extremities only as supposed by Dr. Farre, or connected with it

throughout their entire length. Professor Allman appears to be

of the latter opinion, and certainly I saw nothing in confirmation

of that expressed by Dr. Farre; though I am not sure that the

extremities are not attached to the cell-walls, thus giving to these

muscular belts fixed points of action. Howsoever this may be,

these parietal muscles undoubtedly have the power of contracting

the tunic, and so lessening the space within which the polype is

confined ; the contained fluid is made to press on the surface of

the polype, constraining it to pass upwards, and thus to effect its

* In the species examined by Dr. Farre and named by him Bowerbankia

densa, the tube-retractors have a “‘triradiate arrangement,” and consequently

the orifice is puckered mto three folds when the polype is retracted. The

species referred to in the text we have seen has four such folds—the tube-

retractors being divided into as many bundles. ‘The circle of tentacles also

assumes a different form in the two species: in that examined by me the

tentacles rise from the disc im a straight, slightly diverging lme, and arch

considerably outwards at the tips. In Dr. Farre’s species they arch out-

wards immediately above the disc, and are very little recurved at the tips.

It is therefore pretty evident that there are two species, and that B. densa

should not be merged in B. imbricata, which is most probably the form that

I have seen. .

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 187

protrusion much in the same manner as in Plumatelia and Fre-

dericella. In these however there is some little difficulty, the

cells being continuous ; but in Paludicella, in which they are all

separated, this act can be clearly understood. I have certainly

observed in Plumatella and Fredericella the appearance of divi-

sions here and there, forming as it were the cells into groups or

systems, but nothing to warrant the belief that each cell is iso-

lated. It might therefore be thought that protrusion of a few of

the polypes would necessitate that of the others, or at least would

cause an inconvenient pressure on the other members belonging

to the same group.

It is difficult to arrive at a full explanation of the propulsion

of the polype in these cases ; but there can be no doubt that in

them, as in the other Bryozoa, the contraction of the tunic is the

sole agent. Dr. Farre believed that the act of protrusion did not

so much depend on the contraction of the tunic as on the

straightening of the alimentary canal, which in the marine spe-

cies and in Paludicella is doubled upon itself when the polype

is retracted. But in Plumatella, Fredericella, and Alcyonella it

is always straight ; m these genera, therefore, protrusion cannot

in the least be assisted by the alimentary canal. Professor All-

man has referred to this fact to prove the error of Dr. Farre’s

opinion ; and indeed, if it be allowed, and I suppose it must, that

the pressure of the fluid maintaims the protruded animal in its

position, it is more than probable that the same power would be

sufficient to perform the act of protrusion. From the movements

of the alimentary canal it is pretty evident that it has the power

of straightening itself: but when quite straight only a portion

of the tentacles would be protruded beyond the cell; and here

they would remain, for it is very clear that whether straight or

bent, the alimentary canal will displace the same quantity of fluid,

and that there would be no increase of pressure to force the ani-

mal upwards. It is at the moment when the alimentary canal is

being straightened that the parietal muscles come into play, and

compel the animal to rise above the cell: these acts are perfectly

simultaneous. The protrusion therefore of the polype with a

bent cesophagus and intestine is effected in the same manner as

that in which these organs are straight ; only that in the former

it is accompanied with the straightening of the alimentary canal.

The sixth and last set of muscles to be described is for the

purpose of preventing the entire eversion of the tentacular sheath,

This set, Pl. IV. figs. lr, r & 2 g, q, 1s the homologue of the

strong radiating muscles in Plumatella and Fredericella ; but the

fibres are much less numerous. In Paludicella they are only four

m number, and take their origin from the inner surface of the

188 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

cell, two in front immediately below where the tube joins the cell,

and two behind in a line with the upper wall of the tube; hence

the fibres are placed in front of and behind the polype, and are

inserted into opposite points of the tentacular sheath a little way

below its summit, having on each side of them the two bundles

of the tube-retractors. In the retracted state of the polype these

fibres are seen passing downwards towards their msertion. When

the polype is protruded these muscles cause the sheath to double

upon itself, and thus retain a portion of it within the tube ; but

not to the same extent as in Plumatella and Fredericella. Tt has

already been pointed out that in these genera this set of muscles

compensates for the want of the circle of setze which surmounts

the orifice in the marine species. In Paludicella, however, we

have already seen that there is a wide, delicate, membranous cup

which rises from the inner surface of the tube a little within the

orifice. This cup is undoubtedly the homologue of the circle of

setee alluded to, but in a very rudimentary state, and probably of

little or no functional utility: consequently these muscles are

still present, though, as might be expected, not so fully developed

as in those genera entirely deprived of this appendage.

We have now gone through the wholeeof the muscular appa-

ratus for retraction and propulsion, and to verify the use of the

various sets of muscles, we must once more observe the animal

while issuing from the cell. The first symptom indicative of the

polype’s inclination to come forth is the contraction of the parietal

muscles, causing the tunic in certain places to leave the walls of

the cell, par ticularly towards the lower portion ; on this the polype

commences to move up the cell, and at the same instant the tube-

retractors relaxing the inverted lips of the orifice begin to be

evolved, and as the contraction of the parietal muscles goes on

the polype advances upwards, and more and more of the tube is

turned out, in the manner of the eversion of the horn of the com-

mon snail; at length the membranous cup makes its appearance,

not doubled upon itself, but im an erect position—the margin first,

just as the circle of sete is exserted in Bowerbankia. The cup at

first is laterally compressed, having been packed longitudinally

in the axis of the tube: the tips of the tentacles now emerge

through the centre of this cup, and as they pass upwards pressed

together in a line side by side, its lateral folds give way, and by

the time that the tentacular disc has reached the mouth of the

cell, the cup is perfectly expanded. The muscles preventing the

entire eversion of the tentacular sheath may now be seen in ac-

tion near the upper extremity of the tube, holding back the mem-

branous sheath and causing it to roll upon itself. The polype is

now fairly above the mouth of the cell, and as the tentacles ex

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 189

pand it has attained its greatest elevation; the cilia then com-

mence to play, and all kinds of particles are hurried towards the

mouth.

The retraction of the polype is instantaneous, so rapid indeed

that it is quite impossible to follow with the eye the actions of

the muscles ;—such is the velocity with which this feat is per-

formed, that from complete protrusion to mvagination nothing

can be perceived but the settling of the polype upwards, after

having apparently been dragged too far down the cell. It is not

difficult however to understand how the act of retraction is ac-

complished ; the operation of the muscles will be reversed. First

the parietal muscles must relax, allowing the tunic to assume its

place close to the cell-walls ; at the same instant the polype-re-

tractors will contract, and as the animal sinks into the cell the

superior tube-retractors will also contract ; next the inferior tube-

retractors will come into play; and finally, after retraction is

complete, the sphincters will close the orifice.

On comparing the muscular system of the freshwater Bryozoa

with that of the marine forms, a great similarity is observed ;

some interesting modifications however are deserving of notice.

The most remarkable of these are found in connexion with the

orifice. In Plumatella and Fredericella there is no tubular in-

version on the retreat of the animal ; the tunic is certainly doubled

upon itself for a short distance within the orifice, but it remains

permanently so. Paludicella on the contrary has the walls of the

tubular orifice invaginated to a considerable extent when the

polype is retracted, and when protruded nearly the whole is

evolved. But Bowerbankia and other marine forms differ from

the freshwater species in having the mouth of the cell completely

unrolled when the polype is protruded, the same having been

invaginated to a great extent when it was retracted. Thus in

the first and last modifications we see the extremes of variation,

and consequently the most extensive alterations in the muscular

arrangements of these parts. Paludicella bemg in a middle state

has the muscular apparatus to some extent of both ; and in this

respect connects the freshwater with the marine forms.

The tube-retractors are wanting in Plumatella and Fredericella,

and are present in Paludicella and in all the marine species,

being most developed in the latter. Neither in these nor in

Paludicella, however, is there anything like the small radiating

muscles near the orifice in Plumatella and Fredericella ; and the

marine species, too, are destitute of the large radiating muscles

in connexion with the tentacular sheath. These, though present,

we have seen are less developed in Paludicella than in Plumatella

and Fredericella, the former resembling Bowerbankia in having

a cup at the mouth of the cell. The polype-retractors are very

190 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

similar in all the Bryozoa, only those at the inferior extremity

of the stomach im the marine species appear deficient in the

freshwater forms. They all have, however, one or more appen-

dages to this part, but these we shall afterwards see are most

probably connected with the reproductive system. The parietal

and sphincter muscles are common to both Paludicella and the

marine forms. On the whole, then, im the muscular system as

well as in the digestive apparatus, Paludicella shows a close re-

lationship to Bowerbankia and its congeners ; and is, in fact,

an intermediate link between them and the other freshwater

Bryozoa. Even the minute structure of the muscles themselves

would seem to confirm this. In all they are composed of trans-

parent, linear fibres separated from each other and apparently

homogeneous. When broken they become irregularly nodulous ;

but I have not succeeded in detecting transverse strize observed

by Professor Allman, probably from having used insufficient mag-

nifying powers. The smal] knot-lhke swelling so remarkable in

the centre of the fibre of the marine species is not to be found in

either Plumatella or Fredericella ; im Paludicella, however, I have

observed it in the parietal, but im no other muscles.

Reproductive System.—In the freshwater as in the marie

Bryozoa there are two methods of reproduction,—one by buds,

the other by eggs. The buds always germinate from the same

part of the cell, “hence the definite form of the polypidom. In

Fredericella the germ is found in connexion with the imner sur-

face of the tunic not far below the orifice of the cell on its lower

side. As the bud enlarges the wall bulges, showing externally

the appearance of a new shoot. At first the bud, Pl. II. fig. 3a,

is small and oval, and is attached for nearly its whole length ; it,

fig. 2.0, soon becomes irregular in form, with the upper portion

broad and somewhat bifid, the lower extremity prolonged: the

upper portion then gradually exhibits a circle of short rudi-

mentary tentacles, fig. 4/7; and the lower end is seen to be di-

vided jongitudinally_ into ‘cesophagus and intestine, fig. 5 3, d,

continuous at their lower extremities, which still elongating form

the stomach, figs. 4m & 5c. To this is seen an appended fila-

ment binding it below to the wall of the cell. Imbedded in this

filament there is a large, distinct globule with nucleus and nu-

cleolus: this we shall afterwards learn is the incipient ovum,

figs. 4 0 & 5 e, lying in the ovary. The polype-retractors,

figs. 2 ¢ & 4n, now make their appearance, passing from the

tentacular base to the side of the cell formed apparently out of

the lower portion of the original attachment of the bud; the up-

per portion of this attachment dilating becomes the tentacular

sheath, fig. 2 p, into which the tentacles are gradually msinuated

as they are developed: The polype being now, as it were,

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 191

sketched out within the cell of the parent, its own chamber ra-

pidly forms. and in the course of a day or two, the muscles in

connexion with the orifice being added, the fresh-born member of

the community bursts from the extremity of its cell, and is ready

to take upon itself the work of its own maintenance.

The development of the bud in Plumatella differs in no respect

from that of Fredericella ; and in Paludicella there is no very im-

portant deviation, except at the commencement of the process.

In this the first apparent step in the growth of a new polype is

the preparation of a distinct cell for its reception. If the top of

the last-formed cell be carefully examined, even before its tenant

is fully grown, the linmg membrane may be seen terminating in

a blind sac, Pl. IV. fig. 4.0', a little below the extremity. Within

this extremity will also be observed a membranous sac, /; at first

the base of this sac is moulded on the convex blind termination

of the lining of the old cell. The convexity however soon flat-

tens and the sac rapidly increases in size, the external horny

covering becoming at the same time elongated and attenuated.

After awhile, an oval, somewhat opake body, the new bud, fig. 5 m,

germinates from the mner surface of the lming membrane, J.

This body is attached by its side to the front wall of the cell, and

resembles the young bud in Fredericella. A long and very deli-

cate membranous sac, fig. 6 d, afterwards the tentacular sheath, is

now observed to be forming im contact with and above the oval

bud; whilst from the lower extremity filaments, e, are seen to be

produced which form the polype-retractors. From the upper end of

the bud, the tentacles, fig. 4 d, soon make their appearance within

the lower part of the membranous sheath, 7; at first very short,

no more than the scalloped margin of the cup-formed disc ; but

rapidly lengthening, fig. 5 a, they soon advance more than halfway

up the sheath. The polype-retractors, figs. 47 & 5 g, by this time

are considerably developed, and the retractors, k, 2, of the tube

are distinctly visible ; the tube, fig. 47, now begins to bulge, and

the inverted margins of the orifice are seen within, united to the

upper end of the tentacular sheath: the parietal muscles, h, also

make their appearance at this time, and the stomach, c, intestine,

d, esophagus, b, and tentacles having all assumed their proper

forms, the young animal is ready for protrusion. The buds of

Paludicella, however, do not all originate from the extremity of

the old cell ; sone sprout from the side, and then a slight swell-

ing takes place on the inner surface of the tunic. The horny

sheath soon afterwards begins to bulge, and an external cell

being formed with its liming membrane, an oval bud makes its

appearance, and development goes on as just described.

It has been long known that these animals propagate by eggs

as well as buds; Raspail appears to have described the anatomy

192 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

of the egg and the hatching of it, and the subsequent growth of

the young polype has been minutely investigated by Sir J. G.

Dalyell. But the generative organ remained unrecognised until

it was pointed out by Professor Allman. The appendage to the

lower extremity of the stomach, considered by Trembley to be

muscular, Professor Allman believes to be an ovary: that it is

so there can be no doubt, as eggs may occasionally be seen in

connexion with it. Appendages of this kind exist in Alcyonella,

Plumatella, Frederiéella and Paludicella, and will probably be

found in all Ascidian polypes. In Plumatella and Fredericella

there are however three of these appendages or filaments, Pl. IIT.

figs.4f,d,d, & 5 e,ée,h,h, which are all attached to the lowest part

of the stomach, and passing down have their other ends attached

to the wall of the cell not far from the insertion of the polype-re-

tractors. It is difficult to say whether all three are connected with

the generative function, or whether some of them are not muscles

for the retraction of the stomach. A bundle of such retractors

has been described by Dr. Farre in the marine species, attaching

the inferior end of the stomach to the base of the cell; but one

of them is generally thicker than the rest, and may probably be

connected with the reproductive system. Paludicella has two

such filaments; one, Pl. IV. figs. 1 & 7 n, g, passing in the usual

manner from the lower end of the stomach ; the other, m, d, from

the upper. ‘These two filaments are mserted upon the posterior

wall of the cell, one a considerable way above the other. When

the polype is retracted these insertions are found to be a little

above the gastric attachments, and the filaments, fig. 2 7, k,

doubled upon themselves. These are thick, cylindrical and ap-

parently tubular, and do not at all resemble muscles, and indeed,

from the relative position of their attachments, they seem ill

adapted for retraction.

In Plumatella and Fredericella, one, P\. III. figs. 4d, d& 5 e, é,

of the filaments is generally stouter than the other two, and this

has frequently an egg, e, f, attached to it. When the ovum is

much developed, it is difficult to make out its relationship to the

filament or ovary; but when quite young, it has all appearance

of originating from the interior. On one occasion | observed two

eggs in connexion with the ovary, one almost mature, the other

only forming. The former, fig. 5, was attached rather below

the middle of the generative organ. When the polype was pro-

truded, this organ dragged forward the upper end of the egg;

the other end of it was then seen to be attached to the wall of

the cell by the continuation of the filamentous ovary e’. A little

below the egg there was a slight oval swelling, in the interior of

which was seen a nucleated cell, g, undoubtedly an ovum in a

very early stage of development, and apparently in the interior

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 193

of the ovary*. In Fredericella a similar nucleated cell, Pl. II.

figs. 4.0 & 5 e, has been observed in the appendage to the

stomach, while the polype was yet in a very rudimentary state, as

exhibited in the bud before alluded to. In this genus I have

likewise seen the ovum im a considerably advanced state, in which

also its relationship to the ovary could not be mistaken. In this

instance the lower portion of the generative organ had dilated

into a sort of capsule, within which the egg, Pl. II. fig. 6a &

Pl. III. fig. 4e, was enveloped. The portion of the ovary, Pl. IT.

fig. 6c, below it was short and thick, having the appearance of

a pedicle, by which the egg was fixed to the side of the cell;

above the capsule, the ovary, c, was much thinner, contracting

suddenly upwards. This would seem to demonstrate that the

egg is developed in the interior of the ovary.

I have also seen what I take to be the ovum of Paludicella, but

as it differs considerably from the egg of the other freshwater

Bryozoa, we must not pronounce with certainty. This supposed

egg was first observed in the cell of the dead polype; two or

three occurred ; they were attached to the upper portion of the

interior of the cell. Afterwards one, Pl. IV. fig. 7 e, was found

in connexion with the living animal, and in this case was fixed

by a delicate membranous sac, f, to the side of the cell at the

point of attachment of the filament coming from the upper end

of the stomach, the base of the filament being apparently sur-

rounded by the sac. This filament then, in Paludicella, is pro-

bably an ovary ; and if so, the egg must pass in a very early stage

from it into the membraoas sac at its base, and there be ma-

tured. And, judging from analogy, the other filament is also pro-

bably connected with generation.

In Plumatella and Fredericella however there can be no doubt

of the ovarian character of one of the filaments attached to the

stomach ; but the nature of the other two, Pl. III. figs. 4f& 5

h, h, is not so easily determined. They certainly do not look al-

together unlike muscular fibres; but from their attachments

close to that of the ovary, and from their resemblance to it, they

are most probably connected with the generative function. It

may be that each filament is.a separate ovary, or that one or two

of them is the male organ. These polypes are most probably

hermaphrodites—at least, in all the specimens of Plumatella All-

mant that I have examined, there was scarcely a cell that did not

contain one egg or more. It may therefore be presumed that

each individual is provided with male and female organs. Dr.

Farre discovered moving bodies in the visceral cavity of Valkeria

and some other of the marine forms, and described them as re-

* T have also seen a similar nucleated cell im the enlarged filament from

the lower end of the stomach of Bowerbankia.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 2. Vol. v. 13

194 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

sembling Cercarie. I have detected similar bodies in Bower-

bankia with large rounded heads and long tails ; they were very

numerous, and moved rapidly about im the interior of the cell in

the manner of tadpoles, that is, with a lateral undulating motion,

and are assuredly Spermatozoa. A testis may then be expected

to exist in the freshwater Bryozoa coextensively developed with

the ovary, and from analogy to be associated with it. It is not

unlikely therefore that these additional filaments from the stomach

may be really the male organ.

Each polype does not appear to produce more than two or

three eggs; in Plumatella frequently only one. In P. Allmani

they, Pl. III. fig.5 f, are considerably depressed, of an oval form,

sometimes very long with the sides almost parallel ; they are very

large, being sometimes almost as wide as the diameter of the cell,

within which they are placed lengthwise ; the margins are reticu-

lated, yellow, pellucid, thin, and sharp, forming a well-defined rim

about the central portion, which is opake and black ; the covering

is smooth, tough, aud membranous. In Fredericella the egg is

broader and more regularly oval, of a brownish colour with the

margin narrow, plain and of a paler hue. The egg, Pl. IV. fig. 7 e,

of Paludicella, if egg it be, differs considerably from the above.

It is of an irregular oval shape, about half as wide as the cell,

colourless and pellucid; the surface is marked with a few indi-

stinct, irregular, nucleated cells ; one larger and much more con-

spicuous than the rest, with a distinct round nucleus in the cen-

tre, is always to be seen on one side. The circumference of the

ege exhibits a double margin indicating an enveloping shield.

The great size of the egg forbids the possibility of its escape

without the destruction of the polype*. In Plumatella, the

* The polype of the marine species must also perish on the escape of the

gemmule. On examining some specimens of Bowerbankia in August, al-

most every cell was found to contaim a large, round, opake, bright yellow

corpuscle. These corpuscles were for the most part in the lower portion of

the cells ; some however were halfway up, and others not far from the top :

those lowest down were the smallest, and as they approached the top they

increased in size until their diameter was nearly equal to that of the cell.

As long as the corpuscle remained near the lower extremity of the cell, the

polype was alive and active; but was invariably dead when it had advanced

far upwards. At first the corpuscle does not appear to have any envelope,

but as it increases in size a distinct margin makes its appearance, which

afterwards becoming wider and perfectly transparent, the corpuscle can

be seen rotating within by the aid of the long cilia that clothe its sur-

face. While watching one in this state under the microscope, I observed it

gradually elongate itself and pass with a slow gliding motion to the top of

the cell; then forcing its way through the previously closed orifice, and

passing into the surrounding fiuid, commenced to rotate with extraordinary

velocity : in an instant after this its envelopiig membrane was torn open

and cast aside, and the little being, a broadly. ovate gemmule, dashed at

once beyond the field of view. It afterwards kept moving about im various

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 195

ova on maturity become attached to that side of the cell which

is connected to the substance sustaming the polypidom. And

here they remain fixed, indicating the track of the various branches

of the Bryoozon long after its decay and disappearance in autumn.

The free branches however must scatter their eggs. Most likely

in Fredericella, too, they are dispersed, and borne away by the

currents on the destruction of the polypidom, which is very freely

branched ; and in no instance have I seen its eggs left adhermg

to the surface of its attachment.

Having now gone through the details of the anatomy and de-

velopment of the freshwater Bryozoa as far as I have been able

to study them during a very short but laborious investigation of

the subject, it is quite evident that these animals are as highly

organized as the marine Ascidian polypes. Plumatella and Fre-

dericella certainly show some interesting deviations from that

type; but in Paludicella we perceive an almost complete resem-

blance to it ; proving the close affinity that exists, and the pro-

priety of uniting the whole into one group. The approximation

of this genus to the marine forms is evinced not only by the

muscular system, but likewise by the digestive apparatus ; and by

the bright, pellucid, horny character of the external polypidom.

It is also equally evident that the organization of this group is

very much above that of the typical Radiata. This Professor

Allman has already clearly demonstrated; and yet perhaps we

ought to hesitate before removing the Bryozoa into the subking-

dom Mollusca as proposed by this naturalist.

The immediate relationship of these animals to the Ascidie is

too obvious to be called in question,—a relationship which has

long been acknowledged, though the homology of the parts does

not appear to be correctly understood; at least it will bear

another interpretation, which I am inclined to look upon as the

true one. Dr. Farre observes in his paper, that “in Tunicata

the tentacles are reduced to mere rudiments at the entrance of

the respiratory sac, and the cilia are distributed over the surface

of this cavity, which is im proportion magnified, and is analogous

to the pharynx of Ciliobrachiata. The more immediate entrance

to the alimentary canal, thence called mouth, being situated at

the bottom of this sac, corresponds with the part that I have

called cardia.”

This view of the relationship of the parts has with some

modifications been generally followed by subsequent writers. In

all the Ascidians however, there is a well-defined cesophagus,

directions and evinced great activity, cilia densely clothing it from end to

end. The cell after the escape of the gemmule continued gaping; and the

polype, which before was indistinctly visible, had now quite disappeared,

nothing but slight traces of the retractor muscles remaining.

13*

196 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

which in C/avelina is frequently of great length. Why then

should the entrance to it be considered to correspond to the

cardia in Bryozoa? These as well as the Ascidie have a well-

marked stomach with cardiac and pyloric orifices ; in both, too,

there is a distinct cesophagus ; then should not the orifice leading

to it be assumed to be the mouth, or analogous to the mouth in

both? In the polype a series of respiratory tentacles, in the

Ascidie the branchial sac, surrounds this mouth ; should not these

then be considered homologous? The affirmative of this would

appear to be the natural inference in the first instance. But we

are referred to the tentacular filaments at the entrance of the

respiratory sac as the true representatives of the tentacles of the

polype. With the view to ascertain how far this is correct, I

examined with much care Ascidia sordida and Molgula arenosa,

and found that these tentacular filaments are not anatomically

connected with the branchial sac, but are developments from the

tunic. The sac terminates a little way below these filaments, and

they fringe the inner circumference of the belt of sphincter

muscles which guard the respiratory orifice. These tentacular

filaments, then, originating in the tunic, cannot possibly be the

homologue of the tentacles of the polype, as these undoubtedly

belong to the alimentary canal; but are in fact a new develop-

ment in connexion with the sphineter of the tunic, and share its

function. The tentacles then of the polype and the branchial

sac of the Ascidian would appear to be homologous ;—unless

indeed the tentacles of the one have died out, and the branchial

sac of the other is altogether a new development, which is not

by any means likely.

In confirmation that the former is the fact, we have only to

look at the growing bud of the polype, which so closely resembles

an Ascidian, particularly when young, that it might at first sight

be taken to be one. The tentacles at this time, all lying parallel

to each other within the membranous sheath, have quite the ap-

pearance of a branchial sac ; and when we take in connexion with

it the alimentary canal, the resemblance is almost complete.

Indeed, all that is wanting to turn the polype into an Ascidian,

so far as the alimentary and respiratary organs are concerned, is

the union of the tentacles by a vascular membrane. And we

have already seen that such an union has commenced in Frede-

ricella, Plumatella and Alcyonella. We lave seen that in all

these genera the tentacles are united at the base by a delicate

membrane ; and in the former this membrane is so extensive as

to suggest the idea of a rudimentary form of the branchial sac

of the Tunicata.

Taking this view of the homology of the parts, the longitudinal

lamin in the interior of the branchial sac of the Ascidie will

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 197

represent the tentacles of the Bryozoa ; and the membrane at the

base of the tentacles being external corresponds exactly in posi-

tion to the vascular membrane of the Ascidi@, which is also ex-

ternal to the lamine. The position of the nervous ganglion in

the two forms might at first sight appear to favour the contrary

opinion ; but on closer inquiry it is evident that the ganglion of

the Bryozoa is not homologous with that of the Ascidie: in the

former it is a cerebral ganglion resting on the cesophagus imme-

diately behind the mouth ; in the latter, if it has relationship

to any of the nervous centres of the Mollusca, it is apparently

analogous to the branchial ganglion of the Lamellibranchiata ;

but its position in the mantle is anomalous.

We thus see how very intimate is the connexion between the

Bryozoa and the Ascidia ; and as the latter are generally sup-

posed to be as closely connected with the Lamellibranchiata, no

great distance would appear to divide them from the former.

They are not, however, so closely related as might be supposed.

At first sight an Ascidian undoubtedly seems very closely to ap-

proximate to a bivalve shell; but this similarity on careful

investigation would appear to be more that of analogy than

homology—a mere resemblance rather than a true relationship.

The branchial sac of the Ascidian is frequently assumed to be

the same organ as the gill-plates of the Lamellibranchiata some-

what modified ;—in function there is no difference; but anato-

mically they are distinct. The former is a development from the

alimentary canal; the latter, according to Professor Owen, “ are

essentially internal folds of the pallial membrane.” The breathing

organs then of these animals are not homologous. To turn

therefore an Ascidian into a Lamellibranchiate mollusk, a new

branchial organ must be developed. The vascular system, too,

if not anatomically different in the Ascidian, is in a remarkable

manner functionally so. In this the heart is at once systemic

and pulmonic. And it is worthy of remark, that thus, on the

first appearance of the vascular apparatus in this type of animals,

it should shadow forth the peculiarities of both the molluscan

and the piscine heart ; and this, too, in connexion with a pha-

ryngeal gill. The test or outer sac, and the inner sac or tunic

of the Tunicata are not related to each other in the same manner

as the shell and mantle of the mollusk. In this the shell is

extra-vascular, and is secreted by the mantle; in the former the

test is vascular, and its growth is therefore not dependent on that

of the inner sac or tunic. The reproductive system of the La-

mellibranchiata is likewise very different from that of the Tunicata.

In these it is formed on the type of the Radiata; another and

very striking proof of the relationship that exists between the

former and the Bryozoa. These and other points of difference

198 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

led Professor Milne-Edwards, in his valuable memoir on the

‘ Ascidiens Composées,’ to propose the separation of the Tunicata

from the Mollusca, and the formation of them into a distinct

group to be placed between the bivalves and the ‘polypes.

We then cannot find a passage from the Bryozoa through

the Ascidie into the Lamellibranchiata. There are however two

distinct branches of the Ascidian polypes,—one with the tentacles

arranged in a circle about the mouth,—-the other having them

supported on two lateral oral arms. The former of these branches

passes into the Ascidian,—the latter I shall endeavour to show

is connected with the Brachiopoda.

This connexion is at once suggested by the resemblance that

exists between the oral arms of P/umatella and Alcyonella and

the characteristic brachial organs in the Brachiopoda, parti-

cularly of those in Lingula. In both the Brachiopoda and the

Bryozoa, the arms rise from the sides of the mouth im the same

manner, the bases of the arms being confluent ; and the tentacles

or cirrhi forming a continuous series. In both the arms are

hollow, and the tentacles and cirrhi are tough and non-contractile ;

and in both they are prehensile organs after the same fashion.

The digestive organs of both are very similar; and the whole of

the Brachiopoda are fixed, and so are the Bryozoa, with but one

exception.

But what is still more remarkable, the muscular systems of

both are arranged much in the same manner, particularly as

respects Terebratula and Paludicella with most of its marine

congeners. In TJerebratula, as the animal is fixed within the

shell, of course there can be nothing resembling the polype

retractors; but the shell muscles of Terebratula will be found to

work exactly on the same principle as those provided to draw in

the margins of the cell-orifice in Paludicella and Bowerbankia,

and called by Dr. Farre opercular muscles.

There are four sets of muscles in connexion with the shell m

Terebratula chilensis as dissected by Owen, two from each valve ;

and they all pass diagonally downwards, and with one exception

go to be inserted in the pedicle ; so that when they contract the

valves will be closed. These muscles then have in fact their

origin in the pedicle as stated by Owen, and acting from thence

upon the moveable points of their imsertions, operate precisely

in the same way as the tube-retractors of the polypes last men-

tioned do on the lips of the orifice. The action is the same in

both ; and were the cell-walls of Bowerbankia, for instance, eal-

eified and divided longitudinally mto two portions or valves, they

would be made to close just as the valves do in Terebratula.

The set of muscles alluded to as not passing mto the pedicle

comcs from the perforate valve, and inclinmg downwards is

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 199

attached by the other end to the base of the imperforate valve,

binding the parts of the hinge-joint together—a substitute in fact

for a ligament. In some species this set assumes in part the

function of an adductor muscle.

We have then evidently some reason for supposing that the

Brachiopoda as well as the Ascidie are related to the Bryozoa;

and it is in this way that these latter are connected with the La-

mellibranchiata. After a careful examination of the Brachiopoda,

it is impossible to doubt the connexion that exists between the

two great divisions of the testaceous Acephala. Indeed this is

‘evident, whether we look to the digestive organs, the vascular

system, or to the reproductive apparatus. It is in these animals,

too, that the respiratory organ is first found im connexion with

the mantle,—in Terebratula quite rudimentary, in Lingula to

some extent specialized. On comparing dnomia with Orbicula,

this relationship is best seen. In both the mantle is completely

separated, and in both it is connected with the ovary; the large

oral palpi of the one form the homologue of the branchial organs

of the other; and we sce this relationship in the deficiency of

pedal organ in Anomia, and in the extensive union that still

subsists between its breathing apparatus and the mantle: the

perforation of the under-valve of both is also remarkable; but

not more so than that the great muscle of both should be

divided,—part forming the adductor, part the adhesive disc.

We have now endeavoured to trace the affinities of both

branches of Bryozoa ; one appears to pass at once into the As-

cidie, which, how closely soever related analogically to the Lamelli-

branchiata, are nevertheless removed far from them by the nature

of their vascular, respiratory and reproductive systems. In the

Mollusca the heart is always systemic, and the gill is universally

an appendage to the mantle. In the Ascidie the heart is as

much pulmonic as systemic, and the breathing apparatus is a

development from the alimentary canal—is in fact pharyngeal.

In these respects the Ascidian deviates from the Molluscan type

and approximates to that of the lower Vertebrata,—the fishes, in

which the heart is pulmonic and the breathing organ pharyngeal.

The reality of this relationship is revealed by the anatomy of the

Lancelet so ably described by Professor John Goodsir, who has

pointed out the resemblance of its respiratory system to that of

the Tunicata. Indeed the branchial sac and vascular apparatus

of this curious fish almost completely resemble those organs in

the Ascidian.

The other branch of the Bryozoa, comprising those with oral

arms, passes into the Brachiopoda; or at least this is rendered

more than probable by the resemblance of the brachial organs of

the latter to the arms of the former, and by the similarity of the

200 Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

muscular arrangement. Thus the Bryozoa become related to

the Lamellibranchiata, which are apparentlyclosely related to the

Brachiopoda. We may conclude then, if we have arrived at a

right understanding of the affinities of these animals, that both

the Mollusca and Vertebrata are connected with the Bryozoa. It

would be well therefore to pause before including the Bryozoa in

the Mollusca, and consider the propriety of uniting the former

with the Tunicata, and perhaps with some of the higher forms of

Rotifera, nto a group to be placed at the head of the Radiata.

Descriptions of new Species.

Plumatella punctate. Pl. V. figs. 6 & 7, and Pl. III. fig. 1.

Polypidom adhering throughout, coriaceous, pellucid, of a pale

watery green colour, irregularly but not much branched, seldom

extending more than half an inch; branches composed of a series

of large, conical cells tapering upwards towards the aperture,

sometimes considerably and rather suddenly dilated at the base ;

resembling in form some of the Ascidians; the upper portion of

the cell almost colourless and freckled with minute opake white

spots, most crowded towards the orifice. Tentacles white, not

more than sixty in number; membrane at their origin rather

wide, scalloped, the points of the scallop extending for some di-

stance up the back of the tentacles in the form of broadish laminz

arched outwards. (Hsophagus and stomach appearing through

the transparent walls of the cell of a pale yellow colour. Egg

perfectly black, large, broad and oval.

Upwards of a dozen specimens of this fine species occurred in

Bromley Lough, adhering to the underside of stones ; it was like-

wise taken in Crag Lough, None of the individuals much ex-

ceeded in size that represented i in the figure, nor did they vary

im any remarkable manner either in ee or colour. It is not,

however, without hesitation that I have ventured to characterize

this as a new species, as Professor Allman informs me that it

may perhaps turn out to be P. repens ; but that form is stated

to be large and of luxuriant growth, and to have the polypidom

tubular with the cells dilated at the orifice—characters which do

not at all agree with P. punctata. Indeed it can scarcely be

considered a true Plumatella.

P. Allmani. PI. V. figs. 3 & 4, and Pl. III. figs. 2 & 3.

Polypidom attached to the underside of stones, adhering

throughout, membranous, opake, yellowish brown, slightly

branched, extending in patches sometimes three or four inches

wide, the patches being made up of several polypidoms; the

branches composed apparently of a series of tubular cells,

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 201

tapering to their origin, and attached for more than half their

length ; the enlarged extremity, being free and bending upwards,

inclines a little to one side, and is occasionally bifid, forming

two cells; an obtuse ridge or keel extends the entire length of

the cell, increasing imperceptibly im thickness upwards ; orifice

somewhat constricted, the walls immediately below being pellucid,

and suddenly dilating become abruptly opake and thickly covered

for some distance downwards with agglutinated sand. Tentacles

forty-two in number, slightly tinged with yellow, the colour best

seen when they are formed into a compact bundle; membrane

at their base distinct, scalloped, the pots bemg prolonged a

little up the tentacles. Egg black, long, oval; sides nearly

parallel ; margins pellucid, yellow, sharp, broad and reticulated.

This species was procured rather abundantly in Bromley Lough,

and does not appear to vary much. At first sight large patches

of it have the appearance of being formed of a single polypidom ;

but on close examination are found to be composed of many, and

rarely to number more than six or eight cells m each. The com-

mencement of each polypidom has the black envelope of the ori-

ginating egg adherent.

Two or three specimens of a more branched form of carinated

Plumatella were taken in Bromley Lough, which may probably

prove a distinct species ; more individuals however are necessary

before it can be characterized.

Paludicella procumbens. PI. V. figs. 1 & 2, and Pl. IV.

Polypidom membranous, subhorny, pellucid, smooth and glossy,

of a brownish horn-colour, much and irregularly branched, form-

ing large patches on the underside of stones, for the most part

adhering, with rather numerous, short, free, almost simple

branches ; the branches composed of a single series of narrow

cells arranged longitudinally, contracting towards the base and

widening upwards ; aperture lateral, near to the upper extremity

of the cell, forming a rather long and somewhat constricted tube

inclining upwards ; margin entire, surmounted by a widish, deli-

cate, hyaline, membranous cup. Tentacles sixteen in number,

arranged in a complete circle, and when spread out forming a

very exact inverted cone.

This, the second species of the genus, resembles very closely

P. articulata of Allman, but that form appears to have about

twenty-six tentacles, and is likewise more densely and luxuri-

antly branched ; the cells, too, are larger and of a different colour.

The P. procumbens occurred in both Bromley and Crag Loughs,

but most abundantly in the latter, where it spreads over the

under surface of stones in patches of 5 or 6 inches diaméter.

202

Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of the

EXPLANATION OF PLATES II., IIL., IV. anp V.

Puate II.

Fig. 1. Upper portion of Fredericella sultana seen as a transparent object

very much magnified: a, tentacular disc; 5, tentacles; c', mem-

brane at base of ditto; c, flomced margin of ditto; d, mouth;

e, oral valve; f, oesophagus; g, projecting lips of cardiac orifice ;

h, stomach ; 7, intestine; 7, anus; k, nervous ganglion giving off

nerves ; J, tentacular sheath doubled upon itself; m, strong ra-

diating muscles for preventing complete inversion of ditto ; n, de-

licate radiating muscles in connexion with the orifice of cell;

o, outer wall of cell; p, mner wall or tunic; q, inverted lips of

orifice ; r, the point where the same unite to the tentacular sheath,

immediately below which is the sphincter for closing the cell.

Fig. 2. Retracted polype of Plwmatella Alimani seen by transmitted light

and much magnified : a, bundle of tentacles enveloped in mem-

branous sheath; a’, fentaculan disc; 6, cesophagus ; ¢, project-

ing lips of eee opening ; d, Susu he e, intestine; f, anus ;

gg, muscles for retracting the polype; h, large radiating muscles

for preventing complete mversion of tentacular sheath ; 7, delicate

radiating muscles in connexion with the orifice of cell; j, outer

wall of cell; &, immer membrane or tunic; /, verted margin or

lips of orifice; m, tentacular sheath; , sphincter contraction of

ditto ; o, bud in second stage of development ; p, tentacular sheath

of ditto forming; q, retractor muscles in an incipient state.

Fig. 3. Upper portion of the cell of Plumatella Alimani much enlarged :

a, bud in first stage of development attached to the mner surface

of lining membrane of cell.

Fig. 4. Cell with exserted polype of Fredericella sultana much enlarged

Fig.

1g.

Fig.

and seen as a transparent object : a, tentacular dise ; b, oral valve ;

c, cesophagus; d, stomach; e, intestine; f, the two bundles of

polype retractors ; g, two fibres of same for rotating tentacular

dise ; h, egg in connexion with ovary, attaching it to lower end of

stomach and wall of cell; h’, appendage to the lower end of stomach,

probably generative ; 7 7, outer wall of cell; jj, immg membrane

or tunic; k, bud in third stage of development 3 J, tentacles of

ditto as they at first appear ; m, stomach of do. ; , retractor muscles

of ditto; o, nucleated cell—the incipient egg im connexion with

the ovary.

. Bud in third stage of development more highly magnified: a, ten-

tacular disc ; , ; esophagus ; c, stomach ; d, mtestine ; e, incipient

egg in enlarged portion of ovary ; f, wall of cell.

. Egg and ovary much enlarged of Fredericella sultana: a, egg im-

bedded in ovary 3 b, wall of cell to which lower end, ¢, of ovary

is attached ; ec’, upper portion of ovary leading to stomach.

PuaTe III.

. Side view of exserted tentacular apparatus much enlarged of Plu-

matella punctata: a, oesophagus ; 4, oral valve; c, tentacular or

oral arms ; d, tentacles; e, membrane at base of ditto; f, laminz

at back of ditto.

. Enlarged view of under side of tentacular apparatus of Plumatella

Almanks a, margin of orifice of cell; b, intestine ; c, cesophagus ;

d, oral valve ; e e, oral arms; f, membrane at base of tentacles.

. Enlarged view of the upper side of tentacular apparatus of Pluma-

Freshwater Bryozoa, with descriptions of new Species. 208

tella Allmani: a, mouth; 6, oral valve; cc, oral arms ; d, mem-

brane at base of tentacles.

Fig. 4. Much-enlarged view of the reproductive organs of Fredericella sul-

tana: aa, outer wall of cell; 5 6, linimg membrane or tunic;

c, lower portion of stomach ; d d, ovary ; e, egg imbedded in same ;

J, two filaments attached to the lower end of stomach, probably

connected with the reproductive system ; g, retractor muscles.

Fig. 5. Enlarged view of a cell of Plumatella Alimani exhibiting reproduc-

tive organs: a, pase of oral arms; 5, cesophagus; c, stomach ;

d, intestine ; ; ee, ovary; f, egg nearly mature, still attached to

ditto ; g, an egg just forming likewise attached to ovary ; hh, two

Giniients attached to the aotiaeht probably connected with the

reproductive system; 77, the two bundles of retractor muscles ;

j, outer wall of cell; &, lhmmg membrane or tunic.

Puate IV.

Fig. 1. Enlarged view of a cell of Paludicella procumbens seen as a trans-

parent object, the polype being exserted: aa, outer wall of cell;

666, limmg membrane or tunic ; c, tubular orifice ; d, membranous

cup surmounting ditto; e, tentacular disc ; f, tentacles; g, pha-

ryngeal swelling ; 4, cesophagus; 7, stomach; 7, mtestine ; k, en-

largement at commencement of ditto; 7, anus ; m, supposed ovary ;

n, filament attached to the lower extremity of stomach, probably

connected with the reproductive system; 0, polype retractor

muscles; pp, inferior tube-retractors; g, two fibres of superior

tube-retractors ; 77, muscles to prevent the complete version of

tentacular sheath ; s, tentacular sheath doubled upon itself ; ¢, pa-

rietal muscles; wu, end-walls of two cells abutting against each

other.

Fig. 2. Enlarged view of a single cell of P. procumbens with polype re-

tracted: a, outer wall of cell; 5, ling membrane of ditto ; ¢, re-

tracted tubular orifice; d, tentacles; d! d', tentacular sheath ; e,

cesophagus ; f, cardiac orifice ; g, stomach ; h, intestine ; 7, enlarged

portion of ditto ; 7, supposed ovary doubled upon itself; &, filament

attached to lower end of stomach, probably connected with repro-

ductive system ; //, polype retractor muscles ; mm, inferior tube-

retractors ; nn, superior tube-retractors ; 0, sphincter muscles for

closing orifice ; p, do. do.; g g, muscles to prevent complete in-

version of tentacular sheath ; r, end-wall of cell formed by the

tunic exhibiting enlargement in the centre.

Fig. 3. End of retracted tube of P. procumbens exhibitmg the manner in

which it folds in.

Fig. 4. Termimation of a branch of P. procumbens comprising two cells in

different stages of development: a, outer wall of cell in fourth

stage of development ; 0, lmmg membrane of ditto; 5', blind ter-

arnt of do. do.; ce, place of future orifice ; “y fentanies of

polype in state of development ; e, cesophagus ; f, stomach ; g, in-

teste ; h, lower reproductive organ; 7, tentacular sheath ; j, po-

lype retractor muscles ; k, tube-retractors ; /, new cell in first or

earliest stage of development, exhibiting liming membrane and ex-

ternal wall; m, nucleated cells in linimg membrane.

Fig. 5. Two terminal cells of P. procumbens containing buds in different

stages of development: a, tentacles of bud far advanced or in

fifth stage of development ; a’, tentacular sheath; 6, oesophagus ;

e, stomach ; d, intestine ; e, anus; f, lower reproductive organ ;

i. polype-retractors ; h, parietal muscles ; 7, tube-retractors ; 7, ube

204 ~ Mr. J. Miers on the genus Browallia.

just forming ; k, outer wall of last-formed cell exhibiting bud in

second stage of development ; /, lining membrane of ditto ; m, bud

as it appears at first.

Fig. 6. Terminal cell exhibiting bud in third stage of development: a, outer

wall of cell; 5, linmg membrane; c, bud; d, tentacular sheath ;

e, polype-retractors just making their appearance.

Fig. 7. Enlarged view of a portion of the polype of P. procumbens exhibit-

ing reproductive system : a, oesophagus ; , stomach ; ¢, intestine ;

d, supposed ovary with the egg, e, attached ; f, membranous en-

velope of the egg; g, lower filament supposed to be connected

with the reproductive system.

Puate V.

Fig. 1. Polypidom of Paludicella procumbens slightly enlarged.

Fig. 2. A portion of ditto much enlarged, exhibiting two or three series of

cells.

Fig. 3. A patch of Plumatella Allmani magnified two times, comprising se-

veral polypidoms.

Fig. 4. Two or three polypidoms of ditto more highly magnified, exhibiting

the polypes exserted and the envelope of the origimating egg a a.

Fig. 5. A single cell of same still more highly magnified: a, keel or ridge

: on the upper surface of cell.

Fig. 6. Plumatella punctata five or six times magnified, exhibiting polypes

exserted : a, envelope of originating egg.

Fig. 7. Three cells of ditto more highly magnified and more produced than

usual, with the polypes exserted.

XIX.—Contributions to the Botany of South America.

By Joun Mrurs, Hsq., F.R.S., F.L.S.

[Continued from p. 35. ]

BrowAL.LLia.

Tue affinity of Browallia with Salpiglossis is sufficiently evident,

but in many respects it approaches very closely to Petunia. In

the tabular arrangement suggested on a former occasion (hu).

op. iii. p. 172), Browallia was associated with the Salpiglossidea,

on account of the apparent zstivation of its corolla, combined

with its other characters. I regret very much, that since my

attention has been directed to this investigation, I have had no

opportunity of examining a flower in its living state, as by this

means only could its precise mode of prefloration be ascertained :

it is certainly not imbricative as in Franciscea, but is either re-

plicative or reciprocative, as in Petunia or Salpiglossis ; judging

from its appearance after bemg pressed and dried, it seems to

be rather that of the last-named genus. The following generic

features have been derived wholly from an examination of dried

specimens :— '

Browauui1a, Linn. (char. reform.) —Calyx tubulosus, subeylin-

dricus, 10-nervis, 5-dentatus, dentibus inequalibus, 3-nerviis,

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Browallia. 205

augescens et persistens. Corolla hypocraterimorpha, tubo an-

gusto, cylindrico, calyce 2—8-plo longiore, superne et antice

ventricoso, fauce in oram elevatam constricto, limbo obliquo,

plano, breviter 5-partito, lobis rotundatis, emarginatis, ineequa-

libus, rarius oblongis, acutis, antico paulo majore, estivatione

reciprocativa ? Stamina 4, didynama, inclusa ; fi/amenta brevia,

2 antica inferiora, sublongiora, hemicyclice curvata, imo dila-

tata, apice expansa, inflexa et pilosa ; anthere sagittato-bilobe,

inverse, lobis ovatis, rma marginali dehiscentibus, superiorum

lobo altero minimo casso. Ovarium obovatum, apice pilosum,

inferne glaberrimum, sepe stipitatum, rarius omnino glabrum,

2-loculare, placentis carnosis prominulis dissepimento utrinque

adnatis, multi-ovulatis. Stydus simplex, apice incrassatus, in-

flexus, transversim rugulosus. Séigma dilatato-bilobum, lobis

emarginatis altero majore, intus septis cruciatim in locellis

4 stigmatosis divisum. Capsu/a membranacea, calyce per-

sistente tecta, 2-locularis, 2-valvis, valvis bifidis, dissepimento

tenuissimo demum libero parallelis. Semina plurima, minuta,

obovata, lateribus angulata, dorso convexa, ventre concava et

infra medium hilo notata ; testa reticulato-foveolata. Embryo

in axi albuminis carnosi homotrope subincurvus, cotyledoni-

bus ovatis, compressis, radicula tereti infera 3-plo brevioribus

et 2-plo latioribus.—Herbz <Americe intertropice indigene,

plus minusve viscido-pubescentes. Folia alterna, integra. Flores

ad axillas foliorum superiorum solitari, cum petiolis sublate-

ralibus, interdum foliorum minutione in cymas irregulares termi-

nalibus dispositi ; pedunculo florifero brevi, interdum fructifero

mox elongato ; corolla violacea, cerulescens, aut albescens.

In addition to the species enumerated by Mr. Bentham in

DC. Prodr. x. 197 et 590, and the B. speciosa of Sir Wm.

Hooker, Bot. Mag. tab. 4339, I have now to mention two others

yet undescribed :—

Browallia tenella (n. sp.) ;—herbacea, humilis, parce puberula,

foliis membranaceis, lanceolatis, vel ellipticis, in petiolum elon-

gatum cuneatis; floribus paucis, solitariis, axillaribus, calycis

membranacei dentibus lanceolatis, obtusis, inzequalibus; co-

roll tubo gracili, calyce 4-plo longiore, limbo brevi, plano,

sinuato-pentangulato, lobis brevissimis, emarginatis, rotun-

datis, antico majori; ovario apice piloso.—Rio de Janeiro.

This species, which I found growing at Pertininguy in 1830,

has very much the habit of B. demissa, but is readily distin-

guished by the much greater length of the petiole, fewer flowers,

a more slender corolla with a much narrower border, a more

membranaceous calyx with less prominent nervures, and by the

simple hairs and almost obsolete pubescence of the whole plant.

206 Mr. J. Miers on the genus Browallia.

It is remarkable as being the first instance of any species grow-

ing so far to the southward of the equator and upon the eastern

side of the continent. It is scarcely more than 6 or 8 inches

high, with a very slender and almost glabrous stem, but little

branched ; its leaves are 14 inch long, 2 inch wide, upon a very

slender filiform petiole of 3 inch; the peduncle of the flower is

barely 2 lines long, srowing toa ‘length of 7 lines; the tube of

the calyx is 2 lines long, with teeth scarcely a line in length ; it

is cylindrical, = line in diameter, growing to a length of 4 lines

in fruit and a diameter of 2 lines, wholly enclosing the capsule ;

the tube of the corolla is very slender, 8 lines in length, of a

greenish lurid white ; the border is 4 lines in diameter, at first

of a pale bluish colour, afterwards becoming of a violet hue.

The internal structure of the flower, capsule and seeds entirely

agrees with that of the typical species*.

Browallia nervosa, n. sp. ;—foliis ellipticis, acutis, in petiolum

longiusculum canaliculatum attenuatis, ciliatis, utrinque spar-

sim scabrido- pulosulis, penninerviis, nervis subtus prominulis,

floriferis fere bracteiformibus ; floribus axillaribus laxe sub-

racemosis ; calyce parvulo, angustato, cylindrico, dentibus

acutis, erectis, ciliatis, nervis 10 violaceis picto, glabro ; corolla

hypocraterimorpha, tubo angusto, calyce 2-plo longiore, limbo

lato, plano, violaceo, lobis brevibus emarginatis ; ovario ob-

ovato, apice piloso.—Ecuador, v. s. in herb. Hooker. (Villa Sa-

saranga, prope Loxam). Seemann, no. 740.

This plant is intermediate with B. peduncularis and B. grandi-

flora, from both of which it is evidently distinguished by the re-

markably contracted form of its calyx and peduncle. It differs

also from B. demissa by its leaves being more acute at their base,

with a comparatively longer and more winged petiole, and by its

more racemose flowers. The leaves are 14 inch long, 8 lines

broad, on a petiole half an inch in length, with the coriaceous tex-

ture and general appearance of those of B. peduncularis. The

calyx, having five short pointed erect teeth, is at first extremely

narrow, 4 lines long, 2 line in diameter, swelling to a much

larger size in fruit; the tube of the corolla is 8 lines long,

2 line in diameter, slightly swollen below the very narrow mouth ;

the border is large in proportion, quite plane and rotate, 9 lines

in diameter, and of a purple colour ; the capsule, 3 or 4 lines long,

is hairy at the summit of its bifid valves.

It appears desirable to divide the species of Browallia into two

sections ; the first including those whose corolla presents a plane

border, with short emarginate lobes, and an ovarium with its

* A figure of this species with generic details will be shown in plate 54

of the ‘Illustr. South Amer. Plants.’

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Streptosolen. 207

upper moiety densely covered with long white hairs, which are

even persistent on the capsule ; the second will comprise such as

do not possess these characters, and is confined at present to a

single species: thus—

§ 1. Evsrowattra. Corolle limbus planus, rotatus, lobis bre-

vibus, emarginatis ; ovarium cuneatum, apice obtusum, et dense

pilosum.

. Browallia demissa, Linn., DC. Prodr. x. 197.

— viscosa, H. B. K. 1. 373.

———- tenella, n. sp. supra descript.

———— nervosa, 0. sp. ibid.

——— peduncularis, Bth., DC. Prodr. x. 197.

——— grandiflora, Grah. ibid.

—- abbreviata, Bth. ibid.

. Lerocyne. Corolle limbus profunde incisus, laciniis ob-

longis, acuminatis, 3-nerviis ; ovarium subglobosum, sessile,

omnino glaberrimum.

8. Browallia speciosa, Hook. Bot. Mag. tab. 4339. The much

larger flowers of this species, its more acutely-lobed and deeper-

cleft border, and constantly smooth ovarium, are characters of

hardly sufficient importance to constitute a generic difference ;

but at all events, with such marked distinctions, Leogyne will

form a good subgenus.

From the above enumeration B. Jamesoni has been excluded,

because it differs in its characters, in the number of divisions of

its calyx, in the shape of its corolla, the form and position of its

stamens, and the structure of its stigma.

@ SPop owe

STREPTOSOLEN.,

I have already alluded to the propriety of excluding from

Browallia the species described under the name of B. Jamesoni,

as it possesses many essential characters at variance with that

genus. All the species of Browallia are herbaceous, while the

plant above-mentioned is suffruticose, forming a branching shrub

4. or 6 feet high, with very rugous, coriaceous and scabrid leaves ;

the inflorescence is also more corymbose, and the structure of

the flower differs from that of Browallia in the followmg parti-

culars. The calycine tube is crowned with four, rarely with five

teeth ; the corollais not hypocrateriform, and its tube, instead of

being slender and cylindrical, swells into a funnel-shape, imme-

diately as it emerges from the calyx, and the contracted basal

portion soon twists half a revolution, so that the border becomes

actually resupinate ; owing to the want of the contraction in the

throat, the border does not assume the figure of a rotate 5-lobed

208 Mr. J. Miers on the genus Streptosolen.

plane, but enlarges more in a campanular form with five short

rounded lobes, the front lobe bemg broadest ; it is however often

4-lobed by the confluence of the two upper smaller segments ;

the two lower stamens are not short, dilated, hemicyclical, and

fixed in a ventricose swelling below the throat, but are here

straight, slender and filiform, originating in the contracted base

of the funnel-shaped tube and opposite the broader lobe of the

border; the two upper filaments are also straight and nearly

erect, although they are fixed im the mouth of the campanulate

border, with one of the lobes of each anther almost abortive or

dwarfish, as in Browallia ; all the filaments are terete, not greatly

dilated, and although at first hairy, they become at last quite

glabrous. The style resembles that of Browallia in being swollen

at its summit, where it is hollow and corrugated into numerous

transverse folds ; but the stigma is of an essentially different form,

being suddenly expanded into two broad, compressed, auriculate,

equal lobes, at first connivent, afterwards ringent, with a large

opening in the sinus into the tubular summit of the style (and

which in the living state is probably filled with mucous matter),

thus approaching more to the form of the stigma of Petunia.

The whole plant possesses much the habit of Stemodia suffruti-

cosa, with which genus and with Pterostigma there exists some

analogy in the form of the stamens and stigma. It will however

constitute a genus belonging to the tribe Petunzee, connecting

this group still more closely with the Salpiglossidee by Browallia.

The name now proposed for this genus is derived from otpemrtos,

tortus, cwdnv, tubus, because of the torsion of the lower portion

of the tube of the corolla.

STREPTOSOLEN (gen. nov.).—Calyx tubulosus, 4—5-nervis, reti-

culatus, 4-5-dentatus, dentibus imzequalibus, persistens. Co-

rolla infundibuliformi-tubulosa, subcurvula, limbo campanu-

lato, subobliquo, brevissime 5-lobo, lobis apiculatis aut emar-

ginatis, antico paulo latiore, tubi torsione mox resupinato, zsti-

vatione replicativa. Stamina 4, didynama, inclusa, valde in-

eequalia, 2 inferiora (in alabastri antica) imo tubi orta, 2 supe-

riora brevissima fauce inserta ; filamenta teretia, recta, pilosa,

mox glabra; anthere 2-lobe, subdeclinatze, lobis ovatis, imo

late divaricatis, margine dehiscentibus, singulo receptaculo

pollinifero globoso intus instructo, superiorum lobo altero mi-

nimo casso. Ovarium ovatum, disco glanduloso stipitato imo

cinctum, apice parce pilosum, demum glabrum, 2-loculare,

placentis carnosis dissepimento adnatis, multiovulatis. Stylus

filiformis, apice incrassatus, subincurvus, tubulosus, et trans-

verse rugoso-crenulatus. Stigma valde dilatatum, imo late

cordatum, 2-labiatum, lobis zequalibus obtusis conniventibus,

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Streptosolen. 209

mox hiantibus, in sinu cavernosum. Capsula ovata, coriacea,

calyce tecta, 2-locularis, 2-valvis, valvis 2-fidis, dissepimento

libero parallelis. Semina plurima Browallie.—Suffrutices

Nova-Granadenses et Ecuadorenses strigoso-hispidule. Folia

ovata, coriacea, rugosa, aspera, petiolata, florifera ad bracteas

redacta. Flores pedunculati, terminales, conferti, subcorymbosi.

Corolla aurantiaca, extus valde pubescens.

1. Streptosolen Jamesont. Browallia Jamesoni, Benth., DC.

Prodr. x. 197 ;—fusco- et scabrido-hispidula, foliis ovatis,

utrinque acutis, subcoriaceis, bullato-rugosis, subtus nervis

valde prominulis, utrinque scabridis, longiuscule petiolatis,

corymbo ampliore, calycis dentibus 4 subzequalibus, acutis,

erectis, fusco-viridibus, tubo cylindrico, angustato, medio con-

tracto, concolori: corolle aurantiace tubo infundibuliformi

ampliore extus molliter tomentoso, limbi campanulati lobis

fere eequalibus, brevissimis, mucronulatis.—Ecuador, v. s. in

herb.Hook. Loxa, Hartweg,no. 818. Sasaranga, prope Loxam,

Seemann, no. 872.

I have already described in the eee page the peculiar

habit of this species ; the leaves are 14 inch long, 8 lines broad,

on a narrow channeled petiole of 4 (apse above they are deeply

furrowed at the nervures with prominent reticulate veins, hispidly

pubescent below, scabrido-hispid above, of a very dark green

colour, opake and brittle when dried; the peduncles are 4 “lines

long ; the calyx of equal length is 13 ‘line in diameter, somewhat

contracted in the middle, 8 Almas lanceolate acute erect teeth ;

the corolla is 1 inch in length, the tube at base only a line in dia-

meter, swelling to a dimaeten of 4 lines at the mouth, the border

being about 8 lines in diameter ; externally it is softly pubescent

and almost smooth within. The lower pair of stamens have their

origin somewhat fornicated, about 2 lines above the base of the

tube, opposite the reflexed broader lobe of the border, are about

6 lines in length, quite smooth at base, minutely pubescent

above; the upper shorter pair are inserted at 7 lines from the

base and below the mouth of the tube, which is here slightly

pubescent ; they are all stiff and rigid, and want that peculiar

arching expansion with long glandular hairs that forms so pecu-

liar a character in Browallia. The style is about 7 lines in

length, with a broadly expanded stigma, which is quite bilabiate

and of a distinctly different form from that of the very remarkable

stigma of Browallia. The pedicel and calyx do not sensibly en-

large im size; the capsule, which is wholly inclosed within the

calyx, is quite smooth, but in other respects like that of Browallia

and Petunia*.

* This species will be figured in plate 55 of the ‘ Ill. South Amer. Plants.’

Ann. § Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 14,

210 Mr. J. Alder on Montacuta ferruginosa.

2. Streptosolen Benthami (an-nov. sp. vel preecedentis var. ?) ;—ra-

mulis griseo-hirsutulis ; foliis ovatis, minus rugosis, lete viri-

dibus, nervis supra impressis, utrinque pilosulis, supra vix sca-

briusculis, breviter petiolatis; fioribus subcymosis, pedicellis

calyce vix longioribus; calyce subinflato, late tubuloso, ore valde

obliquo, tubo pallide viridi, nervis fuscis lineato, dentibus 5, in-

zequalibus, ovatis, obtusis, ceerulescentibus ; corolle limbi lobis

brevibus, emarginatis, lobo antico (in alabastro postico) multo

majori, subreflexo.—Nova Granada, v. s. in herb. Hook. (inter

Mivir et Naranjas, altit. 7000 ped., Jameson).

I have seen only a single and very meagre specimen of this

small shrub,’ which has few flowers: the leaves are of the

same shape but somewhat smaller than in the foregoing species,

much smoother and of a lighter colour ; the flower is about the

size of that of S. Jamesoni; the calyx is however larger, wider,

with much broader and more obtuse segments ; it creases some-

what in fruit to a length of 6 lines and a diameter of nearly 3

lines, and conceals the capsule, which is about 3 lies long ; it has

four thick coriaceous valves, is seated upon its stipitate support,

and encircled at base by the induvial remains of the corolla.

XX.— Notes on Montacuta ferruginosa. By Josnua ALDER.

[With a Plate. ]

THE interesting little bivalve Montacuta ferruginosa, though

pretty generally diffused round the British coasts, has seldom

been observed in a living state, and no account of the animal has

been published, if we except the very imperfect one furnished by

myself to Professor E. Forbes for the ‘ History of British Mol-

lusca.’? This, though correct as far as it goes, is by no means a

complete description, having been taken under very unfavourable

circumstances. I was glad, therefore, to meet with another living

example of this species, which seemed less shy in displaying itself

than the former one. It was taken from the stomach of a had-

dock,—a very unpromising locality certainly for meeting with

anything ina living state,—but the little creature on being placed

in sea-water appeared quite lively, and not visibly the worse for

the uncomfortable quarters from which it had been extracted. In

a short time it protruded the mantle beyond the shell, extended

its large foot, and began to crawl about. The mantle of this

species is curious and interesting from its showing a new modi-

fication of that part, intermediate between the plain anterior si-

phonal fold of Kedlia rubra and the more elaborate form of mantle

in Lepton squamosum, and thus supplying the desired link to ~

Mr. J. Alder on Montacuta ferruginosa. 211

connect two genera, which had previously been placed in the

same family from the characters of the shell, but whose ani-

mals, though agreeing in habits, presented a marked difference

in their general appearance. The anterior part of the mantle

in this species is ample and produced considerably beyond

the shell, forming a kind of frill, which becomes gradually

smaller and more even as it passes along the base of the

shell. The exterior circumference of the mantle, lining the

shell, is fringed with very delicate filaments, rather short and

blunt, which extend completely round the margin of the valves,

with the exception of a small space at the umbones. In these

two particulars this species reminds us forcibly of the peculiar

characters of Lepton squamosum, though they are displayed in a

much less degree ; and we may also recognise in them a resem-

blance to the anterior undulated portion of the cloak in the

curious genus Galeomma, which, though distinctly observable in

spirit specimens, I do not recollect to have seen well represented

in any published figure. Thus then we trace a beautiful gra-

dation of form in nearly all the genera of this family (Kelliade),

the distinguishing character of whose animals is to be found in

the large development of the mantle, especially in its anterior

portion. From the largely developed cloak in Galeomma Turtom

Gif I am right in its character, for I have not seen it alive), we

pass to the still more developed and undulated mantle of Lepton

sguamosum : in Montacuta ferruginosa the enlargement is chiefly

confined to the anterior portion, which is undulated like the

latter; in Kellia rubra the front of the cloak is still largely ex-

tended, but the margins are even and folded into a tubular form ;

while this part becomes an ample closed siphon in Kellia subor-

bicularis. Taking these characters into consideration, the idea

suggested itself, that these genera might possibly agree in re-

ceiving the branchial currents anteriorly, as has been observed in

the genus Kellia. For the purpose of ascertaining this pomt, I

placed my specimen of Montacuta ferruginosa several times under

the microscope, but without being able to make ont anything

satisfactory. I have however since ascertained that in Montacuta

bidentata, a living specimen of which I fortunately procured, the

principal ingress current is decidedly anterior, though the water

is admitted occasionally through the whole length of the open

mantle; the exit, which was less distinctly seen, being by the

posterior aperture. In this species a short fringe surrounds the

margin of the shell, but during the time I was able to keep it

alive, no extension of the mantle was observed in front ; though

from the capricious manner in which these little animals display

themselves, it would be premature to decide upon the absence of

this character from a single observation. I had, on a previous

occasion, had this species alive without seeing the fringe.

14%

212 Mr. J. Alder on Montacuta ferruginosa.

But to return to Montacuta ferruginosa. The mantle, which

is open throughout the entire front and base of the shell, is

closed posteriorly, forming a small excretory orifice, not produced

into a siphon. The foot, as might be concluded from the much-

elongated anterior portion of the shell, is very large and mus-

cular ; there is a slight angle about half-way down in front, be-

yond which it is rather narrower and tapers to a blunt point :

the base is slightly undulating and grooved through its entire

length, though it does not appear to spread out into a flat disc

like that of Lepton squamosum: the hinder portion is abruptly

truncated.

After having kept my specimen for some days in sea-water, I

found one morning that the bottom of the glass was covered with

a minute white dust, which I immediately concluded would be

the spawn, and on placing a small portion under the microscope

I found that such was the case. I consequently had it removed

into a separate glass with a fresh supply of water, in order to

observe its development. Though nearly round at first, the ova

soon assumed a subtriangular shape, and about the third day,

strong cilia were observed on one of the sides, and they began to

rotate very quickly. One after another assumed the rotatory

state, till nearly the whole were in motion. After rotating for

about a day, they apparently burst the envelope, and swam freely

about in the water in all directions, by means of their vibratile

cilia, and at the same time assumed more or less of a bell-shape ;

a slender style or thread projecting from the centre of the ciliated

base. This organ, which has been observed in the embryos of

other species, has been described as a kind of byssus, by which

the little creature can fix itself securely to other bodies. This,

however, I did not observe to be the case in the present instance.

It soon appeared to be absorbed; the animal became gradually

elongated, and the cilia were withdrawn into the shell, which

then began to appear, but at what time it was actually formed I

could not make out, as, from its extreme transparency and simi-

larity of colour to the rest of the animal, it was very difficult of

detection. The cilia could be seen vibrating within the shell for

some time after the animal became quiescent ; a few isolated cilia

at one of the extremities, not observed before, being the only

ones that remained to perform their functions externally. These

produced a partial current without propelling the animal through

the water, as at this stage it gave up its natatory habits and took

to a quiet life. The internal portion, the parts of which could

not be very distinctly made out, appeared to be undergoing a

process of development. The mass was continually changing its

form, the separate parts being extended alternately in different

directions, and a portion, probably the incipient foot, was occa-

sionally pushed beyond the margin of the shell. At this point

Mr. W. H. Benson on new species of Helices. 213

of development further observations were unfortunately arrested

by the death of the whole colony, in consequence of the water

becoming impure, and my situation at a distance from the sea

preventing my getting an immediate fresh supply. The whole

period that I had kept them was not above five or six days, so

that their development had been pretty rapid. After the death

of the animals the shells remained at the bottom of the glass. .

They were of an elliptical form, straight at the upper margin,

where they were attached, though the hinge did not appear to

be yet formed: the whole, excepting in the elongated form, had

very little resemblance to the adult shell.

The process which this embryo undergoes in the course of

development is similar to what has been observed in the fresh-

water bivalves by some continental naturalists, as well as more

recently by Professor Lovén of Stockholm in the young of Kellia

rubra, but as these are viviparous, the metamorphosis takes place

before extrusion. Professor Lovén has, however, traced the same

metamorphoses in the young of Modivla discors (marmorata),

commencing about the third day after the deposition of the

spawn. In the present instance the process likewise commenced

about the same time after extrusion, but from the artificial po-

sition in which the animal had been placed, there is a possibility

that the birth may have been premature, especially as some spe-

cies of the family are known to be viviparous.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE VI. B.

Fig. 1. Montacuta ferruginosa, magnified.

Fig. 2. Anterior portion of the cloak more highly magnified.

Fig. 3 to 7. Different stages in the development of the embryo.

Fig. 8. Shell in the embryo state.

XXI.—Characters of several new East Indian and South African

Helices, with remarks on some other species of the Genus occur-

ring at the Cape of Good Hope. By W. H. Benson, Esq.

1. Helia Ampulla, nobis, n. s.

T. imperforata, oblique globoso-ovata, tenuissima, irregulariter pli-

cato-striata, striis antice obsoletioribus, transverse et oblique ru-

gosa, olivacea ; anfractibus 3 velociter crescentibus, ultimo inflato,

apice convexo-depresso ; apertura parum obliqua, rotundato-ovali,

imtus concolori, peristomate acuto, margine columellari arcuato,

tenui, intrante.

Diam. maj. 42 mill., minor 31 mill., axis 30 mill.

Hab. Khoorda Ghat, in montibus Nilghiri dictis, Indize Meridionalis.

Teste Jerdon.

The strong horny epidermis occupies nearly as much of the

214 Mr. W. H. Benson on new species of Helices.

substance of the shell as the calcareous matter, which is exceed-

ingly thin and tender. The shell bears very much the appear-

ance of a large globular Vitrina, for which it has been taken;

but the rough surface of the shell shows that it has been formed

by an animal of very different organization, and its affinities place

it near the singular and beautiful Helicophantoid Helices Wal-

toni of Ceylon, and magnifica of Madagascar.

2. H. cacuminifera, nobis, n. s.

T. obtecte perforata, conica, trochiformi, cornea, spira versus apicem

attenuata, apice papillari, obtusiusculo ; anfractibus 8, lente cres-

centibus, supra planatis, spiraliter lineis septem minute moniliferis,

lmeisque intermediis minutioribus similibus munitis, ultimo acute

compresso-carinato, subtus convexo, polito, radiato-striato ; aper-

tura securiformi, peristomate acuto, labio superne vix dilatato,

reflexo.

Diam. major 19, minor 16, axis 10 mill.

Hab. in cacuminibus montium Nilgheries, teste Jerdon.

A shell smgular both m form and sculpture. The profile of

the spire is somewhat concave owing to the attenuation of the

spire towards the apex.

3. H. crinigera, nobis, n. s.

T. anguste umbilicata, depresso-trochiformi, cornea, radiato-costulata ;

apice obtusiusculo ; anfractibus 6-64, vix convexiusculis, linea

unica elevata supersuturali munitis; ultimo carinato, carma su-

turaque pilis elongatis ciliatis, basi planiuscula, ad umbilicum com-

pressiuscula, lineis impressis concentricis frequentibus ornata ; aper-

tura obliqua angulato-lunari, securiformi; peristomate simplici,

acuto.

Diam. major 123, minor 12, alt. 6} mill.

Hab. ad latus montium ‘“ Nilgheries”’ versus Orientem spectans.

Teste Jerdon.

This shell in size and characters is intermediate between Helix

Guerini, Pfr., an inhabitant of the summits of. the Nilghery

Mountains, and H. retifera, Pfr., which inhabits the warmer val-

leys of the same range according to Dr. Jerdon, to whom I am

indebted for specimens of all the three species from the localities

indicated.

4. H. acuducta, nobis, n. s.

T. perforata, tenui, lenticulari, conica, acute carinata, superne costu-

lato-striata, lineis impressis confertissime granulato-decussata, ‘sub-

tus leevigata, lineis impressis frequentibus concentrice notata ; spira

vix elevata, apice obtusiusculo ; anfractibus 5, planulatis, fere con-

tabulatis, ultimo subtus tumido, carina infra compressa ; apertura —

Mr. W.H. Benson on new species of Helices. 215

angulato-lunari, subsecuriformi ; peristomate tenui, simplice, mar-

gine columellari superne brevissime reflexo.

Diam. major 22, minor 19, alt. 11 mill.

Hab. in sylvis ad apicem montium “ Nilgheries,’’ Indize meridionalis.

Jerdon.

This form seenis to rank between the perforate H. anceps, H.

Indica, &c., and the umbilicated H. Guerini, H. retifera, &c. At

first sight it has the aspect of a depressed and much-carinated

dextrorse Helix interrupta, Bens., a species which is, however,

invariably sinistrorse.

5. Helix regalis, nobis, n. s.

T. perforata, sinistrorsa, conoideo-depressa, carinata, eleganter fasciata

vel unicolori ; anfractibus 6, angustis, subplanatis, supra striis acute

corrugatis, obliquis, strias spirales decussantibus, medianis obsolete

noduloso-costatis, ultimo carinato, carina infra compressa, subtus

nitido, convexo, radiato-striato, striis circularibus versus umbilicum

obsoletis ; periomphalo excavato ; apertura obliqua, subsecuriformi,

peristomate acuto, margine inferiori arcuato, versus umbilicum

sinuato, columellari brevissime reflexo.

The following is a more extended description of the differences

observable in the specimens examined :—

A. costis inconspicuis ; anfractibus supra fascia media luteo-fusca,

utrinque linea fusco-nigra marginata, fasciisque albido-czesiis mar-

ginalibus ornatis, ultimo subtus fascia media, cinereo-lutea, lata,

utrinque fascia angusta purpureo-fusca cincta, margine albido, pe-

riomphalo albido-luteo.

B. unicolori, extus intusque purpureo-fusca, costis magis conspicuis.

Diam. maj. 27, minor 25, axis 13 mill.

fab, ad Sarawak, Insule Borneo. Teste W. Taylor.

A couple of specimens of each variety, found on the ground,

in jungle, near Sir Jas. Brooke’s house at Sarawak, were brought

to England by Lieut. W. Taylor, Madras Artillery, to whom I

am indebted for an example of each kind. The subnodulous

costate appearance of the whorls, above the ultimate one, forms a

very peculiar feature in this handsome sinistrorse species.

The following corrected and more extended characters of a

fine and remarkable Hast Indian Helix, published by me in the

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta for 1836, and copied

thence into Pfeiffer’s ‘ Monograph,’ will not be out of place here.

6. Helix Oxytes, nobis. Amended character.

T. late umbilicata, orbiculari, depressa, oblique subplicata, ferrugineo-

curnea, spira convexa, apice planato ; anfractibus 5} subplanatis,

contabulatis, ultimo carmato, subtus tumidiusculo ; sutura vix mar-

ginata; apertura subquadrato-lunata, valde obliqua, intus albida,

216 Mr. W. H. Benson on new species of Helices.

polita, marginibus acutis expansiusculis, callo tenui junctis, inferiori

valde arcuato, subreflexo ; umbilico lato, profundo, omnes anfractus

exhibente, margine subcompresso.

Diam. major 47, minor 40, axis 15 mill.

Benson, J. A. 8. vol. v. p. 351.

Pfeiffer, Monograph, vol. i. p. 395. no. 1028.

Hab. in montibus preeter fines provinciee Bengalize orientales versus

septentrionem spectantes.

The remaining species belong to the south-western termination

of the African continent, and are not the only species which

escaped the researches of Krauss in the immediate vicinity of

Cape Town.

7. Helix Cotyledonis, nobis, n. s.

T. imperforata, depresso-turbinata, tenui, leeviuscula, diaphana, eor-

neo-fusca, opaciter albo-zonata ; spira elevata, apice obtuso ; anfrac-

tibus 5, convexiusculis, fascia lata alba superficiali, fusco interrupte

striata, superne ornatis ; ultimo subtus convexo, rude radiato-sub-

plicato, fasciis duabus similibus angustis cincto ; apertura obliqua,

lunata, intus fuscata ; peristomate recto, acuto, margine columellari

breviter reflexo, arcuato, intrante, calloso ; callo umbilicum omnino

tegente.

Diam. major 16, minor 14, axis 9 mill.

Hab. prope Simon’s Bay, P. B.S.

I got a single fresh and perfect example adhering to the fleshy

leaf of a species of Cotyledon, among bushes, on the sand-heaps

near the Round Battery at Simon’s Town, Cape of Good Hope,

in October 1846. Weathered shells, which were whitish, with

a fuscous stain underneath, occurred in the drifting sands, with

the reversed Pupa Pottebergensis, Krauss, and Cyclostoma affine,

Sow.

There is a single bad specimen of H. Cotyledonis in Case 25 of

the British Museum collection, without name or locality ; and in

Case 26 are two smaller examples, in worse condition, presented

by Professor M‘Gillivray, and marked “ from Simon’s Bay.”

8. Helix vorticialis, nobis, n. s.

T. late umbilicata, subdiscoidea, superne depresso-planata, tenui, ru-

fescente-cornea ; spira concaviuscula ; sutura profunda ; anfractibus

4, angustis, convexis, confertim radiato-plicatis, penultimo promi-

nente, ultimo subtus valde convexo ; umbilico lato, profundo, omnes

anfractus exhibente, margine subangulato ; apertura verticali, lu-

nata, subcompressa, marginibus rectis tenuibus, callo tenuissimo

junctis.

Diam, major 6, minor 5, axis 3 mill.

Hab. ad Promontorium Bone Spei, rarior, sub lapidibus.

Unfrequent near Three-anchor Bay, Green Point ; and at Camp

Mr. W. H. Benson on new species of Helices. 217

Ground near Rondebosch, adhering to the undersides of stones ;

alive in May and July 1846; dead at “the Strand,” False Bay.

Helix pulchella, well-distinguished by Pfeiffer’s diagnosis from

H. costata, Miiller, and which has been noticed as occurring in

Europe, from Ireland to Russia, and from Sweden to Switzerland,

as well as in Madeira, and through a considerable portion of

North America, has extended its range to the Southern hemi-

sphere. I gathered specimens under stones lying on the lawn of

High Constantia, near the south-east extremity of Table Moun-

tain. Another European species, H. cellaria, is tolerably abun-

dant in the hollows of decayed oaks and willows, in the neigh-

bourhood of Rondebosch, as well as under stones, &c. on the

ground. It was probably imported originally from Holland with

the trees which it frequents.

Among described indigenous shells, Helix Menkeana, Pfr. (of

which Krauss obtained only a single specimen on the stem of a

Protea, near Elim in Zwellendam) occurred to me in bushes

shooting out of the sand-hills which border the head of Hout

Bay, south of Table Mountain ; but it was deficient in similar

localities explored near Cape Town and in False Bay.

Helix globulus, Miller (H. Lucana, Lamk., nec Mill.), is to be

found within a few hundred yards of the coast, both of Table and

False Bays, and never, as far as my observations extended, much

inland. It burrows in the earth and in sand, and only makes its

appearance in the very wettest weather during the winter season,

when it may be taken emerging from the ground, or may be

traced from its earth-cast. The deserted shells are alone ob-

servable at other seasons. The specimens obtainable on the

shores of False Bay are larger and more brilliantly coloured than

those of Table Bay, and belong to the var. rosacea (H. rosacea,

Lamk.). Krauss notes the species as being only subfossil at

Green Point, but I have taken it alive on several parts of that

shore.

Helix Capensis, Pfr., is also exclusively a shore-loving species.

It is exceedingly abundant on the borders of Table and False

Bays and at Green Point, on stones and grass above high-water

mark, and for a few hundred yards inland. Those of the south-

ern shores exceed in beauty the shells of the western coast, being

variously marked with reddish brown bands or radiate stripes.

An internal rib rarely occurs in the right lip, a character which

is not noted by Pfeiffer.

February 1850.

218 Bibliographical Notices.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

The Natural History of Ireland.—Vols. I. and II. Birds, compri-

sing the Orders Raptores, Insessores, Rasores, and Grallatores.

By Witt1am Tuomeson, Esq.—London: Reeve, Benham and

Reeve.

TuE first and second volumes of a work bearing the above title now

lie upon our table; and the portion devoted exclusively to the Birds

of Ireland will be completed in the third, which we believe is now in

an advanced stage of preparation. ‘Two volumes out of the three on

this subject having now appeared, we feel we are in a position to state

to our readers the plan and general arrangement of the work, and to

express our opinion of its value as a contribution to our scientific

literature.

In the pages of this journal, under its former title, there was com-

menced in the year 1838 a series of papers by Mr. Thompson on the

Birds of Ireland, which was continued at intervals until 1843. It

related to the birds comprised in the orders Raptores, Insessores and

Rasores. All that was valuable in those papers has been transferred

to the first volume of the present work and to the early part of the

second volume, but with copious and valuable additions. Neither the

Grallatores nor the Natatores have hitherto been systematically

treated of by the author.

It is obvious that the two volumes now before us present in many

respects a striking contrast. One treats of the birds of prey, and also

of those “feathered choristers’’ which give melody to every brake,

or whose graceful and easy flight realise to our eye the very poetry of

motion. It comprises the birds of two orders (Raptores and Inses-

sores). The other also treats of two orders (Rasores and Grallatores),

and brings before us the heathy slope on which the grouse is sought

by the sportsman, the bog with its “wisps” of snipe, and the calm

sea-bay where flocks of dunlins, comprising many hundred individuals,

dazzle the eye one moment by their brightness, and, in their changeful

flight, become invisible the next. Such and so varied are the contents

of these two volumes. We shall now state the purpose for which

they appear to have been written, and a few of the leading points of

interest which they embrace.

The author states his opinion—in which we entirely concur—that

“every country should possess a natural history specially appertain-

ing to itself.” For such a work he has been for a quarter of a cen-

tury assiduously collecting the materials, on nearly every branch of

which, as he himself informs us, he has matter almost ready for the

press. The present volumes he expressly states are “ put forward

merely as supplementary to the several excellent works already pub-

lished on British Ornithology.”’ For this reason, descriptions of form

or plumage are in most instances omitted; when introduced they

refer to some rare visitant, where critical examination and measure-

ment seem, from the circumstances of each case, to be demanded.

In Mr. Thompson’s “‘ Additions to the Fauna of Ireland,” and in

all his former papers, our readers may recollect the precision with

Bibliographical Notices. 219

which dates and localities were given, and the scrupulous exactness

with which he acknowledged to all his correspondents his obligation

for the facts they had communicated. The same trait of character is

apparent throughout the present volumes. In fact, he modestly re-

marks in the preface, “that the work should rather be considered

that of Irish ornithologists generally than of the individual whose

name appears on the title-page.”

To one who takes up a volume merely for the purpose of amuse-

ment, and who, in the words of Sterne, is ‘‘ pleased with a book he

knows not why and cares not wherefore,” the detailed enumeration

of dates, names and localities will no doubt be irksome, although

even to such a reader, the work, replete as it is with varied anecdote,

cannot fail to be attractive. But to those who read with a higher

aim and for a loftier purpose, such details will assume a different

aspect ; and those whose range of ornithological reading is the most

extended will most prize this positive information, and will draw from

it oft-times an inference, perhaps a generalization, which but for such

well-attested facts, they would not feel warranted in doing.

There is another light in which these details, though detracting

to some extent from the popular character of the work, are even

more valuable. They vouch for the fidelity of this record of the

Birds of Ireland, as at present known by one who has spent a large

portion of his life in their investigation. Fifty years hence, if any

writer should take up the same subject, the present work will afford

him a firm basis from which to start. Taking its record as true at

this time, he will compare it with what he then finds around him, and

note the changes that have taken place. Such changes are continually

in progress, as evidenced in the present volumes. In the preface to

the first, we have a very striking example of the extent to which

birds are influenced by the labours of man :—

“It is interesting to observe how birds are affected by the opera-

tions of man. I have remarked this particularly at one locality near

Belfast, situated 500 feet above the sea, and backed by hills rising to

800 feet. Marshy ground, the abode of little else than the snipe,

became drained, and that species was consequently expelled. As

cultivation advanced, the numerous species of small birds attendant

on it became visitors, and plantations soon made them inhabitants of

the place. The land-rail soon haunted the meadows ; the quail and

the partridge the fields of grain. A pond, covering less than an acre of

ground, tempted annually for the first few years a pair of the graceful

and handsome sandpipers (Totanus hypoleucos), which, with their

brood, appeared at the end of July or beginning of August, on their

way to the sea-side from their breeding haunt. This was in a moor

about a mile distant, where a pair annually bred until driven away by

drainage rendering it unsuitable. The pond was supplied by streams

descending from the mountains through wild and rocky glens, the

favourite haunt of the water-ouzel, which visited its margin daily

throughout the year. When the willows planted at the water’s edge

220 Bibliographical Notices.

had attained a goodly size, the splendid kingfisher occasionally visited

it during autumn. Rarely do the water-ouzel and kingfisher meet

‘to drink at the same pool,’ but here they did so. So soon as there

was sufficient cover for the water-hen (Gallinula chloropus), it, an

unbidden but most welcome guest, appeared and took up its perma-

nent abode ; a number of them frequently joming the poultry in the

farm-yard at their repast. The heron, as if conscious that his deeds

rendered him unwelcome, stealthily raised his ‘blue bulk’ aloft, and

fled at our approach. The innocent and attractive wagtails, both —

pied and gray, were of course always to be seen about the pond. A

couple of wild-ducks, and two or three teal, occasionally at different

seasons, became visitants; and once, early in October, a tufted duck

(Fuligula cristata) arrived, and after remaining a few days took its

departure, but returned in company with two or three others of the

same species. These went off several times, but returned on each

occasion with an increase to their numbers, until above a dozen adorned

the water with their presence. During severe frost, the woodcock was

driven to the unfrozen rill dripping into it beneath a dense mass of

foliage ; and the snipe, together with the jack-snipe, appeared along

the edge of the water. The titlark, too, visited it at such times. In

summer, the swallow, house-martin, sand-martin and swift displayed

their respective modes of flight in pursuit of prey above the surface

of the pond. The sedge-warbler poured forth its imitative or mock-

ing notes from the cover on the banks, as did the willow-wren its

simple song. This bird was almost constantly to be seen ascending

the branches and twigs of the willows (Salix viminalis chiefly) that

overhung the water, for Aphides and other insect prey. In winter,

lesser redpoles in little flocks were swayed gracefully about, while

extracting food from the light and pendent bunches of the alder-seed.

Three species of tit (Parus major, ceruleus and ater), and the gold-

crested regulus, appeared in lively and varied attitudes on the larch

and other trees. In winter, also, and especially during frost, the wren

and the hedge-accentor were sure to be seen threading their modest

way among the entangled roots of the trees and brushwood, little ele-

vated above the surface of the water.

** So far only, the pond and bordering foliage have been considered :

many other species might be named as seen upon the trees. On the

banks a few yards distant, fine Portugal laurels tempted the green-

finch to take up its permanent residence, and served as a roost during

the winter for many hundred linnets, which made known the place of

their choice by congregating in some fine tall poplars that towered

above the shrubs, and thence poured forth their evening jubilee.”

The bittern, which has been observed in several localities in each

of the four provinces of Ireland, is now becoming scarce, owing to the

drainage of the bogs and marshes. A time may come when

“* Deep-waving fields and pastures green”

will occupy the swampy solitudes in which it now dwells, and the

Bibliographical Notices. 221

species, after gradually becoming more and more rare, may hereafter be-

come altogether extinct. The records now given of its occurrence will

then acquire an importance beyond that with which they are at present

invested. The same observation applies to many other birds yet in-

digenous to Ireland. Already several species, which were at one

time abundant, have become extinct, or are only known as rare vi-

sitants, and the author has not failed to supply, from all authentic

sources, such particulars respecting them as are most worthy of pre-

servation.

The situation of Ireland gives interest to a comparative list of its

birds with those of Great Britain ; and accordingly Mr. Thompson has

appended to each order a valuable summary, showing at a glance the

species peculiar to the respective islands. The differences between

them are not to be accounted for by local causes, such as mineralo-

gical structure or climate, but must be attributed to the laws of

geographical distribution. In this respect, all that pertains to Ireland

and distinguishes it from other European countries becomes of philo-

sophical interest, considered in connexion with its insular position,

and its being the most western of all European lands.

In reading Mr. Thompson’s pages, we do not receive information

merely with reference to the birds of Ireland as compared with those

of Great Britain, but not unfrequently we have tidings of their mi-

grations, habits and comparative abundance, both in the Arctic circle

and in the sunny isles of the Mgean. In this way it occasionally

happens, that the author leads us with him almost insensibly to

brighter skies and classic scenes, so fraught with pictorial and poetic

interest, that we are tempted to forget the measured language of the

reviewer of a scientific work, and express without reservation the

delight which the reading of certain passages has afforded. As an

example, we would refer to the bee-eater, vol. i. p. 367 :-—

*«T have had the gratification of seeing the bee-eater in scenes with

which its brilliant plumage was more in harmony than with any in

the British Isles. It first excited my admiration in August 1826,

when visiting the celebrated grotto of Egeria, near Rome. On ap-

proaching this classic spot, several of these birds, in rapid, swift-like

flight, swept closely past and around us, uttering their peculiar call,

and with their graceful form and brilliant colours proved irresistibly

attractive. My companion, who, as well as myself, beheld them for

the first time, was so greatly struck with the beauty of their plumage

and bold sweeping flight, as to term them the presiding deities over

Egeria’s Grotto. Rich as was the spot in historical and poetical as-

sociations, it was not less so in pictorial charms ; all was in admirable

keeping :—the picturesque grotto with its ivy-mantled entrance and

gushing spring; the gracefully reclining, though headless white

marble statue of the nymph; the sides of the grotto covered with

the exquisitely beautiful maiden-hair fern in the richest luxuriance ;

the wilderness of wild flowers around the exterior, attracting the bees,

on which the Merops was feeding ; and over all, the deep blue sky of

Rome completing the picture.”

222 Bibliographical Notices.

Or another instance may be selected relating to the rock-dove,

vol. li. p. 13 :—

*« The mention of various places in connexion with this bird induces

me to remark, though at the expense of the repetition of a few names,

that nearly as the ring-dove and the rock-dove, distributed in suitable

localities over the British Islands, are allied, their haunts are very dif-

ferent ; the former being associated with the tender and the beautiful,

the latter with the stern and the sublime in nature. The ring-dove

is most at home in the lordly domain, rich in noble and majestic trees,

the accumulated growth of centuries. The stately beech, beautiful

even in winter, when with grayish-silver stem it towers upwards from

its favourite sloping banks,—richly carpeted in the russet hue of its

fallen leaves,—and expands into a graceful head of reddish branches,

affords the species nightly shelter. The same tree, too, may have

cradled the infant ring-dove ; and when the bird became mature, fed

it with its ‘mast.? The rock-dove, on the other hand, has its abode

in the gloomy caverns both of land and sea. How various are the

scenes—nay, countries and climates—brought vividly, with all their

accompaniments, before the mind, by the sight of this handsome

species! A brief indication of the nature of a very few may here be

given ; and in the first place, of two similar in kind, but ‘yet how

different!’ ‘The most northern great water-fall at which this bird

has come under my notice is that of Foyers, in Inverness-shire, where

its habitation,

‘Dim-seen through rising mists and ceaseless showers,

The hoary cavern, wide-surrounding, lowers.’

“‘ Over this fall ‘the evergreen pine’ presides in majesty, and the

surrounding scenery partakes of the fine bold character of the ‘ land

of the mountain and the flood.’ From the banks above, we may,

however, in a serene day, gaze across the lengthened expanse of Loch

Ness as it sleeps in azure, and over the steep mountain-sides that rise

from its margin richly wooded with the graceful weeping birch (the

predominant species), the hazel, and other indigenous trees, until the

eye rests on the somewhat distant and lofty pyramidal summit of

Maelfourvonie. The most southern locality of a similar kind, in

which rock-doves attracted my attention, was amid the enchanting

scenery of the Sabine hills, about the celebrated cascade of the Anio

at Tivoli, where, numerous as domestic pigeons in a well-stocked

dove-cot, they appeared flying in and out of the gloomy recesses of the

rocks close to where the mass of waters was precipitated. The cliffs

above these falls are crowned by the ruins of the Corinthian temple

of Vesta; from the neighbouring hill-sides the great aloe and the

myrtle sprmg spontaneously, while the most antique of olive-trees,

many of them even grotesque from the decrepitude of age, form the

chief features of the foliage. Afar, over the dreary Campagna, Rome,

once mistress of the world, appears.

“In the snow-white caves adjacent to Dunluce Castle, near the

Giant’s Causeway, and those darkly pierced in the long range of stu-

pendous cliffs at the Horn in Donegal, which boldly confront the At-

Bibliographical Notices. 223

lantic, southward to those of Sphacteria whose precipices are laved

by the waters of the eastern Mediterranean, I have remarked that the

rock-dove equally finds a home; as it likewise does in islets from the

high and rugged promontory of Oe, in Islay, off the south-western

coast of Scotland, to the ‘ Isles of Greece.’ ”’

If from considering the range of species, and the circumstances

which invest them with adventitious interest, we confine our attention

to individual species as observed in Ireland, we find abundance of

material, carefully collected and judiciously brought together. Under

this head we might refer to the full and accurate manner in which

the food of each is noted, after the author’s personal examination of

the contents of the stomachs of different individuals. His critical

knowledge of species, both of plants and of those invertebrate animals

that afford the means of subsistence to numerous families of birds,

becomes here of great importance, and has enabled him to treat this

part of his subject with a completeness which is rare, if not un-

equaled.

The number of quails which appear to winter in Ireland, forms a

singular point of contrast between Great Britain and the sister

island. ‘The woodcock, on which notes of the highest interest are

given, suggests a similarcomparison. But perhaps there is no species

which offers more numerous topics than the heron (4rdea cinerea).

We are accustomed in Britain to regard it as solitary in its habits

during the winter; in the Bay of Belfast it becomes gregarious, and

flocks of from thirty to sixty are mentioned. Their appearance,

whether perched on trees, congregated in meadows and ploughed

fields, or mustered on the beach, is described—sometimes as seen in

bright sunshine, and at others as they pursue their piscatory vocation

by the light of the moon.

The book abounds with anecdotes illustrative of habits, and told

in a most attractive style. We might refer as examples of this to the

land-rail (vol. 11. p. 317), or to the heron in confinement (vol. ii.

p- 152). Perhaps however a still more attractive little “ bit” of

biography may be found in the history of a pet magpie, vol. i. p. 334,

or that of three redbreasts, vol. i. p. 167.

One who studies, as Mr. Thompson has done, the habits of birds

amid their native haunts, where alone the true enjoyment of orni-

thological pursuits can be felt, is brought at times into the midst of

scenery, which the mind that is alive to what is beautiful in nature,

cannot contemplate unmoved. It is but natural therefore that the

author should occasionally turn from the birds to the scenery in which

they are found. Of this we have examples in vol. ii. pp. 55, 246.

On the whole, we have no hesitation in saying that this book must

take its place by the side of those which are justly regarded as

standard works on Ornithology. Its facts will commend it to the man

of science, and the manner in which they are conveyed will win for it

a ready admission to many a domestic circle. We hail it as a valuable

addition to our literature, and shall look forward with impatience for

the remaining volumes.

224 Zoological Society.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

April 24, 1849.—William Spence, Esq., V.P., F.R.S., in the Chair.

The following papers were read :—

1. ON A NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS GLAREOLA.

By G. R. Gray, F.L.S. etc.

GLAREOLA NUCHALIS.

Brownish ash tinged with bronze, paler on the throat and breast,

and darkest on the quills and tail; a white line commencing at the

gape and extending round the nape, thus forming a prominent collar ;

the base of the tail-feathers, with the space gradually enlarging to

the outermost, and the tips of the third, fourth and fifth feathers,

white ; the abdomen and under tail-coverts ashy-white; the two

longest of the latter with a broad patch near the tip of each dark

brownish ash.

Bill black, with the base yellow; feet yellow, with black claws.

Total length, 52!; bill from gape, 8’; wings, 5! 7'; tarsi, 9’;

middle toe, 8'"'.

The bird here described was discovered by Francis Galton, Esq.,

at the fifth cataract of the Nile. This species may prove eventually

to be found also on the Quorra, Western Africa, as is partly shown

by an immature specimen in rather bad condition, which is contained

in the collection at the British Museum.

2. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS CULTRIDES.

By G. R. Gray, F.L.S. etc.

CULTRIDES RUFIPENNIS.

Head, neck, and breast, blue-black, tinged in some lights with green;

the back and smaller wing-coverts olivaceous ; the greater wing-coverts

and the outer webs of the secondaries bright cimnamon; the imner

webs of latter and primaries dark violet ; the throat and lower part

of breast and abdomen ashy-white; the middle feathers of the tail

changeable bronzy-green ; the second, third, and fourth feathers, dark

green slightly tinged with bronze on the outer margins, the first

feather on each side dark violet-blue. Bill black, with the tip white ;

the legs and feet pale.

Total length, 1! 10"; bill to gape, 2" 4'"; wing, 72"; tail, 1’;

tare oO Zit,

This bird, which is supposed to be a native of Mexico, forms a

second species of the genus Cultrides, which was established by M.

Pucheran, with the Coccyzus Geoffroy: of M. Temminck for its type.

May 8, 1849.—Harpur Gamble, Esq., M.D., in the Chair.

The following papers were read :—

1. ON A VERY LARGE RoE-DErER (C. leucotis) IN THE COLLECTION

OF THE EArt oF Dersy. By J. E. Gray, Esea., F.R.S. etc.

The President has sent for exhibition a stuffed specimen of a female

Zoological Society. 225

Deer, which has lately been obtained by him from Valparaiso, and

is a native of South America. It evidently belongs to the genus

Capreolus or Roebucks.

I may observe that most of the groups into which the Deer have

been divided are strictly geographic divisions; the only exception is

in the Stags, or the restricted genus Cervus, one species of which is

found in America. The following animal appears to be a similar ex-

ample in the genus Capreolus, which has hitherto been restricted

to species found in the Old World.

In size it agrees with the specimens of the male Ahi or C. pygar-

gus from Siberia in the British Museum collection, being at least

three times as large as the usual European Roebucks; but it differs

from that species in being much darker, in not having the white spot

which extends over the upper part of the sides of the haunches, and

in having the greater part of the front ot the chin and a spot on each

side of the upper lip white, instead of the lip and chin being nearly

black, as in that species.

In all the characters above noted it agrees with the European Roe-

buck, as it also does in the greater stoutness of the legs and the

greater length of the face. Indeed I can see no difference between it

and the European Roebuck, except in the greater size, the greater

length of the quills, and their more distinct and broader subterminal

yellow bands, and in the hair on the inside of the ears being whiter ;

but in the latter character it also differs from C. pygargus.

I think it may be distinguished by the provisional name of C. leu-

cotis.

Sundevall observes of C. pygargus, “‘A priori (C. Huropeus) non

minus differt quam omnes Cervi indici inter se; hi igitur, non minus

quam ille, distinguendi, sed rectius forsan ut mere varietates ha-

bendi.’”’—Pecora, 61.

I have seen six specimens of the Ural species, and they were all

alike, and very distinct from any variety of the European Roebuck I

have seen, especially in the form of the head and the extension of the

white disk over the sides of the rump, forming a broad oblong white

spot ; while in the European species it is an erect longitudinal disk

only, occupying the back part of the haunches.

The height at the shoulder of Lord Derby’s specimen is 38 inches.

His Lordship’s correspondent states, “It was brought to Valparaiso

by Don Benjamin Munoz, a Commodore in the Chilian Navy. The

animal was shot by one of the Chileno officers about twenty leagues

*from Port Famine in the Straits of Magellan. The Indians assured

the officer that there was another similar kind of Deer there, but

quite white. He did not see any of them, but the other kind (C. leu-

cotis) did not seem uncommon.”

2. On THE Genus Brapypus or Linnzus. By Jonn Epwarp

Gray, Esa., F.R.S. erc.

Illiger, and afterwards F. Cuvier, divided the Linnean genus Bra-

dypus into two, according to the number of the claws and the absence

or presence of the canine, and the form of the crown of the grinders,

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser, 2, Vol.y, 16

226 Zoological Society.

The examination of the collection of skulls of the family in the

collection at the British Museum, has induced me to believe that the

recent species may be divided into three very distinct subdivisions,

and that there are at least seven distinct species.

Synopsis of Genera.

CuoLta@pus.—Hands two-clawed, feet three-clawed; front

W idek large, like a canine; pterygoid bone rather swollen, sub-

vesicular.

2. Brapypus.—Hands and feet three-clawed ; front grinder small ;

pterygoids swollen, hollow, vesicular.

3. ARcCTOPITHECUS.—Hands and feet three-clawed ; front grinder

small; pterygoids compressed, crest-like, solid.

I. CuoLapvus, Llliger (1811) ; Bradypus, #. Cuvier, Dent. Mamm.

t. 77; Bradypus, sp. Linn. ; Tardigradus, sp. Brisson.

Hands two-clawed, feet three-clawed. Grinders: front upper and

lower large, like canes; the upper ones separated from the other

grinders by a broad space, with a deep concavity in front, at the back

edge of the teeth. Intermaxillary bones small, distinct, and produced

in fr ont, with a long canal behind them; pterygoid bones separate,

rather swollen, spr a out on the sides, thick, ae a moderate internal

vesicular cavity.

Lower jaw much-produced in front between the teeth.

The skull of this genus is well-figured by M. Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v.

t.5, and M. De Blainville, Ostéograph. Bradypus, t. 1 ; skeleton, t. 3.

f. 1, 2, old and young skull.

1. CHOL@PUS DIDACTYLUS.

Bradypus didactylus, Linn.; Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v.73. t.6; t. 7.

f. 3,5; skull, cop. Cuvier, Rég. An. Illust. t. 70. f. 2; Blainv. Ostéog.

Bradypus, t.1.t. 3.f.13; Guérin, Icon. R. A. t. 33. f. 2-2 a, skull.

B. Unau and B. Curi, Link.

We have three more or less perfect skulls from different-aged indi-

viduals of this species.

The projection in the front of the lower jaw in the young specimen

is narrow and acute; it then becomes thin, wider and rounded at the

end, and in the adult skull it is thickened, prolonged, and again be-

comes rather more acute.

In the adult skull there are very large air-cavities between the pari-

etes of the bones, and a considerable cavity inthe pterygoid bone.

In the younger skull the pterygoid bone is small, and appears to be

nearly solid, but there is a very large circular perforation which com-

municates with a cavity under the pterygoid bones, which is nearly

entirely obliterated in the adult skull; and the intermaxillary bones

of the two young skulls are much less projecting than those of the

adult one.

The young skull exhibits a small, distinctly tapermg, produced,

additional central nasal bone, which is not preserved (or not to be

found) in the adult one, or in ‘any of the other skulls of the family

which have come under my observation.

Zoological Sociely. 227

The hinder angle of the lower jaw of the two skulls, the one of a

young and the other of an adult animal, in the Museum collection, is

nearly similar in form. The condyloid process of the young is short

and truncated behind, that in the older jaw being produced and bent

back at the tip.

In the British Museum collection there are five skins of adults, two

very young, one dry, the other in spirits, and three skulls more or

less perfect.

The very young specimen in spirits in the British Museum is figured

in Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, and Seba figures the fetus from spirits.

II. Brapyrus. ?Acheus pars, F'. Cuvier, Dent. Mamm. t. 78 ;

Guérin. Bradypus pars, Linn. Bradypus, Iiliger. Tardigradus, sp.

Brisson. Arctopithecus, Gesner.

Hands and feet three-clawed. Skull flattened above on the fore-

head. Grinders: front upper small, cylindrical; front lower small,

transverse, compressed. Intermaxillary bones none, or very rudi-

‘mentary. The upper process of the zygomatic arch with a broad

process in front, forming a back edge to the orbit. Pterygoids sepa-

rate, much-swollen and raised, very thin, enclosing a large vesicular

cavity.

Lower jaw produced in front between the teeth, flattened.

Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. 88, described the skull of this subgenus.

Blainville (Osteograph. Bradypus, t. 3) figured an imperfect skull

of a young animal under the name of B. torquatus, but it does not

show the characters of the pterygoid process, and it has no appear-

ance of the anterior process on the upper part of the zygomatic arch

forming the upper hinder part of the orbit, which is found in most

of the skulls of this genus. This skuil may be the one described by

Cuvier, as M. Blainville observes that the skull he figures formed

part of the old collection, and was taken from a skin collected in

Brazil by M. Delalande.

1. BRADYPUS CRINITUS.

Greyish, sides reddish ; back of the neck with a mane formed of

elongated black hairs.

B. crinitus, Browne, Jam. 489.

B. tridactylus, Linn. Am. Acad. i. 487 ; Syst. Nat. ; Shaw, Mus.

Lever.t.3; Nat. Misc. t. 5; Griffith, A. K.v. t. 135.

B. tridactylus, var. c. Desm. Mamm.

2B. variegatus, Schinz. Cuvier, Thierre, iv. 510”?

B. torquatus, I/liger, Prod. 109; ‘* Temm. Ann. Gen. Sci. Phys.

vi. 212. t.91;” Fischer, Syn. Mamm.; Geoff. Ann. Mus.

Acheus torquatus, “ Geoff.” Guérin, Iconog. R. A. t. 33.f.1 & 1a,

skulls.

B. cristatus, “‘ Temm. MSS.” fide H. Smith, Griff. A. K. iv. 271.

Ai a collier, Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. 88.

Three-toed Sloth, Penn. Syn. t. 29 (from B.M.).

Ignarus, Clusius, Exot. 110 fig. 372 fig.

Unau, Laet. Amer. 618. f. 618. cop. Clusius fig. at p. 372.

Ai sive Ignarus, Marcgrave, Brazil, 221. fig. cop. Clustus, 372.

Hab. British Guiana ; Schomburgh.

15*

228 Zoological Society.

This is evidently the species described and figured by Clusius

(Exot. 111), for he observes, ‘‘ Collum non adeo crassum ut pictura

refert, quia oblongioribus densisque pilis, quemadmodum et totum

corpus, tectum erat : pilorum color ex fusco quodammodo spadiceus,

sive potius qualis fere in crassiore illa lanugine magnas et crassas

Indicas nuces tegente conspicetur ;”’ and better described and figured

at p. 373 as follows: ‘ Universum corpus a summo capite ad ungues

usque, densissimis wisque prolixis villis erat obsitum, coloris partim

nigri, partim cineracet, pene ut meles, quem vulgus tassum sive taxum

appellat, mollioribus tamen, atque a collo secundum dorsi longitudi-

nem, usque ad posteriora fere crura, nigrorum pilorum quadam serie

erat insignitum: totum collum a cervice ad anteriora usque crura

veluti juba quadam nigrorum crinium in utrumque latus propenden-

tium tectum habebat.”

Marcgrave gives a copy of the second figure in Clusius (at p. 221),

but with a rather different description, viz. ‘‘Totum corpus prolixis

et duo digitos pzene longis pilis est vestitum cznerez coloris. 'Tarsi

similis sed mollioribus et cum abbedine nucis in dorso pilis magis

albescunt et per medium dorsi tendit linea fusca a capite, per colli

longitudinem pilis jubze modo ad latera explicantur paulo longiores

quam in reliquo corpore.” (p. 221.)

The forehead (of the skull) flat over the orbit, rather concave be-

tween the front of the temple, wide and rather depressed over the

occiput. The pterygoid bones much-swollen, very thin, paper-like.

The lower jaw with a broad square truncated process in front between

the teeth, the sides converging, with the outer edge reflexed ; the angle

broad, acute, slightly produced beyond the back edge of the condyles.

Teeth large, broad, the lower front one oblong, transverse : the lower

process of the zygoma broad, flat, dilated.

The skull is easily known from the next by being much wider in

all its parts compared with its length ; this is especially visible at the

occipital ridge and the palate, and on the under side of the lower jaw.

