z.s.joo

THE

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,

JOURNAL

ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY,
AND METEOROLOGY.

CONDUCTED

By J. C. LOUDON, F.L. G. & Z.S.

MEMBER OF VARIOUS NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES

CONTINENT.

LONDON

PRINTED FOR

LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMAN,
PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1836.

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PREFACE.

Nine years have now elapsed since the commencement of the
Magazine of Natural History ; and, during that period, we have
endeavoured to conduct it in such a manner, that, while a large
proportion of the contributions to its pages have been of a nature
directly tending to an extension of our knowledge in the various
departments of Natural History, it should, at the same time, not
be deficient in subjects of general interest to those who derive
gratification from some knowledge and observance of Nature's
laws, although they may not enter upon their investigation as a
science.

To a considerable extent, we think that this combination has been
happily effected; and, in presenting our Readers and Correspond-
ents with the completion of the Ninth Volume, we trust that it is
one which will not be found to contain less instructive, or less
interesting, matter than those which have preceded it. Among
the communications which will be perused with pleasure, are
several from our old and valued correspondent, Mr. It. C. Taylor,
whose contributions on Fossil Zoology and Botany, published in
one of the early Volumes of this Magazine, were publicly alluded
to, in terms of the highest commendation, by one of our most
distinguished Geological Professors, at the late assembly of the
British Association at Bristol.

We have occasionally been told that miscellaneous communica-
tions are allowed to appear in our pages, which sometimes do not
constitute additions to the vast fund of knowledge which we pos-
sess relating to the economy of Nature. We readily admit the
fact ; but it should be borne in mind, that one principal object
with us has been that of exciting and promoting a spirit of enquiry,
and a habit of observation, among those who, perhaps, did not
previously possess the taste, or the means, for acquiring an insight
into those delightful pursuits which are attendant upon the study of
Natural History. Had our Journal been appropriated exclusively
to subjects of deep research, and only open to the communications
of experienced Naturalists, it might have taken a higher stand as
a philosophical work, but it would not have been productive of the
general good that it was our object to promote, and which has un-
doubtedly arisen from the course which we have followed.

At the present time, there seems so generally diffused a feeling
in favour of those objects for which this Work was originally insti-
tuted, that it appears to us a desirable opportunity for the com-
mencement of a new series. This plan will prove a great ad-

a 2

IV

PREFACE.

vantage to those who subscribe during the course of the following
year, and will not be at all injurious to our original supporters.

The Magazine of Natural History, for the greater part of the
last five years, has been almost entirely edited by Mr. John Den-
son, A.L.S. ; but it will, in future, be conducted by Mr. Edward
Charlesworth, F.G.S., who proposes to figure and describe some
of the new and choice fossils contained in his extensive collection.
With a view of enabling us to give a larger number of engravings
than has yet been done, the Magazine will be reduced from three
sheets and a half to three sheets.

An improved method has been adopted for referring to the
articles contained in the present Volume. Hitherto this has been
done by a Table of Contents at the beginning of the Volume, and
an Alphabetical Index at the end of it. The Table of Contents
was so far deficient, that it did not indicate the subjects included
under the general title of Miscellaneous Intelligence, consisting of
a great variety of matter ; and, in bulk, filling at least one third
of the entire Volume. The Index, though it has been made as
comprehensive and complete as any index could be in so limited
a space, yet, like all alphabetical indexes that are miscellaneous
as to their subjects, has been felt to be an indefinite, and often
uncertain, mode of acquiring a knowledge of the contents of a
book ; and more especially to the scientific enquirer. We have
been aware of this for some years in the case of the Gardeners
Magazine ; and we have succeeded, we think, in completely
remedying the evil, by combining the Table of Contents with
certain alphabetical lists, and placing the whole at the beginning
of the Volume, as exemplified in the Volume of the Gardener's
Magazine for 1835.