The Sloth figured by Edwards (Gleanings, t. 310) is from a badly-

preserved specimen in the collection of Lord Peters, brought from

Honduras. It appears to belong to this species, being the only one

having long hair on the neck, but the black colour of this crest is not

mentioned in the description.

Bradypus tridactylus, Linneeus, was first described by that author

in the Ameenitates Acad. i. 487, but the description is so shght that it

is not possible to determine with certainty the specimen for which it

is intended, the only specific character being the following : “‘ facie vero

pilis flavis vestitum; gula flava, totum corpus ursorum instar, pilis

longis et asperioribus vestitur colore ex fusco sive griseo et albo vari-

ante.’ Inthe Mus. Adolph. Fred. p. 4, Linnzeus refers to this de-

scription. The mixed colours of the first description and the habitat

Surinam best agree with this species.

Gmelin merely described this species as “‘ Corpus pilosissimum gri-

seum, facies nuda, gula flava.”

Browne (Jamaica) mentions it as an animal which is sometimes

brought from the mainland to Jamaica (not as a native of the

island) ; his name at once shows that it must belong to this species.

Zoological Society. . 229

- The skull above described was taken from the skin of a specimen

in the British Museum. We have also a skeleton of a second speci-

men, which was received from M. Becker under the name of Brady-

pus torquatus, from Brazil.

2. BRADYPUS AFFINIS.

Fur unknown.

The forehead of the skull rather convex, with a slight convexity

over the orbits and a higher convexity over the front part of the tem-

ples. The occipital ridge very concave and rather narrow. The ptery-

goid bones rather swollen, rather compressed on the sides, and mode-

rately thick. The lower jaw with a broad, gradually tapering, trun-

cated process in front between the teeth; the sides rather curved,

simple-edged beneath; the angle broad, acute, slightly produced

beyond the back edges of the condyles. The lower process of the

zygoma slender, tapering. Teeth moderate, the lower front one much-

compressed, transverse, linear.

Hab. Tropical America.

The skeleton from which this skull has been described was received

by the British Museum from M. Brandt, under the name of Bradypus

torquatus, from Brazil.

It has been suggested that the two skulls in the Museum which

have been extracted from skins of Bradypus crinitus, may both belong

to male or female animals, and that the skull here described may

belong to the other sex. As this is a matter of doubt which can only

be settled by the examination of more specimens the sexes of which

are known, I have considered it desirable that the skull should be

figured and described. I may remark that the form of the hinder side

and angle of the lower jaw of all the three specimens of these skulls

are very similar.

Skull. B. torquatus. B. affinis.

in. lin. in. lin.

ere ley rete Reere Biel « gle cin ax wietsys 2 9f

henoth, of palate Lire. osc ete | Sr

from palate to occipitalhole. 1 4

Breadth at occipital ridge........ 1 44 1 23

— at front of ear-hole ...... eo 1 22

— at front of zygoma ...... Pe PS

Lower jaw.

12 1 ee ae SEE SOI 2 4 2 24

Width; at condyles. sii... ae ape n - Eu.8 1 4%

of back part of them ...... Or Ft 0 10

III. ArcropitHecus. Bradypus, sp. Riippell; Pr. Mazx.; Cu-

vier, Oss. Foss.; Blainv. Acheus, F. Cuvier, Dent. Mamm. t. 78.

Tardigradus, sp. Brisson.

Hands and feet three-clawed. Skull rounded above on the fore-

head. Grinders: front upper very small, cylindrical; front lower

smaller than the others, subcylindrical. Pterygoid separate, com-

pressed, erect, thin, simple. Intermaxillaries none.

230 Zoological Society.

Lower jaw not produced on the upper edge between the teeth, but

slightly keeled in front of the chin. :

Face with a black streak from the back angle of the eye.

Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. t. 4, figured the skeleton, and t. 5, the skull

and bones of the feet of this genus; the skull is copied R. A. Illust.

t. 70.f. 1a. Wiedemann, Arch. Zool. und Zoot. i. t. 1 and 1*, and

Spix, Cephal. t. 7. f. 12, figure the skull, and Blainville figured two

skulls belonging to this genus in his ‘ Osteographia.’

In the young skull there is sometimes a slight projection on the

front edge of the zygomatic arch, assisting to form the back edge of

the orbit, but this process seems soon to disappear as the animal

increases in size, and I have not found it in any of the older skulls.

Cuvier, Desmarest, and most French authors, have considered all

the individuals of this genus as belonging to one species, and have

given an indefinite description, so as to include them. Cuvier (Rég.

Anim. ed. 1. 217) thus describes that species: ‘‘ Sa couleur est grise,

souvent tachetée sur le dos de brun et de blanc: plusieurs individus

portent entre les épaules une tache d’un fauve vif que traverse une ligne

longitudinale.” He refers for the species to both Buffon’s figures,

xii. t. 5 & 6. In the second edition he remarks, ‘On connait un

Ai dit la dos briilé, parce qwil a entre les épaules une tache noire en-

tourée de fauve ; ce n’est selon M. Temminck, qu’une variété résultant

de c2 que des longs poils de ses épaules sont usés.’’—Cuvier, Reg.

Anim. ed. 2. p. 225.

Desmarest describes it in nearly the same words, but he notices

four varieties, including amongst them B. erinitus (var. c.) ; the spe-

cial description of the species and var. 6. appear to be 4. gularis;

var. a. appears to be from a female, and var. d. from a male of d.

flaccidus.

Knorr (Délices, i. 97. t. K. f. 3) figures the foetus of a species of

this genus.

a. Fur moderately rigid ; the back white-spotted ; dorsal streak

elongate.

1. ARCTOPITHECUS GULARIS.

Dark grey-brown; back white varied, with an elongated black

streak, with a broad patch of soft yellow hair on each side between

the shoulders. Skull with a broad forehead, rather convex over the

back part of the orbits. The upper front grinder rather large. The

hinder side of the lower jaw concavely cut out, and with the lower

angle slender and acutely produced ; front of the lower jaw flat, not

keeled up the suture.

Bradypus gularis, Riippell, Mus. Senckenb. iu. t. 11.

Ai a dos brilé, Buffon, Hist. Nat. xiii. 62.

Ai adult, Buffon, Hist. Nat. xiii. t. 6.

B. tridactylus, Griffith, A. K. iv. 271.

B. tridactylus, description and var. 6. Desm. Mamm.

D’Ai B. tridactylus, var, Cuvier, Rég. Anim. Ilust. Mamm. t. 70.

Zoological Society. 231

A. tridactylus, var. Cuvier, Oss. Foss. v. t. 5. f. 1, 2, 3, skull; cop.

Cuv. R. A. Ed. Illust. t. 70. f. 1a.

B. tridactylus 3, Fischer, Syn. 387.

Hab. Bolivia, Bridges ; Guiana, Riippell.

‘This species was well-described by Buffon, and is at once known by

its dark colour, white varied back, and the yellow patch of soft hair

between the shoulders. .

Cuvier states (Rég. Anim. ed. 2) that M. Temminck thought that

the yellow spot on the back depended on the skin being worn in that

part. Probably he never saw a specimen, or he could hardly have

made such an observation.

According to Mr. Waterhouse, Mr. Bridges considers the specimens

here described as the males of 4. marmoratus.

Cuvier’s upper figure of the skull (fig. 1) most accurately represents

the form of the hinder end of the lower jaw, the.other figures being

distorted by the perspective position.

There are two specimens in the Museum collection, one half the

size of the other; the smaller specimen is yellower on the face and

much darker on the neck, forming a nearly black collar, and the

white is smaller in quantity and more mixed with the grey-brown of

the back. The larger one is probably a male, which according to the

observations of the Prince of Wied is whiter than the female.

2. ARCTOPITHECUS MARMORATUS.

Grey-brown, back and outer side of the arms white varied, with an

elongated narrow streak extending nearly the whole length of the

back.

The angle of the lower jaw longly produced, narrow, subacute.

B. tridactylus, var. Griffith, A. K.t. 136.

Bradypus tridactylus Guianensis, Blainv. Osteogr. Brad. t. 3.

Hab. Brazils; Gordon Graham, Esq.

This species, which is the most common in English collections, is

easily known by the whiteness of the back and limbs, which is well-

defined from the uniform dark grey-brown tint of the rest of the body ;

the dorsal streak is always very distinctly marked, and, asin 4. gularis,

reaches nearly to the rump, while in 4. faccidus it is confined to the

upper part of the back.

In ‘ Griffith’s Animal Kingdom’ there is a figure by T. Landseer of

this species, taken from an adult specimen in spirits in the British

Museum, which appears to have formed part of Sir H. Sloane’s col-

lection ; but the character of the colouring of the back is not well-

shown, and it may represent either 4. marmoratus or A. Blainvillit.

In the British Museum there is a nearly adult and a young speci-

men of this species. The specimens agree in all points of external

colouring with the following species (4. Blainvilli?) ; but the form of

the lower jaw at once separates it both from 4. gularis and A. Blain-

villi. It may be the female of the former, the skull having more al-

liance to that species than to 4. Blainvillii.

The front of the lower jaw of the older specimen is rather promi-

232 Zoological Society.

nent, while that of the younger individual is truncated and quite de-

stitute of any convexity or keel, like the adult skull of 4. gularis.

3. ArcropiTHECUS BLAINVILLII.

Grey-brown, back and outside of the arms white varied, with an

elongated narrow streak extending nearly the whole length of the

back ; the forehead very convex and swollen over the back of the orbit.

Teeth rather large ; front lower compressed.

Lower jaw distinctly keeled up the symphysis, and slightly angu-

larly produced on the front edge.

B. tridactylus Braziliensis, Blainville, Osteog. t. 2, skeleton; 3,

skull partly broken.

Hab. Tropical America.

We have three specimens of the animal agreeing with the skulls

here described, but they offer no external character by which I can

distinguish them from the preceding specimens (4. marmoratus) ;

yet the skulls all agree in the greater convexity of the forehead and

in the form of the ‘angle of the lower jaw. Two of the lower jaws

have a distinct angular ridge up the front symphysis.

It has been suggested that the differences in the form of the hinder

part of the lower jaw, which, it should be observed, are not the only,

but are the most easily described characters to separate these species,

are not sufficient for specific distinction. I am willing to own that

it is a fair question of discussion, and one that can only be settled by

the comparison of more specimens than we at present possess. Should

these variations prove only individual, and not specific, then it must

lead us to be very cautious in the formation of species on the exami-

nation of skeletons alone, as is of necessity the case in the animals now

only found in a fossil state.

b. Fur elongate, very flaccid, whitish; dorsal streak very short,

indistinct, only seen where the hair is worn.

4. ARCTOPITHECUS FLACCIDUS.

Pale grey-brown; back, sides of the back and hinder part white

varied, with a short blackish dorsal streak between the shoulders.

Skull with a broad rather convex forehead. (3 spec.)

Ai (seconde), Buffon, Hist. Nat. xii. 62.

Jeunes Ais, Buffon, H. N. xii. t. 5

Bradypus tridactylus, Temm. Ann. Gen. Sci. Phys. vi. 51, not

Linn.; Pr. Max. Abbild. Nat. Braz.t. . 2 & jun.; Betér. zur

Nat. ii. 482.

B. tridactylus, var. a. 2? ?, Desm., and var. d. ¢, Mamm.

Var. 1. White gr ey-brown ; back of the hairs blackish, with a short

black streak, and with a white spot on each side between the shoulders.

(1 spec.)

Hab. Venezuela; Mr. Dyson.

Var. 2. Nearly uniform whitish grey-brown; base of the hairs

blackish, without any dorsal streak. (1 spec.)

Hab. "Para ; J.P. G. Smith, Esq.

Zoological Society. | 233

This species, of which we have four specimens of different ages in

the Museum, is easily known by the length, very loose and flaccid

nature of its hair, and the indistinctness of its markings. The black

on the back appears to arise from the hair of the shoulders being

worn away. Three, of very different ages, are pale grey-brown,

with a short, broad, blackish streak between the shoulders, and

have the rump and each side of the dorsal streak more or less white,

and an indistinct whiteness on the outer side of the upper arms.

Buffon’s description of his second specimen of di agrees better with

this species than with any other which has come under my observation.

Prince Maximilian gives a good figure of the female and young of

this species. He observes, ‘‘ Les mdles a de chaque cété du dos une

ligne longitudinale blanche.”

In the British Museum there is a specimen about half the size of

the largest of the former, which is very like it in the flaccid nature of

its fur, but the whole upper part of the body is pale whitish grey,

with two or three indistinct white spots on the sides, and there is a

short black streak edged with a white spot of soft hair on each side

between the shoulders. This was brought from Venezuela by Mr.

Dyson.

There is another specimen rather smaller than the former, and like

it in colour and appearance, but it has no indications of the back streak

or white soft hair on the shoulders. Brought from Para by my son-

in-law, Mr. J. P. George Smith.

I am by no means certain that these specimens may not be indica-

tions of the existence of other species, which can only be proved by

the comparison of more specimens.

Besides these species of which we have skins and skulls, there is in

the British Museum the skeleton of a species of this genus, which was

sent from Para by my son-in-law, which differs essentially from all

those before described, both in the greater length of the head and in

the form of the hinder edge of the lower jaw, and which I have there-

fore indicated under the name of

5. ARCTOPITHECUS PROBLEMATICUS.

Fur unknown. Skull rather elongate ; forehead broad, rather con-

vex on each side over the middle of the orbit.

Lower jaw with a broad rather produced angle, bent up at the tip

and regularly rounded beneath, and with a distinct angular keel up

the symphysis, rendermg the upper edge angularly produced.

Hab. Para; J. P. George Smith, Esq.

The keel in the lower jaw is similar to that of 4. Blainvillit, but

the angle is much more produced. In the form of this part it most

resembles that which I have considered as the young of 4. flaccidus ;

but the angle is much broader and more recurved, and it differs from

both skulls of that species in the skull, and especially the lower jaw,

being much more elongated behind compared with the length of the

tooth-line.

234 . Miscellaneous.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Notice of Powerful Bears, probably coeval with the Great Fossil

Deer of Ireland.

[From Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Dec. 10, 1849.]

Mr. Batt, on the part of Abraham Whyte Baker, sen., Esq., of

Ballaghtobin, a member of the Academy, and one who has always

endeavoured to promote its objects, presented accurate casts of two

bear skulls found in the county of Westmeath. The following is a

summary of the information Mr. Ball has been able to obtain relative~

to these very interesting relics of a powerful species long extinct in

this island. Mr. Underwood, the well-known and industrious col-

lector of antiquities, who has rescued from destruction many of the

best specimens of human art now in the Academy’s museum, being

in 1846 on one of his tours through the country, discovered at the

house of Mr. Edward Fermon, of Forgney, County Longford, on the

borders of Westmeath, between Moyvore and Ballymahon, the skull

of an animal to him unknown. This he lost no time in securing, and

in the following year obtained a second specimen, found in the same

place, in a cut-away bog, about seven feet from the original surface.

These skulls were purchased by Mr. Baker, and are the originals of

which casts are by his desire presented to the Academy, being du-

plicates of others given by him to the University Museum, where are

now to be found, through the generosity of the Earl of Enniskillen,

the East India Company, and our Zoological Society, a very instruct-

ive collection of the remains of bears, both fossil and recent.

On the discovery by Mr. Underwood of the larger skull, it was

somewhat hastily announced as that of a great Irish wolf-dog, and

was published in the newspapers as such. Under this impression it

was brought to Mr. Ball, who, without hesitation, pronounced it to

be that of a bear, which, on a little further investigation, he consi-

dered to be the black bear of Europe. Soon after, Mr. Baker, with

laudable liberality, purchased both specimens, and has thus preserved

evidence of the existence of bears in Ireland, of which we had before

no tangible proof or historical evidence. Dr. Scouler, in a paper on

extinct animals of Ireland, published in the first volume of the Geo-

logical Transactions, observes, that while bears still maintained their

ground in England, they were unknown in Ireland. The Venerable

Bede states, the only ravenous animals of Ireland were the wolf and

fox. Giraldus makes no mention of the bear; and St. Donatus, who

died in 840, states it was not a native, “‘ursorum rabies nulla est

ibi,”’ &e.

The late Mr. Richardson, through whose kind interference Mr.

Ball obtained leave to make moulds of the skulls, appears to have

been in much doubt as to their nature. He states (in his History of

Dogs, p. 36) his opinion, that ‘“ they are the remains of an extinct

animal allied to, but by no means identical with, the dog; and an

animal with which we are now unacquainted, partaking somewhat of

the characteristics of the bears, and perhaps, also, of the hyzenas.”’

Miscellaneous. 235

Mr. Ball observed that the discrimination of skulls of bears presented

zoological difficulties quite sufficient to account for the erroneous views

which had been taken: the alterations of age in the occipital and

sagittal crests, the dropping of the premolars, and, in some cases, of

the incisor teeth, were quite sufficient to mislead, and had often misled

‘naturalists; but the structure and arrangement of the molar teeth,

and the peculiar depressed form of the bullze tympanicze, are unerring

proofs of the Ursidee, at all times distinguishing them from Dogs.

Mr. Ball then proceeded to remark, that if any evidence were

wanted to prove that the skulls alluded to were Irish, he could supply

it by producing a cast of a third specimen, from which he had been

kindly allowed to take a mould for the University Museum by its

owner, Mr. Cooke of Parsonstown; the original had been found in

Mr. Cooke’s neighbourhood, as Mr. Ball understood, in deepening a

river. He mentioned also that he had heard from the late Mr. John

Robinson, of that locality, of the discovery and wanton destruction of

skulls on his grounds, which were very possibly those of bears. It

is probable that the bear and great Irish deer were involved in one

common catastrophe, and perished together.

Mr. Ball stated, that bemg desirous of confirming the accuracy of

his own views, he submitted casts of the skulls to the greatest living

authority, merely stating that they were supposed to be Irish, and

requesting an opinicn as to their species. The following note is the

reply to his questions :—

“College of Surgeons, London, Dec. 7, 1849.

fo} ro)

* My pear Bartx,—The casts of the fine crania of bear duly ar-

rived, and I have been comparing them this morning. They all differ

from Ursus speleus in the minor elevation of the forehead, and what

is more decisive, in the smaller relative sizes of the last molar, upper

jaw; they also retain the first premolar. The largest of the three

skulls presents a close correspondence of general form and of flatness

of forehead with the largest of our old male skulls of Ursus maritimus,

but the molars are relatively larger, especially the last, in the Irish

skull ; this is decisive against Ursus maritimus. I regret that I have

no skull at command of a good old male U. ferow. A young female

skull of that species indicates the proportions of the molars to be

similar to those in the Irish specimens; but then the proportions of

the teeth in question are likewise those of Ursus arctos ; and the two

smaller skulls from Ireland show an elevation of forehead, which,

though less than in U. speleus, is greater than in any specimen or

figure that I have seen of U. ferox. There remain, therefore, for

comparison, the varieties of Ursus arctos, for the tropical Indian and

Malayan bears have characteristics too well-marked and well-known

to be dwelt on.

“The great black variety of the European Ursus arctos is that to

which the Irish skulls offer the nearest resemblance. I can find no

character in the casts of the skulls which you have sent that I could

point to as a specific distinction ; but then I must add, that I feel

equal difficulty in laying down the specific distinction between the

236 Miscellaneous.

Ursus priscus of Goldfuss from Gailenruth cavern, and the existing

largest varieties of Ursus arctos, or the Irish bears. These specimens

have much strengthened, if not quite confirmed, a growing suspicion

that U. priscus is specifically identical with, and was the progenitor

of, our European U. arctos; at the same time, they prove that U.

priscus was not the mere female, as M. De Blainville believes, of U.”

speleus. Your three specimens are all of the same species; the

largest is the male, the smallest with well-worn molars, the female.

Now the large male skull establishes the specific distinction of the

equally large male Ursus speleus, and consequently the specific and

not merely sexual distinction of U. priscus ; but at the same time, the

Trish crania show that the character of the forehead alluded to in my

‘British Fossil Mammalia,’ p. 83, is not constant, and not good for

a specific difference with Ursus arctos. To conclude, then, as at

present informed, I should refer your Irish skulls to Ursus arctos ;

and the least degenerated representative of that species now living,

viz. the great black bear, or very dark brown variety of the Scandi-

navian wilds, is that which comes closest to the old Irish bears.

Whether this respectable carnivore contmued to exist after the

slaughter of the last megaceros, will be shown by the precise bed in

which the specimens were found. I should like to know the authority,

if any, for their derivation from peat bog, and not from shell marl, if

the case be so.

‘* Ever yours,

*« (Signed) R. Owen.”

Mr. Ball was of opinion, from examination of the original bear

skulls, that they were not in the peat, but in the mar! below it, where

he believed all the heads of the megaceros, probably fifty, which he

had closely inspected, were found. In no case was peat to be dis-

covered in the cavities, while in many marl was present. He ex-

pressed his gratification in finding that his own views were supported

by those of Professor Owen, from whom, on this and other occasions,

he had received kind aid. He also expressed his obligations to the

Earl of Enniskillen, Mr. Baker, Mr. Cooke, and Mr. Warren, and

concluded by moving the thanks of the Academy to Mr. Abraham

Whyte Baker, sen., for his kindness in presenting casts of his valuable.

specimens to its museum of antiquities.

On the employment of Tar to preserve Wheat from the Attack of the

Weevil. By M. Caruuar.

Ina late number of the ‘Comptes Rendus’ a note appeared by M.

G. Barruel relative to the action of carbonic oxide upon weevils and the

employment of this gas for their destruction. Some journals, and

among others ‘ L’ Echo Agricole,’ very lately published another means

of destroying these insects, pointed out by Mr. William Little, and

which consists in the use of ammoniacal gas. This young English

chemist states that in the presence of this gas the weevils perish

instantly, as if struck by lightning.

I have proved, before several witnesses, that ammonia does not kill

Miscellaneous. 237

the weevils, for after remaining some minutes in the gas or in the

ammoniacal liquid, they get on their feet again, and run about per-

fectly when removed from the influence of the caustic alkali. How-

ever, the prolonged action of this gas, like that of carbonic oxide, car-

bonic acid, or any other gas not respirable for large animals, kills these

insects in a shorter or longer time. I know not what arrangement of

a simple and ceconomical kind, within the reach of all cultivators, large

and small, rich or poor, would be adopted by M. G. Barruel for the

application of the carbonic oxide, or by Mr. W. Little for that of am-

monia; but I must point out a substance, the use of which is much

more practical and less expensive, namely tar. The efficacy of this

substance against the weevils is known to many agriculturists and

corn-merchants.

I placed, in a half-pint bottle, well closed by a cork, three very

lively and healthy weevils; at the same time I introduced a small

open phial containing a little tar; presently the uneasiness of these

animals was perceptible ; they soon fell on their back, shaking their

feet without being able to use them to get up again. The smell alone

of the tar, in a close space, is therefore fatal to these insects. If the

upper part of the closed vessel in which the weevils are shut up be

smeared with tar, they die more quickly.

The efficacy of tar, in driving away these insects and preserving the

corn, is an incontestable fact. My father had, a long time ago, his

granaries, barns and the whole house infested by weevils, so much so

that they penetrated into all the chests and among the linen. He

placed an open cask impregnated with tar in the barn, and then in

the granaries ; at the end of some hours, the weevils were seen climb-

ing along the walls by myriads, and flying in all directions away from

the cask. On moving this tarred vessel from place to place, the

house was in a few days completely cleared of these troublesome and

pernicious guests.

The agriculturist who wants to get rid of weevils, may, as soon as

he perceives their presence, impregnate the surface of some old planks

with tar, and place them as required in his granaries; care must be

taken to renew the tar from time to time in the course of the year to

prevent the return of the insects. —Comptes Rendus, Oct. 15, 1849.

DR. ROBERT BALL.

We have had much pleasure in noticing and commending the en-

couragement which the study of Natural History receives in Ireland,

and to record with great satisfaction that the degree of LL.D. has

been conferred by the Board of Trinity College, Dublin, upon Robert

Ball, Esq., who has for some time had the Museum of the College

under his superintendence, and whose efforts for the advancement of

Natural History in general, and of Zoology in particular, are univer-

sally known. With similar feelings of pleasure, as to the interests of

our favourite pursuit and of other branches of learning, we look upon

the appointments in the recently established colleges, from which the

happiest results are to be expected.

238 Miscellaneous.

METAMORPHOSES OF DONACIA SAGITTARIA.

In this notice M. Perris gives some details on the mode of life of

the larve of the Donacie, of which little was previously known.

They live on Sparganum ramosum, near the roots and at the base of

the leaves, which are immersed, for the greater part, in water, feed-

ing on the sap rather than on the tissue of the plant.

How do these larve respire under water, as they have no branchial

organs? M. Perris thinks that the respiration is effected by means

of endosmosis, which occurs through the membrane covering the

stigmata.

When the larva is about to undergo its metamorphosis, it buries

itself in the mud in which the plant is rooted, and forms upon the

root an elliptical cocoon, which is not of a silky nature, but of a dry

gummy substance, about the thickness of a sheet of paper.

The author was not able to observe this larva whilst forming its

cocoon, and only ventures suppositions as to the mode which it em-

pioys to construct this case without allowing a single drop of water

to penetrate into it.—Bibliothéque Universelle de Geneve, June 1849.

WILD ANIMALS OF ANCIENT BRITAIN.

To the Notes in Vol. ii. Ser. 1. p. 356 and Vol. iv. Ser. II. p. 423,

on the Wild Animals of Britain, and the Huntings of the Citizens of

London, may be added the following, in which it appears that the

Wild Cat is enumerated.—R. T.

Rotuli Hundredorum. 3° Edwardi I. Membr. 13.

Item dicunt, Quod Libertas Civitatis Domini Regis talis est : Quod

Cives, cum canibus suis possunt currere ad Lepores Vulpes Cuniculos

et Murelegos [Catos *] usque ad Pontem de Stanes ; et ad januam

Parci de Enefende, et ad Arcubus de Stratforde, et ad Crucem de

Wautham ; sed ista libertas impeditur per Warennam Comitis Cor-

nubiz, apud Histleworth +, et Warrenam Willielmi de Say, apud

Edelmeton ¢ ; nesciunt quo warranto.

“«« Wild cats,’ says Pennant, “‘ were formerly reckoned among the

beasts of chase ; as appears by the charter of Richard the Second to

the Abbot of Peterborough, giving him leave to hunt the hare, fox,

and wild cat. The use of the fur was in lining of robes, but it was

esteemed not of the most luxurious kind ; for it was ordained ‘ that

no abbess or nun should use more costly apparel than such as is made

of camel’s or cat’s skins.” In much earlier times it was also the ob-

ject of the sportsman’s diversion.

Felemque minacem

Arboris in trunco longis preefigere telis.

Nemesiani Cynegeticon, L. 55.”

* Tn the copy of the roll in the Chapter-house, Westminster, Membr. 3,

the reading is ‘“‘ Catos.”—Murilegus, Voss. Felis—Du Cange, v. Catta,

Cattus.

+ Isleworth. + Edmonton.

Meteorological Observations. 239

Errata in Mr. Babington’s Paper on Chara.

P. 84. C. mucronata was found at West, not Fast Grinstead.

P. 91. C. aspera. Mr. Borrer did not find this nor any other

species at Carlton, Notts; that station therefore must be erased.

P. 91. C. Hedwigit. For East read West Grinstead.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JAN. 1850.

Chiswick.—January 1. Sharp frost: fine: cloudy. 2. Hazy: fine. 3. Foggy:

hazy. 4. Foggy.: overcast: clear. 5,6. Frosty: very fine: clear and frosty.

7. Sharp frost : clear: severe frost at night. 8. Frosty: overcast. 9. Slight fall

of granular snow: overcast. 10. Snowing slightly: overcast. 11. Hazy through-

out. 12. Slight snow: dusky: hazy. 13. Hazy: clear and frosty. 14, 15.

Cloudy and cold. 16, 17. Densely overcast. 18. Foggy: snow at night, with

heavy rain. 19. Cloudy: drizzly. 20. Frosty. 21. Cloudy. 22. Hazy. 23.

Hazy: clear at night. 24. Foggy and drizzly. 25. Foggy: densely overcast :

rain at night. 26, Densely clouded: showery. 27. Sudden rise of barometer :

frosty : very fine. 28. Overcast. 29. Very fine: rain. 30. Foggy: very fine.

$1. Hazy and cold : heavy rain at night.

Mean temperature of the month .......... Sgantasneseonoc cane Gea!

Mean temperature of Jan. 1849 ..cc..ssseeseeseeeers Masces oor ots

Mean temperature of Jan. for the last twenty-four years . 36 *60

Average amount of rain in Jan. .......... AO Hogon00 coconacnscr 1°60 inch.

Boston.—Jan. 1. Fine. 2% Cloudy. 3,4. Cloudy: rainer.m. 5—8. Fine.

9—1li. Cloudy. 12. Cloudy: snowa.m. 13. Fine. 14—17. Cloudy. 18.

Cloudy : snow andrainr.m. 19. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 20, Cloudy : snow a.m.

21, 22. Cloudy. 23. Fine. 24. Cloudy. 25. Fine. 26, Cloudy: rain and

snow p.m. 27. Fine. 28. Cloudy. 29, 30. Fine. 31. Fine: rain p.m.—

N.B. ‘This has been the coldest January since the year 1838.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire.—Jan. 1. Frost: dull and threatening change.

2. Thaw: small rain. 3. Thaw: drizzle. 4. Slight frost early a.m.: rain and

wind p.m. 5. Snow half an inch deep: frost. 6. Frost very hard: snow lying.

7, 8. Frost very hard. 9. Frost very hard: thermometer 11°. 10, Cloudy,

looking like change. 11. Cloudy, but still freezing. 12. Still slight frost, but

unsettled. 13. Frost still slight: cloudy. 14. Frost, slight a.m. : harder p.m.

15. Bright and clear : hard frost : a little snow. 16. Frost ; slight shower of snow :

looking dull. 17. Hard frost: clear: snow lying. 18. Hard frost, and heavy

snow 4 inchesdeep. 19. Frost nut so hard: thaw p.m. : frost again. 20. Frost:

additional sprinkling of snow. 21. Frosthardagain. 22, Frost moderate. 23.

Thaw: mild: cloudy. 24. Thaw: snow melting fast. 25, Rain in the night :

thaw continuing. 26. Thaw a.m.: came on to freeze at 6 p.m. 27. Hard

frost a.M.: thaw and rain p.m. YS. Heavy rain: snow nearly gone. 29. Slight

frost a.M.: keener p.m. 90. Frost moderate : snow all gone. 31. Slight shower

of snow a.M.: frost: rain P.M.

Mean temperature of the month .........-0e:essesseneeeeeee ae BIOS

Mean temperature of Jan. 1849 .........ccscesseseereenscsees 36 ‘3

Mean temperature of Jan. for the last twenty-eight years. 34 °9

Average amount of rain in Jan. for the last twenty years. 2°60 inches.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—Jan.1. Cloudy. 2 Bright: fine: rain. 3.

Showers: sleet-showers, 4. Thunder: sleet-showers. 5. Thunder: showers.

6. Sleet-showers. 7. Sleet-showers: clear. 8. Cloudy. 9. Rain: cloudy. 10.

Cloudy : sleet-showers. 11. Cloudy: clear. 12. Snow-showers: cloudy. 13.

Cloudy: clear: frost: aurora. 14. Snow-showers: snow-drift. 15. Snow-drift.

16. Snow-drift: snow: thaw. 17. Rain: clear: frost: aurora. 18. Clear: frost;

cloudy. 19. Snow-showers: cloudy: aurora, 20. Cloudy. 21. Cloudy: thaw.

22. Showers: drizzle. 23,24. Drizzle. 25, Cloudy: snow-showers. 26. Snow-

showers: snow: clear. 27. Snow: frost: snow-showers. 28. Showers : drizzle.

29. Bright: large halo. 30. Fine: frost: clear: aurora. $1. Bright: rain.

leet

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THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[SECOND SERIES.]

No. 28. APRIL 1850.

XXII.—WNotes on the Salmon and Bull-trout.

By Joun Brackwatt, F.L.S

In a short paper on the Salmon, Salmo salar, Fi tahed in the

‘Annals and Magazine of Natural History,’ vol. xi. p- 409, I

have endeavoured, on physiological principles, to establish the

fact, that the erowth of that valuable fish is not by any means so

rapid as it is commonly supposed to be by ichthyologists. Ob-

servations having relation to this subject and also to the ceconomy

of the bull-trout, Salmo eriox, have been continued to be made,

as suitable occasions presented themselves, up to the present

period, on a plan similar to that previously adopted, and I am

induced to insist upon the decided advantage which a recourse

to physiological phenomena possesses in investigations of this

kind over the customary practice of mechanically marking fish

as objects of experiment, im consequence of the various sources

of error to which the latter mode of proceeding is exposed.

Persons, in their endeavours to determine the rate of growth

in fish by marking specimens, too frequently employ subordinate

agents to carry their intentions into effect, to whom not only

their system of marks is of necessity made known, but the anti-

cipated result is also communicated. Now should it so happen

that the agents are dependent upon their employers, or in any

respect interested i in making the event appear to coincide with

their preconceived opinions, the desired object may be easily

attained either by secretly marking specimens of a larger size

than those which they were instructed and perhaps observed to

select for the purpose, and by exhibiting them alone when re-

captured, or by adapting the marks to fish subsequently taken,

whose dimensions appear to be best suited to promote the end

they have in view. Besides, it often happens that all the par-

ticulars of the undertaking transpire, and becoming widely cir-

culated, other parties resident in the neighbourhood may apply

similar marks to fish of different sizes captured in the. same

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 16

242 My. J. Blackwall on the Salmon and Bull-trout.

stream, more especially to kelts, which are comparatively of little

value; and that this is not merely a supposititious case, or an

imaginary cause of delusion, I can confidently affirm from personal

experience. Perforations, and the total or partial excision of any

of the fins, may be objected to on account of the modifications

which such marks undergo with the growth of the fish, and also

on account of the mutilations to which those members are liable

from incidental circumstances.

Having thus succinctly directed attention to a few of the ob-

jections which may be urged against the manner in which

attempts to ascertain the rate of growth in fish by employing

artificial marks are generally conducted, I shall revert to the

method pursued in my own researches, already referred to at

the commencement of this article ; namely careful and frequently

repeated observations on the gradual loss of the teeth from the

vomer, on the order in which they are shed, and on the changes

known to take place in the figure of the caudal fin.

The usual number of teeth on the tongue of the salmon-smolt

and bull-trout-smolt of six or seven inches in length, when none

has been lost, is ten, arranged in a row of five on each side ;

occasionally I have counted as many as twelve in both species,

but ten appears to be the normal number. These teeth are not

shed, but most of them are toru away by violence in an irregular

manner as the fish advance in growth, so that a want of symmetry

in the two rows is conspicuous in much the greater number of

individuals. I may remark that such is the case also in every

particular with the teeth on the tongue of the common trout,

Salmo fario.

The teeth on the vomer of the salmon-smolt and bull-trout-

smolt commonly exceed twenty (in numerous instances I have

noticed twenty-four), a fact which the minute inspection of the

heads of both species, after having been placed in nests of the

great wood-ant, Formica rufa, and subjected to the anatomical

process so admirably effected by that mdustrious insect, fully

confirms. Unlike the teeth on the tongue, those on the vomer

are shed gradually; commencing at the posterior part and dis-

appearing in nearly regular succession as the fish increase in size ;

consequently, the loss of teeth from the vomer, taken in con-

junction with the form of the tail and the growth of these species,

affords to experienced observers a sufficiently exact criterion for

determining their relative ages within certain hmits.

Smolts of the salmon and bull-trout have the caudal fin much

forked ; but a progressive alteration in the shape of this organ is

effected by the more rapid elongation of its central rays as the

fish advance in growth, till, on the acquirement of its perfect

development, the posterior margin becomes straight in the

Mr. J. Blackwall on the Salmon and Bull-trout. 243

salmon and actually curved outwards in the bull-trout, thus

supplying the means of forming a comparative estimate of the

ages of both species.

In accordance with what is here stated, I find that specimens

weighing from half a pound to a pound and a half have the

caudal fin more or less forked, and the vomer well supplied with

teeth except at its posterior part, from which some are lost in-

variably. Specimens weighing from two to five pounds have

the posterior margin of the caudal fin either moderately forked,

nearly straight, or curved outwards, according to their size and

species, and usually have from three to seven or eight teeth on

the anterior part of the vomer, the number, after making a suitable

allowance for differences in condition, being almost always in-

versely as the weight; and individuals of large dimensions con-

stantly have the posterior margin of the caudal fin straight or

conspicuously curved outwards, and retai one or two teeth

only at the anterior extremity of the vomer, or are even without

any.

eae salmon and bull-trout weighing from about half a

pound to a pound ascend the river Conway during the month of

August in much greater numbers than at any other period of the

year, and as many of them are infested with that marine parasite

the Caligus curtus of Miiller in various stages of growth, there

can be no doubt that they have very recently quitted the salt

water. These fish, which from oft-repeated examinations of

numerous individuals are found to have the tail forked in a

greater or less degree, and uniformly to have lost some teeth

from the posterior part of the vomer, though its anterior part is

still amply provided with them, I feel thoroughly convinced are

identical with smolts of both species which descended the same

river in the preceding spring, having then the full complement

of teeth on the vomer; for salmon and bull-trout of smaller

dimensions do not at any time come up the Conway from the

sea, as may be ascertained by actual inspection in calm bright

weather, when the water is low and clear and the shoals of fish

can be distinctly seen; and if further proof be required, it is

abundantly supplied by the conclusive evidence obtained from

the large number of specimens taken annually. It is true that

I have occasionally procured salmon and bull-trout in the months

of March and April which have weighed six ounces only, but

they have always been males which had milted or females which

had deposited their ova and were out of condition, or what in

Scotland are denominated kelts.

I shall here introduce to notice a few examples illustrative of

the loss in weight which salmon and bull-trout undergo by the

act of spawning.

16%

244, Mr. J. Blackwall on the Salmon and Bull-trout.

On the 12th of November 1844, a salmon was captured

weighing fifteen pounds, the weight of the lobes of roe, which

contained a large quantity of ova in an advanced state of deve-

lopment, being two pounds and three-quarters.

A salmon captured on the 13th of November 1844 weighed

seven pounds and a half, and the weight of the lobes of roe,

which comprised ova almost in a fit state to be deposited, was

two pounds.

A bull-trout taken on the 18th of November 1844 weighed

five pounds and a half, the weight of the lobes of roe, which

contained ova in an advanced state of development, being one

pound and a quarter.

On the 11th of October 1847, a bull-trout weighing half a

pound was captured, whose lobes of roe, comprising ova nearly

ready for deposition, weighed two ounces.

A salmon weighing fifteen pounds and a half was taken on the

22nd of October 1847, and the lobes of roe, which contained ova

in an advanced state of development, weighed three pounds.

The lobes of roe, comprising highly developed ova, taken from

a salmon weighing twenty pounds, which was captured on the

10th of November 1847, weighed three pounds and fourteen

ounces.

Took the lobes of roe, containing ova on the point of bemg

deposited, from a salmon weighing sixteen pounds, which was

captured on the 26th of November 1847, and found their weight

to be four pounds.

From these instances it is apparent that the weight of salmon

and bull-trout may be diminished one-fourth by the emission of

thei ova alone, the weight of the collapsed ovaries with their m-

cluded germs being too insignificant to be taken into considera-

tion; and if to this cause of decreased ponderosity be added

another, namely deterioration in condition during the sojourn of

these species in fresh water, the absolute loss in weight may be

estimated at one-third or more, a circumstance which ought on

no account to be overlooked in attempts to determine their rate

of growth by marking individuals ; and this remark apples with

peculiar force when the subjects selected for experiment are kelts,

as, unfortunately, it is too commonly the practice to omit mea-

surement altogether on such occasions and merely to give a

statement of weight, which, unaccompanied by other data, is

evidently insufficient to decide the point in question.

In drawing up this paper I have purposely avoided applying

the Scotch term grilse to young salmon which have not spawned,

as I entertain the opmion that few appellations employed by

ichthyologists have been more abused or have led to greater con-

fusion and misapprehension than this.

Mr. J. Blackwall on the Salmon and Bull-trout. 245

It appears then, from the physiological facts detailed above,

that the growth of the salmon and bull-trout during their first

visit to the sea is much less rapid than it is commonly supposed

to be; and as in the shoals of these species, which are more

abundant in the Conway than any of the other migratory Sal-

monide, fish may be observed presenting every gradation of size

from the least to the greatest, it is reasonable to infer that their

rate of growth is not accelerated materially at any subsequent

period of their existence, especially as individuals of large dimen-

sions are found to be very disproportionate numerically to those

of a small or even of an average size.

By the cautious inspection of salmon and bull-trout in one of

the tributaries of the Conway running through my father’s land,

up which, when swollen with rain m the months of October and

November, they ascend for the purpose of depositing their spawn,

and by the frequent examination of their progeny in different

seasons of the year, I have satisfied myself that in their ceconomy

as well as in their rate of growth these species bear a close re-

semblance to each other. Both remain two years in the fresh

water after their extrication from the ovum, during which period,

notwithstanding the result of the conclusive experiments so

skilfully conducted by Mr. Shaw of Drumlanrig, they are still

indiscriminately named parr in this district*, and do not descend

to the sea till they have acquired their migratory dress or have

been converted into smolts, when they usually measure six or

seven inches in length and weigh from an ounce and a half to

two ounces. I have ascertained also, by the dissection of very

numerous specimens, that the males of the salmon and bull-trout

shed their milt before they make their first descent to the sea,

but that the females do not spawn till they return from their

first visit to the salt water ; indeed the ova are so little developed

in the month of May, at which time the principal migration sea-

ward takes place, as scarcely to be discerned without the aid of

a magnifier.

Among the external characters which serve to distinguish the

bull-trout-smolt from the salmon-smolt are a more robust and

trout-like figure ; a more decided prominence of the row of scales

forming the lateral line; a greater number of spots below that

line; a yellowish tinge on the lighter-coloured pectoral fins ; a

bright red tint at the extremity of the adipose fin; and a firmer

adhesion of the scales to the skin.

In conclusion, I shall briefly notice a few cases of rapid

changes in the colour of fish which have come under my own

* A bull-trout in its second year more nearly resembles a trout than a

salmon of the same age.

246 Mr. J. Blackwall on the Salmon and Bull-trout.

observation. Trout, suddenly transferred from their natural

haunts into wooden, metallic or earthenware vessels supplied

with water recently taken from the same stream in which they

were captured, speedily assume a lighter hue; and as this change

does not appear wholly to depend upon the colour or capacity

of the vessels in which they are placed, I am inclined to attribute

it primarily to the influence of fear, and in this opinion I am the

more confirmed from having frequently perceived a similar

transition in the hue of salmon soon after they have been hooked

by the angler. That this is not the sole occasion of sudden

alterations in the colour of fish I readily admit, for I have often

disturbed small flounders in the Conway, which on changing

their situation and reposing upon objects of a different hue from

those they had last quitted, soon became accommodated to this

circumstance of their novel position by undergoing a modification

of shade which harmonized with that of their resting-place and

effectually served to conceal them from ordinary observation.

Even death, as the disciples of Isaac Walton are well-aware, and

as the following anecdote clearly proves, does not immediately

put a stop to this chameleon-like transition of tint.

A gentleman of my acquaintance, a proficient in the art of fly-

fishing, had taken a young salmon weighing about a pound and

a half, which, in consequence of having been a long time in the

fresh water, had lost its brilliancy and had acquired a very dark

aspect ; this fish one of my children requested to be permitted to

carry, so after having inserted the longer and smaller end of a

slender forked twig under one of the gill-covers and drawn it

through the mouth till the prize was retained in the angle formed

by the fork, I gave it to the boy, who held it suspended with the

tail downwards. After the lapse of several minutes, perceiving

that the fish had lost all its blackness and had become perfectly

bright, I directed the attention of my acquaintance to it, who

could scarcely be persuaded that it was the same which he had

captured a short time before, but supposed that I had secretly

substituted another for it ; however, the speedy resumption of its

former dark complexion, which underwent no further mutation,

completely convinced him of its identity.

I shall not attempt to offer any explanation of the remarkable

physiological phenomenon here recorded; but, apart from the

mysterious operation of psychological agency, its cause must un-

doubtedly be sought for in the organization of the rete mucosum.

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Brunsfelsia. 247

XXIII.— Contributions to the Botany of South America.

By Joun Mizrs, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S.

[Continued from p. 210. ]

BRuUNSFELSIA.

Upon a previous occasion (huj. op. 11. 176) I suggested the pro-

priety of again separating Franciscea from Brunsfelsia, which

genera had been united into one, by Mr. Bentham, in his ex-

cellent Monograph on the Scrophulariacee (DeCand. Prodr. x.

198). With the view of carrying out this suggestion, I now offer

at greater length the observations on which that recommenda-

tion was founded. Although there exists a remarkable similarity

in several of their respective features, many essential points of

distinction may be observed between them : thus, in Brunsfelsia,

independently of the constant difference in the yellow colour of

the corolla, its tube is always comparatively of much greater

length, often ten or twelve times that of the calyx, and in all

cases is wider and somewhat funnel-shaped in the mouth; the

border too is much broader, of more fleshy consistence, more

deeply and unequally lobed, the segments being more or less

crenated and crispate and somewhat reflexed ; while in Franciscea

the tube is seldom more than three or four times the length of

the calyx, and though suddenly a little inflated above, is again

much contracted in the mouth, presenting a conspicuous and

prominent rim around its very narrow orifice; the colour of the

corolla is constantly of a violet or bluish hue, more or less intense ;

the lobes of the border are quite flat and rotate, and not at all

erispate. The anthers in Brunsfelsia are at first 2-celled, with

the confluent lobes affixed transversely, thus forming an oblong

body grooved across, four times broader than long; this bursts

by the upper marginal suture assuming the appearance of being

unilocular: it takes a vertical position by the inflection of the

filament.

In Franciscea, the anther, on the contrary, is always distinctly

1-lobed, 1-celled, almost circular and reniform, fixed at its sinus

upon the apex of the filament ; it is 2-valved, bursting by a nearly

marginal hippocrepiform line, and exhibits in the bottom of the

cell a fleshy prominent globular receptacle, to which the pollen-

grains are attached, as in Verbascum. The stigma is similarly

constructed in both genera, as is also the ovarium. In Fran-

ciscea the fruit is an oval capsule, inclosed within the persistent

calyx, and covered with a thick coriaceous pericarp, which in one

species almost prevents its dehiscence : in such instances the su-

tural line is always evident, and by pressure the fruit bursts by

248 Mr. J. Miers on the genus Brunsfelsia.

these sutures: in most cases, the capsule (which is 2-locular)

splits at its apex by four vertical lines: it presents few seeds

(about ten) without any intervening pulp. In Brunsfelsia, on

the contrary, the fruit is a globular deep orange-coloured drupe

many times larger than the calyx, about the size of a small apple,

with a soft pulpy envelope inclosing a coriaceous putamen, con-

taining many seeds immersed in a fleshy pulp. Franciscea grows

only to the size of low bushes or small shrubs, while Brunsfelsia

attains the dimensions of large trees, B. undulata being 20 feet

high, and B. americana growing to the size of an apple-tree with

a trunk as thick as the human body.

Brounsretsta, Sw. (char. reform.).—Calyx brevissimus, urceo-

latus, profunde 5-dentatus. Corolla hypocraterimorpka, car-

nosa, tubo gracili, cylindrico, calyce 4—12-ies longiore, fauce

paulo infundibuliformi, limbo valde expanso, obliquo, ad

medium 5-fido, lobis mzequalibus, carnosis, rotundatis, undu-

lato-crispatis, subreflexis, inferiore majori, 2 superioribus mi-

noribus, zestivatione valde imbricatis, maximo exteriori. Sta-

mina 4, didynama, inclusa; jfilamenta sursum incrassata et

icurva, 2 breviora inferiora et lobo majore opposita: anthere

oblongze, sub-bilobze, sub-biloculares, lobis transversim latiori-

bus et confluentibus, rma marginali 2-valvatim hiantes, hine

pseudo-1-loculares. Ovarium conicum, sessile, glandula basali

fere obsoleta, aut nulla, 2-loculare, placentis carnosis, valde

prominulis, dissepimento utrinque adnatis, multi- ovulatis.

Stylus gracilis, filiformis, longitudine tubi corollz, apice in-

crassatus, interdum subincurvus. Stigma clavatum, 2-labia-

tum, lobis rotundatis, semi-globosis, glandula magna viscosa

prominula interposita. Drupa magna globosa, calyce parva

patente suffulta, epicarpio carnoso; putamen cartilagineum,

indehiscens, rarius in valvulis 2 separabile. Semzna plurima,

ovata, compressa, subreniformia, ¢esta tenui fragili, minute

scrobiculata, integumento membranaceo, angulo basali chalaza

fusca notato. Embryo in albumime carnoso arcuatus, hetero-

tropus, cotyledonibus ovatis, compressis, accumbentibus, radi-

cula tereti 2-plo latioribus et 3-plo brevioribus.—Arbores An-

tillani, folus alternis, integris, oblongis, sepius nitidis ; floribus

speciosis, solitariis, vel paucis, subcymosis, terminalibus, corolla

flava vel pallide ochroleuca.

1. Brunsfelsia americana, Sw., DC. Prodr. x. 200.

2, ————- undulata, Sw., DC. Prodr. x. 200.

3. ————- nitida, Benth., DC. Prodr. x. 201.

4, —————- violacea, Lodd. Bot. Cab. t.792.—Subglabra, foliis

lanceolato-ellipticis, utrinque acuminatis, subundulatis, supra

glabris, minute punctato-rugosis, subtus pallide glaucis et pube

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Franciscea. 249

glanduloso-pruinoso vestitis, apice utrinque, costa, nervisque

subtus prominulis, rubro-violaceis; floribus subsolitariis, corolle

limbo magno, undulato-crispato, flavo, tubo ochroleuco calyce

12-16-ies longiore—In Antillis, v. v. in hort. Kew. cult.

The leaves of this species are 8 inches long, 22 inches broad,

on a thick and deeply channeled petiole less than half an inch

in length. The peduncle is } inch long, the calyx 23 to 3 lines,

cleft half-way into five obtuse erect teeth witli ciliate margins : the

tube of the corolla is 23 inches long, 2 lines in diameter, swelling

below the mouth to a width of nearly half an inch ; the border is

much expanded, and is 2} inches in diameter*.

FRANCISCEA.

Having offered under the preceding head, the reasons that

appear to justify the separation of Franciscea from Brunsfelsia, I

now give the amended character of the former, as contrasted with

the latter genus.

FrancisczA, Pohl. (char. emend.).—Calyz inflato-tubulosus, ore

obliquo, 5-dentato. Corolla hypocraterimorpha, tubo angustato,

apice dorso subinflato, fauce in oram valde prominulam obli-

quam constricto, limbo obliquo, rotato, expanso, ultra medium

5-fido, lobis inzequalibus, rotundatis, integris, superiore max-

imo, zstivatione quincuncialiter imbricatis, smubus introflexis.

Stamina 4, didynama, inclusa, brevia, infra dilatationem tubi per

paria inserta, 2 longiora infra lobum maximum et superiorem

sita; filamenta carnosula, compressa, corrugata, apice inflexa ;

anthere reniformes, compress, sinu aflixee, 1-loculares, rima

marginali 2-valvatim hiantes, receptaculo pollinifero globoso in

sinu conspicuo. Ovarium obovatum, glandulo carnoso stipitato

imo cinctum, 2-loculare, placentis carnosis, prominentibus,

dissepimento utrinque adnatis, multiovulatis. Stylus filiformis,

apice valde incrassatus et inflexus. Stigma 2-labiatum, lobis

brevibus, crassiusculis, obtusis, intus glandulosis. Capsula

ovata, calyce persistente inclusa, coriacea, 2-valvis, 2-locularis,

valvis placenta demum libera parallelis. Semina pauca, ma-

juscula, oblonga, subangulata, dorso convexa, hilo ventrali,

conspicuo, cavo: testa reticulato-foveolata. Embryo hilo con-

trarius, in axi albuminis carnosi incurvus, cotyledonibus ovatis,

compressis, radicula tereti gracili mfera triplo brevioribus et

2-plo latioribus.—Suffrutices Brasilienses et Peruviani. Folia

alterna, integerrima, oblonga. Cyme terminales, dense capitu-

leformes vel laxius pauciflore, rarius ad florem unicum redacte ;

* This species with generic details will be delineated in ‘ Illustr. South

Amer. Plants,’ plate 56.

250 -Mr. J. Miers on the genus Margaranthus.

bractese parve: flores speciosi, violacei, interdum pallidiores,

corolle tubo calyce subequante, rarius 2—4-plo longiore *.

1. Franciscea macrophylla, Cham. Schl. Linn. u. 601.

2. -————_ hydrangeformis, Pohl. Pl. Bras. 1. 7. tab. 7.

3. ———— capitata. Brunsfelsia capitata, Bth., DC. Prodr.

x: 198.

4. pauciflora, Cham. Schl. Linn. 1. 600.

5. ———— Bahiensis. Brunsfelsia Bahiensis, Bth., DC. Prodr.

x. 590.

6. ———— calycina. Brunsfelsia calycina, Bth., DC. Prodr.

x. 199.

y. obovata. Brunsfelsia obovata, Bth., DC. Prodr.

x 199.

8. confertiflora, Pohl. Pl. Bras. i. 6. tab. 5. F. di-

varicata, Pohl. ibid. tab. 6.

9. ramosissima, Pohl. Pl. Bras. i. 5. tab. 4.

0. acuminata, Pohl. Pl. Bras. i. 4. tab. 3.

Li latifolia, Pohl. Pl. Bras. i. 3. tab. 2.

2. ———— grandiflora. Brunsfelsia grandiflora, Don, N.

Edin. Phil. Journ. 1829.

13. ———— maritima. Brunsfelsia maritima, Bth., DC. Prodr.

x. 200.

. —— Hopeana, Hook. Bot. Mag. t.2829. F. uniflora,

Pohl. Pl. Bras. 1. 2. tab. 1.

15. ———— australis. Brunsfelsia australis, Bth., DC. Prodr.

x. 200.

MARGARANTHUS,

On a former occasion (hwj. op. vol. iv. p. 186), although I had

not seen any specimen, I noticed this genus in order to contrast

it with other allied genera. Since then, I have been glad to

meet with a second very distinct species, that has enabled me to

comprehend more fully its structural features, and these I find

correspond well with the very accurate observations of Prof.

Schlechtendal, upon which the generic character (loc. cit.) was

founded. I proceed therefore to describe the plant alluded to.

1. Margaranthus tenuis (n. sp.) ;—herba glaberrima, dichotome

ramosa, ramis divaricatis, tenuibus, angulato-sulcatis; folis

lanceolatis, utrinque acutis, caulinis obsolete pauci-dentatis,

longe et tenuissime petiolatis, junioribus floralibus linearibus ;

floribus pedunculatis, solitariis, axillaribus.—)Mexico (v. s. im

herb. Lindley. Coulter, n. 1220 bis).

This plant bears much resemblance to that figured by Prof.

* Sectional details showing the characters of this genus will be given in

vol. ii. plate 59 A. of the ‘ Illustr. of South Amer. Plants.’

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Margaranthus. 251

Schlechtendal. -Its stems however are far more slender, more

deeply angular, quite smooth, with internodes about 2 inches

apart ; the radical leaves may probably be of greater size, but the

largest leaves in the specimen referred to, are about 13 inch long,

upon a very slender petiole of 3 inch, and are about 4 lines broad,

with four or five somewhat obsolete teeth on the margin. The

flowers are seen only in the nascent axils, while the young leaves

have not attained the length of 4 lines ; the capillary peduncle is

very hairy, and about 2 lines long ; the calyx is scarcely a line in

length, cylindrical, and is densely covered, especially below the

middle, with articulate and rigid white hairs: the corolla is

tubular, and contracted at base to the diameter of one-third of a

line, but as it emerges from the calyx, it swells suddenly in a

somewhat globular form to a diameter of 2 lines, marked with

five grooves opposite the stamens, and five intermediate saccate

projections, which are below the five minute short teeth, that

crown the suddenly contracted mouth of the corolla, which is here

even narrower than the inferior portion of the tube; it is entirely

smooth and apparently of a lurid white, the saccate lobes seeming

of a dull violet hue ; outside it is smooth, inside somewhat hairy ;

the stamens, nearly the length of the corolla, are wholly included,

the filaments bemg very short, smooth, somewhat arcuate, and

inserted into the basal contraction of the tube ; the anthers are

four times the length of the filaments, linear, with two narrow

cells, fixed along their whole length, upon a narrow dorsal con-

nective which forms an extension of the filament ; the cells burst

by a longitudinal line in front, and also by an apical pore, for

the external valves are there reflected on each side. The ovarium

is small, obovate, supericr, and fixed upon a somewhat two-lobed

annular gland; the style is exserted beyond the mouth of the

corolla, is smooth, somewhat subulate, and truncated at its apex

by a small stigmatic pore. The matured fruit, in consequence of

the apparently quick growth of the plant, is found only in the di-

chotomy of the branches, where the peduncle is from 2 to 8 lines

long: the calyx is now become greatly enlarged, having acquired

a globular form, 4 lines in diameter, very finely reticulated, and

contracted in the mouth, which is closed by a very small five-

toothed orifice ; the included berry is globular, 22 lines in dia-

meter, with a very thin membranaceous pericarp, apparently

without pulp, and probably once filled with an aqueous juice ; it

is two-celled, and contains about fourteen seeds, which are of a

large size compared with the smallness of the berry; these are

flat, thin, nearly oval, reniform; the testa is scrobiculate and

brittle; the horny and rather translucent albumen incloses a

somewhat spiral filiform embryo, in which the radicle (at least

three times the length of the cotyledon of equal diameter) points

252 Mr. J. Miers on the genus Leucophyllum.

towards the basal angle of the seed below the hilum, which is

seen in the marginal sinus*.

LEUCOPHYLLUM.

This genus was first published and figured in the ‘ Plante

{Hquinoctiales,’ and Bonpland in his observations upon it re-

marks, that although it appears to belong to Scrophulariacee, on

account of its didynamous stamens, it bears in its habit more

the aspect of the Solanacee, and from this circumstance, the

specific name of L. ambiguum was evidently given to the species

he described.

Professor Kunth, in his ‘ Nov. Gen. et Sp.’ 1. p. 360, observes,

that this genus may be considered as nearly allied to Maurandia

aud Antirrhinum molle, but I cannot perceive any such analogy.

Dr. Lindley, in his ‘ Nat. Syst. Bot.’ p. 292, placed this genus

in Scrophulariacee, among the tribe Veronice, and Dr. Endlicher

in his ‘ Gen. Plant.’ follows this example ; lastly, Mr. Bentham in

his admirable monograph of this order arranges it in his tribe

Gratiolee, and his subtribe Aptosimee (DC. Prod. x. 344). After

a careful examination of the structure of this genus, I have come

toa very different conclusion, and hope to show, by good evidence,

that its true place is near Atropa and Lycium, and therefore not

among the Scrophulariacee. The structure of the corolla in

Leucophyllum precisely corresponds with that of Atropa, having

a campanulate tube, with a small border shghtly oblique, of five

nearly equal rounded lobes, which are imbricately disposed in

estivation, and five somewhat unequal stamens, two being always

shorter ; and it sometimes happens that the anthers of one of the

three other stamens are abortive, or the fifth stamen altogether

wanting; and such is the state, I conclude, of the species described

by Bonpland, as I have noticed in Hartweg’s specimen, although,

in Galeotti’s plant of L. ambiguum, I have found the flowers to be

always pentandrous, as in L. campanulatum. All the species of

Leucophyllum resemble Lycium in their fruticose habit, with

solitary, axillary, violet-coloured flowers, and one species has an

evident tendency to become spinous, like this last-mentioned

genus. Had Leucophyllum possessed a baccate fruit, its position

would unquestionably have been between Atropa and Lycium ;

but as it is capsular, it will fall into a new tribe, which may be

called Leucophyllee, that will stand between the Hyoscyamee and

Atropee (huj. op. ii. 166). The following is an outline of its

generic features :—

Lrevucoruyiium, Bonpl. (char. reform.).—Calyz parvus, pro-

funde 5-fidus, laciniis eequalibus, lanceolatis, erectis. Corolla

* A figure of this species and its analytical details will be given in plate 57

of the ‘ Illustr. South Amer. Plants.’

Mr. J. Miers on the genus Leucophyllum. 253

campanulata, tubo amplo infundibuliformi, limbo 5-fido, sub-—

bilabiato, lobis fere equalibus, antico subminori reflexo, 2

posticis erectiusculis, omnibus oblongis, obtusis, zstivatione

imbricatis. Stamina 5, inequalia, inclusa, corolle dimidio

longitudine, 2 antica breviora, quinto interdum rudimentario,

rarius omnino deficiente ; fi/amenta imo tubi affixa, glabra, basi

crassiuscula, apice subdeclinata ; anthere sagittato-bilobe, lobis

apice nexis, longitudinaliter intus dehiscentibus, quinti inter-

dum minime, aut abortive. Ovariwm oblongum, glandula

annulari fere obsoleta imo cinctum, 2-loculare, ovulis plurimis,

dissepimento medio prominulo et incrassato utrinque adnatis.

Stylus erectus, filiformis, apice declinatus, longitudine sta-

minum. Stigma breviter bilabiatum, lobis adpressis. Capsula

ovata, ccriacea, calyce persistente cincta, septicide dehiscens,

valvulis apice 2-fidis, marginibus introflexis, imo basi columne

subglobose placentiferee adherentibus. Semina plurima, mi-

nuta, transversa, oblonga, compressa, dorso plana, quadrato-

angulata, longitudinaliter curvata, striato-rugulosa, hilo ventrali

et fere basal. Hmbryo in albumine carnoso oblongus, curvatus,

subcompressus, cotyledonibus oblongis, radicula basali tereti

vix latioribus, et 2-plo longioribus.—Suffrutices Mezicani, pube

brachiato densissime tomentoso vestiti; folia alterna, subparva,

crassa, uninervia, breviter petiolata; flores solitari, axillares,

Solio subequales, breviter pedunculati, corolle tubo calyce 2-3-

plo-ve lonyiore.

1. Leucophyllum ambiguum, Humb., Bonpl. Pl. A’quin. u. 95.

tab. 109; H. B. K. 1. 361 ;—foliis ovatis, basi apiceque acu-

tiusculis, utrinque densissime tomentosis, cinerascentibus, ju-

nioribus pallide incanis; laciniis calycinis lineari-lanceolatis,

extus tomentosis, intus glabris, nitidis, 3-nerviis, corollz tubo

amplo 3-plo brevioribus ; ovarii apice, stylique basi pilosis.—

Mexico. Actopan, Prov. Mexico, alt. 6600 ped., Bonpland.

Atotonilco el Grande, Prov. Durango, Hartweg, n. 857. Zi-

mapan, Galeotti, n. 7210.

This is described by Bonpland as a tall shrub, 8 to 15 feet in

height, with a stem slightly tortuous, 4 or 6 inches in diameter,

covered with a slightly rent bark. It is a very conspicuous ob-

ject in the forests, showing itself at a distance by its silvery leaves,

and forming a striking contrast with the dark green foliage of

the surrounding trees. Its leaves are from 3 to $ inch long,

5 or 6 lines broad, with a petiole 2 lines in length; its calyx

measures 2 or 3 lines, and is smooth within ; its violet-coloured

corolla is } an inch long, smooth outside and pilose within. This

species may readily be distinguished from the others, by its leaves

being acute at both ends; in the older ones the tomentum is of a

254 Mr. J. Miers on the genus Leucophyllum.

blackish gray, in the younger leaves of a pale yellowish white ;

the small branchlets are 4 to 8 inches long, almost bare, pro-

minently knotty at the articulation of the fallen petioles, with

only a few leaves towards the extremity, and with solitary flowers

in their axils. Bonpland describes the stamens to be didynamous,

quite glabrous, and the upper lobe of the corolla woolly within,

and the tube pilose inside to the insertion of the stamens. Kunth,

who probably examined very imperfect specimens, says, on the

contrary, that it is quite smooth within, and that it has a convex

palate marked with orange-coloured glandular spots, but I can

perceive no indication of such a palate. In the above-mentioned

specimens, the calycine segments are smooth within ; the corolla

is also smooth, and hairy only in the mouth and upon the lobes

of the border. Galeotti’s specimen, as I have before observed,

has distinctly five fertile stamens, Hartweg’s has only four.

2. Leucophyllum Texanum, Benth., DC. Prodr. x. 344 ;—ramis

glabris, tortuosis, nodosis, subspinescentibus, junioribus to-

mentosis; foliis obovato-oblongis, apice rotundatis, utrinque

cano-tomentosis ; calyce extus tomentoso, laciniis lato-lanceo-

latis, intus pubescentibus et 3-nerviis ; corolla precedentis, sta-

minibus 4 didynamis, cum quinti rudimento, filamentis com-

planatis, leevibus: capsula apice pilosa.—Mexico, Prov. Texana,

v.s. in herb. Hook. (Laredo, Berlandier.)

In this species the branchlets are more glabrous, more tortuous,

and more knotty at the axils of the fallen leaves, often spimous

at the short abortive branchlets, the leaves more obovate-oblong

and rounded at the apex, the younger leaves incanous, not fer-

ruginous, the calycine segments more oblong and broader ; the

leaves are 7 or 8 lines long, 4 or 5 lines broad, the petiole bemg

scarcely appreciable; the calyx is 14 line in length; the corolla,

including the lobes of the border, is } inch long: the calyx,

though persistent, does not increase in size in fruit ; the capsule

is small, ovate, 12 line long, the two valves being inflected at the

margin, very thick and coriaceous, and bifid nearly to the base.

3. Leucophyllum campanulatum (n. sp.) ;—ramis substrictis, ra-

mulis abbreviatis, approximatis ; foliis ovato-orbicularibus,

crassis, utrinque densissime tomentosis, adultis incanis, jJu-

nioribus confertissimis, ferrugineis; floribus axillaribus ideo

arctis, folio superantibus, calycis lacinis crassis, lanceolatis,

apice obtusiusculis; corolla preecedentibus dimidio majore,

glabra, intus simpliciter hirta, ovarii apice, stylique basi,

dense pilosis.—Mexico, v. s. in herb. Lindl. et Hook. (Zimapan,

Prov. Mex., Coulter, n. 1271).

This species is very distinct from the two former, its leaves

On the Heights of some of the Cotswold Hills. 255

being more orbicular, 8 lines long, 7 lines broad, on a channeled

petiole 2 lines in length, the older ones being always incano-

velutinous, the younger of a deep ochreous colour ; the branchlets

are very much crowded, and not longer than 1 or 2 inches; the

axils much closer, with more copious foliage, hence the flowers

appear densely crowded : the corolla is of a deep violet-blue, 7 or

8 lines in length, broader in proportion ; its border is somewhat

oblique, with five rounded lobes, the anterior one more reflected,

the two posterior lobes more erect ; it is nearly smooth outside,

and very pilose within. Another characteristic feature is, that

the upper moiety of the ovarium, and the lower portion of the

style, are densely covered with white hairs, the basal gland being

smooth ; it has constantly five stamens, of which the three anterior

are somewhat shorter. The hairs of the corolla and pistillum

are simple and articulated, those of the calyx stellately plumose,

as in the rest of the plant*.

XXIV.— Heights of some points of the Cotswold Hills, with some

experiments with the Aneroid Barometer. By W. Henry

Hyert, Esq., F.R.S. +

A Few months ago, in a formal Report, an Inspector under the

Board of Health stated that ‘‘ Cheltenham has been estimated to

stand 200 ft. above the level of the sea, and the height of the

Cotswold Hills above the same level is about 300 ft. :’—he meant

probably to say “above the level of Cheltenham ;” thus making

the absolute height of these hills 500 feet above the sea—still

an estimate rather wide of the mark when given under the nose

of Cleeve Cloud, which exceeds 1000.

It is true the case required no accuracy, but such a degree of

maccuracy could scarcely have appeared had a more general

knowledge of the truth prevailed in this part of the country.

Indeed it has been for years matter of complaint that even the

relative heights of the several remarkable points of our Cotswolds

were unknown—Painswick, Birdlip, Leckhampton and Cleeve

Cloud each having their respective champions, but with no

authority to quote, nor umpire to determine between them.

Having consulted some of the scientific Members of the Cots-

wold Club on the point without success, I ventured to suggest

that they at least should try to set it at rest. The coincidence of

the present Ordnance Survey for the improvement of the river

Severn, having their signal staffs actually standing on the very

* A drawing of this plant with sectional details will be shown in plate

58 of the ‘ Illustr. South Amer. Plants.’

+ Read to the Cotswold Nat. Hist. Club, Sept. 27, 1849.

256 Mr. W.H. Hyett on the Heights of some of the

eminences in question, offered an opportunity not to be lost of

having measurements made.

I therefore proposed to our excellent President to get (as best

I could) a list of the heights of those hills from which we derive

our name, and which in the course of our excursions we so fre-

quently climb ;—a subject of peculiar interest therefore to our-

selves, and not without importance to all who study the geology,

botany, &c. of this range. Immediately on receiving his con-

currence I wrote to Capt. Yolland, R.E., who has the mapping

department of the Ordnance under his direction, and the com-

mand of the parties now executing the survey of the Severn.

Observing that the signal staffs of their present Trigonometrical

Survey afforded the easy means of taking the vertical as well as

the horizontal angles, and of acquiring all the information

which the public needed, I ventured to express a hope to that

officer that he would afford it.

In reply he promised to communicate the information re-

quested, and has since most obligingly supplied the approximate

heights above the mean level of the sea of sixteen remarkable

points in our vicinity which I shall presently read to you, together

with other data which I have myself obtained by the aid of the

aneroid barometer lately invented in France, and much vaunted

as applicable to the measurements of heights. 1 then procured

one of these instruments from Dent, with his pamphlet upon it,

and will now give the results of its comparison with the mea-

surements received from Capt. Yolland.

It may be as well however first to make a few remarks on this

new instrument, with a view to show how far it may be appli-

cable in its present state to the purpose of measuring altitudes.

It is probably known to most of you, that im carrymg a mercu-

rial barometer to the top of a high mountain, the mercury sinks

from two causes, the one purely barometric, the other thermo-

metric. Whilst for every 850 feet of perpendicular ascent the

weight of the air decreases so as to show a fall, in its counterpoise

the quicksilver, of about an inch—for every 300 feet of ascent there

is also a decrease in the temperature of 1° Fahrenheit, occasioning

a proportional contraction in the quicksilver in the tube, making

it stand so much lower than it ought to do were its descent due

to the diminished pressure of the air alone. To calculate there-

fore correctly the height indicated by the mercurial barometer,

allowance is always made for decreasing temperature, and tables

have been compiled for this purpose from the known rate at

which mercury contracts by cold.

The same double effect is doubtless produced in the aneroid

barometer, which Mr. Dent says 1s compensated by means of gas

Cotswold Hills, with observations on the Aneroid Barometer. 257

in the “vacuum-vase”’ of the instrument. This however is, I

believe, a mistake*.

In its present form, then, I conclude that a correction for

temperature is needed for the exact measurement of heights.

There are also two palpable defects, one of which is that the hand

or index is frequently so far from the face of the dial, that its

parallax leads to error in reading off the scale, which may easily

amount to 20 feet in height. This however may be somewhat

corrected by bending the hand so as to make it nearly touch the

face of the dial. The other fault is that the inch is subdivided

into only forty parts, one of which corresponds to 22 feet in

height. It would be better to have it graduated to hundredths

—so that the actual reading off should tally at once with the

barometric tables now in use—or if the size of the dial will not

admit of this, to subdivide the inch into fifty instead of forty parts,

so that each division should be ‘02 of an inch. At present, in

order to use the tables, it is necessary in reading off to change

the vulgar fractions into decimals, which, in jotting down, fre-

quently leads to troublesome mistakes.

It is full time however to come to the table which I promised

of the

Approximate altitudes above the mean level of the Sea supplied

by Capt. Yolland, R.E.

By Ordnance By Aneroid Difference

Survey. Barometer. by Aneroid.

feet. feet. feet.

Tewkesbury Church, surface of ground ... 47

Gloucester Cathedral, surface of ground... 56

Barrow Hill, surface of ground .......+0++. 198

Perret PELs conc caleitent owsseenctaneestins 292

Christ Church tower, Cheltenham (top)... 343

RIOMESOVV OOM ELUN fe csavcesevanceesirmt sveesins 652 634°2 —17'8

See caRMR MEISE cd occa hc biedin «hein acre vapin adie vans 715 691°4 —23°6

Me HCOMUEG PLTML ss. 25 ce tee ete atcctcee cents 725 740:27 +15:27

Finger-post on top of Frocester Hill ...... ...... 780

Rtas tanrny lla: <3 250 Shay og uag «tps oie end seen 733

irs sh sy m0nd Ss Hall .25....c-s0cs-nervens mami sebees 810

igs acco tains Scet cadena an ence aaciaa 823 825'5 +2°5

PICK EU cc canscsuetsecstercecsrecearsae 929 935°9 +6°9

BEV MELUIME TOT idee achat tccwlecoscnctedesvarecs 966

PRR PERUT GO5h- cca do cmediushads. Seces tessa 969 960°5 —8°5

Leckhampton Hill ...0....s.0ceseseeees ways 978 969°9 —8']

Base of Bredon Hill tower ........seeeseeeee 979

Cleeve Hill or Cleeve Cloud ............... 1081 1066°8 —14°2

MPAIV ENTE ont aia nnaeadsehreescadee senses detec: 1396

With the exception of Standish and Robin’s Wood Hills, the

* T have since ascertained it to be one. M. Vidi himself informed me in

November last, that although he at one time made some experiments on

the use of gas in the “ vacuum ”’—(qy.) “‘ vase,”’—he has now rejected it

altogether.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.2. Vol. v. 17

258 On the Heights of some of the Cotswold Hills.

height of each of which is the result of a single observation with

the aneroid, the agreement of its indications with those of the Ord-

nance determinations is very remarkable, considering the errors

to which the present construction of that instrument render it

hable. I must observe, however, that they are brought nearer to

the trigonometrical measurements by my having rejected some

of my first attempts, in which I am almost certain that I made

mistakes, and by subsequently adopting the mean of two or three

observations, a process which always reduces the extremes of

error. Thus for Painswick Hill I had three observations—

One pivine if.) 919 teak.

PANNOGHER oo. pis pgce 4, ON Oe

AM C7 8 eRe RR a ef!

giving a mean result of 935:9 feet, which differs only 6-9 feet

from Capt. Yolland’s figures.

I am sorry that I have not had time to try more of our heights ;

but I thought it better to repeat the observations on the same hills

in order to obtain mean results, and thus to sift my own probable

errors, than to persevere in them undetected.

Throwing out of consideration, then, some of my first trials,

before I was quite up to the use of the instrument and its tables,

the results which I have just given are highly satisfactory. But

on the other hand I tried it against the published sections of the

Cheltenham and Great Western Railway with less success, as the

following comparison will show :—

By Company’s By Aneroid. Error.

sections.

feet. feet. feet.

Stroud station above Gloucester station 116°3 124°75 +8°45

Summit-level at top of Saperton tun- a ; :

nel above Gloucester .........e+008- } 352°2 413°7 +615

Now these were the means of two trials; in the latter case

the discrepancy is greater than I can easily explain, unless the

oscillations of the railway carriage have any effect on the instru-

ment, which I can hardly suspect ; for in all other cases, however

carefully carried, it must have been exposed to rough shaking*.

On the whole therefore I must suspend my opinion as to the

merits of the aneroid for measuring heights till after further ex-

periments, and at any rate would recommend the improvements

in the construction, to which I have before alluded, to be effected,

viz. the decimal graduation to be adopted, and the index to be

placed closer to the face of the instrument.

P.S. Since the compilation of the above paper I have been

* The error may be this—that the Company’s sections were published

before the completion of their line, which was eventually carried at a rather

higher level than these sections show.

On the Embryogeny of Hippuris vulgaris. 259

fortunate enough, on a visit to Paris, to make the acquaintance

of the ingenious inventor of the aneroid—which I find, in its

present state, he regards as a domestic rather than a scientific

instrument, —an estimate of its capabilities in which its continued

use leads me very much to concur. Still, while I find it per-

fectly well adapted to the house purposes of a common weather-

glass, I can say no less of it as an instrument for taking heights,

than that it is far more commodious and much less likely to get

out of order than a mercurial barometer—and when limited, as

my trials were, to heights not exceeding 12U0 feet, that it

exhibits quite sufficient accuracy for general purposes—a Nad

which I have no doubt in its present form may be extended to

heights of some 2500, and were the index graduated to 24 or 25

inches of the mercurial barometer, probably to the height of any

hills in Great Britain.

M. Vidi, however, has made some elaborate trials towards a

more purely scientific instrument. If he persevere, I have no

doubt he will succeed.

The grand Exhibition of Works of Art in London in 1851,

offers him a good opportunity for submitting his invention to more

general notice,—and, to the judges perhaps, a not inappropriate

object for a premium.—W. H. H.

XXV.—On the Embryogeny of Hippuris vulgaris. By Joun

Scorr Sanperson, F.B.S.E., Member of the Royal Medical

Society of Edinburgh*.

Tue subject of the origin and development of the embryo has

been lately brought before botanical readers so frequently in the

various journals appropriated to vegetable physiology, and so

much has been done by so many observers in the elucidation

of the subject, that it must appear somewhat uncalled for to

occupy your time with facts and observations which are only re-

petitions of what has been much better detailed by others in

regard to other species, and by which therefore these results can

only be corroborated.

As however the observations referred to are contained in foreign

journals, and may have escaped the notice of many members

whose attention has not been directed to this particular branch

of botanical science, I trust that the following details will not

prove wholly unacceptable, more especially as they will enable

me to lay before you some of those highly important generaliza-

tions, which are to be obtained from the splendid researches of

Hofmeister, Unger, Tulasne, and others, on the subject of em-

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Feb. 14, 1850. .

260 Mr. J.S. Sanderson on the Embryogeny

bryogeny. We shall sce as we proceed, that we are now enabled

to construct a morphological type of development complete in all

its parts, and applicable to all the hitherto investigated orders of

phanerogamous plants.

Mippuris vulgaris belongs to the natural order Halorageacee,

which contains only three British genera, Myriophyllum, Hip-

puris and Callitriche, all the species of which are water-plants

with floating and submerged leaves. They appear to be distin-

guished by their submerged leaves possessing distinct bundles

of spiral vessels, a fact which may be well seen in the common

Callitriche verna, and has been lately shown by Barnéoud in those

curious plants the Trapas which float on the rivers of Southern

Europe, and are considered by many botanists as belonging to

this order.

The ovary of Hippuris is one-celled, containing a single pen-

dulous ovule, attached nearly at its apex by a fleshy funiculus.

In its earliest condition I have not had an opportunity of ex-

amining it. If however it be examined at a period considerably

before that of impregnation and before the development of the

solitary anther is completed, it is observed to have become com-

pletely anatropous. The nucleus lies loosely in the cavity formed

by the envelopes, which completely surround it, attached to the

chalaza. The envelope is not distinguishable into primine and

secundine, and extends considerably beyond the apex. It con-

sists of small hexagonal cells arranged in series, each contaiming

a nucleus. On one side, the raphe, consisting of a bundle

of imperfect spirals, is seen passing from the hilum to the

chalaza.

The nucleus, the structure of which cannot be seen on account

of the opacity of the envelopes without dissecting it out, consists

of a large cell, the embryonic vesicle, extending from its apex to

about two-thirds of its length, which is surrounded by a single

layer of very transparent, gelatinous-looking nucleated cells,

which are however deficient at the apex, at which point the em-

bryo-sac seems to be totally uncovered.

Contained in this embryo-sac is seen the embryo-vesicle. This

body consists of a single elongated cell attached to the free ex-

tremity of the embryo-sac. ‘This cell (the embryo-vesicle) con-

tains a granular protoplasm in which here and there globules are

observed to float. It probably originates at a very early period

from the micropyle-end of the embryo-sac, but I have not been

able to trace it at any earlier stage than that represented. The

form which it presents, of an elongated cell attached to the end

of the embryo-sac next the micropyle, and smaller at its attached

than at its free extremity, is prevalent throughout the Scrophula-

riacee, Crucifere, and other orders.

of Hippuris vulgaris. 261

From the fact that the embryo-vesicle is developed at so long

a period before the bursting of the anther, little doubt can remain

as to its existing prior to the act of impregnation, and not being,

as supposed by Mirbel and Spach, a consequence of that act.

Still less can it be supposed to be the end of the pollen-tube, ac-

cording to the theory of Schleiden and his followers.

We now proceed to notice the changes which the embryo-

vesicle undergoes subsequently to the act of impregnation. After

impregnation, the granular protoplasm, which has accumulated

at the larger extremity of the embryo-vesicle, becomes trans-

formed into a spheroidal cell. A septum is then observable at

the lower part, crossing it horizontally, by which it is divided

into two cells. Of these the inferior is developed downwards by

successive merismatic division, so as to form a confervoid fila-

ment, the suspensor. The upper assumes at the same time a

spheroidal form, and is distinguished from the rest by being

filled with granules, exactly as occurs in the Orchidacee. Soon

after it divides by a longitudinal septum, and subsequently by a

transverse. These are followed by successive divisions, and the

embryo with its suspensor is formed. While these changes are

taking place, the embryo-vesicle, which in the early stage is ad-

herent by one of its extremities to the micropyle-end of the em-

bryo-sac, becomes correspondingly enlarged and elongated. It

however never becomes completely filled with the cells of the

suspensor, or at least not until a very late period. It seems to

be narrowed at its apex, either by the absorption of its contents

by the developing embryo, or by the pressure of the contiguous

parts. Subsequently the round mass of cells described above,

to which the term embryo-globule has been applied, undergoes

further development, and the cotyledons and other parts being

gradually formed, the embryo assumes its characteristic appear-

ance.

Thus we see in this plant—1st. That the embryo-vesicle exists

at a period previous to the act of impregnation ; 2nd. That after

impregnation a number of cells are formed by an endogenous

process in its cavity which assume a confervoid arrangement ;

ord. That of these one is selected to be developed into the em-

bryo; 4th. That the rest undergo no further development, but seem

to conduce to the nutrition of the embryo. These facts are in every

respect conformable to what is known of the embryogenic pro-

cess in the Orchidacea, Onagracee, Scrophulariacee, Crucifere,

and other natural orders.

Since the above observations were made, I have had the oppor-

tunity of seeing the results of two very important series of re-

searches by Hofmeister of Leipzig and Tulasne. These researches

lead to the conclusion, that the mode of development above de-

262 Mr. J. S. Sanderson on the Embryogeny

scribed in Hippuris is that which holds universally throughout

phanerogamic plants. The results of Hofmeister, as detailed in

his Monograph on the origin of the vegetable embryo, published

at Leipzig last year, are as follows :—

A long time previous to the period of fecundation a certain

number of free cellular nuclei are formed in the embryo-sac.

These generally occur at the end of the sac next the micropyle.

After this, free spherical cells are observed to be formed at the

same part of the embryo-sac, which are usually three in number,

an arrangement which probably depends on merely mechanical

causes, and is well seen in the Orchidacee.

These cells are destined for the formation of the embryo itself,

and are to be distinguished from those of a smaller size which

are often observed at the same period at the opposite extremity

of the embryo-sac, and conduce merely to the formation of the

endosperm.

These cells are the embryo-vesicles, and from them the em-

bryo is produced. One of them only remains active, while the rest

abort. This being acted on by the fovilla at the period of fecun-

dation, undergoes the development detailed below and becomes

the embryo.

At the period of impregnation the pollen-tube arrives at the

embryo-sac. Sometimes the sac-membrane is so firm as not to

be indented by it. Sometimes it is considerably indented, and

adherent for a longer or shorter period. At other times it ap-

pears, from its great tenuity, to be pierced by it. In all cases the

embryo-vesicle remains perfectly closed, so that any communi-

cation between it and the end of the pollen-tube is impossible.

After impregnation the embryo-vesicle becomes divided into

two cells by a transverse septum. These two cells are the first

of those which form what Hofmeister calls the pro-embryo. The

distal cell then in most cases divides by horizontal septa into a

row of smaller cells. The terminal cell of this row then becomes

more developed than the rest, and gives birth by an endogenous

process to the embryo-globule. This then becomes developed

into the embryo by the successive formation of new cells.

These results will be seen to harmonize perfectly with what

has been already said with reference to Hippuris. They were

obtained from the examination of a very great number of species

belonging to various natural orders ; among which may be men-

tioned Orchidaceae, Gramineae, Liliaceae, Iridacee, Amaryllidacea,

Polygonacee, Caryophyllacee, Ericacee, Geraniacee, &c., and there

is every reason to depend on their accuracy.

In the last two numbers of the ‘ Annales des Sciences Natu-

relles,’ which have only appeared in the course of last week,

M.L. R. Tulasne has published the most complete and beautiful

of Hippuris vulgaris. 263

series of researches, as far as they go, among the many to which

this controversy has given origin. The facts which are brought

forward by this author are confirmatory in the most important

particulars of what had previously been ascertained by Hof-

meister, Unger, and others, but are distinguished by the author’s

inquiries having been carried to an earlier period in the develop-

ment than had been arrived at by any previous observer in the

families to which they refer, namely the Scrophulartacee and the

Crucifere.

In the Scrophulariacee generally, as in Hippuris, the embryo-

vesicle assumes at an early period an elongated form, and its

subsequent development is identical. Tulasne has traced it to

its earliest origin in several species. He has shown that it is

developed originally on the inner surface of the wall of the em-

bryonal sac near its summit, but at a pomt quite separate from

that at which the pollen-tube is applied. This vesicle, at first

exceedingly minute, grows upwards in the cavity of the embryo-

sac, until it assumes a form similar to that seen in Hippuris.

These facts are important, as serving to point out more distinctly

the strict correspondence between the morphological modifications

of the same development as observed in the Scrophulariacee and

other orders, with those possessed of distinct embryo-sacs, as the

Orchidaceae.

The researches before us also derive an additional interest

from their showing the total inaccuracy of the observations of

Prof. Wydler of Berne, (which were made on the same natural

order,) who in the year 1838 set himself to support the theory

of Schleiden, and from whose alleged facts that physiologist de-

rived some of the most powerful supports of his views.

In the Crucifere M. Tulasne has also accomplished all that

can be done to perfect our knowledge of the embryogeny of the

order. In particular he has described and figured distinctly the

embryonal sac, the existence of which was doubted in that order,

and has traced the embryonal vesicle from its earliest condition,

that of a minute cellule attached to the micropyle extremity

of the embryo-sac, up to that of a cylindriform cell filled with a

granular protoplasm, at the period at which it should seem that

fertilization takes place.

Numerous other points of great importance might be men-

tioned as illustrated by this admirable series of researches. They

will well reward the perusal of all who take any interest in vege-

table anatomy and physiology, and they are illustrated by draw-

ings, which exceed in beauty and detail all their predecessors,

although many of these have been beyond all praise.

From the accurate knowledge of the facts connected with the

. origin and development of the vegetable embryo, into the pos-

264 Mr. J. 8S. Sanderson on the Embryogeny

session of which the researches of Unger, Hofmeister, and Tulasne

have put us, we need be at no loss to arrive at certain general

conclusions as to the order im which the various steps of the em-

bryogenic process are brought about, and the laws by which it is

governed. We shall therefore occupy the remainder of this

paper in enumerating as shortly as possible the most important

of these generalizations.

In order to facilitate description, we shall divide what seem to

be the essential phenomena of the embryogenic process in the

higher plants into three classes, m the first of which we shall

consider the process of development of the embryo-sac ; in the

second the changes which take place within the embryo-sae be-

fore, and in the third, after the act of impregnation.

We shall first speak of the development of the embryo-sac, or

the individualization of a cell of the female organ for reproductive

purposes.

At a very early period a constituent cell, of what is called in

descriptive language by a singular misnomer the placenta, gives

rise by successive division to a cylindrical body, which consists

of a central series of cells surrounded by others of smaller size.

This, by another equally obvious misnomer, is called the ovule.

From the central series of cells just mentioned one is separated

and set apart for reproductive purposes, while the rest are va-

riously developed so as to form coverings to this one. It enlarges

at the expense of the rest, and receives the name of embryonal

sac, and 1s strictly analogous to the animal unimpregnated ovum.

We next consider the changes which take place in the cavity

of the embryo-sac previous to impregnation.

At a period considerably prior to impregnation a vesicle is de-

veloped, always at the micropyle-end of the embryo-sac, and pro-

bably always from acytoblast. This vesicle enlarges more or less,

and contains a fluid granular protoplasm. To this the name

embryo-vesicle is assigned. It is analogous to the germ-vesicle

in animals, both in its production and subsequent development.

Besides the embryo-vesicle other cells are freqaently developed

at this period, which are destined to conduce to the nutrition of

the future embryo.

Lastly, we have to consider the changes which take place m

the embryo-sac after impregnation.

At this period a cell belonging to the male organ (the pollen-

grain) becomes so developed that its membrane and that of

the embryo-sac are brought in contact ; in consequence of which

an interchange of their “contents takes place, and under the pe-

culiar influence of the one upon the other, the embryo-vesicle

begins to develope within it two cells divided from each other

by. a transverse septum, in the same way as the first change ob-

of Hippuris vulgaris. 265

served after animal impregnation is the development of two

cells in the germ-vesicle. These cells then multiply to a greater

or less extent by transverse division so as to form a confervoid

filament. At last, either at the centre or termination of this fila-

ment, one cell becomes developed by an endogenous mode of cell-

production into a body to which the term embryo-globule is

applied, and which is in fact the future embryo, while the rest

perform a subordinate function, being probably merely subser-

vient to the nutrition of the embryo. This last process corre-

sponds in animals to the successive divisions of the two cells

previously referred to, what is called the “cleaving of the yelk

mass,” on the surface of which the embryo is subsequently de-

veloped.

The foregoing sketch of what may be considered as the morpho-

logical type of the embryogenic development in the higher plants

will, it is believed, include all those modifications which occur in

those families which have been hitherto investigated. And consi-

dering that of late years, since the means of research have been so

much more complete than formerly, there has been such a remark-

able consonance in the results obtained by different observers,

there is little reason to apprehend that any new facts are likely to

arise, which will render it necessary to modify our generalizations

to any great degree. We may therefore consider the controversy

for the present settled. The doctrine of Schleiden is now only

a matter of history, and as such possesses very great interest.

When in 1837 he first brought forward his splendid discoveries

as to the previously unknown nature and functions of cells, he

founded upon them another doctrine, according to which the

existence of sexes in plants was denied, and the so-called male

organ alone was supposed to origimate the germ. The history

of this celebrated doctrme exemplifies in a remarkable manner

the truth of the observation, that, although false facts may do

an infinity of mischief in science, false theories are often produc-

tive of the greatest benefit.

The numerous researches which have been set on foot within

the last ten years with a view to the refutation of the doctrines

of Schleiden, have not only established the utter baselessness of

these last, but have furnished us with a series of details more

complete and more conclusive than any which we possess in con-

nection with any other subject in the whole range of vegetable

anatomy.

266 Mr. J.T. Syme on some Plants observed in Orkney.

XXVI.—Notice of some of the rarer Plants observed in Orkney

during the Summer of 1849. By Joun T. Symu, Esq.*

Havrne passed the greater part of last summer in Orkney, and

during that time having examined the natural history of the

parts of it which I visited, I now lay before the Society a notice

of a few of the rarer plants which I observed. I would have

drawn up a list of all the species which I met with, but as I had

opportunities of botanizing only in the southern part of the

mainland and in the islands of Hoy, Burray and Flota, I have

thought it advisable to defer this until I shall have made some

acquaintance with the botany of the other islands, which I hope

to accomplish next summer.

The flora of Orkney is by no means extensive, and excepting

some alpine plants which are found at a lower elevation than

usual, it embraces very few species of interest ;—as is to be ex-

pected from its bare and treeless condition and the uniformity

of its geological formation; the old red sandstone, with here

and there a trap-dyke, being the only rock to be met with ; while

the incessant winds charged with saline particles and the low

summer temperature forbid the growth of the more tender

plants, as well as those which rise above the shelter of the sur-

rounding vegetation.

In addition to these adverse circumstances, by far the greater

proportion of the ground is flat and moorish, which still more

contributes to give a sameness to the vegetation ; so that I think

we may account for the paucity of species from the physical con-

ditions of the Orkney islands, without having recourse to any

theory of centres of vegetation and migration of plants.

I shall now proceed to give the names of the plants I met

with, nearly in the order in which J noticed them, with the

dates when the various trips were made, as extracted from my

journal.

On the 5th of June last, I went on board the screw steamer

“ Northman,” at Leith, and after a tedious passage of forty hours,

arrived in Kirkwall Bay. The morning was wet and windy, but

being impatient to examine the botany and entomology of a

district new to me, and feeling the desire of again walking on

terra firma, as is natural to a landsman after a sea voyage of

longer duration than he is accustomed to, I set out for Swan-

bister, the place of my destination, about eight miles south-west of

Kirkwall. I soon found, however, that novelties or even rarities

were not to be expected, for I did not in the whole of my walk

find a single plant worth drying.

In the town of Kirkwall I saw Stachys ambigua (not yet in

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Feb. 14, 1850.

Mr. J.T. Syme on some Plants observed in Orkney. 267

flower), growing among the nettles at the sides of the lanes.

About two miles from Kirkwall there is a pond and marsh at

the side of the road, where Menyanthes trifohata was growing

along with Equisetum limosum and Carea ampullacea ; and in the

moors along the sides of the roads, I saw Luzula multiflora, Ly-

copodium Selago, Salix repens and Primula acaulis, but nothing

of any interest until I reached Swanbister, where Scilla verna

was in great profusion, and Gymnadenia albida just coming into

flower.

A few days after I found at Smoogro a curious variety of

Plantago lanceolata, with very woolly leaves, lying flat on the

ground and much broader than usual. Near this place Séen-

hammaria maritima used to occur, but there was no appearance

of it. I suppose it must have been covered up with shingle by

the sea, during the winter.

On the 12th of June I went to Howton Head, about three

miles west of Swanbister, to see the station for Primula scotica,

which was easily found, but appeared to have flowered very

sparingly, as I only saw two plants in seed. Here I also found

Lycopodium selaginoides and Thalictrum alpinum, about 200 feet

above the sea; a curious fact, as where alpine plants are found at

so low a level, it is usually where there is high ground behind,

from which they have been brought down by burns, &c.; but

here there are no hills of any considerable height near, and, in-

deed, I never found this nor any alpine plant elsewhere on the

mainland.

On the 25th of June I had an excursion, in company with Mr.

Robert Heddel, to Kirbister Loch, about two miles north-west of

Swanbister. Here we found Potamogeton filiformis, 4 or 5 feet

long, and with the peduncles 18 inches long (a form which I

afterwards observed in the lower Loch of Stennis growing in the

brackish water along with dwarfed and discoloured plants of

Fucus vesiculosus).

In old marl-pits in the loch we found Zannichellia palustris and

Potamogeton heterophyllus and P. perfoliatus. After completing

the survey of the loch we went to Neversdale, where Dr. Duguid

used to find Ajuga pyramidalis abundantly, but which had dis-

appeared for the last four years; and after a very careful search,

Mr. R. Heddel found a single plant of it, of which of course the

root was carefully left. Here we also saw Eleocharis uniglumis,

Melampyrum pratense B. montanum, and Botrychium Lunaria.

But by far the most interesting excursion | made was to the

Wast hill of Hoy, on the 28th of June, which I owed to the

kindness of Mr. Heddel, who took me across in his yacht and

pointed out the habitats of most of the very interesting alpine

plants which are to be found there. Unfortunately our time

268 Mr.J.T.Syme on some Plants observed in Orkney.

was very limited, as we had to beat against wind and tide, and

so did not reach the Bow (at the foot of the hill) till the after-

noon. ‘The ascent to the hill is at first not quite so steep as

the slope of the debris of Salisbury Crags at Edinburgh, and

here Galium pusillum, Saxifraga aizoides and Silene acaulis were

abundant, even at the very foot of the hill. After ascending

about 500 feet, the red sandstone rock rises nearly perpendicu-

larly for about 150 feet, and here we gathered Thalictrum alpi-

num, Saussurea alpina, Oxyria reniformis, Sedum Rhodiola, and a

Hieracium not in flower, which appeared to be H. murorum y. Law-

soni. Above the rocks the hill is nearly bare of vegetation, and

covered with debris, among which Dryas octopetala was growing

in great perfection. Sazifraga oppositifolia and Draba incana

also occur on the hill, but we had not time to look for them, as

I was most anxious to see the station for Ajuga pyramidalis,

found by Mr. Robert Heddel, at the Burn of Berridale. We

accordingly descended into the valley of Rackwick, gathering

Lycopodium annotinum on our way, and reached the Burn of

Berridale about six o’clock in the evening. This ravine is re-

markable as being the only place in Orkney where the birch and

mountain-ash are to be seen growing wild. We soon found the

Ajuga pyramidalis, which is confined to the west side of the burn

near its mouth, and is by no means easily noticed. The barren

plants resemble very much young plants of Digitalis purpurea, and

they usually flower under the shelter of bushes of Calluna vulgaris.

The plants were small, from 1-3 inches high, but were still in

flower, while that which I had seen in Neversdale some days

before had its seeds nearly ripe. Melampyrum pratense B. mon-

tanum, Scirpus fluitans and Drosera anglica also occurred here,

and Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi in great profusion. There are also

bushes of Corylus Avellana and Hedera Helix among the rocks.

Rubus suberectus was found by Dr. Duguid on the north-west of

Hoy, but we had not time to visit the station before embarking

on our return to the Bow.

My next trip to Hoy was on the 3rd of July, when I ex-

amined part of the south-west coast, in company with Mr. Hed-

del. About two miles from Melsetter, Stenhammaria maritima

occurred, and on the hills in several places Arctostaphylos alpina

and Vaccinium uliginosum. Mr. Heddel has found Lobelia Dort-

manna in several of the lakes in Waas, but I did not meet with

it myself.

On the 17th of August I again visited Howton Head, but

found Primula scotica out of flower. I was misled by the plants

of it m the garden at Swanbister, which came into flower at this

time, being probably delayed in flowering by having been trans-

planted in the sprmg. <Anagallis tenella and Habenaria viridis

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 269

were now in flower at this place, but I saw nothing else of any

interest.

On the 28th of August I paid a visit to the north-west coast

of Hoy, and found Drosera anglica in abundance, and Vaccinium

uliginosum sparingly, and in the marshes above Rysay Schenus

nigricans and Eleocharis multicaulis, both of which I also found

in several places in the mainland.

On the 31st Stachys ambigua was in flower at Kirkwall. Near

Piggar, and in several other places round Swanbister, Anthemis

nobilis occurs in plenty and apparently wild in one marshy

field in particular, where it covers a large extent of ground, and

is now at all events perfectly naturalized.

At Swanbister there is a tract of low land called the “ Fidge,”

which used to be overflowed by the sea at spring tides, but is

now protected from this by a sea-wall built by Mr. Fortescue.

Here there are a good many of the plants that are to be found

in salt marshes, Salicornia herbacea, Cakile maritima, Alsine ma-

ritima, Sagina maritima, Carex extensa, Eleocharis uniglumis,

Ruppia rostellata, Potamogeton filiformis, Blysmus rufus, and one

plant of Stenhammaria maritima. On the rocks called “ Bar-

nory,” to the south of this, Ligusticum scoticum and the maritime

form of Pyrethrum inodorum were seen ; both of these plants also

occur in profusion in the island of Burray along with Svlene

maritima.

Avena fatua and strigosa are found in most of the turnip-

fields, &e., and appear to be quite indigenous. Festuca ovina

var. viviparais also common, and Radiola millegrana is to be seen

in most of the moors.

There are a few bushes of Populus tremula and Rosa villosa

on the cliffs, on the east side of the Wauk-mill bay between Kirk-

wall and Swanbister.

These are all the plants which I met with that are worth

noticing ; but on my next trip to Orkney I hope to be able to

visit the north isles, which may perhaps add some others to the

list, and make a trip to Orkney of sufficient interest to attract

botanists more competent than myself to examine its flora.

84 Great King Street, Edinburgh, Feb. 5th, 1850.

XXVII.—Descriptions of Aphides. By Francis WALKER, F.L.S.

[Continued from p. 28.]

77. Aphis Mal, Fabricius.

Aphis Mali, Faby. Ent. Syst. iv. 216; Syst. Rhyn. 298;

Schrank, Faun. Boie. ii. 116; Gétze, Ent. Beit. 11. 317; Stew.

270 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

El. ii. 111; Turt. ii. 706; Shaw, Gen. Zool. vi. pl. 58; Kalt.

Mon. Pflan. i. 72. 52.

A. Pomi, Deg. Ins. i. 36. pl. 3. fig. 18-21; Latr. Gen. Cr.

il. 178.

A. Oxyacanthe, Schrank, Faun. Boic. i. 116.1219.

Oxyacanthaphis, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 24 série, v. 478.

This species feeds on Pyrus malus, P. communis, Cydonia vul-

garis, Mespilus germanica, Sorbus aucuparia, and Crategus oxy-

acantha.

When very young, and in the middle of March, it has a dark

green colour: the head and the limbs are still darker: the eyes

are dark brown: the feelers are half the length of the body : the

mouth reaches to the hind-hips: a dark stripe runs along each side

of the body : the nectaries are about one-eighth of its length: the

legs are rather short and stout : it dwells on the buds with the pale

orange young ones of Psylla Pyri. When full-grown it is green,

shining, oval, and convex: the limbs are brownish green: the feelers

are setaceous, rather stout, brown, pale green at the base, and less

than half the length of the body: the legs are pale green; the

feet are brown: the front is broad and convex, and there are no

tubercles at the base of the feelers; the first and the second

joints of the latter are not angular; the fourth joint is much

shorter than the third ; the fifth is a little shorter than the fourth ;

the sixth is a little shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is slender,

and rather shorter than the third.

Ist var. The body is pale yellowish green with three vivid

green stripes.

2ud var. The body is grass-green, varied with yellow towards

the head: the limbs are pale yellow: the feelers are one-third of

the length of the body: the nectaries are one-twelfth of the length

of the body.

3rd var. The body is green; the limbs excepting the tips of

the feelers are paler.

4th var. The body is green: the feelers are pale green, and

very much shorter than the body: the nectaries are green, and

from one-fourth to one-fifth of the length of the body : the mouth

is green; its tip and the eyes are black: the legs are pale green

with brown feet.

5th var. The feelers are shorter than the body, and the nec-

taries equal one-tenth of its length.

6th var. The body is pale green: the feelers are pale brown,

pale green at the base, and rather more than half the length of

tke body: the eyes are dark brown; the mouth is pale green

with a darker tip: the nectaries are less than one-twelfth of the

length of the body: the legs are pale green, and rather short ;

the feet and the tips of the shanks are brown.

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 371

The viviparous winged female. This as a pupa and when very

young is reddish green, but afterwards acquires a rose or pale

red colour: the nectaries are as long as one-eighth of the body :

the rudimentary wings are pale red; they are unfolded before

the middle of May, and then the insect is deep black : the hind-

border of the fore-chest is dark green: the abdomen is green,

and sometimes it has a row of black spots on each side: the

feelers are black, dull green at the base, and much shorter than

the body; the fourth joint is much shorter than the third; the

fifth is shorter than the fourth ; the sixth is a little shorter than

the fifth ; the seventh is quite as long as the third: the mouth is

green ; its tip and the eyes are black: the nectaries are black,

and vary in length from one-sixth to one-tenth of the body : the

legs are dull yellow; the feet and the tips of the thighs and of

the shanks are black: the wings are colourless and nearly twice

the length of the body ; the wing-ribs are green ; the wing-brands

are pale brown; the veins are dark brown: the second fork is

very short.

Ist var. Black: the front and the back of the fore-chest, the

fore-breast, and the abdomen are dark green: the feelers are a

little shorter than the body: the mouth is pale dull yellow with

a black tip: the fore-thighs, the shanks except their tips, and

the four hinder thighs towards the base are yellow: the wing-

ribs and the rib-veins are pale yellow; the wing-brands are pale

brown ; the other veins are brown.

2nd var. Green: the head, the disc of the chest, and that of

the breast are black, and there is a row of black spots on each

side of the abdomen: the feelers are black, and about half the

length of the body: the nectaries are about one-twelfth of the

length of the body: the legs are black ; the shanks except their

tips, and the thighs towards the base, and sometimes nearly the

whole of the fore-thighs are pale yellow: the wing-ribs are some-

times pale yellow, and the colour of the wing-brands varies from

pale brown to dull green.

3rd var. The fore-thighs are black with the exception of the

base.

4th var. The body is grass-green : the discs of the head, of the

chest and of the breast are pale reddish brown: the feelers are

brown, and shorter than the body : the mouth is pale green with

a brown tip: the eyes are dark brown: the nectaries are pale

green, and about one-sixth of the length of the body: the legs

are dull pale green ; the feet and the tips of the shanks are brown :

the wing-ribs and the rib-veins are dull green ; the brands and

the other veins are brown. On the whitethorn in the middle of

May.

5th var. While a pupa it is green, with two darker green

272 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

stripes: the feelers and the legs are pale green; the tips of the

former and the feet are brown. When the wings are unfolded

the insect is black: the borders and the underside of the fore-

chest and the abdomen are green: the feelers and the eyes are

black: the mouth is green with a black tip: the nectaries are

black, and as long as one-tenth of the body: the legs are pale

yellow ; the feet and the tips of the thighs and of the shanks are

black : the wing-ribs are pale yeliow, the brands are pale brown.

On the whitethorn in the middle of June.

6th var. The body is dull green: the head and the dise of the

chest are varied with black: the feelers are brown, green at the

base, and shorter than the body: the wing-ribs are pale green ;

the veins are brown.

7th var. While a pupa it is pale greenish yellow, with three

vivid green stripes on the back: the feelers are pale yellow with

brown tips and much shorter than the body : the mouth and the

nectaries are pale yellow with brown tips, and the latter are

nearly one-sixth of the length of the body: the legs are pale

yellow ; the feet are brown. The winged Aphis is black: the

abdomen is green: the feelers are rather short : the nectaries are

black : the legs are pale green ; the feet and the tips of the thighs

are black : the wing-veins are pale dull green.

The fourth branch vein of the wing has a more gentle curve

than that of many species, and the angle whence it springs is

slight ; the third as usual is obsolete at its source, and it runs

nearly half its length before it sends forth its first fork, and

more than three-fourths of the same before it sends forth its

second ; the second vein diverges slightly from the third as it

proceeds to the hmd-border; they are nearer to each other at their

source than the third is to the fourth ; the third converges gra-

dually towards the fourth from the base to the tip; the first and

second are nearer to each other at thew source than are the

second and third, but more remote at their tips.

Variations in the wing-veins.—I1st var. The second fork is

wanting.

2nd var. Both forks are wanting.

8rd var. Like the last, but the second and the third veins

meet, and after a short space part, and proceed to their re-

spective destinations.

4th var. The second fork in one wing is moderately long, in

the other it is very short.

The oviparous wingless female. It appears in the middle of the

autumn, and when very young it is pale yellow or greenish yel-

low: the tips of the feelers, the eyes, the tip of the mouth, and

the feet are dark. When a little older it is elliptical, and of a

soft pale velvet-like yellow hue : the feelers are black, pale yeHow

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 273

at the base, and rather more than half the length cf the body ;

the knees and the tips of the shanks are black. When still older

it acquires a green tint, especially on the abdomen: the nectaries

have black tips, and they are one-sixth, one-eighth or one-twelfth

of the length of the body: when full-grown the body is green

and spindle-shaped, and the abdomen is lengthened towards the

tip: the hind-shanks are hardly thicker or darker than the

others.

1st var. Dark green with a bluish black hue.

2nd var. Buff.

3rd var. Pale orange.