In enumerating the Contents, we have not only given, as usual,
the titles of all the Original Communications ; but, under Miscel-
laneous Intelligence, we have added the sub-titles, or side-head-
ings, as they are technically called, of all the separate articles.
This, we conceive, will give as complete an idea of the Contents
of the Magazine as can be obtained without perusing it ; since the
side-heading always states the subject of the paragraph, whether
it is a fact to be recorded, a proposition to be proved, a criticism
to be made, or a question to be asked.

J. C. L.

Bayswater, Nov. 16. 1836.

to itaq vyjiio

CONTENTS.

nSf .-(M ^d be

.Hoitoofto:

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

GENERAL SUBJECT.

a<-uarf »Prl arrfi n+^tUIU Pa S e

A Sketch of the Natural ; History of the
Neighbourhood of Dijon, France, in 1835.
By Giles Munby, Esq. - -113

Observations made during a Visit to. Con.
namara and Joyce's Country, Ireland, in
August, 1835. By Charles C. Babington,
M.A. F.L.S. F.G.S., &c. - - 119

On the Quinary, or Natural, System of

. M'Leay, Swainson, Vigors, &c. By Peter
Rylands, Esq. • 130. 175

Remarks on the Question of the Propriety
of altering established Scientific Names
in Natural History, should they be er-
roneous. By C. T. Wood, Esq. - 138. 337

Notice of a Natural History Tour in Nor-
way. By Edward Forbes, Esq. - - 169

A Cursory Notice of Objects, natural and
otherwise, observed in the Course of a
Journey in the Interior of Peru. By Mr.
Andrew Mathews, A.L.S., Travelling
Collector of Natural Objects " - - 173

On the modern Nomenclature of Natural
History. By J.O.Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. 561

Observations on Divers. By Dr, Lefdvre,

Navy Surgeon. Translated from the
the French by W. D. .

617

ZOOLOGY. ffloV 9llj fi

Notes on the History and Habits of the
Brown, or Grey Rat (Mvxs decumanus).
By Charles Waterton, Esq. . - 1

On the Habits, Haunts, and Nidification
of the Robin Redbreast (i£ub£cula famili-
kria Blyth). By S. D. W. - - 6

Catalogue of Irish Crustacea, Myriapoda,
and ^rachnoida, selected from the Papers

[ of the late John Templeton, Esq. By
Robert Templeton, Esq. - 9. 23a 301. 417. 466.

Illustrations in British Zoology. By George
Johnston, M.D., Fellow of the Royal Col-

" lege of Surgeons of Edinburgh - 14. 79. 144.
229. 298. 353. 472.

Observations on the Cow Bunting of the
United States of America. By George
Ord, Esq. - - - - 57

A Supplement to the List of Species of
Birds occurrent on the North-eastern
Extremity of the Alleghany Mountain
Range, printed in VIII. 539, 540. ; and
Information on Traits in the Habits of
the Passenger Pigeon (Columba migra-
toria), and of the Wolf {Ckms Lupus).
By R. C. Taylor, Esq., F.G.S., Member
of the Geological Society of Pennsyl-
vania, &c. - - - 72

Remarks on Trees, with Reference to their
being perforated by the Titmouse and the
Woodpecker. By Charles Waterton, Esq. 74

Notes on the Habits of a domesticated
White Rat, and a Terrier Dog (Flora),
that lived in harmony together. By Sa-
muel Moss, Esq., Cheltenham - - 182

Notice of the Arrival of Twenty-six Species
of the Summer Birds of Passage in the
Neighbourhood of Carlisle, Cumberland,
during the Spring of 1835 j to which are

Page
added a few Observations on some of the
scarcer Species of Birds that have been
obtained in the same Vicinity, from Nov.
10. 1834, to Nov. 10. 1835 ; and a few Mete-
orological Remarks on the Spring, Sum-
mer, and Autumn of 1835, at Carlisle.
By a Correspondent - 185

Notes on the Habits of the Jay. By Charles
Waterton, Esq. - - - 187

Records of the Results of Dredging. No. 3.,
Including Notices of Species of Naticid<e.
By Edward Forbes, Esq. - - 191

Notes on the Habits of the Magpie. By
Charles Waterton, Esq. - - 225

A Notice of a Mode of killing the /fsteria-
dse ; and of the Occurrence on the Coast
of Devonshire of Three Species deemed
the ^sUrias Johnston?', Ophiura bellis,
and O. granulata. By F. H. N. Glossop,
Esq. - - - - 232

Observations on the Singing Birds, in Re-
ply to the Question, Why do Birds sing?
(VII. 484— 486.) By Mr. W. H. White 281

Notes on the Habits o; the Chegoe of Gui-
ana, better known by the Name of Jigger
(Pulex penetrans) ; and Instances of its
Effects on Man and Dogs. By Charles
Waterton, Esq. - - - 290

An Account of the Pulex penetrans L.,
translated from Pohl and Kollar's Work,
"Brasiliens vorziiglich lastige Inscc-
ten j " that is, On the Noxious Insects of
Brazil ; by W. E. Shuckard, Esq. - 294

Notes on the Habits of the.'Dovecot Pigeon.
By Charles Waterton, Esq. - - 343

Facts on the Measure of the Length of
Life "of a Species of Parrot ; with Sug-
gestions for ascertaining the average
Period of Existence of the whole Animal
Creatton ; and an Anecdote on a Parrot.
By Mr. W. H. White - - 347

A Notice of the Discovery of the Skeletons
of Swifts and Starlings in the Tower of
the Church at Oswestry, Shropshire. By
the Rev. T. Salway - - - 350

A Notice of the Fact of the Capture of an
Individual of .the Grey-headed Yellow
Wagtail (Motacilla neglecta Gould), at
Stoke Nayland, Suffolk. By J. D. Hoy,
Esq. 352

Observations on the various seasonal and
other external Changes which regularly
take place in Birds, more particularly in
those which occur in Britain ; with Re-
marks on their great Importance in in-
dicating the true Affinities of Species ;
and upon the Natural System of Arrange-
ment. By Edward Blyth, Esq. - 393. 505

Notes on the Habits of the Stormcock, or
Mistletoe Thrush. By Charles Water-
ton, Esq. - - - .409

Facts on the Habits and personal Charac-
teristics of the Crossbill (L6xia curvi-
rtistra Temm.). By the Rev. F. O. Morris,
B.A. 413

Notes on the Habits of the Black Snake
(Coluber constrictor). By G. Ord, Esq.

3

CONTENTS.

Extracted from a Letter addressed to C.
Waterton, Esq. - - 41

Notes on Natural Objects observed while
staying in Cuba. By R. C. Taylor, Esq.,
F.G.S.L., Member of the Geological So-
ciety of Pennsylvania, &c. - - 449

Notices of Modes of capturing Fishes ; One
in India, One in the British West Indies 457

A Notice of the Elephant's Mode of Pro-
gression. By J. G. Tatem, Jun., Esq. - 459

Notes on the Habits of the Windover Hawk.
By Charles Waterton, Esq. - - - 460

A Description of the Characteristics of a
kind of Trigla hitherto confounded with
the 7Mgla B16ch», with Figures. By
Jonathan Couch, Esq., F.L.S. - -463

Some Remarks on Mr. N. Wood's British
Song Birds. By C. J 515

Notice of the Arrival of Twenty-one Mi-
gratory Birds in the Neighbourhood of
Thetford, Norfolk ; together with some
of the scarcer Species that have been met
with in the same Vicinity, during the
Years 1834 and 1835, and the Spring of
1836 ; with Observations, &c. By John
D. Salmon, Esq. - - - - 520

Notice of a Congregation of Moths found
in the Interior of a Tree of the False
Acacia (Robim'a Pseud-.4ciicia L.). By
J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. - - 528

Reply to C. J.'s Remarks on Mr. Neville
Wood's British Song Birds. By Neville
Wood, Esq. - - - -566

On the Habits of the American Flying
Squirrel (Pteromys volucella Cuv.). By.
D. W. C. - - - - 568

Notice of the Occurrence of Dreissdn« po-
lym6rpha Vanbeneden in Northampton-
shire. By the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M. A.
F.L.S. - - - - 572

On the Species of Birds observed, during
the last Four Years, in the Vicinity of
Tooting, Surrey ; with a few Remarks on
their comparative Numbers and Distri-
bution. By Edward Blyth, Esq. - - 622

Additional Remarks on Ldpas flnatifera.
By Edward Blyth, Esq. - - 638

BOTANY.