4th var. Pale red.

5th var. The body is pale yellowish green, whitish green

beneath: the head is brownish: the feelers are about half the

length of the body : the mouth is pale yellow ; its tip and the eyes

are black : the nectaries are black, and about one-twelfth of the

length of the body : the legs are yellow; the knees, the feet, and

the tips of the shanks are black.

The winged male. It pairs with the oviparous female at the

end of October, and is black: the front and the rear of the fore-

chest, the fore-breast and the abdomen are dull yellow; the latter

is slightly traversed by black bands: the feelers are very nearly

as long as the body, and like those of the female are thick, with

the exception of the last joint ; the fourth joint is about half the

length of the third ; the fifth is very nearly as long as the fourth ;

the sixth is a little shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is rather

longer than the third: the mouth is dull yellow with a black tip :

the nectaries are as long as one-sixth of the body: the legs are

yellow ; the feet and the tips of the thighs and of the shanks are

black: the wing-ribs are pale yellow; the ves and the wing-

brands are pale brown ; the second fork is sometimes wanting.

Ist var. The mouth is black ; its base is dull yellow: the four

hinder thighs are black, with the exception of the base.

2nd var. The thighs are black excepting the base.

Length of the body 3-# line; of the wings 13-2} lines.

In the beginning of November the winged female is still occu-

pied with bringing forth young ones, while the oviparous female

is laying eggs. The leaves of the mountain ash are sometimes *

crowded with this Aphis in the autumn, and the wind carries

them away with their insect-load. The apple-trees sometimes

put forth new blossoms soon after the middle of June, the earlier

flowers having been much injured by this Aphis and by Psylla

Pyri. Mr. Spence mentions that the abundance of Aphis mali

caused the failure of the apple crops in Worcestershire, Devon-

shire, and Herefordshire, in 1838.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 18

274 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

78. Aphis Padi, Linn.

Aphis Padi, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 734. 8; Faun. Suec. 981 ;

Fabr. Ent. Syst. iv. 220. 50; Reaum. Ins. ii. pl. 28. fig. 9, 10;

Schrank, Faun. Boic. 11. 115. 1216; Stew. El. u. 110; Turt. u.

708 ; Kalt. Mon. Pflan. 1. 74. 53.

Padifex, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 24 série, v. 477.

The viviparous wingless female. This Aphis feeds on Prunus

Padus, is hatched before the middle of March, and is then dull

green: the feelers are blackish green, and less than half the

length of the body: the eyes are dark brown: the mouth is

dull green with a darker tip, and reaches the hind-hips: there

is a dull red spot on each side of the abdomen near the nectaries,

which are almost black, and about one-tenth of the length of the

body: the legs are blackish green. In April it becomes rather

broad, oval and convex, increasing in breadth from the head till

near the base of the nectaries; its colour is now pale green, or

grass-green tinged with yellow ; the red spot at the base of each

nectary is larger than before ; and it is quite filled with young

ones, and even the fore-chest is occasionally occupied by these

little embryos, which sometimes exceed thirty in number: the

feelers are pale yellow with brown tips, and not more than one-

fifth of the length of the body; the fourth joint is more than

half the length of the third; the fifth is very nearly as long as

the fourth; the sixth is more than half the length of the fifth ;

the seventh is more than twice the length of the sixth : the eyes

are black: the forehead is prominent in the middle, and has a

slight tubercle at the mner base of each feeler: the mouth is

yellow with a brown tip, and reaches the middle-hips: the legs

are yellow; the feet and the tips of the shanks are black; the

four hinder shanks are slightly curved; the fore-legs are but

little more than half the length of the hind-legs: the nectaries

are yellow with brown tips, and about one-twentieth of the length

of the body: there is a short tube at the tip of the abdomen.

Before the end of April the mother of a colony gives birth to a

progeny of young ones that are very unlike their parent, being

much darker and of a blackish green colour, and covered with

white powder which increases in quantity as they advance in age.

The colour when the skin has been lately shed is sometimes pale

orange or dull olive-green, with a pale green head and almost

white limbs. Mr. Hardy has sent me this species from the

neighbourhood of Berwick in July, but it disappears from the

bird-cherry near London in the beginning of summer, when the

foliage is often almost destroyed by it and by Yponomeuta Padella,

and it does not return to that tree till the autumn.

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 275

Ist var. The body is dark brownish green.

2nd var. The feelers are nearly one-fourth of the length of the

body.

3rd var. The feelers are half the length of the body.

Ath var. The feelers are three-fourths of the length of the

body.

5th var. The nectaries are one-twelfth of the length of the

body.

6th var. The fore-legs are longer than usual.

The viviparous winged female. The pupa is not only distin-

guished from the wingless insect by its structure, but also by its

darker colour and by its greater activity: the feelers are brown,

pale green at the base: the legs are pale green ; the feet and the

tips of the shanks are brown: the rudimentary wings are pale

green. The wings are unfolded in May, and the insect is then

pale olive-green ; the limbs are still paler, and the wings are milk-

white : it is afterwards black : the abdomen is brassy black above,

very dark green and covered with white powder beneath: the

feelers are much shorter than the body; the fourth jomt is

shorter than the third ; the fifth is shorter than the fourth; the

sixth is much shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is more than

twice the length of the sixth: the nectaries are as long as one-

twelfth of the body: the legs are dull green ; the feet, the tips

of the thighs and of the shanks, and the whole of the hind-

thighs are black : the wings are colourless, and very much longer

than the body : the wing-ribs are almost white ; the wing-brands

are green ; the veins are brown.

At least eight young ones may be seen in its body while

it is yet a pupa: the feelers are a little shorter than the body ;

the fifth joint is much shorter than the fourth; the seventh

is nearly thrice the length of the sixth: the fore-legs are only a

little shorter than the hind-legs ; the fore-shanks are slightly

curved, and very much longer than those of the wingless female :

the nectaries are about one-twelfth of the length of the body:

the widening of the main vein into the wing-brand begins at

about half the length of the wing; it is very gradual in its ap-

proach towards, and union with, the fore-border, which is rather

convex towards the base of the wing: the brand is irregularly

spindle-shaped, and the fourth branch-vein springs from the

middle of its hind-border; the third branch-vein is, as usual,

obsolete before its source from the main-vein; its first fork

occurs soon after one-third of its length, and its second fork

soon after five-sixths of its length.

1st var. The legs are black, with the exception of the yellow

base of the fore-thighs.

2nd var. The wing-brands are pale brown.

18*

276 Mr... Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

ord var. The second fork in the third vein of the fore-wing is

wanting. The length of this second fork is often very variable

in the same species, and eyen in opposite wings of the same

Aphis.

Length of the body 3-1 line ; of the wings 23-3 lines.

79. Aphis Sorbi, Kaltenbach.

Aphis Sorbi, Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 70. 51.

The viviparous wingless female. This species is hatched in the

middle of March or somewhat later, and then begins to feed on

the buds of the apple-trees: it is very small and of a dark green

colour: the head, the limbs, and a stripe on each side of the body

are still darker: the feelers are not more than half the length of

the body : the eyes are dark brown: the mouth reaches the base

of the hind-legs: the nectaries are about one-eighth of the length

of the body: the legs are rather short and stout. When full-

grown the body is nearly round, dark reddish brown, and thickly

covered with white powder: the limbs are black: the front is

nearly straight, but has three slight tubercles: the feelers are

half the length of the body : the nectaries are about one-ninth of

its length.

Ist var. Dull green, short, and very plump: the feelers are

brown, dull green at the base, and shorter than the body: the

eyes are black: the mouth is dull green with a brown tip: the

nectaries are black, and as long as one-tenth of the body: the

legs are pale yellow, and rather long; the feet, the tips of the

shanks and of the four hinder thighs are black.

2nd var. Very dark green: the thighs are black with the ex-

ception of the base which is pale yellow: the nectaries are one-

eighth of the length of the body.

“8rd var. Nearly round, dull reddish green, paler beneath : the

feelers are black, and nearly as long as the body: the tip of the

mouth is black: the nectaries are as long as one-sixth of the

body: the legs are gray, excepting the base of the fore- thighs

which is dull yellow.

Ath var. The feelers are hardly half the length of the body.

5th var. The young one has a large dull tawny spot at the

base of each nectary.

6th var. Dark reddish brown: the limbs are black : the feelers

are half the length of the body; the nectaries are one-ninth of

its length.

7th var. Pale orange.

8th var. Dark orange.

9th var. Pale green.

10th var. Pale buff, darker towards the tip of the abdomen.

11th var. Pale red, short-elliptic: the feelers are white with

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 277

black tips, and as long as the body : the mouth is white ; its tip

and the eyes are black: the nectaries are also black, and as long

as one-fifth of the body: the legs are white ; the feet and the tips

of the shanks are black.

12th var. Dull green, plump, and nearly elliptic: the feelers

are white with brown tips, and longer than the body: the eyes

are black: the mouth is white with a brown tip : the nectaries

are black, and as long as one-fifth of the body: the legs are dull

white ; the knees and the tips of the shanks are black.

13th var. Dull green, oval, mottled with red at the tip of the

abdomen: the feelers are pale brown, and nearly white towards

the base: the mouth is dull green with a brown tip ; the nectaries

are brown, and as long as one-fifth of the body ; the feet and the

tips of the thighs and of the shanks are also brown.

14th var. Dull green, oval, more or less tinged with red, and

eovered with a white powder, or mottled with red and green, or

all red, or varied with black; there is a row of black spots on

each side of the body: the feelers are black, pale yellow towards

the base, and nearly as long as the body: the mouth is pale

yellow; its tip and the eyes are black: the nectaries are pale

yellow with black tips, and nearly one-fourth of the length of

the body: the legs are yellow; the feet, the knees, and the tips

of the shanks are black. On the mountain-ash.

The viviparous winged female. While a pupa it resembles the

wingless female, but it is rather narrower, and its rudimentary

wings are whitish ; these organs are unfolded in May, and the

insect is then black and shining: the fore-chest is red, which

colour also prevails on the base and the underside of the abdo-

men: the feelers are shorter than the body: the mouth is pale

yellow with a black tip: the nectaries are as long as one-sixth

of the body : the legs are pale yellow ; the thighs except the base,

the feet and the tips of the shanks, are black: the wings are

colourless, and longer than the body; the wing-ribs are pale

yellow ; the veins and the wing-brands are dull yellow; the

second fork is very long.

1st var. The fore-border and the hind-border of the fore-chest

are green: the abdomen is dull yellowish green ; its disc is black,

and there is a row of black spots on each side: the wing- brands

and the vems are brown. On the mountain-ash.

This species feeds on Crataegus oxyacantha, Pyrus malus, Sor-

bus aucuparia and S. domestica ; it appeared in thick clusters on

this last tree near London in the summer of 1847, and gave the

leaves autumnal red and yellow tints, and great numbers of

humble-bees (Bombz) came to feed on its honey.

The oviparous wingless female. This appears at the end of Oc-

tober; it is oval, yellow, and rather flat, and has a distinct rim

278 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

on each side of the body ; the feelers are black towards the tips,

and much longer than the body: the eyes and the tip of the

mouth are black: the nectaries have black tips, and are nearly

one-fourth of the length of the body: the legs are pale yellow ;

the knees and the tips of the shanks are black.

The winged male. This appears in the autumn and pairs with

the oviparous female at the end of October : it is deep black : the

abdomen is sometimes dark red with a black line along the mid-

dle; it has a white bloom beneath: the feelers are slender, and

much longer than the body; the fourth joint is much shorter

than the third, but more than half its length ; the fifth is shorter

than the fourth; the sixth is about half the length of the fifth ;

the seventh is a little longer than the fourth: the nectaries are

nearly one-fifth of the length of the body: the thighs towards

the base, and the shanks except their tips are dark yellow: the

wings are very much longer than the body; the wing-ribs, the

rib-veins and the wing-brands are pale brown; the second vein

diverges rather more from the first than it does from the third ;

the first fork of the latter vein begins a little after one-third, and

the second beyond two-thirds of its length; the fourth vein

is much curved near its base, but nearly straight towards its tip :

the angle whence it springs is slight.

It sometimes couples also with the oviparous female of Aphis

Mali. i

Both these species very abundant in the autumn of 1846, but

very scarce during that season in 1847.

Length of the body 3-1 line ; of the wings 24-3 lines.

80. Aphis Euonymt.

Aphis Euonymi, Fabr. Syst. Ent. 736. 14; Ent. Syst. iv. 214.

21; Syst. Rhyn. 294. 21; Gmelin, Syst. Nat. 1. 2206 ; Schrank,

Faun. Boic. u. 1. 108; Turt. 1. 705; Sir Oswald Mosley, Gard.

Chron. i. 684; Kaltenbach, Mon. Pflan. 1. 79. 57.

Euonymaphis, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 2 série, v. 478.

The viviparous wingless female. This appears on the spindle-

tree (Huonymus europeus) in April: it is black, oval, convex,

short, broad, very plump, and covered with a white bloom: the

feelers are white, and about one-third of the length of the body ;

their tips are black: the nectaries are about one-fifteenth of the

length of the body: the legs are rather ‘short, the shanks are

white with black tips; the fore-shanks are dirty white with brown

tips. The young one is like its mother, but more flat and

linear, less intensely black, and without bloom ; its limbs are

blackish green, and at the moment of its birth its body is dark

green. The front of the head is slightly convex, and not notched ;

the first and the second joints of the feelers are not angular ; the

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 279

fourth joint is shorter than the third; the fifth is a ttle shorter

than the fourth ; the sixth is a little shorter than the fifth; the

seventh is nearly twice the length of the sixth.

1st var. Dark bronze colour.

2nd var. Pale whitish green ; limbs darker.

3rd var. Black and white, or piebald.

4th var. Dark velvet-like red : the feelers are white with black

tips: the mouth also is white ; its tip, the eyes and the nectaries

are black: there is a large and somewhat pale spot on the disc of

the body: the legs are white; the four hinder thighs, the fore-

knees, the feet and the tips of the shanks are black. When very

young it is pale red, and its legs excepting the feet are nearly

all white.

It is infested by an Aphidius. The clusters of dead bodies

which stick to the leaves are consumed by little Acari.

The viviparous winged female. While a pupa it has spots of

white powder in a row on each side of the body : when the wings

are unfolded it is stout, thick, black, shining, and has a slight

metallic tinge: the feelers are more than half the length of the

body; the fourth joint is shorter than the third; the fifth 1s

shorter than the fourth; the sixth is much shorter than the

fifth; the seventh is hardly twice the length of the sixth:

the mouth is dull green with a black tip: the nectaries are

not more than one-tenth of the length of the body: the legs

are black ; the shanks except their tips, the base of the thighs,

and nearly the whole of the fore-thighs, are yellow: the wings

are colourless, and are very much longer than the body; the

wing-ribs and the rib-veins are pale yellow ; the wing-brands are

dull buff; the other veins are brown; the second vein diverges

much more from the first than it does from the third ; the first

fork of the latter vein begins after one-third, and the second still

more beyond two-thirds of its length; the fourth vein is more

curved at its source than near its tip: the angle whence it springs

is very slight.

Ist var. Pale whitish green with dark limbs.

2nd var. Body black and white.

3rd var. Wings with a slight yellow tinge. :

4th var. Body small, black : abdomen dark green : the seventh

joint of the feelers is more than twice the length of the sixth.

Length of the body 4-3 line ; of the wings 13-24 lines.

Variations in the veins of the wings. \st var—The fourth

branch-vein forms an angle, and a short cross-vein passes from

it to the second fork of the third branch-vein: in the opposite

wing the branches of the second fork having separated reunite,

and form a little elliptical areolet, and then again divide to form

the fork.

280 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

2nd var. The second and the fourth branch-veins are forked

near their tips.

ord var. An additional vein connects the lower branch of the

first fork with the second fork of the third vein.

4th var. There is a spurious or supernumerary vein which

proceeds from the third vein a little before its first fork, and

passes towards the hind-border of the wing, which however it

does not attain.

5th var. The fourth vein is forked near its tip.

6th var. With an areolet like that of the second var., but

larger and triangular.

81. Aphis Lychnidis, Linn.

Aplis Lychnidis, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 734. 7; Faun. Suec. 980 ;

Fabr. ete Knt. 737. 1; Sp. Ins. 1. 2. 384. 4; Ent. Syst. iv.

210. Syst. Rhyn. 294. 2; Gmel. ed. Syst. "Nat. i. 2208 ;

Schon, Faun. Boie. ii. 114. 1214; Berk. Syn. i. 119; Stew.

El. un. 110; Turt. 1. 703; Kaltenbach, Mon. Pflan. i. 92. 67 ;

Reaum. Ins. iii, 281. 340.

A. Cucubali, Linn. Faun. Suee. 719.

Lychnidaphis, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 24 série, v. 478.

This species feeds from April to November on Lychunis viscaria,

L. diurna, and Cucubalus Behen.

The viviparous wingless female. This is hatched in April, and

is remarkable for its shining and glutinous appearance : the body

is rather small, black, oval, very convex and plump, dark green

beneath : the feelers are black, slender, more than half the length

of the body, pale yellow towards the ‘base which is black: the

eyes are dark brown: the mouth is pale green : the nectaries are

about one-twelfth of the length of the body : the legs are pale

yellow; the knees, the Ges and the tips of the shonle are

brown. When young it is dark green, or pale greenish red, or

pale brown: the head is pale green: the limbs are almost or

quite white.

The viviparous winged female. The pupa unfolds its wings

in the middle of May: it is then black and shining: the fore-

border and the hind-border of the fore-chest are dull tawny,

which is also the colour of the abdomen beneath, and at the base

above: the feelers are as long as the body; the fourth joint is

much shorter than the third; the fifth is shorter than the fourth ;

the sixth is much shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is nearly as

long as the third: the mouth is black with a pale yellow base :

the nectaries are about one-eighth of the length of the body : the

legs are dull yellow; the feet and the tips of the thighs and of

the shanks and the greater part of the hind-thighs are black :

the wings are colourless, and much longer than the body ; the

Mr. A. Hancock on a species of Hydra. 281

wing-ribs and the rib-veins are yellow ; the brands and the veins

are brown, and the latter are very distinct.

1st var. The seventh joint of the feelers is hardly longer than

the fourth.

2nd var. The mouth is dull yellow with a black tip.

3rd var. The nectaries are one-tenth of the length of the

body.

4th var. The legs are black: the base of the thighs is yellow

in the fore-pair, and has a slight tinge of yellow in the rest.

The oviparous wingless female? The head, the underside, and

sometimes the chest, and even the whole body, are red: the

mouth is pale yellow with a black tip. Found in the autumn.

The winged male? Black, and very small : the abdomen is very

dark green: the feelers are a little longer than the body: the

mouth is dull yellow; its tip and the nectaries are black, and

the latter are as long as one-sixth of the body : the legs are black ;

the base of the fore-thighs, and the shanks, except their tips, are

dark yellow: the wings are nearly twice the length of the body ;

the wing-ribs are pale yellow. In the beginning of November.

Length of the body }—3 line; of the wings 13-24 lines.

[To be continued. ]

XXVITI.—Notes on a species of Hydra found in the Northumber-

land Lakes. By Aupany Hancock, Esq.

[With two Plates. |

On visiting the Northumberland lakes last August for the pur-

pose of prosecuting my mquiries respecting the freshwater Asci-

dian Polypes, I took a very beautiful Hydra abundantly in

Bromley Lough. On a subsequent occasion numerous speci-

mens of the same species were also obtamed in Crag Lough.

They were found associated with the various Bryozoa that

inhabit these waters, adhermg to the under side of stones that

lie scattered by their margins, and in situations where there was

neither mud nor vegetation. From the peculiar character of the

locality, so different from that of the usual habitat of the Hydra,

I was induced to examine the specimens with great care, and

find that they do not exactly agree with any of the known forms,

though they come very near to H. fusca, of which they may pro-

bably prove to be a variety.

On removing from the water a stone to which these Hydre

are attached, they appear as irregular, minute, depressed globules

of gelatine of a pale red flesh-colour, dispersed over the surface,

sometimes in great numbers on one stone, but never crowded on

each other. When placed ima bottle of water they soon become

fixed to its sides, and spreading out their tentacles display them-

282 Mr. A. Hancock on a species of Hydra

selves to great advantage. They are now seen to be very variable in

form, Pl. VI. figs. 3, 4,—or rather that they have great command

over it, contracting themselves until they are almost globular or

vase-like, with the tentacles very short and swelled out in the

centre ; then, extending themselves, they become linear, much at-

tenuated, and frequently half an inch long,—the tentacles, fig. 5,

being very delicate, and tapering imperceptibly towards the ex-

tremity which is enlarged and rounded, forming a nodule or bulb

of no great size, but quite visible to the naked eye. The polype,

however, is usually much less extended, and is generally a little

bulged in the centre; the tentacles are then somewhat longer

than the body, but are shorter than it when the animal is fully

stretched out. There are usually six tentacles, occasionally five,

rarely seven; they are white, never coloured in the centre like

the body, which, as already stated, is a red flesh-colour ; it is also

sometimes yellowish. The colouring, which is apparently much

affected by exposure to light, depends on the granules that line

the internal or digestive cavity, and is most intense near the

mouth.

When in their native haunts, attached to the under side of

stones, the Hydre must be nearly in total darkness ; but on bemg

placed in a bottle they become exposed to the solar rays, and in

the course of a few days are almost completely bleached. Sup-

posing that this loss of colour was occasioned by the want of

food, the specimens were supplied with animalcules; but their

original hue was not in the least restored.

During the first week or ten days the captives added greatly

to their number by gemmation, the buds sprouting from the

lower portion of the body,—rarely more than one at a time.

Afterwards the budding was much less frequent ; and in about

a month from the time they were taken, most of the specimens

had perished. Two or three, figs. 1 & 2, more favourably placed

than the rest, continued to live on for some time longer, and

thrived well; but they changed considerably in appearance. <A

short way below the tentacles two tubercles, a, a, had developed

themselves opposite to each other, and were in every respect

symmetrical; and the body was considerably enlarged towards

the lower extremity. In this state the animal had a pedunculate

appearance, and I was quite at a loss to account for the change.

These specimens belonged to the first batch procured in Bromley

Lough. On visiting the lakes again, however, in September, and

getting a fresh supply, nearly all the individuals exhibited the

same appearances ; the tubercles being invariably a little below

the tentacles, though not always symmetrically placed ; and oc-

casionally they were three and even four in number : the swelling,

too, on the lower part of the body varied in different specimens.

Sound in the Northumberland Lakes. 283

On placing one of them, PI. VII. fig. 5, under the microscope,

the tubercle was found to be vesicular, of a conical form, with the

apex obtuse, and to resemble in texture the general surface of

the animal: the basal portion contained an opake, rosy, granular

body, a, of a glandular appearance, which completely filled the

base of the tubercle; the apex, b, was pellucid, and on being

attentively examined a crowd of very minute moving bodies were

observed within it.

Whilst watching with great earnestness the motion of these

mysterious bodies, all of a sudden the apex of the tubercle burst,

and a great number of them, cloud-like, rushing into the sur-

rounding fluid, dispersed in all directions. The rupture appeared

to close again, and the apex was seen to be almost empty; but

fresh bodies making their appearance the receptacle was soon as

full as ever. I have seen the eruption of these corpuscles on

several occasions, and have no doubt that it is a natural pheeno-

menon ;—not resulting from any artificial means,—certainly

not from pressure, as the animals were always quite free. On

examining these moving bodies, fig. 12, which are exceedingly

minute, with 4th of an inch object-glass, they were found to be of

an elliptical form, and to resemble spermatozoa ; tails, however,

were not detected, though with a higher power it is not impro-

bable that they may be found; for I could not satisfy myself of

their non-existence.

The nature of these tubercles or sacs is a matter of much

interest. They were discovered by Ehrenberg, and described

by him as the male organ,—the moving bodies being considered

spermatozoa. Though I have not seen the original memoir on

the subject, I think there can be little doubt of the accuracy of

this opinion. How else can we account for the constancy of the

appearance of these sacs ?—for their development at the time the

eges are being produced, as we shall afterwards see is the case ?

—for their being situated always on the same part of the ani-

mal ?—for the contained gland-like body, and moving corpuscles ?

—for the eruption of these latter bodies, and for their resem-

blance to spermatozoa ?

Having thus detected what I believed to be the male genera-

tive organ, | was anxious to watch the development of the egg,

which appears to have been already described more than once ;

but as it has rarely been observed by British naturalists, I will

venture to give my own remarks on the subject. The lower

portion of the body, as before stated, is enlarged at the time when

the male organ makes its appearance. On examining the en-

largement, Pl. VI. figs. 1 & 2 b, 0, carefully, it is found to be

usually greater on one side than the other; here it is opake and

of a pale rosy hue, notwithstanding that the animal is faded

284 Mr, A. Hancock on a species of Hydra

under the effect of light. The opake swelling extends nearly

round the body,—the margins being generally distinct. This is

the nascent ovum, as it appears at first ; it gradually increases

in size, Pl. VII. fig. 1 d', and ultimately becomes very protu-

berant, bulging the body excessively on one side: the egg at this

‘time is confounded with its covering; but it, d, is soon seen as

a rounded, somewhat flattened body contained within a trans-

parent envelope, e, resembling the general surface of the body,

of which it is apparently a continuation. This envelope, fig. 2 4, d,

shortly opens at the highest point of the swelling, and the egg, a,

gradually makes its way through the orifice, which as gradually

enlarges until the egg, figs. 3 b & 4:e, is completely exposed, and

rests, as it were, within the mouth of a shallow cup, figs. 3 e, e,

& 4g, the contracted envelope. The egg remains in this position

for a day or sometimes longer, attached to the body of the parent

by a short, thin pedicle, figs, 3d & 4f: the margins at first are

generally undulated, as in fig. 4; afterwards the ege becomes

almost completely globular. ‘This ultimately detached, and soon

fixes itself to some foreign body. On watching one ‘individual

through the microscope, the egg was observed to separate from

the parent, and to move slowly away. No ciliary action could

be detected to account for the motion; but it assuredly passed

out of the field of view as often as the instrument was adjusted :

in another instance, however, no motion could be observed. The

egg, Pl. VI. fig. 6, in the course of an hour or so became

stationary, and feel minute globules, a, a, a, which had been

noticed sticking to it from the first, Pl. VII. fig. 3 ¢, c, enlarged,

and others made their appearance : they soon assumed the cha-

racter of delicate cells, fig. 7, filled with globular bodies with

dark margins. These globules are probably composed of some

tenacious mucus with which to glue the egg to any substance on

which it may happen to settle. Soon after attachment these

bodies disappear, and the egg, which is now perfectly circular, is

seen to be surrounded by a narrow, transparent rim, indicating

the presence of a distinct chorion ; the under side of the egg being

flattened, the upper side convex, opake and rosy as at first.

I have not been able to determine with precision how many

eggs are produced by each polype, but certainly no great number,

probably not more than three or four, and in some instances

perhaps only one. On one occasion after the egg separated from

the animal, the latter gradually dwindled in size and ultimately

disappeared. Most frequently, however, the polype is not

materially altered on giving birth to an egg; and occasionally

two, Pl. VII. fig. 1 d',d, are in process of development at the

same time, gener rally Fron opposite sides, one being more advanced

than the other.

found in the Northumberland Lakes. 285

The male organ is only developed at the time the eggs make

their appearance. In August, shortly after the polypes were

procured, they multiplied rapidly, as we have seen, by gemmation,

and at this period none of the sacs containing spermatozoa were

observed. It was not until they had ceased to propagate in this

way, some time in September, that the male organ was developed,

and it was always visible afterwards, though variable in size.

All the individuals apparently produce eggs, and all are alike

provided with the spermatic sacs; at least the ovum in various

stages of development and the male organ are seen at the same

time in most specimens: it is not uncommon, however, to ob-

serve the male organ only, the egg probably having just left the

body of the parent, though I do not recollect having scen the

egg im process of development i in individuals unprovided with

the sperm-vesicles.

It is worthy of 1emark, that the buds sprout from the same

part of the body in which the eggs are developed; but I have

seen nothing to warrant the assertion that the ova after im-

pregnation “sometimes are retained and then grow out like

buds.” Indeed it is probable that fecundation does not take

place until the egg bursts through the integument, and is attached

to the parent only by a delicate pedicle. This would appear more

likely than that impregnation should be effected through the

skin of the animal. Whilst watching an individual when the

egg was about to separate from the parent, the sperm-vesicle was

frequently brought, by the contractions of the body, almost in

contact with the ovum; thus fecundation might very easily be

effected, and at a moment, too, when from analogy it might be

expected to take place: more obser vations, however, are required

to settle this point.

I have also observed sperm-vesicles, Pl. VII. fig. 6, in H.

viridis: in this species they are much smaller than in the spect-

mens from the Northumberland lakes, and are generally two or

three in number, near the anterior extremity of the body, but

without symmetrical arrangement. They are irregular.y conical,

with the base wide, within which there is likewise a distinct

glandular body of a green colour; the moving bodies are very

numerous, and occupy, as in the other species, the transparent

apex. The sperm-vesicles were noticed in H. viridis after it had

ceased to bud, some time early in October.

The tentacles, Pls. VI. & VIL. figs. 5, 7, of the flesh-coloured

species are very rough and beautiful, exhibiting an imperfect

spiral arrangement of the nodular enlargements. There are two

kinds of vesicles immersed in the nodules, as have been described

in some other species; one being much more numerous and

smaller than the other. The former are for touch, the latter for

286 Mr. A. Hancock on a species of Hydra

prehension, according to Corda, who appears to have examined

these organs with great care, but whose description of one of

them is erroneous in several respects: the original memoir, how-

ever, I have not seen. Neither have I had an opportunity of

consulting Ehrenberg’s account of the minute structure of the

tentacles of these animals. The smaller vesicles, Pl. VII. fig.

7 a, and fig. 8, seem to agree with Corda’s description as given

in Johnston’s ‘ British Zoophytes’; they are elliptical, being com-

posed of an inner and outer sac, both very delicate, transparent

and membranous. ‘These bodies are placed with their long axis

perpendicular to the surface of the nodule in which they are

imbedded, and have a non-contractile hair-like process projecting

from the external end.

The larger vesicles, fig. 7 b, are very complicated, and appear

to have been only partially understood by Corda, though he had

arrived at a full comprehension of their functions. They are

not merely prehensile organs, but are undoubtedly also stinging

instruments, as supposed by this naturalist, and are at least twice

as large as those for touch: they, fig. 9, are of an ovate form,

short and stout, immersed in the substance of the nodule with

the narrow end uppermost, and immediately beneath the surface.

At the bottom of the vesicle, which though perfectly transparent

has rather thick walls, is seen a delicate ling membrane, d,

folded down upon itself, having a cup- or saucer-like appearance.

This, according to Corda, is “a saucer-like vesicle.’ Standing

up from the centre of this is a transparent membranous stalk,

c, irregularly bulged a little at the sides, and surmounted by a

sharp arrow-like head, 4, with the barbs much depressed. This

supporting stalk is described by the naturalist just quoted as

“a solid, ovate corpuscle.” But to get a full knowledge of this

apparatus, it must be examined when exserted and ready for

action. The saucer-like vesicle is then seen to have disappeared,

and the outer vesicle, fig. 10 a, is lined throughont with a delicate

membrane, 0 ; in fact the lips or margins of the saucer-like vesicle

have unrolled themselves and now form the upper portion of the

lining membrane, the saucer itself being the lower portion of it.

And moreover the lining membrane is continued through the

neck of the outer vesicle, and is seen to be prolonged into the

stalk, c, supporting the arrow-head ; the barbs, ¢’, of which, three

in number, are now very much elevated, being almost horizontal ;

and thus protruded beyond the surface of the tentacle are ready

to lay hold of prey in the manner of a grappling-iron.

The animal would appear, however, to. have the power of

throwing the whole apparatus from the tentacle. If a specimen

be laid on a piece of glass and examined through the microscope,

a number of these organs with the barbs fully extended will be

found in the Northumberland Lakes. 287

seen scattered about like as many minute Florence flasks ; the

bulbous extremity being elegantly rounded. For the purpose of

ascertaining if the animal really possessed this power, a small

worm was given to a polype when under the microscope, and

carefully watched. The animal was exceedingly cautious in

using its tentacles, not applying them im their whole extent as

might have been expected, but keeping by far the greater portion

of these organs perfectly free and unattached to its prey. Very

few of the arrow-heads were exserted, and apparently never till

required ; occasionally certain parts of the tentacles were brought

into contact with the worm, and then, as it was forcibly drawn

further into the mouth, the protruded barbs might be seen sticking

in the surface of the struggling victim. At other times, as it

rolled about in its vain endeavours to escape, the bulbous extre-

mities of several of these formidable weapons were seen pro-

truding from the skin, undoubtedly placed there by the pungent

embrace of this deadly and determined foe; while others lay

scattered about in every direction as if just cast from the tentacles.

It is therefore evident that these weapons can be used either as

grappling instruments for securing food, or having been plunged

into some living prey, can be left half-buried in the wound. In-

deed when the barbs have been once fairly immersed, it is difficult

to conceive how they can be withdrawn ; and therefore it is pro-

bable that the tentacles can only be disengaged by moulting these

organs, which seem to be very slightly attached by the neck of

the flask-like portion.

This, however, may not be the only reason why these weapons

are left in the wound. It has been stated that they are stinging

as well as captor organs, and if so may require time to pour the

poison into the wounded animal. The deadly fluid is probably

contained in the bulbous portion of the instrument, and by the

contraction of its walls may be forced through the other extre-

mity which is perforated ; at least from the extreme point a long,

delicate filament, fig. 10 d, almost invariably protrudes, re-

sembling very closely the appearance of the long process attached

to the stmging bodies thrown out of the papille of Holts, and

from the tentacles of Actinia. But other bodies much more

closely resembling the stinging organs of these animals were

found strewed about associated with the captor organs. These

bodies, fig. 11, are minute elliptical sacs with a long, slender

filament from one end like that just mentioned from the pointed

extremity of the captor organ. The filaments of both these

bodies have a double margin, and are apparently tubular. Now

it is more than probable that these elliptical sacs are thrown out

of the captor organ, and that the filament, so frequently seen

288 Mr. A. Hancock on a species of Hydra

issuing from its pointed extremity, belongs to one of them about

to be exserted.

We thus see that Hydra is provided with a most efficient

stinging apparatus, which having penctrated the surface of its

prey remains fixed there, discharging into the wound its poison-

bearing filaments. No wonder then that the embrace of these

animals should be so deadly to the animalcule that comes within -

their reach; and that the worm so tenacious of life should fall

paralysed from their touch and die, as we are told, almost without

a struggle.

The captor organs of Hydra viridis are exactly similar to those

just described, but are scarcely more than half their size. In

this species, too, they are cast from the tentacle.

Corda considers the arrow-head, and what he calls the ovate

corpuscle, which we have seen is the membranous stalk sup-

porting the barbs, to be calcareous. Acetic acid, however, has

no effect on these parts; and they resist nitric acid for some

time, but in the course of an hour or two almost disappear under

the influence of this powerful fluid. It is therefore evident that

neither of these parts is calcareous: the arrow-head and barbs

are probably composed of horny tissue, or some other substance

with which we are unacquainted.

It appears that Corda has also determined the existence of an

anal outlet at the posterior extremity of the animal. I have like-

wise seen what I take to be a similar outlet. On examining a

specimen in a highly contracted state, and which was about to

discharge an egg, a distinct, constricted, lear channel, P]. VII.

fig. 4b, was observed passing from the digestive cavity through

the substance of the adhesive disc, apparently about its centre.

From this channel issued a long, linear mass, ¢, of excrementi-—

tious matter composed of a tenacious mucus imbedding a granu-

lar substance resembling both in colour and texture that which

lined the digestive cavity.

The true nature of this outlet is enigmatical, since it is known

that the refuse of digestion is discharged by the oral orifice.

Professor Owen suggests that “it may give passage to certain

excretions of the villous linmg membrane of the alimentary

canal.” From the facts just mentioned it would appear that

this conjecture is probably correct.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES VI. anv VII.

Puate VI.

Figs. 1, 2. Two much-enlarged views of the Hydra from the Northumber-

land lakes after development of the sperm-vesicles: @, a, sperm-

vesicles ; 0, ovum in early stage of development.

found in the Northumberland Lakes. 289

Figs. 3, 4. Two much-enlarged views of the same before development of

Fig. 5.

Fig.

ig.

Fig.

the sperm-vesicles.

Two highly magnified views of the terminal portion of the

tentacle, exhibiting nodular enlargements, @, and terminal bulb

or nodule, 0b.

. Egg after attachment to some foreign body much magnified, ex-

hibiting chorion : a, a, a, a few of the mucus-globules contained in

vesicles adhering to the egg.

A few of the same vesicles containing mucus-globules more highly

magnified.

Puate VII.

. Hydra much enlarged, exhibiting development of ova: a, basal

portion of tentacles; 6, mouth; c¢, c, sperm-vesicles ; d', ovum

considerably advanced; d, ovum just before it bursts through its

envelope, e.

. Much-enlarged view of egg as it appears immediately after it has

burst the envelope : a, eg; b,b, margins of envelope; c, c, por-

tions of the animal.

. A portion of Hydra much magnified, exhibiting the egg when ready

to separate from parent: a, portion of the animal; 0, egg; ¢,¢,

mucus-globules as they at first appear; d, pedicle attaching egg

to parent; e, e, contracted margins of envelope.

. Enlarged view of Hydra much contracted with egg attached, ex-

hibitmg anal orifice : a, mouth ; 0, anal orifice as seen through the

substance of the adhesive disc ; ¢, feces passing out of same; d,

sperm-vesicle ; e, egg with undulated margins ; f, pedicle attaching

same to parent ; g, contracted margin of envelope.

Sperm-vesicle much enlarged of the Hydra from the Northumber-

land lakes : a, gland-like body within the base of same ; 0, apex of

same containing spermatozoa; ¢, c, a portion of surface of animal.

. Sperm-vesicle much enlarged of H. viridis: a, gland-hke body

within base of vesicle ; 6, apex of same containing spermatozoa ;

c, c, surface of animal.

- Much-enlarged view of portion of tentacle of the flesh-coloured

Hydra as seen in the compressor, exhibiting captor organs and

organs of touch imbedded in the nodular enlargements : a, organs

of touch; 5, captor organs.

. Two of the organs of touch greatly magnified, exhibiting inner and

outer vesicles and cilium.

. Greatly enlarged view of retracted captor organ: a, outer vesicle ;

b, arrow-head with barbs depressed; c, membranous stalk of

same ; d, inner or lining membrane doubled down upon itself.

10. Captor organ exserted: a, outer vesicle ; b, inner or lmimg mem-

brane ; c, membranous stalk supporting arrow-head with the

three barbs, c', elevated; d, filament passing out of the pomted

extremity of arrow-head.

11. Two enlarged views of elliptical sacs with filaments supposed to

be poison-organs cast from captor organ.

12. Two of the spermatozoa highly magnified from sperm-vesicle of

flesh-coloured Hydra.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 19 °

290 Zoological Society.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

March 27, 1849.—Wm. Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

The Secretary communicated to the Meeting a letter which had

been addressed to the Council by Sir Roderick Impey Murchison,

G.C.St.S., &c. &c., in which he gave the gratifying intelligence of _

his having been assured by the Count Kisselef, Minister of the

Imperial Domains of Russia, that if it was possible to obtain another

Male Aurochs, it would afford his Excellency the greatest pleasure to

receive the high command of His Majesty the Emperor for its

transmission to the Society. Although the communication of Count

Kisselef did not amount to an absolute promise, Sir Roderick ex-

pressed his conviction, that with so earnest an intention of assisting

the Society on the part of the confidential Minister of his Imperial

Majesty, there was still a chance of the Aurochs again living and

reproducing its species in Britain.

The following paper was read :—

MonoGRAPH OF THE LARGE AFRICAN SPECIES OF NOCTURNAL

LEPIDOPTERA BELONGING OR ALLIED TO THE GENUS SATUR-

nia. By J. O. Westwoop, F.L.S. Etc.

Linneus, in pursuance of the plan which he generally adopted, of

placing the largest species of any group at its head, introduced as the

first species of the Nocturnal Lepidoptera (the whole of which con-

stituted in his System but one genus, Phalena) those gigantic moths

of which the Phalena Atlas may be considered as the type, distin-

guished both by himself and Fabricius by the character “ alis pa-

tulis.’ Placed thus at the head of this great division, and being in

themselves some of the most gigantic and at the same time most

beautiful of the insect tribes,—valuable also to the human race on

account of the product obtained from several of the species,—I have

thought that a synopsis of the African species (a considerable number

of which are now for the first time described and figured, and several

of which, being inhabitants of Southern Africa, appear as likely to

afford a supply of silk as their Indian relatives,) would not be with-

out interest.

So little however has hitherto been effected in the classification of

the nocturnal exotic Lepidoptera, even of the larger species, and in

fact so completely have the chief characters, on which a real distri-

bution of these insects can alone be established—I allude more espe-

cially to the arrangement of the veins of the wings and the transfor-

mations of the insects—been neglected, that it is impossible, without

a revision of the whole of the family Bombycide, to arrive at the most

satisfactory plan of arrangement of a geographical selection of the

species. It will however not be useless to notice the attempts which

have been made relative to the arrangement of these insects. Dr.

Boisduval, in his ‘Genera et Index Methodicus,’ has divided the

Heterocera into a number of tribes of equal rank, amongst which is the

Zoological Society. 291

Saturnides*, characterized thus: “ Larvee obesz arboricole, segmen-

tis prominulis, modo tuberculis piligeris, modo spinis verticillatis vel

pennatis instructze. Folliculum tenax. Alze patulze late seepius macula

ocellari vel diaphana ornatze : lingua nulla.’’ The tribe comprises the

single genus Saturnia of Schranck and Ochsenheimer (détacus, Ger-

mar), with the four European species Pyri, Spini, Carpini, and Ce-

cigena as its types. The characters given by Boisduval are suffi-

ciently precise, but those obtained from the peculiar structure of the

autennee and of the veins of the wings, which Boisduval has not no-

ticed, are far more distinctive. M. Boisduval’s next tribe, Lndromé-

des, is a very artificial one, consisting of the two genera 4glaia and Hx-

dromis, which possess but littlein common: Aglaia Tau, in fact, pos-

sesses the broad, flat, pennate, male antennze of Saturnia, with which

it also agrees in each joint emitting four branches, two at the base and

two at the apex, the latter pair being shorter and more slender than the

former ; moreover, each branch of the former pair has its fore-margin

fringed with very delicate hairs, directed of course to the tip of the

antennee, and its apex is furnished with two stronger bristles, also ex-

tended in the same direction, and each of the latter pair of branches

has its hinder margin similarly fringed, the hairs of course being di-

rected towards the base of the antennz, and nearly meeting the op-

posite row of hairs supplied by the basal branches of each joint. This

very peculiar structure, also possessed by the giant Saturnie (alone,

as I believe), has not been previously noticed by any writer with whose

works I am acquainted, and would most probably afford physiological

peculiarities of much interest. The veins of the wings of Aglaia are

also disposed on the same general plan as in the Saturnia, namely

the apical portion of the fore-wing is traversed by six branches, three

arising from the great median vein and three from the post-costal

vein, the two hindermost of the latter uniting together near the

middle of the wing: there is however this difference between the

_ wings of Aglaia and Saturnia; namely, that whereas in Saturnia the

first branch of the post-costal vein is very minute, consisting of a

scarcely visible, almost transverse veinlet, occurring halfway between

the tip of the costal vein and the extremity of the wing, in dglaia

this first branch of the post-costal vein is longer than all the rest,

arising at about one-third of the length of the wing from the base.

Thus Aglaia and Saturnia agree in possessing a simple costal vein, a

post-costal vein with five branches, a median vein with three branches,

and a simple anal vein. We also find that, like Saturnia, all the wings

in Aglaia are marked in the middle with an eye-shaped spot. Bois-

duval however appears to have considered that the transformations

of Aglaia were the chief grounds for separating it from the Satur-

nides: he describes the larvee of 4. Tau as “ rugulose, per juventu-

tem spinigerze; adultz mutice. Folliculum sub-nullum. Puppa

muscis vel foliis demortuis obtectat.”’

From the preceding considerations I am induced to regard Aglaia

as belonging to the same subsection or tribe as Saturnia, considering

the differences of metamorphosis existing between them as more than

* Op. cit. p. 73. + Op. cit. supr. p. 74.

19*

292 Zoological Society.

counterbalanced by the striking similarity of their more important

characters in the perfect state. As to the connexion between Aglaia

and Endromis, proposed by Boisduval, I cannot consider it as pos-

sessed of any real existence, Hndromis having a totally different

arrangement of the wing-veins, the apical portion of the fore-wings

being traversed by seven branches, namely four arising from the me-

dian vein, and three simple ones arising from the post-costal vein, the

wing being furnished with a simple costal, a 5-branched post-costal,

a 4-branched median and a simpleanal vein. Now this is the typical

number of branches which a lepidopterous wing ought to possess,

necording to the theory of Mr. Edward Doubleday, that we are to

suppose the existence of a discoidal vein traversing the middle of the

discoidal cell, and that this discoidal vein, as well as the post-costal

and median, are respectively furnished with three branches, Ac-

cording to this theory therefore, the two branches of the post-costal

vein which run to the tip of the fore-wing of Exdromis, together with

the first branch traversing the front of the disc of the apical portion

of the wing, are the only real branches of the post-costal vein; the

two following branches of the post-costal vein, as I have regarded

them, and the first branch of the median vein, are the branches of the

supposed discoidal vein, and the three remaining branches of the me-

dian vein are its only true branches. I do not intend in this place

to enter into a detail of the reasons which induce me to refuse assent

to this theory ; I may however observe, Ist, that with regard to the

functions of these branches, it is evident that the fourth branch of the

median vein, where present, must form a portion of the system of cir-

culation effected by the branches of the median vein, just as in like

manner the three branches of the post-costal vein of Saturnia, which

traverse the apical portion of the fore-wing, must be considered as ef-

fectually forming a portion of the post-costal vein ; 2ndly, that it seems

to me contrary to analogy to admit the existence of fully-developed

branches of a vein, the base of which has no real existence ; and 3rdly,

that instances occur (e.g. Psyche Stettinella, Cochleophasia tes-

sellea) in which the number of branches exceeds the supposed typical

number of nine (7. e. three post-costal, three discoidal, and three me-

dian), those insects having ten branches, in which case one of the

veins must have an extra branch ; whilst in Saturnia for instance, the

supposed discoidal vein can only have two branches,—hence I see no

reason why cases may not be supposed in which one vein should have

more, and another vein fewer, than the typical number of branches ;

or, in other words, why the median vein in Endromis should not

have four branches, whilst there are only five branches for the post-

costal and supposed discoidal veins.

The antennee also of Lndromis, as well as its transformations, are

quite different from those of Aglaia and Saturnia; indeed the tribe

Endromides of Boisduval seems to possess no single connecting cha-

racter.

Hiibner, in his ‘ Verzeichniss bekannter Schmetterlinge*,’ has at-

tempted an arrangement of these insects which appears to me unna-

tural, so far as the primary divisions are concerned, whereas his inferior

* Augsburg, 1816, 8yo.

Zoological Society. 293

groups (Coitus), founded almost entirely upon the form and marking

of the wings, appear to bring together the closely allied species. His

first tribe of the Bombycoid Nocturnal Lepidoptera is termed Sphin-

goides, and contains five stirpes:—Ist, Dimorphe (Endromis, Chao-

nia, Petasia, &c.); 2nd, Ptilodontes (the Prominent Moths) ; 3rd,

Andrie (Stauropus, Cerura, &c.) ; 4th, Platyptericides (Drepana,

Platypteryx, &c.); and 5th, Lchidne, composed of Aglaia and a

number of Saturnia. The second tribe of the Bombycoid Nocturnal

Lepidoptera is termed Vere, and consists of the remainder of the

Saturnia (S. Pavonia, Pyri, &c.) ; Apollonia, Cram. ; Maia, Drury ;

perspicilla, Stoll; Cedo nulli, Cram.; and Pandiona, Cram., m

separate coitus, forming a first stirps Heree ; the remaining stirpes,

composed of the Penthophore, Larie, Orgyie, Lithosie, Arctia,

Lasiocampe, Gastropache, &e. ; and the third tribe of the Bombycoid

Lepidoptera being composed of Hepialus, Cossus, and Zeuzera.

By this arrangement it will be seen that S. Pavonia, Pyri, &c.,

and the other species above named, are separated from the great body

of the Saturnie, a step for which I can see no real grounds, the charac-

ters of those species in the preparatory and perfect states agreeing

with those of the stirps Xchidne far more intimately than with any of

the other Bombycoid Nocturna, constituting the tribe named Vere.

Mr. James Duncan, in the volume of Exotic Moths forming part of

Sir W. Jardine’s Naturalist’s Library (vol. vii. 1841), has suggested

a mode of distribution of the Saturnia, founded upon the form of the

wings in the two sexes of the different species, of which the following

is a sketch :—

1. Those with the hind-wings rounded in both sexes.

Genus 1. Hyalophora {or the Speculares Attact and Samie of

Hubner}, with large vitreous spaces on the disc of the wings:

Atlas, Hesperus, Cecropia, \c.

Genus 2. Attacus, with eye-like spots on the wings, containing

the great majority of the species.

2. Those with the hind-wings furnished with an angular projection

posteriorly.

Genus 3. Arsenura [Rhescyntes of Hibner]. Hind-wings of

male alone angulated. Sp. Hrythrine, Fab.

Genus 4. Lomelia {Imbrasia of Hiibner}. Hind-wings of both

sexes angulated. Sp. Hpimethea, Drury.

3. Those with the hind-wings produced into a long tail.

Genus 5. Actias, Leach [Tropea, Hubner]. Tail about the

length of the body. Sp. Luna, Linn.

Genus 6. Hustera [Hudemonia, p. Hiibner|. Tail very long ;

apical margin of fore-wings rounded. Sp. Argus, Fab.

Genus 7. Copiopteryx |Hudemonia, p. Hiibner|. Tail very

long ; fore-wings truncated. . Sp. Semiramis, Cram.

The application of the character derived from the variation in the

form of the wings in the two sexes of the different species is a step

gained in their arrangement; it must however be admitted that the

species with rounded hind-wings, forming Mr. Duncan’s first section,

must be cut up into a considerable number of subsections to place

294 Zoological Society.

them on an equivalent footing with the species with angulated or tailed

hind-wings. Moreover the existence of large vitreous patches on the

wings is not sufficiently important for the formation of genera among

these insects, since it is found gradually obliterated in a series of the

species by the space being more and more clothed with scales, until,

as in our common Saturnia, all that remains of the vitreous spot is a

narrow lunule at the base of the pupil of the eye-like spot. Although

Mr. Duncan’s observation, that “the species in which the fore-wings

of the male are most decidedly faleate have this form much less

strongly marked in the female ; where the former are not very strongly

falcate, in the female they become subfalcate (J7. Promethea may

serve as an example), while the females of subfaleate winged males

have the exterior outline of their fore-wings either straight or slightly

curved outwards ’’—is correct, yet he has carried it too far in proposing

to unite together two insects belonging to different genera, and equally

far removed in their geographical range, namely the curious Saturnia

Lucina of Drury (which possesses very strongly falcate fore-wings, the

veins of which, as is evident from Drury’s figure, are arranged as in

the typical Saturnie, and which I find recorded in Drury’s MSS. to

be a native of Sierra Leone) and the Assamese Bombyx spectabilis*,

described by Mr. Hope in the Linnean Transactions (vol. xviii. part 3,

figured in pl. 31. fig. 3. from my drawing), which possesses an out-

wardly rounded apical margin of the fore-wings, and which, as may be

seen from my figure, has a different arrangement of the veins of the

fore-wings, the apical portion of the dise of which is traversed by seven

branches, the innermost pair of the post-costal vein not being united

together in a fork on the disc; the imsect in fact belonging rather to

the group of which Lasiocampa is a good typet.

* This species is the Bombya Certhia, Fabricius, Ent. Syst. iii. 412; Bombya

Wallichii, Gray in Zool. Mise. p. 39; and Phalena maxima, Chusan, Petiver. Gaz.

t. 18. fig. 3.

+ I may take this opportunity of describing a very fine new species of Lasio-

campa from Tropical Africa, in my own collection.

LasIocAMPA sTRiIGINA, Westw. £. alts anticis pallide incarnato-albidis strigis

guatuor fulvo-castaneis, posticis basi fuseis strigis tribus transversis albis,

pone medium fulvo-castaneis.

Expans. alar, une. 6.

Hab. Sierra Leone. In Mus. nostr.

The general colour of this insect is a rich chestnut-fulvous or sorrel colour. The

basal half of the fore-wings is of a pinkish buff, the pink tint being strongest at

the base, and extending across the hind part of the thorax. Between the base

and the distance of one-third of the length of the wing, are two straight, trans-

verse, chestnut-fulvous strigee, which are shaded off gradually to the pale ground

colour of the wing; at the distance of one-third is another abbreviated striga of

the same kind (indicating the situation where the discoidal cell is closed). Across

the middle of the wing is a broad, more oblique chestnut-fulvous bar, shaded off

in the same manner; and beyond this, and parallel with it, is another narrow,

darker chestnut-fulvous, oblique striga, leaving a broad apical margin of chestnut-

fulvous, slightly clouded with an obscure paler wave. The principal veins of the

wing are indicated at a little distance beyond the middle by a double row of

minute chestnut dots, and along the apical portion by a brighter tint. The fringe

is claret-brown. The hind-wings are blackish-brown at the base, with three

transverse white fasciz, the outer ones being close together, and running nearly

across the middle of the wing; the apical half of the wing being chestnut-fulvous,

with a slight indication of a paler fascia. The antenne are very pale buff and

Zoological Society. 295

As already stated, the insects of the genus Saturnia are among the

largest of the Nocturnal Lepidoptera, a few Hepialide and Lrebi

alone equaling them in size. How far this circumstance gives them

the character of a typical group may be reasonably questioned ; to me

indeed it appears that an increased size in the species of any group is

in itself a proof of a certain degree of aberration : certainly if strength

of flight and compactness of form be considered, we must regard the

Lasiocampe and allies as much rather the real representatives of the

Linnean Bombyces ; just as in the Butterflies, no one would consider

the species of Papilio on account of their large size as the types, but

would confer that title on Vanessa and its allies, notwithstanding the

want of well-developed fore-legs. Another circumstance which might

be alleged as a proof of the typicality of the Saturnia, is the wide geo-

graphical range of the species, which occur in all quarters of the globe,

which peculiarity extends even to the minor divisions of the genus ;

thus we have very closely-allied tailed species from North America,

India and South Africa; I believe however that naturalists have at

length agreed in refusing to this circumstance the right of conferring

typicality on groups.

Saturnia in fact appears to me to be one of those groups like Pa-

pilio among the Diurnal Lepidoptera, Carabus among the Carabide,

Feronia among the Harpalide, or Cicindela among the Cicinde-

lide, which are of great extent and comprise a number of species,

generally of comparatively large size, which it is difficult to group

into well-defined sections or subgenera, although their forms are very

varied. One or more species may be detached and characterized as

distinct subgenera, but when the whole group is carefully studied, it

is ascertained that these particular species do not possess more im-

portant characters than the rest. I shall not attempt therefore, in

describing the African species alone of this group, to introduce a system

of distribution among the species, further than the artificial division

given below.

The beautiful markings of the wings, and especially of the hind-

wings, of many of these insects, appear to indicate the character laid

down by Linneus and Fabricius, namely “ Alze patulee,”’ by which

we are to understand, that when the insect is at rest the fore-wings

do not closely cover the hind-ones, as is the case in the species with

dingy-coloured hind-wings, but leave their beautiful markings exposed

to view. Mr. E. Doubleday indeed informs me that the North

American S. Luna generally sits with its wings perpendicularly ele-

vated over its back, like a butterfly at rest. These beautiful eye-like

markings of the wings are indeed a good character of the group, al-

though that which is afforded by the arrangement of the veins above de-

scribed is of higher importance. The latter indeed, together with the

emission of four branches from each joint of the flat pennated antenne,

may be considered as the essential characters of the genus, although

they have never hitherto been employed to distinguish it. Another

bipectinated ; the tips are broken off in my specimen, the part remaining having

seventy-three pairs of rays. Beneath, the wings are paler chestnut-fulvous, with

a darker duplicated striga across the middle, and some slightly indicated waved

strige beyond the middle.

296 Zoological Society.

character, also hitherto unemployed, which will I think prove of im-

portance in determining the minor groups of Saturnia, consists of the

difference in the number of branches in the antenne of the different

species ; this I have carefully noticed in the followmg descriptions, as

well as the differences in the formation of the female antenne, in which

sex some of the species possess those organs almost filiform, whilst in

others they are nearly as strongly pennated as in the males.

In the following pages thirty-three African species are introduced,

of which seventeen are now for the first time described.

For convenience the following artificial mode of division is em-

ployed in their arrangement :—

A. Fore-wings very sickle-shaped; with a small eye-like spot near

the tip.

a. ‘All the wings with a glassy lunate central spot. Sp. 1.

6. Fore-wings with a central bean-shaped vitreous spot ; hind-

wings with large oval one. Sp. 2.

B. Fore-wings less strongly sickle-shaped or rounded externally ; all

the wings with an eye-like spot.

a. Hind-wings not tailed. Sp. 3-10.

6. Hind-wings tailed. Sp. 11, 12.

C. Fore-wings with a small triangular or quadrate vitreous central

spot ; hind-wings with a large eye. Sp. 13-24.

D. Wings without eyes or vitreous spots. Sp. 25-28.

E. Aberrant species. Sp. 29-33.

Section A.

Subsection a.

Sp. 1. Sarurnia Vacuna, Westw. S. alis maris falcatis fuscis,

fascia communi media alba, omnibus lunula magna media vitrea,

utringue albo flavoque marginata ; anticisque macula ovali

nigra subapicali (albo supra circumdata).

Expans. alar. unc. 61; ?une. 54.

Inhabits Ashantee. In the British Museum:

The male has the fore-wings considerably falcate at the tips, and

the hind ones almost triangular. The female has the fore-wings

somewhat emarginate in the middle of the hind margin, and the

hind-wings less elongated. The general colour of the wings is brown,

thickly irrorated, especially in the males, with white. The fore-

wings have a broad suboblique bar, extending from the base of the

inner margin and directed forwards in a right angle immediately in

front of the central lunule, the margin of which is formed of a nar-

row brown bar, within which it is dirty yellow, internally edged with

white, the central part being vitreous. This is followed by a white

oblique nearly straight bar, the brown space beyond which is much-

powdered with white; the apical margin is pale livid buff, traversed

by a very slender undulating brown line, with a black oval dot near

the apex, which is powdered at its base with white; the apex of

the wings being rosy fulvous, separated from the livid brown ante-

cedent part of the wing by a very much-angulated white line.

The hind-wings are white at the base, which extends on the out-

Zoological Society. 297

side and joins the central white fascia ; the apical portion is coloured

as in the fore-wings. The lunule is smaller and more curved than in

the fore-wings, but similarly coloured.

The antenne are fulvous. The abdomen whitish buff.

The male antenne are broad, and have forty-six rays on each side

lying flat ; the four rays of each joint of equal length. The female

antennee are of considerable breadth, and with forty-eight or fifty

rays on each side.

The palpi are very short but distinct and rather slender, and the

spiral tongue is also distinct and composed of two flattened free fila-

ments.

Subsection A. 6.

Sp. 2. Saturnia Myrurmnta, Westw. S. alis anticis subfal-

catis, omnibus purpureo-fuscis albo-irroratis ; et pone medium

striga alba valde curvata; anticis lunula magna vitrea albo

flavoque marginata; maculaque parva subapicali nigra albo

wrrorata ; posticis ocello magno ovali vitreo albo flavoque mar-

ginato, serieque catenata submarginali punctorum nigrorum.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 43-51.

Hab. Port Natal. In Mus. Britann.

The fore-wings are considerably emarginate along the outer mar-

gin in the male, and more slightly soin the female. The veins agree

m arrangement with the typical Saturnie. The general colour of

the wings is a dark livid brownish purple, thickly powdered with

white atoms; the middle of each wing is occupied by a large trans-

parent spot, kidney-shaped in the fore-wings and oval in the hind

ones; the vitreous portion is surrounded by a slender line of white,

which is succeeded by a yellow one, and this by a slender black line;

these eyes are of nearly equal size. The fore-wings are also marked

near the base with an oblique white fascia, extending from near the

base of the fore-wings to the base of the large eye ; beyond the eye

is a curved white bar, internally edged with a darker bar of livid

purple; the apical part of the fore-wings is brown shaded to fulvous

and buff; the outer margin of the wing dusky buff, with a series of

greenish buff spots edged with a slender brown deeply undulating

line; near the tip of the wing is a black spot irrorated with white at

the base, from which runs a very slender and much-angulated white

line. The hind-wings have a fulvous edge gradually shaded to buff-

brown, bearing a row of dark brown catenated spots followed by a

slender dusky line. The under side of the wings resembles the upper

side, with the costa of the hind-wings white. The body is purplish

brown, the thorax behind with a white fascia, and the segments of

the abdomen have the hinder margin white. The antennz, head and

legs are fulvous. ‘The antennze are broadly pennate, with the rays

continued to the tip. The males have fifty-eight rays (arranged in

double pairs to each joint), with single rays at the tip. The females

have also fifty-eight long rays (four to each joint), with eight or ten

single rays at the tip. The palpi are porrected, but do not extend

beyond the hairs of the clypeus.

298 Zoological Society.

Section B.

Subsection a.

Sp. 3. SarurnrA ARATA, Westw. 8S. alis flavis ; anticis apice

acutis basi livide maculatis, medio ocello livido cincto circulo

tenut albo, alteroque purpureo marginato, linea tenui dentata

media, strigaque obliqua subundata, posticis ocello magno multi-

annulato ornatis.

Expans. alar. unc. 41-53.

Hab. Ashantee, Sierra Leone and Port Natal. In Mus. Britann.

The fore-wings are nearly alike in both sexes, being but very

slightly emarginated in the male, with the tips acute ; wings rich yel-

low, with several livid or reddish patches near the base, followed by a

much-waved livid striga; in the middle of the wing is a moderate-

sized ocellus, the centre vitreous, outwardly edged with black, sur-

rounded by a livid ring, and this by a white circle, outside of which

is a narrow purplish or reddish ring. Connected with the outer edge

of the ocellus is a slender, very strongly denticulated dark brown line ;

beyond this is a nearly straight purplish brown striga, extending from

the fore-margin, where it is rather angulated and extending to the

middle of the inner margin ; beyond this line the outer margin of the

wing is marked with confluent livid or reddish patches, the margin

itself being of the same colour except at the tip.

The hind-wings are more or less tinged with red at the base, fol-

lowed by an angulated dark denticulated striga arismg from the anal

margin. In the middle of the wing is a large brilliantly coloured

ocellus ; the pupil is black, with a slender vitreous line towards the

base; the iris is livid, outwardly shaded to red, surrounded by a

slender white circle and this by a red ring. From the inner margin

of the eye runs a dentated brown line to the anal margin, and behind

it is a waved or dentated brown striga, the apical portion of the wing

being coloured as in the fore-wings. The thorax is yellow, with the

head, collar and legs livid brown. The wings are much less brilliantly

coloured on the underside, and the great ocellus of the hind-wings is

almost obliterated. The vitreous part of the ocellus of the fore-wings

is much smaller in the male than in the female; and the ocellus of the

hind-wings in the female is much more vividly coloured than in the

male.

The antenne of the males are 32-jointed with forty-eight rays on

each side, the two apical rays of each joint being rather shorter than

the two basal ones.

The palpi are short, but distinct and broad; the basal joint with

scales extending beyond the second joint. The antennze of the female

are 37-jointed, the rays being about three times as long as the thick-

ness of the antenne, and the two apical rays of each joint being quite

short.

Sp. 4. SarurniA Bexina, Westw. S. alis anticis flavo-griseis,

striga subangulata ante, alteraque fere recta pone medium;

ocello mediano hyalino fulvo-cincto ; alis posticis rubidis ocello

Zoological Society. 299

magno vitreo iride fulva nigro circumdata strigaque subapicali

alba, fusco externe marginata.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 44-44.

Hab. Port Natal et Zoolu. In Mus. Britann.

The fore-wings are nearly alike in both sexes, the outer margin

being scarcely emarginate. The general colour is uniform obscure

yellowish grey, covered with minute black irrorations ; at the distance

of about one-third of the length of the wing from the base isa rather

narrow white transverse striga, slightly angulated outwardly, having

a dusky edge on the inside next the base of the wing. In the middle

is arather small ocellus, the centre being semi-oval and vitreous, edged

with fulvous, and surrounded by a thin black circle; this is surrounded

by a dull buff ring, and this by a white one; beyond the middle is

an oblique nearly straight white striga, nearly parallel with the outer

margin, outwardly edged with a dark brown line. Hind-wings pale

livid pink at the base and along the anterior portion; near the base

is an obscure white striga, and in the middle is a large oval ocellus,

coloured in the same manner as the ocellus of the fore-wings, and

followed by a curved white striga edged outwardly with brown.

The thorax is coloured as the fore-wings, with a narrow transverse

white ring across the front. The abdomen is more strongly fulvous-

coloured. Wings beneath grey, the fore-ones tinged with pink on the

inner margin; across the middle is.a fulvous cloud ; the basal fascia

and the-eyelet of the hind-wings are wanting. The veins are arranged

in the typical manner.

The male antenne are 35-jointed with fifty-six rays on each side,

the rays rather long; the two basal rays of each jomt are obliquely

porrected, so that the rays form four series instead of all being on the

same plane; the six apical joints minute and not producing rays.

The antennz of the female are setaceous, the rays being scarcely

visible without a lens. The palpi are flattened, short and deflexed.

Sp. 5. Sarurnia Hersixi, Westw. S. alis maris integris flavis

fusco subirroratis, striga angulata transversa ante medium alte-

raque ante apicem subundata fuscis; ocello magno mediano

vitreo iride lata obscure lutea, linea tenui circulari nigra cir-

cumdata ; alis posticis basi roseo-flavis, ocello maximo mediano

vitreo circulis concentricis obscure luteo, nigro, late rufo, et

albo cincto, strigaque subapicali subundata fusca.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 5.

Hab. Congo. In Mus. Britann.

Male with the fore-wings entire, and slightly rounded along the

outer margin. General colour yellow; fore-wings finely powdered

with small brown scales, having a slender, angulated, brown striga

before the middle, slightly tinged on the outside with rosy; in the

middle of the wing is a large eye, having a subovate vitreous centre,

surrounded by a broad dirty luteous brown ring, succeeded by a

narrow black circle with a white outer ring; halfway between this

and the outer margin is a narrow brown striga parallel with the outer

margin, inwardly edged with rosy white. Hind-wings rosy yellow at

300 Zoological Society.

the base, near which is an oblique, very pale brown striga; followed

by a very large eye with an oval glassy centre, surrounded by a

broad dirty luteous brown ring, and this by a narrow black circle :

this is succeeded by a broad red ring, and this by a white one, the

adjoiming space being rosy buff: between the eye and the apical mar-

gin is a subundulated blackish striga, edged internally with white.

The fore-wings beneath want the anterior, angulated, brown striga ;

the ocellus is coloured as on the upper side, and the hind-wings are

fulvous yellow, with the ocellus smaller than above, the black ring

being surrounded by a white one, and this by a narrow rosy one ; the

white waved subapical striga is also narrowly bordered within with

rosy.

Penne of the male chestuut-yellow, rather broad and flat, with

forty-eight rays on each side, the two apical rays being very short,

four rays being produced from each joint.

Body entirely orange-yellow, the outside of the tibize and tarsi

blackish.

Sp. 6. Sarurnia Menrppr, Westw. S. alisintegris testaceo-rufis

apicibus fuscis, striga curvata ante alteraque pone medium an-

gustis albis, communibus, alis omnibus ocello nigro (medio sué-

vitreo) iride alba.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 54.

Hab. Port Natal et Africa Austral. In Mus. Brit. et Hope.

Fore-wings of the male entire and slightly rounded along the

outer margin. Wings rich testaceous red ; fore-wings with the costa

pale buff-brown, base carmine-red, having a white slightly curved

fascia running across all the wings, each of which is also marked in

the middle with an equal-sized oval eye; the centre vitreous, but

clothed with black scales, surrounded by a broad black ring, and this

by_a rather broad white one; this eye is followed by a uniform white

bar, nearly parallel with the outer margin, which is rather dull buff,

finely irrorated with brown scales ; frmge dull buff. Wings beneath

greenish buff, the anterior with the eye nearly similar to that of the

upper side, followed by a white streak edged outwardly with black,

and with a grey triangular patch near the tip of the wing, the outer

margin somewhat paler, the middle dotted with brown. _Hind-wings

buff-white, irregularly clouded with dirty buff; across the middle is

a nearly straight brown fascia, the apical half of the wing darker buff-

brown, with two large lilac-grey spots, one near the anal angle, and

the other towards the outer angle.

Antenne dark brown ; those of the male rather broad, with fifty-two

joints in each, and about 100 rays on each side, extending consequently

nearly to the extreme tip. Female antennz nearly resembling those

of the male.

Thorax dark carmine-red, brown in front, with a narrow white

collar. Abdomen and under side of the body pale whitish buff.

Head and legs pale buff-brown.

Sp. 7. Sarurnra Tyrruea, Cramer. S. alis griseis nigro irro-

ratis ; anticis striga ante medium alba valde dentata ; omnibus

Zoological Society. 301

ocello mediano (majori in alis posticis) vitreo, iride griseo-fulva

annulis concentricis nigro, fulvo et albo circumeincta ; omnibus

etiam striga versus marginem duplicata undata communi.

Expans. alar. antic. fere unc. 51.

Syn. Phalena Tyrrhea, Cram. Ins. 4. tab. 46. fig. A. Bombyx

Tyrrhea, Fabricius, Ent. Syst. iii. part i. p. 415.

Hab. Cap. Bon. Spei et Africa australi. In Mus. Britann.

The antennze of the male are moderately broad and flat, with fifty-

two rays on each side ; the four or five terminal joints very short, and

not producing any rays; the rays are for the most part of nearly equal

length, so that the broad part of the antennz has its sides nearly

parallel.

The antennee of the female are compressed, and with scarcely any

rudiment of pectinations.

The palpi are distinct, but very short.

The outer margin of the fore-wings of the female is entire.

Sp. 8. Sarurnia Cytuerea, Fabr. S. alis anticis margine ex-

terno parum emarginato; griseis, strigis duabus albis, anteriore

undata, omnibus ocello magno (in alis posticis majori) vitreo ;

parte vitrea in anticis magna ovali, in posticis parva rotundata ;

iride flava, annulo nigro alteroque albo circumdata.

Expans. alar. antic. individui typici Banksiani unc. 61; individ. in

Mus. Brit. unc. 5.

Syn. Bombyx Cytherea, Fabr. Ent. Syst. iii. a. p. 410. Echidna

communiformis Cytherea, Hiibner, Auss. Sch. F. 3, 4. Phalena

Capensis, Cramer, Ins. tab. 302. fig. A, B; tab. 325. fig. @( 2), (nec

Phalena Capensis, Linn.). Sulz. Hist. Ins. tab. 21. fig. 1.

Hab. apud Cap. Bon. Spei.

In Mus. Banks. (Soc. Linn. Lond.) et Britann.

The male antennz are moderately broad, with 126 rays on each

side, affixed obliquely, the joints being very short, the ten terminal

joints very short, with only one ray on each side, gradually diminish-

ing in size.

The female antenne are slightly serrated, each joint emitting two

oblique serrations on each side, the basal pair being the largest, the

size of the serrations gradually diminishing to the tip.

The palpi are short and broad, but do not extend beyond the hairs

of the face.

I have seen a variety from the Zoolu country much varied with

yellow, especially on the thorax, at the base of the wings, and along

the apical portion beyond the subapical striga.

Sp. 9. Sarurnra Diong, Fabr. 8. alis sulphureo-flavis, anticis

in mare parum falcatis, strigis duabus, anteriore antice recta,

postice dentata carnea, posteriore (communi) recta obscuriore,

anticis etiam plaga albo-carnea basali alteraque versus apicem

coste nubilaque lata undata pone strigam externam griseo-

carneis, omnibus in medio ocello (in alis posticis majort), pupilla

minuta vitrea, iride fulva annulis nigro, albo carneoque circum-

cincta.

Expans. alar, antic. unc, 5-54.

302 Zoological Society.

Syn. Phalena Guineensis flava perelegans, Petiver, Gazoph. pl. 29.

fig. 3. c.478. Bombyx Dione, Fabr. Ent. Syst. iii. a. p. 410. Pha-

lena Paphia, Linn. (ex parte). ,

Hab. Congo, Ashantee (Mus. Brit.), Sierra Leone (Mus. Hope).

The fore-wings in the female are not so subfalcate as in the male,

but the apical margin is slightly emarginate. The male antenne are

rather broad and flat, with forty-four rays on each side, four being

emitted from each joint ; about six of the terminal joints are furnished

only with short, gradually diminishing spurs. The female antennze

are almost filiform. The palpiare short, but distinct and deflexed.

The nomenclature of this species is involved in some difficulty.

Old Petiver rightly figured it as above referred to, under the name

of Phalena Guineensis flava perelegans et pulchre oculata. Linneeus,

in the 10th edition of the ‘Systema Nature’ (p. 496), described an in-

sect under the name of Bombyx Paphia, thus: “ P. Bombyz elinguis

flava alis patulis falcatis concoloribus ocello fenestratis. M. L. U.,” thus

indicating that the typical specimen of his species was contained in the

museum of the Queen of Sweden. But Linnzeus referred not only to

Petiver’s figure, but also, in the second place, to Catesby’s ‘Carolina,’

ii. p. 91. t. 91, where is represented an insect described by Catesby

as “ Phaleena ingens Caroliniana oculata e luteo fusca lineis dilute

purpureis insignita,’’ which Cramer and Fabricius subsequently figured

and described under the name of Polyphemus. Linnzeus however, in

this 10th edition of the ‘Systema Nature,’ gave to his B. Paphia the

*« Habitat in Guinea.”

In his ‘Museum Ludovice Ulrice,’ Linnzeus however treated his

B. Paphia in a different manner. Without altering his specific cha-

racter, he refers in the first place to Catesby’s ‘Carolina’ (S. Polyphe-

mus); 2ndly, with a query, to Petiver’s Phalena Guineensis; and

3rdly, to an insect figured by Rumphius in his ‘ Herbarium of Am-

boyna’ (iii. t. 75), which, from the observation of Rumphius, “ Fol-

liculus est Erucee Bengalensis Tesser vocatze,”’ is evidently the Tusseh

silk moth of Roxburgh (8. Paphia), thus confounding three American,

African and Indian species under one name. He moreover in this work

gives the “ Habitat in America Septentrionali,”’ and his detailed de-

scription evidently proves that he had the American species of Catesby

in view in proposing the name of Paphia ; indeed his reference to the

“M.L. U.” in the 10th edition of the ‘Systema Nature’ likewise fully

proves that, although giving in that work Guinea as the habitat of his

Paphia, the American insect was the one before him.

But in the 12th edition of the ‘Systema Naturee,’ we find Linneeus

making the matter still more confused ; for we now find the reference

to Petiver restored to its first position, that to Catesby given with

doubt, and the reference to Rumphius added in the third place, the

locality being “‘ Habitat in Guinea, Asia.”

Now if we are to regard the last work of an author as containing

his matured opinions, and allow him at the same time the right to

modify his opinions to an extent involving the change of specific

names, in the manner followed in this instance by Linnzeus (which is

however a power which I deny that an author ought to possess), we

must remove from the Carolina species all right to the name of Paphia

Zoological Society. 303

and confer it on the African insect ; but I contend that as Linnzeus

clearly defined the American species under that name in the ‘Museum

Ludoy. Ulr.,’ and in his subsequent work made no attempt to dis-

criminate the three species, we are warranted, Ist, in retaining the

name of Paphia for the American insect, in which case it will be ne-

cessary to sink the Fabrician name of Polyphemus into a synonym of

Paphia; 2ndly, in giving to the African one the Fabrician name of

Dione (striking out the incorrect Fabrician reference of Petiver’s

Guinea insect to the Asiatic species) ; and 3rdly, in giving a different

specific name to the Tusseh silk moth of India, to which Fabricius

restricted the name of 8. Paphia, but which it ought certainly not to

retain, seeing that Linnzeus, when he first proposed that name, knew

only the African and American insects. Drury has however enabled

us to clear up the difficulty as to this third species, having figured it

in the second volume of his ‘ Illustrations’ under the name of M; ylitta

(pl. 5. fig. 1=Paphia, Cramer. Ins. 13. tab. 147. fig. A), which name

Fabricius also adopted, giving the Asiatic species twice over under

the names of Paphia and Mylitta.

The synonyms of the three species will stand thus :—

1. Saturnia Paphia, Linn. Mus. Lud. Ulr.

B. Polyphemus, Fabr.

Hab. North America.

2. Saturnia Dione, Fabricius.

Phalena Guineensis, Petiver.

Ph. Paphia, Linn. Syst. Nat., ed. 10. ex parte.

B. Petiveri, Guérin, Ann. Soe. Sericicole.

Hab. Africa.

3. Saturnia Mylitta, Drury, Fabr.

B. Paphia, Cramer, Fabricius.

The Tusseh Silkworm Moth.

Hab. India.

SarurniA Wan serot, Boisduval in Delegorgue, Voy. dans

PAfr. Austr. i. p. 600.

Of this supposed species, which inhabits Port Natal, I have seen

specimens, but I cannot consider them distinct from S. Dione, of

which they are highly coloured individuals. The following is M.

Boisduval’s description :—

“Elle est un peu plus grande que la Saturnia Pyri d'Europe, et

son port est assez différent. Le dessus des quatres ailes est jaune,

fortement saupoudré d’atomes bruns avec une bande ¢troite, brune

doublée intérieurement de gris violitre commune régulitre; com-

mencant prés du sommet des supérieures et arrivant au bord interne

des inférieures, juste au niveau de l’extrémité de abdomen. Vers le

base des quatre ailes on voit une autre bande commune trés-sinueuse

irréguliére, violatre précédé a la base des s supérieures d’une espéce dé-

taché de sa couleur. L’ceil des ailes supérieures est petit, transparent,

cerclé de jaune et entouré d’un peu de violatre surtout dans le male ;

Peel des ailes inférieures est plus grand, jaune, 4 prunelle diaphane

et a iris noir cerclé de violet. Dédié 4 M. Wahlberg, l'un des com-

pagnons de M. Delegorgue.”

304 Zoological Society.

In addition to the above characters, it may be noticed, that the bar

beyond the middle of the wings is slender, grey, outwardly edged with

a dusky line, and inwardly with purplish brown ; outside the bar is a

series of large, triangular, lilac-white patches united together, and the

dise of the wings, especially towards the base, is much more irrorated

with lilac-pink.

Sp. 10. Sarurnra Apottonia, Cramer, Ins. vol. iii. pl. 250 A.

S. alis pallide fuscis albo flavoque variis ; anticis fascia subapi-

cali flava extus fusca; alis posticis albis strigis duabus fuscis

pone medium, exteriore flavo intus marginata ; omnibus ocello

nigro in medio subvitreo iride alba; in anticis etiam annulo

flavo cincto: corpore albo thorace macula media fusca.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 33.

Hab. Caput Bon. Spei et apud Portum Natalensem.

The antenne are fulvous and short; the pectinations forming an

elongate ovate outline, pointed at the tip, with only thirty-eight

rays on each side, four being emitted from each joint. The rays lie

flat, and several of the terminal joints are destitute of rays. The

female antenne are 24-jointed, the pectinations forming a much nar-

rower oval outline than in the male; the pectinations of the basal

part being short, each joint emitting four rays, of which the apical

pair is not above half the length of the basal ones.

This species is well-figured in Mr. Angas’s plate of Lepidoptera of

the Zoolu country, fig. 14.

Subsection B. 6.

Sp. 11. Sarurnra Mimos2, Boisduval (Voy. de Delegorgue dans

l Afriq. Austr. p. 600). S. alis glauco-viridibus, anticarum costa

grisea linea vel striga undulata griseo-fusca paullo pone me-

dium maculaque grisea ad angulum posticum ; omnibus ocello

equali, flavo, iride tenui castanea anticeque lunula tenui grisea

notata ; posticis in caudam longissimam spatulatam basi griseo-

Suscam, apice flavo-viridi productis.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 51, long. alar. postic. une. 41.

Hab. apud Portum Natalensem. In Mus. Britann. &e.

This species belongs to the subgenus Actias of Leach, and is allied

to S. Selene of India, S. Luna of North America, S. Isis* of Java,

S. Cometes of Madagascar, described by M. Boisduval in his ‘ Fauna

of Madagascar,’ (apparently identical with the species captured at

Nosse Be, on the east side of Madagascar, by M. Mittre, exhibited

by M. Guérin at the Entomological Society of France (see Annales

de la Soc. Ent. 1846, p. civ.); S. Menas of Silhet (figured in my

Cabinet of Orient. Entomol. pl. 22), and 8. Leto, Doubleday, also

from Silhet (figured in the Trans. of the Entomol. Soc. vol. v. pl. 15.

A very fine specimen of this last-named insect, with the markings on

the wings much more distinct, is contained in the Ashmolean Mu-

seum at Oxford).

* This very rare species, of which M. Boisduval was acquainted with only a

single specimen in the collection of M. Robyns of Brussels, will require a new

specific name to distinguish it from the S. Jsis of this monograph.

Zoological Socrety. 305

The wings of S. Mimose are pale yellowish-green with the apical

margin waved, that of the fore-wings of the male being somewhat more

emarginate than in the female. The costa of the fore-wings is broadly

purplish-grey, much-irrorated with white ; beyond the middle arises

on the costa an oblique dark chestnut spot, which emits an undulating

line across the wing (which forms a waved fascia in the female), and

near the tip of the wing the pale costa is separated from the green

ground by a dark chestnut dash. In both sexes the anal angle of the

fore-wings is occupied by a grey-brown patch which extends narrowly

into the wing parallel with the outer margin; the incisures of all

the wings are tinged with chestnut-purple ; from the middle of the

pale costa of the fore-wings arises a purplish-brown spot to which is

attached the ocellus, which is rather small, oval and transverse ; the

centre formed of a small glassy spot surrounded by fleshy-brown and

this by yellow, more orange-coloured on the side towards the base of

the wings, where it is also surmounted by a black-brown lunule pow-

dered with white scales along its middle. The hind-wings are more

uniformly green above, with an ocellus similar to that of the fore-

wings, the anal angle produced into a slender tail longer than the

body of the wing and spatulated at its extremity ; this tail is chestuut-

brown throughout its narrow part, where it is much-powdered with

white, the dilated apical part being green. The body is yellow and

the antennee are fulvous.

The underside resembles the upper, except that the undulating

line beyond the middle of the wing is wanting, and is replaced by a

similar one nearer to the outer margin of the wing, and running along

the hind-wings.

The underside of the abdomen is marked with purple spots along

the apical margin of the segments. The antennze of the males are

very broad, emitting 50 rays on each side, the five or six terminal

joints with very short rays. The rays on each side of each joint

arise at a little distance from the base and extremity of each joint, so

that there is a more decided space between the second ray of one joint

and the first ray of the next joint than usual.

The veins of the fore-wings are arranged as in the typical Saturnia,

and those of the hind-wings as in 8S. Menas (as exhibited in my figure

above referred to) and as in S. Luna, the peculiarity in the subgeneric

group Actias of Leach containing the above-named species, beinz

that the three branches of the median vein of the hind-wings are

compressed closely together, arising on the inside of the ocellus and

extending into the long tail, a transverse vein running across the

middle of the ocellus, closing the discoidal cell, and uniting the inner

branch of the post-costal vein with the outer branch of the median

vein.

Boisduval informs us that this species “ est trés commune a quatre

a cing lieues dans l’intérieur du pays sur les Mimosa. Les cafres se

servent du cocon qui est trés-gros et trés-solide pour se faire des

tabatiéres. Pour cela ils y font un trou pour extraire la chrysalide,

et ils le bouchent ensuite avec une cheville de bois.”

A beautiful figure of this species is given by Mr. Angas in his

plate of Zoolu Moths, fig. 18.

Ann. & Mag. N. fist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 20

306 Zoological Society.

This is evidently the species alluded to in the following note, pub-

lished by M. Signoret in the Journal of the Proceedings of the

Entomological Society of France, Annales 1845, p. xevii :—“< M. V.

Signoret présente a la Socicété un dessin d’une nouvelle esptce appar-

fenatit au genre Saturnia, et il communique une note 4 ce sujet. M.

V. Signoret dit que le Chenille de cette esptce est inconnue, que les

chrysalides en furent trouvées en Novembre 1844, sur un Mimosa

pres de la riviére Toogela, limite des fronti¢res du royaume Aucayoolao,

situé entre Lugoo-Baie et Port-Natal: linsecte parfait a été rapporté

par M. Campion de Douai, et notre collégue propose a la Socicté de

lui appliquer le nom de Saturnia Campionea.”

Sp. 12. Saturnia Arcus, Fabr. 8. omnibus pallide carneo-

albidis, anticis margine postico rotundatis, disco punctis sex

in medio approwinatis, fenestratis, annulo fulvo migroque cinctis ;

posticis punctis quinque sparsis ejusdem coloris ; margine analt

in caudam longissimam extenso.

Expans. alar. antic. une. 3, long. alar. postic. une. 4.

Hab. the Isle of Banana (Smeathmann).

In Mus. Britann., Banks. (Linn. Soc.), Westwood, &c.

Syn. Bombyx Argus, Fabr. Ent. Syst. lll a. p.414; Stoll, 27. 1;

Donov. Nat. Repos. 5.173; Oliv. Ene. Meth. 5. 29. 22; Drury,

Ent. vol. ii. pl. 29. fig. 1. Phalena brachyura, Cramer, Ins. pl. 29.

fig. 1. Hudemonia Se oarge, Hubner, Verz. No. 1586.

~The fore-wings are considerably rounded along the apical margin,

and the tails of the hind- wings are much longer. in proportion than

in Mimose, Luna, &e. T ee veins of the fore- -wings are similarly ar-

ranged to those of S. Mimose, &c., but those of the hind-wings are

peculiar in having the veinlet which connects the inner branch of the

post-costal vein and the outer branch of the median vein closmg the

discoidal cell so oblique (as well as subangulated in the middle), that

it seems like a real fourth branch of the post-costal, running down

within the outer margin of the tail, the base of the outer branch of

the median vein being so thin and short that it resembles the ordinary

condition of the veinlet closing the cell, although its nearly longitudi-

nal direction indicates its real nature as a branch of the median vem*.

The antennze of the females (I have seen no male) are 26-jomted,

each joint after the second producing only a pair of rays, arising close

to the base of the joint... The palpi are also as long as the head and

deflexed, with the terminal joint long and pendulous. In these re-

spects it will be necessary to separate this insect at least subgene-

rically from the other Saturnie ; it may therefore be advisable to use

Hiibner’s subgeneric name Fudamonta for it.

* Saturnia (Eudemonia) Semiramis, Cramer, pl. 13 A, differs materially in the

veining of its wings from S. drgus. In the fore-wings the inner branch of the

post- costal vein, instead of arising from the preceding branch in an acute fork, as

in the typical Saturnia, arises from the middle of the transverse vein closing the

discoidal cell, whilst in the hind-wings the inner branch of the post-costal vein

runs within ‘the outer edge of the “tail throughout its whole length, the first

branch of the median vein arising nearly opposite to the base of the tail, and the

second branch at some length down the tail.

Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 307

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH.

Feb. 14, 1850.—Professor Fleming, in the Chair.

Mr. M‘Nab exhibited the flowering rachis with terminal bracts of

the red-fruited variety of Musa sapientum, and stated that the plant

in the Botanic Garden was received from Mr. Lockhart, Botanic Gar-

den, Trinidad, during the year 1842. It had frequently ripened its

fruit in the Botanic Garden at Edinburgh. The plant which produced

the rachis shown was only twenty months from the sucker state when

it first showed its fruit in May 1849. It continued to ripen gradually

till the end of December, when a few of the first, or best ripened of

the fruits, were gathered. The rachis, from the point to its insertion

into the plant, was 6 feet long, and produced five matured clusters

averaging 8-9 Ibs. each in weight, and each having fifteen perfect

and well swelled fruits. Besides the five perfect clusters, it had two

imperfect ones, with fifteen immature fruits, varying from | to 3 inches

long. The fruiting plant is 14 ft. 6 im. in height above the tub, ex-

clusive of its leaves, which are 10 ft. long and 2 ft. 6 in. broad; the

stem is 35 inches in circumference at its base. The weight of the

head of fruit, when in its perfect state, was estimated at from 75 lbs.

to 80 lbs. The plant is one of the largest in cultivation, and also one

of the most prolific, the fruit ripening successively over a period of

two months.

Mr. M‘Nab made the following report of plants in flower in the

Botanic Garden, &c. :—

Feb. 8. Rhododendron dauricum in flower, sparingly, in Botanic

Garden.

9. Eranthis hyemalis in flower in Dr. Neill’s Garden.

11. Galanthus nivalis in flower in Botanic Garden—Gentiana

verna flowering in a cold frame in Dr. Neill’s Garden.

14. Galanthus plicatus in flower in Botanic Garden.

14. Tussilago fragrans, Helleborus fetidus, Primula veris, P.

vulgaris, Eranthis hyemalis, Garrya elliptica, Arbutus

Unedo, Viburnum Tinus, Cydonia japonica, and cultivated

varieties of Viola tricolor, in flower in Botanic Garden.

14. Helleborus odorus and H. atro-purpureus in flower in Expe-

rimental Garden.

14. Hepatica triloba and Corylus Avellana in flower in Dr. Neill’s

Garden.

The following papers were read :—

1. ‘‘ Notice of some of the rare Plants observed in Orkney during

the Summer of 1849,” by John T. Syme, Esq. (See p. 266.)

2. “On the Embryogeny of Hippuris vulgaris,’ by John Scott

Sanderson, Esq. (See p. 259.)

3. “ Account of an Excursion from Simla to the Burenda Pass,

and other parts of the Himalaya, in July and August 1847,” by

Lieutenant Robert Maclagan, Bengal Engineers, Principal of the

College of Civil Engineers, Roorkee, North-West Provinces of India.

The author of this paper left Simla on the 10th of July 1847, and

20%

308 Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

proceeded to Nagkhunda; thence he visited the hill called Whartoo

or Huttoo, and followed the valley of the Pubhur. A general ac-

count was given of the vegetation of the district, and remarks made

on its geological features, natural scenery, and the modes of travel-

ling through it. The summit of the Burenda Pass was reached on

the 21st. The elevation of the pass was found, on a rough estimate,

to be 15,263 feet above the level of the sea. Goitre was noticed as

prevalent among the inhabitants of these regions. The village of

Booroon was visited. It is situated about 1500 feet above the river

Buspa, near its confluence with the Sutlej. Vineyards were common

in this district (which receives the name of Koonawur), and apricots

are abundantly cultivated, both on account of their fruit and the oil

which is obtained from the kernels. From Booroon Mr. Maclagan

ascended the river Sutlej to Pooaree and Zginam ; and, after crossing

a hill called Skerung, reached Nesung. He subsequently ascended

the Sutle) to Namja, a village close to ‘the Chinese frontier. He de-

seribed the general features of the Tartars, their dress and habits ;

and also noticed the shawl goat and the yak (Bos grunniens). Leaving

Namja he reached the Chinese village of Shipkee, and afterwards

passed through Keookh without interruption, following the Sutle] as

far as the junction of two roads, one leading to Garco and the other

to Chapnung. From this point he retur ned to Shipkee and Namja,

and thence followed the Spiti to Shaikur, a so-called fort in lat. 32°,

long. 78° 30'. He crossed the Lapcha Pass, which is about 13,800 ft.

above the level of the sea, and rested at Dunker on the 14th August.

The fossil locality near Geoongool was examined. The Taree Pass

was ascended on the 16th. This pass is, on a rough calculation, about

16,000 feet above the level of the sea. On the summit of the Pass

at sunrise the thermometer stood at 35° Fahr. After crossing the

pass, the author journeyed by Rampocr to Simla, which he reached

on Ist September 1847. The plants met with during the route were

noticed, and specimens of several of them were exhibited at the meet-

ing. The following is a list of the natural orders to which the plants

observed during the trip belonged, with the names of the genera and

of the species, so far as they were ascertained :—

Ranunculacee.—Ranunculus, Delphinium velutinum, and another

species ; Anemone, two species ; Aquilegia glauca, Clematis graveo-

lens.

Papaveracee. —Meconopsis aculeata.

Cr ucifere. —Erysimum like E. cheiranthoides, Sisymbrium, Draba.

Ca; » par idacee. Capparis.

7 ain aricacee.—Tamarix.

Caryophyllacee.—Stellaria, two species; Silene, a species very like

S. italien; Cerastium ; Dianthus, two species; Sagina, Lychnis,

Spergula, &e.

Malvacea.—Sida.

Sapindacee.— Asculus.

Geraniacee.—Geranium, three species ; Erodium.

Oxvalidaceea.—Oxalis corniculata.

Leguminose.—Lotus corniculatus, Lespedeza juncea ?

Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 309

Rosacee.—Rosa tetrapetala and another species, Potentilla atrosan-

guinea, P. nepalensis and two others, Spireea vacciniifolia, S. Lind-

leyana, Sibbaldia purpurea, Fragaria vesca, Agrimonia nepalensis,

Armeniaca vulgaris.

Onagracee.—Epilobium laxum, E. angustifolium var., and another

species.

Crassulacee.—Sempervivum, and another genus.

Grossulariacee.—Ribes glacialis and another species.

Umbellifere. —Hymenoleena, Pycnocycla glauca, Cherophyllum, Bu-

pleurum, and Myrrhis?

Rubiacee.—Asperula odorata’, Galium, and another undetermined.

Composite.—Aster, Erigeron like E. alpinus ; Gnaphalium, two spe-

cies; Antennaria, Scorzonera ; Achillzea, two species ; Artemisia,

Calameris Doronicum, Prenanthes, Senecio, and two other genera.

Vacciniacee.—Vaccinium.

Aquifoliacee.—llex.

Jasminacee.—Jasminum.

Oleacee.—Fraxinus like F. xanthoxyloides.

Gentianacee.—Gentiana, three species, and another genus.

Polemoniacee.—Polemonium ceruleum.

Convolvulacee.—Ipomeea.

Boraginacee.—Myosotis, two species; Echinospermum?, Anchusa

tinctoria.

Scrophulariacee.—Vereonica; Pedicularis, two species; and Euphrasia

officinalis.

Labiate.—Acinos, Calamintha, Salvia, Prunella like P. vulgaris,

Colquhounia vestita? and other two genera, one of which is like

Hyvssopus.

Verbenacee.—Verbena like V. officinalis.

Acanthacee.—Morina longifolia, and a genus like Justicia.

Primulacee.—Androsace rotundifolia.

Plantaginacee.— Plantago.

Polygonacee.—Rumex like R. hastatus, Polygonum like P. Brunonis,

and another genus.

Euphorbiacee.—Euphorbia cashmeriana?

Amentacee.—Betula, Fagus.

Juglandacee.—Juglans.

Conifere.—Taxus baccata?, Pinus Neoza, Abies, and a genus like

Callitris.

Orchidacee.—Orchis.

Zingiberacee.—Roscoea alpina?

Liliacee.—Lloydia Kunawurensis ?

Cyperacee.—Carex ; Cyperus, two species, one of which is like C.

muricata.

Graminee.—Phalaris, Alopecurus pratensis ; Bromus (like B. erec-

tus); Milium, two species; Phleum, two species; Poa, one like

P. annua; Setaria, Triticum, Stipa like S. pennata, and Dactylis

glauca.

Filices.—Adiantum Capillus-Veneris, and others.

310 Miscellaneous.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Descriptions of new species of Birds of the Family Caprimulgide.

By Joun Cassin.

Genus Hypropsauis, Wagler, Isis 1832, page 1222.

1. Hydropsalis limbatus, nobis.

Adult 3? Form.—Wings long, pointed, with the shafts of the

primaries strong and slightly curved ; first primary longest, second

and third deeply sinuated on their outer webs, and, with the first,

having their external margins distinctly serrated. Tail excessively

long, graduated, the two external feathers surpassing the next by

about 14 inches ; others regularly receding to the two in the middle

which are shortest. 'Tarsi feathered slightly below the knee. Webs

of outer tail-feathers narrow.

Dimensions.—Total length of skin, from the tip of bill to end of

tail, about 2 feet 5 inches ; of the wing 9 inches ; of the tail to end of

external feathers about 22 inches ; length of two middle tail-feathers

about 3 inches.

Colours.—Upper surface of the head, body and wing-coverts

brownish black, spotted and sparingly lined with pale fulvous. The

wing-coverts with round spots at their points of the same colour.

Superciliary region grayish white, every feather having narrow

irregular lines of black. Hind-neck with a semi-collar of bright

reddish fulvous. Under the eye an irregular whitish stripe.

Scapular feathers with their external webs black, with a few curved

lines of fulvous remote from the tip, which is broadly margined with

black ; internal webs of scapulars nearly white, irregularly striped and

spotted with black ; other scapulars nearly black, with pale fulvous

margins externally.

Throat before with a white collar. Chin, breast and belly irregularly

mixed with brownish black and pale yellowish white, the latter colour

assuming upon the breast the form of semicircular segments and

lunular spots upon the tips of the feathers, and the former (blackish)

disposed to form very irregular narrow bands upon the flanks and

belly ; ventral region and under tail-coverts paler.

Quills brownish black, having upon their internal webs four or five

narrow transverse lines of pale yellowish white, conspicuous when

viewed from below; and upon their external webs (except the first)

several rounded or irregular-shaped spots of the same colour. Second

and third quills where sinuated upon their outer webs, with a very

slight margin of white. Secondaries obscurely tipped with whitish.

First, second and third tail-feathers throughout their whole length

with their outer webs and about two-thirds of their inner webs brownish

black ; other portion of the inner webs, being the internal margin of

those feathers, white ; a few bright fulvous spots near the base upon

the outer webs. Fourth and fifth tail-feathers with similar colours,

but more broadly bordered with white, which upon those, as well as

the third, is sparingly spotted with brownish.

Young $? Form.—Tail deeply emarginate, but not excessively

long ; external feathers exceeding the next by about 1} inch only.

Miscellaneous. 3ll

Dimensions.—Total length of skin, from tip of bill to end of tail,

about 12 inches; wing 8 inches; tail to end of external feathers 74

inches ; length of middle tail-feathers about 34 inches.

Colours.—Entire upper surface, tail included, brownish black,

with numerous rounded spots and lines of reddish fulvous, assuming

upon the tail the form of irregular or curved bands, which are more

or less mottled and mixed with the brownish black of the other pre-

dominating portion. Throat with a semi-collar of yellowish white.

Entire under-parts brownish black, banded and spotted with fulvous.

Haé. South America.

Obs.—This very remarkable species may readily be distinguished

by its very long forked tail, the feathers of which are irregularly gra-

duated. In the latter respect it differs from the Hyd. psalurus

(Temm.), to which however it bears but little resemblance.

There are in the collection of the Academy three specimens of this

species, two males in the Rivoli collection, and a female which was

fortunately procured in Paris by Mr. Edward Wilson.

2. Hydropsalis segmentatus, nobis.

3 middle age? Form.—Wings moderate, second primary slightiy

longest, second, third and fourth deeply sinuated on their outer webs ;

first with its outer edge serrated, inner edges (of primaries) presenting

a fringed appearance. Shafts of primary quills strong and curved.

Tail very long, the two external feathers of which surpass the next

by about 10 to 12 inches ; second, third and fourth graduated ; fourth

and fifth about equal—that is to say, the four middle feathers of the

tail nearly equal.

Bill rather long and slender. Tarsi bare, slender. Webs of outer

tail-feathers very narrow.

Dimensions.—Total length of skin, from tip of bill to end of tail,

about 20 inches; wing 62; tail to end of external feathers about

15+ inches ; length of four middle tail-feathers about 4 inches.

Colours.— Upper surface of head, body, scapulars and wing-coverts

brownish black, spotted and obscurely lned with ferruginous rufous,

which colour almost predominates upon the scapulars.

Neck, behind, with an obscure ferruginous semi-collar; before,

with a semi-collar of rufous white. Body beneath brownish black,

with rounded ferruginous spots upon the breast, and upon the belly

with obscure bands and spots of pale ferruginous and nearly white.

Wing-feathers brownish black ; first primary with a narrow pale

reddish border upon its outer web for about half its length, second

and third with a pale ferruginous spot at the point of sinuation.

Secondaries with irregular bars of reddish and with narrow tips of

the same colour.

The two external feathers of the tail with their shafts white upon

the upper surface, outer webs white tinged with rufous, and hand-

somely marked (upon the outer webs) with semicircular segments of

black, having for their bases the shaft of the feather. This marking

is more conspicuous towards the base, and upon the under surface

the black colour of these semicircular segments extends to the shaft

of the feather. All the other tail-feathers brownish black, with bars

312 Miscellaneous.

of ferruginous rufous ; upon the two middle feathers these bars are

mottled with black.

Young °° Form.—Tail ample, emarginate, and regularly graduated,

the two external feathers being but little longer than the second.

Dimensions.—Total length of skin, from tip of bill to end of tail,

about 9 inches; wing 61; tail to end of external feathers about 5

inches ; length of middle feathers of the tail about 4 inches.

Colours.—Entire plumage very similar to the male, but with all

the tail-feathers brownish black, barred with ferrugimous.

iTab. Bogota, New Grenada.

Obs.—The two specimens now described belong to the Rivoli col-

lection, and have the appearance of being either young birds, or with

the plumage of winter. The male may, however, be easily recognized

by the curious marks upon the external webs of the outer tail-feathers,

described above. The colours in the present specimens, black and

ferruginous, are peculiar to this species, so far as I have seen.

Genus ANTRostomus, Gould.

3. Antrostomus serico-caudatus, nobis.

Adult § Form.—Wings rather long, third primary longest ; second,

third and fourth sinuated on their outer webs ; shafts slightly curved.

Tail cuneiform, four middle feathers equal and longest.

Bill rather long and flat ; tarsi short, slightly feathered below the

knee.

Dimensions.—Total length of skin, from tip of bill to end of tail,

about 11 inches ; wing 71; tail 53 inches. F

Colours.—Head above, back, rump, scapulars and wing-coverts

variegated with black and dark fulvous, the latter in rounded spots

and narrow irregular lines, predominating upon the wing-coverts, but

the former (black) upon the head and scapulars. This colour disposed

to form a broad longitudial band on the head. Sides of the head,

over the eyes, grayish; every feather with transverse black lines.

Neck behind with a semi-collar of deep reddish fulvous ; before with

a semi-collar of yellowish white, the feathers of which are tipped with

black.

Throat early black ; breast below the collar with deep fulvous

spots and irregular lines; belly and ventral region with a predomi-

nating pale fulvous white, and some nearly pure white spots, every

feather transversely lined and barred with black ; under tail-coverts

fulvous, unspotted.

Wing-feathers brownish black ; primaries with about ten to twelve

irregular-shaped but rather triangular marks of deep fulvous upon

their external webs ; secondaries with irregular bars of pale fulvous,

which bars are mottled with black.

First, second and third feathers of the tail brownish black, with

several obscure and badly defined bands of reddish fulvous, and ob-

liquely tipped in a very conspicucus manner with fine, silky white.

Fourth feather of similar colour, but without the white tip, and with

the reddish fulvous bands more definite. Two middle tail-feathers

brownish black, and with about ten to twelve bars on each web of

deep reddish fulvous, well defined, and which are disposed obliquely

Miscellaneous. 313

from the shafts of the feathers like a pinnate leaf; those bars broad

and mottled with black ; two middle feathers without white tips.

Younger’ form.—As above described, but with the second primary

slightly the longest.

Dimensions.—Total length of skin, from tip of bill to end of tail,

about 10+ inches ; wing 74; tail 53 inches.

Colours.—Very similar to the above, but with-the grayish colour

extending over the whole of the head. Under parts much darker, but

with more numerous white rounded spots. Under tail-coverts fulvous

with black lines. The fine white tips of the external tail-feathers

tinged with fulvous.

Hab. South America.

Obs.—The distribution of the colours upon the upper surface of

the body, in this handsome species, resembles in some degree that of

Scolopax rusticola, or of S. minor.

It is not similar to any other species known to me, and can at once

be recognized by the silky white tips of the external tail-feathers.

These cross the feathers obliquely, and are so arranged that when the

cuneiform tail is expanded, they form a continuous margin upon the

ends of those three feathers.

This is one of the few species of this family which have pretensions

te beauty. ‘Two specimens are in the collection of the Academy.—

Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,

vol. iv. p. 236.

FORMER EXISTENCE OF GIGANTIC BEARS IN IRELAND.

To Richard Taylor, Esq.

Phil. Hall, Leeds, March 5, 1850.

My Dear Sir,— Having just read with much interest in the last

number of the ‘ Annals,’ my friend Dr. Ball’s announcement of the

former existence of gigantic bears in Ireland, probably coexistent

with Megaceros, together with Professor Owen’s valuable remarks on

the same, it appeared to me that a ray of light is thrown on this

question in one of Archdeacon Maunsell’s letters respecting the gi-

gantic deer, found at Rathcannon, and now in the Museum of the

Royal Dublin Society. It is addressed to Lord Viscount Northland,

and dated Limerick, April 7th, 1824, in which, after describing the

above noble skeleton, he says, “I have also a skull of a dog of a large

kind (at least of a carnivorous animal), which I found lying close to

some of the remains, and which [ will transmit with the bones of his

old acquaintance.”

Now, as Archdeacon Maunsell appears somewhat uncertain whether

the said skull was really that of a dog, might it not have been that

of the gigantic bear? If the identical specimen can still be traced

and examined, after so many years, it might afford additional evidence

upon so important a discovery.

Again, Professor Owen thinks it an interesting question to ascer-

tain whether these ursine remains were contemporaneous with Mega-

ceros or not, which could be decided by the relative antiquity of the

formation in which they are found, t. e. peat or marl. Dr. Ball di-

314 Miscellaneous.

stinctly says, the skulls contained fragments of the latter and none of

the former; upon this point the Archdeacon also expressly states,

“they were both found lying close together.” If therefore the

above skull eventually proves to be that of a bear, the period of its

existence is decided to have been cozeval with that of the Megaceros !

Believe me, my dear Sir, yours very truly,

Henry Denny, A.L.S,

On some new genera and species of Entozoa. By Dr. Lrrpy.

1. Ascaris cylindrica. Body nearly cylindrical throughout, an-

teriorly moderately attenuated; tail curved, 1-214th of an inch in

length from the anus; cesophagus elongated, gibbous in the middie,

with the cesophageal bulb and pharynx 1-100th of an inch in length ;

cesophageal bulb pyriform, 1-75th of an inch in diameter ; ventricle

or intestine somewhat tortuous, cylindrical, dilated at both extremi-

ties ; rectum pyriform; female generative aperture about half-way

between the mouth and tail. Whole length 4-5th of a line, breadth

1-12th of a line.

Hab. Small intestine of Helix alternata.

Remarks.—I\ found the female only of this species in fifteen out of

forty specimens of [Helix alternata, in numbers of from one to three.

The ovaries in all were distended with ova, the latter measuring 1-430th

of an inch in length by 1-576th in breadth.

2. Ascaris infecta. Female.—Subcylindrical, gradually diminishing

towards the extremities, white, with a brown streak down the lower

two-thirds of the middle line; anteriorly obtusely rounded ; tail

slightly curved, 1-80th of an inch long from the anus. The three

papillee of the mouth projecting ; cesophagus strongly muscular, thick,

oblong, pyriform, 1-80th of an inch long, greatest breadth 1-175th

of an inch; cesophageal bulb cordiform, 1-166th of an inch long by

1-166th of an inch broad ; ventricle slightly dilated at commencement,

contracted posteriorly ; generative orifice projecting, just below the

middle of the body; vagina furnished with a large ovate seminal

receptacle.