Observations on the Construction of Maps
for illustrating the Distribution of
Plants, with Reference to the Commu-
nication of Mr. Hinds on the same Sub-
ject. (Vol. VIII. p. 498.) By Hewett
C. Watson, Esq., F.L.S - - 17

On the seed-dispersing Apparatus of the
musk-scented Heron's Bill (Erbdium
moschatum W.). By Robert Mallet, Esq. 22

An iBstance, perhaps two Instances, of
Symphysis in Plants described. By B. D.
Walsh, Esq. 83

A Notice of the Localities of Habitats of
some rare British Species of Plants.
By W. A. Bromfield, M. D. - - 85

An Enumeration of Species and Varieties
of Plants which have been deemed Bri-
tish, but whose Indigenousness to Britain
is considered to be questionable. By the
Uev. J. S. Henslow, M.A., Regius Pro-
fessor of Botany in the University of
Cambridge - - - - 88

Abstract of a Paper on Irish A')gw, read
before the Natural History Society of
Belfast on January 20. 1836. By Wm.
Thompson, iVice-President - - 147

Views on the Use of the Nectary and Co-
rolla in Plants. By Mr. William Gar-
diner, Jun. - 195

Localities of several Species of British
Plants, observed during the Summer of
1835. By Charles C. Babington, M.A.
F.L.S. F.G.S., &c 243

A Notice of the Discovery in Britain of
what is supposed to be Gymnadtmia

| odoratissima. By Mr. Wm. Pamplin,
Jun. - - - - - 475

A Notice of the Fact, and of Particulars
on the Mode, of Sugarcandy being pro-
duced in the Flowers of .Rhododendron
ponticum L. ; and a Notice of the Effect
on the Germination of the Seeds of an
Acacia Necker of Boiling them variously.
By the Rev. J. S. Henslow, M.A., Pro-
fessor of Botany in the University of
Cambridge - - - 476

METEOROLOGY.

Particulars on Appearances of Instances
of Aurora Borealis at High Wycombe,
Bucks, on Nov. 18—19. 1835. By James
G. Tatem, Esq 23

Particulars on Appearances of Instances
of Aurora Borealis at Swanswick, near
Bath, on Nov. 17—18, 18. 1835. By
- . 26

Particulars on Appearances of Instances
of Aurora Borealis observed in the
Neighbourhood of London, on Novem-
ber 17—18. and 18. 1835 ; and on Events
in the Weather subsequently : with Re-
marks relative to the Question of the
Shower of Meteors annually occurrent
about Nov. 13. By W. H. White, Esq. 28

Notices of Facts in Application to the
Question of the Occurrence of an ex-
traordinary Display of Meteors every
Year on about Nov. 13. ; and on the Dis-
plays of Aurora on Nov. 17, 18—19, 1835.
By the Rev. W. B. Clarke A.M., F.G S. 29

Remarks on Appearances of the Display of
Aurora on Nov. 18. 1835, as observed in
Norfolk. By Mr. Samuel Taylor. Ex-
tracted from a Letter to the Conductor - 31

A Statement of the Condition of the Wea-
ther, chiefly the Direction of the Wind,
before and after Instances of Aurora
Borealis, observed at Dundee in 1833
and 1834 ; and an Account of Instances
of Aurora Borealis, and other Meteoric
Phenomena, observed at Dundee in Dec.
1834, and in part of 1835. By Mr. Wil-
liam Gardiner, Jun. ... - 31

A Notice of the Display of Aurora on Nov.
18. 1835, as observed, at Norwich. By
Samuel Woodward, Esq. - .36

Accounts, from American Newspapers, of
Instances of Aurora Borealis observed in
North America, on Nov. 17. and 18. 1835;
transmitted by Dr. Dana to Dr. Dalton,
and communicated, with the Permission
of the latter, for publication in this Ma-
gazine. By J. H. Stan way, Esq., Fellow
of the Royal Astronomical Society - 91

A Notice of Appearances of the Sky in
Guernsey on the Nights of Nov. 17. and
18. 1835, in relation to the Instances of
of Aurora Borealis seen in these Nights
in England ; and of Appearances of a
splendid Meteor seen in Guernsey and
Jersey in the Morning of Jan. 12. 1836.
By F. C. Lukis, Esq. , - - .154

Facts on the Climate at and about Ken-
mure Castle, by New Galloway, Kirk-
cudbrightshire. By Mr. Robert Lorimer,
Gardener at Kenmure Castle - -198

Some Discussion on the Principles on
which Clouds are suspended, with a Re-
commendation, that those who pursue
Meteorology do so cooperatively. By
Mr. W. H. White - - . 247

Proposals for instituting Meteorological
Stations in various Parts of Britain, and
a cooperative Use of them. By Mr.
W. H. White - - - 305

Summary of the State of the Weather and
Temperature at Kendall, Westmoreland,
in 1835, with Remarks ; a Speculation on
the Atmospheric Conditions which may

CONTENTS.

Vll

excite wind; and a Notice of an ob-
served Manifestation of Aurora Bo-
realis, and of the Occurrence of an
Earthquake. By Samuel Marshall, Esq. 306

Monthly Means of the Barometer and
Thermometer, and Quantity of Rain, at
Ash field, near Falmouth, Cornwall, 1835.
By Lovell Squire, Jun., Esq. - - - 313

Remarks in Recommendation of a System
of Calendars of Natural Appearances.
Extracted from a Letter from the Rev.
W. T. Bree, M.A. - - - 314

An Advocation of the Prosecution of Me-
teorology ; and Considerations on Lunar
Halo, viewed as a Prognostic of Wea-
ther. By J. G. Tatem, Esq. - . 357

A supporting of the Propositions that have
been offered for instituting an Associa-
tion of Meteorologists in Britain ; and a
Notice of certain Means necessary, and
Objects proper, to such an Association.
By W. R. Birt, Esq. - - - 360

Considerations opposed to Mr. White's
Theory of the Principles upon which
Clouds are suspended. By W. W. C. . 361

Views on the Modes of Formation, and a
Notice of the Characteristics, of the
Kinds of Cloud, Cumulus and Cirrus,
and certain Varieties of these. By W. R.
Birt, Esq,. - £• T*vWZ - 362

Remarks, in Furtherance of the proposed
Institution of a Society of Meteorologists
in Britain. By J. G. Tatem, Esq. - 422

An Approval of the Proposition of insti-
tuting a Cooperative Use, in different
Stations in Britain, of uniform Meteoro-
logical Journals ; and a Notice of Kind
of Rain Gauge By T. K. - - 423

A Notice respecting the Revival of " The
Meteorological Society of London, "which
was established in October, 1823; but
which has been in a State of Inactivity
for several Years. By Mr. VV. H. White 479

On the Solar Eclipse of May 15. 1836 ; with
Observations upon the attendant Pheno-
mena. By J. G. Tatem, Esq. - - 532

A few Observations on the Aurora Borealis
visible at Kensington on the Evening of
Oct. 5. 1836. By John Morris, Esq. - 574

GEOLOGY.