Male.—Dilated at both extremities ; tail thick, 1-174th of an inch

long, furnished upon its inner aspect with two minute tubercles.

Above the anus are two rows, each of four tubercles, connected by

delicate folds of integument. Qisophagus 1-111th of an inch long

by 1-260th of an inch broad ; cesophageal bulb depressed cordiform,

1-214th of an inch long by 1-250th of an inch broad. Penis formed

of two curved spiculze, measuring in length, in a straight line, 1-78th

of an inch.

Length of adult female 3 to 44 lines; breadth at origin of ventri-

culus 1-123rd of an inch; middle of body 1-83rd to 1-60th of an

inch ; just above anus 1-144th of an inch. Ova 1-319th of an inch

long by 1-428th inch broad.

Length of male 2 lines ; breadth at origin of ventriculus 1-176th of

an inch ; middle of body 1-21 1th of an inch ; just above anus 1-202nd

of an inch. Spermatophori oval, 1-1391 mch long by 1-1666th

inch broad, with spermatozoa 1-3750th inch long by 1-10,000th

inch broad.

Miscellaneous. S15

Hab. This species is found in numbers of from three up to fifty or

more, of various ages and sizes, pretty constantly in the small intes-

tine of Julus mai -ginatus, Say. ‘The males are found in the propor-

tion of about one in eight.

Aorurus, a new genus of Nematoidee.—Body cylindrical, strongly

annulated, with a tail nearly as long as the body, straight or nearly

so, inflexible, spiculate, ensiform, shining, and pointed. Mouth un-

armed. Female generative aperture near the middle of the body.

Remarks.—This genus is divisible, by several well-marked cha-

racters, into two distinct subgenera.

sé subgenus. Streptostoma.—Body cylindrical, very strongly

marked with broad annuli. Mouth moderately large, round, bordered

by a collar (formed by the second annulus projecting beyond the

general outline of the body). Csophagus divided into two distinct

pyriform muscular bulbs, with a small intermediate rounded bulb.

Tail four-fifths the length of the body.

Streptostoma agile. Female.-—Body larviform, cylindrical, nar-

rowed anteriorly and posteriorly, opalescent white, divided into from

sixty-one to eighty-eight broad annulations, of which there are

twenty-one from the mouth to the commencement of the ventriculus.

Tail very straight, occasionally slightly sigmoid, or bent at the point,

narrow and sharply pointed, inflexible and brittle. Mouth moderately

large, round, projecting ; pharynx almost null; cesophagus consisting

of three bulbs : the first elongated pyriform, strongly muscular, mea-

suring 1-197th im. long by 1-319th in. broad; second bulb small,

padoa. muscular, 1-882nd in. long by 1 -882nd i in. broad ; third, or

true cesophageal bulb, pyriform, 1-294th in. long by 1-312th in.

broad. Ventriculus dilated at commencement to nearly the diameter

of the body, afterwards straight and cylindrical to near its termina-

tion, where it is slightly dilated. Rectum elongated, pyriform.

Generative aperture situated about twenty-four rings above the anal

aperture, which latter is placed between the last nee annuli of the

body. Ovary double; ova 1-333rd in. long by 1-400th in. broad.

Length of body front 1-13th to 1-11th nich breadth at commence-

ment of yentriculus 1-118th inch; at middle of body 1-97th inch.

Tail from 1-16th to 1-15th inch long, by 1-888th in. broad at its

middle.

2nd subgenus. Thelastoma.—Body cylindrical, attenuated an-

teriorly, strongly marked with moderately broad annuli. Mouth

small, opening at the extremity of a small papilla. Csophagus

divided into two distinct portions, the first long and cylindrical, the

second constituting the true cesophageal bulb. Tail more than half

the length of the body.

Thelastoma attenuatum. Female.—Body attenuated anteriorly to

commencement of the ventriculus, opalescent white, divided into from

140 to 160 annulations, of which there are from fifty-two to fifty-

seven from the mouth to the commencement of the ventriculus.

Tail very straight, or very slightly curved or bent, slender, inflexible

and brittle, and sharply pointed. Mouth always projected, small,

surmounting a small papillary elevation formed by the first annulus

316 Miscellaneous.

of the body. Pharynx very short and narrow; cesophagus strongly

muscular, cylindrical, 1-47th in. long by 1-533rd in. broad ; ceso-

phageal bulb pyriform, 1-178th in. long, 1-222nd in. broad. Ven-

triculus dilated aleeform at commencement, cylindrical throughout.

Rectum short, pyriform. enerative aperture forty-two annulations

above the anal. Ovary double ; ova 1-333rd in. long by 1-400th in.

broad.

Length of body from 1-10th to 1-8th in. ; breadth at middle 1-95th

in. Tail 1-14th in. long by 1-111th in. broad at middle.

Hab. and Remarks.—Streptostoma agile and Thelastoma attenu-

atum are found together principally in the commencement of the

large intestine of Julus marginatus, in numbers of from one to fifteen,

and less frequently in the small intestine with Ascaris infecta, in

numbers of from one to six. It is remarkable, that although I have

found from one to fifteen-of these two genera in nine-tenths of the

animals examined, I have never yet been able to detect a single male.

Thelastoma always has the mouth projected, whilst Streptostoma

has it retracted, producing, in some measure, but by no means wholly,

the difference in size of the oral aperture.

At first I was inclined to think these two animals were different

stages of the same species, but the adults uniformly correspond to

the descriptions given, and in all cases contained more or less per-

fected ova.

Their movements are active, wriggling the body in a sigmoid manner

and vibrating the delicate spiculated tail, which in sunlight resembles

a shining acicular crystal.

Thelastoma, from its form of cesophagus and narrower annulations

and shorter tail than Streptostoma, occupies a position between the

latter and Oxyuris.

Gregarina, Dufour. Body consisting of two distinct cells. In-

ferior cell the larger, marked with delicate, parallel, longitudinal

lines, (muscular?) and filled with a fine granular matter, obscuring

one or two nucleolo-nucleated-organic cells. Superior cell placed in

a depression of the inferior, surmounted bya slight papilla in which

may be detected two lines, apparently outlines, of an oral canal to

the interior of the cell which is filled with granular matter; cell-wall

amorphous and transparent.

Gregarina larvata. Body opake white, cylindrical or fusiform,

frequently considerably dilated at the middle of the upper third.

Superior cell a flattened or depressed sphere, received about one-half

into a depression of the inferior cell, surmounted by a papillary eleva-

tion with traces of a communication with the exterior ; interior filled

with a finely granular mass resembling oil-globules, and measuring

from 1-15,000th to 1-7500th m. Length of cell, in smallest mdi-

viduals, 1-123rd in. ; in largest 1-80th by 1-61st in. broad. Inferior

cell elongated, cylindrical or fusiform, not communicating with the

exterior nor with the interior of the superior cell; filled with a mass

of granules resembling that of the superior cell, rendering the larger

individuals opake, but translucent in the smaller ones, and usually

obscuring one or two comparatively large nucleolo-nucleated-organic

cells, measuring from 1-888th to 1-308th in. in diameter. Cell-wall

Miscellaneous. 317

marked with exceedingly regular, delicate, longitudinal, parallel lines

about 1-9375th in. apart, apparently muscular in character.

Length from 1-160th to 1-30th in., by 1-830th to 1-111th in. in

breadth.

Hab. Found in numbers of from half a dozen to over a hundred,

in the ventriculus of Judus marginatus.

Gregarina is probably the larva condition of some more perfect

animal, but in the 116 individuals of Ju/us which I have examined,

I have not been able to detect any form which could be derivable from

it. Creplin doubts its animality*. When I first discovered this

body, thinking it to be a larva, I did not examine it carefully, and it

was not until some time afterward, when, being desirous of ascertain-

ing its true nature, upon examining some fresh specimens beneath

the microscope, I detected movements of an animal character, and this

led me to seek for muscular structure, which resulted in the discovery

of the longitudinal lines of the inferior cell. These escaped the ob-

servation of Siebold, for he says, ‘‘ Nach meine Beobachtungen bestehen

die Gregarinen aus einer harten glatten den Eihillen der Insekten-Eier

ahniichen Haut+.” The movements of the animal are exceedingly

sluggish, and consist of a very slow bending in any direction of any

part of the inferior cell, most usually above the middle, rarely at the

inferior extremity, but most frequently near the superior cell which

is entirely passive. The superior cell is also frequently drawn or con-

tracted within the inferior, and again protruded by the contraction of

the latter, and the propulsion of the granular contents against it.

The inferior cell is also frequently, more especially in younger indi-

viduals, intus-suscepted within itself through a partial contraction, and

again relieved by a general contraction of the cell-wall.

In the state in which Gregarina is found, it would probably hold

a rank between the Trematoda and Trichina, the lowest of the Ne-

matoidea.—Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phi:

ladelphia, vol. iv. p. 229.

On the mouthless Acari which have been formed into the genus

; Hypopus. By F. Dusaroin.

Degeer, Hermann and Geoffroy found upon various insects some

very small parasitical mites, to which they gave the name of Acarus

muscarum and Acarus spinitarsus ; they were not, however, able to

study them on account of their extreme minuteness. Dugts, who

examined a single one only, constituted the genus Hypopus of it,

characterized by a sucker, provided with two rigid bristles, but re-

gretting at the same time that he had not sufficiently studied it.

Since that period, M. Léon Dufour has made known two other

species, and M. Gervais has described 2 fifth species; but he has

mistaken the projecting lines resulting from the contiguity of the

hips for a nervous system. M. Koch in Germany has also described

two other species of them, but without making any attempt at inves-

tigating their organization. M. Dujardin, who in 1842 described,

* Nachtrage zu Gurlt’s Verzeichniss der Thiere bei welchen Entozoen

gefunden worden sind. Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1846, 1 Band, S. 157.

t+ Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1838, 2 Band, S. 308.

318 Miscellaneous.

under the name of Anoetus, an Acarus found by Dr. Manceau de Cha-

labre upon the wing of a bee, has been led to extend his researches

to several allied species, and he has recognized that they ought to be

united with Hypopus ; 7. e. that they, like his Anoetus, have neither

a mouth nor a digestive apparatus ; also that they are provided with

suckers upon the posterior part of the abdomen, and that these

suckers merely serve to fix them at their will, in readiness for their

last metamorphosis, which is effected at the expense of the internal

nutritive matter which they have received at their birth.

In 1847, M. Dujardin first found, upon Musca stabulans of Fallen,

a Hypopus in the same state as the Acarus muscarum of Degeer, and

it was in the case of this dearus, which was ;%5ths of a millimetre in

length, that he was enabled to determine the absence of the mouth

and intestine. Since then, he has found other species upon Séa-

phylini and Cryptops, but having the same organization; lastly, in

September 1849, he found some upon a fern, Ceterach officinarum,

among which there were a certain number of shells or teguments ;

these were perfect, but empty, transparent, narrower, and consequently

more like those which he had seen upon the wing of the bee: the

greater number were living, and continued to live in water; and the

power with which these dcari are able to fix themselves to a plate of

glass was then noticed. Some of them, which were few in number,

and had become immoveable, exhibited through their tegument

another form of Acarus which filled the whole of its internal cavity,

and which were furnished with a mouth, having at the same time

palpi and chelicera like the Gamasi and the Dermanyssi which live

in great numbers in the same situation. From that time it became

evident that the Hypopi, which had no mouth, nor any possible

mode of growth, and which lived fixed upon polished surfaces that

could yield them nothing —it was evident, shall we say, that these

Hypopi are the larvee, or rather, if we may use the expression, the

ova furnished with feet, in the interior of which, without any food

derived from without, the young Gamasus is formed, solely at the

expense of the contained substance.

Consequently, M. Dujardin has been enabled to search for and find

other Hypopi upon all the insects infested by the Gamasi, such as

the Geotrupide, the Necrophoride, the Humble-bees, &c. They are

most commonly found at the base of the abdomen, or beneath the

first rings, or in the anfractuosities of the metathorax ; but judging

from the diversity of their forms, we should think that there would

be different species of Gamasi, or Dermanyssi, or even Uropodi. Other

species have been found by beating the branches of trees ; and lastly,

one species, which is very remarkable by its method of fixation, has

been found upon subterranean rodents (drvicola subterranea), upon

which also the Gamasi are parasitic. The latter Zypopus, in fact,

would not have been able to fix itself upon the hairs or upon the skin

by the suckers ; hence it is furnished, beneath the upper part, with a

pair of striated lobes or tubercles, which becoming approximated like

two lips, firmly embrace the single hairs of the mammifer.

In short, the Hypopi are Acari with eight feet, without either

mouth or intestine, and which, being deprived of all means of alimen-

Meteorological Observations. 319

tation, fix themselves at will so as to undergo a final metamorphosis,

and they become Gamasi or Uropodi, from which they differ as much

at least as the swimming Hydrachni or Acari differ from their larvee ;

but these fix themselves by their mouth, and increase by sucking the

nutritive fluid of the insects of which they are the parasites. Ought

therefore the Hypopi to be called larvee, when under this denomina-

tion have hitherto been comprised animals capable of nourishing

themselves by aliment derived from without, thus accumulating the

materials requisite for their ulterior transformations, so that in those

insects the metamorphosis of which is complete, the pupa takes no

further nutriment, and the perfect insect is sometimes in the same

case, as in Bombyx for example? Here, on the contrary, we have a

ITypopus provided with limbs like an active larva, but taking no nu-

triment : the Gamasi alone in their perfect state can feed and grow.

—Comptes Rendus, Feb. 5, 1850.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR FEB. 1850.

Chiswick.— February 1. Densely clouded: showery. 2. Slightrain. 3. Cloudy:

clear. 4. Very fine. 5. Slight rain: very fine: showery. 6. Boisterous. 7. Fine.

8. Hazy. 9. Very boisterous. 10. Clear: very fine. 11. Rain: boisterous.

12. Overcast: boisterous. 13. Clear and dry: frosty at night. 14. Rain:

drizzly. 15. Cloudy: rain. 16. Clear. 17. Overcast. 18. Cloudy: very fine.

19. Overcast. 20. Densely overcast : rain. 2i. Overcast: clear at night.

22. Cloudy: very fine. 23. Overcast and fine. 24. Overcast. 25. Foggy.

26. Foggy: overcast: clear. 27. Foggy: very fine: clear. 28. Foggy.

Mean temperature of the month .......... Agoctrounansonoacdaa m2 tet0)

Mean temperature of Feb. 1849 .cscecseccessceecceeues eevee EL Oo

Mean temperature of Feb. for the last twenty- three years. 39 ‘56

Average amount of rain In Feb. :.......0c00.:sceseeoees poeeey lcOlaneh.

Boston.—Feb. 1. Cloudy. 2—4. Fine. 5. Cloudy: stormy p.m.: distant

lightning. 6. Cloudy: stormy a.m. 7. Fine. 8. Cloudy. 9. Fine: rain p.m.

10. Fine. 11. Cloudy: rain a.m. and p.m. 12. Cloudy: rain and snow p.m.

18. Fine: rain p.m. 14. Cloudy: rain a.m. 15. Hipe: 16, Fine: rain a.m.

17. Fine. 18. Cloudy. 19. Fine. 20, 21. Cloudy. 22. Fine. 23—28. Cloudy.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire-— Feb. 1. Heavy rain nearly all day. 2. Rain

all day: storm p.m. 3. Rain, with high wind. 4. Dullandcloudy. 5. Dull Se

severe storm of wind and rain. 6. Hurricane, with heavy rain. 7. Snow ths

of an inch deep: rain p.m. 8. Frost early: rain and winde.m. 9. Rain and

high wind allday. 10. Fine: frost a.m. : showery p.m. 11. Snow: rain: wind.

12. Rather fine: slight shower. 13. Hard frost: clear and fine. 14. Rain thick

and close. 15. Rain: stormy p..: very wet. 16. Showers: very changeable.

17, 18. Wet a.m.: dull and moist all day. 19. Rain, and fog and wind. 20.

Showers, short but severe. 21. Rain: storm of wind. 22. Fair, but unsettled-

looking. 23. Fair: cloudy. 24. Fair and fine. 25. Rain during the night:

moist. 26. Fine a.m.: showery p.m. 27, 28. Dull, but fair and mild.

Mean temperature of the month .........:..-00. ~Echpcenccco: 41°°7

Mean temperature of Feb. 1849 ..........eseeseeeeees Sneusoge 41 ‘2

Mean temperature of Feb, for the last twenty-eight years. 37 °6

Average amount of rain in Feb, for the last twenty years. 2°04 inches.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—Feb. 1. Cloudy: rain: cloudy. 2. Showers:

thunder: cloudy. 93. Showers 4. Sleet: cloudy. 5. Cloudy: sleet-showers.

6. Showers: clear: aurora. 7 Showers: clear. 8. Cloudy: frost: sleet-showers,

9. Snow-showers. 10. Bright: snow-showers. 11. Cloudy: clear. 12. Bright:

snow-showers: aurora. 13. Snow-showers: cloudy: aurora. 14. Rain: drizzle.

15. Cloudy: hazy: aurora. 16. Sleet-showers: hazy. 17. Rain: drizzle. 18.

Hazy: drizzle. 19. Rain: hazy: cloudy. 20, 21. Sleet-showers: showers,

22. Cloudy: showers. 23. Cloudy: hazy. 24. Drizzle: fine. 25, Cloudy:

fine. 26. Clear: fine. 27. Drizzle: cloudy. 28. Cloudy: fine.

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THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[SECOND SERIES.]

No. 29, MAY 1850.

XXIX.—On the Nostochiner. By Joun Ratrs, M.R.C.S.,

Penzance*.

[ With two Plates. |

Fronp gelatinous, containing simple, jointed, generally monili-

form filaments. Some joints enlarged, all finally separating.

The Nostochinee may be regarded as a tribe of freshwater and

terrestrial Algze, for only a very few of its species are either lit-

toral or inhabitants of brackish waters. They are allied on the

one hand to the Oscillatoria and on the other to the Palmellee ;

but I consider they have a closer affinity to the former than to the

latter. Some species of Nostoc, to the naked eye, have considerable

resemblance to fronds of Rivularia. Without the use of the mi-

croscope we are sometimes unable to distinguish Zrichormus and

Spherozyga from Oscillatoria, and even with its assistance the

young filament in Spermosira is liable to be regarded as an

Oscillatoria. So closely too is this family allied to the Palmellea,

that some distinguished naturalists have united them. Hormo-

spora in the latter scarcely differs from it except by its uniform

and more distant cells.

In the Nostochinee the filaments are always imbedded in gela-

tine. In Nostoc and Hormosiphon this gelatine is very evident,

and, especially in the young plant, is comparatively firm. It is,

indeed, often fleshy or even cartilaginous, and externally is always

condensed so as to form a distinct covering or epidermis (gene-

rally smooth and glossy) which limits the frond and gives it a

definite form. In Trichormus and the remaining genera the plant

forms a stratum of no determinate form or extent.

In all the genera the filaments are simple, jointed and usually

moniliform, and finally break up into single joints. Their joints

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, April, May, June and

July 1849.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 21

322 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee.

or cells are commonly more or less orbicular, but sometimes dis-

ciform or cylindrical, and in a few instances confluent. At first

they are uniform ; they divide in the same way as they do in

other simple Algz, and during division are geminate.

I beheve that the filaments multiply in consequence of the

division of the jomts being here and there complete in the same

way as in Oscillatoria ; because we find that the filaments im

an early state (as Mr. Hassall has correctly noticed) are but spa-

ringly scattered through the mass, whereas in mature specimens

they become very numerous. Mr. Hassall considers that this

merease results from the separation or dislocation of the enlarged

cells. I believe, on the contrary, that when the enlarged cells

are fully formed the plant approaches maturity, and the filaments

cease to multiply. The following facts will, I think, prove that

the multiplication of the cells has no essential connection with

the enlarged jomts. In Cylindrospermum they terminate the

filament, vet here the filaments are as numerous as in the other

genera, nor do we find them of more unequal lengths, which

would however necessarily be the case if the enlarged terminal

joints separated to form new filaments ; and further, the enlarged

joints themselves are not developed until after the filaments have

become numerous.

As I have stated above, the joints or cells are at first uniform

in size and figure; but in the mature plant they are of three

different kinds, all of which are generally, though not I believe

imvariably, present in the same filament. These are—

Ist. Ordinary joints or cells —Of these I shall only observe,

that they divide by separating into two hemispheres, each gra-

dually acquirmg a new portion in the room of that from which

it has separated, and that until this process is complete they ap-

pear geminate. As this geminate state is common to every spe-

cies during growth, it cannot be employed as a specific character, |

and as the other cells do not divide, the elongation of the fila-

ment must be solely due to the ordinary ones. Their endo-

chromes are slightly granular, which gives them a dotted ap-

pearance.

2nd. Vesicular joints or cells*.—These make their appearance

at an early period. They are generally orbicular, but sometimes

elliptic, and are usually larger than the ordinary cells. They are

evidently analogous to the vesicles present in Rivularia and in

some of the Oscillatoriee. They do not contain granular matter,

but are filled with a bluish fluid, which eventually acquires a brown

tint. When mature they are frequently furnished with diverging

hairs or cilia. They seem to be connected with the adjacent

* By Mr. Thwaites they are named, from their usual position, ‘ connect-

ing cells;’’ they have also been called “ Heterocysts.”

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez. 323

cells by a minute orifice at each end, which in situ looks like a

minute globule; by this peculiar appearance and by the ab-

sence of granular matter the vesicular cells may be easily recog-

nized.

8rd. Enlarged cells or sporangia.—These are produced by en-

largement of the ordinary cells, and are the last formed. They

are filled with a dense granular matter which becomes homoge-

neous and opake, and finally turns from green to brown like the

sporangia in the Conjugate and Desmidice. When they are fully

developed the filament has fulfilled its function, separates into

single joints and disappears. The sporangia m Nostoe and Tri-

chormus differ but little except in size from the ordinary joints, and

are more or less orbicular. In Spherozyga and Cylindrospermum

they are either elliptic, oblong or cylindrical. Usually they are,

even before the appearance of granular matter, easily distin-

guished from the vesicular cells by the absence of the remarkable

puncta-like globules I have just noticed. The sporangia continue

to enlarge after their separation from the filament.

That these enlarged cells are true sporangia I cannot doubt ;

but the nature of the vesicular cells is less certam. The coex-

istence of the vesicular cells and sporangia in the same filament

may lead to a better understanding of their office in other tribes.

As the former are evidently of the same nature as those present

in Rivularia and in some of the Oscillatoriee, we cannot pro-

nounce that they are reproductive organs in the one family and

not in the other.

On the present occasion I shall examine only those genera of

the Nostochinee in which the plant forms a stratum. As I have

before remarked, they form more or less extended patches, either

on the damp soil or on aquatic plants, or at the bottom of pools

and ditches. Their colour is bluish green or verdigris, and the

stratum is extended by the filaments radiating at its margin,

Hence both in colour and habit, as well as in general appearance,

they resemble species of Oscillatoria ; the stratum, however, is

usually more tender and gelatinous. The mass, which in an

early state is somewhat translucent, at length commonly becomes

opake and presents a pulverulent appearance.

The facility with which the filaments break up, especially in

warm weather, considerably increases the difficulty of studying.

these plants. When the plant is mature, the destruction of the

filament so frequently takes place in a few hours, even though it

be kept in water, that recent specimens forwarded to any distance

seldom arrive in a condition fit for examination ; I am therefore

less able to profit by the examination of those sent me from other

districts. Even when they are mounted in fluid, the labour is

21*

324 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee.

often rendered useless by the separation of the filament into

single cells. The destruction of the filament is attended by the

escape of the colouring’ matter, which stains the water or what-

ever 1s in contact with the mass, and is usually the first sign of

that destruction.

i find the best method of preserving specimens is to dry them

as quickly as possible on tale or glass. Specimens preserved on

paper can rarely be removed without injury. In examining spe-

cimens that have been dried, it is necessary to bear in mind, that

although, when revived by adding a little water, they present cha-

racters apparently but little altered from their recent ones, yet

their joints are then more distinct and orbicular from contraction

at their junction ; hence a cell quadrate in the reeent plant will

be orbicular in the revived one. I have elsewhere mentioned

that from a similar cause the dried frond in Closteriwm appears

more attenuated at the extremities than is natural, and I fear

that from inattention to this fact descriptions taken from dried

specimens are sometimes faulty.

Until the publication of Professor Kiitzing’s ‘ Phyeologia Ge-

neralis,’ the described species belonging to this group were few

in number, and usually retamed im a single genus either as Ana-

baina, Bory, or Spherozyga, Ag. Professor Kiitzing has now

determined upwards of thirty species, which he has distributed

in four genera*.

Attempts to ascertain the earlier synonyms in tribes which

require the aid of the microscope to detect the generic and spe-

cific differences are necessarily attended with much difficulty.

Not only are our present instruments far superior to those used

a few years ago, but when natural history began to take its

proper rank in science, the higher tribes sufficiently taxed the

time and skill of collectors and writers; it is therefore not sur-

prising that the more minute Cryptogamia should have been

comparatively neglected. The descriptions were chiefly taken

from characters obvious to the naked eye, and besides were often

so brief and at the same time so vague, that they were equally

applicable to members of very different genera ; hence authors,

unable to determine with certainty the species of their prede-

cessors, were frequently compelled either to depend on chance in

* TI take this opportunity of directing attention to his ‘‘Tabule Phycolo-

ice,’ now publishing in numbers in a cheap form, and containing magnified

figures of every species known to him. To those who wish to identify our

British freshwater Algze it is indispensable. Of British species of Oscilla-

toria we have no figures of the slightest value, for unfortunately Mr. Hassall,

many of whose figures in other genera are very useful, has, in every figure

which he has given of that genus, omitted to give the ends of the filaments,

though they are often essential to the determination of the species.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinex. 325

the employment of old names, or, renouncing the task as hopeless,

to invent new ones. In the present group all these difficulties

have been experienced, and unless authentic specimens, in a fit

state for examination, exist in the collections of Linnzus and

other early botanists, it must in some instances be impossible to

affix their names with any certainty. I cannot flatter myself that

my nomenclature will be free from error ; but I venture to hope

that by pointing out the essential peculiarities of these plants,

and by more detailed descriptions of the species, I shall facilitate

the labour of those who can find opportunity for inspecting the

herbaria of original authorities.

Should I succeed in my endeavours to elucidate the British

species, the success will be due in a great measure to the kind

assistance of my fellow-students. Mr. Thwaites, who in Harvey’s

* Phycologia Britannica’ was the first to recognize three kinds of

cells, has supplied descriptions of some species which I have not

met with. Other friends, especially Professor Allman, Mr. An-

drews, Mr. Jenner, Mr. Moore, the Rev. T. Salwey, and Mr. W.

Thompson, have aided me by specimens accompanied with re-

marks ; whilst Mr. Borrer has enabled me, by means of his rich

botanical library, to clear up poimts on which I must otherwise

have remained in doubt*.

* The following synoptical table will, it is hoped, convey a clear idea of

the characters distinguishing respectively the various genera proposed to be

described. The genus Nostoc is not included in the present paper on ac-

count of the necessity which exists of a further exammation and study of

its several species, some of which have been stated by Professor Kiitzing

and M. Fries to be merely a condition of species of Codlema.

Synoptical Table of Genera.

I. Filaments not included in a membranous sheath.

a. Frond definite.

1. Monormia, Berkeley.

6. Frond indefinite.

2. Trichormus, Allman. Vesicular cells interstitial and terminal. Spo-

rangia formed first from the cells at the greatest distance from the

vesicular cells.

3. Spherozyga, Ag. Vesicular cells interstitial. Sporangia formed

first from the cells nearest the vesicular cells.

4. Cylindrospermum, Kiitzing. Vesicular cells terminal. Sporangia

as in Spherozyga.

5. Dolichospermum, n. gen. Vesicular cells interstitial. Sporangia

without any definite arrangement, and of unequal length.

II. Filaments included in a membranous sheath.

6. Aphanizomenon, Morren. Vesicular cells none? Sporangia usually

single and of unequal length.

7. Spermosira, Kiitz. Vesicular cells interstitial, single or sometimes

two together. Sporangia as in Trichormus.

326 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee.

Monormia*, Berkeley.

Frond definite, gelatinous, elongated, linear, spirally curled and

convoluted, inclosing a single continuous moniliform filament.

Monormia is very closely allied to Trichormus, Allman, differ-

ing principally, if not solely, im its definite linear frond, which

incloses a single moniliform filament to be traced throughout all

the peculiar convolutions of the frond. The vesicular cells are

interstitial and occur singly. The sporangia are numerous, and

are first formed from the cells at the greatest distance from the

vesicular cells.

Without due attention Monormia might easily be mistaken

for a species of Nostoc, but the mass formed by its convoluted

frond is not ineclosed by a common membranous pellicle as in

that genus.

Monormia intricata, Berk. Gleanings of British Alge, p. 46. t. 18

(1832) ; Harvey, Man. of Brit. Algee, p. 185; ‘Phycologia Bri-

tannica, t. 256 ; Hassall, Brit. Fresh. Alge, p. 286. £. 75. fig. 11.

Nostoc intricatum, Meneghini, Mon. Nostoch. Ital. si 122 (1842).

Anabena intricata, Kitzing, Phyeologia Germanica, p.171 (1845);

Species Algarum, p. 288 ; Tabulee Phycologice, p. 50. t. 94. fig. 1

In ditches of the marsh to the south of Frindsbury Canal, near

Gravesend, Rev. M. J. Berkeley; in brackish ditches at Shirehampton,

near Bristol, G. H. K. 7. ; near Wareham, Rev. W. Smith. Germany,

Kiitzing.

This species occurs m slightly brackish ditches as floating ge-

latinous masses, each about as largé as a walnut, and usually of

a reddish brown colour. When a small portion of the plant is

examined with a lens of moderate power, it is seen to consist of

an elongated continuous moniliform filament included im a de-

finite linear gelatinous sheath, which is very much curled and

convoluted, and the apposed surfaces of which are more or less

coherent. The vesicular cells are somewhat oblong, and rather

larger than the nearly spherical ordinary cells. The sporangia

are numerous, twice the diameter of the ordinary cells, and per-

fectly spherical.

When the sporangia are mature the definite outline of the

linear frond is almost lost, and then there is little to distinguish

the plant from Trichormus but the peculiar convolutions of the

moniliform filament. The original colour of the gelatinous frond

has also then disappeared, and the plant has assumed a pale

greenish tint.

In drying, the plant stains paper of a deep blue or purplish

colour.

Parte VIIL. fig. 1.

* By Mr. G. H. K. Thwaites.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinec. 327

Tricnormus, Ad/man.

Filaments simple, moniliform, distinctly jointed, aggregated into

an indeterminate gelatinous stratum ; sporangia separated from

the vesicular cells by the ordinary joints, which they more or

less resemble in form.

(Anabaina, Bory, Brébisson, Kiitzing, Montagne and others.)

In Trichormus the stratum is indeterminate and very gela-

tinous ; at first it is nearly colourless and transparent, and the

filaments are only sparingly scattered through the matrix ; but

the filaments rapidly increase in number, and the mass, gra-

dually becoming more opake, acquires at length a deep bluish

green colour, which is occasionally mottled with brown, especially

beneath.

The filaments are mostly short, distinctly moniliform, and fre-

quently as much curved as those of a Nostoc. The cells are all

more or less orbicular, and the sporangia differ less from the

ordinary cells than they do in the following genera. Viewed

under the microscope the filaments scarcely differ from those of

a Nostoc. In both genera they are usually curled, their cells are

orbicular, the vesicular ones are interstitial and terminal, and the

sporangia are often uot apparent, or are known only by their

denser endochromes.

In some of the aquatic species the stratum separates into large

floating gelatinous masses, and then can only be distinguished

from Nostoc by the gelatinous portions having no definite form

or size, and by the absence of an epidermis.

Professor Kiitzing refers Monormia intricata, Berk., to this

genus. I have never gathered that plant, and I was unable to

determine the genus from recent specimens sent me by Mr.

Thwaites from Bristol ; but, judging from Mr. Berkeley’s figures

and description, I should suppose that the more definite frond

and the elongated, solitary and peculiarly convoluted filament

are sufficient to sustain the genus.

As Professor Harvey has reminded us in his ‘ Phycologia Bri-

- tannica’ that Bory’s name Anabaina has been appropriated to a

genus of flowering plants, and it becomes necessary to choose

another, L have adopted Professor Allman’s name Trichormus as

next in priority.

Trichormus differs from Dolichospermum in its sporangia, which

are more or less orbicular, and from Spherozyga and C ylindro-

spermum by the different arrangement of the sporangia and vesi-

cular cells.

1. T. Flos-aque (Lyngbye). Filaments flexuose or curved, monili-

form ; cells orbicular, vesicular ones larger, terminal and interstitial.

Nostoe Flos-aque, Lyngbye, Tentamen Hydrophytologiz Danicee,

328 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez.

p- 201. t. 68. fig. D (1819). Anabaina membranina, Bory, Arthr.

fig. 7 d (according to Kiitzing) ; Mougeot et Nestler, Stirpes Cryp-

togamiz Vogeso-Rhenaneze, no. 896. Anabena Flos-aque, Trevir.

in Linn. 1843, t. 3. fig. 5—7 ; Kiitzing, Phycologia Generalis, p. 209;

Phycologia Germaniea, p. 171 ; Species Algarum, p. 289. Sphero-

zyga membranina, Endlicher, Mantissa Bot. Alterum Sup. tertium,

p- 12 (1843). Trichormus incurvus, Allman, Annals of Nat. Hist.

vol. xi. p. 163. t. 5 (1843) ; Hassall, Brit. Freshwater Algze, p. 285.

t. yo.) 1.

Stagnant pools and other still waters. Portmore Lough, Antrim,

Mr.W.Thompson ; Ayrshire, Rev. D. Landsborough ; Dolgelley, J.R. ;

Oswestry, Shropshire, Rev. T. Salwey ; Grand Canal Dock, Dublin,

Professor Allman.

Finland, Lyngbye ; France, Bory ; Germany, Kiitzing.

Trichormus Flos-aque rises to the surface of the water in gela-

tinous masses of considerable size, and is generally of a rich

bluish green colour. Filaments curved and beautifully monili-

form. Cells spherical; vesicular ones resembling the ordinary

ones, but larger and without granular matter. Sporangia I have

not detected, but since cells, not different in form from ordinary

ones, are often filled with granular matter, there is probably no

very obvious difference between the latter and the sporangia.

Puate VIII. fig. 2.

2. T. spiralis (Thompson). Filaments coiled or spiral ; ordinary cells

subquadrate or orbicular ; vesicular cells and sporangia orbicular.

Anabaina spiralis, Thompson in Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.

vol. vy. p. 81 (1846). Sperillum Thompsoni, Hassall, Brit. Fresh-

water Algz, p. 278. t. 75. fig. 7 (1845).

Ballydrain Lake, near Belfast, Mr. Thompson; Petersfield, Mr.

Jenner. 3

I regret that the specimens Mr. Thompson has sent me are

too imperfect to serve for the identification of the species. I am

by no means certain that Mr. Jenner’s plant is identical with the

Irish one, and I have referred it to this species in deference to

the opinions of Mr. Thwaites and Mr. Jenner, rather than from

my own conviction.

The filament in Mr. Jenner’s specimen is somewhat coarse, and

coiled rather than loosely spiral. The ordinary joimts are more

or less quadrate, the vesicular cells orbieular, and the sporangia

similar to the ordinary cells, but larger and more orbicular.

Mr. Thompson’s figure represents his 7. spiralis with perfectly

orbicular ordinary cells, and a slender filament which, except in

being spiral, scarcely differs from Trichormus Flos-aque.

Puate VIII. fig. 3. a, Mr. Jenner’s specimen; 0, fragment of Irish spe-

cimen with sporangium between ordinary cells; ¢, mature sporangium.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez. 329

3. T. Thwaitesii (Harv.). Filaments moniliform, slightly flexuose ;

ordinary cells globular or nearly so ; vesicular cells larger, globular

when interstitial, ovate when terminal, ciliated ; sporangia oval,

eatenate. Spherozyga Thwaitesii, Harvey, Phycologia Britannica,

t. 113 B (1847).

Salt-marshes, Dolgelley, North Wales, and Hayle, near Penzance,

J. R. ; Shirehampton, near Bristol, Mr. Thwaites ; Portbury, Somer-

setshire, Mr. Broome ; near Hastings, Mr. Jenner.

Trichormus Thwaitesti forms thin, gelatmous, dark green

patches either on the damp soil covered at spring-tides or at the

bottom of brackish ditches or pools. Filaments moniliform,

elongated, pale bluish green. Ordinary joints nearly orbicular,

except when dividing. Vesicular cells interstitial and terminal,

ciliated, twice as large as the ordinary ones, ovate when terminal,

otherwise spherical. Sporangia oval or nearly globular, larger

than the ordinary cells, beginning near the centre of the fila-

ment and forming chain-like groups of six or more together.

Mr. Thwaites’s specimens vary in some respects from those |

have gathered. I find the stratum very thin and tender, and the

sporangia rarely produced ; but Mr. Thwaites informs me, that at

Bristol, on the contrary, it forms, after a time, large, floating,

gelatinous masses, and then abounds with sporangia.

Trichormus Thwaitesti is more likely to be confounded with

immature specimens of Spherozyga Carmichael than with either

of the preceding species of this genus, especially as they often

grow intermixed. In the present plant however the filament is

longer, the ordinary cells are more globular, and the terminal

cell either resembles the others or is ovate and vesicular. Its

ciliated and globular vesicular cells distinguish it from 7. oscz/-

lariotdes and T. recta.

A specimen of Anabaina variabilis sent me by Professor Kiitzing

is apparently identical with the present species ; but, as the former

is described as lacustrine, with attenuated ends, I have thought

it advisable not to unite them*.

Puate VIII. fig. 4. a, immature filament ; 5, mature filament.

4. T. oscillarioides (Bory). Filaments elongated, flexuose ; ordi-

nary joints subquadrate, distinct ; vesicular cells barrel-shaped or

elliptic, naked ; sporangia oval, catenate. Anabena oscillarioides,

Bory, Dict. Class. d Hist. Nat. Spherozyga oscillarioides, Kiitz.

Species Algarum, p. 291 (1849); Tabulee Phycologicee, t. 96. fig. 5.

Trichormus affinis, Ralfs in lit.

Brackish ditches. Shirehampton, near Bristol, Mr. Thwaites.

* « Anabaina variabilis, lacustris, mollis, viridi-zeruginea ; trichomatibus

attenuatis, erugineo-viridibus, laxe implicatis ; articulis ellipticis, majoribus,

eranulosis.””—Kiitzing, Phye. Gener. p. 210.

330 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee.

Stratum bluish green; filaments elongated, flexuose, monili-

form, often attenuated at the ends. Ordinary joints quadrate,

with rounded angles, frequently longer than broad, terminal ones

conical. Vesicular cells oblong, usually flattened at the ends so

as to appear barrel-shaped, broader than the ordinary joints, and,

according to Mr. Thwaites, always naked. Sporangia elliptic,

catenate, and somewhat larger than the ordinary cells.

Trichormus oscillarioides differs from T. Thwaitesii by its more

quadrate ordinary cells and by its smooth and elliptic vesicular

cells. It may be known from 7’ recta by its elongated filaments

and by its more quadrate ordinary cells.

Puare VIIL. fig. 5.

. T. rectus* (Thw. MS.). Filaments bright green, straight, short,

slightly tapering towards the extremities ; ordinary cells subsphe-

rical, rather shorter than wide; vesicular cells oblong, smooth,

scarcely wider than the ordinary cells, and never terminating the

filament ; sporangia spherical or oblong, numerous.

Pools. Hanham, near Bristol, August 1847, G. H. K. Thwaites.

This little species differs from every other we have seen in its

short, straight filaments, which are of a beautiful green colour.

The vesicular cells, of which there are seldom more than one or

two in each filament, are of a reddish colour, and about half as

long again as wide. The ordinary cells are nearly spherical,

somewhat compressed, so as to be rather wider than long. The

sporangia vary in shape from spherical to oblong.

Piate VIII. fig. 6.

SpHm#ROzZYGA, Ag.

Filaments simple, generally moniliform, aggregated into a gela-

tinous stratum ; sporangia interstitial, in groups of two or

more connected by a vesicular cell.

(Spherozyga, Agardh, Endlicher, Kutzmg, Montagne. Ana-

baina, Bory, Brébisson.)

Spherozyga agrees with Trichormus, Dolichospermum, Cylin-

drospermum, Aphanizomenon and Spermosira in its mode of growth

as well as in the colour and general appearance of its stratum, and

differs from those genera solely in the microscopic characters of

its filaments.

The filaments are somewhat elongated. The joints, though

seldom so orbicular as in Trichormus, are usually very distinct.

The sporangia are generally elongated and cylindrical ; they oc-

cur in little groups of two or four, with a vesicular cell inter-

posed at the centre. Sometimes a vesicular cell has a sporangium

* For the description of this species I am indebted to Mr. Thwaites.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez. 3831

on one side and apparently an ordinary cell on the other, but

this occurs only when the sporangia begin to be developed, and.

the individual on one side is more forward than that on the

other. In such a case close examination will detect a slight pre-

liminary elongation of the incipient sporangium. The sporangia

indeed are always developed, first on one side of the vesicular

cell and then on the other, and whatever number may occur

together they follow the same rule, and are produced alternately

adjacent to those previously formed, and as they are thus pro-

duced in succession they all vary in size (except in the mature

plant), the inner ones in each group being the largest.

Spherozyga differs from Trichormus and Dolichospermum by

producing its sporangia adjacent to the vesicular cells ; its fila-

ments also are straighter, and its sporangia more elongated than

in the former genus. The interstitial position of the sporangia

and vesicular cells distinguishes it from Cylindrospermum, and

the ordinary cells are not disciform as in Spermosira.

* Filaments moniliform ; sporangia elongated, not turgid.

1. S. Carmichaelii (Harvey). Filaments moniliform, with tapering

extremities ; ordinary joints distinct, subquadrate ; sporangia ob-

long; vesicular cells spherical. Belonia torulosa, Carmichael,

Alg. Appin ined. ; Harvey in Hooker’s Brit. Flora, vol. ii. p. 379

(1833) ; Manual of Brit. Algee, p. 167. Spherozyga compacta,

Kiitzing, Phycologia Generalis, p. 211 (1843); Phycologia Ger-

manica, p.172. Anabena marina, De Brébisson in Ann. Se. Nat. !;

Kiitzing, Species Algarum, p. 287; Tabule Phycologice, t. 92.

fig. 111. Spherozyga Carmichaelii, Harvey, Phycologia Britan-

nica, t. 113 A (1847) ; Kitzing, Species Algarum, p. 294 ; Tabulee

Phycol. t. 99. fig. 4.

B. tenuissima (

). Filaments very slender.

On the damp soil in salt-marshes flooded at spring tides, more

rarely in brackish ditches or upon decaying marine alge. Appin,

Capt. Carmichael. Anglesea; Barmouth; Penman Pool near Dol-

gelley ; Braunton near Barnstaple; Penzance, J. R. Shirehampton

near Bristol, Mr. Thwaites.

f. Shirehampton, Mr. Thwattes.

France, Brébisson ; Germany, Kiitzing.

Stratum tender, very thin, of a dark or bluish green colour

when recent, but opake and glaucous when dry. Filaments short,

straight, slender, moniliform, with attenuated ends. Ordinary

joints distinct, the terminal ones longer than broad and trian-

gular or conical, the others nearly equal in length and breadth,

at first quadrate, finally rounded at their angles, and when dried

orbicular. Whilst dividing they are geminate and longer than

broad. Vesicular cells orbicular or oval and generally ciliated.

382 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee.

Sporangia oblong, three times longer than broad, much broader

than the ordinary cells, one or two on each side of the vesicular

cell, the outer ones generally smallest.

The best distinctive mark of this species is the subacute extre-

mities, combined with the short filament and littoral habitat.

There are rarely more than one or two groups of enlarged cells ;

when only one is present it is situated near the centre of the

filament. I believe that the attenuated extremities are constant,

at least in the young plant, unless the filament has been broken.

The var. 8. differs i havmg much slenderer filaments: I am

not sufficiently acquainted with it to determine whether it be, as

Mr. Thwaites supposes, a distinct species.

PuaTteE VIII. fig. 7. a, 6, ordinary form; ¢, var. 8.

2. S. Jacobi (Ag.). Filaments elongated, their ends usually attenu-

ated ; ordinary cells subspherical ; vesicular cells spherical ; spo-

rangia oblong or cylindrical. Spherozyga Jacobi, Agardh, Icones

Algarum Europearum! ; Berkeley in Eng. Bot. t. 2826. fig. 2.

Upper Mill, Dolgelley ; near Swansea, J. R. Durham Down near

Bristol, Mr. Thwaites !

Carlsbad, Agardh! Madeira, Rev. T. Salwey.

Spherozyga Jacobi occurs in thick bluish green gelatinous

masses, from which the filaments issue in long rays. The fila-

ments are moniliform, elongated, and generally taper at their

ends. Ordinary joints at first somewhat quadrate but finally

orbicular, the terminal one longer than broad and usually coni-

cal. Vesicular cells spherical, larger than the ordinary joints,

but not so broad as the sporangia. Sporangia oblong or cylin-

drical, one or two on each side of the vesicular cell.

Agardh’s figure represents his Spherozyga Jacobi as having

the ordinary joints closely united, m fact separated merely by

transverse dissepiments, and consequently so unlike the present

plant, that I should scarcely have suspected their identity if

Mr. Borrer had not afforded me an opportunity of examining an

authentic Carlsbad specimen which he received from Agardh

himself.

Spherozyga Jacobi in some respects agrees with S. Carmichaelit;

but the filaments are stouter and more elongated, the ordinary

cells are more orbicular, its habitat is also different, and the dried

plant wants the opake verdigris appearance so usual in the latter.

The orbicular ordinary and vesicular cells distinguish it from

S. elastica and S. leptosperma.

Puate VIII. fig. 8. a, immature filament ; 6, mature state.

3. S. elastica (Ag.). Filaments moniliform, dissepiments conspi-

cuous ; ordinary cells quadrate ; vesicular ones elliptic ; sporangia

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee. 333

cylindrical, truncate. Spherozyga elastica, Agardh, Teones Alga-

rum Europzarum. Cylindrospermum elongatum, Kiutzing, Spe-

cies Algarum, p. 294 (1849) ; Tabula Phycologicz, t. 99. fig. 111.

Cromlyn Bog near Swansea, J. R.

Sweden, dgardh ; Germany, Braun.

Stratum deep bluish green, tender. Filaments elongated,

constricted at the dissepiments. Ordinary cells about equal in

length and breadth ; but when dividing they lengthen, and though

quadrate in the recent plant they acquire slightly rounded angles

when dry. Vesicular cells at first barrel-shaped, finally elliptic.

Sporangia cylindrical, four to eight times longer than broad,

their ends at first truncate, but rounded after separation.

The moniliform filaments and shorter joints distinguish this

species from Spherozyga leptosperma, and its elliptic vesicular

cells from S. Jacobi and S. Carmichaelit.

Puate VIII. fig. 9. a, immature filament ; 6, mature state.

** Filaments moniliform ; sporangia turgid, much broader than the

ordinary cells.

4. S. Broomeii (Thwaites). Filaments moniliform, elongated ; ordi-

nary jomts suborbicular ; vesicular cells barrel-shaped or elliptic ;

sporangia elliptic, catenate. Spherozyga Broomeii, Thwaites.

Brackish ditch at Shirehampton, near Bristol, Mr. Broome.

Stratum bluish or yellowish green. Filaments elongated, ob-

tuse ; ordinary cells at first nearly quadrate, but finally orbicular.

Vesicular cells smooth, at first barrel-shaped, then elliptic,

broader than the ordinary joints, but not so broad as the spo-

rangia, which are elliptic and numerous.

The gelatinous matrix is firmer than in many species of: this

genus, and under the lens can be detected without difficulty.

The numerous sporangia in each series distinguish Spherozyga

Broomeu from every other species I am acquainted with.

Piate VIII. fig. 10. a, immature filament ; 6, mature state.

5. S. Berkeleyana (Thwaites). Ordinary joints spherical or slightly

compressed ; vesicular cells spheroidal, compressed, as broad as the

large turgid-elliptic sporangia. Spherozyga Berkeleyana, Thwaites.

Brackish ditch at Shirehampton, near Bristol, Mr. Thwaites.

Filaments elongated ; ordinary joints nearly globular, some-

times compressed and slightly broader than long, terminal ones

longer and somewhat tapermg. The vesicular cells are globular

in dried specimens (but Mr. Thwaites informs me that in the re-

cent state they are compressed) ; they are nearly as broad as the

sporangia, which are large, broadly elliptic, and sometimes almost

globular.

334 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee.

The turgid sporangia and large, compressed vesicular cells

characterise the species.

Puare VIII. fig. 11. a, immature state; 6, mature state.

6. S. Mooreana ( ). Ordinary joints subspherical ; vesicular cells

barrel-shaped, much narrower than the large broadly-elliptic spo-

rangia.

Ireland, Mr. Moore, to whom I am indebted for specimens.

Ordinary cells minute, somewhat orbicular. Sporangia very

turgid, often nearly orbicular, much larger than either the vesi-

cular or the ordinary cells. Vesicular cells minute, smooth and

barrel-shaped.

I regret that I have only seen imperfect and dried filaments of

this species intermixed with Nostoc variegatum, Moore ; im a re-

cent state therefore the form of the ordinary cells may not agree

with the above description, still the large turgid sporangia must

distinguish it from every species but Spherozyga Berkeleyana,

and from that it differs in its vesicular cells, which are compara-

tively much smaller and also longer than broad.

Piate VIII. fig. 12. Mature filament.

*** Dissepiments obscure, cells longer than broad.

7. S. leptosperma (Kiitzing). Filaments elongated, not constricted

at the dissepiments ; ordinary joints longer than broad, confluent ;

vesicular cells elliptic ; sporangia linear. Cylindrospermum lepto-

spermum, Kiitzing, Bot. Zeit. 1847, p. 198; Species Algarum,

p- 294; Tabulze Phycologicze, t. 99. fig. 11.

Ditches and pools. Near Carnarvon and near Barmouth, J. R.

France, Lenormand.

Spherozyga leptosperma occurs in large, shapeless, gelatinous

masses in still waters. Its colour varies from deep green to pale

yellowish green, but when the filaments are comparatively few it is

nearly colourless. The ordinary joints are longer than broad, sepa-

rated only by transverse dissepiments, which are not contracted,

and indeed are often so obscure, that, in the recent state, they

can hardly be detected, whilst the filaments, in all respects but

their enlarged cells, appear not unlike those of an Oscz/latoria.

Vesicular cells at first barrel-shaped, finally elliptic, and as broad

as the sporangia, the early state of which they somewhat resemble,

but they may be recognized by the absence of granular contents

and by their globules. Sporangia cylindrical, four to six times

longer than broad, truncate, slightly broader than the ordinary

cells.

The confluent ordinary cells with their obscure dissepiments

distinguish Spherozyga leptosperma from every other British

species.

Puate VIII. fig. 13. Mature filament.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez. 335

DoticuosrerMuUM, Thwaites MS.

Filaments simple, generally moniliform, aggregated into a gela-

tinous stratum ; sporangia interstitial, elongated, separated

from the vesicular cells by the or dinary joints.

Dolichospermum differs from Spherozyga only in the different

arrangement of its cells. In the latter genus the vesicular cells

connect the sporangia, whereas in the former they are situated

amongst the ordinary cells.

The sporangia are much elongated and mostly cylindrical.

They are developed from the ordinary cells, which are more or

less remote from the vesicular ones. Mr. Thwaites finds that

their extremities are invariably truncated, and the endochrome

escapes in an undivided mass, a circumstance he has not noticed

in the other genera belonging to the Nostochinee.

This genus is distinguished from Cylindrospermum by the in-

terstitial position of the sporangia and vesicular cells, and from

Trichormus and Spermosira by its elongated sporangia.

1. D. inequale ( ). Filaments moniliform; ordinary cells at first

quadrate, finally orbicular; vesicular cells large, spherical; sporangia

linear, catenate. P

Boggy pools. Dolmelynlyn near Dolgelley, J. R.

This plant forms extensive strata, composed of thick gelatinous

masses of a deep green colour. Filaments elongated, consisting

of from 100 to 200 cells, and, being stouter than in most species

belonging to this family, visible to the naked eye. Ordinary cells

distinct, quadrate in immature specimens, but at length nearly

spherical, appearing punctate on account of the scattered gra-

nular matter which they contain. Vesicular cells spherical,

broader than the ordinary joints and occurring at short intervals.

Sporangia three or four times longer than broad, with truncate

ends, in chains of from two to five members.

Dolichospermum inequale may be known from the following

species by its spherical vesieular cells and catenate sporangia.

PuaTE IX. fig. 1.

2. D. Ralfsii (Kiitzing). Filaments moniliform ; ordinary joints

spherical ; vesicular cells elliptic ; sporangia elliptic or cylindrical,

one or two in each series. Cylindrospermum Ralfsii, Kiitzing, Bot.

Zeitg. (1847), p. 197; Species Algarum, p. 293; Tabule Phyco-

logicee, t. 98. fig. 7.

Bog and rivulet at Llyn Gwernan near Dolgelley, J. R.

Dolichospermum Ralfsii occurs in extensive strata of a velvety

rich dark green colour, sometimes verging towards xruginous

green. A portion placed in water threw out, in the course of one

336 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee.

night, rays an inch or more in length. Filaments elongated,

comparatively stout, visible to the naked eye, under the lens full

green when grouped, but bluish green when scattered. Ordi-

nary joits orbicular. Vesicular cells elliptic, broader than the

ordinary ones. Sporangia near the middle of each series of

ordinary joints, most frequently solitary, rarely more than two

together, at first oval, afterwards oblong, finally cylindrical, and

about six times longer than broad. In their early state they

resemble the vesicular cells in form ; but the presence of granular

matter and the absence of junction-globules reveal their true

character : the longer ones are frequently contracted at the mid-

dle, a circumstance I have occasionally noticed in those species

which have elongated sporangia.

Dolichospermum Ralfsii is distmguished from D. inequale by

its elliptic vesicular cells (which are comparatively less broad), by

its more orbicular ordinary joints and by having fewer sporangia.

PuaTeE IX. fig. 2.

3. D. Thompsoni ( ). Filaments spirally curved ; ordinary and

vesicular cells spherical ; sporangia oblong, curved, usually solitary.

Anabaina Flos-aque, Harvey, Manual of Brit. Algze, p.186 (1841);

Hassall, British Freshwater Algee, p. 282. t. 75. fig. 2.

* Floating like powdered verdigris on one of the small Lochs Ma-

ben, Dumfries-shire,”’’ Mr. W. Thompson.

A specimen of this plant, given me by Mr. Thompson, forms

on paper a thin stain of a bluish green colour. Filaments mo-

niliform and loosely spiral. Ordinary and vesicular cells orbi-

cular, and so much alike in form and size that in the dried state

I am unable, with absolute certainty, to distinguish the latter

from ordinary cells which have lost their granular matter. Mr.

Thwaites however informs me, that by a careful adjustment of

the lens, he has detected the puncta in the vesicular cell, in which

also he finds the membrane firmer than in the others. Sporangia

solitary (rarely two together) in each series, two or three times

longer than broad, curved, so as to appear somewhat reniform,

and more rounded at their ends than is usual in this genus.

This species is easily distinguished from the others by its

curved filament and reniform sporangia. Its moniliform, spiral

filament agrees better with Trichormus than with Dolichospermum,

but in its elongated sporangia it differs from every species of the

former.

Puate IX. fig. 3.

4, D. Smithii* (Thwaites MS.). Filaments straight, each included in

* For the description of this and the following species I am indebted to

Mr. Thwaites.

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez. 337

a definite gelatinous sheath; ordinary cells subspherical, com-

pressed, about as long as wide; vesicular cells subspherical, some-

what barrel-shaped, half as wide again as the ordinary cells, puncta

very distinct ; sporangia cylindrical, very unequal in length, and

with the ends rounded and somewhat truncated.

Occurring amongst other algz from a freshwater boggy pool at

Wareham, Dorsetshire, Rev. W. Smith.

D. Smithii is immediately distinguishable from its congeners

on account of its possessing a definite gelatinous sheath to

each of its filaments, which are of smaller diameter than those

of any other species of Dolichospermum we are now describing.

The ordinary cells are subspherical, somewhat compressed, and

of less diameter than the vesicular cells, which are barrel-shaped

and with very distinct puncta. The numerous sporangia, which

are of about twice the diameter of the ordinary cells, are elon-

gated and cylindrical, very variable in length and in the number

which occur together, and their ends are slightly truncate.

PuLaTE IX. fig. 4.

5. D. Thwaitesii ( ). Filaments straight or nearly so; ordinary

cells quadrate ; vesicular cells oblong, subquadrate, puncta very di-

stinct ; sporangia numerous, cylindrical, with truncated ends, very

variable in length. Spherozyga Ralfsii, Thwaites in lit. (1849).

Ina freshwater pool, Dendham Down near Bristol ; also in a brack-

ish ditch near Shirehampton, G. H. K. Thwaites.

D. Thwaitesii is nearly allied to the foregoing species, but its

filaments are not included in a definite gelatinous sheath. Its

filaments are also stouter than those of D. Smithii, and there is

a difference in the form of its ordinary as well as of its vesicular

cells. The vesicular cells of D. Thwaittesii are quadrangular, and

hardly exceed in diameter the ordinary cells. The cylindrical

truncated sporangia are numerous, occurring many in a chain,

and very variable in theiy length; they are of about twice the

diameter of the ordinary cells.

PuaTE IX. fig. 5.

CyLinpRosPeRMuM, Kiitzing.

Filaments simple, jointed, nidulating in a gelatinous stratum ;

vesicular cells terminal ; sporangia oblong or elliptic, inter-

posed between the vesicular and ordinary cells.

(Anabaina, Bory and others.)

In Cylindrospermum the stratum is similar to that described

under the preceding genera; but as the filaments radiate less

than is usually the case in Spherozyga, I was, in one instance of

admixture, enabled to separate the Spherozyga from the Cylin-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.2. Vol. v. 22

338 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez.

drospermum, by availing myself of the greater radiating capacity

of the former.

The filaments, as in the other genera, have at first all their

joints uniform, but the terminal joint at each end soon enlarges

into a vesicular cell, which is either orbicular, elliptic or’ovate,

and is generally furnished with fine scattered hairs or fibres : the

penultimate joints then elongate and become cylindrical, after-

wards they increase considerably in breadth, and when mature

are always elliptic or elliptic-oblong. Sometimes two or even

three sporangia are formed between the vesicular and the ordinary

cells. The additional sporangia however are not uniformly pre-

sent even in filaments from the same stratum, and are sometimes

double at one extremity and not at the other ; in fact, few mature

specimens can be examined without observing examples of these

variations. Hence, although the doubling of the sporangia oe-

curs more abundantly in some specimens or species than in others,

I cannot rely upon it as a specific distinction.

There can be no difficulty in recognizing this genus under the

microscope. ‘The filaments, especially when only one extremity

is visible, are remarkable for their animal-like appearance. The

chain of ordinary cells resembles a slender-jointed body; the

enlarged elliptic sporangium, at least twice as broad as the re-

mainder of the filament, represents the thorax, and the head is

mimicked by the vesicular cell, which, in colour, shape and ge-

neral aspect, differs from the other cells, whilst the presence of

fine hairs renders the imitation more perfect.

It will thus be seen that the terminal cells are invariably vesi-

cular, the penultimate ones always become sporangia, and the

central ones remain unaltered.

When the filaments break up, the sporangia separate from the

ordinary cells, but remain for some time crowned by the vesi-

cular ones. The filament in Spherozyga frequently breaks at the

vesicular cells, after which the portion retaming one attached to

its sporangium, appears, at first sight, to belong to this genus.

In the recent state however the slightest attention will show its

true character, for the vesicular cell of the broken Spherozyga

retains the punctum or globule at each end, which is not the

case in Cylindrospermum, as it is only present where another cell

has been conjoined. t

1. C. catenatum ( ). Filaments moniliform ; ordinary joints or-

bicular ; vesicular cells oval ; sporangia oval, catenate.

This species was probably gathered in South Wales, but I

omitted to note the habitat when the specimens were preserved.

Stratum bluish green ; filaments very fine, elongated, straight

or slightly flexuose, generally parallel. Ordinary cells orbicular,

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee. 309

numerous, very minute. Vesicular cells oval. Sporangia (two

to eight in each chain) at first similar to the ordinary cells, but

usually less orbicular ; finally they become more or less oval, the

shorter ones approaching to orbicular, and the longer ones to

oblong ; they are frequently but little broader than the vesicular

cell ; in fact their size never differs so much as in many species.

Cylindrospermum catenatum differs froma every other species in

its numerous sporangia.

Cylindrospermum contains many other species, several of them

by no means uncommon in this country; but their descriptions

must be deferred to some future period, as my friend Mr. Thwaites,

who had paid great attention to them, was prevented by his ap-

pointment at Ceylon from fulfilling his kind promise to describe

them for this paper.

PuLate VIII. fig. 14. a, immature filament; >, mature state.

APHANIZOMENON, Morren.

Filaments simple, flaccid, obsoletely jointed, “ cohering laterally

into flat lamelle,” aggregated into a mucous stratum ; vesicular

cells none ; sporangia linear, interstitial.

(Aphanizomenon, Morren. Limnochlide, Kiitz.)

Aphanizomenon forms a thin, tender, mucous stratum of a

bluish colour. The filaments are extremely slender, flaccid, and

very obscurely joimted. No vesicular cells have been detected.

The sporangia are much elongated, either scattered or, more

usually, solitary near the centre of the filament.

I have examined an authentic specimen of Limnochlide Flos-

aque, and as there seems to be no essential difference between

Aphanizomenon and Limnochlide I have united them, retaining

the former appellation on account of its priority. The filaments

in both genera are described as cohering in flat lamellee, but that

character is sometimes so little obviqus in dried specimens, that

I am not inclined to place much dependence upon it as a generic

distinction, especially as I could not detect it in recent specimens

of a plant, presently to be described, which I think should by no

means be placed in a different genus.

Authors differ widely respecting the proper situation of this

genus. In Harvey’s ‘ Manual of British Algze’ it is placed at

the end of the Confervee, Montagne appends it to the Oscilla-

toriee, Endlicher omits it altogether, and Kiitzing instituted for

it a distinct family, which he placed between Leptotrichee and

Nostochinee. Mr. Hassall, I believe, first placed it in this family,

and I fully concur with his observation that “the true position

of the genus is undoubtedly amongst the Nostochinee, connecting

them with the Oscillatoriee.”

22%

340 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez.

Aphanizomenon agrees in its filament with Oscillaturia, but is

sufficiently separated by its conspicuous sporangia, which are si-

milar to those of Dolichospermum. It differs from all the other

genera in the Nostochinee by the absence of vesicular cells and by

its obsoletely articulated filament.

1, A. Flos-aque (Linn.). Filaments cohering laterally in flat lamellze

which separate at their extremities into fasciculi; sporangia cylin-

drical with an inconspicuous covering. Byssus farinacea virescens,

aque inspersa, Linnzeus, Flora Lapponica, no. 532 (1737), ed. 2nd,

p- 388 (Smith, 1792); Flora Suecica, ed. Ist, no. 1128. Byssus

Flos-aque, Linn. Species Plantarum, no. 1168 (1753), ed. 2nd,

p: 1637. Conferva Flos-aque, Roth, Catalecta Botanica, fasc. 3.

p- 192 (1806). Oscillatoria Flos-aque, Agardh, Synopsis Alga-

rum Scandinavie, p. 107 (1817) ; Syst. Algarum, p. 59. _Nostoe

Flos-aque, Jiirgens, Algze aquaticze. Limnanthe Linnei, Kitzing

in Linnea, vol. xvi. p. 86. Limnochlide Flos-aque, Kitzing,

Phycologia Generalis, p.203 (1843) ; Phycologia Germanica, p. 168;

Species Algarum, p. 286; Tabulee Phycologicee,t.91. fig.2a. dpha-

mizomenon incurvum, Allman in lit. cum specimine.

Probably not uncommon. Grand Canal Docks, Dublin, Professor

Allman.

Sweden, Linneus ; Germany, Kiitzing.

I am indebted to Professor Allman for a beautiful and cha-

racteristic specimen of this species. In its dried state the stra-

tum appears to be composed of minute flocculi, and, with the

exception of colour, might not unaptly be compared to scattered

snow-flakes. The colour is opake, zruginous green, which how-

ever becomes more or less altered after being dried a second

time. The microscope shows that the flocculi consist of parallel

filaments united together laterally, and forming a flat layer which

appears plumose from the filaments converging at the ends into

little conical or subulate tufts or pencils. The filaments are

straight, obtuse, not attenuated ; the joints are rather longer than

broad, faintly visible, and especially difficult of detection in con-

sequence of their granular contents. Kiitzing describes the spo-

rangia as elliptic. In the Dublin specimen they are few in number

and immature ; but in specimens given me by Professor Kiitzing

they are linear, much elongated, often ten or twelve times longer

than broad, and resemble those of the next species except in

having a far less conspicuous hyaline covering. The best di-

stinctive mark between these species is the lateral coherence of

the filaments in A. Flos-aque.

In the dried state, the only condition. in which I have seen it,

the Aphanizomenon Flos-aqua i is easily recognized by its floccu-

lent appearance, even to the naked eye. I believe that not only

was it one of the earliest-known plants in this group, but that it

Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinez. 841

is the true Flos-aque of almost every algologist prior to Lyngbye,

whose error has misled many succeeding writers and confounded

plants of widely different aspect. The descriptions of Linneus,

Roth and Agardh, although more or less deficient, agree far

better with this species than with any others which have been

confused with it. Lyngbye, indeed, suspected that his Nostoc

Flos-aque was distinct from the plant of the two latter writers*,

an opinion confirmed by Agardh so far as regards himself.

Mr. Borrer has sent me a specimen of Byssus Flos-aque distri-

buted by Mohr, who, there is every reason to suppose, was fully

acquainted with the plant then known by that name: the speci-

men, which is a very good one, scarcely differs even in colour

from those recently gathered by Professors Kiitzing and Allman.

I cannot obtain the slightest clue to the Flos-aque of our earlier

British writers. They give no habitats, and although the specific

definition of Hudson, Lightfoot and Withering agrees with this

species (“filamentis plumosis natantibus”), yet, as it is a mere copy

from Linnzus, no dependence can be placed upon it. The two

former authors give no original remarks, and Withering’s own

observations agree but indifferently with his specific quotation ; for

his description, “jointed filaments straight or curled like a cork-

screw,” is more applicable to a Trichormus.

PuaTE IX. fig. 6. a, portion of foreign specimen magnified; 6, Dub-

lin sp. ditto; c, filaments highly magnified.

2. A. cyaneum ( ). Filaments free, aggregated into a thin mucous

stratum ; sporangia linear, eight to twelve times longer than broad,

furnished with a conspicuous hyaline covering. Limnochlide Flos.

aque, B. hercynica, Kitzing, Species Algarum, p. 286 (1849) ;

Tabule Phycologice, t. 91. f. 11?

On aquatic plants in boggy pools at Llyn Gwernan and Dolmelynlyn

near Dolgelley, J. R.

Germany, Kiitzing.

Stratum minute, thin, tender, of an opake light blue colour.

Filaments very slender, straight, nearly colourless, having a

slightly dotted appearance from the scattered granular endo-

chrome, not constricted at the dissepiments, which are very in-

distinct, and only to be detected by careful examination in a

favourable light ; ends obtuse, not attenuated. Joints or ordi-

nary cells nearly equal in length and breadth. Sporangia elon-

gated, cylindrical, generally solitary near the centre of each fila-

ment, but sometimes scattered, each inclosed in a broad, hyaline

covering.

* “ An sit Conferva Flos-aque, Roth, Oscillatoria Flos-aque, Ag., justo

amnbigitur ; ille enim filis rectis et parallelis gaudere describuntur, hee vero

filis curvatis, implexis.instructa est.”’—Lyugbye, Tentamen Hydrophyto-

logie Danicee, p. 202.

342 Mr. J. Ralfs on the Nostochinee.

Aphanizomenon cyaneum differs from A. Flos-aque by its stra-

tum not appearing flocculose, by its paler inconspicuous filaments,

which do not cohere in lamine, and would often escape detection

under the microscope but for the presence of the sporangium,

which has a far broader hyaline covering in this than in the latter

species.

Puate IX. fig. 7. Filament highly magnified.

3. A. incurvum (Morren). ‘ Filaments articulated, cohering together

in flat laminze, laciniated at the apex; articulations two to eight

times longer than broad.” Trichodesmium Flos-aque, Ehrenb. in

Poggend. Annal. 1830, p. 168 (according to Kiitzing). Aphani-

_zomenon tncurvum, Morren in Memoir (1837) ; Thompson in An-

nals of Nat. Hist. vol. v. p. 82; Harvey, Manual of Brit. Algz,

p- 145; Hassall, Brit. Freshwater Algze, p. 280. t. 76. fig.6. Lim-

nochlide Flos-aque y. Harveyana, Kitzing, Species Algarum,

p- 286 (1849) ; Tabule Phycologice, t. 91. fig. 2.

Ballydrain Lake, Mr. W. Thompson ; Lough Neagh, Mr. D. Moore.

Belgium, Morren ; Germany, Kiitzing.

I regret that I am unable to afford any satisfactory informa-

tion respecting this plant, for although Mr. Thompson has sup-

plied me with specimens, they are unfortunately preserved upon

paper, and could not be removed in a condition fit for examination.

Respecting the Ballydrain species, one would suppose there could

be no reasonable doubt as Dr. Morren has determined it. Still

it is very possible that his Aphanizomenon incurvum has been

rightly supposed by Kiitzing to be merely the Flos-aque, for

nothing in the descriptions renders the opinion improbable. The

Dublin plant at least is decidedly the A. Flos-aque. Mr. Thomp-

son’s A. mncurvum however differs materially from all my speci-

mens of the A. Flos-aque both in colour and in the form of the

particles, which are circular and dot-like, very unlike the larger

and lobed flakes of the other. Mr. Hassall’s figure represents

the filaments as tapering—a character, indeed, amply sufficient

to distinguish the A. incurvum from the preceding species ; but

unfortunately, if the filaments really possess this character,

neither Dr. Morren nor Mr. Hassall have noticed it in their de-

scriptions, and so the matter is still in doubt.

Since the above was written, I have received from Mr. Moore

some specimens better suited for examination. Although not

from the same station as Mr. Thompson’s plant, they exactly

agree with it in appearance ; the specks are unlike any other spe-

cies that I have seen, and in form as well as in size and scattered

habit resemble the small dots made by house-flies. Under the

microscope the filaments appear parallel; they do not closely

cohere as in 4. Flos-aque, but are rather held together by the

On Trichites, a fossil genus of Bivalve Mollusks. 348

mucous matrix, and are neither fasciculated nor laciniated at

their ends ; they are so very slender that the triplet is not suffi-

ciently powerful to afford a proper examination. I was unable

to perceive either dissepiments or sporangia. In no respect,

except in their parallel arrangement, did the filaments correspond

with Morren’s description.

PiaTe IX. fig. 8. a, portion of stratum from Lough Neagh ; 4, filament.

XXX.—On Trichites, a fossil yenus of Bivalve Mollusks.

By Joun Lycert, Esq.*

[With a Plate. ]

Tuts generic form is distributed over an extensive area both in

this country and upon the continent ; it occurs in more than one

of the oolitic formations; the Cotteswold Hills more especially

produce it abundantly ; nevertheless it is almost entirely absent

from the cabinets of English collectors ; and if we examine that

section of modern literature which professes to illustrate fossil

conchology, our search will scarcely be more successful or satis-

factory. In both cases the defect may be accounted for by a dif-

ficulty almost insurmountable experienced in obtaining illustra-

tive specimens in a condition perfect, or even approaching to

perfect ; fragments indeed are easily detached, but these alone do

not convey any precise or adequate idea of the generic characters.

The shells are large, the very Titans of their period, sometimes

extending to upwards of a yard across, of a thickness far sur-

’ passing that of bivalves generally, but of a structure peculiarly fra-

gile (prismatic crystaliine), consisting of fibres closely arranged,

placed perpendicularly to the surface and breaking readily m the

direction of the fibres with any slight concussion ; this is a serious

obstacle to their separation, to which may be added, that the up-

per ragstone bed of the Inferior Oolite in which they most com-

monly occur is very hard and intractable in the nature of its

fracture. In almost every open quarry of this rock, and more

especially in the stratum called Trigonia grit, these thick fibrous

masses may be noticed; more rarely also in the middle portion

of the same formation and in the shelly beds of the Great Oolite.

They have usually been referred to a gigantic species of Pinna,

probably from a similarity of structure. The Cotteswolds have

produced two species, which are distinct from another recorded

from the Jura which will subsequently be noticed. Dr. Plott,

the historian of Oxfordshire, appears to have been the first per-

son who applied the term Trichites to these shells. Woodward,

* Read to the Cotswold Naturalists’ Club, Jan. 22, 1850.

344 Mr. J. Lycett on Trichites,

in his ‘Catalogue of English Fossils,’ 1725, part 2. p. 101, 102,

‘De testis aliisque incerti generis,’ mentions that Lhwyd sent a

specimen of this genus from the Oolite of Bullmgton Green near

Oxford, with the title “ Trichites Plottii, Hist. Oxon. Veneris crimes

forsan Plinio,” and adds the caustie remark, that these two writers,

Dr. Plott of mere simplicity, and Lhwyd of design, “ darken

counsel by words without knowledge,” Job. xxxvit. 2; he also

records fragments in his collection from Risington and Birdlip

Hill in Gloucestershire. The generic name was of course de-

rived from its capillary or hair-like structure. Far from joming

in the foregoing censure, we are rather disposed to respect the

discrimination which recognized this obseure generic form in the

earliest infancy of conchology. It was observed by Saussure in

the Coralline Oolite of Mount Saléve near Geneva, and described

by Deluc in the first volume of the great work of Saussure on

the Alps, p. 192, and figured in part 2. fig. 5, 6. This eminent

naturalist ascertained some of the general features of the genus ;

the great thickness of the test, its fibrous structure, analogous, he

observed, to that of Pinna, and its inequivalve form ; this latter

character, he observed, compelled a generie separation, and he

proposed to call it Pixnegene. Deluc seems to have been unac-

quainted with the prior claim of Lhwyd. Guettard and De-

france observed it in the oolitic rocks of Normandy; they re-

garded it as a distinct genus, but do not appear to have con-

tributed anything material to its elucidation. 'The latter author’s

views are contained in an article contributed by him to the ‘Dic-

tionnaire des Sciences Naturelles,’ tom. lv. 1828.

Deshayes, in his last edition of Lamarck’s Conchology, does

not recognize its generic value, but describes Deluc’s species

(tom. vii. p.-68) under the designation Pina Saussurei; the

materials at his disposal seem to have been very imperfect, and

in consequence his description is incomplete and calculated to

give an erroneous idea of its characteristic features. The term

‘ subsequivalvis ’ for instance does not accord with Deluc’s figures ;

it is stated to gape posteriorly, which, judging from our speci-

mens, must be an error ; the character of the terminal extremity

and interior of the hinge-line are not mentioned. The only other

recent notice of the genus which we have discovered is contained

in the volume of Dr. Pictet, which is devoted to fossil concho-

logy, where the figures of Deluc ave copied on a reduced scale,

but no additional information is given. From the absence of all

notice of the genus by the leading systematic writers on concho-

logy, it may be concluded that they did not recognize the di-

stinction of Deluc’s shell from Pinna, or having no personal

knowledge of the form, they hesitated to allow it a place with

recognized genera. It has therefore hitherto existed almost on

a fossil genus of Bivalve Mollusks. 345

the horizon of science as an obscure and problematical object,

which it will be our present endeavour to bring more nearly

within the grasp of the conchologist.

Generic Character.

Shell of fibrous structure, thick, ovate, oblong, inequivalve, ine-

quilateral and irregular; umbones terminal, produced and

funnel-shaped, the apex gaping. Hinge-margin oblique and

elongated, the margins undulated, anterior margin corrugated

and thickened beneath the umbones. Hinge lateral, linear and

without teeth.

Our specimens, though not numerous, exemplify the genus in

a satisfactory manner, and place its characters free from ambi-

guity. The valves are both separated and in apposition ; in one

instance the interior of the cardinal border and terminal extre-

mity have been cleared, but the muscular impressions have not

been seen. The general figure is oblique and nearly quadri-

lateral, one valve being convex, the other flattened or even a little

concave ; the margins undulate, are rather irregular, including

even the hinge-line, and there is always a considerable undula-

tion occupying the posterior border, at which part the valves are

thinner, more expanded and flattened ; the undulations of both

valves correspond ; they are rounded, having no posterior trun-

cation, and when closed leave no hiatus. In the concavity of the

anterior border is a corrugation which marks the probable place

of exit for a byssus, a feature exactly corresponding with that in

Perna, Avicula, &c., but there is scarcely any distinct hiatus per-

ceptible. The umbones form a hollow funnel-shaped cavity nar-

rowing to the extremity, but open, the opening being rounded,

and formed by the termination of both the valves; the shell

about its middle and anterior parts attaims a thickness exceeding

any recent bivalve, and comparable only with the fossil genus

Catillus ; the smaller valve is the thinnest. With respect to its

affinities, that to Pinna, which has engaged the attention of natu-

ralists, would appear, to say the least of it, to be very remote.

What do we find in conformity with a delicate, almost papyra-

eeous shell, straight, equivalve and regular, with a truncated,

widely gaping posterior extremity ? Absolutely nothing ; on the

contrary we have a shell of monstrous thickness, very oblique,

inequivalve and irregular, its posterior side being neither trun-

cated nor gaping—in fact nearly every generic feature of import-

ance is reversed ; the fibrous structure common to both seems to

have misled observers into a supposed generic identity. But even

the structure of the two genera when carefully examined presents

a difference equally marked and characteristic: the strength of

346. . Mr. J. Lycett on Trichites,

the thin and delicate Pinna is produced by a double structure,

by its substance consisting of two layers, the outer being fibrous,

the fibres placed perpendicular to the surface as in Trichites ;

but the inner one is nacreous or lamellar, a contrivance which

effectually obviates the fragility which pertains to the fibrous

structure. Trichites on the contrary has one structure through-

out ; the perpendicular fibres are crossed by a few extremely fine

parallel laminz, which do not break off the continuity of the

fibres, and impede fracture only to a very limited extent. The

genus Catillus, found only in the eretaceous rocks, is that which.

seems to approximate most nearly to the present form. Both have

very much the same general figure, fibrous structure and thick

substance ; on the other hand, the Catilli are nearly equivalve and

regular, the hinge consists internally of a linear series of crenu-

lations, and the terminal character of the.umbones is likewise

distinct.

The position of Trichites in the conchological series should

therefore be near to Catillus; its irregularity is such that no

two of our specimens are exactly alike either in outline, con-

vexity or surface. Two individuals were nearly covered with small

adherent shells, a sufficient indication that their habits were se-

dentary or sluggish. The great fragility is certainly not the effect

of fossilization, but a consequence of its structure, and must

always have existed ; the condition in which the shells are found

presents a sufficient confirmation of this idea. After frequent and

persevermg, but for the most part fruitless exertions with the

hammer and chisel, we are enabled to state that Trichites usually

occurs in the state of distinct portions or fragments, and that

entire individuals are rare; the fracture too not unfrequently is

found across the thickest part of the test. A mollusk, whose

shell was thus constituted, could scarcely have been the denizen

of a shelly beach within the influence of the tide, or exposed to

frequent rolling and collisions with other fragmentary bodies ;

its habitat must have been tranquil, and probably covered deeply

and defended by soft mud or sand. Specimens which occur in

the chaotic shelly beds of the Great Oolite, locally termed ‘ plank-

ing,’ may be regarded as travelled, and, as might be anticipated,

are usually in portions only, and these seldom large ; individuals

perfect or approaching to perfect are the exceptions to the rule.

In the upper portion of the Inferior Oolite the conditions of sea-

bottom appear to have been somewhat different ; there is an ab-

sence of shelly detritus ; the valves of the Conchifera are most

frequently in apposition, and Trichites, as far as can be ascer-

tained, appears more frequently to approach to the perfect con-

dition. .

a fossil genus of Bivalve Mollusks. 347

EXAMPLE.

Trichites nodosus. Plate X.

(Great and Inferior Oolite.)

Shell quadrately curved, with longitudinal waved nodose ribs ;

ribs few, diverging, some bifid. The larger valve convex, the

lesser rather concave, with nodules nearly obsolete, disposed

in two concentric series.

Our specimens differ much in the degree of convexity and cha-

racter of the ribs, the latter being occasionally scarcely distin-

guishable; the terminal umbones are very much curved and

turned forwards. The planking beds of the Great Oolite at Min-

chinhampton Common and freestone of the Inferior Oolite near

to the same locality produce it, but it has not been recognized in

the upper portion of the Inferior Oolite ; from the intractable

character of that rock, however, this circumstance must not be

considered as conclusive of its absence. Our examples in point

of size convey but a very inadequate notion of the magnitude

often attained by the genus ; but it would appear that the larger

sections belong to the second, or possibly even to a third and

more gigantic species. The Pinna Saussurei (Pinnegene of Deluc)

is distinct from our Cotteswold shells ; his figures, taken from

specimens broken and partly enveloped in the stone, do not con-

vey any precise idea of the external form, but the portion which

exhibits the character of the surface is altogether different.

Trichites undatus.

(Inferior Oolite.)

Shell oblong ; umbones . . . .; ribs obscure, few, concentric, irre-

gular and undulated, sometimes obsolete in the larger valve.

The smaller valve unknown.

Length 9 inches, breadth 74 inches.

The only well-preserved example in our possession has lost the

terminal extremity, but in other respects is nearly perfect ; the

hinge-line is more nearly horizontal than in the 7. nodosus, and

the entire form is less convex ; the other valve, though attached,

cannot be cleared from the hard matrix. It occurs abundantly

in the upper ragstone of the Inferior Oolite, a rock which usually

defies all attempts to separate the shell in a tolerable condition ; in

this instance a large portion of the surface fortunately coincided

with the natural parting of the bed.

348 Mr. W. H. Benson on new species of Planorbis

XXXI.—Characters of nine new or imperfectly described species

of Planorbis inhabiting India and China. By W. H. Ben-

son, Esq.

1. Planorbis hemispherula, Cantor MSS.; Benson, Ann. Nat.

Hist. vol. ix.

Testa nitida, olivaceo-cornea, leviter exilissime radiato-str iata, subdia-

phana, supra valde convexa, ae planulata, apice vix depresso ;

sutura impressa ; anfractibus.4, ultimo extus declinato, majusculo,

inferne obtuse subangulato, aia laminis raris radiantibus munito,

subtus excavato; umbilico mediocri profundo, margine subangulato ;

apertura obliqua subcordata, margine superiori arcuato, prominente,

inferiori recedente.

Diam. major 6 mill., minor 5, axis vix 3 mill.

Tab. in insula Chusan Imperii Sinensis. Theo. Cantor.

In describing this shell I formerly omitted any notice of the

internal lamine, which indicate an approach to the more regular

structure observable in the English Pl. lineatus (segmentina of

Leach), as they were not very apparent through the substance of

the shell in the specimen examined, and are not visible in the

aperture. This species as weil as Pl. papyraceus of the same paper

having been originally named by Dr. Cantor, will retain his name

as the authority, although the asterisks denoting that circumstance

have been too indiscriminately placed, as in the case of Helix ra-

vida, mihi, and Novaculina (Solen) constricta, Lamarck.

2. Planorbis Calathus, nobis, n. s.

Testa nitidiuscula, albido-cornea, vel lutescente cornea, subdiaphana,

exiliter radiato-striata, supra convexa, versus apicem planulata,

apice concavo, sutura impressa; anfractibus 4, ultimo extus de-

presso, inferne angulato, intus laminis denticulisque radiatis fre-

quentioribus munito, subtus subplanulato, versus umbilicum an-

gustum, profundum excavato ; apertura obliqua, cordato-sagittata,

intus remote labiata, margine superiori arcuato, prominente, infe-

riori subrecto, recedente.

Diam. major 42, minor 4, axis 2 mill.

Hab. in lacubus Bhimtal et Neini Tal, regionis Kemaonensis Hima-

layanze ; necnon in stagnis nonnullis agri Rohillani, prope urbem

Moradabad, Indize septentrionalis.

In a note to a paper on the singular genus Camptoceras, and

on the minute Melaniadous genus Tricu/a, contained in the

‘Calcutta Journal of Natural History’ for 1842, I noticed the

unusual structure of this species, but omitted to add a specific

description. The shell belongs to the same type as the Chinese

forms above described, and with the English species Pl. lineatus,

and the Bengal P/. trochoides, forms a fourth species of analogous

but varying internal structure.

ayes

inhabiting India and China. 349

It is a very local species, but abundant in the places indicated.

Besides size, it differs from the Chusan species in sculpture, in

its more angular form at the periphery, and in its less excavated

lower disc, and narrower umbilicus. It is somewhat singular

that the only species of Planorbis which have been observed with

internal lamine, should inhabit such widely separated localities

as westernmost Europe, the eastern part of Asia (both of them

insular situations), the north-western part of India, and the mouth

of the Ganges. Planorbis umbilicalis, nobis (Journ. As. Soc.

vol. v.), an allied Bengal form, is utterly destitute of any internal

teeth or lamin, as is also the species next to be described.

3. Planorbis cenosus, nobis, n. s.

Testa nitida, luteo-cornea vel olivaceo-cornea, oblique et rude (preecipue

subtus) radiato-striata, subdiaphana, supra depresso-convexa; spira

parvula, apice excavato ; sutura impressa; anfractibus 3}, ultimo

majori, extus depressiusculo, inferne carinato, subtus planato, versus

umbilicum majorem leviter excavato ; apertura obliqua, sagittiformi,

margine superiori arcuato, prominente, inferiori recedente, recto.

Diam. maj. vix 6 mill., minor 5, axis 1}.

Hab. in stagno prope urbem Moradabad, agris Rohillanis.

Less abundant and still more confined in locality than Pl. Ca-

lathus. The specimens taken by Dr. Bacon and myself were

supposed to be merely a large variety of that species, but on

clearing them, lately, from a thick ochreous deposit with which

they were disfigured, I perceived that not only were they

destitute of internal laminz, but that the shells were more de-

pressed and more angular at the keel, and that the relative pro-

portions of various parts differed.

4. Planorbis Cantori, nobis, n. s.

Testa nitidula, cornea, subdiaphana, radiato-striata, depressa, supra

convexiuscula, spira planata, apice concavo, sutura bene impressa ;

anfractibus 53, convexiusculis, lente crescentibus, ultimo antice

majori, subtus convexo, periphzeria subcarinata; umbilico aperto,

profundiusculo; apertura obliqua subcordiformi, margine supra

valde arcuato, fuscato, infra leviter rotundato.

Diam. maj. 7, minor 64, alt. 2 mill.

Diam. spire 31; lat. anfract. ult., antice, 3 mill.

Hab. in stagnis Bengalensibus prope castra Barrackpore. Teste Theo.

Cantor.

This shell, of a sublenticular form, is intermediate between the

subtrochoid species and the more symmetrical smaller Planorbes.

It comes much nearer to P/. convexiusculus, Hutton, Journ. As.

Soe. Calcutta, July 1849, than P. umbilicalis, nobis, which, from

the tenor of his foot-note in page 657, Capt. Hutton has never

seen. The forms of the European and American shells with

350 - Mr. W.H. Benson on new species of Planorbis

which I compared it, and the slope of the last whorl, underneath,

towards the penultimate whorl, independently of other characters

noted, ought to have indicated that the description was quite in-

applicable to Pl. conveaiusculus, which is wound on a regularly

increasing open spiral, instead of rapidly increasing in the

breadth of the last whorl. This rapidity of increase, “but in a

less degree, is observable in Pl. Cantori. Pl. umbilicalis, moreover,

could never, by possibility, have been overlooked among examples.

of Pl. compressus, as Capt. Hutton states to have been the case

with his Pinjore specimens of Pl. convextusculus.

5. Planorbis labiatus, nobis, n. s.

Testa solidiuscula, plano-depressa, nitida, albido-cornea, subdiaphana,

oblique arcuato-striata, striis remotiusculis spiralibus decussata ;

apice profunde concavo; sutura profunda; anfractibus 3}, cito

crescentibus, convexis, ultimo antice majori, ab axe superiorum

discedenti, rotundato, carina mediana levissima submembranacea

instructo, infra valde convexo; umbilico subaperto profundiori,

margine interiori subangulato ; apertura obliqua, cordiformi, tus

albo-labiata ; margine superiori arcuato, inferiori rotundato.

Diam. maj. 5, minor 4, axis vix 2 mill.

Hab. in stagno prope urbem Moradabad. Inter specimina Pl. com-

pressi (Hutton) detexi.

This little shell is remarkable for the departure of the last

whorl from the axis which governs the previous volutions. This

is especially apparent underneath, where the earlier whorls in

the umbilicus proceed regularly, the last whorl becoming suddenly

excentric. The whitish rib within the lip is also a marked cha-

racter, as well as the proportion of the axis to the diameter.

6. Planorbis Sindicus, nobis, n. s.

Testa minuta, perforata, sublenticulari, albida, leevi, subdiaphana,

supra convexa; spira planulata, apice depresso ; anfractibus 2},

ultimo medio obtuse angulato, subtus convexo ; apertura cordata,

obliqua, margine superiori arcuato, prominente, inferiori recedente.

Diam. 21 mill.; axis 2 mill.

Hab. in fluvio Indo, regione Sindica superiori.

This very distinct and minute species, remarkable, after Pl.

trochoides, nobis, for its small umbilicus, but of a less trochoid,

and more lenticular form, I found adhering to the inside of a

specimen of Paludina Bengalensis sent to me, with other shells

common to the Gangetic Provinces, from the banks of the Indus

above Sukkur, by my friend Major FitzGerald, Bengal Cavalry,

from the expedition which accompanied Shah Shujah under Lord

Keane to Cabul. No other specimen appears to have been met

with.

inhabiting India and China. 351

7. Planorbis rotula, nobis, n. s.

Testa minuta, depresso-planata, apertissime umbilicata, luteo-cornea,

diaphana, impolita, spiraliter obsolete striata; anfractibus 34, cy-

lindraceis, lente horizontaliter increscentibus, supra et subtus eequa-

liter apparentibus ; ultimo ad periphzriam rotundato, nullo modo

angulato; sutura supra infraque profunde impressa; umbilico

minime profundo ; apertura vix obliqua, rotundato-lunata ; margine

superiori arcuato.

Diam. maj. 22, minor 2, paulo plus, axis 1 mill.

Hab. in agro Rohillano, prope urbem Moradabad, raro occurrens.

This is the most agile freshwater mollusk which has ever

fallen under my observation. I discovered it in 1841, on high

ground westward of a house belonging to the Nuwab of Rampore

at Moradabad, which became flooded during heavy rain, and

which had no communication with tank, marsh, or other body

of water. The shells must have lain under ground during at

least nine months in the year, and I failed to find them in the

same spot at the corresponding season in subsequent years. The

little animal suspended itself below the surface in the shallow

water, and projected itself at a rapid rate by a series of quick

and sudden jerks, the disc of the shell acting below as a kind of

oar. The sudden starts called to mind the manner of the oceanic

Pteropodes. The motions of Pl. compressus and other allied

species exhibit nothing similar. I had ample opportunities of

ascertaining this point from having kept P. compressus for

months in a glass vase in which I watched its habits. Pl. rotula

is thus enabled to escape from the drying-up shallows, and to

enjoy, for as long a period as possible, its short-lived liberty,

which a slower mode of progression would much tend to abridge.

The inaccessibility of the work, in which I originally described

the two following species, to the generality of readers, induces me

to take advantage of the present opportunity of redescribing them

more fully. Comparative remarks on the species, and other ob-

servations on the genus, will be found on reference to the journal

quoted.

8. Planorbis umbilicalis, nobis.

Testa polita, luteo-cornea, subopaca, leviter radiato-striata, supra con-

vexa, spira planulata; apice concavo; sutura impressa; anfractibus 4,

ultimo extus depresso, majusculo, inferne obtuse angulato, infra

planiusculo, majori, versus umbilicum subapertum, profundum

declivi ; apertura obliqua, subcordata, margine superiori arcuato,

prominente, inferiori recedente.

Diam. major 7 mill., minor 5}, axis 2}.

Diam. spire 3 mill., anfr. ult. 4, supra.

Pl. umbilicalis, Benson, Journ. As. Soc. Calcutta, 1836, vol. v.

p- 741-2.

Hab. in rivis Bengaliz orientalis.

392 Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide.

9. Planorbis trochoides, nobis.

Testa vix perforata, diaphana, nitida, inconspicue radiato-striata, sub-

trochiformi, convexa; spira parvula, arcte convoluta, concava ; su-

tura profunde impressa ; anfractibus 35, penultimo valde convexo,

ultimo majori, versus suturam obtuse angulato, extus depresso, in-

ferne acute carinato, intus laminis rarissimis plerumque munito,

subtus planato, medio, versus umbilicum inconspicuum, leviter ex-

cavato, versus peripheriam vix declivi; apertura obliqua, sub-

sagittata, margine superiori arcuato, prominente, inferiori rece-

dente.

Diam. 3 mill., axis vix 2.

Pl. trochoides, Benson, Journ. As. Soc. vol. v. p. 742-3.

fab. in hortis palatii proregalis apud castra Barrackpore Bengaliz.

Specimina pauca detexi.

The infrequency and irregularity of the internal laminz in this

species, causing them to look more like accidental thickenings of

the shell, made me overlook this structure in my original de-

scription. The species is singular from the nearly total absence

of umbilicus, and from its rendering nugatory, as far as this

species is concerned, the characters of the genus “ anfractibus

omnibus utraque conspicuis,” and “apertura ab axe remotissima;”

but for the reason stated in the work referred to, its removal from

the genus Planorbis appears inexpedient, and the subsequent

discovery of a species, proximate in this respect, in Pl. Sindicus,

confirms my formerly expressed opinion.

It is desirable to observe, that in all the above descriptions I

have treated the shells as practically dextral, with reference to

the true position of the animal contained in them.

April 10th, 1850.

XX XII.— Observations on the Littorinide:

By Wix11am Crark, Esq.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN, Norfolk Crescent, Bath, April 2, 1850.

I orrer for the consideration of malacologists a tolerably com-

plete memoir on the true Littorinide ; that is, I have given de-

scriptions of the types of each genus. This account was written

during the summer months of the last year, 1849, after a pro-

tracted examination of many hundreds of, I may say, nearly all

the varieties of Littorina rudis, which have long occupied a posi-

tion as species, to which it will appear they are not entitled. In

close connection with this subject is a very short correspondence

Mr. W. Clark on the Littormide. 353

between Professor Forbes and myself. I have no copies of my

letters, for it has always been an irksome task to me to copy

what I write; I trust to memory; and if I have misdated any

point, I humbly submit to correction. As Professor Forbes’s

letter is strictly malacological, I feel confident, from his well-

known liberality, that he will not consider an apology necessary

for the insertion of the following extract :—

“ West Lulworth, near Wareham, Dorset, Nov. 1849.

“T should like to know what opinion you have come to re-

specting the specific value of the forms of the Littorie you

enumerate. For my part I can only recognize Littorina litiorea,

L. petrea, L. neritoides and L. rudis. 1 am in doubt however

whether ZL. jugosa should not also be held distinct.”

Being in a position to answer decisively, I wrote to the effect,

that having carefully examined nearly all the animals of the va-

rieties termed by authors L. tenebrosa, L. jugosa, L. zonaria,

L. rudissima, L. fabalis, L. neglecta, &e., I found them to be

identical with each other, and mere varieties of ZL. rudis, and

consequently that that portion of the genus Li¢torina consisted,

agreeably to his views, of only L. fittorea and L. rudis ; | however

added, that I believed the Lacuna, not excepting L. crassior, were

confined to one or two species. As the genus Littorina has long

been the depdt of many of its varieties improperly promoted

to species, it occurred to me that a good opportunity offered

itself for making a few remarks, with the view of checking, if pos-

sible, this ingonvenient practice, by pointing out the great detri-

ment that resulted to science from the fabrication of species on

insufficient grounds. I have been wishing for an apt opportu-

nity to emit my paper, which only occurred in the April Number

of the ‘ British Mollusca,’ wherein malacologists will observe

that Professor Forbes with singular coincidence corroborates -

with his views, mine, written many months ago, from actual ex-

amination of the animals. Though the learned Professor has

admitted into his work varieties that have not the slightest pre-

tensions to be styled species, for the sake of exciting further in-

vestigation of them, yet in page 52 of his summary of the Litto-

rine, he boldly and emphatically repudiates all paternity with the

pseudo-species. He says—

“Tn the preceding- account. of the Litiorine several are de-

scribed as species which many of our ablest naturalists regard as

varieties, whilst others are considered as varieties which some

hold to be worthy of specific rank ; our conviction is, that the re-

sult of a completed knowledge of this genus would be a reduction

in the number of true British species. Taking the most perma-

nent features of the animal and its shell as our guide, we are

Amn. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 23

354 Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide.

inclined to reduce the true specific types to L. neritoides, L. lit-

torea, L. littoralis and L. rudis.”

My views being thus supported, I send forth without besita-

tion these observations made long ago, and I feel gratified that

my investigations of this tribe have received the corroboration

enunciated by that eminent Professor.

Before I give the descriptions of the types of the genera of the

Inttorinide, 1 will make some remarks on the prevalent practice

of naturalists to create species from mere varieties: this anxiety

can only be attributed to their wish to extend our knowledge of

new and interesting objects: that these views are desirable and

laudable cannot be questioned, but it is to be feared that the zeal

of these gentlemen, combined with the ardour of rivalry in the

race with their brethren in the same pursuits, have been the

cause of a departure from those principles and laws which are

considered indispensable to arrive at just conclusions in the esta-

blishment of genera and species; or in other words, in laying

down the true bases of the differential features of the families,

genera and species of a class, so as to enable the student to de-

posit his objects with certainty in their natural position, and to

distinguish them from others, however numerous, of the same

family, by concise and well-defined specialties. If these rules

were rigorously attended to, we should have fewer complaints of

the almost impossibility of identifying many of the objects of

natural history. The inconveniences that have arisen from the

neglect of these precepts are so great and pressing, that I pro-

pose to attempt to point out their origin, and suggest a remedy

as far as regards malacology and conchology, and to evidence

and illustrate my arguments by references to the present state of

certain groups of the Mollusca.

If conchologists are determined to form numerous species from

* mere varietal conchological indicia, they must have their way, but

malacologists will not concur with them to give a dozen names

to the same animal. These gentlemen cannot escape having the

phrase “ Dies docebit ” verified ; the day of retractation will as-

suredly arrive; it will therefore be better for the interests of

science and their amour propre, at once to apply the remedy for

this singular creative monomania,

. . » “O medici mediam pertundite venam.”’

I apologise for my irreverent quotation, and trust I may claim

for this once,

ih eo Se beriusier

Dixero quid, si forte jocosius, hoc mihi juris

Cum venia dabis.”’

The practice I have just described is fraught with great detri-

Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide. 355

ment to the advancement of science, because in many instances

it destroys every attempt at identity, and renders our books

bulky and expensive by the insertion of worthless synonyms,

which have no existence as objects ; and every writer feels obhged

to notice all, because he has not the means of separating the ri-

gorously defined and well-founded species from the pseudo and

unsubstantial articles. It results from this false position of

the science, that when a student, with his object in hand, con-

sults the authorities, he finds ten or twelve others so nearly

resembling his, that he becomes bewildered in the mazes of

distinctions often without differences, despairs of identifying his

object, and perhaps retires altogether from a rational and highly

important pursuit, under the idea that the science is full of per-

plexities, which he, as a tyro, has neither time nor inclination to

unravel.

~The unsatisfactory state of this branch of natural history ori-

ginates in the practice of determining specific distinctions from

the shell or a half of the animal; these are consequently arbi-

trary and artificial ; and though in decided forms this plan may

produce correct results, it signally fails when structures begin to

shade into each other; then the sheet-anchor, the animal, can

alone solve doubts, and often shows that shells apparently well-

marked by specific distinction are not in reality distinct, and vice

versa.

This neglect to consult the most important, the soft parts of

the animal, has in some measure been occasioned by the sup-

posed difficulties of procuring living objects for examination, and

a disinclination to enter into the imaginary repulsive details of

dissection and anatomical inductions ; every day’s experience di-

minishes these obstacles. Naturalists may be assured that every

attempt to establish specific identity, without taking into account

both the hard and soft parts of the animal, will be unsatisfactory

and deceptive. The unpleasant operations of anatomy to per-

sons of great sensibility may often be dispensed with, and in the

majority of cases of specific discrimination are unnecessary.

Every person, even ladies, can deposit animals in sea-water and

describe their habitudes and external organs, as the head, ten-

tacula, eyes, and how they are placed, whether at the external or

internal bases of the tentacula, and if on pedicles, what is their

proportion to the length of the tentacula, the shape of the foot,

operculum, the mouth, and coloration of the animal, &c.; these

points, with the sculpture of the shell, will in almost all cases

ensure specific distinctions, and consequently remove the incon-

veniences of the arbitrary ereation of species on couchological

bases.

I see with pleasure that the system I advocate has received a

23%

856 Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide.

great impulse from that valuable work, ‘The British Mollusca,’

wherein the learned Professor and his coadjutor have boldly

broken through the trammels of the old system, and as far as

possible, founded the classification on natural organization, and

at a great expense of arduous research, though still from neces-

sity retaining hundreds of unmeaning and worthless synonyms,

expunged and weeded out a multitude of exotic species which

disfigured and almost choked up our indigena ; these are great

services, and every naturalist in this line will feel a lively satis-

faction, that by these aids he can now pursue a delightful study

agreeably to the order of nature. A new era has commenced in

British malacology ; it stands disenthralled from arbitrary and

defective dispositions, and in future will march hand in hand

with its elder sister, conchology. And lastly, that I may not be

misunderstood on the subject of the varieties, I beg to state, that

I consider the mention of all, very desirable and of great import-

ance as varieties, but not as species, and on this point I give an

extract from a deservedly high authority. M. Philippi says,

“Semper varietates sedulo notavi, hoc etiam valde necessarrum

duxi, cum auctores qui in muszeis modo conchylia describunt, 1d

minus apte facere possint, quam ille qui centena specimina in

maris littore ipse colligit et observat ; sed nimium plerumque

colori, aliisque notis variabilibus, dignitatem tribuant, aut etates

diversas pro speciebus diversis sumant, sicut ex. gr. multoties

clarissimus Risso fecit.” This opmion is expressly given sub

modo, that especial care is to be taken that varieties are not in-

serted as species.

It now remains by examples to illustrate and impress on the

minds of young naturalists the value and pressure of the prece-

ding observations. Perhaps a stronger case of the improper mul-

tiplication of species on frivolous grounds cannot be brought for-

ward than that of the genus Anomia, which, as I believe, only

contains a single British species, the Anomia ephippium, the mere

varieties of which have constituted the sixteen or seventeen spe-

cies that are consigned to our conchological annals, and are based

on the arbitrary and artificial distinctions of colour, the various

adscititious markings, and forms resuiting from the substances

on which they are fixed, combined with the influencing effects of

habitat, food, and depth of water.

I have the last summer examined and dissected 500 Anomie

of all forms, sizes and colours from different habitats, and in the

endless variety of colour and markings of this proteiform genus

I have not discovered a single specific character, either as regards

the anatomy or external organs of this genus, that would justify

the creation of a single species. I have now done with the Ano-

miz, as the learned editozs of the ‘ British Mollusca’ have, though

Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide. 357

without any particular concurrence therein, recorded these opi-

nions in their interesting work. But in corroboration of these

views I shall adduce some considerations on another genus,

which has largely contributed to the increase of pseudo-species ;

I allude to that portion of the genus Littorina designated L. lit-

torea and L. rudis.

I now take a rapid glance at the family of the Littorinide, and

then conclude my paper by giving the notes and specific descrip-

tions of the types of each genus as proofs, and in support of what

I have advanced, and to afford data to malacologists to come to

just conclusions on what I have submitted to their consideration.

LitToRINID&.

This well-known family as now constituted consists of the

genera Lacuna, Assiminia, Rissoa, and Littorina. he Lacune of

authors are scarcely distinguishable from the Littorina littoralis ;.

the animals are all but identical, and the two genera appear to be

separated on conchological grounds,—the groove in the columella

rather than an animal distinction. I think it would conduce to

the interests of science if the Lacune were merged in the genus

_Litiorina, and marched pari passu with Littorina littoralis as

species.

I shall show malacologically, in a memoir I am preparing on

the Lacuna, that the difference of the animal of Lacuna and Lit-

torina littoralis is scarcely appreciable. The Lacune have only

one or two species instead of the eight or ten of authors.

Assiminia was established by Mr. Gray, and differs chiefly from

the Rissoa ulve and R. subumbilicata of Montagu, in having the

eyes fixed at the extremities of the tentacula, m consequence of

being placed on adnate pedicles of concurrent length.

The Rissoe are very minute ; they inhabit the littoral and la-

minarian zones; the types of the first zone are the Kissoa ulve

and R. subumbilicata, and of the second R. parva. These are

true littoral Rissoe. Many minute shells which conchologically

appear Aissoe inhabit only the corallie zones, and as most of

the animals are unknown, the true relations between the ani-

mals of the littoral and coralline districts are not as yet satisfac-

torily ascertained.

Litiorina has only four species, L. littorea, L. rudis, L. neri-

toides, and L. littoralis.

I now proceed to the specific descriptions :—

Assiminia, Gray and Leach.

Assiminia Grayana.

Animal spiral, yellowish brown; mantle simple; head with a

358 Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide.

moderately long deeply-cloven annulate muzzle. Eyes at the

extremities of pedicles soldered to the shortish blunt tentacula,

being of concurrent length with them; a canaliferous groove

runs from their bases to the branchial cavity. Foot large, broad,

auricled, truncate in front, with an obtuse posterior termination,

double-lobed ; the upper one, being much the smaller, carries the

usual horny suboval spiral operculum of the Littorine. It in-

habits in sufficient abundance the small streams which discharge

into the Greenwich marshes, but generally within the reach of

the tidal and brackish waters.

Rissoa ulve.

R. ulve, | é

R. subumbilicata r} Montagu.

Animal spiral, varying iv colour from locality from nearly

black to pale brown ; mantle plain ; the head is a long dark pro-

boscidiform muzzle, emarginate in the centre in front, marked

with two transverse bars, and its margins edged with the same

dark colour ; mouth pale brown or yellow with a vertical fissure ;

tentacula very long, cylindrical, slender, poimted, of a frosted or

setose whitish yellow, with a black bar at a short distance from

their termini; eyes at the external bases on short thick offsets ;

the foot is short, truncate and auricled in front, rounded, and

slightly, in some individuals, emarginate posteriorly. In the

lighter colour variety the upper part is a pale brown, and beneath

yellowish white with a border of minute pale g golden flakes, with

sometimes a dark bar running through the centre of its posterior

part. In the darker variety the upper part of the foot is clouded

with very fine dark lead-colour tu its paler hues, underneath pale

brown. It carries a light suboval corneous operculum. These

animals creep with great rapidity, and float with the foot upper-

most by means of an hydrostatic apparatus, as air-bubbles are

seen continually to proceed from the aperture; they are strictly

littoral, and inhabit in myriads the green oozes of the estuaries.

I have no hesitation in consigning this species to the genus

Rissoa. It differs in many points from the true Littorme, espe-

cially in having the foot short, truncate, auricled in front, and

rounding to an obtuse poimt behind; its under surface is not

subdivided as in ZL. littorea ; it has the entire aspect of the foot

of the Rissoz, except that it has not the posterior filamentary

appendage ; nevertheless there are the rudiments of it in the pre- ~

sent species ; and in its progression it has not a trace of the oscil-

latory action so conspicuous in the foot of the typical Lettorine,

which I believe never swim, but the Rissoe in general are oftener

seen floating 15 a reversed position than otherw wise.

The shells of this section of the Rissoe are subject to great

Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide. 359

variety from locality, varying in number and in the inflation of

the volutions, and in colour from pale brown or yellowish white

to dark red-brown or horn-colour. I think that one of the light

varieties with the tumid volutions is Montagu’s Turbo subumbi-

licatus, which species appears to be in great obscurity. Having

carefully examined the animals of all the varieties, I can decidedly

state that they are identical with the typical Rissoa ulve. I am

much inclined to think that the Rissoa Barleei is one of the

varieties.

‘ Rissoa, Fréminville.

Rissoa parva, Mont. et auctorum,

R. costulata.

R. rufilabris.

R. scalariformis.

R. interrupta, §c.

Animal spiral ; mantle plain, just even with the shell; the head

is a short dark brown muzzle, cloven with a vertical orifice be-

neath, the disk of which is yellow; tentacula long, slender and

cylindrical, yellow, with a longitudinal row of white detached

flakes, and often the reverse, white, with yellow imterrupted

flakes ; eyes on short offsets at the external bases. Foot flaky-

white above and beneath, long, narrow, truncate in front, slightly

auricled ; the point is blunt, from whence a small upper lobe or

membrane springs, on which is fixed a suboval corneous oper-

culum with spiral loose striz, and at its extremity a single short

white tentacular filament is seen. The branchial plume consists

of 15-18 minute vessels attached under and to the mantle and

back of the neck.

This is another of the genera the conchologists have taken

possession of for the manufacture of varieties into species. The

type Rissoa parva is a most variable species, resulting from loca-

lity and other causes. The animals of all the varieties enume-

rated above are identical; we have examined them all, and can

find no appreciable difference except varieties of colour and oe-

casional variations in the length of the terminal filament, which

is never in any two selected shells precisely similar. The R.

costulata is an elongated variety; the R. rufilabris a short

tumid one, with a red or pink peristome, which may often be

seen in its congeners. The R. interrupta is a more slender, thin,

less plicated, dwarf variety. The R. scalariformis has the plice

more numerous, white and delicate ; and lastly, the typical Rissoa

parva varies so much that it is difficult to find two shells alike.

These varieties live in company in the lower levels of the littoral

zone, but are more plentiful at the borders of the laminarian

district.

360 Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide.

Littorina, Férussac.

Littorina neritoides, Linneeus.

Turbo petreus, Montagu et aliorum.

Animal spiral ; mantle even with the shell; the head is a long

proboscidiform cloven muzzle, the upper part of an intense black

cloud-colour ; orifice of the mouth white with a vertical fissure ;

tentacula awl-shaped, moderately long, flattened ; eyes large, not

on pedicles, but placed on the substance of the skin at the bases

of the tentacula, inclining externally only in a trifling degree.

The buccal mass is plain brown, supported by two thin coriaceous

plates of the same colour, from whence a very long white spiny

tongue proceeds to the stomach, and there hes coiled as in Lit-

torina littorea ; but it is proportionately longer than in that spe-

cies, being 2 inches long. Foot nearly as in L. littorea, very

slightly auricled and curved in front, rounded posteriorly to a

terminus, which is a little jagged or dentated, forming an oval

when not in action, but on the march a very elongated oval ;

above its colour is black ; underneath a pale lead ground mixed

with two shades of white and one of purple. These colours are

divided into three portions ; the anterior one is the narrowest, of

an intense hyaline white, the middle is also hyaline, and the third

is hyaline pale purple. The foot is not strictly divided into two

longitudinal half-parts as in L. hittorea, but at the anterior part,

where the intense hyaline white terminates, appears transversely

broken or furrowed, so as to allow of a subdued alternate undu-

latory gait, or quality of progression, something like that of L.

littorea, in which the whole of the longitudinal half is first ad-

vanced, and then the other; but here only half of the auterior

part of the foot is moved forward, and then the other, and so on,

dragging the other part in alternate times.

This alternate action of parts of the foot is a very smgular

character, which obtains, more or less, in all the true Littorine,

and is with very few exceptions confined to that genus. There is

only one branchial plume, and the internal and external organs

are nearly those of L. lidtorea. The sexes are distinct in all the

Pectinibranchiata. I ought to have mentioned the suboval cor-

neous dark operculum, pointed superiorly with about two rapidly

increasing gyrations, the nucleus being at the basal end.

This species is one of those that inhabit the highest levels of

the littoral zone, and often dwells for an indefinite time far be-

yond even the spray of the sea. It appears a mystery how the

branchize are kept moist; I suspect the minute saline particles

earried by the winds suffice, especially as the long exposure to

atmospheric influences has almost rendered the branchie of pul-

moniferous quality. They clothe the rocks in myriads on the

Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide. 361

South Devon coasts. I sum up, and conclude the present species

to be a true Littorina.

I omit a description of the animal of the very common L. /it-

toralis, which I reserve as a standard of comparison for my me-

_m0ir on the animals of the Lacune.

Littorina littorea, auctorum.

This exceedingly common, but very curious and interesting

animal, has not met with the attention it deserves ; we are sure

that we shall afford gratification in producing a detailed account

of it.

Animal spiral ; mantle simple, exactly lining the aperture of

the shell ; the head is long, cylindrical, not deeply cloven ; mouth

a vertical fissure, and with the neck and tentacula are marked on

their upper surfaces on a yellow gronnd, with very close-set dark

transverse lines, which, with the lead-colour anastomosing lon-

gitudinal waved markings, give the animal almost a black ap-

pearance. The tentacula are moderately long, conical, pointed,

very tumid at their bases, black above, white beneath, on which,

a little raised, the eyes are set externally. The foot is a very

singular organ, short, rounded before and behind, scarcely

auricled, and when in action forms an oblong suboval disk,

divided by a central sunken line into two longitudinal lobes,

which, when the animal marches, are each advanced alter-

nately with an undulating vermicular motion. This curious lon-

gitudinally divided foot and peculiar locomotion are only to be

found in one or two other genera; they are particularly conspi-

cuous in the Phasianella pullus. The under part of the foot is

yellowish white, bordered by a deep line at a little distance

within the margin, from which fine transverse ones radiate,

giving the foot the appearance of being encompassed by a fine

fringe ; the upper posterior part carries a dark, corneous, suboval

operculum, with about two turns of elliptical strie, and a very

excentric nucleus. The buccal apparatus is a deep red fleshy

mass, supported by two thin coriaceous plates, between which, in

ordinary-sized animals, a long, at least two inches, riband-like

white spiny tongue issues, passing down the cesophagus, and be-

comes closely coiled im the stomach ; its termination is tinged

with red ; immediately behind the buccal mass is the esophageal

cordon, which consists of only two white subrotund flattish gan-

glions, one on each side, and behind them are the salivary glands,

each formed of a mass of foliaceous granules; there is only one

branchial plume, of light yellow, attached to the left side of the

mantle and neck of the animal; the verge is a Jarge flat or-

gan grooved longitudinally, ridged transversely, dentated on one

side with two points, one below the other, the lower one with

362 Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide.

a minute orifice; the female is oviparous; the antepenultimate

whorls are always flat-in this species, being a condition resulting

from the shape and size of the ovarium, which is only adapted

for ova; it is however much more prolific than the Littorina rudis

and varieties.

This is the common edible periwinkle of the London markets,

and the only one, as the females of the Z. rudis and all its va-

rieties are viviparous, and cannot be used for food in consequence

of the grittiness arising from craunching the testaceous pull ; it

is found in all’situations often exposed to the full influences of

an open sea, but more usually in estuaries and muddy inlets,

which are also the habitats of certain varieties of the L. rudts ; it

grows to 13 inch in length and | inch diameter.

Littorina rudis, Donovan.

L. patula, L. neglecta, L. fabalis, L. saxatilis, and,

sub fide Forbes, LZ. palliata, Xc.,

This well-marked species has nearly the same organs as L. fit-

torea ; | have compared the nervous ganglions and other internal

parts of both forms, without finding distinction. To enumerate the

greater part of the other organs, in comparison with those of L.

littorea, would be a repetition; I will only mention the essential

specific distinction, which is, that in the females of this species

the large bulky ovarium is usually filled with strings of testaceous

pulli ; that is, if they are examined at the season when, O! Alma

Venus, thy votaries are “ perculse corde tua vi,’ the ovaries

fill up the tumid antepenultimate volutions. The markings and

colours of the animal have the same character as those of Litto-

rina littorea, except that they are much less intense ; but though

closely allied, it is very particularly distinguished by the much

higher littoral level of its habitat, the greater tumidity of the

volutions, colour, and above all by the very different ovarium, its

contents and mode of reproduction. It rarely exceeds an inch in

length and three-quarters of an inch im diameter.

To describe the varieties enumerated above, which are the

pseudo-species of authors, would be to say, that the organs of all,

both internal and external, do not vary im the slightest degree

in form ; the only differences are modifications of colour, size, and

in the striz, depending entirely on habitat. The L. rudis, L. tene-

brosa, L. zonaria and L. rudissima are usually inhabitants of the

estuaries and muddy oozes, and rarely exposed to the full action

of an open sea.

We earnestly recommend naturalists in their respective loca-

lities to consign the four species above-named to basins of water,

together with all the dwarf varieties inhabiting the crevices of

L. tenebrosa, L. zonaria, L. rudissima, L. jugosa,

auctorum.

Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide. 863

rocks, when they will at once perceive that they are all identical

with each other and the type L. rudis, and will afford a practical

proof that species founded on the characters of the shells are ar-

tificial and delusive, and that the soft parts must also be consi-

dered to obtain specific distinction.

The L. rudis, and all the varieties, are extremely impatient of

continued immersion in water ; when deposited in basins, the first

object is to escape therefrom and attach themselves to a dry spot.

In estuaries, where they are often affused by the fresh water, they

become, particularly the L. tenebrosa, thin and depauperated in

their shells ; they are sometimes for weeks deprived of even being

sprinkled by sea water. Though decided Pectinibranchiata, they

live in the open air with nearly equal facility as the Pulmonifera ;

and in reference to this fact, as regards another family, the Cono-

vuli, there are still malacologists, who, notwithstanding the va-

luable observations of the Rey. T. Lowe, are not quite satisfied

that they are pulmoniferous ; we have ourselves attempted to

corroborate Mr. Lowe’s views, but failed from want of sufficient

specimens.

The L. littorea is the only species of this particular form that

requires, to attain full growth, a regular bi-hodiernal immersion

in sea water, and to obtain it the bulk of that species live in the

lower littoral levels ; if they are deprived of it, they become stunted

and dwarf.

That variety of the L. rudis which is undoubtedly the L. ju-

gosa of Montagu varies from quite smooth to highly striated,

and has even ridged, reflected, spiral volutions, as are repre-

sented in the figure of Montagu’s ‘ Testacea Britannica ;’ it

clothes the interstices of rocks on the Devon coasts in myriads ;

they are rarely or never immersed, as they dwell in the same

highest littoral levels, in most exposed situations, in hke manner

as their congeners the L. rudis and L. tenebrosa inhabit the highest

levels of the sheltered and protected estuaries. They are the

parents of all the dwarf varieties, the L. patula, L. subsaxatils,

L. neglecta and L. fabalis, &e.

As a proof that habitat is the cause of these dwarf varieties of

the L. rudis, I mention that the L. littorea in company with

them, at a few yards’ lower level, are small, stunted, and nearly as

dwarfish. By the favour of Mr. Bean of Scarborough I have

compared his L. zonaria, L. rudissima, L. neglecta and L. fabalis

with Devon specimens, and found them identical ; consequently

I presume the animals are so likewise.

These so-called species are without exception viviparous. How

happens this singular coincidence ? how is it that none of them

follow the plan of the reproduction of the other species? This 1s

a very significant fact, and is, I think, a strong circumstance, in

conjunction with the positive similarity of the animals, in favour

364 Mr. W. Clark on the Littorinide.

of my position, that the spurious species belong to L. rudis, and

of course follow the habitudes implanted by nature in the parent.

It may be asked, does not the very important fact of the vivipa-

rous reproduction of L. rudis and its varieties indicate something

more than specific distinction? I partook of this opinion, but

on consulting a naturalist of the highest authority, he informed

me, that in the lower classes, the fact of an animal being vivipa-

rous, without other circumstances, when its congener was ovo-

viviparous, did not constitute sufficient grounds for generic di-

stinction. The question is open, and I leave the solution of this

problem to those who are better versed than myself in the my-

sterious laws of nature which relate to the genesis of the Mol-

lusca.

I could adduce many more examples of various values, of the

sad confusion that has crept mto and disfigured this highly in-

teresting department of natural history, from the introduction of

phantoms into our records, instead of soundly settled species. I

refrain, and rest for the present on the great examples I have ad-

duced in illustration of these observations, on the principle that

“omne majus in se minus continet.” If the preceding remarks

have the effect of causing greater circumspection in future in the

creation of species, the object I have had in view will be accom-

plished.

I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant,

WitiraM Crark.

Postscript.—I take this opportunity to refer to some species

of Mollusca which have lately been mentioned in our records.

Having obtained fifty specimens of the Trochus pusillus of authors,

I am enabled beyond doubt to state, that it is the living proto-

type of the fossil Delphinula nitens of M. Philippi, tab. 25. fig. 4,

and that the Skenea Cutleriana discovered by me is scarcely di-

stinguishable from M. Philippi’s Delphinula elegantula, also a

fossil, tab. 25. fig. 3; the only distinction 1s, that the spiral striz

of Skenea Cutleriana are twice as numerous as those of D. ele-

gantula ; this may arise from habitat, but I thmk the two distinct.

The Trochus exilis of Philippi has not the slightest approach to

S. Cutleriana. Whatever generic appellation may ultimately

be applied to the Skenea divisa of authors, the same must be-

long to the S. Cutleriana, as the character of the capillary striz

is precisely similar. They are not Trochi, and I believe the

Trochus pusillus is a Skenea; I shall however soon have an op-

portunity of deciding, by seeing the animal. I am enabled to

state that the Modiola phaseolina is a mere variety of Modiola

modiolus, which when young, and indeed at all ages, varies both

in shape and lustre.—I have fresh proofs of the fixity of the

Foraminifera which shall appear shortly.—W. C.

Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 365

XXXIII.—Notices of British Fungi. By the Rev. M. J. Berxe-

LEY, M.A., F.L.S., and C. E. Broome, Esq.

[Continued from vol. ii. Ser. 2. p. 268. ]

[With two Plates. ]

380. Pilacre faginea, Berk. & Br. Stipite nigrescente prui-

noso ; capitulo subgloboso ; sporis buxeis. Onygena faginea, Fr.

Syst. Myc. vol. i. p. 209. On beech sticks, Spye Park, Wilts,

Aug. 1844, C. E. Broome.

About 2 lines high. Stem 13 line high, pruinose, at length

brown or blackish. Head subglobose or turbinate, at first prui-

nose, umbilicate or (in our specimens) without any trace of an

umbilicus ; flocci branched, especially above, somewhat fastigiate,

more or less flexuous; spores minute, broadly elliptic, with a

distinct nucleus.

This appears to be nearly identical with specimens from Ohio

gathered by Mr. Lea, and with others from the Santee river, South

Carolina, collected by Mr. Ravenel. In these latter however,

though the outward resemblance is perfect, the flocci are not

fastigiate, but are strongly curled and frequently anastomose ; the

spores in either are exactly the same. We have seen no authentic

specimen of the plant of Fries. The structure of a very similar

fungus from Valais, for which we are indebted to Dr. Montagne,

is totally different, resembling that of some compound Oidiwm.

The species has little in common with Onygena except external

appearance.

Puate XI. fig. 5. a. Flocciand spores magnified; 0. a single spore more

highly magnified.

381. Lycogala parietinum, Fr. 1. c. vol. ii. p. 83. Didymium

parietinum, Schrad. Nov. Gen. p. 24. t.6.f.1. On damp paper,

old willow baskets, &c., King’s Cliffe.

382. Didymium melanopus, Fr. 1. c. vol. 11. p.114. On bramble,

Speke Hall, Lancashire, 1842, M. J. Berkeley.

383. D. tigrinum, Schrad. Nov. Gen. p. 22. t. 6. fig. 2,3. Phy-

sarum tigrinum, Fl. Dan. t. 1434. fig. 1. On mosses and Jun-

germanniz, Bolton Woods, Wharfdale, R. Spruce, Esq., Dee.

1841. .

Our plant agrees precisely with the ‘ Flora Danica’ species,

which has stouter stems than that of Schrader, but which Fries

considers identical. The same species has been kindly sent by

M. Lenormand from Falaise.

384. D. congestum, n. s. Congestum, stipitibus submembra-

naceis hyalinis, vix botryosis ; peridiis obovatis elongatis ; sporis

atris floccis candidis variegatis. On dead leaves, grass, &c., King’s

Cliffe ; also in Upper Carolina.

366 Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

Forming crowded patches very much resembling those of

Diachea elegans. Peridia obovate-oblong, cinereous, with a white

mealy coat ; stems hyaline, membranaceous, generally distinct

though crowded, springing from a thin subjacent membrane.

Spores black, variegated with the white, coarse, irregular, here

and there lacunose flocci.

The lower figure in ‘ Fl. Dan.’ t. 1973. fig. 1, 1s probably a

representation of the species before us, which is evidently widely

diffused. The plant represented in the upper figure with a sepa-

rate membranous outer peridium seems to be quite different. At

any rate our plant is no Diderma, and could not have been placed

by Fries in that genus. We are compelled therefore to consider

it as undescribed. The globose spores appear at first sight to be

granulated, but on closer inspection the granules are found to

arise from the disintegrated outer peridium. It may be men-

tioned that in D. Spumariozdes the flocci are black.

385. D. dedaleum, n. s. Stipitibus brevibus coalitis peridiis-

que deedalino-connatis sinuatis pallide lateritiis albo farmaceis ;

floccis candidis ; sporis atro-purpureis. In great abundance in a

cucumber-frame, Milton, Norths., Mr. J. Henderson, April 26,

1843.

Spreading far and wide in little subglobose masses; stems

reddish brown, inclining to orange, connate, as if composed of a

mass of little flat bran-like membranes ; peridia connate, sinuated,

forming a deedaloid mass of the same colour as the stem, but

sprinkled with white meal and having to the eye a grayish tinge

from the contained spores, which are purplish black, smooth and

globose, variegated with the white flocci, which are frequently

forked and vary greatly in width, being in parts broad, flat and

membranous:

A very beautiful species allied to D. fulvipes, but differing

evidently in its white flocci and otber particulars.

386. Stemonitis Physaroides, A. & 8. p. 108. t. 2. fig. 8. On

mossy stumps of trees, Northamptonshire.

Our specimens have a beautiful coppery tinge, but are doubt-

less referable to the species cited above. We have precisely the

same thing from Ohio.

387. S. violacea, Fr. l. c. vol. 1. p. 162. On different species

of moss : common.

We have gathered this near Cambridge and in Somersetshire,

and it has been sent to us from Shropshire by Mr. Leighton, and

from Berwick by Dr. Johnston.

388. Enerthenema elegans, Bowm. in Linn. Tr. vol. xvi. p. 151.

$163

Perfect specimens of this very curious production have lately

been transmitted by the Rev. M. A. Curtis from Lower Carolina,

Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. BE. Broome on British Fungi. 367

which show that it is quite distinct from Stemonztis papillaia, the

spores being produced in little heads surrounded by a common

vesicle at the free apices of the flocci, which all spring from a dise

at the top of the percurrent stem. No such structure exists in

S. papillata. The genus therefore may be thus characterized :—

Peridium simplex tenuissimum membranaceum fugax eva-

nescens. Capillitium determinatum e membrana stipitem coro-

nante cum peridio continua oriens. Spore globose 5—6 ad liberos

apices floccorum conglomeratz vesicula communi circumdate.

The structure is in Myxogastri precisely what that of Hlapho-

myces 1s in Lycoperdinee, and would perhaps go far towards justi-

fying the retention of that genus amongst the puff-balls, remind-

ing one of the strange anomaly observed by Messrs. Tulasne in

the fructification of a species of Hymenogaster and of the vesicular

heads of Mucorint. This is almost the only case in which the

spores of a Myzxogaster have been observed in situ ; Ptychogaster

is the single exception, and in that Corda represents them as

forming little heads.

Piate XI. fig. 7. Flocci with spores and cysts highly magnified.

389. Arcyria umbrina, Schum. Sell. vol. ii. p. 213; Fl. Dan.

t. 1975. fig. 1. Wothorpe, Norths., on wood.

It does not seem to have been noticed that in this genus the

threads of the capillitium have a row of little tubercles on one

side only, or if not confined to one side, some of them are more

strongly developed. In some instances they form rings round

the threads.

390. Trichia Ayresti, n. s. Congesta; peridiis obovatis cas-

taneo-fulvis nitidis ; stipitibus brevissimis connatis ; capillitio for-

titer echimulato sporidusque crocato-fulvis. On decayed wood,

Thame, Oxfordshire, Dr. Ayres.

Forming crowded masses. Peridia obovate, shining, of a bright

tawny chestnut. Elaters of the capillitium thicker than in 7. py-

riformis and strongly echmulate, tawny. Spores globose, tawny.

This differs from 7. pyriformis in the much thicker strongly

echinulate elaters, which in that species are at first sight appa-

rently smooth, as indeed they are represented by Corda. Trichia

Neesiana, Corda, is referred by Fries in his ‘Summa Vegetabi-

lum Scandinavie’ to T. rubiformis, with which view we are in-

clined to accord.

391. Trichia serotina, Schrad. Journ. Bot. 1799, vol. ii. p. 67.

t. 5. fig.2. Bristol, H. O. Stephens, Esq.

392. Licea perreptans, Berk. Effusa, demum hic illic conglo-

merata; peridus oblongis ut plurimum distinctis; sporis atro-

purpureis, Berk. im Gard. Chron. 1848, p. 451. Lycoperdon

echimformis, Sow. ! Fung. t. 400. fig. 1. In great abundance in

368 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

a cucumber-frame heated with spent hops, Rolleston, Stafford-

shire, Mr. Townshend. Found also by Mr. Sowerby.

Hypothallus white, creeping far and wide, and protruding

here and there masses of oblong peridia, which are mostly di-

stinct ; assuming gradually a reddish brown tint, and in cases of

premature exsiccation becoming black. Spores very abundant,

purple-brown, mixed with a few flocci.

This very curious species, which is analogous to Reticularia

maxima, is of extremely rapid growth. When to all appearance

completely destroyed, in twelve hours it was again as vigorous as

ever, involving everything at first in a slimy and then in a dusty

mass. Its mode of growth is that of Licea fragiformis; the

spores however are quite different, and the mucilage never ac-

quires the beautiful strawberry tint of that species. An oppor-

tunity of inspecting good authentic specimens of the plant of

Sowerby cited above, shows that it is identical with our plant,

and not with Reticularia maxima, Fr., a species which has how-

ever occurred at Apethorpe, and is therefore to be retained in the

British Flora. It has smaller, darker and more exactly globose

spores, besides possessing the filaments proper to Reticularia.

Ignorance of the real structure of Sowerby’s plant at the time

the species was published in the Gardeners’ Chronicle prevented

the adoption of his specific name, which it is now too late to

restore.

393. L. applanata, Berk. Depressa conglomerata ; peridiis

brevissimis arcte connatis rufis; sporis magnis. Berk. in Hook.

Lond. Journ. vol. iv. p. 67. On dead twigs of currant, &c.,

Somersetshire, C. E. Broome ; Apethorpe, Norths.

Forming little, thin, flat, distinct rounded or elongated patches,

which are at first scarlet and then liver-brown. Peridia short,

densely crowded, invisible to the naked eye. Spores large, broadly

elliptic with one or more nuclei, argillaceous, tinged with red,

mixed with a few flexuous threads very much larger than m

L. fragiformis or L. cylindrica.

The spores in the Swan River specimens described in Sir W.

J. Hooker’s Journal are of the same size, but have a more di-

stinct border, and occasionally but not always a single nucleus.

The Australian specimens, it 1s to be observed, are scarcely ma-

ture, and in consequence the colour of the spores is brighter,

though now, after some years’ sojourn in the herbarium and after

repeated application of turpentine and corrosive sublimate, they

can scarcely be called saffron-coloured. These differences are

trifling, and arise probably from little peculiarities of condition.

We have no doubt of the identity of the British and Australian

species.

394. Phoma asteriscus, n.s. Uniloculare convexum piceum

Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 369

margine nebuloso ; sporis oblongis subellipticis. On the dead

stems of Heracleum Sphondylium, Guernsey, Nov., Rev.'T. Salwey.

Unilocular, forming little pitch-brown rather convex dots with

a paler cloudy narrow border. Mass of spores surrounded by a

dark cellular stratum, consisting of hexagonal cells confused with

the matrix, but scar cely presenting a definite perithecium. Spores

narrow oblong, subelliptic, but by no means filiform.

This species has somewhat the appearance of Sph. amberbis, Fr.

We have not yet seen the text of the ‘ Flora Algerensis,’ and can-

not therefore avail ourselves of the characters of Phoma and its

allied genera as worked out by Dr. Montagne. Our plant is a

good Phoma according to Fries’ notion of the genus, but has not

a sufficiently definite ‘perithecium to justify its being placed in

Spheropsis, which it seems is to receive such fungi as have uni-

locular spores seated on sporophores and a definite perithecium.

Tt will however probably be found necessary to place certain

species with extremely minute spores in Spheronema, or if the

hyaline elongated species alone are to remain in that genus, in

Zythia, Fr. M. Desmaziéres has lately proposed as the distin-

guishing character of Phoma, spores with a sporidiolum at either

extremity. If this view is rigorously followed, our species must

find another habitation. In point of fact the names assigned to

these obscure fungi must, till the genera are settled, be consi-

dered provisional. We add one or two species, which, with the

exception of the first, accord exactly with M. Desmaziéres’

definition.

395. P. nothum, nu. s. Tectum ; peritheciis spuriis subtus hic

illic elevatis ; sporis obovatis. On dead plane twigs, Batheaston,

February, C. E. Broome.

Pustules slightly raised. Perithecia spurious, orbicular, the

base protruding here and there into their cavity. Spores obovate,

rather pointed at the narrow extremity.

This cannot be placed in Spheropsis on account of its spurious

perithecium, which has a tendency to become multilocular, and

the spores do not accord with those of Cytispora; for the present

therefore we are compelled to place it with the last in Phoma.

395*. P. lingam, Desm. Exs. no. 1877. On old cabbage-stalks,

King’s Cliffe.

396. P. radula, n.s. Tectum, peritheciis teneris lato-conicis ;

sporis oblongo-ellipticis. On dead twigs of plane, Batheaston,

C. E. Broome, Feb. 1850.

Sprinkled over the twigs, which it renders rough like a little

rasp or grater. Epidermis split on each perithecium. Perithecia

delicate, composed of subhexagonal cells ; spores minute, oblong-

elliptic, with a sporidiolum at “either extremity. Very rarely we

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v.

370 Rev. M.J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

have observed an additional sporidiolum in the centre. A peri-

thecium, though delicate, is decidedly present in this species,

397. P. depressum, n.s. Tectum; quandoque pluriloculare

peritheciis spuriis valde depressis supra stromate crassiusculo

olivaceo tectis; sporis oblongo-ellipticis. On twigs of Robinia

Pseudacacia, Batheaston, C. K. Broome, Feb. 1850; on elm,

King’s Cliffe.

Scattered, forming little pustules pierced by the orifice. Peri-

thecia much depressed, spurious, covered by an olive-coloured

stroma. Spores minute, oblong-elliptic, rather pointed at either

extremity, towards which there is a sporidiolum. Sometimes

there is more than a single cell, when the species approaches

Cytispora. This will probably form the nucleus of a distinct

genus.

398. P. Samarorum, Desm.; Duby, Bot. Gall. p. 727; Desm.

Exs. no. 349. 1875. On Samari of ash, Batheaston, Jan. 1850,

C. E. Broome.

Forming conspicuous black spots; cuticle closely applied to

the perithecia. Perithecia convex, black, pierced in the centre.

Spores minute, oblong-elliptic, with a sporidiolum towards

either extremity.

This is more conspicuous than several other species, and re-

sembles Spheria clypeata. It occurs also on Ptelea trifoliata.

899. P.piceum,n.s. Hypophyllum ; peritheciis spuriis piceis

convexis epidermide arcte tectis; sporis oblongo-ellipticis. On

the under surface of dead rose-leaves, King’s Cliffe, Feb. 1850.

Scattered ; pustules conspicuous, convex, pitch-brown ; cuticle

closely connected with the spurious perithecia ; spores pure white,

minute, oblong-elliptic, with a sporidiolum at either extremity.

Resembling Cytispora foliicola in appearance, but differmg

greatly in structure. Ceuthospora concava, Desm., which has the

same place of growth, is much larger.

400. P. sticticum, n.s. Minimum; peritheciis epidermide

demum longitudinaliter fissa obtectis ; sporis oblongo-ellipticis.

On dead twigs of box, Batheaston, C. E. Broome, Feb. 1850.

Scattered, very minute, covered by the cuticle, which at length

splits lengthwise. Spores oblong-elliptic, with a sporidiolum at

either extremity.

400*. P. exiguum, Desm. Exs. no. 1869. On shoots of elder,

Batheaston, C. E. Broome.

Another small species grows on decorticated twigs with elliptic

or nearly globose dark spores, which we purpose calling P. Sam-

buci, but we have scarcely specimens enough to describe it pro-

perly.

401. P. microscopicum, n. s._ Peritheciis subglobosis sub epi-

Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 371

dermide dealbata supra ostiola nigrefacta sparsis ; sporis oblongo-

ellipticis. On dead stems of a Potamogeton, West of England,

C. EK. Broome.

Forming scattered very minute dark brown dots on discoloured

patches. Beneath each dot is seated a distinct subglobose smooth

perithecium, with no visible mycelium, very slightly conical above,

pierced with a round simple ostiolum. Spores oblong-elliptic,

variable in size, having occasionally but not constantly a spori-

diolum at either extremity.

402. Leptothyrium Juglandis, Lib. Pl. Crypt. Ard. no. 164.

On half-dead walnut-leaves, Bungay, Mr. D. Stock.

403. Cryptosporium Caricis, Corda in St. Deutsch. FI. t. 50.

On leaves of different Carices, Oxton, Notts, Rev. M. J. Berkeley ;

Spye Park, Wilts, C. E. Broome.

The specimens given for this species by Rabenhorst, no. 1168,

are Arthrinium Caricola. Such errors are unfortunately too fre-

quent in his published specimens.

404. C. Neesii, Cord. St. Deutsch. Fl. t. 51. On dead twigs

of birch, King’s Cliffe; West of England, C. E. Broome.

This is scarcely congeneric with the foregoing, though placed

in the same genus by Fries, who names it C. vulgare.

405. Spheronema leucoconium, n. s. Gregarium ; peridiis hya-

linis plano-convexis depressis subirregularibus floccis niveis insi-

dentibus. On decaying roots of Silesian beet, King’s Cliffe,

Nov. 1847. ;

Forming a thin stratum consisting of minute depressed sub-

hemispherical or irregular white perithecia simply pierced with

a minute pore, and seated on branched white threads, of which a

few spring from the sides. Spores minute, elliptic.

We are unable to point out any closely allied species. There

is no papilleform or elongated ostiolum, but the convex peri-

thecium is merely pierced in the centre.

406. Diplodia Cowdellii, n.s. Peritheciis liberis globosis atris

apice demum dehiscentibus; sporis minoribus ellipticis unisep-

tatis. On the thick cotton curtains of a shower-bath which were

constantly damp. Oundle, Norths. Pointed out by Dr. Cowdell,

the author of the treatise on the Fungous Origin of Cholera.

Forming dirty black spots on the matrix, but without any evi-

dent floccose stratum. Perithecia globose, at length cracking

above, black. Spores minute, elliptic, uniseptate.

An obscure species, but remarkable for its singular habitat and

free mode of growth.

406*. D. paupercula, n.s. Perithecuis primum tectis de-

mum liberatis globosis ore prominulis ; sporis minoribus sero

uniseptatis. On dead twigs of plane, Batheaston, C. E. Broome.

24%

372 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

Resembling Phoma nothum and P. radula. Perithecia one or

two together, at first concealed, at length exposed, globose, with a

rather prominent orifice. Spores small, at first hyaline, elliptic

or obovate, and falling off in that state, at length oblong, brownish

and uniseptate. The infant perithecia are filled with a compact

white cellular mass, as in many Spherie when young, and perhaps

all. Spores at first resembling those of Phoma nothum, which is

distinguished from every state of this species by its spurious, im-

perfect, somewhat irregular perithecia.

407. D. mutila, Fr. in litt. Common on dead twigs of poplar.

408. D. confluens, n. s. Perithecus confluentibus maculas

parvas efformantibus depressis subcollapsis ostiolo obsoleto. D.

mutila, Desm. no. 1880. On twigs of Daphne Laureola, Milton,

Norths., Mr. J. Henderson, July 1840.

Forming small, often confluent spots surrounded by the free

raised cuticle. Perithecia irregular, confluent, depressed, some-

what collapsed, with no evident ostiolum. Spores oblong, simple

in our specimens, but probably immature.

This species has exactly the appearance of some Spherie of

the section Confluentes, and forms far larger patches than in D.

mutila, of which it is considered a form by M. Desmaziéres.

409. D. cespitosa, n.s. Czespitosa nigra; peritheciis globosis

ostiolo papilleformi ; sporis oblongis. On twigs of ivy, King’s

Cliffe.

Bursting in little black tufts through the cuticle. Perithecia

globose, black ; ostiolum papilleform. Spores pale yellow, hya-

line, oblong, with a broad distinct border ; endochrome simple,

without any distinct nuclei; the spores however are doubtless

immature.

A well-marked species, resembling externally some ceespitose

Spherie. The spores in this as in the last exhibit no trace of a

dissepiment, but we do not doubt that when mature they present

in both the common type of Diplodia. It differs from D. mu-

tila in its ceespitose habit.

410. D. vulgaris, Lév.in Ann. d. Sc. Nat. May 1846, p. 291.

On twigs of various trees, as at Rudloe, Wilts.

411. D. tecta, n.s. Peritheciis tectis gregariis epidermidem

elevantibus, ostiolo cuticula denigrata polita velato; sporis ma-

joribus oblongis. On dead leaves of Prunus Lauro- Cerasus : very

common.

The leaves are rough with little elevated pustules disposed

often in dry discoloured patches marked in the centre with a

shining black speck. Spores oblong; endochrome simple as

observed at present.

This is technically a Spheropsis, but as every Diplodia is a

Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 373

Spheropsis at an early stage of growth, it requires some caution

in assigning the genus where the spores present the usual type

of the young spores of Diplodia.

412. D.consors, n.s. Peritheciis gregariis tectis ; epidermide

polita nigrefacta centro dehiscente albida ; sporis minoribus ob-

longis. Growing on the same leaves with D. tecta, but gene-

rally in distinct patches and equally common.

Forming broad patches. Perithecia covered, indicated by

small shining black dots which open in the centre by an irre-

gular orifice, the edges of which are white. Spores only two-

thirds of the length of those of D. tecta, oblong-elliptic, uni-

septate.

The two species are extremely common, but we cannot find

any notice of them.

413. Hendersonia macrospora, n.s. Peritheciis omnino tectis ;

_sporis rectis anguste lanceolatis 5-8-septatis. On dead twigs of

Philadelphus coronarius, Apethorpe, Oct. 1848.

Entirely concealed by the cuticle, which is very slightly raised.

Perithecia globose. Spores narrowly lanceolate, 5-6-septate.

Distinguished by its concealed habit and long fusiform spores.

413*. H. arcus,n.s. Peritheciis denudatis globosis, sub mi-

croscopio chalybeis; sporis arcuatis medio incrassatis 3-septatis.

On box twigs, Batheaston, C. E. Broome.

Perithecia globose, at length naked, subgregarious, black, but

when seen by transmitted light steel-blue. Sporophores branched ;

spores elongated, curved, swollen in the centre, attenuated at

either extremity, hyaline, triseptate.

Resembling closely in form and colour Spheria pulicaris, with

which it often grows. The fructification is however totally dif-

ferent, and can scarcely be a transformation of the asci of that

species.

414. H. mutabilis, n. s. Pustulis depresso-ellipticis intus cel-

lulosis sporis oblongo-ellipticis 3-4-septatis articulis hic illic

longitudinaliter divisis. On dead twigs of plane, Batheaston,

C. H. Broome.

Pustules small, scarcely bursting the cuticle, elliptic, black,

with a few central cells besides the large cell or perithecium,

which occupies the whole of the pustule. The central cells are

developed later than the main cell, so that the spores in the

former are simple or uniseptate, while im the larger cell they

have acquired a much larger size, and have three or four trans-

verse septa with the articulations here and there divided.

A section with the central cells and the large one surrounding

them filled with spores in different stages of development pre-

sents a very curious appearance under the microscope.

374 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

415. H. polycystis,n.s. Pustulis sub epidermide lanatis intus

multilocularibus ; sporis maximis cum pedicellis septatis clavatis,

demum deciduis effusis oblongo-ellipticis multilocularibus. On

dead twigs of birch, Batheaston, C. E. Broome.

Pustules depressed, elevating the cuticle slightly, beneath

which they are densely clothed with white or cinereous flocci ;

perithecia globose ; spores large, supported on septate peduncles,

at first taken with the peduncles, clavate, at length deciduous,

oblong-elliptic, multilocular, oozing out and forming an irre-

gular black mass, clothed till mature with a pellucid gelatinous

annulated envelope.

416. H. macropus, n. s. Peritheciis depressis subcollapsis ;

sporis pedicellatis, elongatis cylindricis curvulis sporidiolis 3-6

repletis. On dead leaves, probably of some Carex, Spye Park,

Wilts, Jan. 1850.

Perithecia depressed, somewhat collapsed, entirely covered and

pouring out their spores by a minute orifice, so as to make little

black stains on the leaves. Spores furnished with a long peduncle,

cylindrical, but slightly attenuated at either end, many times

longer than their diameter, somewhat curved, containing 3-6

sporidiola.

417. H. typhoidearum, Desm. Ann. d. Se. Nat. June 1849,

p- 344; Exs. no. 1891. On leaves of Typha and Sparganium

ramosum, Spye Park, Wilts, C. E. Broome, Feb. 1850.

The spores of this species as of the foregoing, H. uredineecola

and some others, are not distinctly septate, but contain a row

of sporidiola. In separating Hendersonie from Spheropsis, care

must be taken not to confound mere oil-globules with sporidiola.

Species like the present, in fact, forming M. Desmaziéres’ second

section, will, in all probability, at some future period be consi-

dered generically distinct. Our specimens are somewhat larger

than M. Desmaziéres’, but otherwise accord with them.

418. Spheropsis cylindrospora, Desm. Ann. d. Sc. Nat. May

1849, p. 277. Diplodia Desmazierit, Berk. in Gardiner’s Fl. of

Forfars. p. 298. On both surfaces and on the petioles of ivy-

leaves, West Water, Forfarshire, Mr. W. Gardiner ; Aberystwyth,

J. Ralfs, Esq.

Remarkable for the linear straight spores exceeding their dia-

meter in length 6-7 times. The spots are far smaller than in

mature specimens of S. leucostigma.

419. S. Ralfsii, n.s. Perithectis sparsis tectis punctiformibus

fortiter collapsis; sporis minutissimis oblongis. On ivy-leaves,

Aberystwyth, J. Ralfs, Esq., with the foregoing, which was how-

ever confined to the petioles.

Scattered over the upper surface of the leaf, punctiform, black,

Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 375

strongly collapsed, and presenting the appearance of accurately

defined excipula. Spores oozing out on the application of moisture

from a central pore, extremely minute, oblong.

420. S. leucostigma, Lév. Ann. d. Sc. Nat. May 1846, p. 296.

Spheria Hedere, Sow., and partly of Fries. Not uncommon on

dead ivy-leaves, England and Wales.

420*, S. parca,n.s. Peritheciis minutis tectis collapsis; sporis

oblongis diametro 4—5 longioribus. On leaves of Abies excelsa,

Wiltshire, C. E. Broome, Jan. 1850.

Scattered sparingly on the leaves. Perithecia collapsed when

dry, so as not to rise at all above the surface, black. Spores

oblong, subcylindrical, obtuse at either end, but often suddenly

attenuated at one extremity, 4—5 times longer than their diameter.

Resembling very much Sph. Buai, DeC., which is also a Sphe-

_ ropsis, but differing in its collapsed perithecia and narrower

spores.

421. S. Strobi,n.s. Peritheciis minutis tectis collapsis; sporis

linearibus diametro 6-7 longioribus. On leaves of Pinus Strobus,

Wilts, C. E. Broome, March 1850.

Very like S. parca, but scarcely so much collapsed. It differs

in the longer narrower spores, which are never attenuated sud-

denly.

421*. 8. geniculata, n.s. Peritheciis globosis tectis, ostiolo

conico prominente; sporis curvis zqualibus obtusis diametro

4—5 longioribus angulo obtuso affixis. With the last on leaves

of Pinus Strobus, C. KE. Broome.

Perithecia globose, covered by the epidermis, which they pierce

by means of their prominent conical ostiola. Spores cylindrical,

curved, obtuse at either end, fixed at an obtuse angle obliquely

to long delicate sporophores ; sometimes there is a nucleus at

either extremity.

422. S. epitricha,u.s. Perithectis globosis omnino tectis my-

celio furcatu-ramoso parco insidentibus ; sporis oblongis diametro

triplo longioribus. On dead stems of Hquisetum palustre, Wilt-

shire, C. E. Broome.

Perithecia globose, seated beneath a discoloured cinereous spot

springing from forked septate threads. Spores oblong, about

three times longer than their diameter.

We have unfortunately no specimen of Spheria Equiseti, Desm. ;

but from the author’s remark that it is scarcely different from his

Phoma albicans, it cannot be the same thing with what we have

in view. Phoma Equiseti, Lév., is also unknown to us, but the

description is at variance with our plant, which could scarcely be

placed in Phoma. The forked septate threads of the mycelium

with their obtuse apices are very remarkable. It is probably

very common.

376 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. —

422*, S. mutica, u. s. Erumpens, peritheciis globosis obtusis

subcespitosis ; sporis minimis ellipticis vel obovatis hyalinis. On

small branches of elder, Batheaston, C. E. Broome.

Erumpent. Perithecia more or less czespitose, globose, blunt,

black, shining. Spores very small, hyaline, elliptic or obovate.

This has exactly the habit of a Diplodia.

423. S. Candollii= Spheria Buxi, DeC. FI. Fr. vol. vi. p. 146 ;

Berk. Fung. n. 180, quoad specimina proveetiora. Septoria Pha-

cidioides, Desm. no. 1719.

The spores in this species are hyaline, oblong, about twice as

long as broad, varying from elliptic to obovate.

424. S. thecicola, n. s. Superficialis convexa collabescendo

rugosa ; sporis tenuissimis linearibus rectis. On thece of Poly-

trichum piliferum, Aberdeen, Dr. Dickie.

Perithecia black, scattered, convex, at length collapsing, open-

ing by a definite orifice. Spores very slender, hyaline, linear,

straight, of various lengths.

The spores in this species are longer and more slender than in

S. cylindrospora, and resemble those of such Septorie as S. Le-.

pidi. Spheria emperigonia, Auerswald in Rab. no. 850, which

grows on a Polytrichum, has asci with subcymbiform uniseptate

spores, and is therefore a true Spheria.

425. S. menispora, n. s. Teeta ellipsoidea nigra poro rotundo

demum pertusa; sporis arcuatis longis ; nucleis globosis hic ilhe

sparsis. On dead leaves of Typha latifolia, Spye Park, Wilts,

C. E. Broome.

Entirely conceaied beneath the cuticle, with the exception of

the round ostiolum. Perithecia ellipsoidal, black. Spores very

long, curved, acute at either end, containing many scattered

globose pellucid nuclei.

The nuclei are not arranged regularly in a single row, and

therefore probably do not represent endochromes.

DiscELLa, n. g.

Perithecium spurium subsimplex supra quandoque obsoletum

vel omnino deficiens indeque excipuliforme ; sporis elongatis

simplicibus vel uniseptatis sporophoris suffultis.

The perithecium in this genus is so little distinct from the

stratum of sporophores, that it is frequently difficult in examining

a slice under the microscope to say that it really exists, though

the two together are sometimes of considerable thickness ; neither,

on the other hand, is the limit between the external cells and

those of the matrix very accurately defined. In the same spe-

cies it is sometimes entirely wanting above, and the sporophorous

stratum merely covered by the cuticle, which at last splits and

exposes the excipuliform disc, while in other cases the spurious

Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 377

perithecium extends all round, being intimately blended with the

cuticular cells. The cavity is essentially simple, but there is

sometimes a slight fold or two below, showing a tendency to be-

come multicellular ; occasionally the centre is vacant, and the

perithecium then forms an irregular ring. The species would

probably be comprised by Corda in his Nemaspora, which how-

ever comprehends more than one distinct form. Sporonema,

Desm., seems to be the nearest ally of this genus.

426. D. carbonacea. Perithecio nigro; sporis elongatis sub-

fusiformibus sub lente prasinis uniseptatis. Phacidium carbo-

naceum, Fr.! Scl. Suec. no. 210; Berk. Br. Fung. ed. 1. no. 44in

part. Stilbospora microsperma, Johnst.! Fl. Berw. vol. ii. p. 192.

Common on dead shoots of sallows. We have this species from

Paris, communicated by Messrs. Tulasne.

Forming small scattered disc-like spots covered with the cu-

ticle, which splits from the centre and ultimately separates.

Perithecia black, generally excipuliform, but sometimes extend-

ing all round, and then bursting above with the cuticle. Spores

oblong, subfusiform, pale yellow-green when seen by transmitted

light, uniseptate.

M. Desmaziéres has more than once called our attention to

the structure of this species, a structure which we had recognized

soon after its publication in the ‘ British Fungi,’ and of which we

had previously made an analysis in the following interesting spe-

cies, with which we have been acquainted many years. We should

have preferred leaving the matter in his hands, but as he has not

yet published the genus, and we do not like to omit the follow-

Ing very singular production, we feel sure that he will pardon us

in trespassing for a moment on his manor. It is to be observed

that two things appear under no. 44 cited above, the present

species, and one with much smaller spores which we have named

D. microsperma. Pilidium carbonaceum, Libert, which has been

supposed to be the real plant of Fries, is the same with Cenan-

gium fuliginosum, Fr. It is not however ascophorous.

Piate XII. fig. 8. d. Spores magnified 340 diameters.

427. D. Desmazierti, n.s. Perithecio molli externe hyalino

intus cyaneo ; sporophoris elongatis ; sporis fusiformibus simpli-

cibus cyaneis. On twigs of lime, Northamptonshire.

Forming like the last scattered discs, which however are blacker

from the spores being darker. Perithecium delicate, hyaline next

to the matrix, then blue, obsolete above. Sporophores elon-

gated, strongly developed, sometimes forked. Spores of a beau-

tiful indigo-blue, truly fusiform, though not much elongated,

without any septum as far as we have observed, distinctly bor-

dered, larger than in D. carbonacea.

378 Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

The perithecium is but slightly compacted in this species, and

the part nearest to the cortex is hyaline. The colour of the

spores is deep sea-blue, exactly the vitreus of the Latins.

PuaATE XII. fig. 8. a. Section of perithecium magnified; 5, c. spores and

sporophores magnified 340 diameters.

428. D. platyspora, n.s. Peritheciis minoribus supra pro

maxima parte deficientibus; sporophoris validis cum sporis ob-

longis amplis utrinque obtusis seepe deciduis. On dead twigs of

plane, Batheaston, Feb. 1850.

Forming rather minute slightly raised pustules ; perithecia but

slightly developed, generally if not always deficient above. Spo-

rophores short, stout, obtuse, simple, often breaking off with the

oblong obtuse spores, the cavity of which is simple, but the con-

tents decidedly granular, so as at first to give a granulated aspect

to the outer wall.

429. D. microsperma, n.s. Perithecio nigro sub lente pal-

lido; sporis minoribus oblongis simplicibus. On dead twigs of

sallows, King’s Cliffe, and in the West of England, C. E. Broome.

Resembling strongly D. carbonacea, but somewhat larger, and

distinguished at once by the minute oblong simple spores seve-

ral times smaller than in that species. In some pustules of this

species we have seen the perithecia open by a minute fissure, the

lips of which being elongated by the oozing out of the spores

make a spurious ostiolum.

It is given in the first edition of ‘ British Fungi’ with D. car-

bonacea, at no. 44, as a state of Phacidium carbonaceum, Fr.

PuaTte XII. fig. 8. e. Spores magnified 340 diameters.

429*. D. abnormis, n. s. Perithecio globoso spurio prorsus

tecto poro pertuso ; sporis breviter fusiformibus luteo-fuscis uni-

septatis. On shoots of elder, Batheaston, C. E. Broome.

Perithecia small, entirely covered with the cuticle, globose,

confused with the matrix, pierced above with a round pore.

Spores shortly fusiform or lanceolate, uniseptate, yellow-brown.

This species approaches the type of Diplodia. It is mixed with

a Phoma, no. 406*, which is more conspicuous, though smaller.

430. Vermicularia atramentaria, n. s. Effusa gregaria macu-

leeformis ; sporis rectis brevibus endochromate utrinque retracto.

On decayed stems of potatoes: extremely common.

Forming large ink-black velvety patches, crowded with minute

perithecia clothed with long straight subulate bristles, connected

at the base by intricate fibres creeping beneath the cuticle of the

matrix. Spores minute, linear, rather short ; endochrome re-

tracted to either extremity.

Distinguished at once by its straight spores. In general ap-

Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 379

pearance it resembles somewhat Spheria Dematium, Fr., which

is also a Vermicularia (V. Dematium, Fr.), but in that species

the spores are longer and curved.

431. Septoria Lepidi, Desm. Exs. no. 1177. On Lepidium

Smithii, Penzance ; Aberystwyth, J. Ralfs, Esq.

432. S. Aceris, Berk. & Br. Ascoxyta Aceris, Lib. Ard.

no. 54. On the under side of the leaves of Acer Pseudo-Platanus,

North Wales, J. Ralfs, Esq.

The spores in this species form little pallid cirrhi. In Mr.

Ralfs’s specimens these are in general shorter than Madame Li-

bert’s, but there is no other difference. The spores are very di-

stinctly septate, especially in the Welsh specimens.

433. S. nodorum, Berk. Maculis pallide cervinis limitatis

depressis demum confluentibus, peritheciis subprominulis ; sporis

oblongis elongatis curvulis libet irregularibus. Berk. in Gard.

Chron. 1845, p. 601. On the joints of wheat-stalks just before

the wheat is ripe. Spores elongated, very slightly curved or irre-

gular, with several nuclei.

434. S. Hippocastani, n.s. Maculis rufis, cirrhis teneris ;

sporis curvis flexuosis linearibus simplicibus. On leaves of the

horse-chestnut, Essex, Rev. J. E. Leefe.

Spots at first minute and scattered, then becoming confluent,

and forming broad rufous patches. Cirrhi delicate, pale. Spores

long, linear, simple, curved, flexuous.

This species belongs evidently to a different genus from As-

coxyta Hippocastane, Libert.

435. Neottiospora Caricum, Desm. Exs. no. 1388. Spheria

Caricina, Desm. Exs. no. 717. On dead leaves of Carices, Rud-

loe, Spye Park, Wilts, C. E. Broome.

A most interesting production, remarkable for the appendage

of short hyaline threads with which the spores are furnished at

one extremity. A variety occurs with larger olive-coloured spores,

which we should at once have considered distinct, but for speci-

mens in which the spores, though olive-coloured, without any

orange tinge, are exactly of the same size as in the original form.

We do not therefore venture at present to consider the two as

distinct, though we think it probable that further observations

may justify their separation.

436. Cytispora Hendersoni, n. s. Perithecio subregulari ; ge-

latina albida ; sporis majoribus oblongis brevibus leviter curvatis.

On Rosa arvensis, Milton, Mr. Henderson.

Forming minute scattered pustules ; perithecia nearly regular,

but sometimes lobed at the edge and raised in the centre from

the elevation of the subjacent bark. Spores larger than in most

Cytispore, oblong but short, very slightly curved, oozing forth

im the form of a dirty-white shapeless jelly.

380 Mr. J. E. Gray on some species of Cercolabes.

This species is exactly intermediate between Cytispora and

Spheropsis, scarcely agreeing with either genus ; resembling the

former in its delicate perithecium and oozing spores, and the

latter in its simple cavity and spores. In both these points how-

ever an approach is made to Cytispora, therefore the predomi-

nance of characters points to this rather than the other. Nema-

spora grisea, Corda, is we believe a young Diplodia.

437. Micropera Drupacearum, Lév. Ann. des Sc. Nat. May

1846, p. 283. On dead branches of cherry, King’s Cliffe.

Centhospora Phacidioides, b. Desm. no. 1626= Cytispora folu-

cola, Lib. no. 64 = Cyt. pulveracea, Berk. Br. FI. vol. v. P. 2.

p: 282.

[To be continued. |

XXXIV.—On the species of Cercolabes confounded under the

name of C. prehensilis. By J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., Pres.

Bot. Soc. &e.

Mr. Wareruovss in his ‘ History of Mammalia’ observes, that

C. prehensilis “is frequently met with in Brazil and Guiana, and

it occurs likewise in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a district of Bolivia,

in which nearly all the mammalia are identical in species with

those of Brazil,” ii. 411. Further on he proceeds to describe

a specimen in the British Museum brought from Bolivia by

Mr. Bridges.

When Mr. Waterhouse made these observations the specimen

was not stuffed, and he could not examine the skull; since that

period the skull has been removed, and I think its examination

proves that the Bolivian species is perfectly distinct from those

which are received from Brazil.

It may be thus defined :—

1. Cercolabes prehensilis. Brazilian Coendon.

Black and white varied. Quills white, with a broad subtermi-

nal reddish brown (or black) band; under part of the body and

upper part of the base of the tail whitish, under part of the base

and end of the tail dark brown; whiskers slender, black to the

base ; upper cutting-teeth smooth in front.

Young. Fur reddish with a few scattered spines.

Hab. Brazils, adult and young.

Var. ? On spines and under part and end of tail black.

Half-grown ?

Hab: Spanish Main.

2. Cercolabes Boliviensis. Bolivian Coendou.

White, slightly black varied. Quills white, with a rather nar-

On the characteristic Fossils of the Chalk Formation. 381

row subterminal black-brown band ; tail and underside of body

white, scarcely black varied ; whiskers thick, black, white at the

base ; upper cutting-teeth with a distinct subcentral longitudinal

groove.

Young. Fur ——?

Cercolabes prehensilis, var. Waterhouse, N. H. Mamm. ii. 414.

The skull of the Bolivian specimen is much larger, wider over

the orbits and much higher from the palate to the nose and

forehead than in the Brazilian specimens : the grinders are con-

siderably smaller, and it has the peculiar groove on the upper

grinders, but the latter may be an accidental or individual pecu-

liarity.

The followmg measurements in inches and lines of three

skulls im the Museum collection will show these peculiarities.

No. 1] is the skull of the Bolivian specimen ; No. 2 that of the

Brazilian specimen: these animals are nearly of the same size.

No. 3 is a skull of a skeleton from the Brazils. :

in, lin in. lin in c

MAL MLN GEM, CHEE Llores. tit stectucsercsecetnes 4 2 3.5 3 7k

NVLGEN tis OFIIIE } A ow sdoai ole sick vik. Gelagay 2464 2 2 2 3

= OVE OLDIE), eer ecacsccncisvenaents cee 2 4 Tl Of.. Al eee

ALANLOSC wictasie se orasoas sac acclcsaeisaces Pie wle. o. ene 0 112

Height from palate to tip of nose... 1 5 ip eee

——-— from palate to top of forehead. 2. 2 1 9 1410

Of teeth Series)... 565 cseces0e 0» 98 )..0) DR. bO 10

There is a specimen in the Museum which- Mr. Waterhouse

has described as a variety (Hist. Mamm. ni. 415). It is very di-

stinct in appearance from either of the above, but best agrees with

the specimen from the Brazils in the blackness and slenderness of

the whiskers and the smoothness of the upper cutting-teeth, and

the blackness of the tip of the tail, but differs in the general co-

lours being much blacker, and in the underside of the body and

tail being nearly black and only very slightly grizzled, and espe-

cially in the tips of some of the spines on the sides being yellow.

I strongly suspect it will prove a third species, to which the

name of C. tricolor might be attached.

XXX V.—On the characteristic Fossils of the Chalk Formation.

By L. Von Bucu*. Communicated by Prof. J. Nicot.

TurovucHourt all the members of the chalk formation, three chief

forms of organic beings seem especially adapted to serve as cha-

racteristic fossils. These are the Ammonide, the Trigonie, and

* From Betrachtungen iiber die Verbreitung und die Grenzen der Kreide-

Bildungen. Bonn, 1849.

382 M. Von Buch on the characteristic Fossils

the Exogyre. A few words explaining the general character of

these forms may not prove unacceptable.

1. Toe AMMONID&.

It is well known, that the Ammonites, still so remarkably

abundant in the lowest cretaceous beds, or the Néocomien, ra-

pidly decrease in the higher strata; so much so, that even in the

upper chalk they no longer occur, and that every trace of them

has since vanished from the surface of the earth. There is how-

ever something very remarkable in the manner of this disappear-

ance. The greater number of the Ammonites seem to suffer

- from the disease which at length expels them from creation.

The whorls in many no longer lie exactly in one plane, but the

one side projects somewhat forwards and draws the other after

it. Soon after they even lose the power to attach themselves

closely to the previous whorl; and these are now unconnected

(F. A. Romer, Kreide, p. 135), when the Crioceras, which is only

found in the chalk, is formed. The formation of such unattached

whorls soon exceeds the power of the animal to bend its body,

and thus to contract itself into such protecting limits,—it is

compelled to extend itself lengthwise, and the singular forms of

the Toxoceras, the Ancyloceras, the Ptychoceras, finally those of

the Hamites, and of the Baculites, straight like a staff and directed

perpendicularly upwards, are produced, and are the last attempts

of the animal to maintain its existence. Subsequently nothing

appears in nature which can remind us of this kind of Cepha-

lopod. All these forms therefore, diverging from the perfect Am-

monite, mark in the most decided manner one or other portion

of the cretaceous formation,—they are leading forms, which, where

they occur, exclude the supposition of any other formation.

It is truly remarkable, that in the same manner as the Ammo-

nide vanish from the world, in the same manner exactly do the

Nautilide make their appearance in the oldest strata. The en-

tirely straight Orthoceratites are the most ancient of all known

Cephalopods ; they endeavour, at least when young, to attach

themselves to the previous whorl, an attempt which, however,

must be given up in its further growth, when the animal can only

increase lengthwise ;—the Lituite is produced ;—the Clymenie

succeed in attaching themselves throughout to the previous

whorl, in a continuous spiral entirely situated in one plane ; the

Nautilus finally—of which a weak remnant, the Nautilus pompi-

dius, has continued to the present time—surrounds all the pre-

vious whorls with the last one, and thus withdraws itself more

perfectly from the attacks of its enemies. The Ammonite va-

nishes through a series of forms intermediate between it and the

of the Chalk Formation. 383

outstretched Baculite ; the Nautilus on the other hand arises

through a similar series of forms from the long-extended Ortho-

ceratites. |

Very many Ammonites of the chalk possess another peculiarity

by which they are easily recognized, and consequently also the

formation in which they are found. The plications (Falten) or

ribs on the sides become always stronger and thicker the nearer

they approach the back; in the Jura Ammonites they become

weaker from below upwards ; on the margin of the back itself

they are often so much expanded (aufgeblaht) that they do not

pass over the back and cannot unite with each other from the

two sides. The sipho then remains (bleibt zuriick) in a deep

furrow. The secondary plications (Hiilfsrippen) are of equal

strength with the chief plications, especially on the margin of

the back, but they disappear even on the middle of the side and

rarely unite with the chief plications. This gives the whole form

an unhandsome, almost clumsy aspect, which distinguishes it

very much from the handsome Jura Ammonites. Instances may

be taken from very different families: Am. Syriacus, interruptus,

Rhotomagensis, denarius, varicosus, Sow. &c. This formation

evidently arises from the endeavour of the upper half of the ani-

mal to move quicker forwards on the back than the lower ventral

portion can follow. It is just this endeavour also that produces

the singular form of the Scaphites. On more close investigation

it would evidently be pronounced a disease of the Ammonite,

were not the form too constant, and did it not show too complete

an agreement in widely distant regions. It is universally seen in

all Scaphites, that they only then first forsake the regular form

of an Ammonite when the last septum is formed. The shell sud-

denly expands immoderately, the former law of the increase of

the whorls is entirely suppressed, the lateral ribs and promi-

nences are disproportionately separated from each other, new

ribs run down from the back and push themselves strongly for-

wards. The ventral side separates itself entirely from the whorl,

and the shell grows in a straight, no longer spiral direction ; yet

not long ; the expanded portion again contracts, the last chamber

appears as if drawn together, it anew curves round towards the

centre, but by this contraction the life of the animal is soon ter-

minated. If it is a disease of the Ammonites, then it is a real

epidemic which has attacked the Ammonites in the cretaceous

period, for the Scaphites are far from rare, of very various forms,

and almost peculiar to the middle cretaceous strata ; hence they

must be especially regarded as characteristic fossils for the cre-

taceous formations. And these deposits even on the Missouri

are no less marked by them than by the large Inocerami. For

one of the most beautiful Scaphites, the S. Nicolletii, which

384 M. Von Buch on the characteristic Fossils

has not yet been figured, was brought from the Black Hills in

lat. 46° *, by F. Romer.

2. Tae TRIGoNIA.

Not only by their numbers, but still more by the richness of

their specific divisions, by the peculiar prominence of individuali-

zation, do the species of the remarkable genus Trigonia attain

their maximum point in the lower chalk. They do not long

maintain themselves at this elevation ; like so many other races

they quickly decline again, and the only species of Trzgonia still

living, in the warm waters of the Pacific near the Fidji islands, is

but a very miserable remnant of the fine forms which are still

preserved in the rocky strata. From this multiplicity of forms

many might easily be selected as fully characteristic of the chalk ;

these would however be isolated, and found not universally, but

perhaps only in a few localities. On the contrary, that remark-

able family of Trigonie, which Agassiz has named ‘ Trigonie

scabre,’ is dispersed over every land where the chalk occurs, and

such a Trigonia is alone sufficient to determine the age of the

formation in which it occurs. The peculiar and prominent cha-

racteristic of these forms is a remarkably produced ventral mar-

gin, when the area of the posterior side is brought, as usually

happens, into a concave position. This is produced by the very

oblique angle at which the posterior and anterior sides meet at

the hinge, an angle which seldom exceeds 60°, whereas in other

families these two sides meet at a right angle. Along with this

all the Scubre appear much intumesced at the hinge, and fall

quickly off with some degree of acuteness before attaining the

posterior termination. The sides are adorned with ribs, running

down perpendicularly, of which only a few curve round below

the hinge and become united on the anterior surface. These ribs

are divided, crenulated, by more or less acute divisions, placed close

together, and they are also sometimes slightly curved towards

the posterior area, when the side of the shell declines somewhat

more quickly backwards. From such minute distinctions Agassiz

and D’Orbigny have formed many distinct species, Trzgonia scabra,

aliformis, carinata and others. However, the characters on which

these various species have been founded have no fixed limits, but

pass insensibly into each other ; the numerous crenulations of the

Trigonia carinata are easily lost on the Tr. scabra and aliformis ;

the depression of the posterior part of 7’r. aliformis is very often

altogether wanting. On the other hand, the number of the ribs,

with nearly equal size, continues almost constant. Eighteen to

twenty ribs are almost invariably counted on the sides of these T77-

* A description of this new species is then given by the author.—

TRANS.

of the Chalk Formation. 385

gonie, of about 24 inches in size, as well in France as in England

and America. This is also the case with the Mexican Trigonia,

described (Bulletin de Bruxelles, tom. vii. no. 10) by MM. Nyst

and Galeotti, which they have named 7’. plicato-costata. It is

not distinct from the 7rigonia crenulata of Lamarck and Agassiz,

and when of the same size has the same number of ribs on the

side. When thus limited and again referred to the oldest name

proposed by Sowerby of Zrigonia aliformis, this remarkable Tri-

gonia is dispersed over the whole extent of America, and every-

where characterizes the middle chalk. Even the Trigonia tho-

racica described by Morton from Alabama is now recognized by

him as Trigonia aliformis. M. Galeotti relates that the Trigonia

discovered and published by him occurs in the marls of a very

extensive limestone formation in the middle of the great and

principal Cordillera of Anahuac, twelve French miles W.N.W,

from the town of Tehuacan in the district of Puebla, and four to

seven thousand feet above the sea level. In that place it is so

abundant and large that it may be considered the chief and most

characteristic fossil of the whole formation. It is wonderful, says

Galeotti, to find in one place such vast accumulations of fossil

shells, fragments of so many Ammonites several feet m diameter,

or of gigantic stems of corals ; so much so, that perhaps there is

no other locality on the whole surface of the earth, where over

several square miles such an immense mass of organic remains

are dispersed. Some Ammonites are figured by Galeotti and de-

scribed by Nyst, but neither the description nor the figure gives

a clear view of the whole; they remind us chiefly of the Ammo-

nites Carderoni of D’Orbigny. This same Trigonia again appears

in South America, in the mountains of S. Fé de Bogota, whence

they were first brought to us by Von Humboldt (Pétréf. recueillies

en Amérique, p. 8. f.10). It occurs here dispersed over a wide

space, from Socorro on the north to Tocaymo on the south of Santa

Fé. It also shows the same depression of the lower border, the

same acute angle, scarcely exceeding 60°, of the anterior and pos-

terior margin, the same number of perpendicular plications on

the sides, and the same crenulations on the plications. It seems

therefore without sufficient foundation that some naturalists be-

lieve this Trigonia to be a new species. D’Orbigny has quoted it

with some doubt as Trigonia subcrenulata*, and Lea under the

name of Trigonia Tocaymaanat. Since now the mountains of

Santa Fé are proved most distinctly by the organic remains in-

closed in the strata to belong to the middle eretaceous series, as

I have endeavoured to prove in the description of Humboldt and

* Coquilles de Colombie par M. Boussingault : Paris, 1842, p. 52. pl. 4.

f. 7-9.

+ Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. 2nd ser. vol. vii. p. 6. pl. 9. f.8.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol.v. 2

386 M. Von Buch on the characteristic Fossils

Degenhardt’s ‘ American Fossils’ (Berlin, 1839), and as still more

clearly appears from Alcide D’Orbigny’s learned work on Bous-

singault’s collections, it follows that the strata discovered by

Galeotti above Tehuacan must be joined, with all their organic

remains, to the middle chalk. The collections made by Burkart,

Councillor of Mines in Bonn, in the mountains of Guanaxuato,

contain nothing opposed to this view. We do not again find this

Trigonia further south in America, in Peru or in Chili, at least

it has not yet been observed in the cretaceous strata so common

in all this region. On the other hand it appears in other quarters

of the globe. The enterprising and talented Director Kraus of

Stuttgart has brought from Zwartkopp, Algoa Bay at the Cape

of Good Hope, a Trigonia which in all essential characters agrees

with the Trigonia aliformis—even the acute angle, under 60°, of

the anterior and posterior margins, and the direction of the ribs

with the fine crenulations on them. Herr Kraus has named this

shell Trigonia ventricosa. It is almost surprising to find this same

Trigonia aliformis in the chalk hills which appear as if blown by

the winds over the vast peninsula of Hindostan, quite in the

south, near the point at Verdachellum to the south-west of Pon-

dichery, and nearly in the same circumstances as in Europe and

America. Prof. Edward Forbes, the most distinguished palon-

tologist in England, affirms that he could find no distinction

whatever between the Indian Trigonie and those from Black-

down*, Along with it Cardium Hillanum, Pecten quinquecostatus,

orbicularis, obliquus, occur, so that Mr. Forbes has no difficulty

in referring the strata of the hill of Verdachellum to the upper

greensand and the gault, or exactly the place to which the thick

beds of St. Fé de Bogota, of Tehuacan and of Alabama, must be

referred. Still the Indian beds contain a great number of forms

which are peculiar to them alone, and perhaps bear some rela-

tion to tropical conditions of climate, and which by themselves

might be a reason for suspecting that these hills form a very

highly developed tertiary formation. The Trigonia alone is suf-

ficient to lead us to a better conclusion. It is a characteristic

fossil. ;

3. THe Exocyre.

Still more even than the Trigonie, we may regard the Exogyre

as a stamp impressed on the whole cretaceous formation. These

singular oysters appear for the first time in the Jura deposits,

but only small, hardly an inch in size, and in most cases (Hzo-

gyra virgula, Knorri, spiralis, auriformis) scarcely larger than

beans. Wherever they are several inches in size, it may be un-

conditionally assumed that they declare the formation to be cre-

* Geol. Trans. 2nd ser. vol. vii. P. ui. p. 151. pl. 14. f. 3.

of the Chalk Formation. 387

taceous. They then exhibit great diversity of form, but are at

the same time so remarkably regular in their geological position,

that each of the four divisions of the chalk may be distinguished

by certaim forms of Ezogyre ; and hence they are of the greatest

importance for deteymining to which of these divisions of the

chalk a particular bed belongs. The beak of all the Ezogyre is

very much twisted, sometimes turned round two or three times

like a ram’s horn. This twisting is always found on the right

side of the deeper (lower) valve, when the hinge or beak is turned

towards the observer. On this side of the beak also there always

appears a more or less distinct, narrower or broader depression,

which is continued from the margin to the beak. In the inte-

rior of the shell this depression forms a swelling on which the

muscular impression is seen. Hence it is evidently the muscle

that pulls up the mantle and along with it also the shell which

it produces, and thus causes the furrow or depression on the ex-

terior surface. This is a chief character of all the Hxogyre, which

is wanting in the Gryphee and still more in the oysters. This

also explains why the right side of the Ezogyre is always the

smaller one, and much less expanded than the left side.

All the Ezogyre may be divided into two sections accord-

ing to the form of this side with the muscle :—into those m

which this side is vertical to the surface of greatest expansion in

the shell, and then forms a sharp keel on the back,—and those

in which this side expands somewhat in a wing-like form, with

a rounded and not a projecting back; that is (1) the Exogyre

carinate, and (2) the Ezogyre expanse. Singularly enough these

two divisions correspond to the geological occurrence of the

genus ;—the first section, or the Hxogyre carinate, appearing

especially in the lower; the other section, or the Exogyre ex-

panse, mostly in the upper strata of the chalk deposits. These

two divisions are represented in a remarkable manner by the

Ezxogyra Couloni, or aquila, Goldfuss, and the Ex. columba ; the

first characteristic of the Néocomien, the second of the upper

chloritic chalk [chalk-marl]. Throughout the whole of Europe

this Exogyra columba is never looked for in vain, but in North

America it has not yet been seen except in Texas, and there only

of a small size (Rémer). Its place appears to be supplied by

the large, scaly, wide-expanded Exogyra costata, Say, which, ac-

cording to Morton’s statement, occurs wherever the cretaceous

strata are found. On the other hand, the absence of Exogyra

Couloni from this portion of America is quite in accordance

with its position in the lower beds which are wanting in North

America. *

258

388 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

XXXVI.—Descriptions of British Aphides.

By Francis Watxer, F.L.S.

[Continued from p. 281. ]

82. Aphis Pruni.

Aphis Pruni, Fabr. Ent. Syst. iv. 218. 14; Syst. Rhyn. 296.

14; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. 1. 2202; Geoffr. Ins. 1. 497. 10; De-

geer, Ins. i. 49. 5. t. 2. f. 1-8; Reaum. Ins. 11. t. 23. f. 9-10;

Scopoli, Ent. Carn. 1388. 406; Rossi, Faun. Etr. 260. 1874;

Stew. El. nu. 110; Turt. n. 704; Schrank, Faun. Boie. ii. 115.

1217; Gotze, Ent. Beitr. 1. 3812; Latr. Gen. Cr. i. 173; St.

Farg. et Serv. Encycl. x. 245; Kaltenbach, Mon. Pflan. 1. 52. 37;

Ratz. Forst. Ins. mi. 216.

A. Arundinis, Fabr. Syst. Ins. 885. 7; Ent. Syst. iv. 212. 8;

Syst. Rhyn. 295.8; Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. 1. 2202; Kalt. Mon.

Pflan. 1. 54. 38.

Prunifex, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 24 série, v. 476.

Calamaphis, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 2 série, v. 477.

The viviparous wingless female. This Aphis dwells beneath the

leaves of the plum-tree (Prunus domestica), and is said to feed also

on P. spinosa and on P. Armeniaca, from the middle of June

to the end of October. It exudes much floccose matter with

which the leaves on which it feeds are covered ; the body is light

green, elliptical, long, narrow, and thickly covered with white.

powder: the limbs are white: the feelers have brown tips, and

are much shorter than the body: the tip of the mouth, the feet,

and the tips of the shanks are brown, and the eyes are darker:

the nectaries are pale green with black tips, and about one-

twentieth of the length of the body: the front is rather narrow,

and nearly straight : the first and second joints of the feelers are

not angular; the fourth joimt is very much shorter than the

third; the fifth is a little shorter than the fourth; the sixth is

’ much shorter than the fifth ; the seventh is more than twice the

length of the sixth. It also sometimes appears in abundance on

Arundo Phragmitis and on A. Epigyos, and it assumes there a

variety of tints, which will be mentioned when its history is more

fully detailed.

The viviparous winged female. The pupa much resembles the

larva, but is shorter, and the tips of the rudimentary wings are

pale brown. The winged Aphis is also light green, and very

much covered with white powder: the head, the middle chest,

and the middle breast are black or gray: the feelers have the

same colours, and vary in length, being a little shorter or much

shorter than the body; the fourth joint is more than half the

length of the third; the fifth is shorter than the fourth; the

sixth is much shorter than the fifth; the seventh is more than

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 389

twice the length of the sixth: the eyes are dark red or black:

the mouth is green or pale green; its tip and the nectaries are

black, the latter are about one-twelfth or one-twentieth of the

length of the body: the legs are pale green; the feet and the

tips of the thighs and of the shanks are black: the wings are

white or colourless and much longer than the body ; the wing-

ribs, the rib-veins and the wing-brands are pale green, the latter

are sometimes pale brown; the other veins are brown; the first

vein is more perpendicular than is usual in this group, and the

second vein diverges much more from it than it does from the

third ; the first fork of the latter vein is a little after one-third

and the second much more after two-thirds of its length; the

fourth vein is curved moderately and equally throughout its

length, and the angle whence it springs is very slight.

1st var. The legs are white ; the feet and the tips of the shanks

are brown.

The oviparous wingless female. The body is small, slender,

nearly linear, rather flat, smooth, whitish green tinged with

yellow, not shining: there is a dark green stripe along the back :

the head is yellow: the feelers are black, pale yellow at the base

and about half the length of the body: the eyes are dark red:

the mouth and the nectaries are pale yellow with black tips, and

the latter are hardly one-tenth of the length of the body: the

legs are pale yellow and rather short ; the knees, the feet and the

tips of the shanks are black. On Elymus or Calamagrostis are-

narius.

lst var. The body is green : the eyes are nearly black.

2nd var. The back of the body hasa bluish tinge. On Salsola

Kal in the beginning of October near Fleetwood.

The wingless male. Like the oviparous female, but smaller :

the feelers are about half the length of the body.

Length of the body 3-3 line; of the wings 24 lines.

83. Aphis Lythri, Schrank.

Aphis Lythri, Schrank, Faun. Boic. i. 1. 115. 1215; Kalt.

Mon. Pflan. i. 51. 36.

Lythraphis, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 24 série, v. 477.

The viviparous wingless female. This insect feeds on Lythrum

Salicaria in the summer. It is small, pale green, oval, shining,

and slightly convex: the feelers are pale yellow, and shorter than

the body, their tips and the eyes are black: the mouth and the

nectaries are also pale yellow with black tips, and the latter are

as long as one-fourth of the body: the legs are pale yellow, and

moderately long; the feet are darker. While young it is nar-

rower and more linear. The front has three small tubercles ; the

first and the second joints of the feelers are not angular; the

fourth is much shorter than the third; the fifth is a little shorter

390 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

than the fourth; the sixth is much shorter than the fifth; the

seventh is more than twice the length of the sixth.

Ist var. The body is dull yellowish green varied with red: the

feelers are dull yellow, black towards their tips, and a little

shorter than the body: the mouth is yellow with a black tip: the

nectaries are dull yellow with black tips: the legs are yellow ;

the feet and the tips of the shanks are black.

Found in September, near Newcastle, by Mr. Hardy.

The viviparous winged female. The body is black and rather

small: the borders and the underside of the fore-chest and the

abdomen are dark yellowish green; the dise of the latter is

black: the feelers and the nectaries are black, and the latter are

nearly one-fifth of the length of the body: the legs are yellow ;

the feet and the tips of the thighs and of the shanks are black :

the wings are colourless and very much longer than the body ;

the wing-ribs and the rib-veins are pale yellow; the brands and

the veins are brown.

Length of the body } line; of the wings 2 lines.

84. Aphis Tussilaginis, n. s.

The viviparous wingless female. This species was found in the

latter part of October near Lancaster on Tussilago Farfara. The

body is large, convex, narrow, linear and brown: the head is

black : the feelers are pale yellow, and as long as the body ; the

tips of the joints are black : the mouth is pale yellow, and reaches

the hind-hips; its tip and the eyes are black: the nectaries are

pale yellow, black at the base and at the tips, and as long as

one-fourth of the body: the legs are long and pale yellow ; the

knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks are black. While

young it is linear pale greenish yellow, and has a large lively

green spot in the middle of the body.

1st var. The abdomen is yellowish brown: the feelers are

black, pale brown towards the base, and nearly twice the length

of the body: the nectaries are yellow with black tips ; they are

also black at the base, where there is a large spot of the same

colour.

The viviparous winged female. The body is brown : the borders

and the underside of the fore-chest are pale green : the abdomen

is pale green with a row of narrow black bands along its back,

and a row of black spots on each side: the feelers are black, and

a little longer than the body: the mouth is pale yellow; its tip

and the eyes are black: the nectaries are yellow with black tips,

and as long as one-fourth of the body: the legs are long and

yellow; the hind-thighs except the base, the feet, and the tips

of the thighs and of the shanks are black: the wings are colourless;

the wing-ribs and the rib-veins are pale yellow ; the wing-brands

and the other veins are brown.

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 391

85. Aphis Dianthi, Schrank.

Aphis Dianthi, Schrank, Faun. Boic. ui. 114. 1213; Kalt. Mon.

Pflan. i. 42. 29. e

A. vulgaris, Kyber, Germ. Mag. i.

A. Rape, Curtis, Journ. Roy. Agric. Soc. 11. 53. pl. C. fig. 1-3.

A, dubia, Curtis, Journ. Roy. Agric. Soc. 11. 54. pl. C. f. 4.

A. vastator, Smee, The Potatoe Plant, &c. 81.

A. Solani? Kalt. Mon. Pflan. i. 15. 5.

Dianthaphis, Amyot, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 24 série, v. 477.

- The viviparous wingless female. The body is small, oval, dull,

rather flat, pale yellowish green ; it has a row of punctures anda

slight rim on each side: the feelers are pale yellow, black towards

the tips, and a little more than half the length of the body: the

mouth is pale yellow ; its tip and the eyes are black : the nectaries

are pale yellow with black tips, and as long as one-sixth of the

body : the tube at the tip of the abdomen is also pale yellow with

a darker tip: the legs are pale yellow and moderately long; the

knees, the feet, and the tips of the shanks are black.

Ist var. The body is mottled with red.

2nd var. The feelers are longer than the body ; the tips of the

latter jomts are darker: the nectaries are as long as one-fourth

of the body: the legs are pale yellow; the tips of the feet are

darker. When young it is pale yellow, linear and flat.

3rd var. The body is pale red.

4th var. Body rose-colour: the head is almost white: the

limbs are white: the eyes, the feet, the tip of the mouth, and the

tips of the nectaries are black: the feelers are nearly as long as

the body ; the nectaries are one-fifth of its length.

5th var. The body is pale yellowish green, tinged with red :

the feelers are a little shorter than the body: the nectaries are as

long as one-fourth of the body : the legs are pale greenish yellow ;

the feet and the tips of the shanks are black.

6th var. The body is pale red, slightly streaked with black :

the head is yellow: the feelers and the mouth are pale yellow

with black tips, and the former are longer than the body: the

nectaries are pale yellow, and as long as one-fourth of the body ;

its tip and the eyes are black: the legs are yellow; the knees,

the feet, and the tips of the shanks are black.

7th var. The body is pale whitish green: the feelers are pale

green, black towards the tips, and much shorter than the body :

the eyes are dark red : the mouth and the nectaries are pale green

with black tips : the legs are pale green : the feet and the tips of

the shanks are darker. On Sonchus.

8th var. The body is grass-green and shining : the head is pale

yellow : the feelers are white, black towards the tips, and rather

more than half the length of the body : the mouth is white with

392 Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

a black tip: the tube at the tip of the abdomen and the nectaries

are white ; the latter have darker tips and are as long as one-

fourth of the body: the legs are greenish white; the knees are

brown ; the feet and the tips of the shanks are black.

9th var. Like the last, but the body is deep green and mottled

with dark colour: the feelers are black, yellow at the base: the

nectaries are pale yellow with dark tips: the thighs are green ;

the shanks are yellow, with black tips.

10th var. The nectaries are slightly spindle-shaped.

_ lth var. The body is yellow: the borders of the abdomen are

black : the feelers are black, yellow at the base, and shorter than

the body: the mouth is pale yellow; its tip and the eyes are

black : the nectaries are yellow with black tips, and as long as

one-fourth of the body : the legs are pale red ; the knees, the feet,

and the tips of the shanks are black. Mr. Hardy, on Urtica urens.

12th var. The body is dull green tinged with buff: the feelers

are pale yellow, darker towards their tips, and a little shorter

than the body: the eyes are dark brown: the mouth and the

nectaries are pale yellow with brown tips, and the latter are as

long as one-fourth of the body : the legs are also pale yellow ; the

feet and the tips of the shanks are brown. On Carduus.

13th var. The body is small, oval, convex, pale green, not

shining, whitish towards the head: the feelers are pale yellow,

black towards the tips, and longer than the body: the mouth is

pale yellow; its tip and the eyes are black: the nectaries are

~ pale yellow with black tips, and about one-fourth of the length

of the body : the legs are pale yellow, and rather long ; the knees,

the feet, and the tips of the shanks are black. An Aphis of this

variety has one hind-shank much longer than the other, and

black in the middle as well as at the end.

14th var. The body is rose-colour mottled with pale yellow:

the head and the limbs are yellowish white : the feelers are longer

than the body ; the tips of the joints are black : the eyes are very

dark red: the mouth and the nectaries have black tips, and the

latter are about one-fifth of the length of the body: the feet are

black.

15th var. The body is green, and shining.

16th var. The body is yellow.

17th var. The body is red.

18th var. The body is bright red.

19th var. The body is pale orange.

20th var. The body is streaked with black.

21st var. The body is nearly all black.

These colours vary in intensity, and are either separate, or

mixed together on the body, which is sometimes dull, sometimes

shining.

The limbs also yary im colour: the feelers are rather less or

Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides. 393

rather more than the length of the body; their colour passes

from pale yellow or pale green to brown or black; the dark

colour begins at the last joints and at the tip of each joint, and

spreads thence over the whole feeler: the eyes are bright red,

or dark red, or brown, or black: the mouth is dull yellow, or

pale yellow, or green, or pale green; its tip is brown or black:

the nectaries likewise vary in colour, they have black or brown

tips, and are one-fourth or one-fifth of the length of the body :

the legs have the same variations in colour, and also vary slightly

in length ; the feet and the tips of the thighs and of the shanks

are brown or black ; thé thighs are paler than the shanks, and

the dark colour in the former sometimes occupies half their

length ; the hind-shanks and even the hind-thighs are some-

times but very rarely brown or black: the limbs as usual are

almost white when the skin has been lately shed.

The viviparous winged female. While a pupa it is red: the

feelers are yellow, black towards the tips, and as long as the

body : the mouth is pale yellow ; its tip and the eyes are black :

the nectaries are pale yellow with black tips, and as long as one-

fourth of the body: the legs are pale red; the feet and the tips

of the shanks are black: the rudimentary wings are whitish or

pale green, or with brown or black tips. When the wings are

unfolded the insect is black: the borders of the fore-chest, the

fore-breast, and the abdomen are greenish yellow : the feelers are

hardly shorter than the body: the mouth is pale yellow with a

black tip: the nectaries are black, and as long as one-sixth of the

body : the legs are pale yellow ; the feet and the tips of the thighs

and of the shanks are black: the wings are colourless, and much

longer than the body; the wing-ribs and the rib-veins are pale

brown ; the other veins are brown.

lst var. The body is dull green varied with black and red:

the feelers are pale yellow towards the base, and a little longer

than the body.

2nd var. The body is rose-colour: the limbs and the rudi-

mentary wings are white.

3rd var. The body is black, and very small: the abdomen is

dull green : the feelers are much shorter than the body : the mouth

is dull yellow with a black tip: the nectaries are black, and as

long as one-sixth of the body : the legs are yellow ; the feet and

the tips of the thighs and of the shanks are black : the wing-ribs

are pale yellow; the wing-brands and the veins are pale brown.

4th var. While a pupa it is pale greenish yellow: the feelers

are yellow, brown towards the tips, and a little shorter than the

body : the nectaries also are yellow with brown tips, and nearly

one-fifth of the length of the body : the legs are pale yellow ; the

feet, and the tips of the shanks are brown.

The winged Aphis is as variable in colour as the wingless ; it

394: Mr. F. Walker’s Descriptions of Aphides.

is greenish black, or black, or brown, or pale brown, or bright

yellow: the borders of the fore-chest and the fore-breast are

yellow, or red, or reddish brown, or green: the abdomen is

yellow, or green, or dark green, or reddish brown tinged with

green ; its disc is usually more or less black, and it has sometimes

one or two rows of black dots on each side: the feelers are black,

but sometimes pale green at the base : the mouth is green, or pale

green, or pale yellow; its tip is black : the tube at the tip of the

abdomen is yellow: the nectaries are sometimes only one-sixth of

the length of the body: the greater part of the hind-thighs is some-

times black, and more rarely all the thighs are black from the

middle to the tips, or even from near the base to the tips: the

wing-ribs are pale yellow, or pale green, or yellowish white ; the

rib-veins and the wing-brands are pale yellow or pale brown ; the

other veins are pale brown or brown.

Length of the body 3 line ; of the wings 2 lines.

Variations in the wing-veins. The third vein has no second fork.

It feeds on the following plants :—

Leontodon taraxacum.

Plantago lanceolata.

Thalictrum minus.

Ranunculus bulbosus.

hirsutus. Mentha hirsuta.

repens. Heliotropium Peruvianum.

acris. Beta vulgaris.

Aquilegia vulgaris. maritima.

Papaver Rheeas. Calceolaria pimnata.

Fumaria officinalis. Callistemma.

Nasturtium officimale. Tussilago.

Geranium Robertianum.

Spergula arvensis.

Cochlearia Armoracea.

Alhiaria officinalis.

Erysimum barbarea. Bunias Kakile.

Capsella Bursa-pastoris. Galium Mollugo.

Cakile maritima. Crocus.

Brassica oleracea. Dianthus Caryophyllus.

Rapa. prolifer.

campestris. Tulipa.

Napus. Fuchsia coccinea.

Sinapis arvensis. globosa.

alba. micrantha.

nigra. Narcissus.

Raphanus sativus. Mesembryanthemum.

Raphanistrum. Hyacinthus.

Dianthus. Verbena.

Euphorbia Peplus.

Crepis tectorum.

Potentilla anserina.

Pyrethrum inodorum.

Tropxolum tricolor.

Solanum tuberosum.

Polygonum Persicaria.

Pimelea sylvatica.

Myosotis scorpioides. Myrtus.

Inula dysenterica. Citrus.

Digitalis. Ruscus androgynus.

Sonchus. Cactus.

And on many other hot-house, green-house, cultivated and wild

plants which will be mentioned in a future notice of this Aphis.

Zoological Society. 395

The following extracts from the observations of Mr. William

Curtis in the year 1800 refer chiefly to this species, or to A.

Malve, on columbine :

“Tn very cold weather Aphides are oviparous, for this obvious

reason: the eggs are capable of resisting cold more powerfully

than the young. On the 22nd of November I found a con-

siderable number of eggs which had been deposited in some

auricula plants by a small green Aphis, which infests plants very

generally, while the same species, on a geranium that I kept

within doors, produced young. In mild winters I have observed

im the month of January the same species of Aphis in great

numbers on the same species of Primula, without doors, and all

the females viviparous. These are facts that prove that all

Aphides are not oviparous and viviparous at the same season,

but that some may be wholly viviparous; that all such as are

both oviparous and viviparous do not lay eggs towards the mid-

dle of autumn, nor at all during the winter, unless a certain

degree of cold takes place.” ‘Seasons sometimes occur very

irregularly indeed, on an average, perhaps, once in four or six

years, in which they (the Aphides) are multiplied to such an

extent that the usual means of diminution fail in preventing

them from doimg irreparable injury to certain crops. In

severe winters we have no doubt but that Aphides are very con-

siderably diminished ; in very mild winters we know that they

are very considerably increased ; for they not only exist during

such seasons, but continue to multiply.” “ The common green

Aphis, which is so generally destructive, lives during the winter

season on such herbaceous plants as it remained on during the

autumn, either in its egg or perfect state. Ifthe weather be mild,

it multiphes greatly on such herbage ; as the spring advances,

in May the males and females of these insects acquire wings:

and thus the business of increase, hitherto confined, is widely

and rapidly extended.”

[To be continued. ]

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

March 27, 1849.—Wm. Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

MonoGRAPH OF THE LARGE AFRICAN SPECIES OF NOCTURNAL

LEPIDOPTERA BELONGING OR ALLIED TO THE GENUS SATUR-

nia. By J. O. Westwoop, F.L.S. erc. (Continued from

p- 306.

Section C.

Sp. 13. Sarurnia Epimetuea. SV. alis anticis subfalcatis ; sub-

JSuscis striga communi subapicali obscura extus pallide griseo

396 Zoological Society.

marginata ; macula minuta mediana triangulart vitrea ; posticis

acute angulato-caudatis, ocello magno medio fulvo iride nigra an-

nulo puniceo cinereoque cincta, margine antico alarum obscuriori.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 5-6.

Hab. in Guinea. In Mus. Britann.

Syn. Phalena Attacus Epimethea, Drury, vol. ii. pl. 13. fig. 1;

Fab. Ent. Syst. ili. a. p.414; Gmel. Linn. Syst. Nat. 2404; Once

Ins. t. 176 A; Oliv. Ene. Méth. v. 29.

The paren of the male are rather small, with only 34 rays on

each side, thirteen of the apical joints being destitute of rays. The

palpi are small and distinct, rather dependent, but not extending be-

yond the hairs of the face.

Sp. 14. Sarurnia Atcrnog, Cramer. S. alis anticis falcatis

rufo-badiis ; anticis costa lata alba, striga communi recta trans-

versa prope basin, fascia lata alba pone medium in qua striga

recta fusca; anticis macula mediana vitrea subquadrata, pos-

ticis ocello ovali pupilla vitrea, iride lata fulva, annulo nigro

circumdata.

Expans. alar. antic. cire. unc. 6.

Syn. B. Alcinoe, Cramer, pl. 322A. B. Caffraria, Stoll, Suppl.

Cram. pl. 31. fig. 2 & 2e. Saturnia Caffra, Boisduval in Dele-

gorgue, Voy. dans Afriq. Austr. i. p. 601.

Hab. in Caffraria, Amazoolu. In Mus. Britann.

The palpi are distinct and slender, but do not extend beyond the

hairs of the clypeus. The antenne of the males have 54 rays on

each side, the two basal rays of each joint converging inwardly and

being bent more obliquely, so that the tips of the rays form four

distinct rows ; ; all the rays are moreover set on more obliquely than

in the typical species. The antenne of the female are moderately

pectinated, the two apical rays of each joint being almost obliterated.

A beautiful figure of this species 1s given in Mr. Angas’s plate of

Zoolu Moths, fig. 15.

Sp. 15. Sarurnia Anrnpa, Drury. S. alis rufo-brunneis mar-

gine externo saturatiort strigisque variis undulatis obscuris

presertim pone medium, macula semiovali mediana vitrea, pos-

ticis ocello magno pupilla vitrea iride fulva annulo nigro cincta.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 732.

fab. Sierra Leone.

Syn. Phalena Attacus Alinda, Drury, Mlustr. ii. pl. 19; Oliv.

Enc. Méth. v. p. 26. 10.

I have not seen a specimen of this species.

Sp. 16. Sarurnia Puapvusa, Drury. S. alis anticis falcatis

griseo-fuscis anticis strigis tribus transversis saturatioribus

maculaque parva triangulari mediana vitrea; posticis obscu-

rioribus ocello maximo pupilla minuta vitrea, iride lata nigra

annulis concentricis anguste sanguinea, pallide punicea, et fer-

rugmea circumeincta.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 73.

Hab. Sierra Leone. In Mus. Britann.

Syn. Phalena Attacus Phedusa, Drury, Mlustr. ii. pl. 24 & 25.

Zoological Society. 397

Bombyx Saturnus, Fab. Ent. Syst. ui. a. p.409 ; Oliv. Enc. Méth. v.

aa he

The palpi are short and thin, but distinct. The antenne are

short, each joint emitting four rays lying flat.

The specimen in the British Museum collection is pale russet-

coloured beneath with a pinkish bloom, the centre of each wing with

a group of brown spots much larger im the hind- than in the fore-

wings; a small brown spot also occurs at the base of the hind-

wings.

Sp. 17..Sarurnia Tyrruena, Westw. 8S. alis anticis falcatis

griseo-fuscis basi rubidis, striga undulata prope basin alteraque

lunulata subapicali fuscis, macula parva mediana subtrigona

vitrea ; limbo apicali rufo ; alis posticis rufis ocello magno ovali

nigra pupilla parva vitrea ; striga undata obscuriori, limbo lato

pallide griseo-fusco.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 4—53.

Hab. Port Natal. In Mus. Britann.

The fore-wings are pale greyish-brown, sometimes with a reddish

tinge ; they are acute at the tip in both sexes, but the outer margin -

is considerably more emarginate than in the female; the base of the

wing is red, and near the base is a red, very much angulated striga

almost suffused into the ground colour of the wing, and outwardly

edged with a slight dusky striga; across the middle of the wing is a

waved but nearly obsolete striga, and in the middle of the wing to-

wards the fore-margin is a small subtriangular vitreous spot without

any appearance of ocellus: beyond the middle is a row of reddish

arches inwardly slightly edged with a thin dusky line.

The hind-wings are redaish, with a broad pale greyish-brown border ;

in the middle of the wing is a large round black spot, with a very

small vitreous lunar spot in the middle, preceded snd followed by a

slight dusky waved striga. The body above is of the ground colour

of the wings, with the hind part of the thorax marked with red.

The underside of the body, collar, and spot at the base of the hind-

wings are white. The head, antennz and legs dark brown.

The wings beneath are very pale buff,with the centre of each

marked by a large brown irregular spot, traversed by the pale veins.

Antenne of the male with 32 rays on each side (four from each

joint). One-third of the apical part of each antenna is destitute of

rays.

The antennee of the female are slightly pectinated for two-thirds of

the base, the two apical rays of each joint being almost obsolete. The

tips are serrated.

The palpi are deflexed, and the tips appear just beyond the hairs

of the lower part of the face.

Var. Smaller, with the fore-wings and body destitute of the red

colour, and the hind-wings fulvous with the outer margin purplish-

grey, with the eye as in the others.

Sp. 18. Saturnia Forpa, Westw. S. pallide griseo-fusca 3, pal-

lide cervino-lutea 2, striga subobsoleta pone medium, posticis

398 Zoological Society.

etiam ocello parvo subvitreo, fusco, medio; alis posticis maris

angulato-subcaudatis ; foeemine rotundatis.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 45-43.

Hab. in Natalia. Mus. Brit.

Male with the fore-wings very slightly emarginate along the outer

margin; hind-wings produced into a strong angle in the middle of

the hind-margin ; all on the upper side of a silky, pale brownish-grey,

uniform colour, traversed by a slightly distinct, slender, brown striga

‘beyond the middle. The hind-ones marked moreover in the middle with

asmall, round, dusky spot, having an indistinct vitreous lunule in the

middle, and surrounded by an indistinct whitish circle. The antennze

are dark brown ; those of the male are moderately bipectinated, each

having about thirty-six rays on each side, a few of the apical joints

being destitute of rays, and some of the preceding having the second

ray gradually becoming obsolete. The female antennez are only

slightly serrated, the second spur on each side of each joint being

obliterated. The veins are those of the typical Saturnia.

The female has the body“and wings of a pale reddish buff, with the

dusky striga beyond the middle almost obliterated, and the dusky

spot in the middle semicircular. On the underside the hind-wings

have also a small oval dark spot towards the base.

Sp. 19. Sarurnra ANGASANA, Westw. S. alis anticis apice acutis

isabellinis, fascia pallide grisea ante medium, strigaque tenui

oblique fusca pone medium maculaque parva semi-ovali vitrea

mediana; posticis ocello magno ngro, pupilla minuta vitrea,

annulis concentricis testaceo, puniceo-albo, et sanguineo cincta.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 53.

Hab. apud Portum Natalensem. In Mus. Britann.

Isabelle-coloured or pale rufous brown, with an irregular pale

greyish bar before the middle, followed by an oblique darker fascia,

on the outside of which is a small semi-oval tale-like spot ; beyond this,

extending from near the tip of the wings towards the middle of the

inner margin, is a nearly straight, slender, darker line, edged with

greyish on each side; the apical margin of the wing beyond the dark

line becoming grey, shaded off to the ground colour of the wmg. The

hind-wings have a large ocellus, black in the centre, with a minute

vitreous dot in the middle, with a red lead-coloured ring outside the

black, followed by a fleshy-coloured one, and this by a purple-carmine

one: the outside of the ocellus rests upon a dark, slender, curved line.

The collar and underside of the body whitish ; head and legs darker

olive-brown ; antenne black.

Wings beneath pale reddish buff, of a redder brown near the tip,

with the dusky subapical line as above, and the vitreous spot pre-

ceded and followed by a dark claret-brown spot : hind-wings destitute

of the ocellus, which is replaced’by an indistinct claret-brown spot,

followed by a red-brown fascia, widest at the anal margin. Near the

base is also a small brown spot.

The antennee of the female are serrated, the two terminal rays of

each joint nearly obliterated, with one-fourth at the apex simple.

Zoological Society. 399

This species is figured by Mr. Angas in his plate of Amazoolu

Lepidoptera, fig. 16.

Sp. 20. Sarurnia Acetes, Westw. S. alis anticis apice acutis

obscure fulvis striga valde undulata cinerea prope basin ocello

mediocri mediano fusco et vitreo strigaque recta fusca sub-

apicali, posticis magis ferrugineis ocello magno medio pupilla

vitrea, iride nigra annulo albo cincta strigaque tenui transversa

JSusca recta prope medium (¢?).

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 63.

Hab. apud Caput Palmarum (D. Savage). In mus. nostr.

The fore-wings are of a dark reddish fulvous colour, tinged with

red-brown between the middle and the apex. Near the base is a very

irregular, rather indistinct, ashy-purplish striga, and in the middle of

the wing is an oval moderate-sized ocellus, the basal half being brown,

and the apical half vitreous, the latter surrounded by a slender brown

line ; halfway between this ocellus and the apical margin of the wing

is a straight, slender, brown line, ramnimg from near the apex of the

wing towards the middle of the inner margin. The hind-wings are

of a much redder hue, especially on the anterior portion, with a slight

appearance of the sub-basal ashy striga of the fore-wings near the

base; the middle of the wing occupied by a large ocellus, with a

vitreous centre, having a rather broad greyish-black iris surrounded

by a white ring, the outer extremity of which rests on a slender dusky

striga running from near the outer angle of the wing towards the

middle of the anal margin. The body is rich brownish fulvous, with

an ashy-brown collar and legs. The antennz black and very slightly:

pectinated in the female, consisting of about thirty-five joints, the

first twenty-five emitting a pair of short slender branches from the

base, the tip of the joints being also slightly serrated ; the ten terminal

joints are shorter, each emitting a single branck set on in front of each

joint, the branches of the preceding joints being set on the upper and

lower edges.

The wings beneath are paler buff-brown, with a broad, subapical,

dusky bar, undulated externally ; the eye of the fore-wings less di-

stinct, and that of the hind-wings replaced by two brown spots and a

vitreous patch. Near the base of the wings is also a round brown dot.

Sp. 21. Saturnia Ists, Westw. S. alis grisets nigro fuscoque irro-

ratis, striga fusca valde dentata ante medium alterisque duabus

nigris pone medium, ocello parvo vitreo antice nigro; posticis

ocello maximo ornatis, pupilla nigra postice subvitrea, iride ob-

secure fulva annulisque concentricis nigro, subluteo, pallide car-

neo, purpureo-rufescenti, iterumque carneo et pone hanc striga

curvata nigra, apice obscure albido limbo griseo.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 53.

Syn. Saturnia Isis, Westwood in Jard. Nat. Library, Entomol.

vol. vii. p. 138. pl. 13. S. Maia, Klug, Neue Schmett. t. 5. fig. 1

(nec Ph. Maja, Drury, Ml. vii: pl. 24. fig. 3).

Wings of a very pale grey colour, especially the anterior pair,

which are almost entirely covered with fine black and brown scales.

4.00 ~ Loological Society.

The centre of these wings is ornamented with a small oval ocellus,

the basal half of which is covered with black scales, and the outer

half is vitreous: between this and the base is a very curved and irre-

gularly dentate dark striga, and immediately behind the eye is a nearly

straight, slender, brown bar. This is succeeded by slender black

wavy bars, the space between which and the apex of this wing is di-

vided as it were into three compartments, the first of which is covered

with small brown scales; the second is paler, and covered with very

fine black speckles, and the apical part is much darker, with large

black speckles ; the apical margin of the fore-wings is slightly waved.

The hind-wings are entirely covered on the upper side by a most

magnificent eye-like spot, surrounded by successive rings of various

colours. The oval pupil is black, but the part furthest removed from

the body is denuded of scales, fae would be vitreous were not the

underside of the wings clothed with scales: this is surrounded by a

narrow fulvous iris; then black; then a broader oval ring of dirty

clay colour; then a narrow oval of pale flesh-colour; then a broad,

rich, claret, oval ring: between this and the base of the wing is first

a bar of flesh-colour, then black, shaded into claret ; towards the ex-

tremity of the wing the claret is succeeded by a half-ring of flesh-

colour; then a narrow one of black; then of paie buff stone-colour,

and another moderately broad of grey speckled with black, extending

to the extremity of the wings. The thorax is dark and rich brown

coloured, with two white bands across the neck and two across the

extremity of the thorax whitish; the abdomen is buff, with black

dots. The margin of the wings is scalloped.

Beneath, all the wings are very pale buflish white with dark speckles;

the fore-wings are marked nearly as on the upper side, but the hind-

wings have only a very small eye in the centre, having a black pupil

with a fulvous orbit surrounded by a slender black circle ; immediately

connected with the posterior part of this eye is a curved row of brown

arches, between which and the apex of the wings is another and more

slightly marked series of black scallops. The palpi are distinct,

forming a small brown muzzle, but they are not visible from above ;

they, as well as the rest of the head, are brown. The spiral tongue

appears to be wanting. The antenne of the male are considerably

elongated, with the rays bent backwards instead of lymg flat, and

there are eighty-eight rays on each side of the antenne, the rays ex-

tending to the tip, so that the antennze are composed of about forty -

four or forty-six jomts. The antennee of the female are setaceous,

and only slightly bipectinated, being gradually more slender from

about one-third of the distance from the base to the apex, each joint

emitting four rays, the joint at each point of emission being swollen.

The female has the wings rather shorter, and not at all emarginate

along the apical margin.

Sp. 22. Sarurnia nicTiTans, Fabr. 8S. alis margine apicali

integro, fusco incarnatis medio obscuriore, striga tenuissima

angulata prope basin alteraque recta subapicali fuscis pune-

toque parvo medio vitreo; posticis concoloribus ocello magno

Zoological Society. 401

medio pupilla parva vitrea, iride flava, annulis niyro, puniceo

et albo cincta, strigaque transversa nigra subapicali.

Expans. alar. antic. fere unc. 5.

Hab. in Africa tropicali. In Mus. Banks. (Soc. Linn. Lond.), Mus.

Britann. et nostro.

Syn. Bombyx nictitans, Fab. Ent. Syst. ii. a. 413.

The antenne of the male are 39-jomted, with fifty-eight rays on

each side (four from each of the twenty-nine or thirty basal joints),

the rays lying nearly flat.

The antennz of the female are about 42-jointed, only slightly

serrated, each joint having two serratures on each side, the basal one

being most prominent, the antennee becoming gradually more slender

to the tips. The palpi are short, but distinct and deflexed.

Sp. 23. Sarurnia Axopia, Westw. S. alis anticis fusco-albidis,

striga recta puniceo-alba ante medium maculaque parva trian-

gulart mediana vitrea, strigaque postica recta fusca externe pu-

niceo-tincta, posticis etiam bistrigatis ocelloque parvo vitreo,

iride obscure lutea circulo nigro alteroque late puniceo-albo cir-

cumdata.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 4.

Hab. ? In Mus. Britann.

Fore-wings brownish buff, with a pale pinkish white, nearly

straight fascia across the wings before the middle, edged towards the

base with a fine dark line, the other side shaded off to the ground

colour of the wings; beyond the middle is a small triangular vitre-

ous spot, bounded at the base by the transverse veinlet closing the

discoidal cell; beyond the middle is a straight, slender, dark striga,

edged with pale pinkish white ; the outer - margin of these wings

slightly emarginate; hind-wings eens somewhat oval, brownish buff,

the middle with a pale rosy tint, bearing an ill-defined whitish fascia

towards the base, and another, followed “by a dusky line, beyond the

middle ; the middle of the wing occupied by an ocellus, with a small

glassy centre, surrounded by dirty buff, and this by a black circle and

a larger, pale pinkish white one ; thorax in front with a white trans-

verse > fascia ; antennee dark brown.

The antennz of the male are small, moderately short, the rays flat,

thirty-four rays on each side, one-fourth of the antennz at the tip

being destitute of rays.

The palpi are distinct, but small.

Sp. 24. Saturnia Erura, Westw. S. alis omnibus apice un-

dulatis, anticis subfalcatis, posticis in medio in caudam trun-

catam productis ; fusco-albidis fusco irroratis, anticis dimidio

basali pallidiore, strigis tribus fuscis undatis 2nda magis

distincta mediana et cum ocello parvo medio conjuncta ; posticis

ocello maximo; pupilla lunata vitrea iride nigra circulo tenut

luteo, 2do nigro, 3tio latiore luteo-fulvo, 4to albo ; striga basal

angulata alterisque duabus pone medium undulatis nigris ; parte

antica alarum puniceo-rufa.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 53.