On the Fossil Remains of Elephants and
other large Mammalia found in Norfolk.
By Robert Bakewell, Esq. - - 37

Rough Notes made during a Visit to the
Freestone Quarries of the Isle of Port-
land, on Wedensday, August 25. 1835.
By Wm. Perceval Hunter, Esq., Mem-
ber of the Geological Society of France,
&c.,&c. 97

A Notice and an Enquiry on a rare Species

of Fossil Shell discovered in a Chalk-pit
near Lewes, and deemed to be a Species
of Cbnia. By Robert Hudson, Esq. - 103

Evidence in Argument that Remains of
Mastodon giganteus and Mastodon lati-
dens have been found in the Tertiary
Beds of Norfolk. By Samuel Wood-
ward, Esq. - 151

Some Account of the Bursting of a Bog in
the County of Antrim, Ireland, on Sept.
>25. 1835; with some preliminary Re-
marks on the Nature, Extent, Origin,
&c, of Peat. By Wm. Perceval Hunter,
Esq., Member of the Geological Society
of France, &c. - - - - 251

On a Fresh-water Deposit, containing
Mammalian Remains, recently disco-
vered at Grays, Essex. By John Mor-
ris, Esq. - - - - 261

A Notice of the Occurrence of certain Bo-
dies in the Greensand at Cambridge,
that are similar to those found in the
Gault at Folkstone, as described in
p. 47. ; and some Information on the
Greensand and contiguous Strata at
Cambridge. By Delta - - 264

A Lecture on the Mineralogy [and the
Geology] of Nova Scotia. By Titus
Smith - - - - - 368. 575

Description and Figures of £Tniodist6r-
tus Bean, and Cypris conc^ntrica Bean,
from the Upper Sandstone and Shale of
Scarborough ; and Cypris arcuata Bean,
from the Coal Formation of Newcastle.
By William Bean, Esq. - 376

A Notice of two hitherto undescribed
Species of Radiaria, from the Marlstone
of Yorkshire ; and Remarks on the Or-
ganic Remains in that Stratum. By
Mr. W. C. Williamson, Curator to the
Manchester Natural History Society - 425

A Notice of the Geological Conditions
ascertained from two Sections in the
Brickfield, Copford, Essex. By John
Brown, Esq. - - - - 429

Observations on the Causes which occasion
the Variation of Temperature between
Spring and River Water. By J. R. - 533

Abstract of a Paper read before the Mem-
bers of the British Association at Bris-
tol, August 26. 1836, entitled " On some
Fallacies involved in the Results (relat-
ing to the comparative Age of Tertiary
Deposits) obtained from the Application
of the Test recently introduced by Mr.
Lyell and M. Deshayes." By Edward
Charlesworth, Esq., F.G.S. - - 537

On some Deposits containing Mammalian
Remains, at Maidstone, Kent. By John
Morris, Esq. 593

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

; SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.
ZOOLOGY.

The Musical Rat-catcher, 105 ; Combat be-
tween a Hen and a Rat, 105 ; A Robin has
mistaken a stuffed Robin for a live one, 106 ;
The Grasshopper Warbler (Sylvia Locus-
tella Latham), 136 ; Swallows, an extended
String used as a Perch by certain, 107 ; A
kind of Duck deemed a Wild Hybrid, be-
tween the Pintail and the common Wild
Duck, 107 ; The Woodcock sometimes breeds
in Britain, 107 ; Flies seen with a Globule of
Fluid at the tip of the Proboscis, and ob-
served alternately to absorb and regorge it,
107 ; Affection shown by the domestic Cat
to the young of other species of Animals,
199 ; Attachment of a female Cat to two
Leverets, 200; Pigeon fostering the young
of a Cat that is wild in St. Vincent, 201 ;