- Hab. ? In Mus. D. Loddiges.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. - 26

402 Zoological Society.

The fore-wings of this fine species are rather narrow and subfalcate,

with the apical margin rather waved ; they are of a buff-brown, very

much irrorated with darker scales, the basal half of the wing and costa

being much paler; they are traversed by three very oblique brown

strigee, of which the middle one is the thickest; the anterior one is

very much waved and dentated, the second much-waved, having at-

tached to it near the middle of the wing a small oval ocellus, of which

the anterior half is brown and the other half vitreous: the third fascia

arises on the costa from a larger brown spot. The hind-wings are

similarly coloured to the apical portion of the fore-ones, except that

the anterior portion is of a rich pinkish red which extends half round

the ocellus, which is large and central, having a small semicircular

vitreous pupil surrounded by a black iris round which is a very

slender luteous ring, and another black, followed by a pinkish-buff

broader ring, and this by a white one. Across the base of the wing

is a brown angulated striga, being the continuation of the central one

of the fore-wings, and from the inner margin of the ocellus runs a waved

one to the anal margin, followed by another running across the wing

parallel to the apical margin. The apical part of the wing is much

freckled with brown, and a thin brown line runs just within the mar-

gin. The thorax is dark brown, with a pale buff collar; the hind-

part pale, with a short black bar. Wings beneath coloured as above,

except that the fore-ones are tinged on the inner margin with pink,

which colour is entirely wanting in the hind-wings, which are more

freckled with brown than above, the ocellus being replaced by a small

brown spot.

The pectinations of the antennze of the only specimen I have seen

(which is probably a female) are comparatively short, each antenna

having thirty-eight rays on each side (four from each joimt), and about

one-fourth of the antennee at the apex is destitute of rays. The palpi

are very small, but distinct.

This fine insect is unique in the collection of Conrad Loddiges,

Esq., of Hackney, who is not aware of its locality ; but from its rela-

tionship to S. Isis, I have but little doubt of its being a native of

Africa.

Section D.

Sp. 25. Sarurnia Lucia, Drury. S. alts anticis falcatis, pos-

ticis rotundatis, omnibus albido-griseis fusco multum rivulosis

strigis undulatis submarginalibus, anticis maculis nonnullis me-

diis ocelloque parvo apicali nigris.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 63.

Hab. Sierra Leone.

Syn. Phalena Attacus Lucina, Drury, Illustr. iii. pl. 34. fig. 1;

Oliv. Enc. Méth. v. 31.

I have not seen any specimen of this insect, the veins of which

agree rather with Saturnia than Lasiocampa, although the antennze

seem but narrowly pectinated.

Sp. 26. Sarurnia Nenta, Westw. S. alis anticis apice rotun-

datis ; plumbeo-nigris apicibus magis fuscis luteoque irroratis

striga tenut irregulari nigra obliqua, ante medium alteraque

Zoological Society. 403

minus distincta at magis obliqua, et ad costam valde angulata,

macula media irregulari albida ; posticis nigricanii-fuscis bast

puniceis macula magna media pallide flava.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 44.

Hab. apud Caput Palmarum (D. Savage). In mus. nostro.

This curious species has the fore-wings broad, with the fore-margin

rather suddenly angulated beyond the middle, and with the apical

margin rounded, the extreme tip forming a small, rounded, slightly

detached lobe. The general colour of the wing is a dark leaden-

coloured blackish-brown, slightly irrorated with fulvous scales, espe-

cially towards the tip of the wing, which is rather paler and more

varied than the rest. At about one-third from the base runs an ob-

lique, black, irregular striga, which is followed by another more

slender and indistinct, and more slanting, being suddenly strongly

angulated near the costa, where it terminates in a strong black dash.

Between the strigze is an ill-defined fulvous-buff patch in the middle

of the wing. The hind-wings are blackish brown, with the base pink,

and with a large, very pale yellow patch in the middle. The body is

blackish brown and slightly irrorated. The abdomen is much swollen

in the only specimen I have seen. Beneath, the wings are very much

freckled with grey, black, buff and white, especially beyond the

middle ; the fore-wings have a large patch of rose-pink along the m-

side at the base, followed at some distance by a rather broad, very

pale yellow bar; the hind-wings want the pink colour, but have the

pale yellow patch as on the upper side.

The antenne of the female consist of twenty-two joints, emitting

only a pair of rays from the base of each, the apical pair being indi-

cated by a very slight serration, followed by about twelve joints at the

tip which are destitute of rays. The palpi are porrected into a

short distinct muzzle.

From these characters it will probably be necessary to form this

species into a separate subgenus, when the male shall be known. The

veins of the wings are arranged as in the typical Saturnia.

Sp. 27. Sarurnra Heritia, Westw. S. alis apice undulatis,

anticis angulatis brunneo-fulvis valde irroratis, medio fulvescentt

fascia obliqua fusca abbreviata; posticis macula magna sul-

phurea, limbo lato fusco, fulvo irrorato.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 43.

Hab. Sierra Leone (D. Morgan). In Mus. Brit.

Wings fulvous-brown, much varied with darker and lighter shades,

and with numerous small dark dots and streaks ; the base with a grey

shade much-mottled with small dark brown patches; before the

middle of the wing is an ill-defined, pale, nearly syuare patch, resting

on the median vein, but extending narrowly along the costal margin,

which is much marked with dark dots; the middle of the wing is

more uniformly fulvous brown, with a dark, very oblique dash arising

from the costa, which is considerably curved beyond the middle: a

dark brown oval patch also rests on the middle of the last branch of

the median vein; the apical margin of the wing is scalloped and dark

26%*

ADA Zoological Society.

brown, preceded by a paler patch marked with undulating fulvous-

brown lines ; the hind-angle of the wing being much dotted with dif-

ferent shades of fulvons and brown. The hind-wings have a large

sulphur-white patch occupying the base of the wings, except the

extreme base, which is pink. The remainder is brown, varied with

minute fulvous spots, the anal angle being more mottled.

On the underside the wings are paler and richer coloured, more

decidedly mottled ; the fore-wings having the base suffused with pink.

The veins are fulvous.

The antennz are but slightly pectinated.

The body is fulvous-brown, the thoracic portion tinged with pink.

Sp. 28. Sarurnra AGATHYLLA, Westw. S. alis anticis subfalcatis

posticis denticulatis; supra pallide rufo-fulvis (in specimine

nostro unico valde detritis), in medio ut videtur exocellatis.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 34.

Hab. Congo. In Mus. Brit.

A single specimen only of this insect exists in the British Museum,

having the wings so completely denuded of scales, except at the base,

that it is impossible to give a detailed charater ; their outline is how-

ever entire. The anterior ones are subfalcate, and the hind ones are

denticulated along the outer margin, the tooth at the extremity of

the middle branch of the median vein being the most acute. All that

remains of the colouring of the fore-wings is a reddish-fulvous buff,

which seems indeed to have extended all over these wings, as well as

over the hind-wings, which are suffused with pink on the upper side

towards the anterior margin. On the under side the wings are co-

loured as above; the fore-wings are also suffused with pink along the

posterior margin at the base, and they, as well as the hind-wings, have

the anterior margin somewhat streaked transversely with brown. I can

discern no trace of eyes in the middle of the wings. The body both

above and below is fulvous brown, as are also the antennee and legs.

The basal joint of the antennze is clothed beneath with a thick

mass of hairs ; each is furnished with eighty rays, each of the twenty

joints succeeding the basal one emitting four rays, one close at the

base and one close at the apex on each side, the inside of the two on

each side beg furnished with fine hairs, the tips of which come in

contact with each other. The thirteen terminal joints are destitute

of rays. The palpi are quite distinct, but scarcely extend beyond the

hairs of the face.

Section E.

Sp. 29. Sarurnia (Henucnua) Grimnia, Hiibner. S. alis an-

ticis nigris albo irroratis lunulisque magnis albis, ocello medio

Sulvo maculam mediam virgatam includente ; posticis basi puni-

ceis medio albis maculis duabus nigris, majort ocellum fulvum

(cum lunula alba) includente, limbo nigro albo irrorato, maculis

marginalibus albidis.

Expans. alar. antic. cire. unc. 3.

Hab. Africa meridionali. ~

Syn. Phalena (Henucha) Grimmia, Hiibner, Exot. Sehm. F. 3, 4.

Zoological Society. 405

Sp. 30. Sarurnia (Henucua?) DeLecorGuel, Bdv. 8S. alis

anticis (maris) valde falcatis ; posticis subtriangularibus ; om-

nibus (famine) subrotundatis et parum sinuatis ; anticis brun-

neis basi costa et limbo apicali cinerascentibus, pone medium

macula parva vitrea angulata; posticis basi et antice roseis,

limbo fusco, striga alba ; medio nigro, ocello fulvo, lunula vitreo

annuloque nigro.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 2-23.

Hab. in Terra Amazoolu, et apud Portum Natalensem. In Mus.

Britann.

Syn. Saturnia Delegorguei, Boisduval in Delegorgue’s Voyage dans

PAfriq. Austr. ii. p. 601.

The antenne of the male are 32-jointed, each of the fourteen basal

joints emitting four rays, the second ray in one joint and the first of

the following joint being close together, and only gaping at the tip: one-

third of the antenne at the tip is simple ; the rays are set on at right

angles, lying flat. The antennze of the female are very shortly pec-

tinated on each side, except about one-fourth of the length at the tip.

The veins of the wings differ from those of the typical Saturnia in

having the outer branch of the post-costal vein arising from the middle

of the transverse veinlet which closes the discoidal cell, and the two

small vitreous spots, forming the angulated spot above described, rest

on the outside of the veinlet, being divided from each other by the

outer branch of the post-costal vein.

Sp. 31. Sarurnia (Henucua ?) Smizax, Westw. S. alis anticis

maris valde falcatis obscure fulvis (3) seu griseo-fuscis (2),

fascia lata obliqua livida seu castanea utrinque linea tenui pal-

lida marginata, anticis plaga magna subtriloba vitrea ; posticis

lunula parva media vitrea.

Expans. alar. unc. 23-22.

Hab. Port Natal. In Mus. Britann. et Saunders.

The fore-wings of the male are rather narrow and very much hooked

at the tip, and angulated beyond the middle of the costa, fulvous

brown, palest along the fore-margin, with a rather broad, very oblique

fascia a little beyond the middle of the wing, of a rich chestnut colour,

shaded to purplish towards the costa; nearly straight along the fore-

edge, but much-arched on the outer margin, both edges being marked

with a pale, slender, buff line: beyond the middle of the fore-wing is

a large, irregular, somewhat trilobed vitreous spot, outwardly edged

with a dark line, and succeeded by a pale buff one. The apical por-

tion of the wing beyond the fascia is fulvous buff, shaded to brown in

the middle, and to purple. There is also a small dark dot in the

middle of the costa.

The hind-wings are fulvous, the middle with a darker oblique fascia

tinged with purple, with a pale line on each side; the outer margin

curved, and in the middle of this fascia is a small lunate vitreous spot.

The female has the fore-wings slightly waved along the outer mar-

gin: the general colour of the wings is darker and more ashy than in

the male, the fulvous colour replaced by ashy brown.

406 Zoological Society.

The head and a large patch on the thorax are dark fulvous brown

in the male, chestnut in the female.

The antennz of the males are scarcely pectinated beyond the

middle; there are twenty-two rays on each side. The apical half

simple, with only numerous short sete at the extremity of the joints.

The antennez of the female are quite simple and setaceous. The veins

of the wings are arranged as in the last species, the ocellus of the

fore-wing resting on the outside of the transverse veinlet closing the

discoidal cell, and being divided into two parts by the outer branch

of the postcostal vein*.

Sp. 32. Sarurnra (URora) Sinope, Westw. S. alis anticis

integris, posticis breviter caudatis; anticis fulvo brunneis fasciis

duabus albis singula strigam fuscam includente, punctoque parvo

ovali media alba, posticis livide puniceis puncto medio albo fas-

ciaque pone medium alba.

Expans. alar. antic. unc. 3.

Hab. apud Portum Natalensem. In Mus. Britann.

The wings of the male are entire and nearly straight ; along the

apical margin they are buff-brown or pale reddish brown, with a

transverse white bar before and another beyond the middle, each edged

on each side with a thin black line, and bearing a black streak along

its middle. In the middle of the wing is a small oval white spot

edged with black. Hind-wings livid pink, with a white spot in the

middle, followed by a white fascia: apical portion of the wing fulvous

brown, produced into a short, broad, somewhat triangular tail, obtuse

at the tip.

Beneath similarly marked, but with all the colouring dull. Body,

legs and antennze fulvous brown.

The antenne are rather short, and consist of forty-eight joints, each

joint with one short ray on each side; the rays set on obliquely and

directed backwards, the tips of the rays being turned forwards.

There are no traces of palpi to be perceived. The veins of the

fore-wings are arranged as in the typical Saturnia.

Sp. 33. Sarurnia (ApHELIA) ApoLirnaris, Bdy. 8. alis ea-

terne rotundatis albis venis nigricantibus, anticis maculis duabus

parvis medis flavis fusco-cinctis ; apice nigricanti striga com-

muni extus dentata cum margine postico parallela, margine fusco-

nigricanti maculis flavis ornato; abdomine albo apicibus seg-

mentorum flavidis ; serieque dorsali laterali et ventrali pune-

torum nigrorum, pronoti margine antico flavido.

Expans. alar. antic. fere unc. 3.

Hab. apud Portum Natalensem. In Mus. Britann.

Syn. Saturnia Apollinaris, Boisduval in Delegorgue’s Voyage dans

PAfriq. Austral. ii. p. 601.

The texture of this insect, as described by Boisduval, is ‘‘ mince et

délicate”’ ; the same author states that it is ‘‘ tout autant une Liparide

* Mr. Angas has represented this species in his plate of Amazoolu Lepidoptera,

figure 12. ;

Zoological Society. 407

qu'une Saturnide.”” The veins of the fore-wings are however ar-

ranged as in the typical Saturnie; but the antenne are different,

consisting of about thirty-six joints, bipectinated in both sexes with

only thirty-four rays on each side, each joint except one or two at

the apex emitting only a pair of rays, which are rather short. The

palpi are distinct and turned upwards, extending rather further than

the hairs of the face: the spiral tongue is distinct.

Boisduval states that this species ‘‘ vole en plein jour. Une année,

aux environs de Port Natal, on aurait pu en prendre par centaines en

quelques heures. Deux ou trois jours aprés il n’existait plus. La fe-

melle que nous est inconnue ne vole pas, peutétre méme est-elle aptére,

et tous les males voltigeaient sans doute a sa recherche.”” The female

is however winged and scarcely distinguishable from the male, as I

have ascertained by extracting eggs from the abdomen of a specimen

in the British Museum collection, which M. Boisduval would doubt-

less have taken for a male.

The structure of the antennz and presence of a spiral tongue,

together with the fragile texture of the insect, will require a subgenus

for its reception.

May 22.—Harpur Gamble, Esq., M.D., in the Chair.

The following papers were read :—

1. DESCRIPTION OF SOME CORALS, INCLUDING A NEW BriTIsH

CoRAL DISCOVERED BY W. MacAnprew, Esa.

By J. E. Gray, Esea., F.R.S. etc.

As yet only a single living species of recent stony coral has been

recorded as inhabiting our coast. I am aware that M. Milne-Edwards

and M. Haime have described the Torbay coral as belonging to two

species and to different genera, viz. Desmophyllum Stokesvi, Aun. Sci.

Nat. ix. 255. t. 7. f. 12, 12 a, and Cyathina Smithii, 1. c. ix. 288 ; but

from the varieties in form, and especially in the contraction of the

base, which I have seen in specimens on the same stone, I believe

the genera and species have been established on very unessential cha-

racters.

I may state, that from the observations I have been able to make, I

believe that the recent corals are very much more influenced by ex-

ternal circumstances, by the rarity or the abundance of food that the

animals are able to procure, and by the roughness or quietness of the

water they happen to inhabit, and the stations they may accidentally

occupy, than the describers of corals even the most recent are willing

to allow. This greatly added to the difficulty of distinguishing the

species ; and if this is the case with the recent corals which we receive

in a good state, how much more difficult must it be to distinguish

those only found in a fossil, and often in a worn and imperfect con-

dition !

The British coral here noticed is perfectly distinct from the former,

and from any European coral that has come under my examination ;

and when I showed it to M. Milne-Edwards and M. Haime on their

408 Zoological Society.

late visit to this country, they stated that it was quite unknown to

them, and most nearly allied to an Australasian species. It belongs

to the genus Flabel/um, established by the late M. Lesson in his

‘ Illustrations of Zoology’ in 1831 for a coral from the Japanese Seas.

And more lately (in 1841) Dr. A. Philippi established a genus under

the name of PAyllodes for some fossil allies. Dana, in his work on

Zoophytes in 1846, has apphed the name of Huphyllia to this genus.

Quoy and Gaimard referred one of the species to the genus Turdi-

nolia.

The only specimen of the coral found by Mr. MacAndrew is un-

fortunately in an imperfect state, having been broken by the dredge,

and I have some doubts if it absolutely belongs to the genus Fla-

bellum, as it appears rather to form a more or less circular expanded

disk, than a compressed wedge-shaped body. But Messrs. Milne-

Edwards and Haime appeared to have no doubt of its belonging to

that genus when it was shown to them, and I have therefore adopted

their opinion until more perfect specimens are found to verify or cor-

rect our knowledge. It may be described as follows :—

FLABELLUM MacAnpDREWwI.

Coral expanded, subcircular?; outline irregular, torn, with acute

marginal processes ; outer surface smooth, polished, as if varnished ;

septa thin, far apart, very finely crenulated on the edge in three

series ; the primary plates large, the secondary nearly as large, but

much more narrow near the centre; the tertiary plates small, very

narrow.

Hab. North Sea.

The single imperfect specimen here described was found about

twenty-five miles from East Shetland, in ninety fathoms water.

Mr. MacAndrew has kindly presented the specimen to the British

Museum collection.

M. Milne-Edwards and M. Haime, m their monograph of the genus

Flabellum, published in the ‘Annales des Sciences Naturelles,’ ix.

p. 256 (in 1848), describe forty-three species, and divide them into

three sections, thus :—

a. Coral becoming free by the progress of age.

* Coral becoming free by the cessation of the adherence of the

pedicel—Flabellines pédicellés.

** Coral becoming free by the rupture of its base—F’. tronquées.

6. Coral always fixed by its enlarged base—F. fixées.

The last section is very distinct from the two former, and might

almost form a separate genus, for which I should be inclined to retain

Dana’s name of Huphyllia.

The other two sections are separated from one another by very

slight characters, which I believe are not even sufficient to separate

the specimens of the same species, for some specimens from the same

localities retain their narrow base, while in others this part is more or

less truncated.

Indeed from the numerous specimens of this genus which I have

Zoological Society. 409

been enabled to examine in the Japanese boxes which are sent to the

Canton market, and from thence to London, and others brought from

Northern China by Mr. Fortune, I have little doubt that the species

is very variable. I had come to this conclusion, and arranged all the

specimens together in one tray in the British Museum, before Messrs.

Milne-Edwards and Haime came to examine the corals in the Museum

for description in their papers in the ‘Annales des Sciences Naturelles’

for 1848 ; and the examination of the characters given by these natu-

ralists for their several species has not induced me to change my

opinion, which has, on the contrary, been strengthened by a second

comparison.

I may state that we have in the British Museum two very distinct

recent species: —1. Flabellum affine, Edwards and Haime, n. 3).

t. 8. f. 10, from Australia, which has very close plates. 2. Flabel-

lum Pavoninum, n. 1, from Japan and North China. And Milne-

Edwards and M. Haime have described another from the Falkland

Islands, brought to France by M. Dupetit Thouars, and hence called

Flabellum Thouarsii, n. 10. t. 8. f.5, which appears to be distinct

from the two former.

From the examination of the numerous specimens of FVabellum Pa-

voninum which I have been enabled to compare and collect, I am in-

clined to believe that all the specimens which are brought from the

Japanese Seas belong to a single species, which I believe will include

as varieties the following species described by M. Milne-Edwards and

M. Haime, viz.:—

1. Flabellum distinctum, n.2. The specimen in the British Mu-

seum, from which this species is described, came from Japan,

and not the Red Sea, as stated in the work cited.

OP). Gebslex Net 2om bo,' Os tee.

3. EF. Sumatrense, n. 24.

4. F. spinosum, n. 25. t. 8. f. 4.

5. F. aculeatum, n. 26. t. 8. f. 3.

6. F. compressum, n. 20 = Fungia compressa, Lamk.

7. F. Bairdii, n. 32. From Japan.

8. F. Cumingii, n. 33. t. 8. f. 11.

9. F. elongatum, n. 34.t. 8. f. 7.

10. F. profundum, n. 35. China (Fortune). F. spheniscus, n. 42?

ll. F. crassum, n. 36. t. 8. f. 8.

12. F. crenulatum, nu. 37.

13. F. elegans, n. 38. From Japan; B. M.

14. F. Candeanum, n. 39. t. 8. f. 13.

15. F Stokesiz, nu. 40. t.'8. f. 12.

16. F. Owenit?, n. 41. t. 8. f. 9.

I thought at first that these specimens might be separated into two,

according to the colour, some being red, with the sides of the coral

keeled, and others white, with the sides more or less rounded; Fla-

bellum Pavoninum, Lesson, being the type of one species, and Fungia

compressa, of Lamarck, of the other. But there are specimens red on

one side and white on the other, and some on the other hand keeled

on one edge and rounded on the other; some with elongated spines

410 Zoological Society.

on one edge, and spiniferous or only with a slight tubercle on the oppo-

site one ; sometimes one edge has two spines and the other only one,

or a tubercle, and the extent of the truncation of the base differs in

every example.

The same examination has also induced me to believe that the spe-

cimen which these authors have described under the name of Placo-

trochus levis, p. 283. t. 8. f. 15, is only a variety of the same species ;

and that Acanthocyathus Grayii, 293. t. 9. f. 2, is only a specimen of

the same species which has lost its compressed form. I have not

seen Rhizotrochus typus, p. 282. t. 8. f. 16, or Blastotrochus nutriz,

p. 284. t. 8. f. 14; but from the figures, I have great suspicions that

they are only modifications of the same species.

To give some idea of the variations produced by local causes in

corals, I may state that the specimens which Messrs. Milne-Edwards

and Haime have described under the generic name of Heterocyathus,

are only specimens of the genus Cyathus which have been changed

in form from their having grown attached to a spiral shell which was

inhabited by parasitic crustacea. I have specimens showing all the

grades of change, from the nearly normal conical form of the genus

to the truncated form which has been described as the type of the

genus Heterocyathus. This form was well-described by Spengler in

‘Nova Acta Hafnize,’ 1. 240, and noticed by Gmelin under the name

of Madrepora Cochlea, p. 3763.

Messrs. Milne-Edwards and Haime described two species of this

genus under the names of H. e@quicostatus, t. 10. f. 8, and H. Rous-

seanus, t. 10. f. 9. Of the former he appears only to have seen a

single specimen. We have in the British Museum three very distinct

species, which may be thus described :—

1. H. Cocutrea = Mad. Cochlea, Gmelin, 8. N. H. equicostatus,

Milne-Edwards and Haime, 324. t. 10. f. 8.

Coral subcylindric, hard, white, with narrow, equidistant, distinct

grooves, crenulated on the edges; base rather dilated ; laminze nar-

row, sharp-edged, very unequal, grooved on each side, and with

crowded columns in the centre of the star.

Hab. Chinese Seas.

The holes on the outer surface are large and distinct.

2. H. HEMISPHAERICA.

Coral subcircular, depressed, subhemispherical, nearly flat below,

regularly convex above; sides rounded ; plates of star broad-topped,

as if truncated, covered on top and sides with very numerous crowded

spines and tubercles ; centre of star roundish, with small columella.

Hab. Chinese Seas.

The plates of this species resemble those figured as belonging to

HI. Rousseanus, 1. c. 325. t. 10. f.9; but the shape of all the two

specimens in the Museum, which are nearly similar, is quite distinct

from the view of the side of that species.

3. H. EUPSAMMIDES.

Coral polymorphous, base flat, sides shelving, sinuous, surface

covered with very close, irregular, sinuous, denticulated ridges, and

Linnean Society. 411

pierced with numerous minute pores; star irregular, compressed or

sinuous ; laminz narrow, then cribellated on the surface, and with an

oblong, elongated, convex, cribellated centre.

Var. star more or less contracted in the centre, forming two more

or less distinct roundish stars.

Hab. Chinese Seas.

This species is immediately known from the former by the pecu-

liarity of the surface, which is like that of Caryophyllea ramea, and

by the convex elongated form of the centre of the star.

I have described these three species together on account of their

having the same form and habit, but the structure of the surface and

the great difference in the form and conformation of the stars induce

me to believe that they probably belong to three very distinct families

of corals.

Since I described these corals I have shown the two latter species

to M. Milne-Edwards, who states that they had not before come

under his observation.

LINNZAN SOCIETY.

May 24, 1849.—The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.

This day, the anniversary of the birth of Linneus, and that ap-

pointed by the Charter for the Election of Council and Officers, the

President opened the business of the day, and the Secretary read

the following notices of those Members of the Society with whose

decease he had become acquainted during the year.

Sir John Barrow, Bart.

George Bennett, Esq.

Edwin Charles Charlton, Esq.

Edward Forster, Esq., the late lamented Treasurer of the Society,

was the third son of Edward Forster, Esq., for fifty-two years

Governor of the Russia Company of London, and was born at

Walthamstow in the county of Essex on the 12th of October 1765.

He passed the greater part of his childhood in the neighbourhood

of Epping Forest, and from the age of fifteen became particularly

attached to the study of English botany, which he ardently culti-

vated through a long and active life. He was a partner in the

eminent banking-house of Lubbock, Forster and Company, and to

within a few hours of his death took a leading part in the business

of the bank. In 1800 he was elected a Fellow of the Linnzan

Society, of which he became Treasurer in 1816, and one of the

Vice-Presidents in 1828; and his kindliness of disposition, unre-

mitting attention to his duties, and zeal for the interests of the

Society, will long endear his memory to all its members. He was a

man of very active habits ; rising daily at 6 o’clock, usually spending

an hour before breakfast in his garden, in which he cultivated many

of the rarer and more obscure British species, and taking a great

deal of bodily exercise, which, together with his extreme temperance,

probably contributed greatly to the prolongation of his life: His

‘death, which took place in the 84th year of his age, at his residence,

412 Linnean Society.

Ivy House, Woodford, on Wednesday the 21st of February in the

present year, was ovcasioned by an attack of cholera, contracted, as

was supposed, a few days previously at the Refuge for the Destitute,

of which valuable charity he had long been a most zealous and

liberal supporter. He was buried on the Ist of March in the family-

vault at Walthamstow, in the immediate neighbourhood of which his

whole life had been spent.

Mr. Forster possessed a very complete and well-arranged herba-

rium of British plants, and particularly devoted himself to those of his

native county of Essex; and he had long entertained the intention

of publishing its ‘‘ Flora,” the manuscript of which he has left in an

imperfect state. His contributions to our ‘ Transactions’ are limited

to two papers ; the one ** On Vicia angustifolia, Smith,” in vol. xvi. ;

and the other ‘“‘ On Esula major Germanica of Lobel,”’ in vol. xvil.

George Gardner, Esq., was born in Glasgow in May 1812, and was

educated for the medical profession in the University of that city.

He displayed at an early period a taste for the study of natural

history, but botany in particular was his favourite pursuit. At that

time Sir William Hooker filled the Chair of Botany in that Univer-

sity, and Mr. Gardner so far attracted his notice as to lead him to

open to him the range of his fine herbarium, and allow him the free

use of his extensive botanical library. ‘The ardent zeal of the young

student urged him to make the best use of these rare advantages,

and his progress was great and rapid. His numerous attainments

and many excellent qualities soon obtained him the steady friendship

of his generous teacher, and he continued the pursuit of his studies

till the end of 1835, when having expressed his eager desire to

explore the botanical treasures of tropical climates, Sir William

Hooker obtained the cooperation of twenty-four subscribers who

contributed towards the expenses of his journey and agreed to

purchase sets of the dried plants he proposed to collect, while a

number of others engaged to receive from him such living plants as

he might select on account of their beauty or rarity. Among the

latter was the late Duke of Bedford, who was one of the young

botanist’s most liberal patrons, and Brazil was selected as the most

appropriate field for his exertions.

Previous to his departure, he published a pocket herbarium en-

titled ‘Musci Britannici,’ on the plan of Funke’s ‘ Deutschlands

Moose,’ where dried specimens illustrative of each species were neatly

fixed according to the arrangement in Hooker’s ‘ British Flora.’ Mr.

Gardner embarked at Liverpool on his projected expedition in May

1836, and arrived in July following at Rio de Janeiro. The receipt

of his first set of 400 species, collected on the Corcovado and moun-

tain ranges immediately surrounding that city, showed how faithfully

and successfully he discharged the duties of his mission, and proved

the harbingers of the extremely fine collection he subsequently made

in the interior of Brazil. The next field of his exertions was the

lofty range of the Organ Mountains covered with primeval forests,

which he explored with great success, being the first to scale the

loftiest peak of that range, where he obtained much to reward his

Linnean Society. 413

exertions. His activity was unceasing, and his time entirely devoted

with the greatest ardour to a pursuit which presented him with so

many novelties and opened to him so attractive a career. During

his researches among the riches of this fertile region he acquired

such a knowledge of the Portuguese language, and studied so to

adapt himself to the habits of the people, as to enable him to carry

into effect his original design of traversing the interior provinces

of Northern Brazil, in quest of their botanical productions, which

until that period had only been investigated by Pohl, Von Martius,

A. St. Hilaire, and our countryman Dr. Burchell, and were compa-

ratively little known to botanists in general. With this view he

embarked at Rio de Janeiro, and reached Pernambuco in July 1837:

he spent three months in exploring that province, visiting the Rio

San Francisco, which he ascended as high as the falls of Pedro

Affonco; hence he returned to Pernambuco, and proceeded by sea

to Aracaty, from which point he penetrated inland, making very

large collections in the provinces of Ceara and Piauhy. His inten-

tion was to cross to the westward and explore the banks of the To-

cantins, and ascending along tke course of that river to penetrate by

this route as far as the city of Goyaz, and if possible to reach the

cities of Cuyaba and Matto Grosso; but the political disturbances

thea raging in Piauhy obliged him to alter his course in a more

southerly direction: this had the advantage of offering a long tract

yet untrodden by any botanist, and he accordingly traversed the

westernmost portion of the province of Pernambuco and crossed the

more eastern parts of that of Goyaz, examining in his way the high

table-lands in these districts, which afforded him a rich harvest.

Crossing then the Serra Geral, near Arrayas, he entered tke pro-

vince of Minas Geraés, where he added greatly to his collections,

especially among the rarities of the Diamond district, and after tra-

versing this entire province he again reached Rio de Janeiro at the

end of 1840. Hence he paid asecond visit to the Organ Mountains

and the rich mountain country in the neighbourhood of the Parahyba

River, and finally embarked with his collections for Liverpool, where

he arrived in July 1841, having been absent five years and two

months, during which period his collections amounted to upwards

of 6000 species of Phanerogamous plants, consisting of fine and well-

selected specimens, in excellent preservation.

His many interesting letters to Sir William Hooker, written at

various stages during his travels, were published from time to time

in the ‘Companion to the Botanical Magazine,’ the ‘ Annals of Na-

tural History,’ and the ‘ Journal of Botany ;’ but in 1846 he prepared

a more popular Account of his Journey, which was published in an

8vo volume under the title of ‘ ‘Travels in the Interior of Brazil. He

likewise contributed, after his return to England, several botanical

memoirs to the ‘London Journal of Botany’ on Chresta, Pycnocephala,

Trochopteris, Bowmannia, Hockinia, and several other new genera ; and

in 1842 he commenced an Enumeration and description of the plants

he had collected during his travels, which he continued to publish

from time to time in the same journal. In 1848, in conjunction

414, Linnean Society.

with Mr. Fielding, he published a ‘ Sertum Plantarum,’ containing

figures and descriptions of many of the novelties of that gentleman’s

collection, and he also contributed several other descriptions of his

plants for Hooker’s ‘Icones Plantarum.’ He became a Fellow of

the Linnean Society in 1842; and published in the 19th volume of

our ‘Transactions’ a paper ‘‘on Peltophyllum, a genus allied to

Triuris.”

In September 1843, at the recommendation of his friend Sir Wm.

Hooker, he received from Government the appointment of Super-

intendent of the Botanic Garden of Ceylon. The first object of his

ambition in entering upon the duties of this appointment was the

formation of a complete Flora of Ceylon, to which he constantly

devoted his time and energies. In order to compare the relations

of the botany of Ceylon with that of the Southern Peninsula of

India, he made an excursion to Madras in the beginning of 1845,

where he had the opportunity of consulting the rich herbarium of

Dr. Wight, in company with whom he herborized extensively in the

Neilgherry Mountains, where he formed a very interesting collection.

After his return to Ceylon he made several journeys into the interior,

and to many distant parts of the island, adding thus constantly and

extensively to his collections. During five years he made great

progress in the accumulation of materials towards his projected Flora,

which he expected to complete for publication in 1851. In allusion

to this great object of his ambition he wrote in 1844: “I trust to be

able to publish, in the course of a few years, a Flora of the island

worthy of the richness and beauty of its vegetation and of the en-

couragement afforded me by the home and local Governments. This,

however, as you are well able to judge, will be a work of no little

labour, as it must contain descriptions of from 4000 to 5000 species,

being considerably more than half of the plants defined by Linnzus

in the last edition of his ‘ Species Plantarum.’ ”

He returned about the middle of last year from one of his long

excursions made in company with Sir Emerson Tennent to Jaffna,

Trincomalee, and the eastern districts of the island: subsequently he

was constantly occupied in examining and registering the characters

of the plants of the large collection made during that journey, and

frequently complained of pain in the head, which he attributed to

too close application to these sedentary pursuits. He therefore

gladly availed himself of an invitation from Lord Torrington,

Governor of the island, to join him at Newera Ellia, the famed

Sanitarium of Ceylon, to which place he repaired on the 10th of

March last. He arrived there in excellent spirits, at three in the

afternoon, and after lunching with the Governor and his family re-

tired to rest after his long ride, when he was suddenly attacked by

a fit of apoplexy, which rendered him quite insensible, and of which

he died in a few hours. In communicating this sad news by the

last overland mail, Lord Torrington, Sir Emerson Tennent, and many

other persons of consideration in the island, spoke of it not only as

an irreparable public loss, but expressed extreme regret upon being

thus suddenly deprived of an invaluable friend, for whom they felt the

Linnean Society. 415

most sincere affection ; for Mr. Gardner possessed in a rare degree

the faculty of making friends in every direction. The cheerfulness of

his disposition, his never-tiring energy, the variety and extent of his

acquirements, his desire to impart information wherever required, his

vivacity and pleasing conversational powers, secured him wherever

he went the esteem and friendship of all well-informed persons.

Thus has been suddenly cut off in the prime of his life one of the

most active of the practical botanists of the day. It is much to

be desired that the work which he has advanced so far towards

completion may not be lost to science, and that a successor may be

found fully competent to arrange the large mass of materials already

accumulated ; and in carrying out this object, it is to be hoped, the

merit which belongs to this deserving botanist will be recorded to

the full extent of his due. Independently of the labours already

noticed, Mr. Gardner had just completed for publication a ‘ Ma-

nual of Indian Botany ;’ an elementary work of that nature having

been long a great desideratum to the numerous students of botanical

science in India. In addition to his contributions before mentioned,

he published in the ‘ Calcutta Journal of Natural History,’ several

interesting memoirs, viz. on the Cyrtandracee of Ceylon, on Anstru-

theria, Sarcandra, &c., Carria, Dysodidendron, Leucocodon, and on

Christisonia, &c., together with a valuable paper on the Podoste-

macee of the island and of Southern India, to which he added

descriptions of the plants of this order met with during his travels in

Brazil.

William Gordon, Esq., M.D.

William Horton Lloyd, Esq., well known to us all as one of the

most constant attendants on our Meetings, and for his liberal feel-

ings and kindliness of disposition, was born at Chapel-Allerton in the

neighbourhood of Leeds in the year 1784. His family, although not

boasting any great descent, were very respectable manufacturers in

Manchester. He was himself destined for the bar, and studied the

law for a considerable time; but conscientious scruples with regard

to the oath induced him to relinquish his idea of adopting the legal

profession, and he devoted himself to the cultivation of his taste for

natural science and antiquities, for which he had a stiong pre-

dilection. He became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1807, and

was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and one of the earliest

Members of the Zoological Society, of the Horticultural Society, of

the British Association, and of several other scientific and literary

institutions. For the Linnzan Society in particular he always en-

tertained the warmest regard ; and although he never published any-

thing, he constantly took a deep interest in the progress of science.

He died at his house in Park Square on the 18th of February in the

present year, having suffered for a year or two previously several

slight paralytic attacks, but retaining his faculties little impaired

almost to the last.

Alexander MacLeay, Esq., for more than a quarter of a century

Secretary to this Society, was born in the county of Ross on the

24th of June 1767. His father, who was Provost of the town of

416 Linnean Society.

Wick, was also a Deputy-Lieutenant of the county of Caithness,

and the representative of one of the most ancient families in the

north of Scotland. Mr. MacLeay was educated for commercial

pursuits, which he relinquished early in life, and. became in 1795

Chief Clerk in the Prisoners of War Office, in 1797 head of the de-

partment of Correspondence of the Transport Board, and in 1806

Secretary of that Board, which office he filled until the abolition of

the Board in 1818, when he retired upon a pension. In the year

1825 he was solicited by the late Earl Bathurst to undertake the im-

portant office of Colonial Secretary to the government of New South

Wales, which he held until the close of 1836. Having fixed his re-

sidence in the colony, with which he had now hecome completely

identified, he was chosen in 1843 to be the first Speaker of the Le-

gislative Council then established ; and in that capacity conducted

himself with so much ability, judgment and impartiality, as to

receive on his retirement from its duties in May 1846 the marked

approbation of both sides of the House.

In 1794 Mr. MacLeay became a Fellow of the Linnzan Society,

and in 1798 he succeeded Mr. Marsham in the office of Secretary,

which he held until his Colonial employment compelled him to re-

linquish it in 1825. The following Minute of Council on that occa-

sion, which was subsequently adopted by a General Meeting of the

Society, expresses the high sense universally entertained by the

Members of his long and useful services :—

‘The Linnzan Society of London take the earliest opportunity

after the retirement of Alexander Macleay, Esq. from the Secre-

taryship of the Society, to record upon their Minutes the high esti-

mation in which he is held by them on account of twenty-seven years

of unremitted and unrequited labour devoted to the interests of sci-

ence ; and that in quitting for a time this sphere of usefulness to fill

an honourable station in a distant country, he carries with him the

cordial esteem and sincere regret of this Society.”

As a naturalist, Mr. MacLeay devoted himself almost exclusively

to the study of insects, of which he had formed, previous to his

quitting England, the finest and most extensive collection then ex-

isting in the possession of a private individual. Of this great class

of animals he possessed an intimate knowledge, without, however,

having published anything on the subject, although he had made

preparations for a monograph of the singular genus Paussus, in which

his cabinet was peculiarly rich. He became a Fellow of the Royal

Society in 1809, and was also a Foreign Member of the Academy of

Sciences of Stockholm, and a Corresponding Member of the Academy

of Turin.

Mr. MacLeay married early in life a relation of the house of Bar-

clay of Urie, by whom he had a numerous family. He died at Syd-

ney, New South Wales, on the 18th of July 1848, in the 82nd year

of his age.

William Pilkington, Esq.

Robert James Nicholl Streeten, M.D.

John Frederick Walter, Esq., M.D.

Linnean Society. 417

Among our Foreign Members, the Society and the scientific world

have sustained a severe loss by the death of

Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher, Professor of Botany in the Univer-

sity of Vienna, and Director of the Botanic Garden of that city. He

was born at Presburg on the 24th of June 1804, and there acquired

his school education. His higher studies were pursued partly at

Pesth and partly at Vienna, where in 1823 he became a pupil of the

Archiepiscopal Seminary, being then destined for the church. But

after the completion of his theological education, and when he had

already taken the minor orders, family circumstances determined

him to re-enter the secular state in 1826. T'wo years afterwards he

was attached to the Imperial Library at Vienna, and the circum-

stances of his parents placed him in a state of easy independence.

From the time of his quitting the ecclesiastical profession he devoted

himself enthusiastically to the study of natural history, and more

especially of botany, and to that of the languages of Eastern Asia,

particularly Chinese. In botany he soon acquired so distinguished

a reputation as to mark him out for the Keepership of the Herbarium

in the Imperial Cabinet of Natural History; and in 1840, on the

death of Baron Jacquin, he became Professor of Botany and Director

of the Botanic Garden, which establishment he exerted himself

greatly to reorganize and improve.

Of the numerous and important works, which have proceeded from

his pen, the ‘Genera Plantarum’ is that on which his fame will

chiefly rest, as a work of immense labour, great research and pro-

found botanical science. It will long continue to be a book of

standard reference to the systematic botanist, of whose labours it is

a constant and indispensable companion.

In private life Professor Endlicher was a most excellent and

amiable man. He died at Vienna on the 28th of March of an apo-

plectic attack, caused as some physicians presumed by an effusion of

pus from the pars petrosa of the left side into the brain, as he had

suffered for many years from a polypus in the ear. On the previous

Monday he had received his friends with his usual calmness and

serenity, complaining only of a slight headache ; but at midday on

Wednesday he lost his speech and became insensible, and about

seven o'clock in the evening he ceased to exist, leaving a large circle

of warmly attached friends to deplore his premature loss.

Two Associates have also to be added to the list of deaths :—

Mr. David Cameron and Mr. William M<Nab.

At the election which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop

of Norwich was re-elected President ; William Yarrell, Esq., was

elected Treasurer; John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary; and

Richard Taylor, Esq., Under-Secretary. The following five Fellows

were elected into the Council in the room of others going out, viz. :

Thomas Bell, Esq., Francis Boott, M.D., John Gould, Esq., John

Hogg, Esq., and Richard Horsman Solly, Esq.

Among the presents announced by the Secretary were the follow-

ing :—

"The herbarium of the late Thomas Walter, Esq., author of the

‘Flora Caroliniana ;’ presented by John Fraser, Esq., A.L.S.

Ann, & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 27

41S: Linnean Society.

A Portrait of the late Sir Joseph Banks, Baronet, K.B., painted

by the late Thomas Phillips, Esq., R.A.; presented by Captain Sir

E. Home, Bart., R.N.

A Lithographed Portrait of the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of

Norwich, Pres. L.S., by T. H. Maguire ; presented by G. Ransome,

Esq., F.L.S.

There were also presented by W. A. Bromfield, M.D., F.LS.,

specimens of a Luzula growing abundantly at Apse Castle, near

Shanklin, Isle of Wight, and described by Dr. Bromfield as having

the divaricate and reflexed panicle of L. pilosa, with the fruit of

L. Forsteri, excepting that the seeds are scarcely above one-third or

one-fourth the size of those of the latter species. ‘The capsules (not

yet ripe) seem to be naturally smaller than in L. Forsteri, and much

shorter than the sepals, which thus appear to conceal them. Be-

sides their much smaller size, the seeds of the plant exhibited appear

to be rounder than in L. Forsteri, with a still shorter and very

obtuse appendage, and to come later to maturity than in that or

L. pilosa, as was shown by the accompanying specimens of both,

in which the capsules had attained to nearly their full dimensions,

whilst those of the new plant were much less advanced. This new

form is the prevailing one at Apse Castle, greatly exceeding either

of the two others or L. sylvatica (which also grows there) in quan-

tity, and is extremely plentiful on dry sloping banks amongst bushes,

and either growing alone or intermixed with the other three. The

form of the seeds proves, in Dr. Bromfield’s opinion, that it cannot be

a variety of L. pilosa, whilst their very small size and the form of

the capsule militate against its connection with L. Forsteri. So

far as yet observed, the plant is taller than either of these, with

longer roots and lower stem leaves; the leaves as broad as in L.

pilosa, and from their greater length more lax or drooping at

their extremities. The panicle, though much like that of L. pilosa,

would seem to be less compounded, and narrower or more oblong

in contour, and this last character coupled with the small size of

the capsules first drew Dr. Bromfield’s attention to what he would

otherwise have regarded as merely L. pilosa. It seems impro-

bable that it should be a hybrid between L. pilosa and L. Forsteri,

being so much more plentiful than the assumed parents, to say

nothing of the very minute seeds, so different in this respect from

those of either. Dr. Bromfield has not met with it as yet in any

other locality but that above mentioned.

June 5.—Thomas Horsfield, M.D., V.P., in the Chair.

Read a paper “On Ichneumon Atropos, Curt.’’ By George New-

port, Esq., F.R.S. & LS.

Several years ago the author obtained many specimens of this in-

sect both in the larva and perfect states at Canterbury, chiefly in the

year 1829, but he has not met with them since 1834. He has taken

the perfect insect in the month of July, and has many times reared

it from the larva state in which it is a parasite within the body of

the larva of Sphinx ligustri, on which he considers it to be more

common than on that of Acherontia Atropos. Mr. Newport gives

Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 419

some account of the habits and circumstances of its growth. It

occurs in the body of the Sphinz larva and in the pupa from August

to the following April, at which time it changes to a nymph, and

remains in this state for a month to six weeks and comes forth in

June. The anatomy of the larva was then described and shown to

be in every particular in strict accordance with the condition of life

under which this parasite exists, and confirmatory of the view of the

author that the habits of different species are invariably in accord-

ance with peculiarities of function, and that these are dependent

mainly on differences of detail of structure.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH.

March 14, 1850.—Professor Fleming, President, in the Chair.

Mr. M‘Nab exhibited a specimen of Stenocarpus Cunninghami in

flower ; a flowering spadix of Areca triandra, a palm which perfected

its fruit in the Botanic Garden last season; and a cluster of male

flowers of Chamerops humilis.

Dr. M‘Donald exhibited a specimen of the leaf of Phormium tena

grown in Argyllshire. The leaf was 6 feet 3 inches long, and 54

inches broad. He stated that the plant thrives well in that part of

Scotland, without any protection during winter. He also mentioned

that in many places on the Mull of Cantyre, myrtles, hydrangeas,

fuchsias, and other delicate plants, succeed admirably, without pro-

tection.

Mr. M‘Nab exhibited a specimen of Potentilla tridentata, sent by

Mr. Westwood as a part of the plant picked by him and Mr. C. Stew-

art, on Ben Wyvis, Ross-shire, about ten years since. Mr. M‘Nab

undertook to investigate the Ben Wyvis station for this plant during

the ensuing season.

Mr. M‘Nab also exhibited from Mr. Ramsay a specimen of red

fibrous matter attached to wood, taken from the wooden water-house

of the Water Company on the Pentland Hills. The substance ap-

peared to be very peculiar, and was remitted to Dr. Greville for ex-

amination.

Specimens of plants from the Quitinian Andes were presented from

W. Jameson, Esq., of Quito, arranged according to their localities, as

follows :—

I. Specimens of the Flora of Pomasqui and San Antonio, lat. 0° 0’:

height above the level of the sea 8697 feet.

If. Plants from the level of Quito, lat. 0° 13'8.: altitude 9524

feet above the level of the sea.

III. Plants from the Region of Shrubs, from 11,000 to 13,000

feet above the sea level.

IV. Those of the lofty range of the Andes, as Pichincha, Chim-

borazo and Antisana, from 13,000 to 15,500 feet above the level of

the sea.

Specimens of plants from Simla were exhibited from Lieut. R.

Maclagan. Simla is in lat, 31° 6’ N.; long. 77° 13! 22" EK. Alti-

tude, 7040 feet.

27%

420 Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

Temperature.

Maximum. Minimum. Rain in inches.

1841. 83:5 June 8. 29-0 Jan. 22 and 23.

1642. ,°82°0 May 31. ". 27") Beb.7 ® 61°226.

1843. ~ 81°8 June 19: 3Y°5 Jan. 10 93°147.

1844, 77:3 ,, 22. 24°3 Jan. 13 and 15. | 103-8362

TS45. 782 -". 20h 8O"S Neh lz. 116°363.

Weder te fee Te a Wee Rs ee ee 113°145.

Mean. 54:29

Dr. Balfour read a description of Sabal umbraculifera, a palm

which is now in fruit in the Botanic Garden. It has a stem of 9 or

10 feet in height, still covered by the bases of the fallen leaves, which,

in the progress of development, become split in a curious way at the

place where they join the stem. The plant has thirty flabelliform

fronds, the petioles of which are 12 feet in length, and the lamine 7 or 8

feet long, with about 100 laciniz or folds. The branching spadices

are 6 feet in length ; they are surrounded by numerous partial spathes,

and at present exhibit enormous clusters, containing several thousand

fruits of the size of large grapes. The fruit has a fleshy mesocarp,

and contains only one perfect seed, which has a brown spermoderm,

a cartilaginous white uniform perisperm, and a small dorsal embryo.

Specimens of the large fruiting spadix, the split petiole, and reticulum

of the palm, were exhibited.

Dr. Balfour also described Phenix sylvestris, a specimen of which

is flowering at present in the Botanic Garden. This palm has pin-

nate fronds 7 or 8 feet in length, and a spatha which splits on one

side at its upper part, forming a boat-shaped crowning of the spadix.

A specimen of a spathe inclosing a branching spadix of male flowers

was exhibited.

Dr. Douglas Maclagan read the following Notice regarding some

articles of the Vegetable Materia Medica.

Prunus Virginiana.— Under this name, borrowed from the United

States’ Pharmacopeeia, a bark has, during the last year or so, been

employed in considerable quantity in this country as a medicine, and

has found favour with several medical men. ‘This, it is presumed,

is the bark which is officinal in the United States, and which, though

bearing in the Pharmacopeeia, U.S., the designation of Prunus Vir-

giniana, is not the bark of the plant which was so named by Linneeus.

The Prunus Virginiana of Linneeus is a small shrub, resembling Ce-

rasus Padus, bearing a small dark red globular astringent fruit, which

is known in America by the name of Choke Cherry. The Prunus

Virginiana of the United States’ Pharmacopeeia is the bark of a tree

of from 60 to 100 feet high, the Cerasus serotina (DC.), the Wild

or Black Cherry of the Americans, but which Michaux appears to

have confounded with the shrubby plant, and has also named Cerasus

Virginiana. Sir W. Hooker, in the ‘Flor. Boreal. Amer.,’ adopts

Michaux’s name for the large tree, but has obviously transposed the

two names, for he quotes Linnzus’s synonym of Prunus Virginiana

for the large tree, and applies the name C. serotina (DC.) to the

Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 421

shrubby plant, and calls the fruit of the large tree Choke Cherry,

whereas it should be Wild Cherry or Black Cherry.

Hooker’s description of the large tree, under the name of Cerasus

Virginiana, corresponds with that given by Wood and Bache, in the

United States’ Dispensatory, of the same tree, under the name of

C. serotina, DC., with the synonym C. Virginiana of Michaux, and

answers to specimens sent from Canada by Dr. Philip Maclagan ;

whilst Hooker’s description of the shrub under the name of C. sero-

tina answers also to specimens sent from the same quarter.

The two plants appear to be very distinct in every respect, except

the names, which have thus been transposed and confused. The

nomenclature may be satisfactorily arranged by calling the shrub

C. Virginiana (Torrey and Gray), and the large tree C. serotina

(DC.). At the same time it must be added, that Sir W. Hooker

(Flor. Bor. Am.) expresses doubts as to their specific difference, re-

marking that the serratures and tufts of hair on the underside of the

leaves are undoubtedly variable, and that in point of form of foliage

it is not easy even to distinguish the American shrub from our C.

Padus. The large tree, C. serotina (DC.), which is the species

officinal in the United States’ Pharmacopeeia, on account of its bark,

is also used as timber by the American cabinet-maker. Sir W.

Hooker gives Canada as a doubtful station for it, but it is found in

Canada West, where Dr. P. Maclagan saw one specimen cut down

which was 80 feet high.

The bark, as found in the shops of the United States, is thus de-

scribed by Wood and Bache : —It is in pieces of various sizes, more

or less curved laterally, usually destitute of epidermis, of a lively

reddish cinnamon colour, brittle and pulverizable, presenting a reddish

gray fracture, and affording a fawn-coloured powder. When fresh

it has the odour of peach leaves, and yields by distillation, according

to the experiments of Dr. Procter, a volatile oil, conjomed with

hydrocyanic acid; the same is got from cherry-laurel leaves. It

contains also a bitter principle and tannin. The Americans use the

bark recently dried, as it deteriorates by keeping.

The bark, as it was last year brought to the shops in Edinburgh,

is in narrow strips, varying in length from a few inches to a foot

and a half, with a smooth gray epidermis, which curls itself off in

horizontal strips, a character which is very marked in C. serotina

in its native woods. On pulling off the epidermis, a suberous layer

of a greenish white colour and silky lustre is exposed. ‘The inner

bark is of a bright cimnamon-red, inclining to orange, and there are

often found adhering to it portions of a very white alburnum. This

wood is tough, and not easily pulverized. It is bitter and very

astringent to the taste. On inquiry as to the source from whence

this bark, which was sent from London, was derived, it was stated

to be the officinal American bark of British growth. Now, C. sero-

tina is not a common tree in Britain. This bark is, from its appear-

ance, not that of C. Padus, nor of the shrubby C. Virginiana, from

which circumstances, as well as from its general aspect, Dr. Maclagan

concludes that it is merely the bark of C. avium.

422 Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

The druggists here, dissatisfied with this English bark, have got

the officinal substance imported from America. It is now brought _

in 1 Ib. packages, as made up in America; is in small fragments not

more than an inch long, is free from epidermis, and otherwise corre-

sponds with Wood and Bache’s description.

Dr. Maclagan made various experiments with different samples of

the English bark, to determine whether or not it would yield any

hydrocyanic acid ; but though he subjected four separate portions to

distillation, he could not obtain from it the least trace of this active

principle. It is obvious, therefore, that the bark of English growth

wants one of the most important constituents of the American bark,

and is comparatively of little value. Dr. Maclagan’s trials of it in

practice had not tended to raise it in his estimation. It did not ap-

pear to have any special advantage over other bitters of which there

are plenty, and from the great quantity of altered tannin and extractive

which is taken up in the infusion, it even appeared frequently to

disagree with the stomach. From the American imported bark,

however, Dr. Maclagan separated hydrocyanic acid in small quantity

by distillation. It made a very bitter infusion, and deposited some

tannin on cooling. Alcohol appears to take up more of the bitter,

and water more of the astringent matters of these barks. Even the

American bark, however, which is now in the best shops substituted

for the English, does not appear to possess that combination of

sedative and calmative action with tonic power, for which it is pre-

ferred in the United States, and did not appear to be so useful, and

cannot be so uniform in quality, as a combination of some of our

common bitters, such as colombo with hydrocyanie acid, a form of

prescription which had proved very efficacious in his hands. In fact

the want of calmative property had led to its being generally prescribed

with hydrocyanie acid added to it, and thus it did not appear to

Dr. Maclagan to have any special advantages.

The fact that the bark of the C. serotina yields hydrocyanated oil

has been established by the experiments of Procter quoted above ;

that the bark of C. Padus yields hydrocyanic acid also has been long

known. Dr. Maclagan had made some experiments with the fresh

twigs of C. Virginiana from the Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, and

found that it yielded hardly any volatile oil, not enough to render

the distilled product milky, but it gave a certain amount of hydro-

eyanic acid.

From two ounces of fresh bark distilled with water, he obtained a

distillate which gave 0:08 of real hydrocyanic acid ; but the decoction

contained little tannin, was barely bitter, and had rather a sweetish

taste. It was obvious, therefore, that the bark. of the shrubby C.

Virginiana would be of little use as a medicine.

Dr. Maclagan likewise examined the bark of C. Padus. From

two ounces of the fresh bark he got by distillation a fluid which had

a distinct layer of oil on the surface, and contained 0°26 of real hy-

drocyanic acid, or more than three times the amount got from C€.

Virginiana. The decoction of C. Padus also was richer in tannin,

and was strongly and agreeably bitter. Dr. Maclagan had not had

Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 423

opportunity of examining the fresh bark of C. avium or of C. serotina,

but from the examination of the English and American commercial

barks, which he presumed to be derived from these trees respect-

ively, and from the above examination of C. Padus, it appeared to

him that if any such bark was to be used in this country at all,

that of the last-named species would probably answer as well as any

other.

Dr. Maclagan likewise exhibited specimens of, and made some

remarks on, the following medicinal plants, which are in use in

America, though little known in this country :—

Triosteum perfoliatum, Linn.—The bark of the root is cathartic,

and in large doses emetic, and as such is employed in America under

the name of Fever-root.

Phytolacca decandra, Willd.—Poke-weed. The root and berries

are emeto-cathartic and somewhat narcotic, and have been used in

America in chronic rheumatism. In many of its actions it appears to

resemble mezereon.

Eupatorium perfoliatum, Linn.—Thoroughwort. The leaves are

esteemed tonic and diaphoretic, and have been used with success in

intermittent fever. It appears from the statements of Wood and

Bache to have arrested intermittent fevers chiefly by acting as an

emetic, and can hardly be looked upon as possessing the properties

of an anti-periodic.

Ariseema atrorubens, Blume; Arum triphyllum, Willd.—Indian

Turnip. The recent root is extremely acrid, but when dried becomes

bland, and yields its starch readily, quite white and pure. The half-

dried root has been used as a stimulant expectorant in chronic catarrh,

and when mixed with sugar, as a stimulant application to sore mouths

in children. The starch resembles under the microscope that of drum

maculatum, being in small grains of a rounded form, but frequently

presenting a somewhat angular aspect.

Podophyllum peltatum, Linn.—May-apple, or Mandrake. The

root is an efficient purgative, acting very like jalap, and applied to

the same class of cases in which that drug is used. The leaves have

the character of being somewhat narcotic, but the fruit, which is

sometimes called Wild-lemon, is eaten with impunity.

Mr. M‘Nab read the following list of the times of appearance in

flower of plants in the open borders of the Botanic Garden, Edin-

burgh, from 15th February till 14th March, 1850, in continuation of

a similar list presented at the February meeting :—

Feb. 15. Hepatica triloba, vars. Feb, 22. Daphne Mezereon.

16. Crocus Susianus (cloth of 22. Knappia agrostidea.

old). 23. Primula denticulata.

16. Corylus Avellana (hazel). 23. Vinea minor.

18. Leucojum vernum. 24. Petasites vulgaris.

18. Symplocarpus foetidus. 25. Daphne Laureola.

18. Viola odorata. 25. Dondia Epipactis.

20. Capsella Bursa-pastoris. 25. Potentilla Fragariastrum.

21. Arabis albida. 26. Crocus sulphureus, and

21. Bellis perennis. other garden vars.

21. Lamium purpureum. 27. Tussilago Farfara.

424, Miscellaneous.

Feb. 28. Nordmannia cordifolia. Mar. 11. Scilla bifolia, ceerulea (13th

Mar. 1. Hyoscyamus Scopolia. of March).

1. Primula nivalis. 11. Pulmonaria mollis.

2. Doronicum caucasicun. 11. Vinca major.

2. Tussilago nivea. 12. Tussilago alba.

4. Narcissus pumila. 12. Sisyrinchium grandiflorum.

5. Anemone Pulsatilla. 13. Hyoscyamus Physaloides.

7. Asarum Europzum. 13. Cheiranthus Cheiri.

8. Omphalodes verna. 14. Draba aizoides.

9. Iberis sempervirens. 14. Aponogeton distachyon (in

11. Cardamine hirsuta. open-air pond).

11. Erythronium Dens-Canis. 14. Symphytum caucasicum.

11. Scilla bifolia, alba. 14. Ribes sanguineum.

Mr. Evans stated that he had made similar observations on the

flowering of plants in the Experimental Garden. In a warm situa-

tion Sisyrinchium grandiflorum and Primula denticulata were in flower

on the 19th of February. Bellis perennis flowered on the 25th of

February, and the Apricot on the Ist of March.

Specimens of dye-woods were sent for exhibition by Michael Con-

nal, Esq.

Mr. Stark exhibited specimens of Leptothrix tinctoria and Chylo-

cladia refleca from Mr. Ralfs ; also of Sphacelaria plumosa in fruc-

tification, S. scoparia from Arran, and 8S. filicina from the county

of Down, Ireland.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On the Pathology of the Silk-Worm (Bombyx Mori, L.). Examina-

tion of the Blood. By ¥F. KE. Guirtn-MENEVILLE.

Tue author has directed his attention to that most terrible malady

which attacks the silk-worm, and is known in the nurseries by the

name of Muscardine. It depends upon a microscopic plant belonging

to the group Botrytis, which developes itself in the worm whilst living,

and destroys it at the very period at which it spins the precious

cocoons which ought to repay all the care and expense bestowed

upon the animal.

The blood of a healthy silk-worm examined as it leaves the body,

exhibits under the microscope, globules analogous to those of the

human blood ; but these globules are developed and reproduced from

each other during the entire course of the life of the animal, and pass

through the following phases, which may be observed in the same

drop of blood. At first there are minute globules exhibiting in their

centre simply a single opake point ; the globule when grown larger

presents a nucleus composed of several granules of equal size. At a

third period, these granules become disaggregated and tend towards

the circumference of the globule; finally, they push outwards the

various points of its external envelope upon which they press ; hence

the circumference of the globule presents projections resembling buds

which soon open and give passage to the granules which have pro-

duced them ; these when once set free in the serum become surrounded

by a transparent membrane, and form new globules in the first stage

of development. These curious facts, which the author only admits

Miscellaneous. 425

after numerous observations, and having verified them in several other

species of insects, are still less astonishing than those which charac-

terize the pathological state of the same blood.

The blood of the worms when affected with other maladies than

muscardine, contains fewer globules in proportion to the proximity of

the death of the animal. But the appearance of the blood explains

the disappearance of the globules. At first, those found in it in

small numbers are all mature, or have even already discharged their

granules externally ; whilst globules in progress of development are

entirely absent, but in their place are observed corpuscles in every

respect resembling the granules of the nucleus of the mature globules.

These corpuscles, which are all alike, move with rapidity, although

there appears to be no cause for their motion, which moreover pre-

sents all the characters of voluntary motion.

M. Guérin, by numerous observations which have been verified by

other persons, has acquired the conviction that these corpuscles are

the granules which have escaped from the nucleus of the globules

existing in the blood. These granules under the influence of the

morbid state have not been able to form new globules, and then

enter upon a kind of independent vitality which begins the disorga-

nization of the diseased individual by that of its nutritive fluid. We

can now understand the absence of the globules in the earliest periods

of their development, and the constantly greater diminution of the glo-

bules in proportion as the animal approaches its end; it is a source

which flows off without renovation. M. Guérin-Meneville gives the

name of Hematozoides to the animals thus developed in the diseased

blood. He has also met with them in other insects ; and what is still

more curious, is that he has succeeded in producing them at pleasure

in healthy insects, by causing them to endure hunger for some days ;

so that, at least in insects, depauperization of the blood from the action

of debilitating causes of any kind is caused by the inaptitude of the

existing nucleolar granules to form new ones. This result undoubtedly

deserves great attention.

But muscardine has presented to M. Guérin some facts of a still

more remarkable character. In it, whether the worm has acquired

the disease naturally, or some sporules of Botrytis bossiana which

produces muscardine have been placed upon its body with the pomt

of a needle, even before the morbid condition is announced by any

external signs, the blood begins to exhibit the heematozoids; they

increase every hour, and intermixed with them very short navicular

bodies are soon seen, but which speedily become developed, even

under the mere influence of moisture into the thallus or root of the

muscardic Botrytis. At this period of the disease, M. Guérin has

seen one of the most curious phenomena in organic nature, and one

which bears upon several long-debated questions ; he has seen the

Hematozoides, those animated corpuscles which originated from the

nucleolar granules, gradually become transformed into the thallus of

the Botrytis. They acquire a more elongated form, the motion still

existing ; then when they have acquired a further state of elongation,

the motion ceases, and the animate matter is metamorphosed into

vegetable matter, which however continues to grow more and more.

426 Miscellaneous.

So that after the death of the muscardic worm, the blood is filled

with the thallus in every stage of development. In the latter case,

crystals of a perfectly definite form are mixed with the thallus ; these

are products of some chemical reaction, and are undoubtedly the

cause of the rigidity of the dead body of the muscardic worm.

By means of abstractions of the circulating fluid, which are very

easily effected, M. Guérin is able to satisfy himself of the state of

health of silk-worms, or to predict to the silk-worm cultivator the

invasion of such and such diseases; and this is useful, especially in

muscardine ; for by ceasing to feed those worms which are doomed

to an inevitable death, an enormous quantity of mulberry-leaves are

ceconomized, and the pecuniary loss entailed by such accident is con-

siderably diminished.

The reproduction of the globules of the blood appears to be quite

new and of extreme importance in a physiological point of view. It

explains very simply the unequal diameters of the globules of the

blood of the Invertebrata, and directs us to researches in other species

‘of this extensive group with a view of ascertaining the same facts,

and to the Vertebrata themselves to find its analogies. In the latter,

the perfect uniformity in the globules of the blood might @ priori

indicate a want of analogy; but, if real, we must first accurately

determine it ; if it be only apparent, we must discover the truth which

is still unknown.

On the other hand, we must bear in mind, that in the Vertebrata,

the nutritive fluid is met with in different states ; the chyle, lymph, and

blood. The blood is its ultimate expression, the terminal or perfect

state ; it is probably not in it therefore that we must seek for these

pheenomena of degeneration of the globules. Those of the lymph,

which are colourless and smaller, have long been regarded as an earlier

stage of them. By a coincidence which is at least remarkable in the

frog, the triton, and the tortoise, where it has been possible to make

observations upon the lymph, the size of the lymphatic globules pointed

out by authors is exactly that of the nuclei of the globules of the

blood in the same animal; the shape, certainly, differs, but the re-

lation of size is constant. Lastly, there is a curious fact. connected

with this question: Schultz, who has observed the formation of

the area vasculosa in the embryo of birds, states that the nucleus is

the first part which appears; the vesicle being ultimately formed

around it.—Gazette des Hépitaux, Feb. 2, 1850.

BRITISH MUSEUM.

To the Editor of the Annals of Natural History.

Sir,—Having been in the habit of continually using the Natural

History collection in the British Museum, never finding any difficulty,

and knowing by experience that it is the most completely arranged,

and far more easy of access than any other collection in the country,

or on the continent, I was surprised to read in the Report of the

British Museum Commissioners, the following words as the bases of

all their observations on the Department :—

“Being aware from the Memorial presented to the First Lord of

the Treasury on the 10th of March 1847, by a very numerous body of

Miscellaneous. 427

the cultivators of natural history science, that a wide-spread dissatisfac-

tion prevails among them relative to the actual condition of and

means of access to the vast and valuable materials in the Natural

History Departments of the British Museum, we have necessarily

directed our attention to this subject of complaint.”’ “I was induced to

look for the memorial, and you may well suppose my astonishment to

find that it contains no such complaints, but was entirely devoted to

another subject. The words of the memorial are as follows: “A

strong feeling pervades the naturalists of our country that the pro-

motion of the science of natural history is very inadequately provided

for by the present constitution of the Trustees of the British Museum.”

The complaint here made was rectified by the election of Dr. Buck-

land as a Trustee.

If the other statements of the Commission are no more accurate

than the above, their Report cannot be of much value, and the ex-

penses incurred by their three years’ occupation is a useless expendi-

ture.—F.R.S.

ECHINOCACTUS EYRIESII.

Highgate, April 17, 1850.

My pear Si1r,—You will remember my calling your attention some

time ago to the characters which are assumed by Echinocactus

Eyriesii. The artificial divisions which have been made of the Cac-

taceze have always seemed to me unsatisfactory. The point is one

of some interest to those who conceive, as I confess that I do, that

clearness and definiteness of principle in the characterization of genus

and species is a matter of much importance to the progress of natural

history. I think I can satisfy any reasonable person that Echino-

cactus Eyriesii cannot be separated from Cereus, if Dame Nature is

to be taken as a guide instead of mere arbitrary fancy. I take Z.

Lyriesti alone now, because it seems to be regarded as typical of the

genus, and because I have had the longest opportunities of obser-

ving it.

I suppose nobody will contend that the mere matter of the time

which it takes for a plant (or anything else) to reach maturity and

its characteristic form, is to fix the determination of genus. This

may, when strongly marked, be well enough for a specific distinction,

but it cannot, surely, yield a generic one. Else, on every principle

of logic, each different kind of Cereus must make a different genus.

If two plants, belonging to the same family, and in the characters

of whose flowers no essential distinction can be pointed out, assume,

when arrived at mature age, a tendency to a similar habit, it seems

to me that we get only into confusion, and make all classification

mere moonshine, if we do not put them into the same genus.

Now to my friend Hehinocactus Eyriesii. And I call it my friend,

because, though not by any means a frequent denizen of the green-

house, I am sure it ought to be so, if purity, elegance, and fragrance

in a flower can give a claim. The gardeners pretend it is a shy

bloomer. That must be owing to bad managenient. I do not know

any cactus which is a freer bloomer. Ihave never passed a year

without a constant succession, on the same plant, of its exquisite

and delicately fragrant flowers. I have several plants of it. One of

428 Miscellaneous.

these I have had for more than ten years. It must be thirteen years

old, from my observation of the rate of growmg. At three years old

it was, according to the received descriptions, ‘‘ subglobose,” &c.

But with its growth, it has altogether lost this character. And,

while the flowers are identical in general characters with those of the

Cereus,—very much more identical in detail with many species of

the Cereus than those of different received species of Cereus are with

one another,—it is quite impossible to separate the plant itself, in

its general habit, from any characters taken from a general survey of

the Cereus. The plant in question stands beside a specimen of Cereus

whose flower that of the Echinocactus very nearly resembles, and

which is remarkably full-grown and stout. Both plants grow tall and

straight. Both have deep straight nbs. And, in both, the tubercles

are arranged, with reference to one another on the adjoining ribs, im

a regular figure, the quincuncial,—a matter which will, I think, be

remarked in all the numerously ribbed species of Cereus, and a similar

character of regular relative arrangement in those which have only

three or four ribs. The Echinocactus is now nearly a foot high. It

has continually, and regularly, grown in height, but does not get any

broader.

1 could enlarge on some other points of character; but this letter

has already become longer than I intended. I will only add, that

young plants sometimes run into the long thin form of so many of

the Cereus. I have had young shoots of Echinocactus which could

not be distinguished from young shoots of even Cereus flagelliformis ;

—which will be admitted to be about as extreme a comparison as

could be made.

Thinking that any observations which can tend to the elucidation,

or fixation (if I may say so), of the important and interesting question

of What is a Genus? cannot be wholly useless, I place the above very

much at your service.

I am, my dear Sir, very truly yours,

W. Francis, Ph.D. J. TouLMIN SMITH.

CAUSE OF THE POTATO DISEASE.

The precise cause of the potato disease is still unknown; but we

are able at least to eliminate certain presumed causes, and to prove

where the disease begins, and how it reaches the tubers. It is pretty

generally admitted at present that the parts of the plant exposed to

the air are first attacked, and that their diseased state precedes that

of the tubers, and probably causes it. The following is a rather

curious proof that such is the case. M. de Gheldere of Thourout in

Belgium grafted some tobacco plants upon potatoes, according to

Tschudy’s method. Success was probable, as the Nicotiana and

Solanum belong to the same family. The grafts did not merely take,

a fact of itself very interesting, but the plants happening to be ma

field of potatoes entirely attacked by the disease, the grafted stocks

alone remained exempt. If the tubers were sound in this case, it

can only be attributed to the presence of the leaves of tobacco not

liable to the disease, instead of leaves of the potato itself. The fact

Miscellaneous. 429

is recorded in M. Ch. Morren’s Report on the Exhibition of the pro-

ducts of Belgian agriculture and horticulture, 1847.—Bibliotheque

Universelle, Feb. 1850.

On the Nature of the Gregarine. By Dr. F. Stein.

The author has raised the number of species of insects in which

Gregarine occur to 68. Previously it was known only of 29. With

the addition of the Myriapoda, Crustacea and Annelides (the Lum-

brici contain some in their male organs ; Henle), the number amounts

to 80. They are for the majority voracious and carnivorous animals ;

at all events they never feed upon fresh vegetable matter. This dis-

tribution of the Gregarine in species whose kind of life is so exclusive

evidently proves that their germs are introduced with the food.

The body of the Gregarine is an ovoid, fusiform or cylindrical sac,

everywhere closed, without any trace of mouth or anus. In some

species the body is simple, but most frequently it is separated into

two parts. The anterior portion forms a hemispherical or conical

segment, separated from the remainder by a strangulation. A verti-

cal septum corresponds to this constriction, and thus divides the in-

terior cavity into two portions. This septum had not been previously

observed. In other species the body is divided into three cavities by

two strangulations and two corresponding internal septa.

In accordance with these differences of organization, the author

separates the Gregarine into three natural families :—

1. The Monocystidee or simple Gregarine, without strangulation

and without internal septum.

2. The Gregarinariee, or ordinary Gregarine with the body di-

vided into two parts.

3. The Didimophydee, or Gregarine whose body is divided into

three portions, as if it resulted from the adhesion of two individuals,

one from each of the preceding families.

The envelope of the Gregarine consists of a hyaline, transparent,

smooth and elastic membrane. Sometimes the outer surface is pro-

longed into immoveable filaments or into vibratile cilia (Henle found

the latter to be the case in the Gregarine from the Lumbrici).

The interior presents not a trace of organization ; it is filled with

a liquid, probably albuminous, in which a considerable number of

globules float, which the author considers to be globules of fat. The

young individuals contain a less number, and are consequently more

transparent. Dr. Stein confirms the presence of a nucleus placed

freely in the contents of the Gregarine. It is always simple in the

Monocystidee and the Gregarinariee; one species of the third

family exhibited two, another contained but one. Although the re-

production of these singular organisms is still quite obscure, several

facts appear to throw some light upon the subject. One of the most

important is the following observation of Von Siebold.

The thin intestines of a dipterous larva (Sczara nitidicollis) con-

tain, along with numerous Gregarine (G. caudata), a large number

of round vesicles filled with imumerable minute bodies of a turnip

shape, called Navicellee by Von Siebold. They are composed of a

soft nucleus, and of a hard and transparent envelope. Henle again

430 Miscellaneous.

met with them in the genital organs of a Lumbricus, accompanied by

true Gregarine. These two facts evidently demonstrate a relation

between the Navicellee and the development of the Gregarine. Nu-

merous observations made by Dr. Stein on the development of the

Navicellee in the Lumbricus, prove that these are only stages of meta-

morphosis of the Gregarine. After having observed some trans-

itions between the genus Zygocystis (a Gregarina where two indivi-

duals adhere by the anterior portion of their body) and the cysts in

which the Navicelle are developed, Dr. Stein compares their forma-

tion to the reproduction by conjugation observed in some Confervee.

Observations made upon other Gregarine inhabiting the intestinal

canal of insects appear to confirm this view. It would thence result

that two individuals unite at first by juxtaposition. In these adult

pairs each individual assumes an oval shape. The interior septum

separating the cavity of the body into two portions is re-absorbed ; the

two individuals then appear like two hemispheres pressed one against

the other ; they then secrete a gelatinous liquid, which solidifies, en-

veloping the two. Lastly, the particular membrane of each individual

is re-absorbed, and their contents unite into a single granular sphere,

which is gradually converted into Navicelle. These bodies, called

germinating granules by Dr. Stem, are frequently met with in the

excrements of different insects, either free from their cysts or still

contained in their envelopes (for instance in Tenebrio molitor). From

thence they arrive with the food in the intestinal canal of other indi-

viduals, where on their development they give rise to Gregarine.—

Muller's Archiv and Bibl. Univ., August 1849.

WAY IN WHICH TOADS SHED THEIR SKINS.

I have a small house under my care for growing cucumbers.

There is a bed in the middle of it, and the soil is about 3 feet high

from the ground (7. e. to the top of the hills where the plants are

in). A person therefore standing in the house can examine an ob-

ject placed on the hill with ease. Last Saturday, about 7 o'clock a.m.,

I uncovered the house, and went in to see that all was right, when to

my surprise I saw my pet companion, a fine toad, apparently in the

agonies of death. It was seated at the end of the ridge or hill of

soil; its mouth or rather under-jaw opening every few seconds (the

top jaw did not move), the eyes shut, and the body violently con-

vulsed each time the jaw opened, and with each convulsion of the

body the right fore-foot was raised to the head. I placed myself in

front of it, and perceived that it was drawing something into its

mouth each time the jaw moved ; at that instant the right eye opened,

it then inflated the body on the left side and drew in the right,

placing at the same time the left fore-foot on the head behind the

eye and drawing it down to the mouth ; it then appeared to hold its

foot in the mouth for about a second, when it drew it out, and I di-

stinctly saw the three points of skin that came off its toes outside its

lips till the next opening of the jaw, when they were drawn into the

mouth. When it drew its foot over its left eye (which before was

shut), it broke out as bright as ever. Some folds of the skin adhered

to the left leg, but by two or three motions of the jaw they were

Meteorological Observations. 431

gone, and in about a minute the skin was drawn off the lips—the

toad had eaten its own skin, and there it stood with its new covering

as bright as if it had been fresh varnished. I endeavoured to touch

it, to feel if it was clammy, but the creature gave a vigorous jump,

and the soil adhered to its legs. I looked at it in an hour afterwards ;

it had then begun to resume its dingy brown colour. The time it

took to get off its head-dress was only a few minutes. . It appeared to

me that each time its jaw opened it drew the skin forward, while it

distended the body on the side to be uncovered. W.TurNER.—

Gardeners’ Chronicle, Mar. 1850.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR MARCH 1850.

Chiswick.— March 1. Hazy: very fine: overcast. 2. Densely overcast. 3.

Cloudy. 4. Cloudy: clear and frosty at night. 5. Frosty: fine: cloudy.

6,7. Foggy: fine: clear. & Hazy. 9. Slight fog: fine: clear. 10. Very fine.

11. Clear and fine: frosty. 12. Frosty: very fine: clear. 13. Frosty, with

slight fog: very fine. 14. Overcast. 15. Overcast: clear, with sharp’frost at night.

16. Frosty: overcast: clear. 17. Frosty: cloudy: sunshine occasionally: clear and

frosty. 18, Frosty and fine, 19, 20. Cloudy, 21. Cloudy and cold: clear and

frosty. 22. Hoar-frost: cloudy. 23. Heavy clouds: sleet-showers. 24. Slight

fall of snow-flakes : severe frost at night. 25. Clear and frosty: cloudy: clear:

frosty. 26. Overcast. 27. Foggy: slight haze: frosty. 28. Slight haze: bright

sun with dry cold air: clear and frosty. 29. Foggy: cloudy: clear. 930, 31.

Overcast.

Mean temperature of the Month .,.....sscsccessecsssecscveeee ST TL

Mean temperature of March 1849 .........sesseeeeees 4pconde 41 *56

Mean temperature of March for the last twenty-three years 42 °81

Average amount of rain in March.......... wieedes drags iceoessae O)°S6inCHe

Boston.—March 1,2. Cloudy. 3. Fine: rainr.m. 4. Cloudy. 5—7. Fine.

8,9. Cloudy. 10. Fine. 11. Cloudy. 12,13. Fine, 14,15, Cloudy. 16.

Cloudy: rain a.m. 17,18. Fine. .19. Cloudy: rain a.m. 20. Cloudy. 21.

Fine. 22. Cloudy. 23. Fine: rain early a.m. 24. Cloudy : snow a.m. and p.m.

25. Cloudy. 26,27. Fine, 28. Fine: raina.m. 29, 30. Fine. $1. Cloudy:

rain A.M.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire—March 1. Fine: a shower early a.m. 2.

Slight shower during night: thick p.m. 3. Rain heavy a.m.: cleared. 4. Frost:

clear and fine, 5. Moistallday. 6. Mild and growing: moist. 7. Fine spring

day. 8. Still finer: clear and warm. 9. Dull and moist: slight shower. 10.

Clear and fine: slight shower. 11. Frost: clearand bright. 12. Frost: cloudy.

13. Frost, notsosevere. 14,15. Mild: cloudy: no frost. 16. East wind: dull.

17. Dull: raw: cold: shower. 18. Dull and cloudy, but mild. 19. Dull a.m. :

cleared: rain p.m. 20. Very fine: slight drizzle. 21. Fine, though raw a.m.

22. Dry, but cloudy: stormy r.m. 23. Frost: snow: wind. 24. Hard frost:

snow: calmp.m. 25. Frost very hard: thermometer 213°. 26. Frost slight :

heavy snow a.m. 27. Frost severe: snow again. 28. Frost still harder: clear.

29. Frost still. 30, Frost moderate: hail: rainr.m. 31, Rain: cloudy and

foggy P.M.

Mean temperature of the Month .,......seeeresessececssssseeeees 40S

Mean temperature of March 1849 ...... Tet asaacdeeae o secesese 41 ‘8

Mean temperature of March for the last twenty-eight years, 39 °6

Average rain in March for twenty-three years .......6.,..00+ 2°35 inches.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—March 1. Showers: drops. 2. Drizzle. 3. Cloudy:

showers. 4, Snow: cloudy. 5. Damp: rain. 6. Drizzle: cloudy. 7. Damp.

8. Fine: drizzle. 9. Cloudy: showers. 10. Sleet: aurora. 11, Bright: clear:

aurora. 12, Drizzle. 13, Damp: drizzle. 14. Drizzle: damp. 15. Bright:

damp. 16. Cloudy. 17. Drops: showers. 18. Hazy: cloudy. 19. Cloudy.

20. Bright: drops. 21. Cloudy: drops. 22. Showers: snow-showers. 23,

Hail-showers: snow-showers. 24. Snow-drift: snow-showers. 25, Snow-

showers; large halo, 26, Snow-showers, 27, 28. Bright; snow-showers, 29,

Bright ; clear, 30, Cloudy, 31, Drops: cloudy,

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THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[SECOND SERIES.]

No. 30. JUNE 1850.

XXXVII.—Notes on an Examination of Lamarck’s species of

Fossil Terebratule *. By Tuomas Davipson, Esq., Member

of the Geol. Soc. of France. Illustrated by figures of all the

species drawn from the original specimens.

Tue natural history of the invertebrated animals by the cele-

brated Chevalier de Lamarck is a work so generally consulted by

all naturalists that it is unnecessary here to allude to its scientific

value. Some parts however are not so clear as might be desired,

owing to the state of science at that period, and especially from

the want of figures illustrative of the text, so necessary an ap-

pendix to all specific descriptions.

The fossil Terebratule especially required some investigation,

and on the suggestion of Mr. Morris, who had previously ex-

amined the Lamarckian species, and other paleontologists, I

determined to visit Paris in February last, and endeavour to ob-

tain the loan of all the typical specimens described in Lamarck’s

volume and preserved in the collections of that metropolis.

Lamarck having had the misfortune of losing his sight, with-

out the remotest hope of regaining it, during the publication of

the sixth volume of his ‘ Animaux sans Vertébres +,’ M. Valen-

ciennes, at his suggestion, took upon himself the determination

of the species of the genus Terebratula that he was able to see in

the Paris collections: so that it is in reality to M. Valenciennes

that science is indebted for the publication of that part of the

work relating to the Brachiopoda. On expressing to Prof. Milne-

Edwards and Valenciennes my wish to imvestigate those speci-

mens of Lamarck’s in the museum of the Garden of Plants, they

at once in the most liberal manner (after having obtained the

consent of the Executive Council of that establishment) lent me

the specimens to bring to England in order that I might more

carefully examine and illustrate them, and I here publicly express

* Animaux sans Vertebres, vi. Feb. and Jume 1819. t Ib. p. 244.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.2. Vol. v. 28

re /

434 Mr. T. Davidson on Lamarck’s species of

my sincere thanks to those gentlemen of the Garden of Plants

for the great confidence they reposed in me, and for the unlimited

assistance they have always shown to those who take an interest

in the study of science.

All the species described were not however to be found in the

collection of the Garden of Plants; the greater number belonged

to Lamarck’s private collection, which became at his death the

property of the Prince Massena, who sold them to M. le Baron

Benjamin Delessert, and which now form part of his extensive

and celebrated museum. M. Chenu, Curator of that Museum,

in the most liberal manner placed at my disposal the remainmg

type specimens of Lamarck’s collection. The specimens from

the Garden of Plants are all ticketed by M. Valenciennes, the ori-

ginal describer ; all those in B. Delessert’s collection are labeled

by Lamarck himself. M. Valenciennes has also, in the kindest

possible manner, given me all the information in his power rela-

tive to some of the species which had presented any difficulty.

The original monograph of Fossil Terebratulz, published thirty

years ago (1819), was one of the first works written by the justly

celebrated Valenciennes, and appeared at a time when little was

known on the subject, and it is but justice that those species

then established should be retained in the nomenclature where

no objections exist. At that period authors were not in the

habit, or rather did not feel so much the importance, of giving

any reference to locality or strata; they simply contented them-

selves with a short Latin description of the outer form of the

object under examination, so that with very few exceptions there

exist no positive data as to the locality or geological position of

the specimens in Lamarck’s work. There is also some difficulty

in a few cases of defining which were Lamarck’s real types, as

several specimens of different species are sometimes placed on

one tablet, the description of which is adapted to more than one

form ; and lastly, it is possible that some of the specimens now

in B. Delessert’s hands may have been displaced while in the

possession of Prince Massena. I have however compared as care-

fully as possible the specimens with the descriptions, and by the

kind assistance of M. Valenciennes (where doubts existed) am

able to lay before the public the figures of each species drawn

from the types on which they were established. I must however

add, that in some few cases the specimens belonging to Lamarck’s

collection were in bad condition, which I have restored in the

figures from well-preserved specimens of the identical species in

my own collection, in order to prevent misconceptions as to the

shells intended as types. I have also thought it advisable in the

text and in the plates to preserve the same order and numbers as

used in Lamarck’s sixth volume (1819); and in order to keep

’ Fossil Terebratule. 435

this report as short as possible, I have simply added a few obser-

vations after each Latin description of Lamarck or Valenciennes.

In 1836 M. Deshayes published the 7th volume of his new

edition of Lamarck’s work, to which he annexed numerous spe-

cies and notes, but did not materially increase our knowledge of

the fossil species described in the edition of 1819, from not

having had the advantage of examining and comparing the spe-

cimens in the original collection ; there are however some useful

notes and references which may be consulted with advantage.

The following is the order in which Lamarck’s species are

described in the 6th volume of the ‘Animaux sans Vertébres.’? As

the recent species have been often figured, it will simply be ne-

cessary to give the list :—

1. Terebratula vitrea, Lamarck (Linn. sp.).

2. ———— dilatata, Lamk.

3 pisum, Lamk.

4., — globosa, Lamk.

5. ———— rotundata, Lamk.

. ——— flavescens, Lamk.

. ———— dentata, Lamk.

. ——— dorsata, Lamk.

. ———— sanguinea, Lamk.

10. ———— Caput serpentis, Lamk. (Linn. sp.).

11. ———— truncata, Lamk. (Linn. sp.).

12. ——-—— pesittacea, Lamk. (Linn. sp.).

Fossit SPECIES.

13. Terebratula subundata (Sow. M. C. tab. 15. fig. 7).

14, Terebratula carnea (Sow. M. C. tab. 15. fig. 5, 6).

Obs. These two species are not to be seen in Lamarck’s col-

lection.

15. Terebratula depressa, Val. in Lamarck. PI. XIII. fig. 15.

T. testa oblonga, transversim dilatata, supra coarctata et obtusa, striis

concentricis leevibus : nate producta non incurva: foramine magno.

Var. 6. testa minore : nate breviori.

Obs. This species is perfectly characterized and found in the

Tourtia beds of Tournay and Montignies-sur-Roc in Belgium,

whence Lamarck’s specimens came ; it is strange however how

little it was known, since M. le Vicomte D’Archiac, in his “ Rap-

port sur les Fossiles du Tourtia,” Mémoires de la Soc. Géol. de

_ France, vol. 11. 2nd series, p. 313. pl. 17. fig. 2 a, b, c, d, 3-10,

1847, believed it new, and gave to it the name of Yerebratula

Nerviensis, which is a synonym: in the Quarterly Jownal of the

436 Mr. T. Davidson on Lamarck’s species of

Geol. Soc., Nov. 1846, it was attributed to Terebratula ovalis,

Lamk., by mistake. Lamarck’s var. 6. does not belong to the

same species or epoch ; it is a young specimen of some oolitic

species, and is stated to come from Saturnin near Domfront, dép.

de la Sarthe.

Both the species and variety may be seen in B. Delessert’s col-

lection, and I may here state that every time I mention B. De-

lessert’s collection, I mean that part belonging to Lamarck’s

series.

16. Terebratula ovalis, Val. in Lamk. PI. XIII. fig. 16.

T. testa ovali, transversim et superne dilatata, striis concentricis leeyi-

bus : nate incurva.

Obs. This species is quite distinct from Terebratula depressa,

and is from the white jura or coral rag of Wurtemberg. Mr.

Waterhouse showed me several young specimens referable to this

species in the collection of the British Museum. In B. Deles-

sert’s collection.

17. Terebratula numismalis, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIII. fig. 17.

T’. testa subrotunda, leevi, utraque valva superne sinu instructa : striis

concentricis remotis: nate brevi: foramine minimo.

Obs. This species is well known, has often been described and

figured, and requires therefore no further remarks, except that I

could not find the type specimen in the Paris collections ; but as

reference is made to tab. 240. fig. 1 a, b, of the ‘ Encyclopédie

Méthodique’ by Lamarck, no doubts can exist. I have therefore

figured here a magnificent specimen of the species from the liasic

beds of Normandy belonging to M. Deslongchamps. Ter. Cor,

No. 22, is merely a bilobate variety of this species.

18. Terebratula umbonella, Val. in Lamk. PI. XIII. fig. 18.

T. testa elongata turgida, transversim compressa, supra obtusa, levi :

umbonibus pre-elevatis : nate incurva.

Obs. This species has a strong resemblance to Terebratula

lagenalis, Schloth., 1820; one specimen shows the deltidial area,

while in others the umbo of the ventral valve touches the beak ;

this is visible in our English specimens of lagenalis; it was

figured in the ‘Encyclopédie Méthodique,’ pl. 240. fig. 3, but

the characters of the species are not well represented. Six spe-

cimens are to be seen in B. Delessert’s collection; and on a

ticket written by M. Menard we find, “de Montigny, commune

de Mont-Bizol sur la Sarthe, a trois lieues de Mans.”

19. Terebratula digona (Sow. M. C. tab. 96. fig. 1. 5).

Obs. Seyeral specimens are to be seen in B. Delessert’s col-

lection.

Fossil Terebratule. 437

20. Terebratula deltoidea, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIII. fig. 20.

7’. testa compressa, transversim dilatata, triangulari, levi, margine

supero recto in medio sinuato.

Obs. This species was first figured and described by Fabio

Colonna (1616) under the name of Anomya diphya, which name

must be preserved. It subsequently received the following names:

Terebratula triquetra in 1811 from Parkinson, Ter. deltoidea in

1819 from Lamarck, and Ter. Antinomya from Sig. Catullo. It

is only within the last few years that geologists are agreed as to

its geological position, which is the middle jurassic beds or Ter-

rain Callovien of M. D’Orbigny (Italy and Porte-de-France near

Grenoble): it differs from a similarly shaped shell described under

the name of Terebratula diphya by M. le Baron D’Hombre Fir-

mas, said to be from the Neocomian beds of Gigondas ; and sub-

sequently distinguished and figured by M. D’Orbigny under the

name of Terebratula diphoides, ‘ Pal. Frang. Ter. Crétacés,’ vol. iv.

p- 87. pl. 509. The specimen in B. Delessert’s collection be-

longs to the Ter. diphya, and would appear to have come from

Italy. Figures are given in the ‘ Encycl. Méthodique.’ This

species has also received several other names.

21. Terebratula Triangulus, Val. in Lamk. PI. XIII. fig. 21.

T. testa longitudinaliter elongata, triangulari, levi: valvainferiore in

superiorem reflexa, ad marginem sulco impresso.

Obs. M. D’Orbigny in his ‘ Prodrome’ adopts the name Te-

rebratula triquetra, Parkinson, ‘ Organic Remains,’ vol. ui. pl. 16.

fig. 8 (1811), a name given likewise by that author to Terebratula

diphya, and both belong to the same beds and localities. Sub-

sequently Sig. Catullo named it Terebratula mutica, but which,

with Lamarck’s, must be added to the synonyms.

22. Terebratula Cor, Val. in Lamk. PI. XV. fig. 22.

T. testa cordiformi subglobosa, sinu valde exarata, striis tenerrimis

decussatis.

Obs. No reference to figure, locality or age is given by La-

marck, so that much doubt rested on this species until M. Valen-

ciennes found in the collection of the Garden of Plants the type

specimen, which he forwarded to me, and of which an exact figure

will be found in Plate XV. As will be seen at once, this species

is the same as M. Valenciennes’ and Lamarck’s Terebratula nu-

mismalis, No.17. One of the two must be placed among the

synonyms ; the specimen which served as the type has exactly

the form of a heart, but this is only an accidental shape of the

species. It belongs to the lias, and is abundantly found at Vieux

Pont in Normandy, and in many other places.

438 Mr. T. Davidson on Lamarck’s species of

23. Terebratula birostris, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIII. fig. 23.

T. testa subglobosa, subrotunda, leevi, superne subcoarctata, medio

sinuata, ad sinum duobus angulis: margine non plicato.

Obs. Only one crushed specimen is to be seen in B. Delessert’s

collection, without any other indication but the name written by

Lamarck. On mimute comparisons I believe it is the same as

Terebratula grandis of Blumenbach, a tertiary shell from Malta :

the specimen however is in such bad condition that one can

hardly judge of its exact form.

24. Terebratula Ampulla (Brocchi, Conchologia Fossile Milan,.

tab. 10. fig. 5).

Obs. A very fine specimen of this species exists in the collec-

tion of the museum of the Garden of Plants, and a similar one in

that of the British Museum ; it is a tertiary species found at San

Geminiano in the Piacentino, &c. The loop was short, as can be

seen in a very fine specimen in M. Deshayes’ collection.

25. Terebratula carinata, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIII. fig. 25.

T. testa subquadrangulari lzevi ; valva inferiore subcomplanata, supe-

riore diedra, medio carinata.

Obs. A few years ago Mr. Morris called attention to this spe-

cies, which was confounded with Sowerby’s Terebratula resupi-

nata, M. C. tab. 150. fig. 3, 4, 1818, and which hitherto appears

principally characteristic of the hiasic period. The Ter. carinata

of Lamarck has not that I am aware been found in the lias beds,

but is an oolitic species distinct by its foramen, and of a much

flatter and more elongated form. There are many varieties in

the resupinata group, which I hope to figure and describe shortly

in my monograph of British Fossil Brachiopoda for the Paleon-

tographical Society. I was not able to find the type specimen of

this species in Paris, and have therefore figured a well-charac-

terized specimen from the oolite beds near Caen.

26. Terebratula concava, Val. in Lamk. PI. XIII. fig. 16.

T. testa parva: valva inferiore plana, superiore majore concava striis

concentricis.

Obs. Lamarck states this species to be small, white, with a

ventral valve flattened, and a very convex dorsal one: locality

Meudon. No other cretaceous species from that locality would

answer the above description except Magas pumilus of Sow.” In

Lamarck’s collection however we find a small shell which answers

the above description, except in colour, ticketed by Lamarck Ter.

pumila, and the only specimen that I could find; but it belongs

to quite another species, being the well-known Oxford clay Tere-

Fossil Terebratule. 439

bratula impressa, The description however cannot have been

drawn up from that shell, or Lamarck would not have stated it

to be white. I have given the figure of the Terebratula impressa

marked Ter. concava from B. Delessert’s collection, as well as a

figure of Magas pumilus from Meudon marked fig. M. It is

therefore evident that Lamarck’s species must be cancelled from

the nomenclature.

27. Terebratula semiglobosa (Sow. M. C. tab. 15. fig. 9).

Obs. Lamarck does not seem to have known Sowerby’s spe-

cies, as none of the three specimens marked such in B. Delessert’s

collection belong to it, being specimens of Ter. ornithocephala,

and a variety of Ter. globata, Sow. The true species is cretaceous.

28. Terebratula punctata (Sow. M. C. pl. 15. fig. 4).

Obs. Several specimens are to be seen in M. Delessert’s col-

lection, none of which are Sowerby’s type: Lamarck’s speci-

mens belong to Ter. numismalis, indentata and vulgaris. Sowerby’s

species is a well-characterized liasic shell.

29. Terebratula phaseolina, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIII. fig. 29.

T. testa parva, subcompressa, rotunda, alba, striis concentricis, mar-

gine supero sub-biplicato : nate brevi, non producta.

Obs. M. D’Orbigny seems to consider Lamarck’s Terebratula

phaseolina to be Brocchi’s Anomya biplicata, Pal. Frang. Ter. Cré-

tacés, vol. iv. p. 95. pl. 511. fig. 9,15. After comparing the

numerous specimens of Ter. phaseolina im M. le B. Delessert’s

collection with the figures given by Brocchi, ‘ Conchologia Fos-

sile, p. 469. pl. 10. fig. 8, 1814, I cannot believe them to be the

same shell as Ter. phaseolina ; and since even M. D’Orbigny places

a point of interrogation behind his synonym of Brccchi, it is evi-

dent he was not certain of the identity. I therefore do not see

why Lamarck’s well-known species should make place for Broc-

chi’s uncertain one; which has no indication of locality or de-

posit. It seems also strange that M. D’Orbigny should every-

where write Lamarck’s Ter. phaseolina, “ phascolina,” and whilst

he rejects it in page 95, adopts it in page 109 of the ‘ Pal. Frang.

Ter. Crétacés.’

30. Terebratula ovata (Sow. M. C. pl. 15. fig. 3).

Obs. As M. Deshayes observes, in his new ed. of Lamarck,

the specimens in the museum of the Garden of Plants do not

belong to Sowerby’s type. M. Deshayes believes them to re-

semble Ter. lata of Sow., but they do not represent that species.

. 31. Terebratula biplicata (Sow. M. C. pl. 90. fig. 1, 5).

Obs. We find a number of specimens under this name in La-

440 Mr. T. Davidson on Lamarck’s species of

marck’s collection at B. Delessert’s, as well as in the museum of

the Garden of Plants, none of which however belong to Sow-

erby’s type, but are referable to several distinct forms from va-

rious deposits of different ages. Thus for example, those m the

Garden of Plants, as well as one in B. Delessert’s cabinet, are

oolitic ; others belong to the Neocomian beds, such as those

shells figured and described by M. D’Orbigny in vol. iv. p. 75.

pl. 506. of the ‘ Pal. Franc.’ under the name of Terebratula pre-

longa, Sowerby: but M. D’Orbigny is mistaken as to his iden-

tification of this shell with the ones described under that name

by Mr. Sowerby. Besides these, we find two specimens which are

probably Terebratula Sella, and as M. Deshayes justly observes in

his new edit. of Lamarck, a great number of smooth Terebratulas

with two plaits have been called Ter. biplicata, but which are

quite distmet from Sowerby’s type, which belongs to the gault

of Folkestone and Cambridge.

32. Terebratula bisinuata, Val. in Lamk. PI. XIII. fig. 32.

7’. testa subrotunda, subdepr essa, antiquata, fragili, leevi, superne bipli-

cata: nate producta non incurva.

Obs. This species belongs to the tertiary beds of the Pane

basin, well figured and described by M. Deshayes, Coq. Foss.

des Env. de Paris, tom. i. pl. 65. 1, 2. It has also received

several other names, such as Ter. gigantea, which, according to

Baron Leopold von Buch, would be the same as Lamarck’s type:

several specimens are to be seen in B. Delessert’s collection.

33. Terebratula Kleinii, Val. m Lamk. PI. XIII. fig. 33.

T. testa ovata, depressa, subantiquata, leevi, superne biplicata creber-

rime et subtilissime punctata : nate incurva.

Obs. Several persons, and among others M..Deshayes (new ed.

of Lamarck), refer to this species the Ter. globata of Sowerby.

M. Valenciennes, who was the original describer of the species,

convinced me of the mistake, which can be at once seen from

three type specimens in the collection of the Garden: of Plants ;

one of which 1 have figured in my plate: it belongs to the oolitie

beds, probably from Normandy. Lamarck’s eae to Ano-

mya Terebratula of Linneus may have led to this mistake. M.

Db Orbigny has also fallen into the common error in his ‘ Pro-

drome’ by attributing Ter. globata to Lamarck’s species.

34. Terebratula Pedemontana, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIV. fig. 34.

7’. testa subrotunda, subdepressa, transversim striata, superne bian-

gulata: umbone elevato, nate recurva. Coll. Museum.

Obs. M. Valenciennes in his description of this species states

that it approaches the preceding one above all by the rounded.

Fossil Terebratule. 441

form of its two plaits: one specimen is to be seen in the museum

of the Garden of Plants, which was found by Sig. Bonelli in the

tertiary beds near Turin in Italy.

35. Terebratula quadrifida, Val. in Lamk. PI. XIV. fig. 35.

7. testa triangulari-depressa, dilatata, leevi, superne quatuor angulis

acutis instructa : nate brevi.

Obs. This is a well-known species, common to the liasic beds

of France and England ; one specimen only exists in Lamarck’s

collection at B. Delessert’s ; it is one of the various shapes this

species assumes, passing by insensible gradations into Terebra-

tula cornuta, Sow. : nor is it uncommon to find (as can be seen in

M. Deslongchamps’ cabinet) specimens, one half of which is gua-

drifida, while the other half is cornuta: therefore Lamarck’s name

should be kept for the species, and cornuta cancelled from the

nomenclature.

36. Terebratula angulata, Val. in Lamk. Pi. XIV. fig. 36.

T.. testa subtrigona, ventricosa, leevi, margine supero valde sinuato,

tribus angulis acutis.

Obs. Three specimens are to be seen in B. Delessert’s collec-

tion, but which belong to as many species, so that it is difficult

to know which Lamarck intended as his type; this however is of

little importance, as the name must be canceled, it having been

given many years before by Linnzus to a mountain limestone

shell differmg from Lamarck’s specimen.

37. Terebratula multicarinata, Val. in Lamk. PI. XIV. fig. 37.

T. testa magna, rotundata, pectiniformi, costis numerosis carinata :

margine non sinuato.

Obs. It is singular that M. D’Orbigny makes no allusion to

Lamarck’s species, which holds priority over Baron Leopold von

Buch’s Terebratula peregrina published long after 1834, and

which M. D’Orbigny adopts in his ‘ Paléontologie Frangaise,’

when at a few steps from his own door he could have seen a fine

specimen of this species in Lamarck’s collection at B. Delessert’s.

It is one of the largest Terebratulas known, and would appear to

belong to the Neocomian beds of Chatillon (Drome). Lamarck’s

type specimen, of which I give a reduced figure, measured in

length and breadth 3 inches and 13 inch in depth, but the spe-

cies attained much greater dimensions, as can be scen from spe-

cimens in the British Museum. It has been well figured by

M. D’Orbigny in his ‘ Pal. Frang. Ter. Crétacés,’ vol. iv. p. 493,

and in the ‘ Mém. de la Soc. Géol. de France,’ vol. i. p. 156.

pl. 15. fig. 28.

44.2 Mr. T. Davidson on Lamarck’s species of

38. Terebratula tetraédra (Sow. M. C. tab. 83. fig. 4).

Obs. The specimens attributed to this species in° Lamarck’s

collection do not belong to Sowerby’s type, but to that beautiful

and well-characterized species known under the name of Tere-

bratula decorata, Schloth., so admirably illustrated and described

by M. Le Vicomte D’Archiac in the ‘ Mém. de la Soc. Géolo-

gique de France,’ and also well represented in pl. 244. fig. 2. of

the ‘ Encyclopédie Méthodique.’? Lamarck, singular to say, had

in his collection specimens of Sowerby’s type, but which he

places in his Terebratula spathica.

39. Terebratula plicata, Val. in Lamk. PI. XIV. fig. 39.

T. testa subtetraédra, subgibbosa, plicata, non sinuata: 5 vel 6 costis

ab umbone obtusis, et ad marginem angulatis: nate brevi.

Obs. Lamarck or Valenciennes refers to the ‘Encyc. Métho-

dique,’ pl. 243. fig. 11 and pl. 244. fig. 1, and states that his

species approaches the preceding one : but the absence of a sinus

forcibly distinguishes it. This species is well characterized,

and seems to belong to the liasic beds of the north of Italy.

There exist, besides the two specimens described by M. Valen-

ciennes, in the Garden of Plants, a number of fine specimens from

the collection of the Marquis de Drée. In B. Delessert’s collec-

tion we also find two specimens labeled Terebratula plicata var.,

which however belong to the Jnoceramus sulcatus and to the

Pecten quinquecostatus. Lamarck’s Terebratula plicata being a

good species should be retamed. Mr. Buckman was not aware

of Lamarck’s priority when he attached a similar name to

another species. M. D’Orbigny in his ‘ Prodrome’ has given

to Mr. Buckman’s shell the name of Terebratula subplicatella,

D’Orb. 1847, which however he had no right to do according

to his views, because Lamarck’s species not being a true type

of the genus Terebratula, would be placed by him in the genus

Hemithyris or some other of his proposed genera, while Mr. Buck-

man’s Ter. plicata might then remain in the Terebratulas. La-

marck’s species varies in the number of plaits on the mesial fold ;

some specimens present four plaits, others five, and in a few spe-

cimens two plaits unite into one towards the margin of the shell.

40. Terebratula canalifera, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIV. fig. 40.

T. testa trigonata, gibba, longitudinaliter sulcata, sinuata, cardine

recto : nate declivi.

Obs. The Terebratula canalifera of Lamarck belongs to the

genus Spirifer, and reference is made to pl. 244. fig. 4, 5 and 6.

of the ‘ Encyclopédie Méthodique :’ fig. 5, which appears to be

the type, and is a well-known Devonian species from Paffrath

Fossil Terebratule. 443

near Cologne, described and figured by Schlotheim in 1822 under

the name of Terebratulites aperturatus, Nachtragen, pl. 17. fig. 1.

Lamarck’s name published in 1819 ought to have priority ; the

species would therefore be the Spirifer canalifera (Val. Sp. S.).

All the figures referred to in pl. 244 of the ‘Encyclopédie’ do

not however belong to the same species ; fig. 5 would be the Spi-

rifer canalifera, fig. 4 the Spirif. Verneuilit (Murch.), and fig. 6

the Spirif. Archiact (Murch.). We also find assembled under

the same head in the collection of the Garden of Plants, as well

as at B. Delessert’s, besides the above-mentioned species, speci-

mens of Spirif. rostratus from the lias, and Spirif. Bouchardit

from the Devonian beds. One specimen of Spirif. Verneuilit,

which I figure in my plate under the number 40 A, shows the

perfect deltidium, rarely preserved in the Spirifers of that species.

41. Terebratula levicosta, Val. im Lamk. Pl. XV. fig. 41.

7’. testa trigonata, gibba, lateribus sulcata: in medio valvee majoris sinu

et minoris costa lata, utriusque leevibus, transverse striatis: cardine

recto, nate recurva.

Obs. No reference as to figure is given by Lamarck ; all that is

stated is, that the “ fossil comes from Benberg near Cologne.”

However M. Valenciennes kindly informs me, when sending his

type specimens, that he received the shells on which he established

the species in 1817 from Prof. Néggerath on his visit to Bonn:

it is the same shell figured and described in 1822 by Schlotheim

under the name of Jerebratulites ostiolatus (Nachtragen, pl. 17.

fig. 3), placed afterwards in the Spirifers by B. von Buch (Mém.