Feathers in the Gizzard of the larger Species
of Grebe, and why ? 202. 297 ; The ocellated
Blenny, a Locality of; and the Indenture in
the Dorsal Fin of, is not an invariable Cha-
racter, 203 ; The Locust has been recently
taken alive in Ireland, 203 ; The Carrion
Crow ; the subjects of its Fo-:d, and that of
the term of its age, 315 : A Bird's Nest with
an Egg in it, found within the Wood of an
Oak Tree, 315 ; Toads found incarcerated in
Stone and in Timber, 316; The Natterjack
occurs wild in Ireland, 316 ; The Natterjack
is common at Bootle, near Liverpool, 317 ;
Common Frog, the Questions in II. 20!). on
the external Characters of the Sexes of, and
which of the Sexes it is that croaks, &c,
317; Frog known to whistle ; 317; Frogs,
the Notices of Showers of, in II. 103. 318 ;
Herring Fry found in Quantity upon Land,

A t

Vlll

CONTENTS.

and in such a state as to lead to the conclu-
sion that they are brought thither by a
Water-spout, 318; White Bait in the Frith
of Forth, and at Kincardine, 318 ; Devoted-
ness of a Sow to the rescue of her Offspring
from Fire, 377 ; Seeming Proof of reasoning
in the Domestic.Cock, 377; Blackbird, an In-
stance of its mimicking the Song of the Night,
ingale, 378 ; Daring of Birds on account of
their Young or Eggs, an Instance in the Robin,
480 ; Birds building Nests in unusual Situa-
tions; two Instances in the Robin, 481 ; Sixty
Grubs found within a Rook, 481 ; Theory of
Lamarck, " Vis formativa," &c, 542 ; Nests
of the Woodcock in England, 543 ; Periodi-
cal Regularity with which Rooks commence
building, 544 ; Martin's Nest occupied by a
House Sparrow, 545 ; Redstart, the Nature of
its Food, &c, 545; Acetate of Strychnine
useful to Entomologists, 546; Falco J/ali-
ae x tus shot near Oxford, 546 ; Singular Cap-
ture of respertilio'Noctula, at Southampton,
597; Papilio Podaliriu* a British Insect,
599 ; Insect Habits, 601 ; Capture of Sphinx
nerii at Southampton, 601 ; Rearing of Sa-
turnia Hesperus in England/602 ; Notes on
a Cruise off" Cherbourg, 641 ; Singular Habit
of a Gull, 642 ; Dressena polym6rpha, 643.
BOTANY.

Plantago major, with a Panicle of Bracteas>
having the place of Inflorescence, 204;
Plantago lanceolata, Instances of kinds of
Monstrosity in, 204; Plantago mddia, with

• its Scape bearing not a Spike of Flowers, but
numerous enlarged Bracteas, disposed into a
Tuft, resembling, more or less, a many-
petaled Rose-flower, 205 ; /Vis tuberdsa,
grows wild in Cornwall, 205 ; ^nagallis
cairulea, the Question of its distinctness as
a Species, and also of A. arvensis, 206 ; Co-
ronilla varia, a British Plant, 606; 3/yrlca
Gale, singular Disproportion between the
Sexes of, in the New Forest, 605 ; Beet Root
Sugar, 605.

GEOLOGY.

A Notice'of a recently discovered Locality for
the Fossil Remains of the Elephant, 46 ;
Modern Conglomerate, 46 ; Moving or Burst-
ing of Bogs, 319 ; Important Discovery in
Ireland, 546.

QUERIES AND ANSWERS.
What are those Bodies, some circular, some
oval, which are to be found in the Gault at
Folkstone ? 47 ; The Bloodhound in Britain,
156 ; The Irish Greyhound, where can it be
seen alive in Ireland ? 156 ; Incendiaries dis-
covered by Bloodhounds, 156; Should the
Egret be classed among the British Birds?
319; To what Properties of Nature is it
owing that the Stones in Buildings, formed
originally of the frailest Materials, gradually
become indurated by Exposure to the Atmo-
sphere ? 379 ; Isle of Sheppey, Facts and
Questions on the Geological Conditions of,
380. 488 ; The Mole, Carrion Crow, &c, do
they occur in Ireland ? 482. 546 ; What is
the best Method of depriving Birds of the
Power of Flight, with'the least Appearance of
Mutilation ? 483 ; Do any, and what, British
Species of Birds breed' before they have at-
tained Mature Plumage ? 483 ; Does the Her-
ring Gull acquire its Mature Dress at the Au-
tumnal Moult of the Third Year ? 483; Do not
Rooks, in building their Nests, appropriate
any old Nests which have remained during a
former Year ? 483. 548 ; What is the most ef-
fectual Method of preventing the House Mar-
tin from building in particular Spots ? 484 ;
Is not the Sylvia hippolais indigenous ? 485 ;
Is the Redstart known to feed upon the Hive
Bee ? 486 ; Notice of Exotic Localities of the
Glowworm, 487 ; Do Female Wasps disgorge
the Food they distribute to their Young in
the Grub state ? 488 ; Whence is the Calca-