Soc. Géol. de France), and by Bronn in Konig’s genus Trigo-

notreta ; but as M. Valenciennes appears the oldest describer of

the species, it should retain the name of Spirifer levicosta (Val.

Sp. 8.); it belongs to the Devonian beds of the Eifel, and not

to Benberg as stated by Lamarck.

42. Terebratula intermedia, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XV. fig. 42.

T’. testa subtetraédra, dilatata, plicata, simuata, 4 costis ad sinus 5 ad

latus : nate brevi.

Obs. I was not able to find the original specimen on which

the species was establisbed, but reference is made to pl. 245.

fig. 3a, b. of the ‘ Encyclopédie Méthodique,’ which is sufficient.

I have thought it advisable, in order to complete the series, to give

here the figure out of that work. Lamarck states that his spe-

cies is intermediate between Terebratula tetraédra and plicata:

it evidently belongs to the jurassic period.

43. Terebratula alata, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIV. fig. 43.

T. testa subtrigonata, subgibba, superne sinu cavo exarata, creberrime

sulcata ; nate brevi.

AAA. Mr. T. Davidson on Lamarck’s species of

Obs. Lamarck refers to pl. 245. fig. 2 a, b. of the ‘ Ency. Mé-

thod., but as M. Deshayes justly observes in his new edition of

Lamarck, this species is the same as that published in 1814 by

Brocchi under the name of Anomya Vespertilio, Conchologia Fos-

sile, fig. 17, which is also evident from specimens both in the

collection of the Garden of Plants and of B. Delessert’s museum.

M. Deshayes also remarks, that on looking at the figures 1 and 2

of the pl. 245, one would have some difficulty in believing that

both belonged to the same species: I agree with M. Deshayes

in this—fig. 1 would agree with Brocchi’s type and Lamarck’s

specimens. This species varies much, as can be well seen in

M. D’Orbigny’s figures, Pal. Frang. vol. iv. pl. 499. fig. 1-7.

Fig. 2. pl. 245, the one referred to by Lamarck, is probably Tere-

bratula compressa, Lamk. no. 54, as it shows that peculiarly

shaped front so well displayed in this shell; however there are

more than one species placed under this head in the Paris col-

lections. At the Garden of Plants we find on the same tablet a

specimen of Terebratula Vespertilio associated with Ter. latissima

of Sowerby, and at M. Delessert’s we see three or four species,

among which, under the head of variety, is placed a specimen of

Pentamerus, a Spirifer, and a Terebratula of quite another shape.

This association is so strange that I can hardly believe they were

so put together by Lamarck. Brocchi’s name however should be

preserved to this species, and that of Lamarck placed among the

synonyms. The identity of Lamarck’s species with that of

Brocchi is also admitted by M. D’Orbigny in his ‘ Pal. Frangaise

Ter. Crétacés,’ vol. iv. p. 44. ;

44, Terebratula concinna (Sow. M.C. tab. 83. fig. 6).

Obs. The specimens under this name in B. Delessert’s collec-

tion appear to belong to Ter. obsoleta, Sow.

45. Terebratula media (Sow. M. C. tab. 83. fig. 5).

Obs. The specimens ticketed thus by Lamarck belong to

Sowerby’s true Ter. tetraédra: the distinctions between Ter. te-

traédra and media, Sow., are very trifling.

46. Terebratula pectita (Sow. M. C. tab. 188. fig. 1).

Obs. I did not find any specimens of this species in either of

Lamarck’s collections.

47. Terebratula Cardium, Val. im Lamk. Pl. XIV. fig. 47.

T.. testa elongato-ovata, convexa, plicata, sulcis longitudinalibus crassis,

rotundatis : nate prominula.

Var. b. testa compressiuscula, sulcis crebrioribus.

Obs. Lamarck refers to pl. 241. fig. 6a, b, c. of the ‘ Ency.

Méthod.,’ and this species is too well known to require many re-

Fossil Terebratulz. 445

marks, except that it must have priority over Terebratula orbicularis

of Sowerby, M. C. 1829, of which Ter. furcata of the same author

is only a young state. It is curious however to see, that notwith-

standing M. D’Orbigny’s professions of attending always to date,

that in his ‘ Prodrome’ he adopts Sowerby’s Ter. orbicularis, and

makes no mention of Lamarck’s Ter. Cardium, published long

before. Similar mistakes are not however rare in that work, nor

would I here think it necessary to call attention to this point, if

M. D’Orbigny’s severity towards others was not so forcibly

brought forth in his writings *. The plaits, which are often

divided towards the margin in this species m the young age,

are also, though rarely so, in the adult, as may be seen on spe-

cimens in M. Deslongchamps’ collection : the loop process also

extended to near the margin, as I hope to illustrate in another

work. Lamarck’s var. b, as can be seen from the specimens in

the Garden of Plants, belongs to Terebratula spinosa.

48. Terebratula difformis, Lamarck and Val. Pl. XV. fig. 48.

T. testa trigonata, dilatata, subdepressa : margine inzequalis in medio

sinuoso-deflexo : nate subproducta.

Obs. Lamarck refers to ‘ Encycl. Méthod.’ pl. 242. fig. 5 a, b, ¢,

and gives Cap la Heve near Havre, and Mans, both greensand

localities. M.D’Orbigny admits this species in his ‘ Pal. Frang.,’

and places it in Fischer’s genus Rhynchonella. Terebratula dimi-

diata, Sow., would also belong to the same species. However, if

we inspect the specimens ticketed by Lamarck in M. Delessert’s

collection, we shall find that three out of ten belong to his species

from the Tourtia beds of Tournay; the others being oolitic

shells, with the exception of one, which would appear to belong

to Sowerby’s Terebratula latissima.

49. Terebratula lyra (Sow. M. C. tab. 138. fig. 2).

50. Terebratula Menardi, Lamarck and Val. Pl. XIV. fig. 50.

T. testa gibberula, globosa, inferne truncata, valva majori sinu longi-

tudinaliter sulcato excavata: margine sinuoso deflexo.

Obs. In B. Delessert’s collection we find ten specimens of this

* Certain things which might pass with the early naturalists cannot be

allowed at the present day, such as simply to describe a species by a few

words, which description would suit twenty others; therefore all the new

names introduced into M. D’Orbigny’s ‘ Prodrome’ cannot claim priority.

Should any one fully describe and figure before M. D’Orbigny any of those

simply named species which have but three or four words of description

and with no reference to figure, the names of the subsequent author ought

to be retained ; otherwise the practice of M. D’Orbigny would retard science,

Us say nothing of the injustice and abuses to which it would inevitably

ead.

4.46 Mr. T. Davidson on Lamarck’s species of

species belonging to the greensand of Mans. M. D’Orbigny ad-

mits this species, which he places in his genus Terebratella, and

states in vol. iv. p. 116 of his ‘ Pal. Franc.’ that the Terebratula

truncata, Sow., 1826, M. C. vi. p. 71. pl. 537. fig. 3, belongs to

a distinct species, and not to Terebratula Menardi, Lamk., and

to which he gives the new name of Terebratella Asteriana, as he

cannot retain the name of Ter. truncata, it having been given by

Linneus to another shell. There exists however some doubt if

on this point M. D’Orbigny’s opinion is correct ; the general

form in T. Menardi is often, though not always, broader than in

our Faringdon specimens, the ribs sharper, and depression of the

dorsal valve deeper, and bounded laterally by sharper ridges,

lines of growth less strongly marked, mesial longitudinal process

on inner side of ventral valve shorter and not so strong. La-

marck’s specimens do not appear to vary so much in form as our

Faringdon specimens, and have a much thinner shell; but on

examining with great care a numerous suite of specimens of these

species, both in the collection of the British Museum and those

collected by myself in both localities, Messrs. Waterhouse,

Woodward and myself believe that the species may be the same,

and that the greater or less thickness of the shell might arise

from the difference of the water in which they lived; the Fa-

ringdon specimens being much worn, so that the plaits must

have been much sharper in the living state.

51. Terebratula decussata, Val. and Lamk. PI. XIV. fig. 51.

T. testa subpentagona, subconvexa, valva majori canaliculata, striis

transversis tenuibus longitudinaliter decussantibus: nate subpro-

ducta foramine magno.

Obs. Lamarck refers to the ‘ Encye. Méth.’ pl. 245 a, B, ¢.

However, in 1811, before Lamarck, Parkinson described and

figured this species in the 3rd vol. of his ‘Organic Remains,’

pl. 16. fig. 5, under the name of Terebratula coarctata, which name

must be preserved to the species, as M. D’Orbigny has done in

his ‘ Prodrome,’ vol. i. p. 316, and Lamarck’s name placed among

the synonyms along with Sowerby’s Terebratula reticulata, M. C.

tab. 312. fig. 5,6. The Ter. coarctata is very common in the

Forest marble and Bradford clay. The only specimen Lamarck

had is in B. Delessert’s collection.

52. Terebratula spinosa, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIV. fig. 52.

T.. testa globosa, dilatata: sulcis parvis spinosis: nate brevissima

acuta.

Obs. This species seems to have been first named by Smith,

‘ Strata identified by Fossils,’ 1816 or 1817. Deshayes and Morris

also refer to Knorr, Test. Diluv. It is a well-known inferior

Fossil Terebratule. 447

oolite species. Lamarck’s three specimens are to be seen in the

collection of the Garden of Plants with the following locality,

“ Mortagne prés Alencon, Briére :” it is common in Normandy

and in England.

53. Terebratula spathica, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIV. fig. 53.

T. testa subtrigonata, subglobosa, levi: margine supero sinuato : nate

acuta subproducta.

Obs. Lamarck gives no reference to a figure, but states that

his specimens come from the hills on the boundary of the Sarthe ;

and I am at a loss to know what is the type of this species, not

from want of specimens, but from the number of different species

placed under one head in Lamarck’s two collections—thirty spe-

cimens under this name, some referable to the Ter. tetraédra, Sow.,

Ter. concinna, Sow., Ter. media, Sow., Ter. varians and Ter. ri-

mosa, and perhaps another species ; so that as there would always

exist much doubt as to the real type, it will be necessary to

cancel this species from the nomenclature. In my plate I have

figured two of the specimens ticketed by Lamarck as Ter. spa-

thica, as some of the boards bear the title of “ variety” : one is

Sowerby’s Ter. tetraédra, the other Ter. varians.

54, Terebratula compressa, Val. in Lamk. PI. XV. fig. 54.

T. testa dilatata, margine supero denticulato subflexuosa : nate pro-

ducta acuta.

Obs. Although no reference is given by Lamarck, this is a

well-known greensand shell from Mans, and admitted by M.

D’Orbigny in his ‘ Pal. Franc. Ter. Crétacés,’ pl. 35, who gives

also a long list of synonyms relating to it: the plaiting of the

margin in this shell is very peculiar.

55. Terebratula granulosa, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XIV. fig. 55.

T. testa subdepressa, rotundata, margine supero antice in rostrum

producto: sulcis granulosis : nate brevi.

Obs. No reference as to figure is given, but Lamarck states

that the specimens were brought from Monte Mario near Rome

by Cuvier. There must however exist some strange mistake in

this statement, as many specimens are labeled by Lamarck Ter.

granulosa both in B. Delessert’s collection and that of the Gar-

den of Plants, specimens which never could have been found in

situ at Rome, where we only find volcanic and tertiary deposits,

while the specimens named so in the collections belong not only

to different formations, but to different species: thus we find a

specimen of Terebratula reticularis of Linneus in B. Delessert’s

collection ticketed Ter. granulosa by Lamarck, and which I have

448 Mr. T. Davidson on Lamarck’s species of Fossil Terebratule.

figured in my plate ; besides other specimens of a Neocomian

species labelled Ter. granulosa var., a figure of which I have also

given ; and in the collection of the Garden of Plants, besides these

last-named shells, we find a specimen of Terebratula spinosa and

varians : it is therefore evident that this species must be can-

celled from the nomenclature, since none of the species therem

placed could claim a preference.

56. Terebratula Articulus, Val.in Lamk. PI. XIV. fig. 56.

T. testa trigona, depressa, tenerrime longitudinaliter striata: margine

supero angulato: nate brevi.

Obs. No reference is given, except that the specimen is in the

museum of the Garden of Plants, where I found it, and that it is

from the Dep. of the Sarthe. “The smooth surface of this spe-

cies (adds Lamarck) and its deeply angular front give to it the

aspect of the articulation of a shell ;” but on examining his spe-

cimen, as can be seen by the figure, it has some characters of

M. Richard’s Terebratula Cynocephala and furcillata, as the

greater half of the valves from the beak and umbo are orna-

mented by numerous small Jongitudinal strize which do not ex-

tend to the margin of the shell ; it belongs probably to the lias

deposits, and I have never seen but the one specimen on which

the species was established.

57. Terebratula radiata, Val.in Lamk. Pl. XIV. fig. 27.

T. testa subdepressa, inferius coarctata, superne dilatata, rotundata,

sulcis longitudinalibus radiatis, margie subflexuosa.

Obs. No reference is given by Lamarck, except that the spe-

cimens are in the museum of the Garden of Plants, where I found

them. It is probably a Neocomian shell, at least the specimen

which I consider the type, and which I draw in my plate. It ap-

proaches in form to Rhynchonella paucicosta, D’Orb. Pal. Frang.

pl. 494. fig. 1, 5.

58. Terebratula pumila, Lamarck. Pl. XIV. fig. 58.

T. testa minima, compressa, valvya minori complanata, sulcis longitu-

dinalibus radiatis : nate acuta producta.

Obs. As M. Deshayes justly remarks in his new edition of La-

marck, this species belongs to the Thecidea radiata (Defrance),

and not to the Magas pumilus of Sowerby. Several specimens are

to be seen both in M. Delessert’s collection and in that of the

Garden of Plants, which are derived from the chalk of Maestricht.

59. Terebratula spirifera, Val. in Lamk. Pl. XV. fig. 59.

T. testa trigonata, transverse dilatata, spiris ad latera decurrentibus

instructa, margine supero angulata : nate brevi perforata.

Obs. Lamarck refers to the ‘ Encyclopédie Méthodique,’

On the Internal Structure of Terebratula pectunculoides. 449

pl. 246. fig. 1 a, b, but on inspecting that figure, one might be

led to consider that the species must be either Terebratula acu-

minata or Ter. Meyendorfiit, De Verneuil, Geol. of Russia. How-

ever, we find in B. Delessert’s collection a specimen of Ter. acu-

minata with that name written by Lamarck, to which he added

(“non décrit”). Ina letter I lately received from M. Valenciennes,

the criginal describer of the species, he distinctly states that his

Ter. spirifera is the same shell as that subsequently described

and figured by Sowerby in the ‘M. C.’ under the name of Syi-

rifer striatus, which he proves by sending me the original speci-

men given to him in 1817, when in London, by the author of

the ‘Mineral Conchology,’ a restored figure of which I give in

my Pl. XV., M. Valenciennes’ specimen being much broken and

mceomplete. It is, as every one knows, a common carboniferous

shell in many countries, and has also received many names.

Sowerby published it in 1821, and M. Valenciennes in 1819; but

I do not know how far the last-mentioned author’s species would

have a right to priority over Sowerby’s, on account of the false

reference given to quite another shell in the ‘Ency. Méth’ It

is however certain, from the type specimen before me, as well as

from the Latin description, “ transverse dilatata, spiris,” that the

describer had in view the same shell described afterwards under

the name of Spirifer striatus. M. Deshayes, in his new edition

of Lamarck, was led naturally into the mistake, as any one would

have been. He states that “ this species is the same as Ter. acu-

minata of Martin and Sowerby, and the figure referred to in the

‘ Ency. Méth.’ would lead one to believe so; but as it is very bad,

and only inexactly represents Ter. acuminata, it has not prevented

me adding here the species intended.”

XXXVIII.— On the Internal Structure of Terebratula pectuncu-

loides, Schl., Terebratula pulchella, Nils., and Terebratula

Deslongchampsii, nob. By Tuomas Davinson, Esq.

[With a Plate. ]

As my intentions are to publish shortly some views relating to

the internal calcareous support of the ciliated arms in Terebratula

and allied genera, I have simply given in Pl. XV. illustrations of

two of these supports, hitherto unfigured.

Fig. 4. Pl. XV. represents Ter. pulchella, Nils., and its internal

calcareous loop, from a specimen derived from the chalk of Bel-

gium, now in the cabinet of M. Deslongchamps.

Fig. 5. Pl. XV. represents Ter. pectunculoides (Schl.) and its

internal calcareous support considerably enlarged, from two spe:

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v.

450 M. Vogt on some Inhabitants of the Freshwater Muscles.

cimens derived from the Korallenkalk or white jura of Nattheim,

Wurtemberg, and to be seen in the collection of Fossil Tere-

bratulz of the British Museum, so beautifully worked out by the

indefatigable exertions of Messrs. Waterhouse and Woodward.

Terebratula Deslongchampsit, nob. Pl. XV. fig. 6 a, b.

Shell small, oval, subdepressed ; dorsal valve‘much more con-

vex than the ventral one; beak straight, truncated by a large

foramen extending to the umbo of the ventral valve, partly sur-

rounded by the substance of the beak, by a small portion of a

disunited deltidium, and a part of the umbo. Valves closely

covered by numerous strong, short, tubular spines or granulations,

between which the punctuation is visible : this structure being the

same as that observable on all the las Spirifers yet discovered,

gives to the shell a rough feel similar to that of Ter. ima (Def.),

but from which it differs completely.

This remarkable little shell is placed provisionally among the

Terebratule, as I consider a knowledge of the internal appen-

dages essential before one can say positively to what genus an

unknown species belongs, as judging solely from external cha-

racters one may often be led to place a shell im a very imappro-

priate genus. It has the beak, deltidium and foramen of Wal-

tonia and Terebratulina, and, as can easily be seen, the internal

apophysary system in both differs completely, so that it may

perhaps belong to one of these genera. Length 3} lines, breadth

3 lmes, depth 1} line.

Only four or five specimens of this little shell are known as

yet in the collections ; viz. one specimen was found by M. Tesson,

two by M. Breville in the has beds of Curcy, and one by myself

at Vieux Pont, between Caen and Bayeux. It was however fa-

miliar to M. Deslongchamps some years back, who kindly for-

warded me drawings he had made from M. Tesson’s specimen.

I take much pleasure in dedicating this species to M. Deslong-

champs.

Pl. XV. fig. 6. nat. size of the species ; 6 a, enlarged figures.

XXXIX.—On some Inhabitants of the Freshwater Muscles.

By C. Voer*.

Since the interesting researches of M. Baér+, it is well known

that the freshwater Muscles are imfested by a number of

Entozoa of extraordinary form: Cercaria, Bucephali, tailed Di-

stome, and nunierous other Trematoda in the state of larve and

* Translated from the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Oct. 1849.

+ Nov. Act. Acad. Leopold. Carol. vol. xiii. Pars 2.

M. Vogt on some Inhabitants of the Freshwater Muscles. 451

of perfect individuals, frequently swarm in the organs of these

animals. During my stay at Giessen I undertook a series of

researches on the embryology of the various animals which in-

habit the freshwater muscles ; these investigations were inter-

rupted by the revolution of 1848. Having no opportunity of

resuming them immediately, I consider it a duty to call the

attention of naturalists to a field of investigation which promises

a rich harvest. Embryologists especially will find in the fresh-

water muscles matter to satisfy them ; for they present not only

their own eggs and the larve of bivalves which hatch in their

gills, but also eggs and embryos of Entozoa, of articulated and

even vertebrated animals.

The eggs of the freshwater muscles pass into the gills in the

beginning of May. I have not been able to observe the passage

itself, but I have notwithstanding traced the development of the

ege in the first stages of the embryogenic process. I have seen

the division of the vitellus in all its phases, up to the formation

of a globular embryo, which still wanted a shell. By comparing

the eggs concealed in different parts of the gills, I convinced

myself that the eggs placed near the anus were more advanced

in this process than those which were in the anterior portion

of the gills; the latter therefore appear to be filled from be-

fore backwards. The eggs, in the ovary, arrived at a certain

stage of maturity, are always composed of a transparent envelope,

and of a granular vitellus of a whitish, yellow or orange colour,

in which is situated the Purkinjean vesicle. This vesicle is very

large, entirely transparent, and always contains two small vesi-

cles (germinative spots of Wagner), one of which sometimes pre-

sents a granular appearance. It is a general law, as regards the

eggs of the Unios and Anodonts, that these spots are to the num-

ber of two in each egg.

The ovary and testicle are the habitual seat of those larvee of

Trematoda, which M. Baér has designated under the name of

Bucephalus polymorphus. The figures which M. Baér has given

of these singular animals are tolerably correct. They are formed

of a distomoid body placed on two long rolled-up appendices

which have a serpentine movement. These larve are developed

in the long filiform intestines, which, under the microscope, ex-

hibit now and then swellings, in which are lodged the Bucephali.

The sexual organ affected by this dyscrasy resembles a mass of

entangled white threads; I found one individual in about two

hundred freshwater muscles, the ovary of which had the appear-

ance of a fibrous schirrus macerated for some time. These threads

are especially developed in January and February ; and it is also

in these months that the development of the Bucephali may be

easily observed. In the swellings of the mtestines, globules

29%

452 M. Vogt on some Inhabitants of the Freshwater Muscles.

formed of a finely granular substance occur; the globules

lengthen, become elliptic ; they send out prolongations at one of

the extremities, at first very broad, which are not distinguishable

by any peculiarity of their tissue from the body to which they

are attached. But as they grow, they separate from the body by

a groove, fill it with granulations, and finally become nearly fili-

form, coiling themselves up like horns. The body to which

these appendages belong, grows in proportion, lengthens, takes

the form of a Distoma, and finally casts off the appendices. This

separation sometimes takes place under the eye of the observer ;

and what is especially remarkable is, that the primitive globule,

which is thus transformed, does not present a cellular structure :

neither nucleus nor envelope is observable ; it is a simple globule

of waxy consistence, which is easily flattened by the compressor.

The Bucephali are, as I have shown by the proportion in which

they are found, rare in the environs of Giessen. More fre-

quently, and especially in spring, the sexual organ of the fresh-

water muscles is found affected by another helminthic dyscrasy.

The ovary is then coated here and there with small granules of

a deep red-brown colour. These granules are cysts filled with

eggs and larve, to which M. Baér has given the name of Dr-

stoma duplicatum. The body is that of a true Distoma, furnished

with an appendix still longer than the body, and formed solely

of large fibres folded in zigzag, and inclosed in a transparent

sheath. I have found in a single cyst as many as ten larvee coiled

up, and surrounded by a score of eggs in different stages of deve-

lopment. The larve and eggs are of a deep orange colour.

Another guest as yet too little known is met with in summer

in the viscous liquid surrounding the heart of these freshwater

muscles: this is the Aspidogaster conchicola of M. Baér. Nearly

one individual in a hundred is found affected with these curious

Entozoa. The adult Aspidogasters are almost always filled with

eggs, in which rolled-up embryos are easily distinguished : what

most struck me im these embryos furnished with two suckers

was the detection in them of an organ situated in the first third

of the body, at the margin of the anterior sucker, closely re-

sembling the organ of hearing in the larvee of Mollusca. This

organ is simple, placed on the median lime of the body, and is

formed of a transparent vesicle, contaming a lithoid body com-

posed of two rounded and nearly equal halves. The general form

of the embryos of the Aspzdogaster differs much from that of the

adults.

It is evident, from what we have stated, that it is easy to pro-

cure in the freshwater muscles the necessary materials for the

investigation of the embryogenic history of a mollusk and of

three species of Trematoda; but this is not all.

M. Vogt on some Inhabitants of the Freshwater Muscles. 453

M. Baér, and after him M. Pfeiffer, have noticed an Acarus .

which dwells in the palleal cavity of the Naiades. M. Baér called

this Acarus Hydrachna concharum. M. Pfeiffer, who was not then

acquainted with M. Baér’s investigations, gave it the name of

Limnochares Anodonte.

The eggs of this Acarus are arranged under the external lamella

of the branchial lobes; they form granular masses of a whitish

colour, which are very easily discerned through the thin mem-

brane which covers them. It is sufficient to remove this mem-

brane or tear it with a needle to lay bare the eggs, which are just

large enough to be visible to the naked eye. The vitellus, com-

posed of fatty globules, gives a whitish colour to these eggs, the

envelope being perfectly transparent. I know no eggs of arti-

culated animals which so readily admit of microscopical obser-

vation. The envelope is of a consistence sufficient to protect the

embryo against a gentle pressure; so that it is easy to move the

egg under the compressor in any desired direction without in-

juring the inclosed embryo; we may also, without much diffi-

culty, succeed in removing this envelope by cautious pressure,

and liberating the embryo without any disfiguration. The eggs

are so numerous that there is no need to be sparing of them. A

freshwater muscle is rarely opened in winter the gills of which

do not contain hundreds of eggs in different stages of develop-

ment, and it is always easy to compare the structure of the em-

bryos with that of the young or adult animals, because the latter

occur always in large number on the gills and on the internal

surface of the mantle. The embryo carries the vitellus a long

time after the hatchmg on the dorsal surface of the body ; it

comes out of the egg having only three pairs of legs, whereas the

adult has four.

Lastly, I found, during the months of June and July, a great

number of young fishes lodged in the gills of the freshwater

muscles. The first time that I made this observation, I could

scarcely believe my eyes, and at first I thought it was the effect

of an extraordinary chance. But I was deceived; in a hundred

freshwater muscles opened in the months mentioned, I found, at

least in sixty, small fishes all belonging to the same species, at

different degrees of development. I found as many as forty in

a single freshwater muscle, the gills of which were then consi-

derably enlarged. I rarely met with eggs; they were yellow,

like the youl of hens’ eggs, of an oval form, and about 1 mil-

limetre to 15 long. The embryos quit the eggs very early ; ‘he

youngest that I have met with’ could not yet move, and were so

little advanced, that the black pigment of the eyes had scarcely

begun to be deposited. The largest fishes which I met with in

the gills were 10 millimetres long; they swam with vivacity,

454 M. Vogt on some Inhabitants of the Freshwater Muscles.

although still bearing the vitellary sac concealed in the ab-

domen.

The fishes’ eggs are, without doubt, introduced by the respi-

ratory current of the freshwater muscles. But their early exit

from the egg, at a period when the embryos of other fishes still

remain in the egg, as well as their whole manner of existence,

seem to me to prove that the gills of the freshwater muscles are

the habitual place of incubation of these embryos. - They are all

concealed there in the same fashion, with the head turned toward

the free edge of the branchial lobes ; they thus fill the elongated

cavities between the two plates of a branchial lobe, and it is only

necessary to cut the external membrane in order to set the em-

bryos at liberty. It is then curious to follow the movements of

the oldest. After making some turns in the vessel contaiming

them, they return toward the gill, and eagerly attempt to pene-

trate into it. I have often seen them re-enter the respiratory

canal, and conceal themselves again in a branchial cavity where

they then kept quiet.

I have not been able with complete certamty to ascertain to

what species of fish these little ones belong. The oldest which I

have met with had not yet any generic character; they all still

possessed the embryonic fin continuous around the posterior ex-

tremity of the body, and the ventral ones were altogether want-

ing. But as I know the eggs of nearly all the genera of fishes

inhabiting our soft waters, I have reason to believe that these

eges are of the Cottus Gobia, Linn., a species common in our

small rivers.

These embryos are remarkably distinguished from all those

which I have hitherto observed ; the vitellus is almost opake and

of a yellow colour, which, under the microscope, appears of a

deep brown. The vitellary sac has a very elongated form, and

the young fish is lodged im a very deep depression of this enor-

mous vitellary sac. The difficulty of observation which results

from this disposition is further increased by two lateral swellings

of the yellow mass, swellings which rise where the pectoral fins

have to come out. The swellings of the vitellus enter indeed

into the base itself of the pectoral fin in the more advanced em-

bryos, and thus conceal all the anterior part of the body. To

examine the heart and the branchial region of the embryo, the

vitellary sac must be emptied, which soon causes the circulation

to cease.

Embryonic researches among the inferior animals are often

only rendered so difficult by the want of proper materials. I

shall be happy if I have contributed to remove some of these dif-

ficulties, and I am sure that analogous researches on sea mol-

lusks may lead to numerous discoveries of the same kind.

Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 455

XL.—Notices of British Fungi. By the Rev. M. J. Berxutey,

M.A., F.L.S., and C. E. Broomg, Esq.

[Continued from p. 380. ]

[With two Plates. ]

ERIOSPORA, 0. g.

Stroma multicellulare ; cellulis globosis poro unico communi

sporas filiformes tenerrimas primo quaternatim sporophoras coro-

nantibus effundentibus.

438. Eriospora leucostoma. On dead leaves of Typha, Spye

Park, Wilts, Feb. 1850, C. E. Broome.

Spots pitch-brown, very thin and diffused toward the edges,

not a line broad, marked in the centre with a punctiform white-

bordered pulverulent aperture. Stroma depressed. Cells vary-

ing in number, generally globose, but sometimes from the con-

fluence of one or more depressed. Spores very long, filiform, so

delicate that they wave from the minute currents formed by the

evaporation of the water in which they are placed for examina-

tion on the table of the microscope, at first seated four together

ou short cylindrical sporophores, but soon falling off.

Not unlike the foregoing species, but the spores forbid its

being placed in the same genus. It exactly answers to the genus

Robergea of the Ascosporous series.

Puate XI. fig. 1. Spores with their sporophores highly magnified.

439. Gleosporium paradoxum, Mont. in litt. = Myxosportum

paradoxum, D. Not. Mic. Dec. 2. fig. 10. On leaves of ivy, Pen-

zance, J. Ralfs, Esq. ; King’s Cliffe.

440. G. labes, Mont. in litt.= Asteroma labes, Berk. Brit. Fung.

no. 346.

441, G. concentricum, Berk. & Br. = Cylindrosporum concen-

tricum, Grev. Scot. Crypt. Fl. t..27.

Authentic specimens lately forwarded for imspection by Dr.

Greville show the spores to be produced beneath the cuticle, and

to form little heaps by oozing out as in other species of Glao-

sporium. ‘The notion formerly broached, of its bemg a form of

Cystopus candida, arose from a specimen in Sir W, J. Hooker’s

herbarium received from Dr. Greville, but which unfortunately

was not the true plant, but a form of the common white rust with

cylindrical truncate spores.

441*. Cheirospora botryospora, Fr. Summa Veg. Scand. p. 499

= Hyperomyza stilbosporoides, Corda, Ic. Fasc. 3. fig. 89 = Stil-

bospora botryospora, Mont. Ann. d. Sc. Nat. 1837, t. 18. fig. 5.

Abundant on beech twigs, Wraxall, Somers., C. E. Broome ,

Bristol, H. O. Stephens, Esq.

456 Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

Fries proposed the name of Cheirospora in the addenda to

‘Syst. Orb. Veg.’ in 1825, more than ten years before Thyrsidium,

Mont., and we therefore adopt his name in preference to Myrio-

cephalum, D. Notaris, a name proposed much later than Thyrsi-

dium, but in favour of which Dr. Montagne had kindly waved his

title to priority.

442, Pilidium carbonaceum, lab.= Cenangium fuliginosum, Fr.

On willow branches, King’s Cliffe, &c.

This is no Cenangium, being destitute of asci. The spores are

falciform and septate. We scarcely think it a good Pilidium,

according to Kunze’s notion of the genus, taking P. acerinum as

the type.

443. Melasmia acerina, Lévy. Ann. d. Sc. Nat. May 1846,

p- 276. On leaves of Acer Pseudo-platanus, Beddgellart, Horatio

Piggot, Esq.

Resembling very much a depauperated state of Rhytisma ace-

rinum, or rather R. punctatum, but differmg greatly in structure,

having no asci, but minute oblong spores.

444, Hacipula macrotricha, n.s. Peritheciis hispidis; pilis

longis rectis; sporis minimis lunulatis. On dead branches of

Ulex europea. The precise locality has not been preserved.

Perithecia larger than in the other species, coarsely hispid ;

hairs long, thicker than in LE. Vermicularia, Corda; their imner

tube separating easily from the outer. Spores far more minute,

lunulate.

A much coarser species than that just mentioned, easily recog-

nized by its larger size, coarser hairs, and mimute spores.

445. KH. chetostroma, n.s. Gregaria convexa cinerea ubique

setis nigris percursa ; sporis lunatis, subfusiformibus. On dead

ash keys, Leigh Wood, Somersetshire.

Minute, convex, black; disc rough, with the long inarticulate

bristles which everywhere penetrate its substance. Spores on

rather long fasciculate or connate sporophores, lunate, subfusi-

form, acute at either extremity, pale; endochrome granulated,

green under the microscope.

This is to the genus Hacipula precisely what Desmazierella is

to Peziza; but as the species is so much lower in the scale, we

consider the protrusion of the bristles through the disc as of less

importance, and therefore do not regard it as generically distinct.

It is in fact an Hxcipula in every other respect. We have a closely

allied species on some Panicum from South Carolina.

Puiate XI. fig. 2. a. Plant nat. size on an ash key; 0. portion showing

the stroma, hairs and spores, with their sporophores magnified ; ¢. sporo-

phores and spores more highly magnified ; d. spores very highly magnified.

446. Dinemasporium gramineum, Lévy. Ann. d. Se. Nat. May

Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. BE. Broome on British Fungi. 457

1846, p. 274= Excipula graminum, Berk. Br. Fung. no. 328. A

second species of this genus occurs in South Carolina.

Myxormia, n. g.

Perithectum tenue excipuliforme apertum e cellulis elongatis

compactum. Sporophore tenerz. Spore oblong concatenate

demum liberze, muco involute.

447, M. atroviridis. On dead leaves of grass, Batheaston,

Dec. 1849.

Perithecia excipuliform, scattered, minute, quite smooth,

formed of long closely-packed narrow cells. Sporophores fili-

form. Spores linear-oblong, concatenated, connected by a very

delicate thread which frequently breaks off with them, contain-

ing one or more globose nuclei, generally one at either end, in-

volved in gelatine forming a black green mass resembling

strongly the fructifying stratum in the genus Phallus.

Closely resembling externally Myrothecium gramineum, Lib.,

but differing greatly in structure. The genus is allied to Evei-

pula, but separated from it by habit, by the absence of flocci, and

above all by its concatenate spores. The spores collectively are

very gelatinous. We do not observe any distinct gelatinous coat

to each spore, but infer the presence of a gelatinous medium from

the extreme tenacity of the fructifymg mass. The genus appears

to be allied to Catinula, Lév.

Puate XII. fig. 9..a. Plant nat. size; b. ditto magnified; c. portion

highly magnified, showing the sporophores springing both from the walls

and cellular base ; d. spores magnified 340 diameters.

CysToTRIcHA, n. g.

Perithecium rima longitudinali dehiscens. Sporophore ra-

mos articulates submoniliformes hic illic sporis oblongis uni-

septatis obsitze.

448. C. striola. On decorticated wood, Batheaston. Probably

very common.

Perithecia punctiform or linear, often forming little rows,

black, with a reddish tinge, opening by a longitudinal fissure.

Disc reddish. Sporophores highly developed, greatly elongated,

bearing one or two branches above, articulate from the base sub-

moniliform, the articulations about as long as broad, giving off

here and there oblong pellucid spores, which are at first simple,

but at length uniseptate.

This curious little plant has nearly the structure of Tubercu-

laria, with the addition of a perithecium, the sporophores

however being closely articulate. It resembles very much

Stictis parallela, which has however distinct asci and sporidia as

458 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

represented by Corda and confirmed by ourselves. Endotrichum

of Corda again has a close external resemblance, but a glance at

the figure and description shows clearly that they cannot belong

to the same genus. Labrella punctum, Corda, may also be com-

pared with it. The extremely close external resemblance of ob-

jects belonging to as many very different genera would make a

nice subject for amplification to those who adopt the notions pre-

valent with some of the transformation of species.

Puate XII. fig. 10. a. Plant nat. size; >. ditto magnified; c. portion

highly magnified; d. spores magnified 340 diameters.

449. Coryneum compactum, nu. s. Minutum primitus tectum

sero denudatum ; sporis late fusiformibus obtusiusculis, nucleis

concatenatis. On dead twigs of elm, Wraxall, Som., March 1845.

It occurs also in Upper Carolina on Betula rubra. .

Forming minute scattered pustules at first quite covered by

the cuticle, at length exposed. Stroma convex; spores pedun-

culate, widely fusiform, slightly obtuse, 4—5-septate, nuclei large,

connected with one another.

This species bears nearly the same relation to Stz/bospora py-

riformis that the next does to S. angustata. The nuclei are con-

nected with one another after the fashion of the endochromes of

Sirosiphon ocellatus, Kiitz., Saccothecium Corni, Mont., Helmin-

thosporium Hoffmanni, Berk. and Curt., and some others. The

shape of the spores is very much that of the same organs in

Hymenogaster griseus, Tul.

450. C. disciforme, Kze. Myc. Heft 1. p. 76. On dead twigs

of birch, woods near King’s Cliffe.

b. ellipticum, Berk. & Br. Magnum transversum ; stromate

elliptico crasso pulvinato, sporis pedunculatis multiseptatis fusi-

formibus ; endochromatibus ut plurimum biguttatis. On trunks

of birch-trees, King’s Cliffe. .

Bursting transversely through the bark, large, elliptic, pulvi-

nate ; stroma thick, white, black towards the edges, consisting

of closely-packed elongated cells ; spores fusiform, multiseptate ;

articulations slightly constricted ; endochromes granular, con-

taining generally two transversely arranged globules.

We were at first inclined to consider this a new species, but

specimens exactly agreeing with Corda’s figure have since oe-

curred on smaller twigs, which exhibit occasionally two globules

in the endochromes, and we now regard it merely as a very highly

developed form.

451. C. microstictum, n.s. Tectum ; stromate obsoleto ; sporis

minutis breviter lanceolatis 2- 3-septatis. Sporocadus rosacola,

Rab. no. 1166. On dead twigs of rose, vine, Kerria japonica,

&e. Sent by Mr. Stephens, Mrs. Hussey, &c.

Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 459

Scattered over the twigs and always concealed by the cuticle,

which cracks in the centre of each little pustule. Stroma obso-

lete. Sporophores elongated ; spores minute, brown, shortly lan-

ceolate, with two or three septa.

This has very much the habit of an Hendersonia, but there are

no perithecia. We cannot place it in Sti/bospora, because the

spores are not ejected as in the species of that genus. It is in

fact just intermediate between Stilbospora and Coryneum. The

spores vary slightly, but not sufficiently to justify the proposition

of more than one species.

452. Sporidesmium polymorphum, Cord. Ic. Fase. 1. fig. 119.

On decorticated oak, Wraxall, Som., Feb. 1845, C. E. Broome.

Remarkable for its closely septate peduncle. Corda’s speci-

mens are on white birch.

453. S. antiquum, Cord. Ic. Fase. 3. fig. 11.

Var. compactum, Berk. & Br. On hard wood, Wraxall, Som.,

C. E. Broome.

Our species agrees in general character with Corda’s, of which

we have a specimen from the author, but it is more compact and

composed of smaller cells.

454. S. pyriforme, Cord. Ic. Fasc. 1. fig. 116. On decayed

boards, Luciefelde, Shropshire, Rev. W. A. Leighton, July 1842.

Our species seems to be exactly what is figured by Corda, but we

have no authentic specimen. It forms a thick crust-like stratum.

455. S. melanopum, Berk. & Br. Sporis subglobosis basi cel-

lulosa suffultis, stratum e pluribus soris congestum efformantibus.

Spiloma melanopum, Ach. Meth. t. 1. fig.3; Eng. Bot. ! t. 2358.

Common on the bark of apple-trees.

We are indebted to Mr. Borrer for authentic specimens. Form-

ing broad black patches made up of many smaller spots. Spores

subglobose, very opake, apparently simple, but really composed

of numerous cells supported by a cellular base, which varies

much in length and breadth. In some specimens, but not in all,

short articulated filaments occur, which seem to belong to a spe-

cies of Helminthosporium.

456. S. scutellare, Berk. & Br. Soris scutelleeformibus ; sporis

late obovatis cellulosis, basi brevi cellulosa suffultis. On larch-

bark, Ulting, Essex, H. Piggot, Esq.

Sori scattered, minute, scutelliform ; spores obovate, evidently

cellular, springing from a cellular stroma and supported by a few

variously arranged cells, which are sometimes reduced to merely

one.

TETRAPLOA, n. g.

Spore nude ut plurimum 4-articulate quaternatim connate,

queeque seta coronata.

457. T. aristata. On grass, Westhay Woods, King’s Cliffe.

460 Rev. M.J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

Forming a thin olive-black stratum, consisting of generally

quadriarticulate oblong spores growing four together and per-

fectly connate, each crowned with an articulate seta as long as

itself.

This most curious fungus has occurred once only. It is a

compound Sporidesmium. The quadriaristate bodies may either

be regarded as made up of four spores or as spores formed of

four parallel rows of cells, each row being terminated by a bristle.

They remind one strongly of the achenium of some Composite

plant.

PLaTeE XI. fig. 6. Young and mature spores highly magnified.

457%, Echinobotryum atrum, Cord. Ic. Fase. 2. fig. 6. Parasitic

on some species of Pachnocybe, Milton, Mr. Henderson ; King’s

Cliffe.

The spores have the appearance of fascicles of minute peri-

thecia.

' 458. Dictyosporium elegans, Corda in Weitenweber Beit. no. 1.

p- 87; Cord. Ic. Fasc. 2. fig. 29. On barked oak-trees, Brock-

ley Combe, Som., C. EH. Broome, Feb. 1845.

Allied to Sportdesmium. A very curious and distinct produc-

tion, of which we have specimens from the author.

459. Coniothecium effusum, Cord. Ic. Fase. 1. fig. 21. Com-

mon on fence rails.

Possibly the barren state of some well-known fungus. This is

probably Lepraria ngra, Eng. Bot.

460. C. Amentacearum, Gord. Ic. Fase. 1. fig. 26. On dead

willow-twigs : extremely common.

461. C. betulinum, Cord. 1. c. fig. 25. On dead birch-twigs,

King’s Cliffe.

462. Torula Sporendonema, Berk. & Br. Sporendonema Casei,

Desm. Ann. d. Sc. Nat. vol. xi. p. 246; Mougeot & Nestler,

no. 998.

We have lately met at King’s Cliffe with well-developed spe-

cimens of this species, which is precisely the plant of Mougeot

and Nestler. It has exactly the structure of Torula, and cer-

tainly has not the spores contained within a tube. Corda’s To-

rula Casei appears to be very different. A variety occurs on rats’

dung. The rats had probably been robbing a cheese infested

with: the mould. The specimens came from “Mr. Henderson.

463. T. pulvillus, n. s. Czespitibus pulvimaribus ; floccis com-

pactis rectis ramosis ; articulis oblongis leviter constrictis. On

dead twigs of oak bursting in little tufts through the bark, Ape-

thorpe, March 1841.

Tufts cushion-shaped, half a line broad, compact, black ; flocei

straight, slightly branched, often suddenly diminishing in size

Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 461

and again incrassated, consisting of numerous slightly constricted

oblong joints ; endochrome containing a single nucleus.

Resembling somewhat in structure 7. stilbosporoides, Corda,

of which we have an authentic specimen, but differing greatly in

habit.

464. T. abbreviata, Cord. Ic. Fasc. 1. fig. 180.

b. spherieformis, Berk. & Br. On dead stems of herbaceous

plants, Apethorpe. On decorticated branches of Pinus sylvestris,

Wraxall, Som.

Our specimens exhibit rather a different form from that figured

by Corda. Instead of being widely diffused they present little

Spheria-hke tufts, and have a highly developed hyphasma, con-

sisting of forked threads, at the apices of which the short chains

of spores are fixed. The form of these is identical with what was

observed by Corda, and we regard the species as the same with

his, though constituting a distinct variety.

465. T. basicola, n. s. Hyphasmate repente ramoso hic illic

assurgente ; floccis fertilibus brevibus 5-7-articulatis fastigiatis ;

articulis non constrictis sero caducis, ultimo obtuso. At the base

of stems of peas and of Nemophila auriculata, King’s Cliffe.

Black, effused. Hyphasma creeping, branched, here and there

rising from the general mass and giving off fascicles of short fas-

tigiate fertile threads consisting of from 5-7 articulations. Arti-

culations not constricted, ultimately separating, the last very ob-

tuse. Hach endochrome has usually a single nucleus.

A very curious species, distnguished from most Torule by its

articulations not being constricted. In the plant on Nemophila

the fertile threads grow singly, but there is no other difference.

It is either destructive of the plant on which it grows, or is de-

veloped on it in consequence of previous disease.

Puare XI. fig. 4. a. Flocci with fructifying branches magnified; 0. a

mature fructifying branch and separate articulation highly magnified.

466. Septonema spilomeum, Berk. in Lond. Journ. Bot. vol. iv.

t. 12. fig. 5. On old fence rails, Guernsey, Rev. T. Salwey.

The Guernsey specimens exhibit longitudinal as well as trans-

verse septa, and are more transparent. They differ in no other

respect, the proportions of the constituent parts being precisely

the same. Mr. Salwey writes that the tufts are green when fresh.

We have specimens from Upper Carolina in which the threads

are still more opake than in those from Ohio.

SPOROSCHISMA, N. g.

Flocci erecti simplices; membrana exterior inarticulata te-

nax; endochroma demum in sporas quadriarticulatas emer-

gentes secedens.

467. S. mirabile, Berk. & Br. Gard. Chron. 1847, p. 540.

462 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

Brockley Combe, Som., Feb. 1845 ; Stapleton, Gloucestershire,

C. E. Broome and G. H. K. Thwaites, on rotten beech wood.

Forming a black velvety stratum. Flocci erect, simple, taper-

ing towards the base. External membrane tough, imarticulate.

Endochrome breaking up into cylindrical quadriarticulate spores,

at length escaping from the ruptured thread, each joint having

frequently a single nucleus.

A most curious genus, which has also been found near Paris

by Dr. Roussel. It is accompanied both in the French and

English specimens by a species of Helminthosporium.

The affinities of this plant are clearly with Torula, the circum-

stance of the endosporous mode of fructification being apparent

rather than real. The outer membrane is very tough, and does

not break up into separate portions with the spores. The plant

is in fact a Septonema inclosed in an additional membrane. There

is occasionally a second inarticulate membrane, a structure call-

ing strongly to mind some Scytonemata. The conidia of Gra-

phium penicillatum are produced in the same way. See Bot. Zeit.

1847, t. 4. fig. 4. It should be mentioned that Dr. Montagne

had independently of ourselves formed a new genus for this

plant, which however he has waved in favour of the name given,

though certainly without any sufficient character, in the Gar-

deners’ Chronicle.

468. Puccinia Rhodiole, nu. s. Maculis fuscis, soris congestis ;

sporis brevibus articulis depressis constrictis, quandoque subdi-

visis. Berk. in Gard. Fl. Forfars. p. 296. On leaves of Sedum

Rhodiola, Glen Callater, July 1844, Mr. W. Gardiner.

Spots orbicular, traversed by the central nerve, brown. Sori

minute, crowded. Spores shortly pedicellate, articulations de-

pressed, sometimes spuriously subdivided, showing a tendency to

the structure of Triphragmium.

469. P. Smyrnii, Cord. Ic. Fase. 1. fig. 67. On Smyrnium

Olusatrum, Penzance, J. Ralfs, Esq.

Remarkable for its coarsely tubercled spores.

470. P. Umbilici, Guépin in Dub. Bot. Gall. p. 890; Berk. Br.

Fung. no. 329. On Cotyledon umbilicus, Penzance, J. Ralfs, Esq. ;

Guernsey, Rev. T. Salwey.

471. P. Scrophularie, Lib. no. 193. On Scrophularia aqua-

tica, Penzance, J. Ralfs, Esq.

472. P. Campanule, Carm. MSS. On Jasione montana, Lam-

peter, J. Ralfs, Esq.

473. P. coronata, Cord. Ie. Fasc. 1. fig. 96. Solenodonta gra-

minis, Castagne Cat. p. 202. t. 2. Puccinia sertata, Preuss m

Deutsch. Fl. Abt. 3. no. 25. t. 3. On Bromus giganteus, Bangor,

J. Ralfs, Esq.

We do not see how this differs generically from Puccinia. The

Rey. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 468

circumstance of the spores being multiapiculate instead of uni-

apiculate surely cannot be of generic importance. At any rate

the name Solenodonta cannot stand, as it is preoccupied by a

genus of insectivorous mammals, Brandt in Mém. de VAc. d. 8S.

Pet. vol. 11. 1833, p. 459.

474. Uredo Valeriane, D.C. Fl. Fr. vol. v. p. 68; Berk. Br.

Fung. no. 349. On Valeriana officinalis. Received from Berwick,

Suffolk, Bristol and North Wales.

475. U. Symphyti, D.C. FI. Fr. vol. v. p. 87 ; Berk. Br. Fung.

no. 820. Audley End, Rev. J. E. Leefe, May 1841.

476. U. Sempervivi, A. & 8. p. 126. On leaves of the com-

mon houseleek, Warwickshire, Rev. A. Bloxam.

477. Lecythea Epitea, Lévy. Ann. d. Se. Nat. Dec., 1847, p.374.

Uredo Epitea, Kz. Myc. Heft 1. p. 68. On willows, North Wales,

J. Ralfs, Esq.

478. L. mixta, Lév. l. e. Caoma mixtum, Lk. in Willd.

Lin. vi. P. 2. p. 40. On willows, Roscobie, Forfarshire, Mr.

W. Gardiner.

479. Ustilago Montagne, Tul. Ann. d. Sc. Nat. Feb. 1847,

p. 88. t. 5. fig. 31. On Rhyncospora alba, Gamlingay, Prof. Hens-

low.

480. U. typhoides= Erysibe Typhoides, Wallr. Fl. Crypt. Germ.

vol. u. p.205. On stems of Arundo Phragmitis, which it mate-

rially injures, Fens of Cambridgeshire.

Forming thick bullate patches several inches long, occupying

whole internodes covered by their sheath ; spores globose, larger

than in U. hypodytes and U. longissima.

A very good account of this species will be found in Wallroth’s

book quoted above. Our plant is exactly his species. It some-

times occupies distinct lines, as in U. longissima. Whether U.

grandis, Fr., be the same thing or not can only be ascertained by

the sight of authentic specimens.

481. U. hypodytes, Fr. Syst. Mye. vol. im. p.518. This spe-

cies occurred in 1848 in the greatest profusion at King’s Cliffe,

affecting almost every flowering-stem of Bromus erectus. A plant

of this grass being set in a garden produced none but diseased

flower-stems the following year.

482. U. Salveii, n.s. Soris elongatis parallelis nigris ; sporis

obovatis granulatis. On leaves of Dactylis glomerata, St. Mar-

tin’s, Guernsey, 1847; on hedge-banks, Rey. T. Salwey.

Forming elongated parallel sori on the upper surface of the

leaves. Spores four times as long as in U. lonyissima, obovate,

rough with minute granules.

A most distinct and interesting species, exhibiting in its spores

the type of an Uredo rather than of an Ustilago.

464 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

483. U. grammica, n.s. Minuta lineas breves parallelas in

fascias transversas aggregatas efformans ; sporis minimis globosis.

On stems of Aira aquatica, Oxton, Notts.

Forming little transverse fasciz, consisting of short parallel

black lines a line or more in length. Spores globose, far smaller

This species appears to me to be quite distinct from U. lon-

gissima, with which it is associated by Messrs. Tulasne.

484. U. vinosa, Tul. Ann. d. Se. /. ¢. p.96. On the swollen

receptacles of Oxyria reniformis, Forfarshire, Mr. W. Gardiner.

Spores smaller than in U. utriculosa, and merely minutely pa-

pillose instead of being reticulated.

485. Polycystis Colchict, Tul. Ann. d. Se. Nat. Feb. 1847,

p- 117. Sporisorium Colchici, lab. no. 194. Uredo Colchici, Br.

Fung. no. 309. On leaves of meadow saffron, Rudloe, Wilts,

C. E. Broome.

486. P. parallela, Berk. & Br. U. parallela, Ying. FI. vol. v.

part 2. p. 375. Uredo Agropyri, Preuss in St. Deutsch. Flora,

no. 25. t. 1. Onrye, Mr. J. Sowerby; on the leaves of some

Carex, Forfarshire, Mr. W. Gardiner.

487. P. Viole, Berk. & Br. Granularia Viole, Sow. t. 440.

On leaves and especially petioles of violets. Druid’s Stoke, Glou-

cestershire, Capt. Munro; Portland Island, C. C. Babington, Esq.

The spores in this curious species are more or less globose,

consisting of several cells surrounded by a common irregular

crust.

488. Tuburcinia Trientalis, n.s. Hypo-epiphyllum ; soris bul-

latis nigris ; sporis irregulariter depresso-subglobosis. On leaves

of Trientalis europea, Aberdeen, Dr. Dickie.

Sori two lines broad, bullate, containing a black mass of rather

irregular depressed subglobose spores, which are very opake and

distinctly cellular. Hyphasma white, branched, creeping, deli-

cate.

489. T. Scabies, Berk. Sporis globosis cavis hic illic lacunosis

olivaceis. Berk. in Journ. Hort. Soc. vol. i. t. 4. fig. 80, 31. Rhi-

zosporium Solani, Rab. no. 900. On potatoes: very common :

often confounded with the true potato scab.

The spores of this species are very curious ; they are composed

of minute cells forming together a hollow globe with one or more

lacunze communicating with the external air. A hollow shell with

one or two apertures will give a notion of their form. They are

generally attached laterally by a delicate thread.

490. Acidium Galii, Pers. Syn. p.207. On leaves of Galium

verum, Sands of Barrie, Mr. W. Gardiner.

491. Isaria Friesit, Mont. Ann. d. Se. Nat. ser. 2. vol. vi. p. 28

Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi. 465

(t. 12. fig. 3. dc. vol. v.). On dead stems of Syringa vulgaris,

ash, elder, &c., Milton, Mr. J. Henderson ; Apethorpe, Norths.,

Spye Park, Wilts., flourishing in the middle of winter.

Sometimes pale gray, sometimes pale fawn-coloured.

492. Stilbum fasciculatum, nu. s. Stipitibus flabellato-fascicu-

latis basi connatis cinereis, capitatis incarnatis; sporis ellipticis

minoribus. On decayed wood, Swansea, M. Moggridge, Esq.

Stems gray, fasciculate, connate at the base, so as to form little

flabelliform tufts. Heads flesh-coloured ; spores elliptic.

This species has quite a tropical aspect, resembling somewhat

the Brazilian Stilbum stromaticum and the South Carolina S.

Rhoidis, but still more nearly S. clavulatum, Mont., from Suri-

nam, and scarcely differmg from a species which was produced

abundantly in the Orchis house at Kew, except in having smaller,

less oblong spores, and the base of the stems more decidedly con-

nate. ‘The Kew Garden species, which can scarcely however be

considered indigenous, may be characterized :—

493. S. vaporarium, n.s. Stipitibus congestis fasciculatis basi

plus minus connatis cinereis ; capitulis incarnatis ; sporis oblongis

majoribus.

494. S. fimetarium, Berk. & Broome = Helotium jfimetarium,

P. Syn. p. 678. This species is not uncommon on cow-dung,

rabbits’-dung, &c. It is certainly no Peziza, being destitute of

ascl, and approaches near to S. erythrocephalum, Dittm. Au-

thentic specimens from Persoon show the identity of our plant.

495. Periconia glaucocephala, Corda, Ic. Fasc. 3. fig. 37. On

rotten linen, King’s Cliffe, 1841.

* Periconia discolor, Corda, /. c. fig. 38, appears to be the same

with Pachnocybe grisea, Eng. Fl. vol. v. part 2. p. 334. Splendid

specimens of Phycomyces nitens, Ag., have lately been sent to us

by Dr. Badham which we have propagated, and have consequently

been able to watch the growth of the plant from its first appear-

ance. It is a true Mucor, and certainly the prince of the genus.

*Volutella ciliata, Fr. = Psilonia rosea, Berk. Eng. FI. 0. ¢.

. 353.

; *Chetostroma Buaxi, Cord. = Fusisporium Buxi, Fr. Syst. Mye.

vol. 11. p.447. These two species are decidedly congeneric, as

are also Aigerita setosa, Grev. t. 268. fig. 2, and Psilonia hyazin-

thorum, Berk. 7. c.

The older name of Volutella must be retained for them. We

have therefore Volutella ciliata, Fr., V. Buaxi, V. setosa and V.

hyacinthorum, belonging to the list of British Fungi, and the fol-

lowing new species :-—

496. V. melaloma,n.s. Stromate aurantiaco ; pilis atris ; sporis

breviter fusiformibus leviter lunatis appendiculatis. With Neot-

tiospora Caricum, Spye Park, C. E. Broome.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol.v. 30

466 Rev. M. J. Berkeley and Mr. C. E. Broome on British Fungi.

Perfectly superficial. Stroma and spores bright orange, frmged

with black articulated hairs. Spores shortly fusiform, slightly

lunate, resembling, except in the latter character, those of Neot-

tiospora.

It is most singular that a plant so different in general struc-

ture, though alike in colour and spores, should exist upon the

same leaf with N. Caricum. In the present state of our know-

ledge of such matters we must regard it as distinct, though we

cannot help suggesting the idea that the perithecium in the one

is represented by the ciliatimg hairs in the other, a structure

which was pointed out by one of us as a matter of analogy between

Spheronema blepharistoma, Berk., and Volutella Buxi, many years

sice. What makes the resemblance more striking in the pre-

sent instance is that the spores in either case grow in the same

mode from the stroma, which inclines to a globose form.

Puate XI. fig. 3. a. Portion of plant showing the hairs and stroma with

the sporophores and spores, magnified ; }. spores highly magnified.

497. Illosporium carneum, Fr. Syst. Myce. vol. ui. p. 259; Berk.

Br. Fung. no. 293. On Peltidea canina, Apethorpe, Norths.

498. I. corallinum, Rob. in Desm. no. 1551. On Borrera te-

nella, Ulting, Essex, H. Piggot, Esq.

A beautiful specimen of this exquisite species has been just

transmitted to us from Chelmsford without any distinct locality.

This is clearly I. coccineum, Libert, and consequently of Corda.

499. I. coccineum, Fr. 1. c. On Pertusaria communis, Fal-

mouth, Miss Warren ; Durdham Down, G. H. K. Thwaites, Esq.

500. Epicoccum neglectum, Desm. no. 540 (olim Perisporium

Zee). Ona decayed water-melon, King’s Cliffe, Oct. 1840; on

dead plants of Potamogeton, West of England, C. EK. Broome,

1850.

At first sight our earlier specimen differs greatly, the stromata

beimg seated on a broad blood-red spot, but the structure is ex-

actly the same, and the greater development of the spot may de-

pend upon the more juicy nature of the matrix. Uredo Equisetz,

Engl. Fl., is an Epicoccum with smooth spores, but we have not

at present sufficiently good specimens to propose it as a new

species.

501. Cidemium atrum, Corda in St. Deutsch. Fl. Fasc. 6. t. 9.

On fallen branches, King’s Cliffe, Capel Curig, M. J. Berkeley,

and at Thame, Dr. Ayres.

The structure of this plant is at present very imperfectly ascer-

tained. The flocci are of a vinous-brown, and here and there

invested with mucilage. The larger sporangiiform bodies which

adhere to them seem very much to resemble an Epicoccum with

its globose or somewhat obovate scabrous spores.

Mr. J. Miers on the genera Hyoscyamus and Physochlena. 467

XLI.—On Hyoscyamus and Physochlena.

By Joun Miers, Esq., F.R.S., F.LS.

HyoscyAMvs.

I am induced to offer a few remarks, and propose an emended

character for this genus, in order to confirm some observations

made on a previous occasion (Auj. oper. ili. 174). Although the

opercular dehiscence of the capsule of Hyoscyamus has long been

notorious, the fact of a glandular enlargement on the summit of

the ovarium does not appear to have been anywhere described :

it is however a circumstance worthy of consideration in a physio-

logical point of view, and leads us to inquire what is its true

nature. In the ovarium of Hyoscyamus pictus, which I examined

in aliving state, this glandular appendage is seen to form a very

distinct, thick, and fleshy covering over its larger superior moiety,

where it is terminated by a decided margin, and as the ovarium

advances towards maturity, the lower portion increases consider-

ably in bulk, the pericarpial envelope being drawn out to a thin

membranaceous tube, marked with numerous longitudinal and

branching nervures, while the upper thickened moiety increases

but little in length : these longitudinal nervures may be distinctly

traced upon the inner lining from the base to the summit of the

cell, while upon the external face they are visible only on the lower

portion, no trace of them being seen upon the glandular moiety,

which exhibits quite a different texture, proving beyond all doubt

that the glandular coating in question is really superimposed, and

forms no part of the endocarpial lining, and therefore that it is not

an interior secretion within the cavity of the cell. It is evident

that the lower half of the ovarium consists of two cohering inte-

euments with little or no intervening substance; for wien the

fruit is ripe they are seen to be really distinct, and may without

difficulty be separated from each other on their lacerated edges :

but in the upper moiety the remarkable fleshy gland before men-

tioned is seen to be interposed between the continuation of these

two integuments, and as it hardens by the deposition of woody

matter it constitutes the well-known operculum, which forms quite

an external mushroom-headed enlargement, and which falls off,

not bya regular dehiscence, but by a ruptured edge, as is proved

by the lacerated margin of the two integuments upon the cir-

cumscissile line. The nature and purport of this apical gland

do not appear manifest ; it is probably an extension from the

base of the style, for the epicarpial integument terminates at the

summit of the ovarium by a small ring, that forms an apparent

articulation with the style, which on the contrary is continuous

30%

468 Mr. J. Miers on the genera Hyoscyamus and Physochlena.

with the gland in question, this bemg evident upon making a

longitudinal section just before the ripening of the fruit.

Dr. Putterlick has given in Nees’s ‘Gen. Pl. Germ.’ a very good

series of illustrated analytical dissections of the flower and seed

of Hyoscyamus, but in many respects these details do not agree

with the structure, as I have observed it ; for instance, the pla-

centz are represented as being cruciform with the dissepiments,

to which they are attached by a central axile line, becoming

lunately expanded in the middle of each cell as in Physalis; I

have found the placentz on the contrary to be thick and fleshy,

both closely adnate with the dissepiment, forming one cylindrical

column that fills the greater portion of the central space of the

ovarium ; the embryo is also shown too thick in proportion, and

the cotyledons are not incumbent as there exhibited, but accum-

bent after the manner almost universally seen in this family :

some of the figures there truly represent the corolla as having an

imbricated estivation, which however is erroneously described in

the text, as in the descriptions of all other authors, as being pli-

cated : there is no indication there represented of the remarkable

apical gland in the summit of the ovarium.

I have annexed the specific character of a species which I

found growing in Kew Gardens, and which appears nowhere

given.

Hyoscyamus, Tournef.—Calyzx urceolato-tubulosus, 10-nervis,

5-dentatus, dentibus erectis demum rigidis, persistens et au-

gescens. Corolla infundibuliformi-campanulata, obliqua, imo

constricta, limbi obliqui lobis 5, brevibus, obtusiusculis, subin-

sequalibus, patentibus, seepe hince semi-fissa, estivatione im-

bricata. Stamina 5, imo corolle inserta, inclusa, rarius ex-

serta, declinata ; filamenta imo fornicata et puberula, superne

subulata et glabra; anthere 2-loculares, loculis arcte adnatis,

longitudinaliter intus dehiscentibus, imo connectivi dorsalis

articulatim affixe. Ovarium conicum, disco hypogyno fere

obsoleto impositum, glandula apicali magna crasso-carnosa sig-

natum, 2-loculare, pluri-ovulatum, placentis valde incrassatis

dissepimento utrinque adnatis. Stylus exsertus, apice incurvus.

Stigma capitato-bilobum. Capsula urceolata, submembranacea,

calyce aucto reticulato-coriaceo dentibus pungentibus recon-

dita, 2-locularis, supra medium horizontaliter ruptilis, oper-

culo deciduo, cupuliformi, crasso, corneo. Semzna reniformi-

ovata, compressa, testa scrobiculata, hzlo prominulo cavo

in sinu laterali. Embryo in albumen carnosum teres, subspi-

ralis, radicula paulo incurvata, ad angulum basalem spectante,

cotyledonibus semiteretibus zquilonga.—Herbe Gerontogee

pubescentes, sepius viscose et olide, vadice perennante ; folia

Mr. J. Miers on the genera Hyoseyamus and Physochlena. 469

alterna, dentata, vel sinuato-angulata, floralibus sepe geminis ;

flores awillares, solitarti, secundi; corolla lutescens, sepe reti-

culatim picta*.

Hyoscyamus pictus, Bernh. MSS. ;—viscido-pilosus, foliis ellipticis,

acutis, sub-3-lobis, infra medium szpe repandis, vel sinuatis,

subamplexicaulibus, rachi, nervis, margineque lanato-pilosis ;

flore breviter pedunculato, caule, pedunculo, calyceque pun-

gente imo ventricoso lanato-pilosis, corolla ventricosa, glabra,

sulphurea, venis violaceis reticulatim picta, ad ventrem sub-

fissa, intus imo maculis magnis 5 violaceis ornata, limbi lobis

subzequalibus obtusis, filamentis luteis, antheris violaceis in-

clusis.—v. v. cult.

PHYSOCHLANA.

The plants composing this small group were for a long time

considered as species of Hyoscyamus. Mr. G. Don (Dict. iv. 470)

was the first to separate them as a distinct genus, on account of

their entire leaves and their terminal corymbose purple flowers,

but as in his generic character no feature appeared to indicate

any difference from Hyoscyamus, either in the structure of the

flower or the fruit, they have been retained in this latter genus by

all succeeding botanists. M. Decaisne in describing an Indian

species perceived the difference of its habit from that of Hyoscy-

amus, and adopted it as the type of a new genus, under the name

of Belenia, but this suggestion has in like manner been disre-

garded. I have noticed however the following circumstances

that seem to warrant the restoration of this genus. In Physo-

chlena the apical gland is proportionally much smaller and far less

conspicuous than in Hyoscyamus, for the ovarium being more

conical, it covers only the extreme upper portion beneath the

base of the style, and is distinguishable from the rest of its sur-

face by its lurid purple colour: it offers also a larger and more

conspicuous hypogynous, fleshy, yellow disc, which is sometimes

searcely discernible in the other genus. Besides these points of

variance, and the dissimilarity in habit, as well as in the colour of

its corolla, the following differences are evident. In Hyoscyamus

the flowers are always axillary, nearly sessile at the base of a large

leaf, and generally secund ; the calyx increases very considerably

in length, becomes stiff and rigid, and its teeth, conspicuous for

their strong marginal nerves, ending in a long mucronate point,

become hard and spiculate, and are always somewhat spreading ;

the operculum is convex, nearly hemispherical, and of a bony

consistence. In Physochlena, on the contrary, the flowers are

never axillary, but always upon a more or less lengthened ter-

* Analytical details of this genus will be given in a supplementary plate

in the 2nd vol. of the ‘ Ulustr. South Amer. Plants.’

470 Mr. J. Miers on the genera Hyoscyamus and Physochlena.

minal raceme or panicle; the calyx does not increase to half the

size, in proportion to that of Hyoscyamus, it is more reticulated,

of thinner and more membranaceous texture, and the teeth,

wanting the strong marginal nervures, are thin and blunted, and

generally inflexed, nearly closing the mouth of the tube; the

operculum is also much smaller, quite flat and discoid, and less

bony in its substance. These different features are fully suffi-

cient to constitute a valid genus, which I propose to call Phy-

sochlena, a name more strictly in conformity with the usual

orthoépy than that of Don, bemg derived from ¢ica, vesica,

xNatvow, vestio, because of its capsule inclosed in a vesicular

calyx. I here annex its generic outline :—

PuysocHL#NA. Physoclaina, G. Don. Belenia, Decne.—Calyx

cylindricus, seepe medio subinflatus, 10-nervis, 5-dentatus,

persistens ct augescens. Corolla campanulato-infundibuli-

formis, superne ventricosa, 1mo constricta et cylindrica, limbo

vix obliquo, subzequaliter 5-fido, lobis subacutis, haud paten-

tibus, stivatione imbricata. Stamina 5, subzequalia, decli-

nata, seepius exserta, in constrictionem corolle inserta, fila-

menta ortu pilosa, superne glabra, colorata; anthere ovate,

imo dorsi ad connectivum articulatim affixee, 2-loculares, locu-

lis adnatis, margine longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Ovariwm

conicum, disco carnoso annulari basi cinctum, glandula parva

apicali vix conspicua munitum, 2-loculare, ovulis plurimis, pla-

centis valde incrassatis, dissepimento utrinque adnatis. Stylus

incurvus, exsertus. Stagma subbilobo-capitatum. Capsula tur-

binata, membranacea, calyce reticulato inclusa, 2-locularis,

apice operculatim dehiscens, operculo parvo discoideo, cori-

aceo. Semina plurima, placentis crassis affixa, ovata, com-

pressa, reniformia, festa reticulato-favosa, hilo laterali. Em-

bryo teres, intra albumen subcarnosum hemicyclicus, radicula

meurvata, ‘ad angulum basalem spectante, cotyledonibus semi-

teretibus eequilongis. —Herbz Gerontogee Orientales, radice

perennante, caulibus plurimis ; folia elliptica, alterna, integra,

petiolata ; flores terminales, corymbost, pedicellati ; corolla pur-

purascens, rarius sublutescens.

1. Physochlena physaloides. Physoclama physaloides, G. Don,

Dict. iv. 470. Hyoscyamus physaloides, Linn. Amen. Acad.

vil. tab. 6. fig. 1; Sims, Bot. Mag. tab. 852; Sweet, Br. Fi.

Gard. i. tab. 18 ;—radice tuberoso, caulibus plurimis erectis,

simplicibus ; foliis subcordato- ovatis, acutis, 1mo in petiolum

canaliculatum squilongum attenuatis, utrinque glaberrimis,

margine ciliatis; panicula terminali, ‘pedicellis calycibusque

dene lanato- pilosis ; corolla omnino glabra, purpurascente,

lacinus obtusis, albescentibus, genitalibus faucem vix exceden-

Mr. J. Miers on the genera Hyoscyamus and Physochlena. 471

tibus ; calyce fructifero inflato, glabro, capsulam dimidio mi-

norem claudente.—Siberia, in montibus Altaicis, et planitiis

Songariz.—v. s. in herb. Hook. e locis citatis.

This plant scarcely exceeds the height of 6 or 8 inches, and

may at once be distinguished from all others by the smallness of

its leaves, and of its stature and its tuberose root: its leaves are

% inch long and 7 lines broad ; they are subcordate or auriculate

at base, tapering suddenly, and decurrent on the petiole of equal

length. The flowers are capitato-corymbose; the pedicels and

calyx are clothed with long cottony hairs, which are articulated,

but apparently not viscous ; the calyx is 3 lines long, the corolla

6 lines, the former growing to a length of 8 lines, being 3 lies

broad in the mouth, ‘and 5 lines diameter in the swollen middle ;

it is of transparent texture, smooth, marked with numerous reti-

culations, and with ten longitudinal nervures ; the berry is about

3 lines in diameter, subglobose, with a small flattened operculum.

2. Physochlena Dahurica ;—caule violascente, foliis deltoideo-

ovatis, acutis, basi auriculato-cordatis, hine subito acuminatis,

et in petiolum crassum decurrentibus, rachi venisque purpu-

rascentibus, utrinque glaberrimis; panicula terminali, lanato-

pilosa, genitalibus inclusis—Dahuria, v. s. in herb. Hook. (Hy-

oscyamus physaloides, Turczaninow).

This plant differs from the preceding in its more fleshy habit,

its leaves bemg much larger, more deltoid, more acute at the

apex, broader at their base ; they are 13 inch long, 13 inch broad,

on a fleshy petiole 11 inch long.

3. Physochlena rubricaulis. Hyoscyamus physaloides, Sweet,

Brit. Fl. Gard. i. tab. 12;—caulibus crassis, subprostratis, sub-

flexuosis, rubescentibus, nodis cupularibus cum petiolo arti-

culatis ; foliis oblongo-ovatis, acutis, repando-undulatis, basi

obtusis, in petiolum crassum canaliculatum longe decurren-

tibus, utrinque glaberrimis ; racemo corymboso, terminali

rufescente, paucifloro, pedicellis incurvis, calycibusque fuscis

dense glanduloso-pilosis, corolla glabra, purpurascente, laci-

niis ovatis, rotundatis, staminibus inclusis, stylo declinato ex-

serto recurvo.—v. s. in hort. Kew. cult.

This plant has a fusiform root: its stems are fleshy, somewhat

flexuose, with internodes seldom more than half an inch apart ;

its leaves in shape much resemble those of P. Dahurica ; they are

2 inches long, 14 inch broad, gradually tapering upon a fleshy

petiole 14 inch in length ; this as well as the thick fleshy midmb

and prominent nerves are of a dark reddish purple colour ; in

drying, the blade of the leaf becomes yellow. Its inflorescence

is much shorter, fewer-flowered, and covered with dense short

472 Mr. J. Miers on the genera Hyoscyamus and Physochlena.

viscous down, not long woolly hairs, and its flowers are not co-

rymbose and many-flowered. The calyx is 4 lines long, 2 lines

in diameter ; the corolla is 7 lines long, of a reddish purple colour,

and its lobes are more ovate and rounded; the ovarium is gla-

brous. It makes its appearance at least a month or six weeks

later in the season than the two following species *.

4. Physochlena orientalis. Physoclaina orientalis, G. Don, loc.

cit. Hyoscyamus orientalis, Bieb. Fl. Taur. i. 164; Sims, Bot.

Mag. tab. 2414 ;—viscoso-pubescens, foltis fusco-viridibus,

deltoideo-ovatis, acutis, in petiolum sublongum attenuatis,

demum subglabris; floribus corymbosis, corolla obscuriore,

purpurea, staminibus atro-violaceis, styloque zequilongo longe

exsertis, calyce florifero tubuloso, fructifero cylmdrico, mem-

branaceo, reticulato, capsulam minorem imcludente.—Caucasia

prope Narzanam : v. s. in herb. Hook. (Caucasus, Steven) et mm

hort. Kew. cult.

This plant grows in the open air in Kew Gardens to the height

of 12 or 18 inches, its numerous stems being annually deci-

duous: it is altogether covered with short viscous pubescence,

which, as well as the foliage, is of a dark fuscous hue, becoming

ereener after the fall of the flowers. The leaves are 23 mehes

long, 14 inch broad, upon a fleshy channeled petiole of 1 meh in

length, the nervures and stem being of a purplish hue: the calyx

is 3 lines long, the corolla 6 lines, the stamens and style bemg

exserted to a length of 3 lines: the capsule is 3 lines in diameter,

inclosed in the calyx of equal diameter, and of nearly double

its length, which is pilose, reticulate, submembranaceous, and

in no degree swelling in the middle: the lower valve of the cap-

sule is somewhat membranaceous, greenish, and marked with

several longitudinal nervures ; the operculum, crowned by the

persistent base of the style, is of a blackish violet hue, soft, of

thin texture, and quickly shrivels up in drying: the seeds are few,

proportionately rather large, yellowish brown, scrobiculated, oval,

reniform and compressed : the embryo is arched in a semicircular

form ; the radicle, about the length of the cotyledons, points to

the basal angle below the lateral hilum.

Var. 8. affinis. Hyoscyamus orientalis, Sweet, Brit. Fl. Gard. 1.

tab. 12;—glanduloso-pubescens, foliis ovatis, acutis, In pe-

tiolam sublongum attenuatis, venis pilosulis, demum sub-

glabris ; corolla purpurascente, lobis subalbidis, staminibus

inclusis, stylo longe exserto, calyce fructifero imflato.—v. v.

cult in hort. Kew.

* A drawing of this species with analytical details will be given in a sup-

plementary plate in the 2nd vol. of the ‘ Illust. South Amer. Plants.’

Mr. J. Miers cn the genera Hyoscyamus and Physochlena. 473

This plant grows by the side of the former species, and little

or no difference is to be seen between them in the size and shape

of the leaves: they are however less fuscous, and do not become

so thick and dark in drying, the pubescence is less dense, and the

nervures beneath are prominent and green. The inflorescence

is panicular, not corymbose; the pedicel, as well as its small

sessile ovate pointed bract, and the calyx, being covered with

dense, short, patent, glandular hairs: the corolla, of a pale pur-

plish colour, is slightly pubescent externally ; its estivation is

distinctly imbricate, with its external lobe on the contrary side

to the more oblique portion, to which the stamens and style are

inclined ; the ovarium exhibits several long simple hairs upon its

surface.

5. Physochlena prealta. Belenia prealta, Decne. Jacq. Voy.

Bot.114. tab.120. Hyoscyamus prealtus, Walp. Rep. ui. 21;—

herba perennis, pilis brevibus rarisque viscidulis tota imspersa,

foliis e parte infra medium lanceolatis, imo deltoideis, subiter

acuminatis, et in petiolum incrassatum decurrentibus, supra

glabris, subtus rachi crassissimo, et im venis prominentibus

viscidulo-pilosis ; panicula terminali, elongata, ramosa, ramis

longis, laxiflora, pedicellis calyce longioribus, bracteatis, cer-

nuis, demum elongatis, erectis; calyce brevi, urceolato, den-

tibus 5 brevibus reflexis, fructifero valde aucto, et subincurvo ;

corolla viridi-lutescente, venis viridibus picta.— Himalaya.

This plant appears much taller than any of the foregoing spe-

cies, its inflorescence much longer and more lax, the calyx grows

to a larger size considerably, and the corolla is of a greenish yel-

low, marked with dark green reticulations, as in Hyoscyamus. It

approaches Hyoscyamus muticus, which probably belongs rather

to this genus, on account of its long, panicular, terminal inflo-

rescence, the obtuse lobes of its calyx, and often purple flowers.

The leaves are 33 inches long (exclusive of its decurrent petiole

of 4 an inch), and 1} inch broad. The inflorescence is 7 or 8

inches long; the corolla is more campanular than that of the

typical species, the stamens being included; the style alone is

exserted: the calyx in flower is 4 lines long, tubular, and 2 lines

in diameter ; it subsequently grows to a length of 11 lines and

to a diameter of 4 lines. In the drawing above quoted, a section

is given of the seed of this species, in which there appears a

manifest error in the relative positions of the radicle and coty-

ledons in regard to the hilum: it seems very unlikely that it

should differ in this respect from the features described in the

generic character, which are derived from careful observation

upon several other species, and which are conformable to the

structure known to exist in all the allied genera in this family.

‘

474 Mr. T. Davidson on the genus Waltonia.

XLIT.—On the genus Waltonia. By Tuomas Davipson, Esq.

[With a Plate. ]

M. Boucuarp and myself, in Jan. 1848*, published a detailed

description of the genus Magas, Sowerby, with figures illustra-

ting the internal structure of this remarkable little shell, at that

period incompletely known. Some time after I wrote a papert

with figures on a recent species known under the name of Tere-

bratula rosea, which shell, from the peculiar arrangement of its

internal organization differing from that of all known Brachio-

poda, led me to propose for it a distinct generic name, that of

Bouchardia, belonging to the family of Magaside; Magas pu-

milus and Bouchardia rosea being the only species in each genus.

During a late visit to Paris, M. Valenciennes kindly lent me

specimens of recent Terebratule brought to Europe by Quoy and

Gaimard ; and on a tablet on which were placed several specimens

of Terebratula sanguinea, Leach, I found a small shell whose or-

ganization was completely different from those with which it was

surrounded, but offering characters not allowimg of its being

placed in either Magas or Bouchardia, but claiming a new

generic name, and forming part of the family of Magaside.

M. D’Orbigny, in his ‘ Pal. Franc. Ter. Crétacés,’ vol. v, p. 52,

places in this family Magas and Terebratulina ; I cannot however

agree with that author in this association, as I consider the orga-

nization of Ter. Caput serpentis to be completely different from

that of Magas, and not to belong to the same group or family.

In a very interesting paper by Mr. King { on certain genera of

Palliobranchiata, the internal organization of Terebratula rosea

is alluded to; and in the great work by that author on the

Permian fossils of England, Mr. King has adopted and placed

in the same family of Magaside the genus Mayas, Sow., and my

Bouchardia.

Genus Wattonta.

Char. Shell bivalve, inequivalved, equilateral, subovate, slightly

convex ; beak almost straight, partly truncated by a large foramen

extending from the summit to the umbo of the ventral valve

which it partly encircles ; deltidium small, disunited, and forming

only a portion of the peduncular opening : at the base of the beak

are two strong teeth corresponding with the sockets of the ventral

valve. The interior of the dorsal valve is simple, with a slight

central longitudinal elevation dividing the shell into two equal

portions, not extending quite tothe margin. In the ventral valve

* Bull. Soc. Géol. de France, vol. v. 2nd series, p. 139, pl. 2.

+ Ibid. vol. vi. 2nd series, 1849.

{ Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist. vol. xvin. 1846.

ee ai, «eel

Mr. T. Davidson on the genus Waltonia. 475

a strong elevated central plate arises near the umbo, describing a

gentle curve, diverging more obliquely again, and by another

curve attains the central ridge of the dorsal valve on which it

rests, and from whence it descends, forming a gentle diagonal

line to the bottom of the ventral valve. From the inner edge

of both the dental sockets of this valve a ribbon-shaped lamella

by a gentle curve rises to near the middle of the central plate to

which they are attached.

Obs. From the inspection of this shell it will be seen, that

by its beak, foramen and teeth it differs considerably from

Magas and Bouchardia. In the last-named genus the foramen

is completely surrounded by the substance of the shell and

separated from the umbo of the ventral valve, without deltidium,

while in Waltonia the position of the foramen, deltidium and

umbo are exactly similar to that of the genus Terebratulina,

D’Orb. : it approaches also more to Magas by the simplicity of

its hinge. Besides these particular family characters we find the

same calcareous support, and the same central elevated plate, but

more simple in its details. In Magas, besides the two ribbon-

shaped lamelle described, we find two upper anchor-shaped

lamellee situated parallel to the under ones: these are net to be

seen in Waltonia, which has only one pair; while in Bouchardia

the under ones are completely wanting, and we find only the

upper or anchor-shaped pair. Thus Magas would be characterized

by two pair of lamellee, Waltonia by the lower ones only, and

Bouchardia by the upper ones. In all three the dental portion

and foramen vary. ‘The punctuation also is less strong in Wal-

tonia than in Magas, and more so than in Bouchardia.

On these important differences I think myself authorized to

propose for this little shell a distinct generic title, and I take

much pleasure in dedicating it to my old friend William Walton,

Esq. of Bath.

Waltonia Valenciennesit, nob. Pl. XV. fig. 1:

Shell small, of a red colour, ornamented by irregular costz or

undulations disposed as in Ter. fimbria, the central coste being

directed towards the umbo, but extending only from the mar-

gin to about half the length of the valve. The lateral coste,

instead of being directed towards the umbo as im all plicated

Terebratule, diverge in a sloping manner towards the middle of

the shell, and consequently could never reach the umbo (see

figures). The dorsal valve is more convex than the ventral one,

which is almost flat, with two ears similar to those visible in Te-

rebratula Caput serpentis, &e.; foramen large. Length 2} lines,

breadth 2 lines, depth 1 line; from the seas of New Zealand,

where Quoy and Gaimard discovered it.

476 Mr. J. E. Gray on the Operculum

I dedicate this species to M. Valenciennes, whose talents and

associations with Lamarck and Cuvier place him im the first rank

among our European scientific men.

The only specimen known belongs to the Garden of Plants ;

and in order to illustrate the distinctions between the three

genera of this small family, I have given in Pl. XV. profile views

of Magas (fig. 2), and Bouchardia (fig. 3), which thus express

to the eye what the writer of this paper has been unable to

describe.

Fig. 1 is the natural size of Waltonia Valenciennesii ; the other

figures are enlarged.

I have also here to express my thanks to my old friend M. Bou-

chard, to whom I exposed my views on this new genus, and in

which he completely concurred.

XLIII.—On the Operculum of Gasteropodous Mollusca, and an

attempt to prove that it is homologous or identical with the second

Valve of Conchifera. By J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,

Havine for several years entertained the opinion that the oper-

culum of Gasteropods is identical with the second valve of

bivalve shells, and having in the ‘Synopsis’ of the British Mu-

seum for 1842, and in several papers on Mollusca, mentioned

it in that light, without any naturalist having attempted in

any way to dispute the theory, I was mduced to believe that it

had been adopted as an axiom ; but having lately mentioned the

fact in the presence of Mr. Owen and several other comparative

anatomists, and finding that they were not prepared to admit the

propriety of the comparison, I have been induced to put on paper

the reasons which led me to adopt the theory, which I have neg-

lected to do before. I am the more induced to do so, as on reading

Professor Lovén’s paper, I find that that very accurate and pro-

found malacologist, who has paid much attention to the relation

which the different classes of Moilusca bear to each other and

the homologies of the different organs, though he has observed

that these Mollusca are provided with a particular part, before

very generally overlooked, which he calls the lobus operculigerus,

but which I have long ago described as the mantle of the oper-

culum, yet considers the operculum as analogous to byssus. His

observations are as follows :—

“The Gasteropods have also another part of the foot, which

may be named /obus operculigerus, sometimes highly developed

of Gasteropodous Mollusca. 477

as in Adlanta, sometimes very reduced ; on its middle the byssus

is secreted, whose filaments when present are always anes into

a dise-like operculum.

“ The side part of the lobe is sometimes produced into cirri,

as in Rissoa, Lacuna, &c., sometimes into a large extensible mem-

brane capable of covering the whole shell.”—Lovén, Ofvers.

Kongl. Vetensk. Akad. Fork. 1847.

In a paper on the Structure of Shell in the Philosophical

Transactions for 1833, I showed with considerable detail that the

operculum of the Gasteropodous Mollusca, like the shelly valve

of those animals,

1. Is developed on the embryo long before it is hatched.

2. That it is placed on and covers a peculiar part of the body,

which bears the same relation to it as the part of the body called

the mantle bears to the part usually called the shell of these

animals ; and it is formed and increased in size by an opercular

mantle in the same way as the shells are.

3. That the operculum is more or less conical, and is increased _

in size by the addition of new matter to the inner surface, and

especially to the surface near the margin; the new matter either

forming more or less complete rmgs round the nucleus (or first-

formed part), when they are called annular, and are homologous

to the simply conical shell, as the Patella; or else the new matter

is deposited almost entirely on one edge of the nucleus, when the

operculum forms a more or less elongated cone, which, when long,

is spirally twisted round an imaginary axis (like a spiral shell),

the broad part of the cone being next the edge of the opercular

mantle which secretes the new matter for enlarging its size, as

the mouth of the shell is on the outer edge of the mantle of the

univalve shell.

4. That the operculum is attached to the animal by means of

one or more muscles, which, as in the bivalve shell, pass from

the larger valve or shell to the smaller one or operculum.

5. The operculum as it increases in size is gradually moved

on the end of the muscle; the many-whorled operculum of the

Trochi revolves as many times on the end of the muscle, as the

many-whorled spiral shell turns on its imagimary axis.

6. The operculum is moulded on the opercular mantle, and

is often lined internally with a shelly coat like a shell ; and some-

times, like the shell of the Cowries, it has its outer " surface co-

vered with a shelly coat deposited by some special development of

the opercular mantle especially destined for the purpose, as is the

case in the Cowries and some other shells.

From these observations it would appear, that the operculum

has all the characters of the part of the animal which has been

usually considered as the shell.

478 Mr. J. E. Gray on the Operculum

In the paper before referred to, I stated, “The operculum agrees

with the valve of shells in being developed on the embryo while

included in the egg, and in increasing in size by the addition of

new matter round the circumference of the base of the cone of

which they are formed. They also agree in the cone being some-

times simple and straight, and sometimes curved into a spiral

form.” The principal difference between the operculum and the

valve or shell of the Gasteropods consists—

1. In the operculum having no cavity, the cone of which it is

formed being either very much depressed, so as to become nearly

flat or even concave, as in the annular or subannular operculum ;

or very much compressed, forming only a spiral riband, as in the

spiral operculum.

2. The operculum of by far the greater number of Gasteropods

is only formed of animal matter, so that the operculum is as if

formed entirely of what constitutes the periostraca or drap marin

of the shelly valves ; but the shells of some Gasteropods, as that

of the Aplysia, Bulle, and of some land mollusks, and the valves

-of some bivalves, as Lingula, have only a very thin shelly in-

ternal layer, strengthening the thick periostraca; on the other

hand, many opercula, like the generality of shells, have a shelly

coat deposited on the inner side of the horny or periostracal coat,

and others have the outer surface of this part, like Cyprea and

some other genera of shells, covered with a shelly coat.

The absence of a cavity is a difference only of degree, for the

valves of some Gasteropods, as Umbrella for instance, are so flat

as to produce no cavity, and thus greatly resemble the annular

opercula of Ampullaria and Paludina, as the flat valves of some

Calyptre are like the spiral opercula of Littorine ; but the greatest

resemblance is to be observed in the small flat valves of Gryphea,

Exogyra, Chama, and other genera of bivalve shells which are

attached by one of their valves. These valves are often quite as

flat and destitute of any cavity as the operculum of any Gaste-

ropod ; and it is’to-be remarked that these valves exactly resemble

a spiral operculum in shape, the remains of the ligament forming

a spiral mark on the outer surface, showing how the valve has

rotated on the body of the animal as the operculum rotates on

the foot of the Gasteropods.

Having thus shown the reasons which induced me to regard

the operculum to be a modification of the other or shelly valve

of a Gasteropod mollusk, I shall now proceed to show why I have

been induced to believe that it is analogous to the second valve

of a bivalve.

In the Philosophical Transactions for 1833 I remarked, “ A bi-

valve shell is composed of a dextral and a sinistral valve united

together by a ligament. When the two valves are separated and

of Gasteropodous Mollusca. 479

spread out on a table, with the umbones above and the front end

towards the observer, the valve to the right (the left when on

the animal and in its usual walking position) resembles a dextral,

and that on the left a sinistral, very depressed, spiral shell. This

is well illustrated by comparing the left valve of an Isocardia

with a Concholepas.

“Tn some very rare instances these shells also are reversed, but

the fact is not easily observed except in the unequal-valved kinds.

There were formerly in the Tankerville collection (they are now

in the Museum) two specimens of Lucina Childreni, in one of

which the right valve was a dextral shell in opposition to the

general structure. A much more remarkable variation is to be

observed in some of those bivalve shells whose under valve is at-

tached to foreign bodies; thus for example, most of the Chame

are attached by their left valve, but some species, such as Chama

Lazarus, are frequently attached by the right valve, under which

circumstance the teeth proper to the left and usually attached

valve are transferred to the right, and vice versd.”—Gray, Phil.

Trans. 1833, 776. '

“In bivalve shells the apex of each valve is always placed on

or near the dorsal or upper margin, varying its position on this

part in the different groups. Thus im the Pectines and other

suborbicular shells, which having a very large subcentral poste-

rior adductor muscle, were called by Lamarck Monomyaires,

the apex is generally in or near the centre ; while in most of the

other genera it is placed more or less towards the anterior extre-

mity of this margin, and is sometimes incurved.

“Tn some of these shells the apex is spirally twisted, and the

spire becomes more developed as they increase in size.

“ Now this could not take place if the valves remained insepa-

rably united together at the same part of the dorsal margin, but

it is provided for by the hinge of the shell being gradually moved

backwards on the edge of the valves, the ligaments separating

in front of the hinge into two parts, one of which diverges along

each of the umbones and forms a spiral groove down the suture

of the whorls. In Jsocardia the umbones seldom make more

than half a turn, but in one specimen of Chama in my collection

they have made an entire revolution, and in another a revolution

and a half. The valves of these shells bemg unequal, the spiral

part of the lower or attached valve is produced into an elongated

cone, while in the other it is depressed and simply marked with

a spiral groove like that of an operculum.”—Phil. Trans. 1838,

775.

It thus appears that the valve of a bivalve shell resembles the

univalve shell of a Gasteropodous mollusk—

1. In shape, one valve being like a dextral, and the other like

a sinistral univalve.

480 Mr. J. E. Gray on the Operculum

2. That, like the univalves, these valves are sometimes re-

versed.

3. That the valves move on the body of the animal as the uni-

valve shells do, to allow the deposition of new shelly matter to

the margin ; the position of the hinge on the margin being gra-

dually altered to allow of this motion.

The operculum agrees with the second valve of a bivalve in all

the preceding particulars.

]. The position of the nucleus of the annular operculum, or

the spire of the spiral operculum, is always twisted in an opposite

direction from that of the shell to which it belongs, as is the case

with the two valves of a Conchiferous mollusk. This is easily

observed by comparing the position of the nucleus of the dextral ~

and sinistral genera of Ampullariade, or the spiral operculum of

a sinistral malformation of a Gasteropodous mollusk with that

of one of the normal form,

2. These valves are sometimes reversed, as in the instances

above cited.

3. The operculum moves on the foot as the valves do on the

body, and they always bear the same relative situation to the

valves as the valves do to each other. In the ‘Synopsis’ of the

British Museum for 1842, p. 56, when referring to the Phyto-

phagous Gasteropods, I observed, “ Many of them have a spiral

operculum or lid which is attached to the back of the hinder part

of the foot of the animal. This operculum turns round. back-

wards on the apex of its spire as it increases in size by the addi-

tion of new matter to the edge of its last whorl, so that this edge

is always in the same position in the mouth of the shell.”

The two valves of the bivalve move at the same rate, and there-

fore the lower attached valve of the Chama, which often has the

apex produced into a conical tip like the spire of a univalve, and

marked like it with a spiral groove formed by the remains of the

cartilage, similar to the suture of the whorls; and the flat valve

with its simple spiral groove has the same number of twists im

the flat and the elevated spire of the two valves. The same ap-

pears to be the case with the opercula of univalves, as the num-

ber of volutions of the operculum appears to bear a relation to

the number of whorls in the shelly valve. Thus all the shells

which have many gradually increasing whorls, as the Trochi, Tur-

ritelle and Cerithia, have also an operculum with many whorls

which very gradually increase in size ; while the Littorine, Nerite, .

and Natice, which have a few more or less rapidly increasing

whorls, have an operculum of that character which have hence been

called neritoids; but there appear to be some exceptions to this

rule, which require examination.

In addition to these similarities it may be observed, that the

operculum, like the two valves of a bivalve, is united to the valve

of Gasteropodous Mollusca. 481

of the univalve shell by muscles passing from one to the other,

which by their contractions bring them together. The forms of the

muscles which are used for this purpose differ in disposition and

number according to the form of the mouth of the shell or the

form of the valves. Thus when the valves are nearly circular, or

the mouth of the univalve shell and the operculum moderate, the

muscles form only a single group; on the contrary, when the

valves are oblong elongate, or the mouth of the univalve shell

very large, they form two groups of muscular fibres, one on each

side of the valve or cavity of the shell and operculum.

This attachment of the operculum is important ; for some con-

chologists appear to have regarded the opercula of Gastero-

podous Mollusca as analogous to the accessorial valves of certain

bivalves, such as the genus Pholas, which they have remarked

are formed in the same manner as the true valves, by the

addition of new shelly matter to the edge. But these accessorial

valves are never affixed to the animal by muscle, while the oper-

culum, as above described, is attached to the animal, and is

affixed to the other valve just in the same manner as the two

primary valves of a bivalve are affixed to each other.

Other conchologists, because the plug which passes through

the sinus of an Anomia has been called an operculum or stopper,

have regarded the operculum of Gasteropods as analogous to

that substance, overlooking the fact that the plug of the Anomia

is but a modification of the byssus, an excretion by which many

molluscous animals more or less permanently attach themselves

to other bodies, and has no affinity to a shelly valve; unless we

adopt Professor Lovén’s theory above quoted, and believe the

operculum to be a modification of the byssus. On the other

hand, it may be observed, that the two valves of a Conchiferous

mollusk are always united together by a ligament, while the

opercula of the Gasteropodous Mollusca are always quite free

from the shelly valves; but the importance of this peculiarity

disappears when we consider that the two valves of the Brachio-

podous Mollusca, which are so perfectly homologous to the valves

of the Conchifera in other particulars, are always free and with-

out any ligament ; and secondly, that the opercula of one fa-

mily of Gasteropods, viz. the Neritinide, are furnished with a pe-

culiar tooth-like process which enables them to move on the sharp

inner lip of the larger valve, and greatly resembles the hinge of

the valves on the Conchifera. Adanson, describing this kind of

operculum, observes, “Il imite parfaitement en cela le second

battant des coquillages bivalves.”— Voy. Senegal, 41.

From these observations I was induced to believe the oper-

culum of a Gasteropodous mollusk to be analogous to the shelly _

valve of the same animal, and that the shelly valve and the oper-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. dL

482 Gn the Operculum of Gasteropodous Mollusca.

culum together are homologous to the two valves of a Conchi-

ferous mollusk.

I was also led to believe that the normal or typical form of

Mollusca is to be protected by two valves or shells, and I was

strengthened in this impression by the discovery that several

mollusks which have no shell in their adult state, as the Doride,

&c., have their newly hatched young covered with two shelly

valves which afterwards fall off.

With this idea, m the ‘ Synopsis’ of the British Museum for

1842, p. 50, I observed, “ By far the greater number of these ani-

mals (Mollusca) are provided with two of these shells or valves,

which are often nearly alike in size and form, and are hence called

bivalves, as the shells of the Conchifera, where one of the valves is

placed on each side of the body and they are united together by a

ligament. In others, as those of the Brachiopods, the two valves

are separate, one on the upper surface or back, and the other on

the under surface of the body. In others, as in the shells of

Gasteropods, the two valves are so unequal that the smaller

merely acts as a lid to close the mouth of the larger one when

the animal is retracted into it ; hence it has been called an oper-

eulum. This smaller valve or operculum is generally cartilagi-

nous, either wholly formed of animal matter, or strengthened by

a quantity of calcareous matter deposited on one or both of its

surfaces ; sometimes this valve is altogether wanting, especially

in those genera which have an expanded mouth compared with

the size of the remaining shell. In the bivalve Conchifera and

Brachiopoda the two valves are usually nearly equal-sized, and

regular in position. On the contrary, in the Gasteropods the valves

are unequal, and placed more or less obliquely with regard to the

axis of the elongated body of the animal.

.If this theory is correct, the operculum should afford an im-

portant character for the distinction of families and genera; and

this has proved to be the fact.

In 1821 I first drew attention to the very good character which

it afforded, not only for the distinction of genera, but also for

the division of the genera into larger groups. In my papers pub-

lished in the Zoological Journal and in the Philosophical Trans-

actions, I collected together the results of my observations on

their structure, formation and growth,:and their importance to

the ceconomy of the animal. More recent. examinations have

only strengthened my conviction, that they afford quite as import-

ant characters for the division of families and genera as the shell

of the Gasteropods themselves, and that to neglect them in the

description of the genus or species is quite.as rational as to de-

scribe only the single valve of a bivalve shell. If this is the case,

no specimen of an operculated univalve, which is not accom-

Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica. 483

panied by its operculum, can be considered as complete, and

every figure of the species wanting this important part must be

equally imperfect ; therefore it is much to be regretted that in

several expensive modern works on Conchology, their artists and

authors have neglected to figure the operculum of the. species

they have drawn; and especially as many of the specimens

figured in Mr. Reeve’s work, for example, have been taken from

specimens in the Museum, or Mr. Cuming’s collection, which had

their operculum affixed on the shells, the absence of the oper-

culum renders the excellent and characteristic figures contained

in that work much less valuable than they otherwise would have

been. I may add, the opercula were formerly supposed to be con-

fined to the Gasteropodous Mollusca. They are well developed

in the heteropodous genera Atlanta and Oxygyrus, the one being

annular and the other spiral; and in the genus Limacina (or

Spirialis) among the Pteropodous Mollusca. Some have sup-

posed that the fossil Cephalopodous family Ammonites are pro-

vided with one, as an operculum-like body is often found in the

cavity of these shells.

XLIV.—On Cannabis indica, Indian Hemp. By ALEXANDER

Curistison, F.B.S.E , Member of the Royal Medical Society *.

Tue object of the present communication is to give some account of

the Indian Hemp, a substance which has been long used in the Indian

and Persian empires as a medicinal and intoxicating agent, but which

was unknown to Europeans, except through the reports of travellers,

until of late years. It was first brought into prominent notice by

Dr. O’Shaughnessy of Calcutta in the year 1839.

It would be beyond the scope of this paper to enter minutely into

the early history of the plant, but it may be observed that the nar-

cotic properties of Cannabis indica were unknown to the Greek phy-

sicians. In the year 600 the Hindoos were in the habit of employing

it, since which time it has been in constant use as a means of allaying

pain, and more particularly as an intoxicating drug, among the inha-

bitants of the East. Hemp would seem to have been known at a still

earlier period to the Chinese ; in a communication to the Académie

des Sciences in the early part of this year by M. Stanislas Julien, ex-

tracts are given from a Chinese work. showing that so far back as

A.D, 220, a Chinese physician named Howshoa produced insensibility

in his patients by means of a preparation of hemp, and that opera-

tions were then performed without pain to the patients. The veracity

of this statement may however safely be questioned.

Until the year 1839 the properties of Hemp were never investigated

in this country, but the essay of Dr. O’Shaughnessy published at that

time attracted attention to the subject, and many experiments with

* Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, April 11, 1850,

ol*

48 4 Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica.

the drug have now been made. The expectations held out by him

have not been so fully realized as one would be led to expect. . This

can however be so far explained by a want of confidence or neglect

on the part of some who have employed the drug, and the use of

spurious or ill-prepared substances on the part of others. From the

marked success of various experimenters, it is obvious that the plant

does possess useful properties as a medicine: these will be pointed

out in a future part of the paper.

In Dr. Lindley’s ‘ Flora Medica,’ Cannabis sativa is placed im the

natural order Urticacee, no allusion being made to the Cannabis in-

dica, as he obviously considers the two to be identical. It is thus

described :—Flowers dicecious, male flowers racemose ; calyx 5-parted,

imbricated. Stamens 5. Anthers large and pendulous. Female

flowers in spikes. Bract acuminate, rolled round the ovary in room

of a calyx. Ovary roundish, with one pendulous ovule and two long

filiform glandular stigmas. Achzenium ovate, one-seeded, embryo

doubled up, with the radicle parallel with the plano-convex cotyle-

dons, and separated from them by a small quantity of albumen.

He also states that it is an annual, 3 feet high, covered all over

with an extremely fine rough pubescence hardly visible to the naked

eye. The stem erect, branched, bright green, angular. The leaves

alternate or opposite on long weak petioles, digitate, scabrous, with

linear lanceolate sharply serrated leaves, tapering into a long smooth

entire point; stipules subulate. Clusters of flowers axillary, with

subulate bracts; the males lax and drooping, branched and leafless

at the base, the females. erect, simple, and leafy at the base. Male

calyx downy ; female calyx covered with short brownish glands.

Dr. Lindley now places this plant in the order Cannabinacee,

separating it from the Urticacee, the latter havmg small flat stipules,

limpid juice, a solid erect ovule, and a straight albuminous embryo ;

the former having a solitary suspended ovule and a hooked exalbu-

minous embryo. In the above description Dr. Royle agrees, who

has seen the plant in India.

Two species of Cannabis have been described by botanists, viz.

C. sativa and C. indica: but repeated careful comparisons have failed

to discover any material difference between them; the generally

received opinion now being, that the same plant under the modifying

influence of climate and cultivation puts on a variety of characters.

This opinion has been fully borne out by the result of an experiment

in the Botanic Garden, which it may be interesting to detail.

A few seeds picked from fresh Gunjah were sown on the 17th of

March 1849, as well as some seeds from decayed Gunjah : the latter

never germinated, but the others appeared above ground in a few

days ; in the course of a week they attained a height of 3 inches under

glass. Three shoots were planted in the open air, while the remainder

were kept in the hothouse. On August Ist those without had attained

a height of 44 feet, and it was remarked that they had a peculiar

strong minty odour. On the 1st October one of these was 94 feet

high, with several strong woody stems and abundant foliage : flower-

ing appeared to be commencing, but owing to advance of the season

Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica. 485

the leaves were withering. The plants in the hothouse at the same

period were 4 feet high, slender, with few leaves, but in full flower.

Plants of the common hemp growing in the Garden had a very similar

aspect, being however in full fruit.

I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Balfour for the follow-

ing remarks and botanical description of these plants :—‘“ Those in

the open air were all female plants; among those in the hothouse

were one or two males. I have not been able to make out any

specific difference between the so-called C. indica and C. sativa of

Europe. The common hemp in the Garden has not attained the same

size as the plants from Indian seeds, and the segments of the leaves

are narrower ; in other respects they appear alike, more especially as

regards their flowers, glands, &c. Both the Indian and European

seeds produce plants which have a strong resinous odour. In this

respect the European plants in the garden seem to excel the Indian.

On the Indian specimens even when cultivated in the hothouse there

has not appeared any of the Churrus described by Indian observers.

The racemes and spikes of flowers have a resinous feeling when

touched. The following is a description of the plants raised from the

Indian seeds :—

Flowers dicecious. Male plants in the hothouse about 4 feet high;

‘circumference of stem at the base about one inch, lower part of the

stem woody. Stem somewhat quadrangular, grooved and roughish ;

surface of the stem at the base of a brownish colour, mixed with

greenish streaks. Leaves opposite, sap-green above, pistachio-green

below, quinate to septenate, at the upper part of the stem the leaves

become alternate; segments of the leaves feather-veined, with a

prominent midrib below, lanceolate, acute, with large serratures.

Stipules 2, subulate.

* Flowers in cymose axillary leafy clusters, some of them abortive.

Perianth of five ovate blunt segments, which are of a pale green colour

(the margins bemg white and the centre greenish) with a marked

green midrib, covered externally and internally with glandular

pubescence ; segments of the perianth concave internally. Stamens

covered with glandular pubescence, opposite the segments of the

perianth. Anthers large, projecting beyond the perianth, oblong,

bilocular, erect, with an apicilar process and longitudinal dehiscence,

supported on slender filaments which are shorter than the anthers

and have pyramidal bases ; pollen spherical, with three facets, each’

consisting of a small ring in the centre of a larger one. In the

centre of the flower there is the rudiment of the pistil.

“Female Plants. These are much stronger than the male plants,

have attained a greater size, and have a stronger balsamic odour ; those

in the hothouse attained a height of 5 feet, and those in the open air

91 feet; stems hollow, 4 inches in circumference, with a tenacious

stringy bark. Leaves covered with minute vesicular sessile glands,

which give out a viscid resimous-like exudation, and are interspersed

with glandular hairs. Flowers in aggregated spikes ; usually three or

more unibracteate flowers in a cluster in the axil of floral leaves which

are often tripartite.

486 Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica.

“« Perianth monophyllous, convoluted, swelling at the base where it

includes the ovary. Floral leaves, bracts and perianth covered with

glandular pubescence.

« Pistil one. Ovary one, rounded, containing a single orthotropal

erect ovule. Style short, terminal, ending in two elongate filiform

pubescent stigmata. Fruit a caryopsis. Seed erect, marked with a

coloured hilum. Embryo exalbuminous.”

One or two remarks are suggested by this experiment :—Ist. That

the minute glands under favourable circumstances might act vigorously

in producing the active resin. 2nd. That a certain climate which we

cannot imitate is necessary to cause this action. 3rd. That the C.

indica and C. sativa are identical; and 4th. That the Hemp plant

possesses a peculiar odour of considerable strength, which is not

alluded to in the standard works on Botany and Materia Medica.

It may here be observed, that the Humulus Lupulus or Hop, which

owes its properties like Cannabis to a glandular resinous secretion,

belongs to the same natural family and is endowed also with narcotic

properties.

A short account will now be given of some of the principal forms

in which Hemp is met with in the markets of the East ; these are :—

1. Haschich. 2. Bhang. 3. Gunjah. 4. Churrus. 5. A vamniety

of electuaries, pastes, &c., in all of which butter or some other olea-

ginous matter is the basis of formation.

I. The first or Haschich is the Arabian name given to the dried

tops of the plant grown in Upper Egypt, the meaning of the word

being “herb,” or ‘“‘herbe par excellence:”’ the tops are gathered some

time before the seeds are come to maturity.

II. Bhang is an Indian preparation consisting of the larger leaves

and capsules, which according to Dr. O’Shaughnessy is the cheapest

form used in India, and therefore in common use among the lower

orders for smoking, &c.; from it is prepared an intoxicating drink,

and it forms a part of the confection called Majoon.

ILI. Gunjah is the chief Indian form of the dried plant, and con-

sists of the drier tops of Cannadis after flowering, and from which

the resin of the leaves has not been removed ; it is chiefly sold im the

Calcutta bazaars for smoking, in bundles 2 feet long and 3 inches in

diameter ; the colour is dusky green, the odour agreeably narcotic, the

whole resinous and adhesive to the touch. The specimens I have

examined consist of a central stem with branches, round which are

aggregated elongated oval masses about 14 inch long, and closely

pressed together by adhesive resinous matter ; when steeped in water

these masses can be teased out, and are found to consist of the tops

of the plant, that is, the flowers, fruit, and smaller leaflets.

IV. Churrus is the resinous secretion alone, and is therefore the

most powerful shape in which hemp may be used ; but it is at the

same time expensive, and is not met with in Europe except as a mu-

seum specimen. The specimens in Dr. Christison’s museum are

variously-sized, nodulate, round masses from the size of a pea to that

of a walnut, and of greenish black colour. It is collected during the

hot season by seraping the leaves and tops. Dr. O'Shaughnessy states,

Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica. 487

that in Central India and Nepal men in leathern dresses brush forcibly

through the plants, and the resin which adheres to them is then

scraped off. And Dr. M‘Kinnon states that in Nepal the resin is

gathered on the backs of naked coolies. Dr. Royle says, “The glan-

dular secretion is collected from the plants on the hills, by the natives

pressing the upper part of the young plants between the palms of

their hands and scraping off the secretion which adheres.”

V. In the preparation of the electuaries, &c., butter is used as the

means of separating the active principle, consequently these compounds

are very apt to become rancid. They are thus described by M.Charnac

in the ‘ Annuaire de Thérap.’ for 1846 :—

1. Preparations mixed with honey or melted sugar. 2. A more

active form called hachich kava-mesk (musked drug), containing musk,

essence of roses and almonds, of pasty consistence, and of the colour

of impure honey ; the quantity used being about the size of a walnut.

3. Two kinds are found at Smyrna, called Israél, the one a fine

powder, the other a roll of firm mastic consistence. 4. A black

round kind has great aphrodisiac repute among the Fellahs, but in

this case it is found that cantharides is added to increase the effect.

At Cairo the compound from which the various conserves are pre-

pared is thus made. Equal parts of well sifted haschich, butter and

water are put in a vessel on the fire; after some boiling the water is

dissipated ; the residue is twisted in a cloth to isolate the fatty matter,

and to this the different spices are added.

Haschich is to the Arabians what opium is to the Turks and

Chinese. Hachach, signifying in Arabian drunkard, is the epithet

applied to those who eat haschich.

The Arabians smoke the powdered plant, free of seeds, which con-

tain fatty, disagreeable-tasted matter, along with tobacco.

VI. Landerer describes a tincture of hemp used at Cairo, called

Chatsraky, made by infusing in spirit for three weeks with a gentle

heat, the varnish-covered bark sliced from the stems when the plants

are in flower.

As the activity of the preparations of hemp depends on the pre-

sence of a resinous varnish on the leaves, and consequently as the

most active of these is found to contain the largest quantity of resin,

it becomes a matter of great importance to decide upon the proper

period for collecting the plant.

M. Gastinell, an apothecary at Cairo in 1849, states that he found

the active powers of hemp to depend on a resinous matter which forms

on the leaves as the seeds ripen. Again, M. de Charnac observes,

that in Egypt the tops of the plants are used at the end of flowering,

but before eomplete maturity of the seeds. And Mr. Jameson, Di-

rector of the Botanic Gardens at Saharunpore, makes a like state-

ment in a letter dated 17th August, 1849. As this letter contains

an interesting account of Hemp in that part of India, it has appeared

to me to be well worthy of a place in this essay. He says—“<In

Kimaon and Gurhwal Cannadis is grown in large quantities, partly

in order to obtain its resinous secretion, and partly for its bark, from

which a strong coarse cloth called Bungila is manufactured ; it forms

488 Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica.

the dress of the poorer inhabitants, particularly through Gurhwai.

It is sown in July and gathered in October. From the female plants

only the Churrus is procured. Towards the beginning or middle of

October the seeds begin to form, and when in this unripe state the

upper part of the plant is pressed between the palms of the hands, it

deposits upon them a yellowish green secretion, which is seraped off

with a blunt knife: this is the well-known Churrus. From the male

plant Bhang and Cath are prepared. Bhang is prepared by drying the

leaves and other parts of the plants, both male and female, and is

thus used :—A small quantity is put into a mortar with a little water

and pounded; the refuse water being thrown away, an additional

quantity of water is then added, from half a pint to a pint, depending

on the strength required, and well mixed ; it is then strained through

a fine cloth, the residue thrown away, and the liquid is ready for

drinking, a wineglassful or more being taken at a time. Gangah is

the thin preparation, and is the produce of the upper portion of the

stem, that is about 14 foot ; it is only used in the hookah to smoke ;

this also applies to the Churrus. The Gangah is carefully dried and

mixed with an equal quantity of tobacco, and well rubbed together m

the palm of the hand; it is then ready for the hookah. We have

thus the three preparations:—1. Churrus. 2. Bhang or Lubzi.

3. Gangah or Ghangah. The first is only prepared on the hills, and

the two latter are common to both hill and plain, but Bhang is princi-

pally prepared in the latter. At Bhaeit, about sixteen miles from

Saharunpore, it is prepared in large quantity, and is subject to a heavy

duty ; yearly from 40,900 to 50,000 maunds are produced (a maund

is equal to 80 lbs.). The reason why the Churrus is not prepared in

the plains is, because the plant does not secrete the resinoid principle,

showing that its secretion is connected with climate. But still the

plants are identical in external characters, and you will I think find

that the European and Indian plants are also identical. In order to

ascertain the fact, I send you a small packet of hemp-seeds procured

at one of the Gurhwal villages where it is grown in vast quantity. In

vour letter you say that the active principle forms on the stems and

leaves ; this is not the case, as it is only procured when the seeds are

in an unripe state ;—attempt to procure it before this period, and

none will be forthcoming. It will appear strange how ignorant

natives can distinguish female from male plants—were you to see the

plant growing your surprise would soon be removed. The female

plant when ready for making churrus has at its upper part a

‘“‘bunchy ” appearance, whereas the male plants have become by this

time mere stems and leaves, the flowers also having fallen off.

“In October, in crossing the Himalayas from Almorah to Missouri,

I have passed through dozens of villages 6000 to 8000 feet above the

level of the sea, and seen hundreds of men, women and children, all

employed in making churrus. The plant grows to a height of from

10 to 14 feet.”

The plants cultivated in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden present

exactly the characteristic difference between male and female described

by Mr. Jameson.

Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica. 489

From these observations then it appears to be undoubted, that the

only period for collecting the plant in its active state is that time

when the seeds are beginning to ripen, when therefore the tops of the

plants are covered with the resinous varnish on which its properties

depend.

The resin secreted by Cannabis is insoluble in water, but sokuble in

rectified spirit; and it may also be separated by oily matters. By

the action of spirit upon Gunjah the extract of hemp is formed. In

this country two extraets are used, the one sent from Calcutta, and

the other prepared in Engiand from the dried plant. The best ex-

tract presents a dark green colour and is thick and tenacious ; when

pressed between the fingers it softens and adheres obstinately to them,

a solvent being necessary for its removal ;—any extract which is found

to rub down in the fingers should be looked upon with suspicion, and

will be found to be nearly if not almost totally inert. The finest

extract I have seen is that prepared by Mr. Robertson, Professor of

Chemistry at Calcutta, which however is not in the market. Of this

Mr. Robertson prepared about 30 lbs. ; from a hundredweight of the

plant he obtained about 8 lbs. of extract. His process consisted in

passing the vapour of boiling alcohol through the plant packed in a

cask, an ordinary worm leading from the cask to a receiver ; the pre-

paring of it cost him much time and trouble on account of the heavy

duties upon hemp and also upon spirit, and the expense he reckoned

at 15s. a pound. On these accounts he abandoned the attempt to

manufacture it in this way, and though he received large orders for

it from various quarters, he felt compelled to refuse the undertaking.

Specimens were sent for experiment to various parts of Europe, and

among others to Edinburgh for Dr. Christison ; this is now four years

old and retains all its energy, and is much more active than the

extracts of the shops which are formed by cold percolation. I repeated

his process on a small scale and found it to be a very complete means

of exhausting the plant, while at the same time the consumption

of spirit is less.

Good extract should give a grass-green tincture with spirit, and

when the tincture is of a brown colour it is weak or inert.

Various investigations have been made as to the nature of the resin

secreted by the leaves of Cannabis, and it has been ascertained that

a pure resin can be separated retaining the properties of the plant in

full energy. Gastinell, apothecary at Cairo, has prepared this sub-

stance, of which he says 2 grs. are as effective as 6 of alc. extract.

M. de Courtive of Paris says that the resin prepared by him is in

the dose of 3 gr. as effective as 30 grs. alcoholic extract. He also

prepared the resin from Paris-grown hemp and from French hemp,

6 grs. of the first, and 8 to 16 of the second being necessary to pro-

duce the effect. Surely he cannot have obtained a pure resin, when

such various doses are required; for the pure principle, from what-

ever source obtained, should possess exactly the same activity in every

case.

The Messrs. Smith of Edinburgh have made careful experiments

on this subject : they observe that the narcotic action of hemp resides

490 Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica.

in a soft neutral resin called Cannabine, which when heated gives out

a strong aromatic smell, and has a warm pungent balsamic taste ; that

it is insoluble in water or weak spirit, which is clearly proved in the

following way—the addition of a fifth of water to a solution of the

resin in strong spirit causes separation to begin, and all the resin is

thrown down when a half of water is added. For a detail of their

process I must refer however to the ‘ Pharmaceutical Journal’ for

1846, merely observing at present, that in repeating the process with

old Gunjah of 1840, ten per cent. of resin was obtained, answering

to the characters given above; that the whole occupied a period of

three weeks, and was very tedious. The following is a rough estimate

of the composition of 8 oz. of Gunjah, used in my process :—

UE Es hs,» anal age =e crt oi eon oe

Nearly dry watery extract ........ 500

Extractive by carb. soda .......... 640

EPP bate MEE. COC sn os cen Poe Sen) aay

3840

The physiological actions of Cannabis indica must now be con-

sidered, and the first question which presents itself is, whether this

plant is a poison in large doses, and has it proved fatal to man? The

prolonged use of it has certainly destroyed many in India, but no

mention is made by authors of its proving fatal im one or two large

doses. The only allusion to such an effect that I have seen, is that made

by Mr. Reddie, a member of the Calcutta Bar, who in a letter to

‘Dr. Christison, dated July 1849, says :—‘‘ The plant is a poison with

many of the qualities of opium and some singular ones peculiar to

itself,’ and that “it is frequently used at Calcutta as a poison.” As

this information was unsolicited, no details have been given, but

Mr. Reddie has offered to give any additional information that may

be required. Dr. O’Shaughnessy made a series of experiments on

animals with the view of determining the quantity that it would be

safe to administer as a medicine, but in none of these did death occur.

In one experiment he gave 10 grs. churrus to a middling-sized dog.

“In half an hour he became stupid and sleepy, dozing at intervals,

starting up and wagging his tail as if extremely contented; he ate

some food greedily ; on being called to, he staggered to and fro, and

his face assumed a look of utter and hopeless drunkenness. These

symptoms lasted about two hours ; in six hours he was perfectly well

and lively. And again 20 grs. of ext. Gunjah, dissolved in spirit, were

given to a dog of very small size. In a quarter of an hour he was

intoxicated ; in half an hour he had great difficulty of movement ; in

an hour he had lost all power over the hinder extremities, which were

rather stiff, but flexible ; sensibility did not seem to be impaired, and

the circulation was natural. He readily acknowledged calls by an

attempt to rise up. In four hours he was quite well. In none of

these experiments was any pain evinced, or any convulsive motion.”

The dose mentioned above was the largest he gave ; and the question

remains, would yet larger doses have had a fatal effect? One point

is however determined,—and Dr. O'Shaughnessy administered large

Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica. 491

and repeated doses with benefit in treating disease,—that so large a

dose as 10 grains of churrus did not prove fatal to a dog.

A very curious result of Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s experiments is, that

carnivorous animals and fish very speedily underwent the effects of

hemp, while graminivorous animals were only very slightly affected

even by large doses of the drug.

The physiological action of hemp is in the first place stimulant in

small doses, exciting the cerebral and digestive systems ; and secondly,

when given in larger quantity its effects are powerfully sedative and

antispasmodic ; and at last it induces insensibility. A consequence

of these properties is the extensive use of the compounds of hemp in

the East for the purpose of causing intoxication, and the effects cor-

respond to the natural disposition of the individual. In some mere

laziness and stupidity are induced, in others a pleasing state of reverie

without other remarkable condition ; and many are attacked with loud

laughter, fits of dancing and singing, venereal appetite, inclination to

quarrel, according to the various dispositions. The aphrodisiac action

is by most authors regarded as peculiar to the hemp, but on the

other hand there are some who regard this effect as merely depend-

ing on the disposition of the individual.

But what really appears to be inherent in the plant is, that in all

there is a remarkable desire for food; it is quite astonishing and at

the same time very ridiculous to observe an individual under the in-

fluence of Cannabis eagerly devouring his food without stopping, and

apparently without any intention of so doing.

It has been noticed by Dr. O'Shaughnessy and others in India,

that in most cases the effect of hemp is powerfully aphrodisiac. After

the stage of excitement, sleep supervenes ; and on waking the experi-

menter returns to his natural state, except that the ideas are often

confused for a little, and in some cases vertigo 1s present to a slight

extent. An example of the great extent to which the use of hemp

is pushed in India is given by M. Liautaud, in his communication to

the Académie des Sciences, as follows :—

«The grand feast of Dourga Pondja is terminated by the ceremony

of immersing the idol‘in the river; after which the people return to

intoxicate themselves with a drink from the leaves of hemp, and the

whole ends in a scene of disgraceful drunkenness ;’’ and in allusion to

the physiological action, M. Liautaud remarks, that “there is peculiar

ecstasy without convulsion ;” that ‘the drinks excite the nervous sy-

stem more than the powder or smoke.’ ‘‘' This intoxication has ap-

peared to him much less intense than that of opium and that produced

ia the Chinese smoker; the consequences are not so deadly, but the ~

moral degradation the same.”

Dr. O’Shaughnessy thus described the delirium induced by the

incautious use of hemp :—‘‘ The state is at once recognized by the

strange balancing gait of the patient, a constant rubbing of the hands,

perpetual giggling, and a propensity to caress and chafe the feet of

all bystanders of whatever rank. The eye wears an expression of

cunning and merriment which can scarcely be mistaken, there is no

increased heat or frequency of circulation, and the skin and general

functions are in a natural state.”

4.92 Mr. A. Christison on Cannabis indica.

An interminable variety of ideas enters the mind when under the

influence of hemp. In the work of Moreau, ‘ Du Haschich,’ some in-

teresting details of these effects are given. Among others, M. Théo-

phile Gautier, in describing his sensations, says :—“‘ After a feeling of

numbness, it appeared to him that his body became transparent, and

that he saw within his breast the haschich which he had eaten, in

the form of an emerald, from which issued millions of little sparks.

At the same time his eyelashes became indefinitely elongated, and

began to roll as gold threads upon small ivory wheels which revolved

with great velocity.” A very curious effect was an increase of his

power of hearing, whereby slight noises became as loud as thunder,

and he heard the noise of colours, green, red, blue and yellow sounds

coming to him in perfectly distinct waves ; he did not dare to use his

voice in case he should knock down the walls or burst himself like

a bomb. His calculation of the time he enjoyed these dreams was

about 300 years; the fact being that only a quarter of an hour had

elapsed. ;

Dr. Christison describes the effects upon himself as follows :—On

trying Mr. Robertson’s extract once for toothache, I found that about

4 grs. taken about 3 a.m. caused in an hour cessation of pain, a

pleasant numbness in the limbs, giddiness, a rapid succession of un-

associated ideas and impossibility to follow a train of thought, frequent

intervals of sleep, and slight increase in the force of the pulse ; at the

same time he felt no pain, while he was quite conscious the toothache

was present. Next morning there was an ordinary appetite, much

torpidity, great defect and shortness of memory, extreme apparent

protraction of time, but no peculiarity of articulation or other effect,

and these symptoms lasted till 2 p.m., when they ceased entirely in

a few minutes after taking lemonade.

One or two cases have come under my own observation; the first

of these illustrates the less powerful and more gradual effect, when

the hemp extract is taken in the form of pill. On the 3rd of April at

4 p.m., a friend took 2 grs. of the extract prepared by Mr. Robert-

son. Ata quarter past six he felt as if weak, chiefly about the knees,

with slight inclination to laugh ; stupidity and forgetfulness, but with-

out reverie ; he continued in this state till he retired to bed, where

he slept soundly. Next day he was perhaps more stupid than before,

but was enlivened by drinking lemonade ; he was not exactly himself

till the following day ; his appetite was strong, but he was not affected

in any other way.

In the second experiment I took on the same day 1 gr. of the same

extract dissolved in spirit, and though only half the quantity used in

the first case, the effects were much more apparent. At a quarter past

five, when sitting down to dinner, I felt a peculiar numbness creeping

through my body and limbs; I did not think this was the action of

the Cannabis, and began to fancy I was very ill, so that I could not

eat my dinner ; I lay down, and the numbness continued for a quarter

of an hour, when my sensations became agreeable. I laughed heartily

several times, answered questions incoherently, and immediately forgot

what they were about ; delightful reveries came over me, and whatever

I looked at became lost as it were in a maze; the lamp appeared to

Linnean Society. 493

be slowly turning round, and when I lost sight of this, the red lines

on the paper of the room appeared to intertwine in a most beautiful

manner. The most remarkable effect was the constant succession of

new ideas, each of which was almost instantly forgotten ; when roused

to tea I ate ravenously without feeling satisfied ; I slept soundly, and

next day was stupid and forgetful, but was much improved by drink-

ing lemon-juice. On the following day I was quite recovered.

My friend Mr. Maclagan has kindly described for me his sensations

under Cannadis on the same day as above; he says :—‘‘I took 2 grs.

dissolved in spirit and 1 gr. as pill shortly afterwards; this was at

4 o'clock. At a quarter to six when seated at dinner, and after taking

a copious draught of water, I felt a curious buzzing in my ears, with

slight tinnitus aurium and giddiness ; two minutes after, burst into an

immoderate fit of laughter without any cause; I was asked what I

meant, but disdained to answer, and despite of rebuke I laughed on

for about five minutes. I then retired, but after walking from room

to room for some time, I found myself quite unable to appear with

my family, and therefore went to Dr. Christison’s house, experiencing

‘however great impediment by my legs bending under me at various

angles. At one time, thinking a man was in pursuit, I took to my

heels, and did not stop till I reached Dr. Christison’s door ; when it

was opened I laughed in the servant’s face and walked upstairs, where

I continued to laugh till Dr. Christison entered the room, when my

laughter became aggravated, and his questions were only answered b

monosyllables and grins ; I lay down on a sofa, where delightful sen-

sations continually occurred to me.

** At 8 o'clock I got tea and ate three slices of bread ; voracity seemed

to be my object ; I again lay down and laughed and sang till 10 o’clock ;

many of my exclamations, I was told, were decidedly verging on the

affectionate. I also raised my right leg at regular intervals, and then

let it fall upon the other, for a long time.”

Such are the observations which have been made on the physio-

logical action of Indian Hemp. I might have entered upon its the-

rapeutical effects in hydrophobia, tetanus and other diseases, but this

subject being connected more immediately with medical practice, is not

fitted for the Botanical Society.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

LINNAZAN SOCIETY.

June 19,1849.—The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.

Read “ Descriptions of seventeen new species of the Coleopterous

family Pausside.”’ By J, O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. &c.

Genus Cerarterus, Swed.

Subgenus OxTHoprerus.

Cerapterus (Orthopterus) La Fertei, Westw.

C. piceo-castaneus nitidus levis, pronoto magis fulvescenti-castaneo,

elytris nigro-castaneis tenuissime punctatis: singulo plaga longitudinali

494 Linnean Society.

per dimidium posticum suture extensa ad apicem recurva et cum

margine externo parallela fulva; pronoto linea impressa media; disco

haud setoso, pedibus rufo-castaneis.—Long. corp. lin. 6.

Hab. in Africa occidentali tropica apud “ Rio Grande,” inter Gambiam et

Sierram Leonam.

In Mus. D. La Fertei.

Obs. The club of the antennz is 21rd longer than broad ; the ter-

minal joint is equal in length to the ninth, eighth, seventh, and 4rd

of the sixth joints. i

Cerapterus (Orthopterus) concolor, Westw.

C. totus obscure castaneus nitidissimus, elytris magis nigricantibus; pro-

noto linea media longitudinali vix distincta; elytris basi et lateribus

punctis setiferis instructis; disco magis evidenter punctato, tibiis rufo-

castaneis.—Long. corp. lin. 6.

Hab. apud Portum Natalensem Africe meridionalis.

In Muss. Brit. et Fortnum.

Obs. 'The club of the antennz is 21rd times longer than broad ;

the seven intermediate joints are of equal breadth, the last joint is

rather convex, and as long as the ninth, eighth, seventh, and half of

the sixth united.

It is impossible, without a comparison with Mr. W. S. Mac-

Leay’s original specimen of C. Smithii, to determine whether this

species may not prove a concolorous variety of that insect. Judging

from the description and figure of the antennz however, this suppo-

sition appears very doubtful.

Subgenus ARTHROPTERUS.

Cerapterus (Arthropterus) denudatus, Westw.

C. piceo-castaneus subnitidus tenuissime punctatus, elytris magis nitidis,

antennis angustis planis; articulo ultimo duobus precedentibus longi-

tudine zequali, capitis angulis posticis porrectis, prothorace capite

paullo angustiori supra subdepresso truncato-cordato linea media

impressa, pedibus subangustis ; tibiis omnibus angulo externo apicali

acuto,—Long. corp. lin. 6.

Hab, in Nova Hollandia, ad ripas fluvii “ Mundarra”’ dicti.

In Mus. F. Bond.

Cerapterus (Arthropterus) Wilsoni, Westw.

C. totus castaneus nitidus, capite parvo punctato et inter oculos bi-

impresso : angulis posticis vix ultra oculos lateraliter porrectis, anten-

narum clava subangusta sub lente tenuissime granulata; articulo 3tio

clave latiori: ultimo angustiori longitudine vix tribus praecedentibus

zequali, pronoto subquadrato punctato : angulis anticis rotundatis : disco

haud longitudinaliter sulcato; elytris elongatis tenuissime punctatis :

punctis ad basin majoribus castaneis : sutura magis fulvescenti, pedibus

angustis; tibiis vix tarsis duplo latioribus.—Long. corp. lin. 7.

Hab. in Nove Hollandiz Adelaide, D. Wilson. In Mus. Westw.

Cerapterus (Arthropterus) subsulcatus, Westw.

C. totus castaneus, capite punctato inter oculos haud impresso: angulis

posticis pone oculos valde porrectis, antennis tenuissime punctatis clava

sensim a basi ad articulum ultimum latiori; articulo ultimo sexta parte

latiori quam longo tribusque articulis pracedentibus longitudine sub-

zequali, pronoto punctato cordato-truncato: suleo longitudinali medio

Linnean Society. 495

fere omnino obliterato, elytris longitudinaliter subsulcatis vix punctatis :

disco setis brevissimis pauciter instructo basi longius setosis, tibiis tarsis

plus duplo latioribus basi angustioribus apice externo presertim in

pedibus anticis acutis.—Long. corp. lin. 53.

Hab. in Nova Hollandia, King George’s Sound. In Mus. D. Parry.

Subgenus PLEuRoPTERUS.

Cerapterus (Pleuropierus) alternans.

C. rufus, elytris magis fulvis : singulo plagis duabus latis nigris postice con-

junctis, opacus fere levis, capite brevi; vertice antice longitudinaliter

impresso punctisque duobus impressis intra partem oculorum posticam,

antennis fere planis; clava e basi ad apicem sensim angustata: arti-

- culo basali postice in lobum rotundatum producto, pronoto transverso :

angulis anticis rotundatis : posticis valde incisis : inter angulos posticos

tuberculis duobus rotundatis instructo; disco valde irregulari sulco

profundo longitudinali ; elytrorum humeris elevatis : disco singuli 4-cos-

tato, pedibus longis gracilibus.—Long. corp. lin. 4.

Hab. in Mozambique et apud Portum Natalensem.

In Mus. Melly (e Mus. Berol. cum nomine supra indicato transmissus)

et Mus. D. Fortnum.

Cerapterus (Pleuropterus) hastatus.

C. piceus tenuissime punctatus pubescens, elytris subopacis, capite antice

sulcato, antennis magis quam in specie preecedenti regularibus et supra

nonnihil concavis; articulo basali clave extus in tuberculum obtusum

intus sinuatum producto : articulis reliquis longitudine fere cequalibus :

ultimo rotundato, pronoto breviter cordato-truncato: angulis anticis

valde obtusis posticis valde incisis utrinque inter angulos posticos tu-

berculo elevato instructo; elytris obscure piceis basi costatis : singulo

macula prope basin altera pone medium cum macula suturali connexa

margineque postico fulvis, pedibus gracilibus.—Long. corp. lin. 5.

C. (P.) Westermanni attinis, at latior, magis pubescens, antennis et pro-

thorace aliter formatis.

Hab.in Mozambique. In Mus. D. Melly (e Mus. reg. Berol. cum nomine

supra indicato transmissus).

Genus PENTAPLATARTHRUS.

Pentaplatarthrus natalensis.

P. castaneo-nigricans, elytris interdum cruce nigra notatis, antennis

planis articulis clave subcontinuis (nec basi et apice constructis ut in

P. Paussoide), prothoracis lateribus in medio angulatis.—Long. corp.

lin, 43.

Hab. apud Portum Natalensem Africz meridionalis. In Mus. Westw. &c.

Obs. On a careful comparison I can detect no other characters to

separate the somewhat larger Port Natal specimens recently arrived

in this country from the typical specimen of P. Paussoides now in

my collection. I have employed above the name given to these in-

sects in the Royal Berlin collection, but scarcely consider them spe-

cifically distinct.

Genus Paussus.

Sect. A. Prothorax quasi bipartitus.

Subsect. a. Antennarum clava postice haud excavata.

Paussus sinicus, Westw.

P. subcylindricus niger subopacus setis minutissimis griseis undique

sparsis obsitus, elytrorum apice et angulo postico externo piceis, capite

496 Linnean Society.

tuberculo obtuso inter oculos serieque quatuor minorum prope collum,

antennarum clava angusta in medio angustiore apice clavato et supra

seriebus duabus tuberculorum parvorum (in singula serie tribus) in

apicem iusidentibus, prothorace bipartito: parte antica haud postica

latiore: lateribus angulatis, palpis maxillaribus articulo 2ndo intus ad

apicem acuminato-producto, labialibus articule ultimo ovato-acumi-

nato.—Long. corp. lin. 4.

Hab. prope Hong Kong. D. Bowring.

In Mus. Britann.

Obs. I have adopted the specific names proposed by Capt. Cham:

pion, for this and the two other species brought from Hong Kong by

Mr. Bowring, and presented by him to the British Museum.

Paussus granulatus, Westw.

P. luteo-fulvus disco elytrorum magis rufescenti, podice piceo, capite

inter oculos bi-impresso tuberculisque duobus excavatis instructo :

angulis anticis supra basin antennarum productis, antennarum clava

falcata apice acutissimo setaque unica apicali instructo, palpis maxil-

laribus articulo 2ndo fere rotundato, capite subnitido gracillime cica-

tricoso, pronoto glabro ; elytris opacis granulatis: singulo plaga longi-

tudinali submembranacea grisea impresso, pedibus gracilibus; tibiis

2 posticis magis dilatatis.—Long. corp. lin. 32.

TTab. in Afvica meridionali, prope Portum Natalensem.

In Mus. D. Fortnum.

Subsect. ). Antennarum clava postice excavata.

* Species Indice.

Paussus politus, Westw.

P. fulvo-rufus, pronoti lateribus posticis discoque elytrorum nigris, capite

tuberculo conico parum elevato inter oculos, antennarum clava navicu-

lari: margine antico fere recto: apice rotundato: margine postico

excavato excavatione acuminato-ovali margine supero simplici infero

5-denticulato et 5-setoso, prothorace bipartito: parte postica antica

haud latiori, elytris nitidis levibus breviter setosis lateribus longius

setosis, podice rufo setarum serie marginato, pedibus subgracilibus ;

basi femorum obscuriori.—Long. corp. lin. 33.

Hab. in India orientali, D. Bacon. In Mus. Westw., &c.

Obs. Nearly allied to P. ploiophorus and denticulatus, but differs

in the narrowed hind-part of the prothorax ; also to P. nauceras, but

differs in the glossy elytra and different shape of the antenne.

Paussus Bowringii, Westw.

P. niger nitidus, clava antennarum parte pronoti antica elytrorumque

basi lateribus apiceque ferrugineis, capite inter oculos tuberculo elevato

quasi e tuberculis duobus minutis composito, antennarum clava lata

margine antico aeuto postico profunde fossulato: fossulae margine

supero recto infero 6-denticulato, pronoti partis anticz lateribus

acute angulatis: parte postica angustiori lateribus sinuatis, palporum

maxillarium articulo 2ndo lato subquadrato, elytris brevissime setosis

lateribus setis longioribus densius obsitis.—Long. corp. lin. 33.

Hab. ad Hong Kong.- D. Bowring.

In Mus. Britann.

Paussus hystrix, Westw.

P, obscure ferrugineus opacus, capite antice emarginato; vertice tuber-

culis duobus ovalibus elevatis, antennarum clava oblonga subovata

Linnean Society. 497

postice excavatione oblonga instructa: hujus marginibus supero et in-

fero sinuatis seu tuberculis rotundatis quinque instructis, prothorace

capite paullo angustiori: parte postica antica parum angustiori: lateribus

fere rectis, elytris lateribus rufo setosis: singulo ante medium disci

impressione ovali alteraque elongata subcurvata laterali instructis, po-

dice serie setarum marginato, pedibus angustis, palporum maxillarium

articulo 2ndo fere rotundato.—Long. corp. lin. 33.

Hab. ad Hong Kong. D. Bowring.

In Mus. Britann.

** Species Africane.

Paussus cucullatus.

P. totus castaneus subnitidus tenuissime punctatus, pronoto magis nitido

levi, capitis vertice impressione ovali marginibus elevatis in qua tuber-

cula 2 parva ovalia exstant, antennarum clava glaberrima late ovali basi

truncata postice profunde excavata intus prope marginem anticum

necnon margines excavationis transverse impressa, prothoracis parte

antica brevi lateribus acute angulatis ; postica multo angustiori in medio

profunde impressa, pedibus dilatatis, podice setarum serie marginato,

palporum maxillarium articulo 2ndo lato rotundato.—Long. corp. lin. 2.

Hab. in Africa meridionali apud Portum Natalensem. In Mus. D. Melly

cum nomine supra indicato e Mus. Reg. Berol. communicatus.

Sect. B. Prothorax subcontinuus.

Paussus spinicoxis, Westw.

P. angustus castaneo-testaceus, capite elytrisque tenuissime punctatis,

capite tuberculo conico dorsali inter oculos armato, oculis magnis,

antennarum clava subovali undique acute marginata punctata basi

externe in dentem producto, disco utrinque versus marginem posticum

4-impresso, prothorace glabro subcontinuo angulis anticis rotundatis :

parte antica a postica fossula profunda transversa utrinque setosa sepa-

rata, elytris glabris, podice marginato punctato, palpis maxillaribus

subfiliformibus articulo 2ndo parum crassiori, pedibus gracilibus ; coxis

2 posticis in spinam productis.—Long. corp. lin. 4.

Hab. in Africa meridionali apud Portum Natalensem.

In Mus. Britann.

Paussus cultratus.

P. totus testaceo-fulvus punctatus et breviter setosus, capite supra con-

vexo integro angulis posticis pone oculos porrectis, clypeo emarginato,

antennis depressis late-falcatis apice acutissimis margine omni acuto

glabris tenuiter punctatis, palpis maxillaribus filiformibus, prothorace

ovali antice posticeque truncato in medio parum depresso glabro exca-

vationibus duabus profundis subrotundatis in medio notato, pedibus

subgracilibus ; tibiis compressis et ante apicem sensim angustioribus,

podice punctato setoso margine acuto elevato.—Long. corp. lin. 3.

Hab. in Africa meridionali apud Portum Natalensem. In Mus. D. Melly

cum nomine supra indicato e Mus. Reg. Berol. communicatus.

Paussus setosus, Westw.

P. luteo-castaneus setis aureis obsitus, capite antennis pedibusque magis

castaneis, capite inter oculos tuberculo elevato setigero instructo, cly-

peo vix emarginato, antennarum clava elongata lateribus parallelis

margine omni acuto basi externe in dentem conicum apice setosum

producto margine postico setarum curvatarum serie instructo, protho-

Ann. & Mag. N. Mist. Ser. 2. Vol.v.

498 Linnean Society.

race oblongo: parte antica parum latiori lateribus rotundatis: partis

posticz lateribus fere parallelis: in medio disci impressione profunda

subquadrata, elytris profundius punctatis, podice setarum serie mar-

ginato, pedibus gracilibus longioribus.—Long. corp, lin. 33.

Hab. in Guinea.

In Mus. D. La Fertei.

Read also a continuation of Mr. Huxley’s paper “ On the Anatomy

of the Diphyde,” &c.

November 20.—William Yarrell, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.

Mr. Hogg, F.L.S., presented two spikes of a variety of Hordeum

hevastichon, L., grown from seeds sown in March of the present year

at Norton in the county of Durham. The seed was derived from

some found in the pocket of a sailor, who died during a voyage in

the Mediterranean. Mr. Hogg designates this variety as H. hez-

astichon var. seminibus nigris seu ceruleo-nigris, ‘black, or rather

blue-black Bigg.” He states that he cannot find in authors any de-

scription at all answering to it, although Persoon and Séringe men-

tion a similar variety of the common barley, Hordeum vulgare, L.

The variety presented by Mr. Hogg ripens early, is exceedingly

prolific, and has large grains; and he therefore considers it worthy

of cultivation, and though perhaps not so well adapted to malting

as the common barley, yet likely to be valuable for other purposes,

and particularly for the fattening of cattle.

Read a Paper ‘‘ On the Development of the Spores and Elaters of

Marchantia polymorpha.” By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.L.S. &c.

Mr. Henfrey commences by referring to the memoirs of M. Mir-

bel on Marchantia, &c., and the accompanying note of Mr. Griffith ;

to M. Lindenberg’s Monograph of Ricciee; and to the several pub-

lications of Bischoff, Von Mohl, Gottsche and Fitt on the develop-

ment of the spores of various cryptogamic plants. He briefly de-

scribes the development of the little green cellular body found within

the pistillidium which becomes the capsule of Marchantia polymorpha,

and states that from the facts observed and from analogy he is in-

clined to believe that the young capsule is at first formed of a con-

tinuous cellular substance, and that the cells of this tissue become

parent-cells, producing new cells within them, which they set free

by becoming dissolved, exactly as occurs in the production of the

parent-cells of the pollen-grains in the continuous cellular tissue of

anthers. M. Mirbel does not appear to have examined the contents

of the capsules until this complete separation of the cells had taken

place, when he describes them as consisting of minute elongated

cells (the young elaters) mingled with small squarish cells (the

spores). but Mr. Henfrey found the younger capsules to contain

elongated cells alone, and those of two sizes. The whole cavity was

filled by such cells apparently radiating from the centre; the nar-

rower cells being interposed between much longer and broader cells

of the same form. The former were the young elaters, the latter

the parent-cells of the spores.

The young elaters Mr. Henfrey describes as elongated slender

Linnean Society. 499

tubes attenuated towards each extremity, and filled at first with an

almost colourless coagulable protoplasm. After a short time starch

globules are seen within them, which might readily be mistaken for

the rudiments of the spiral fibre; but the author believes that the

accounts given by some writers of the formation of spiral fibre in

spiral vessels from rows of minute granules are incorrect, and have

arisen from observation of starch granules lying in rows often

running obliquely across the tubes. After a greater enlargement

in the length than in the diameter of these cells the starch granules

and finally the protoplasm disappear, and faint streaks denoting the

nascent fibres are at length visible upon the walls. These gradually

become more and more distinct, until in the mature elaters they pre-

sent themselves in the form of strong flattened bands. In Marchantia

there are two fibres, the ends of which are confluent at the extremities

of the tubes in which they are contained; so that more properly

speaking there is but one endless fibre twisted upon itself, which

may be represented by a piece of string doubled with its ends

united, and twisted spirally upon itself. This is evidently the best

possible condition of structure for its purpose of acting as a spring.

In unrolling, the fibre tears up the membrane of the walls of the

tube, which after the elaters have been discharged is often no longer

to be detected.

While the elaters are passing through these stages the larger

elongated cells exhibit a very remarkable series of changes, which

Mr. Henfrey regards as differing from anything that has yet been

observed in analogous structures. They are at first filled, like the

elaters, with a delicate colourless protoplasm, in which float ex-

ceedingly minute granules, and which is apparently the same sub-

stance that occurs in all young cells which increase by self-division.

These larger cells soon exhibit transverse streaks of a lighter colour,

in consequence of the separation of the protoplasm into a number

of distinct portions, and the formation of cross membranes at these

places, dividing the tubular ceil into a row of cells, all of a square

form except the two terminal ones which are attenuated towards the

free point. The author could not determine whether the septa were

formed by gradual growing in of the membrane, nor could he detect

at this period a double membrane, which must, however, exist, to

admit of the subsequent separation of the contained cells. Vertical

septa are often formed in addition, producing a double row of cells

within the tube. About the time when the cells separate from each

other, their contents undergo a change, which exactly resembles

that which occurs in the contents of the parent-cells and special-

parent-cells of pollen when the formation of free cells is about to

take place in their interior. The mucilaginous matter, or protoplasm,

acquires a deep yellow colour, becomes much thicker, and exhibits a

quantity of globular bodies which look like drops of oil. Mr. Hen-

frey gives his reasons for regarding these appearances neither as

drops of oil nor as vesicular cavities, but as globular drops of the

yellow protoplasm. Such globules are of various sizes and some-

times occupy half the cavity of the cell, but neither before nor after

32%

500 Linnean Society.

their formation was the author enabled to detect the presence of

nuclei.

Soon after the separation of these cells their yellow contents

exhibit lighter streaks running across, which denote that they are

each about to separate into four portions. When these portions are

completely isolated and become coated by their proper membranes,

they constitute the spores, and are subsequently set free by the so-

lution of the membrane of the parent-cells. Their contents then

again become clear and almost colourless, their membrane becomes

thickened and of a bright yellow colour, and finally their cavity

becomes filled with globules of pretty regular size. No trace of

septa dividing the parent-cells into chambers, such as are met with

in the special-parent-cells of the pollen, were observed, even when

treated with iodine ; and when the parent-cells in which the contents

had parted into four portions were ruptured at one place, all the

contents passed out and the membrane remained as a simple sac.

In the ripe spore the author could distinguish only a single coat,

which grows out into a tube at one point in germination. During

this process the entire spore with its contents becomes colourless,

the yellow colour and the globules disappearing; and after a short

time chlorophyll vesicles appear, which, on the application of iodine,

are seen to be imbedded in a coagulable, colourless protoplasm.

In conclusion, the author again directs attention to the striking

circumstance, that throughout the whole course of development he

met with no nuclei; neither did he observe nuclei during the deve-

lopment of the spores of Spherocarpus terrestris, which he had also

partially traced. Sometimes the globular bodies before alluded to

as formed in the yellow protoplasm presented appearances which

might be mistaken for nuclei; but careful investigation always led

him to believe that these appearances were deceptive; and as he

obtained clear and well-defined views of all the various stages with

fully sufficient magnifying powers to see nuclei if present, he states

that he is compelled to deny their existence here.

A series of illustrative figures accompanied the paper.

December 4.—T. Horsfield, M.D., V.P., in the Chair.

The Meeting having been specially summoned to supply the

vacancy in the Council caused by the death of the Bishop of Norwich,

and to elect a President in his stead ; the Vice-President in the Chair

opened the business of the day, and the votes having been taken for

a Member of Council, Charles Morgan Lemann, M.D., was declared

to be elected into the Council.

The ballot for President having also closed, Robert Brown, Esq.

was declared to be elected President.

December 18.—Robert Brown, Esq., President, in the Chair.

The President nominated Thomas Horsfield, M.D., Sir William

Jackson Hooker, William Yarrell, Esq., and Nathaniel Wallich, M.D.,

to be Vice-Presidents for the remainder of the year.

A letter was read, addressed to the Secretary by John Hogg, Esq.,

Zoological Society. 501

F.L.S., giving an account of a double variety of the Field Scabious,

Scabiosa arvensis, L. (Knautia arvensis, Coult.), a specimen of which

he presented to the Society. The specimen was gathered in a

stubble-field at Norton in the county of Durham on the 29th of

September, and was the only one seen with a double flower, all the

other plants in the field presenting the ordinary flower of the species.

The doubling consists in the enlargement of the inner florets to the

same size as the outer ones in the ordinary flowers; but the anthers

and stamina of the former do not appear to have become abortive as

in the outer enlarged florets, and as might have been expected from

the similar change in the corolla. In Hooker’s ‘ British Flora,’ the

species is characterized by the corolla of its outer florets having

unequal and of its inner florets equal segments: in this double

variety the segments of the inner florets are unequal like those of

the outer.

Mr. Westwood, F.L.S., exhibited a small branch of a Nelis d’hiver

pear grown against a wall in the garden of Mr. Wilmot, Isleworth,

covered with a great number of large, solid, woody, gall-like protu-

berances caused by the punctures of a species of Aphis closely allied

to the American blight, the twigs in this branch having been com-

pletely stunted in their growth, and not exceeding an inch in length,

the energy of the tree having been concentrated in the growth of the

protuberances. Mr. Westwood pointed out the difference between the

real galls (sometimes quite hard and woody in their texture) caused

by the punctures of insects and the deposition of eggs, and these

pseudo-galls which did not enclose eggs, but were the result of

the punctures of the proboscis of insects for obtaining an immediate

supply of food. The latter are of great rarity, and Mr. Westwood

had never seen any which could be compared in extent to the speci-

men exhibited, which was moreover covered with a whitish powder

discharged from the bodies of the Aphides, and with a great number

of the skins shed by them during their transformations.

Read a further continuation of Mr. Huxley’s Memoir ‘On the

Anatomy of the Diphyde,” &c.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

May 22, 1849.—Harpur Gamble, Esq., M.D., in the Chair.

On THE BRITISH SPECIMENS OF ReGatecus. By J. E. Gray,

Esa., F.R.S. &e.

The occurrence of a specimen of Regalecus on the coast of North-

umberland, which is now being exhibited in Regent-street, has in-

duced me to communicate the following remarks which I have col-

lected connected with the history of its former occurrence in this

country, some of which appear to have escaped the researches of our

British naturalists.

Though the materials here referred to are mentioned by M. Valen-

ciennes in the tenth volume of the ‘ Histoire des Poissons,’ the refer-

502 Zoological Society.

ence is so indistinct and indefinite that it has not enabled British

naturalists to discover where they were to be seen.

On a very accurate drawing of a fish of this genus, bound up with

other notes on British fishes, at the end of a 4to copy of Pennant’s

British Zoology of 1776, which is contained in the library of the late

Sir Joseph Banks, now forming part of the library of the British

Museum, is the following, the head of which is reduced two-thirds in

the following figure :—

“On Saturday the 23rd day of February, 1788, was caught near

Newlyn Quay, on the sand at ebb-tide, a fish which measured in

length 8 feet 4 inches, breadth 10 inches, and thickness 2} inches ;

weight 40 lbs.”

The drawing is inscribed, by another hand, “ Regalecus Glesne,

Ascan. Icon. t. 11; Miller, Z. D. n. 355. R. remipes, Nov. Act.

Hafn. n. 414;” and on the margin there is added in another hand

the followmg note :—

*“N.B. A gentleman who saw this fish informed Capt. Chemming

(Chelnwyn?) that the tail was not perfect, and supposed it was ori-

inally longer than is represented.”

The body of the fish is silvered, with obscure indications of darker

cross-bands, and the fins are all salmon-coloured ; the first ray of the

dorsal over the eyes is elongated and bent down over the front of the

head, and each of the two ventral fins ends in an ovate radiated appen-

dage.

This figure, representing the first British example on record, is

certainly the best and most trustworthy representation of the fish that

I have seen. A reduced copy of this drawing is here given.

Valenciennes, to whom a copy of this figure has been sent by

Mrs. Lee, mentions it in the History of Fish, vol. x. p. 365, but has

translated Newlyn Quay into ‘* Necolyn Quay.”

Dr. Russell (Fishes of Coromandel, i. 29) observes: “‘In 1796 a

fish of this genus was cast on shore in Cornwall, a drawing and de-

scription of which were sent to Sir Joseph Banks. It has two ventral

cirri, and in the crest of the head resembled the present subject more

than any of the others: the tail had been broken off.”

Zoological Society. 503

Shaw (Zool. iv. 198) observes: ‘It appears from a print published

in the year 1798, that a specimen of this fish (Gymnetrus Hawkenit)

was thrown on the coast of Cornwall in the month of February in the

same year. Its length was 8 feet 6 inches, its breadth in the widest

part 102 inches, and its thickness 23 inches. The tail in this speci-

men was wanting ; the colour the same as in the specimen (of Gymne-

trus Hawkenii) figured by Dr. Bloch.”

I have no doubt, as Valenciennes suspected (see Hist. Poiss. x.

375), from comparing these accounts with the drawing in the edition

of Pennant above quoted, and with Russell’s and Shaw’s notices, that

they are from that authority, and that the two dates in the notes, and

the length mentioned by Dr. Shaw, are mistakes of the copyist. I have

not been able to find the engraving mentioned by Shaw, which was

doubtless made from this drawing, though there is a slight variation

in each of the items of the measurements given by the latter author.

Could he have considered this drawing as a published print? The

writing is so beautifully executed that he might be deceived unless

he examined it very carefully.

Mr. Couch, in his paper on Cornish fishes, Linn. Trans. xiv. 77,

informs us, under

** Ceil Conin.—This fish was drawn on shore in a net at Newlin

(Newlyn) in this country in February 1791. The extremity of the

tail was wanting ; the length of what remained was 83 feet, the depth

103 inches, thickness 23 inches, weight 40 lbs. A coloured drawing

of this fish is in the possession of W. Rashleigh, Esq., F.L.S., of

Menabilly.” .

Mr. Couch has seen this drawing. A copy reduced to one-fourth

its size is given by Mr. Yarrell in his excellent work on British Fishes,

vol. ii. p. 221.

I have great doubt if the fish mentioned by Mr. Couch is not also

the same specimen as the one described as caught on 23rd of February

1788, as it is found in the same place, is the same size and weight,

&c., and that the date is a mistake. The addition of the two ventral

fins was probably a fancy of the artist, like the addition of the tail,

the drawing of the fish sent to Sir Joseph Banks being without these

fanciful embellishments.

It_has been supposed, because the copy of the drawing given by —

Mr. Yarrell is very like the figure of Gymnetrus Hawkenii in Bloch’s

Hist. Ich. xii. t. 433, that the drawing of the Cornish fish was the

origin of Bloch’s figure ; but it is to be observed that Mr. Hawken

sent a specimen as well as a drawing of the fish he received from Goa ;

that his specimen was only 24 feet long, and the Cornish specimen

82 feet. See Cuvier, Hist. Poissons, x. 374.

Dr. Shaw (Zool. iv. 197) informs us that the drawing of Gymnetrus

Hawkenii was communicated by ‘‘ J. Hawkins, Esq. ;”’ and he added,

**T am assured by Mr. Hawkins that this is really the case (the tail

being added by the draughtsman), the specimen from which the

drawing was taken having been defective in that part.”

From this examination I conclude that these accounts are all from

the specimen and figure in Pennant.

504: Zoological Society.-

In the same copy of Pennant’s ‘ British Zoology’ occurs the follow-

jng note and figure, which is here copied two-thirds the size :—

pg ag ia ee

Ze LG Og a ee

ees CPLR 5

RA ~

Wis KE WES RE Rt

Wit We We Re VY a

Se Win

Gy S

KS ~

SOT SOI Ma

« «York, March 29, ’96.—On Friday last a curious and uncommon

fish came on shore at Filey Bay, and was taken by four women ; they

sold it to a man who brought it to this city ; it was 134 feet in length,

rather more than one foot in depth, and not more than 3 inches in

thickness. Its skin was smooth and of a silver hue: had no tail, and

its fins were the colour of those of the roach or perch. It may be

considered as a nondescript, neither Linnzeus, Pennant, or any other

writers on Ichthyology having given any description of it.’

«This paragraph is cut from the York Chronicle of last Thursday,

and the enclosed I traced from a drawing by Dr. Burgh, who penned

the paragraph and made the following notes on his drawing.” —J. F.

** 13 feet long, 1 deep, 3 inches thick ; head 7 inches long; eye 13

diam. ; no scales, but very small protuberances, silvered over like the

swim of a herring; these run the whole length in stripes, alternate

with others which are bare, and of a light colour.

““The dorsal fin runs the whole way from the head to the other

end, at which there is no tail. The dorsal fin is red, like that of a

roach or perch ; 6 bronchial rays; dorsal fin 290 and 13 rays; the

pectoral 12; ventral 1; no anal. No teeth; a soft tongue. The face

and inside of the mouth black. Anus 4 feet 9 inches from the head.

Iris a silver-white. He ran on shore at Filey Bay, March 18, 1796 ;

was seen by four women, who took him and sold him to a man who

brought him to York, where on March21 I saw him. Though there was

then no caudal fin, it is not clear that he never had one, for there was

an appearance of mutilation in its place. The two sides were precisely

alike. The eye in the drawing is placed a little too low.’—W.B.

This description is mentioned by M. Valenciennes in his ‘ Histoire

des Poissons,’ x. 365, under the name of Gymnetrus Banksii ; nothing

is said of the figures which accompanied the letter. I can see nothing

Zoological Society. 505

in the account or figures to induce me to believe that it is different

from the Regalecus Glesne, or the specimen from Cornwall.

Mr. Yarrell, in his letter to Mr. Whitehead, printed in Dr. Jacobs’s

account of the Northumberland specimen, p. 10, gives the description

of a specimen which was caught in March 1844, at Crovie, near Mac-

duff, in Scotland, sent by Mr. John Marten of Elgin to Dr. George

Johnston and Mr. Yarrell.

It would therefore appear that the specimen from the coast of

Northumberland is at least the fourth time that a fish of this genus

has been recorded as found on the coast of Britain.

From the comparison of the various descriptions and figures given

by the English observers, and those given by Ascanius, Brunnich and

Lindroth, I believe there is only a single species yet found in the

North Sea, and it appears that that species occasionally comes as far

south as the coast of Cornwall.

The great distinction between Regalecus Glesne and R. Grillii is

the number of the rays in the dorsal fin; but as Valenciennes justly

observes, that Ascanius’s figure_represents more rays than he de-

scribes the specimen to have had, and in this respect it agrees with

the description of R. Grillii and with the specimens which have since

occurred, I think it probable that the number in the text is a mis-

print.

Ascanius represents the five longitudinal streaks mentioned in the

description of the Filey specimen.

Mr. Whitehead’s specimen agrees with the one from Filey, in

having the five convex longitudinal lines. These lines are shown in

the painting made from the fish when more fresh, but they are not

so distinct in the specimen in the fluid; yet they have been rendered

more visible than when I first saw it by some glass which had been

ut on the specimen to sink it in the fluid.

The black bands so well marked in the painting of this fish were

also observed in the specimen cast ashore at Crovie, near Macduff, in

March 1844, described by Mr. Marten, and in Gymnetrus Grilli of

Lindroth ; and they are indistinctly represented in the drawing of

the Cornish specimen.

The ventral fins in Mr. Marten’s specimen ‘‘ consisted of two fila-

ments 3 feet in length; they were fringed with a thin membrane on

two sides, and had evidently been broken.”

This shows the affinity of the black-striped fish with the Glesne of

Ascanius and the S. Grilli of Lindroth, and I have no doubt that

the slight dilatation at the end of the ventral fins im his figure is a

mere enlargement of the membranous fringes above described.

The following appear to be the synonyma of this species :—

REGALECUS GLESNE.

1. Ophidium Glesne, Ascanius, Mem. Soc. Copenh. tii. 419.

Regalecus Glesne, Ascanius, Icon. i. t. 11. cop. E. M. t. 358 ;

J.J. (J. Jacob), An account of the rare fish, &c. 8vo, 1849,

figures Illustrated London News, June 2, 1849, p. 384 fig.

Regalecus remipes, Brunnich in Nya Saml. iii. 414. t. 13. f. 4, 5;

' copied by Walbaum, t. 3. f. 4.

506 Zoological Society.

Gymnetrus remipes, Schneider, Syst. Ichth. 482. t. 88, altered

from Ascanius; copied by Yarrell, Brit. Fish.

Regalec Glesne, Lacep. i. 214, 215.

Gymnetrus Ascanii, Shaw, Zool. iv. ii. 1. t. cop. from Ascanius.

Le Gymnetre Glesne, Valenciennes, Hist. Poissons, x. 365 & 366.

From the figure of the Newlyn specimen.

. Gymnetrus Grilli, Lindroth, Kongl. Vetensk. Acad. Nya Handl.

1798, 288. t. 8 (from a dry fish) ; Schneider, Syst. Ichth. 482 ;

Valenciennes, Hist. Poissons, x. 370.

. Le Gymnetrus Banksii, Valenciennes, Hist. Poissons, x. 365.

From the letter respecting the Filey specimen.

4. Ceil Conin = Gymnetrus Hawkenii, Couch, Trans. Linn. Soc. xiv.

77. part.; Yarrell, Brit. Fish. 221. part. From the Newlyn

specimen (not Bloch, Ich. xii. t. 4237).

5. Gymnetrus Northumbricus (Hancock’s MSS. ?), 1849.

Gymnetrus ? Marten in Jacobs’s Account of Rare Fish, 1849,

oak Os

6. oy Serpent, Ladies’ Newspaper, 12th May, 1849.

M. Valencienes, by mistake, thinks that Ascanius described this

fish first as Regalecus, and then as an Ophidium, but 1766 comes

before 1772. The specific name of Glesne is derived from the name

of the place on which the fish was found, near Bergen in Norway.

The generic name of Regalecus, characterized in 1772, has the un-

doubted priority over Gymnetrus of Schneider, and therefore ought

to be used; neither are quite unexceptionable, the one being a mix-

ture of Greek and Latin, and the latter as conveying a false cha-

racter, for the fish has ventral fins; but I think it is not desirable to

change names which have once been used for such reasons, though

it is well to avoid giving names having the first objection, and the

second should always be avoided.

iss)

The Banksian copy of Pennant is very valuable to the British zoo-

logist, and contains, besides the figures and letters here referred to,

some shorter notes, the titles of which I here give, as they may be

of use to persons residing at a distance from the library.

Vol. I. Aylmer Bourke Lambert, letter on the Irish Wolf Dog.

P. 224. Note on Grouse. .

P. 346. Mr. Pearson of Newport Street, account of keeping Swal-

lows through the winter.

Letter from James Hervey of Manchester, on the arrival of

Swallows.

P. 352. List of indigenous Mammalia and Birds that are wanting

to the British Museum, by W. E. Leach, M.D.

The price of Heronshaws in 1556.

A Fenman’s List of the Fowls found in the East Fen. ;

Vol. Il. p. 357. Letter from T. J. Woodward of Walcot, respecting

the Heron with the crest.

Vol. III. p. 109.—1. A figure of a short Sun-fish, inscribed ‘ Por-

trait of a Sun-fish for Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., from his obliged an

humble serv' Richard Brocklesby.”’ :

Zoological Society. 507

P. 137.—2. A beautiful drawing of a Launce, by “W. W. Ellis,

ad viv. delin. et pinxt. 1779.”

P. 138.—3. A letter from L. Morris, accompanied by a pen

sketch of the ‘ Morris’ Leptocephalus, copied from a blank page in

Lewis Morris’s Ray Synopsis, by Mr. Lloyd, at Aberystwith, 1786.

This note is copied into the edition of ‘ Pennant’s Zoology’ for 1812,

p- 215, where the editor observes : “‘ The above memorandum is pre-

served in the copy of the British Zoology in the valuable library of

the President of the Royal Society in Soho Square.’ The editor

does not notice any of the other papers in the Banksian copy of

Pennant.

P. 178.—4. A note about the name of the Torse.

P. 187.—5. Sir William Musgrave’s note accompanying a Spotted

Goby and a young Angel Fish.

P. 213.—6. Hugh Davies’ reply to Donovan respecting the tri-

furcated Hake, from the North Wales Gazette, March 1810.

P. 213.—7. Moses Griffith in reply to Donovan, from the Cam-

brian, Dec. 30, 1809.

P. 372.—8. The description of three fish, accompanied by very

good figures in India ink, probably by Colonel Montague (? ?).

Viz. 1. Leptocephalus Morrissii.—I may observe, that on the con-

tinent they apply this name to a species which is munch longer and

more slender than the one figured by Pennant and Yarrell, and Costa

has given the name of L. candidissimus to the shorter British spe-

cies ; we have both species from Costa in the British Museum.

2. Cepola rubescens.

3. The Variegated Sole, Solea lingula. In the MSS. it is stated,

“This fish is sometimes taken in Torbay in the trawling-nets. It

differs at first sight from the common sole in the edges of the scales

being strongly ciliated, and in wanting the numerous small beards

that hang from the lower side of the head of the common sort.”

This appears to be the Red-back described from E. Hanmer’s MSS. in

the 1812 edition of Pennant, but there is no reference to this figure.

9. The letter from J. F. respecting the fish from Filey Bay,

R. Banksii of Valenciennes.

10. The drawing of Regalecus Glesne from Newlyn Quay.

I may also mention, that in this copy of Pennant the plate 93,

called Ophidium imberbe, Brit. Zool. App. i., is marked in pencil,

apparently by Dr. Solander, as being “ Murena Anguilla.” This

probably explaims why the figure is replaced in the edition of 1812

by Montague’s figure from the Wernerian Transactions, as mentioned

by Yarrell, Brit. Fishes, 412 & 414, where these two figures are

copied.

‘Since this paper was read, there has appeared in the ‘ Annals of

Natural History’ a full description of Mr. Whitehead’s specimen, and

an account of some other specimens found on other parts of the En-

glish coast.

508 Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH.

April 11, 1850.—Professor Fleming, President, in the Chair.

Dr. Greville made the following report on fibrous matter from the

Edinburgh Water Company’s works, presented at the last meeting by

Mr. M‘Nab, and on a similar substance found on an old wheelbarrow

in Dundee, by Mr. W. Ogilvie :—

“The fibrous substance from the Water-works is Ozonium auri-

comum of Link. Along with a number of other fibrous and byssoid

productions, it is now regarded as either an imperfectly developed or

aberrant form of some fungus. Ozonium, Himantia, Fibrillaria,

Acrothamnium, Byssocladium, &c., are considered by Fries as the

Mycelia of Hymenomycetous Fungi, in a more or less monstrous

state. I am not aware that the full development has ever been traced,

so that the species has not been identified.

“The specimens from an old wheelbarrow are probably the same

plant. Having been more favourably placed, there is evidently an

approach to a higher development.”

Dr. Balfour stated that he had received from Mr. James Kay, Bel-

turbet, Ireland, a specimen of Orthotrichum with peculiar conferva-like

bodies on the leaves. These had been examined by Dr. Greville, who

reported as follows :—‘‘ The productions sent by Mr. Kay are common

on Orthotrichum crispum, and more or less on O. Lyellii, and one or

two other species. They arise often singly from various parts of the

leaves, and in O. Lyellii are scattered all over them. Hooker and

Taylor in ‘Muscologia Britannica’ regard them as a Conferva (C.

Orthotrichi), and Bridel as a sort of gland. But Bruch and Schimper

consider them as secondary radicular filaments, which may also be

observed along the whole length of the stems. They will be found

figured in both a simple and branched state, in tab. 16 of ‘ Bryo-

logia Europea.’ I believe the view of these authors to be the true

one. The singular mass found at the apex of the leaves may be re-

garded as analogous to the radiating apices of the fronds of some

ferns. But it is difficult to account for their appearance in O. crispum

at a particular stage of growth, which seems to be the case; and I

am besides under the impression that they are not found on specimens

in female fructification.”

Mr. M‘Nab showed a specimen of Ranunculus Ficaria, raised from

roots which had been gathered in Silesia by the Rev. Mr. Wade in |

1848. These roots had been exposed over a large extent of country

by heavy rains, and the people gathered them and used them as food.

Their sudden appearance gave rise to various conjectures as to their

nature and origin, and in the Austrian newspapers they were spoken

of as having fallen from the sky. They were used as peas by the

inhabitants. Mr. M‘Nab had tasted the dried specimens as well as

fresh roots of Ranunculus Ficaria gathered in this country, which,

after being boiled, he found very amylaceous. There is no acridity

in the roots even in their fresh state.

A paper was read on Indian Hemp (Cannabis indica), by Alexan-

der Christison, Esq. (see p. 483.)

Miscellaneous. 509

Mr. M‘Nab made the following report. on the flowering of the plants

in the open borders of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

Lowest point of

Date. therm. during Names of plants in flower.

the night.

March 15. .. 40°... Saxifraga oppositifolia, Adonis vernalis.

16. .. 37 .. Corydalis solida, C. cava.

18. .. 32 .. Muscari botryoides, Orobus vernus.

19... 35 .. Geum altaicum, Lamium maculatum, Tritonia media,

Anemone nemorosa.

20... 37 .. Fritillaria imperialis, Gagea lutea, Saxifraga crassi-

folia.

21... 39 .. Primula Auricula, P. marginata, Alopecurus nigri-

cans, Corydalis capnoides, Aubretia deltoidea.

22... 29 .. Saxifraga virginica, Geum pyrenaicum, Erigeron villo-

sum, Primula villosa. '

24... 23 .. Aubretia grandiflora, Orobus venosus, Narcissus

pseudo-Narcissus, N. moschatus.

25... 29 .. No plants observed to flower.

26. .. 26 .. No plants observed to flower.

27. .. 22 .. Omphalodes verna.

28. .. 25 .. No plants observed to flower.

29. .. 35 .. No plants observed to flower.

30. .. 37 .. Dalibarda geoides.

31. .. 38 .. No plants observed to flower.

April 1. .. 42 .. Hesperis arabidifolia, Viola pulmonensis.

. 44 .. Narcissus bicolor, N. imcomparabilis, Pulmonaria

angustifolia.

3... 45 .. Alyssum saxatile, A. montanum, A. apenninum, Oro-

bus flaccidus, Pulmonaria virginica.

4... 44 .. Pulmonaria officinalis, Euphorbia pilosa, Cardamine

: bellidifolia, Draba rupestris, Hierochloe borealis.

5. .. 38 .. Asphodelus tauricus, Carex stenophylla, C. pilosa,

Euphorbia epithymoides, Orobus canescens.

6. .. 39 .. Anemone hortensis, Narcissus stellaris, Doronicum

Pardalianches, Prunus Cerasus.

8. .. 45 .. Scilla italica, Lunaria vesicaria, Hyacinthus orien-

talis.

9. .. 42 .. Potentilla opaca, Narcissus pallidus, Carex montana.

10. .. 43 .. Narcissus poeticus, Fritillaria Meleagris, Carex pilosa,

Helonias bullata.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On Scolicia prisca, a Fossil Annelide of the Chalk.

By A. DE QUATREFAGES.

Tue whole line of coast of the bay of St. Sebastian is formed of

laminated rocks belonging to the great cretaceous formation of the

Pyrenees. At one of the points of this bay, near the chapel of Antigua,

I found some very remarkable impressions evidently belonging to an

Annelide of enormous size. Similar impressions are met with on the

opposite rocks at the foot of the hill on which stands the lighthouse.

It is at this latter locality that I collected the specimen of which the

following is a brief description. The slab which I brought with me,

and which now forms part of the collection of the Muséum, is about

0°50 metre in length by 0°45 in breadth. Its surface is traversed in

510 Miscellaneous.

several directions by the folds of the impression of the animal. Al-

though neither head nor tail can be detected, and this Annelide

is consequently far from being entire, these convolutions correspond

to a length of about 2°20 metres.

The body appears to have been about 0-04 metre broad; its segments

are thick. At some places there are externally some indentations,

which appeared to me to have arisen rather from some folds of the

body than from true feet. The smooth outline of the greater portion

of the impression leads me to think that this Annelide was apodous.

Within the segments of the body the interannular dissepiments are di-

stinctly visible ; they are as close together as in our large species of

Eunices. These imperfect septa do not reach the intestine. The

space separating them communicates with the general cavity of the

body, which is perfectly distinct. In the centre of this cavity is seen

the intestine, which is free and extends the whole length of the

body. It varies in diameter generally from 0:005 to 0°009 metre.

It is folded transversely, and these folds have nearly everywhere an

imbricated appearance ; but at some points where this intestine is

distended transversely, and where it has acquired almost 0°015 metre

in diameter, these folds are seen not to reach from one side of the

intestine to the other, and form rhomboids.

The common cavity of the body evidently contained no other organ.

This circumstance consequently removes this Annelide from the Luwm-

brici, the Hirudines, and the Nemertes. It appears probable to me,

that the existing group to which it comes nearest is that of the Anne-

lides Errantes.

The number of fossil naked Annelides is very small. None of the

specimens known furnish any idea of the anatomy of these ancient

inhabitants of the primitive oceans. On this account the specimen

from the bay of St. Sebastian appears to me of considerable import-

ance.—Ann. des Sci. Nat., Nov. 1849.

Description of a new species of Gorgonia from Australia.

By J. E. Gray, Esa., F.R.S.

PRIMNOA AUSTRALASIE.

Coral elongate, unbranched, rather tapering ; cells numerous, re-

gular, placed in close regular circles round the stem, each formed of

two series of imbricate calcareous scales.

Inhab. Australasian seas, on oyster-shell and stones.

Several specimens of this very interesting coral were sent to the

British Museum by the Royal Society of Van Diemen’s Land.

This coral is often covered with various species of smaller Coral-

lines and Alge. It varies from two to three feet in height. The

axis is known from the unbranched species of Gorgonia by being more

calcareous, and of a pale greyish colour.

Joseph Millingin, Esq., F.L.S., the Secretary of the Royal Society

of Van Diemen’s Land, has kindly sent me the following particulars

of this coral :—

“Tt was fished up from a depth of some fathoms in D’Entrecas-

teaux Channel, between the mainland of Tasmania and Bruce’s Island.

It is found, as you will see, affixed to rocks and stones, and to dead,

Miscellaneous. 511

broken and half-decayed oyster and scallop-shells, &c. It usually ex-

ists in groups or families, varying from three to four to a great many.

The long delicate stem, which is horny-looking and highly elastic

when dry, varies from the thickness of a knitting-wire to that of a

crow-quill, and from its mineralized and root-like attachment, tapers

gradually and gracefully to the beautiful acicular point, attaining not

unfrequently a length of two or three feet, and having its entire sur-

face covered with a calcareous coat of a cream-yellow colour, deli-

cately annulated, so as much to resemble the fine string of wooden

beads worn as a necklace by the poorer natives of Bengal, but with

this difference,—that in the coralline the beads form a connected or

rather continuous chain, independently of the delicate elastic centre

upon which the mineral structure is deposited. I am informed that

in one or two instances, when these corallines were procured, they

were enveloped throughout with a mucilaginous or jelly-like substance,

which when they become dry is exsiccated and shriveled to such a

degree as to be scarcely if at all traceable. You will be able to say

whether you consider it likely that there exists, in the recent and living

state of the zoophyte, such an external and soft organization.”

This jelly-like substance was doubtless the polypes.—From the

Proceedings of the Zoological Society for Nov. 27, 1849.

YELLOW RAIN.—DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

The Willows, Swansea, May 21st, 1850.

GeNTLEMEN,—If the following extract from my note-book is worthy

of insertion, as likely to interest your readers, or to add one more fact

towards the elucidation of the still vexed question of the distribution

of plants, it is at your service.

*1850, April 17. Yellow rain fell at the Mumbles at 11 a.m. ;

leaving spots like ochre. Wind S.W. Weather fine. No clouds.

Greenhouse roofs, evergreens, and parties who were out of doors,

sprinkled over with spots of the above colour, which are found in my

garden here (5 miles N. of the Mumbles), at Penclawd (7 miles N.W.),

and at many intermediate places.

“May 11. Notwithstanding the marked changes in the weather,

including very heavy rain, many spots still remain, some not much

changed in colour. They are perceptible to the finger, and with a

lens show a globular structure: the 1-inch shows oval, boat-shaped

and round echinulated substances.

“May 12. Letter from one of our most acute observers, Mr.

Berkeley, to whom I had sent specimens :— ,

“The yellow spots consist principally of pollen-grains, probably

those of some Saliz..... I believe that there are three bands as

seen from above, and a single one when the grains are seen laterally,

which agrees with Salim. .... I find also traces of fungi among

the grains, but cannot tell exactly what species.

“May 21. Most of the spots at the Mumbles faded, but some

still yellow.” MatrHew Mocerince.

512 Miscellaneous.

Popular Impressions in India regarding the Natural History of

certain Animals. By H. Torrens, Esq., B.A., &e.

The singular impressions current among natives even of the highest

rank, as to the habits and nature of certain animals, are not undeserving

of record. It is rarely that the credence of the narrators in these

things can be elicited, if even they go so far as to mention the existence

of the belief; for they dread the ridicule as much as they anticipate

the incredulity of a European : consequently these strange stories are

but imperfectly known, even to the best-informed among us in such

legends. I mention one or two, with the circumstances of my acquaint-

ance with them.

While out tiger-shooting with a party of Musalman gentlemen, I was

asked, in a confidential way, whether I had ever seen the phnew: I

spell the word with the almost indescribable nasal aspirate with which

it was invariably pronounced to me. With an air of grave and serious

interest, which is the best way of inspiring confidence, I replied that

the nature of the thing or being was unknown to me, and I requested

information on the subject. On this there was a little hesitation,

when after a time it was explained, that as I had seen more of tigers

than my companions, they fancied I might have also seen or heard

something of the animal that always preceded the tiger, called phnew,

from the ceaseless iteration of a sound similar to its name. I required

further enlightenment as to this creature, when I found it was a

‘something that preceded the tiger by six cubits, wherever he went,

making the noise phnew without end, looking for things for it.” The

old tales of ‘ the lion and his provider’ recurred to me at once; and

T bethought me of the hospitality of some cat-like sound of Felis tigris

having led, during his nightly search for prey, to the creation of the

story. I have done all I could, but in vain, to discover whether there

were real grounds for the belief, based on such a habit of the animal.

I killed several tigers in company with my friends afterwards, but

though we found no phnew with any of them, the silent faith of my

believers in the marvellous has remained unshaken as to the existence

of the mysterious animal. I subsequently learned that there is in

Bengal a like belief respecting it among the Hindus, who term the

creature ghég*.

There are few Englishmen in India who have not perhaps heard

some of the strange tales related by the natives regarding serpents.

The most remarkable to me has always been the belief in the Ra

Samp, or king snake, who is represented as belonging to a superior

order of serpent, as exacting homage and obedience from his ophite

subjects, and sometimes, as appearing with the semblance of a crown,

the type of his authority. I was one day in company with a number

of native gentlemen, when the conversation turned upon the nature

of antidotes in the case of snake-bites, the belief as to the cure

effected by applying to the wound the head of the identical reptile

that had inflicted it, the charms powerful to compel the snake to ap-

* According to Babu Rajendralal Mittra, the Hindus distinguish the Ghég

as a different animal from the P’heu.—E. Blyth.

Miscellaneous. 5138

pear, —as to all which matters I have never been able to obtain, amid

many tales, any relator daring enough to declare himself an eve-

witness of the marvels he recounted. At last, mention being made

of the king snake, a party present said,—‘“ At any rate I can assure

_ you of the existence of him, for it is well known that I have seen,”

and the story to the following effect was then told. The narrator,

being at that time, he said, about fourteen years old, had run hastily

to the terraced roof of a ground floor house to recover his kite, when

his attention was attracted by a large goomna (cobra capello), which,

without perceiving him, raised itself with dilated hood in the erect

attitude common with those snakes, and uttered a loud ery. Im-

mediately some ten or twelve snakes appeared from different quarters,

and assembled before their king ; when after a short time he pounced

upon and devoured one of the smaller ones, with which arbitrary

assertion of regal power the convocation terminated. Now the nar-

rator of this tale had no interest in attempting to mislead me; he had

mentioned what he stated again and again to the majority of persons

present, for years before I ever saw him; and he is naturally of in-

telligence, and in no sort the man to tell a useless falsehood. It is,

I was then informed, by these sort of assemblages that the king snake

asserts his power, and that his subjects are called to him for the

purpose of bringing tribute, in the shape of dainties for the royal

palate ; should however no tributary frog, or cat, or bird be forth-

coming, or should even the offering produced be insufficient, one of

the luckless ophids pays in person the penalty of the omission,—even

as had been witnessed by my informant.

I ventured with respect to his story to object, in as delicate a way

as I could, to the incident-of the cry uttered by the king snake, but

in this I was immediately over-ridden. The ery of the large goomna

was well-known in the ruimous city where we were, and in which they

abound, and it was described to me as a strident sound, the attempted

imitation of which resembled the acute staccato note of a treble haut-

boy. I heard this sound myself subsequently during a sleepless night,

emitted by a large snake which killed a rat in my bed-room : as it was

pitch-dark I was unable to rise and destroy the intruder, but the

sound was too peculiar not to have been that of the ophid, according

as it did with the description given me, and being unlike anything I

ever heard before, as also contrasting distinctly and remarkably with

the cries of its victim.

I have noted down these trivial, but not meurious matters, as an

inducement to the record of more valuable facts as to the opinions

held by natives upon the habits of animals, whence perhaps some

really useful information may be elicited.

Note by Mr. Blyth.—The snake which I have had invariably

pointed out to me asthe Raj Samp, by natives of Bengal, is Bungarus

annularis, which habitually preys upon other snakes, and is currently

said to be a deadly enemy of the Cobra. I have taken a Tropidonatus

wmbratus about two-thirds the length of its devourer, from the

stomach of this species, and the specimen is stuffed in the Socicty’s

Museum as in the act of seizing its victim which it had swallewed.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v. 33

514 Miscellaneous.

Another ophiophagous species, with the Cobra hood, is Hamadryas

hannah of Cantor, or Maia vittata of Elliot ; a specimen of which

(9 feet long, and now mounted in the Museum) I obtained in the

Midnapore jungle.

Mr. Layard some time ago informed me of a popular notion among

the natives of Ceylon respecting a “horn” which is said to grow

sometimes, but very rarely, on the forehead of the jackal; and this

horn is regarded by them as a specific of innumerable virtues.

Strange to say, the same notion is equally current among the natives

of Bengal, who believe that it ensures the prosperity of its possessor,

and success in every undertaking.—K. B.—Journal of the Asiatic

Society of Bengal, No. 206, Aug. 1849.

On Cypreea umbilicata and C. eximia of Sowerby.

By J. E. Gray, Esq.

Cyprea umbilicata was described from a single specimen which

was formerly in the Tankerville Collection and is now in the British

Museum. From its external resemblance to some specimens of Cy-

prea Pantherina, some peculiarities m its formation, and especially

from certain apparent irregularities in its teeth, it has been thought

that it might be a monstrosity or irregular growth of that species.

The discovery of the habitat by Mr. Gunn, who has kindly sent

two specimens of the species to Europe, has removed this impression,

and shown that it is a distinct species; and that what was regarded

as the irregularities in the plaits of the front of the pillar, is im fact

the normal form of the species.

Such being the case shows that the species should be removed

from the genus Cyprea, as restricted in my monograph in the Zoo-

logical Journal, and placed in the genus Cyprovula, first described in

that work.

The shell, instead of having the single large plait in front of the

inner lip separated from other plaits by a wide space, has the front

of the inner lip covered with several oblique plaits, nearly up to the

front edge of the notch.

It also agrees with Cyprovula in the spire bemg concave or sunken,

forming a deep umbilicus.

Cyprea eximia, figured in Strzelecki’s ‘New South Wales and

Van Diemen’s Land,’ is a very nearly allied species, and equally a

Cyprovula (eximia). It differs in the body bemg more globular and

the canal longer. Both these species are to be distinguished from

the other Cyprovule by the canal at each end of the mouths being

more developed and produced: they also both have a somewhat an-

gular depression across the upper part of the anterior canal, at the an-

terior extremity of the dorsal line, evidently formed by the junction

of the two expansions of the mantle in this part.

The elongation of the canals, and the depression above referred to,

are more developed in Cyprovula eximia than in Cyprovula umbilicata.

They are, especially the latter, the giants of the genus. The original

specimen of C. eximia is in the cabinet of Mr. John Morris of Ken-

sington.

Miscellaneous. 515

To give some idea of the extraordinary price which is now some-

times required for shells, I may state that the second specimen of

this Cowry, sent home by Mr. Gunn to a London collector, was

offered by him to Miss Saul for £30, and eventually realised that

price.—I'rom the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for Nov. 1849.

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS AT THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

To the Editor of the Annals of Natural History.

My Dear Sir,—I send you a few notes on the newly-arrived Hip-

popotamus, whilst the impressions of the survey of this truly extra-

ordinary quadruped are fresh in the mind, and thinking they may

interest our zoological friends in the country who have not yet had

the opportunity of inspecting this great rarity.

The young Hippopotamus was safely housed in the comfortable

quarters prepared for it at the Zoological Gardens about 10 o’clock

on Saturday night (May 25th), having arrived by special train from

Southampton, where it was landed from the ‘ Ripon’ steamer which

reached that port early in the morning. The strong attachment of

the animal to its keeper removed every difficulty in its various trans-

fers from ship to train, and from waggon to its actual abode. On

arriving at the Gardens, the Arab who has had the charge of it

walked first out of the transport van, with a bag of dates over his

shoulder, and the beast trotted after him, now and then lifting up its

huge grotesque muzzle and sniffing at its favourite dainties, with

which it was duly rewarded on entering its apartment. When I

saw the Hippopotamus the next morning, it was lying on its side in

the straw with its head resting against the chair on which its swarthy

attendant sat ; it now and then uttered a soft complacent grunt, and,

lazily opening its thick smooth eyelids, leered at its keeper with a sin-

gular protruding movement of the eyeball from the prominent socket,

showing an unusual proportion of the white, over which large con-

junctival vessels converged to the margin of the cornea. The retrac-

tion of the eyeball is accompanied by a protrusion of a large and

thick ‘palpebra nictitans,’ and by a simultaneous rolling of the ball

obliquely downwards and inwards or forwards.

The young animal was captured at the beginning of August 1849,

on the banks of the Nile about 350 miles above Cairo: it was sup-

posed to have been recently brought forth, being not much bigger

than a new-born calf, but much stouter and lower. The attention of

the hunters was attracted to the thick bushes on the river’s bank in

which the young animal was concealed, by the attempt of its mor-

tally wounded mother to return to the spot. When discovered, the

calf made a rush to the river, and had nearly escaped owing to the

slipperiness of its naked lubricous skin, and was only secured by one

of the men striking the boat-hook into its flank: it was then lifted

by one of the men into the boat. The cicatrix of the wound is still

visible on the middle of its left side: the attendant informed me that

the scar was much nearer the haunch when the animal first arrived at

Cairo ; its relative position has changed with the growth of the body.

33*

516 Miscellaneous.

The young animal, which we may reckon to be ten months old, is

now 7 feet long and 6! fect in girth at the middle of the barrel-shaped

trunk, which is supported, clear of the ground, on very short and

thick legs, each terminated by four spreading hoofs : the innermost is

the smallest on the fore-foot ; the two middle ones, answermg to those

which are principally developed in the hog, are the largest in both

feet. The hind-limb is buried in the skin of the flank nearly to the pro-

minence of the heel. Thick flakes of cuticle are m process of detach-

ment from the sole. There is a well-defined white patch behind

each foot, but I looked m vain for any mdications of the glandular

orifice which exists in the same part of the rhinoceros. The naked

hide covering the broad back and sides is of a dark india-rubber

colour, impressed by numerous fine wrinkles crossing each other, but

disposed almost transversely. When I first saw the beast it had just

left its bath, and a minute drop of a glistening secretion was exuding

from each of the conspicuous muco-sebaceous pores which are di-

spersed over the whole integument, at intervals of from eight lines to

aninch. This gave the hide, as it glistened im the sunshine, a very

peculiar aspect. When the animal was younger the secretion had a

reddish colour, and, being poured out more abundantly, the whole

surface became painted over with it every time he quitted his bath.

The integument is impressed by a groove which passes transversely

from shoulder to shoulder; and there are two transverse nuchal

folds, crossed by a median longitudinal furrow, the lateral moieties of

the strong ‘ligamentum nuchee’ forming a pair of well-marked pro-

minences behind the occiput. The ears are very short, conical, fringed

with short scattered hairs along the lower half of their thick borders,

and beset with a few clumps of short hairs upon the middle of their

inner surface. It moves them about with much vivacity. The dark

colour of the bedy extends forwards along the middle of the upper

part of the head and more faintly along the cheeks: the skin around

the ears is of a light reddish-brown colour and almost flesh-coloured

round the eyelids, which defend the peculiarly situated and prominent

eyes : there is a single groove or fold above the upper eyelid, and two

eurved grooves below the lower one. At first sight they seem to be

devoid of eyelashes, but on a close inspection a few very short hairs

may be seen on the thick rounded margin of the upper lid. There

is a caruncle or protuberance on the middle of the outer surface of the

nictitating lid. The colour of the iris is a dark brown: the pupil is

a small transversely oblong aperture. The eyeball is relatively small,

and is remarkable for the extent of the movements of protraction and

retraction. The nostrils, situated on prominences, which the animal

has the power of raising, on the upper part of the broad and massive

‘muzzle, are short oblique slits, guarded by two valves, which can be

opened and closed spontaneously, like the eyelids. The movements

of these apertures are most conspicuous when the beast is in his

favourite element. The wide mouth is chiefly remarkable for the

“ upward curve of its angles towards the eyes, which gives a quaintly

comic expression to the massive countenance. The short and small

milk-tusks project a little, and the minute deciduous incisors appear

Miscellaneous. 517

to be sunk in grooves or pits of the thick gums : but the animal would

not permit any close examination of his teeth ; withdrawing his head

from the attempt and then threatening to bite. The muzzle is beset

with short bristles projecting at pretty regular distances ; several of

them appearing to be split into tufts or pencils of short hairs. Ex-

tremely fine and short hairs are scattered all over the back and sides ;

which are not very obvious except upon a close inspection. The

tail is short, rather flattened, and gradually tapering to an obtuse

point.

After lying quietly about an hour, now and then raising its head

and swiveling its eyeballs towards the keeper, or playfully opening

its huge mouth and threatening to bite the leg of the chair on which

his keeper sat, the hippopotamus rose and walked slowly about its

room, and then uttered a loud and short harsh snort, four or five

times in quick succession, reminding one of the snort of a horse, and

ending with an explosive sound like a bark. The keeper understood

the language, and told us that the animal was expressing its desire to

return to its bath. The beast at this time was in one of the com-

partments of the wing of the Giraffe-house on the opposite side to

that in which its bath is prepared. It carries its head rather de-

pressed, and reminded me most of a huge prize hog, but with a breadth

of muzzle and other features peculiarly its own. The keeper opened

the door leading into the Giraffe’s paddock and walked through that

to the new wing containing the bath, the hippopotamus following, like

a dog, close to his heels. On arriving at the bath-room the animal

descended with some deliberation the flight of low steps leading into

the water, stooped and drank a little, dipped his head under, and

then plunged forwards. It was no sooner in its favourite element than

its whole aspect changed, and it seemed inspired with new life and

activity : sinking down to the bottom and moving about submerged for

a while, it would suddenly rise with a bound, almost bodily out of the

water, and splashing back commenced swimming and plunging about

with a cetaceous or porpoise-like rolling from side to side, taking in

mouthfuls of water and spurting them out again, raising every now

and then its huge grotesque head, and biting the woodwork at the

margin of the bath. The broad rounded back of the animal being

now chiefly in view, it looks a much larger animal than when out of

the water. After half an hour spent in this amusement it quitted the

water at the call of its keeper, and followed him back to the sleeping

room which is well-bedded with straw, and where a stuffed sack is

provided for its pillow, of which the animal, having a very short neck,

thicker than the head, duly avails itself when it sleeps. When awake

it is very impatient of any absence of its favourite attendant, rises

on its hind legs, and threatens to break down the wooden fence, by

butting and pushing against it in a way strongly significative of its

great muscular force. The animal appears to be im perfect health,

and breathes when at rest slowly and regularly, from three to four

times in a minute. Its food is now a kind of porridge of milk and

maize-meal. Its appetite has been im no respect diminished by the

confinement and inconveniences of the sea-voyage, or by change of

climate. It is more than half-weaned from the milk-diet, which, it is

518 Meteorological Observations.

said, created a scarcity of that article at Cairo, owing to the enormous

supply which the cravings of the young animal required, whilst under

the fostering care of our excellent Chargé d’ Affaires the Hon. Mr.

Murray ; to ‘whom, after the princely donor, Abbas Pacha, zoologists

at home are chiefly indebted for the present opportunity of studying

this most remarkable and interesting African mammal, of which no

living specimen has been seen in Europe since the period when they

were last exhibited by the third Gordian in the Amphitheatre of Im-

perial Rome.

I remain, my dear Sir, yours very faithfully,

Richard Taylor, Esq., F.LS. &e. Ricuarp Owen.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR APRIL 1850,

Chiswick.— April 1. Overcast: rain. 2. Cloudy: clear. 3. Fine: showery at

night. 4. Boisterous, with rain. 5. Cloudy and rather boisterous: fine: clear.

6. Overcast. 7. Cloudy and fine. 8. Foggy: overcast: slight showers. 9.

Cloudy. 10. Very fine. 11. Rain: showery: overcast. 12. Fine: hot sun:

thunder commenced 3 past 12 noon: overcast at night. 13. Hazy: rain. 14.

Hazy: rain at night. 15. Rain: very heavy rain in sled sane cloudy. 16.

Showery. 17. Low white clouds: fine throughout. Clear: very fine.

19. Rain. 20. Showery. 21. Slight rain: cloudy. 22. Fine: clear. 23. Over-

cast: cloudy. 24. Clear: fine. 25. Fine: overcast and cold: clear at night.

26. Cloudy and cold. 27. Fine, butcold. 28, 29, Cloudy: fine, but cold, with

excessively dry air. 30. Fine: cloudy.

Mean temperature of the month ...........0. aewisleltiea tates ate -. 48°41

Mean temperature of April 1849 ............seseeseenes Sohcosocce 44 °29

Mean temperature of April for the last twenty-four years... 47 53

Average amount of rain in April ........sccescssececscercersseees 1°46 inch.

Boston.— April 1. Cloudy. 2. Cloudy: rainr.m. 93. Fine. 4. Cloudy:

rain a.m. 5. Cloudy. 6. Cloudy: raine.m, 7. Cloudy. 8. Cloudy: rain a.m.

andr.m. 9. Cloudy: rainr.m. 10. Fine. 11, 12. Cloudy. 13. Cloudy:

rainr.m. 14. Cloudy. 15. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 16. Cloudy: rain a.m.

and p.m. 17. Cloudy: rain. 18. Fine. 19. Cloudy: raina.m. 20,2i. Cloudy:

rain p.m. 22. Cloudy. 23. Cloudy: rain. 24. Cloudy. 25. Fine. 26—28,

Cloudy. 29. Cloudy: rain r.m. 30. Cloudy.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries- shire.— April 1, 2. Rain, moderate. 3. Rain:

mild: heavy p.m. 4. Rain heavy during night: drizzling throughout the day.

5. Rain in the night: dry and windy. "6 Heavy showers all day. 7. Rain:

cleared p.m. 8. Rain. 9. Slight shower. 10. Rainin the night. 11. Frost:

clear sunshine. 12. Fine day. 13. Fine a.m.: cold and windy p.m. 14. Strong

cold east wind. 15. Rainand high wind. 16. Fair and fine: slight drizzle p.m.

17. Fine: shower heavy p.m. 18. Mild: growing shower. 19. Rain early a.m.:

fair day. 20. Rain early: showery day. 21. Fair and fine. 22. Cold and clear.

2s. Cold and clear: slight frost. 24. Cold and clear: frost a.m. 25. Rainand

wind: boisterous. 26. Fair: cold. 27. Fair: clear and cold. 28. Fair a.m. :

slight shower p.m. 29. Frost early. 20. Cold: a few drops of rain.

Mean temperature of the Month ........ssesseeseseeeeeeeeesvens 46°°3

Mean temperature of April 1849 ........:scscecsesscsceceeeeeeces 42 °3

Mean temperature of April for the last twenty-eight years . 44 °3

Raith invA prs 849" ba ccviecascwountonsesesesessetnccsiceciscresases 2-52 inches.

Rain in April for twenty-three years ....cc..scssecessereereeees 1:76 inch.

Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—April 1. Fog : damp, 2. Cloudy: rain. 3. Damp.

4. Rain. 5. Drizzle. 6. Cloudy: hazy a.m. 7. Cloudy: drops a.m. 8. Rain:

cloudy. 9. Drizzle: showers. 10. Hazy: seus 11. Drops: damp. 12. Bright :

fine. 13. Cloudy: clear. 14. Clear: cloudy. 15. Drizzle: cloudy. 16. Rain:

cloudy. 17. Cloudy. 18. Showers: bright: cloudy. 19. Cloudy: showers ;

cloudy. 20. Bright: cloudy. 21. Cloudy: drops. 22. Bright: clear. 23,

24. Cloudy. 25. Bright: clear. 26. Cloudy: drops, 27. Clear: fine. 28.

Cloudy: fine. 29,30. Drops: cloudy.

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INDEX to VOL. V.

ACARI, mouthless, observations on

the, 317.

Acrolepia, new species of, 120.

Alder, J., on Montacuta ferruginosa,

210,

Algz, observations on some, 143.

Anacampsis, new species of, 117.

Anerastia, new species of, 114.

Animals, on the geographical distribu-

tion of, 147; wild, of ancient Bri-

tain, 238.

Annelide, fossil, description of a, 509.

Antrostomus, new species of, 312.

Aorurus, characters of the new genus,

sili

Aphanizomenon, on the British spe-

cies of, 339.

Aphelosetia, new species of, 117.

Aphides, descriptions of, 24, 269, 388.

Aretopithecus, characters of the genus,

229:

Argyromyges, new species of, 118.

Arthromitus, characters of the genus,

74.

Ascaris, new species of, 314.

Aspidogaster conchicola, on the deve-

lopment of, 452.

Attus, new species of, 51.

Babington, C. C., on the British spe-

cies of Chara, 81, 259.

Balfour’s, Dr., description of Sabal

umbraculifera, 420.

Ball, J., on a new species of Veronica,

47; on Odontites verna and its

allies, 70; on Rhinanthus angusti-

folius, 71.

Ball, Dr. R., on powerful bears, pro-

bably cozval with the great fossil

deer of Ireland, 254.

Bears, on the former existence of, in

Treland, 234, 313.

Benson, W. H., on the characters of

several new Helices, 213 ; on some

new or imperfectly described species

of Planorbis, 348.

Berkeley, Rev. M. J.,on British Fungi,

365, 455.

Birds, new species of, 115 134, 224;

310; gigantic, of New Zealand,

on the, 147.

Blackwall, J., on the salmon and bull-

trout, 241.

Books, new :—Thompson’s Natural

History of Ireland, 218.

Botanical Society of Edinburgh, pro-

ceedings of the, 143, 307, 419, 508.

Botany of South America, contribu-

tions to the, 29, 204, 247.

Bradypus, observations on the genus,

225.

British Museum, notice concerning

the, 426.

Broome, C. E., on British Fungi, 365,

455.

Browallia, observations on the genus,

204.

Brunsfelsia, observations on the genus,

247.

Bryozoa, freshwater, on the anatomy

of the, with descriptions of new

species, 173.

Bucephalus polymorphus, on the de-

velopment of, 451.

Bulimus, new species of, 61.

Caillat, M., on the employment of

tar to preserve wheat from the

attack of the weevil, 236.

Callimome, new species of, 126.

Cannabis indica, observations on, 483.

Caprimulgide, new species of, 310,

Cassin, J.. on some new species of

birds, 310.

Caudonia, characters of the new genus,

12be

Cerapterus, new species of, 493.

Cercolabes, on some species of, 380.

Cercopithecus, new species of, 54.

Cestoid worm, new genus of, 43.

Cestoidez, on the arrangement of the,

46.

Chalcis, new species of, 130.

Chalk formation, on the characteristic

fossils of the, 381.

Chara, on the British species of, 81.

Charadrius virginiacus, on the occur-

rence of, at Malta, 40.

Chelifer, new species of, 53.

Choloeepus, characters of the genus,

226.

Christison, A., on Cannabisindica,483.

INDEX.

Cistudo, new species of, 62.

Cladophytum, characters of the genus,

Clark, W., on the terebrating Mol-

lusea, 6; on the recent Foraminifera,

161; on the Littorinide, 352.

Cleghorn, H., on the plants used for

forming hedges andfences in South-

erm India, 144.

Closterium Ehrenbergii, observations

on the conjugation of, 1.

Cobbold, S., on peculiar cells found

in the style and other parts of some

Proteacez, 144.

Cocks, W. P., description of Echino-

rhynchus spinosus, 71.

Confervaceze, new genera of, 72.

Corals, description of some new, 407.

Coryneum, new species of, 458.

Cotswold hills, heights of some points

of the, 255.

Cottus Gobia, on the embryology of,

453.

Cultrides, new species of, 224.

Curtis, J., on some of the smaller

British moths, with descriptions of

new species, 110.

Cyclostoma, new species of, 60.

Cylindrospermum, on the British spe-

cies of, 337.

Cyprza, new species of, 133.

Cypreea umbilicata and C. eximia, new

species of, 514.

Cystotricha, description of the genus,

457.

Cytispora, new species of, 379.

Dandridgia, new species of, 52.

Davidson, T., on Lamarck’s species of

fossil Terebratule, 433 ; on the in-

ternal structure of Terebratula pec-

tunculoides, T. pulchella, &c., 449 ;

on the genus Waltonia, 474.

Davy, Dr. J., ona peculiarity of struc-

ture observed in the aorta of the

wild swan, 139.

Dawson, J. W., on specimens of the

wheat midge from Nova Scotia, 152.

Delphinide, descriptions of three new

species of, 48.

Denny, H., on the former existence

of gigantic bears in Ireland, 313.

Dentalina linearis, on the animal of,

162.

Depressaria, new species of, 116.

Diatomaceous earth, on deposits of,

in the county of Antrim, 121,

Didymium, new species of, 365.

521

Diplodia, new species of, 371.

Dipus Agyptius, notes on the dissec-

tion of, 135.

Discella, description of the genus, 376.

Dolichospermum, on the British spe-

cies of, 335.

Dolomedes, new species of, 50.

Donacia sagittaria, metamorphoses of,

238.

Dujardin, F., on the mouthless Acari,

317.

Echinobothrium, characters of thenew

genus, 43.

Echinocactus Eyriesii, observations

on, 427.

Echinorhinus spmosus, notice respect-

ing, 71.

Encyrtus, new species of; 126.

Endlicher, Prof., notice of the late, 417.

Enterobrus, characters of the genus,

72.

Entophyta, presence of, in living ani-

mals, 71

Entozoa, new species of, 314; on the

embryology of some, 450.

Epeira, new species of, 52.

Equus Hemionus, notes on the skull

of, 140.

Ericyduus, new species of, 133.

Eriospora, description of the genus,

455.

Eudorea, new species of, 115.

Excipula, new species of, 456.

Foraminifera, on the recent, 161.

Forster, E., notice of the late, 411.

Fossils of the chalk formation, on the,

381.

Franciscea, observations on the genus,

249,

Fruit, on decay in, 77.

Fungi, notices of British, 365, 455.

Gage, Miss C., on plants found in the

island of Rathlin, 145.

Gardner, G., notice of the late, 412.

Gaskoin, J. S., on new species of Mar-

ginella, 62; on new species of Cy-

prea, 133.

Glands, odoriferous, of the Inverte-

brata, on the structure of the, 154.

Glareola, new species of, 224.

Glyceria, on a supposed new species

of, 104.

Gorgonia, new species of, 510.

Gould, J., on a new species of Nut-

cracker, 134.

Gracillaria, new species of, 120.

Gray, G. R., on a new species of Par-

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. v.

522

rot, 77; on a new species of Gla-

reola, 224 ; on a new species of Cul-

trides, 224.

Gray, J. E., on three new species of

Delphinide, 48; on some new or

little known species of Monkeys,

54; on a new species of Herpestes,

56; on a new species of box tor-

toise, 62; on the skull of Equus

Hemionus and Equus Kiang, 140;

on a very large roe-deer m the

collection of the Earl of Derby,

224; on the genus Bradypus of

Linneus, 225; on the species of

Cercolabes confounded under the

name of C. prehensilis, 380; on some

corals, including a new British co-

ral, 407 ; on the operculum of gas-

teropodous Mollusca, 476; on the

British specimensof Regalecus,501 ;

on a new species of Gorgonia, 510;

onnew species of Cypreea umbilicata

and C, eximia, 514.

Gregarine, on the nature of the, 157,

316, 429.

Guérin-Meneville, F. E., on the pa-

thology of the silk-worm, 424.

Hancock, A., on the anatomy of the

freshwater Bryozoa, 173; on a spe-

cies of Hydra found in the North-

umberland Lakes, 281.

Helices, on the characters of several

new, 213.

Hendersonia, new species of, 373.

Henfrey, A., on the development of

the spores and elaters of Marchantia

polymorpha, 496.

Herpestes, new species of, 56.

Hippopotamus, its arrival at the Zoolo-

gical Gardens, and its description by

Prof. Owen, 515.

Hippuris vulgaris, on the embryogeny

of, 259.

Huxley, G., on the animal of Trigonia,

141.

Hydra, notes on a species of, 281.

Hydrachna concharum, on the deve-

lopment of, 453.

Hydropsalis, new species of, 310.

Hyett, W. H., on the heights of some

points of the Cotswold hills, 255.

Hyoscyamus, observations on the ge-

nus, 467

Hypopus, observations on the genus,

317.

Ichneumon Atropos, observations on,

INDEX.

Ipswich Museum, proceedings of the,

67, 147.

Jeffreys, J. G.,on British Odostomiz,

108.

Koelliker, M., on the genus Grego-

rina, 157.

Lagenorhynchus, new species of, 49.

Leidy, Dr., on the presence of Ento-

phyta in healthy living animals, 71 ;

on the characters and intimate

structure of the odoriferous glands

of the Invertebrata, 154 ; on Nycto-

therus, a new genus of Polygastrica,

158 ; on some new genera and spe-

cies of Entozoa, 314.

Lepidoptera, nocturnal, monograph

of the large African species of,.290,

395.

Leptoglossis, observations on the ge-

nus, 34 é

Leucophyllum, observations on the

genus, 252.

Link, Prof. H. F., on the structure of

the Orchidacez, 36.

Linnean Society, proceedings of the,

411, 493.

Littormidz, observations on the, 352.

Lloyd, W. H., notice of the late, 415.

Lycett, J., on Trichites, a fossil ge-

nus of bivalve mollusks, 343.

Maclagan, Dr. D., on some articles of

the vegetable Materia Medica, 420.

Maclagan’s, Lieut. R., account of an

excursion from Simla to the Bu-

renda Pass, 307.

MacLeay, A., notice of the late, 415.

Marchantia polymorpha, on the deve-

lopment of the spores and elaters

of, 496.

Margaranthus, observations on the

genus, 251.

Marginella, new species of, 62.

Melville, Dr., on the ideal vertebra, 57.

Mesembryanthemum crystallmum, on

the watery secretion of the leaves

and stems of the, 171.

Meteorological observations, 79, 159,

239, 319, 431, 518.

Miers, J., on the botany of South

America, 29, 204, 247; on the ge-

Ha Hyoscyamus and-Physochlena,

467.

Moggridge, M., on the distribution of

plants, 511.

Mollusca, terebrating, on the, 6; gas-

teropodous, on the operculum of,

476.

INDEX.

Monkeys, descriptions of some new or

little known species of, 56.

Monormia, on the British species of,

326.

Montacuta ferruginosa, notes on, 210.

Moths, on some nondescript or im-

perfectly characterized species of,

110.

Mygale, new species of, 50.

Myxormia, description of the genus,

457.

Newport, G., on Ichneumon Atropos,

418.

New Zealand, on the gigantic birds of,

147.

Nostochine, observations on the,321.

Nucifraga, new species of, 134.

Nyctotherus, characters of the genus,

158.

Odontites verna and its allies, obser-

servations on, 70.

Odostomiz, British, notes on the,

108.

Orchidacex, observations

structure of the, 36.

Ormyrus, new species of, 127.

Orthagoriscus mola, notice of the cap-

ture of, 53.

Owen, Prof., on the gigantic birds of

New Zealand, and on the geogra-

phical distribution of animals, 147 ;

on the

on powerful bears, probably cozval.

with the great fossil deer of Ireland,

234; on the hippopotamus at the

_ Zoological Gardens, 515.

Pachyneuron, new species of, 128.

Palmon, new species of, 130.

Paludicella, new British species of,

Panstenon, new species of, 132.

Paradoxurus Typus, notes on the dis-

section of, 135.

Parlby, Major, on the capture of Or-

thagoriscus mola off the Chesil

Bank, Dorsetshire, 53.

Paussidz, new species of, 493.

Pentaplatarthrus, new species of, 495.

Perris, M., on the metamorphoses of

Donacia sagittaria, 238.

Phalangium, new species of, 52.

Pheenix sylvestris, description of, 420.

Pholadidea papyracea and P. lamel-

lata, on the identity of, 7.

Phoma, new species of, 368.

Physochlena, observations on the ge-

nus, 467

Pilacre, new species of, 365,

523

Planorbis, on some new species of,

348.

Plants of the island of Rathlin, 145 ;

of Orkney, notice of some of the

rarer, 266; mode of distribution of,

511; localities for rare British, 146,

418, 419.

Plumatella, new British species of,

200.

Potato disease, cause of the, 428.

gre: of the Limnzan Society,

Proteacez, on peculiar cells found in

the style and other parts of certain

species of, 144.

Prunus virginiana, notice respecting,

420

Psittacus, new species of, 77.

Pteroglossis, characters of the genus,

Pteromalus, new species of, 128.

Puccinia, new species of, 462.

Quatrefages, A. de, on a fossil Anne-

lide from the chalk, 509.

Ralfs, J., on the Nostochinex, 321.

Reeve, L., on a new species of Buli-

mus, 61.

Regalecus, on the British specimens

of, 501.

Rhinanthus major and R. angusti-

folius, observations on, 70.

Salmon and bull-trout, notes on the,

241.

Salpiglossis, observations on the ge-

nus, 29

Sanderson, J. S., on the embryogeny

of Hippuris vulgaris, 259.

Saturnia, monograph of the African

species of, 296.

Savage, T. S., on the species of Ter-

mitidee of West Africa, described

by Smeathman as T. bellicosus, 92.

Scabiosa arvensis, on a double variety

of, 501.

Scolicia prisca, description of, 509.

Septoria, new species of, 379.

Shells, new, 60, 62, 108, 133, 213,348.

Sibbald, Dr. A., on the plants of the

Valley of Fatana, Taheite, 143. ’

Silk-worm, examination of the blood

of the, 424.

Smiera, new species of, 129.

Smith, J. T., observations on Echino-

cactus Eyriesii, 427.

Smith, Rev. W., on the conjugation of

Closterium Ehrenbergii, 1 ; on de-

posits of diatomaceous earth, 121.

524

Sowerby, G. B., on a new species of

Tomigerus, 59; on two newly dis-

covered species of Cyclostoma, 60.

Spheronema, new species of, 371.

Spheropsis, new species of, 374.

Spline on the British species of,

30.

Sphasus, new species of, 52.

Spilonota, new species of, 111.

Sporidesmium, new species of, 459.

Sporoschisma, characters of the ge-

nus, 461.

Stein, Dr. F., on the nature of the

Gregarine, 429.

Stilbum, new species of, 465.

Streptosolen, observations on the ge-

nus, 207.

Strickland, H. E., on the occurrence

of Charadrius virginiacus at Malta,

40.

Swan, wild, on a peculiarity of struc-

ture observed in the aorta of the,

139.

Syme, J. T., on some of the rarer

plants observed in Orkney, 266.

Taylor, R., on the wild animals of an-

cient Britain, 238.

Tegenaria, new species of, 52.

Terebratulz, fossil, examination of

Lamarck’s species of, 433; on the

structure of some, 449.

Termitide of West Africa, observa-

tions on the, 92.

Tetraploa, description of the genus,

459.

Thompson’s, W., Natural History of

Treland, reviewed, 218.

Thomson, W. T. C., on some Seotch

freshwater Alge, 143.

Toads, way in which they shed their

skins, 430.

Tomigerus, new species of, 59.

Torrens, H., on popular impressions in

India regarding the natural history

of certain animals, 512.

Torula, new species of, 460.

Townsend, F., on a supposed new spe-

cies of Glyceria, 104.

INDEX. : ‘

f Yd

ba fy

[Fi & 7?

Trichia, new species of, 367.

Trichites, observations on, 343.

Trichormus, on the British species of,

S278

Trigonia, description of the animal of,

141.

Tuburcinia, new species of, 464.

Turner, H. N., on the dissection of

the Paradoxurus Typus and of Di-

pus Agyptius, 135.

Turner, W., on the way in which toads

shed their skins, 430.

Uredo, new species of, 463.

Urolepis, new species of, 131.

Van Beneden, P. J., on a new genus *

of Cestoid worm, 42.

Vande, on the structure of the, 36.

Vermicularia, new species of, 378.

Veronica, new species of, 47.

Voelcker, A., on the watery secretion

of the leaves and stems of the ice-

plant, 171.

Vogt, M., on some inhabitants of

freshwater muscles, 450.

Volutella, new species of, 465.

Von Buch, L., on the characteristic

fossils of the chalk formation, 381.

Walker, F., on new species of Chal-

cidites, 125; on the British Aphides,

14, 269, 388.

Wallace’s, Mr., journey to explore-the

natural history of South America,

156.

ear description of the genus,

474.

Weevil, on the employment of tar to

preserve wheat from the attack of

the, 236.

Westwood, J. O., on the large African

species of nocturnal Lepidoptera,

290, 395; on some new species of

Pausside, 493.

Wheat midge, observations on some

specimens of, 152.

White, A., on apparently new species

of Aptera, 50.

Zoological Society, proceedings of the,

48, 133, 224, 290, 395; 501.

END OF THE FIFTH VOLUME.

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