reous Spar derived which is found in lire
Argillaceous Nodules of Septaria ? 491 ; An
Enquiry for the Cause of the Difference in
Temperature of River and SpringWater, 491 ;
Is any Species of Bat known to fly about in
the Daytime ? 548 ; Sparrows' Nests built in
a Rook's Nest, 549 ; The Rook not the only
Bird that uses the old Materials in the Con-
struction of its Nest, 549 ; What is the best
Method of preventing the decomposition of
the Sheppey Fossils ? 551.

RETROSPECTIVE CRITISC1SM.

On the Animals designated in the Scriptures,
by the Names of Leviathan and Behemoth,
47 ; Metamorphoses in , and Habits of, Crusta-
ceous Animals, 48 ; Phyllos5ma ; Mr. Lukis
proposed the Epithet sarniense, to designate
the Species that is described by him in p. 459
— 462 ; .a correction of two errors in the de-
scription, 48 : The Superstition connected
with the Horseshoe, 157 ; Dr. Turton's
Origines Zoologicae, 158. 382 ; On the Robin
and Dipper, and rumped, and rumpless,
Birds, 158 ; Touching the Question whether
Birds oil their Plumage, or not, 159; Cause
of the Colours of the Swiss Rivers, 209 ;
The Fossil Shell described in p. 103—105.
is not a Species of Cbnia, 209; Flinty Sub-
stances found in the Ashes of Burnt Hay-
ricks, 210 ; Mr. C. T.Wood's Remarks on the
extravagant Price of Works on Subjects of
Natural History, 265. 640 ; Office of the
Gland upon the Rump of Birds, 266. 824 ;
Mr. Douglas the Naturalist, the Date of the
Death of, 322 ; Mr. Ryland's Remarks on
the Quinary System, Correction to, 322 ; On
the Habits. of the Water Ousel, with a few
Remarks on the Oil Gland in Birds, 323 ;
Feathers in the Gizzard of the larger Species
of Grebe, and why ? 326 ; Dabchick, lie-
marks on, 326; The Purre's Breeding at
Martin Mere, Lancashire, 326 ; Bonito taken
in the Frith of Clyde in July 1832, 327 ;
Why do Birds sing ? 432 ; Remarks on the
recent Controversy between C. Waterloo,
Esq., andthe Rev.F. O. Morris, 491. 610 ; It
may be that it is not the Ibis that is the
the Type of the Figure of a Bird in the Coat
of Arms of the Town of Liverpool, 492 ; The
glaucous Boat Fly, its imputed inflicting a
Wound from which Pain ensues disputed,
492.553; The .Narcissus noticed in VIII.
118., as being the A^arcissus moschatus, and
found wild, is not this Kind, 494 ; Printing
Greek Words not in Greek Characters, 494 ;
Dark-legged Pettychaps ; the Migration of
this Species doubted by Mr. N. Wood, 551 :
Migration of Hawks, 553 ; Canary losing its
Voice,553; Ophiura, figured at p. 427., its Spe-
cific Name, 554; Is Man distinct, or not, from
other Beings, 610 ; Do Animals hybridise by
Choice, orwithout Compulsion ? 615 ; Indige-
nousNature of Papilio Fodalirius, 643; Scoly-
tus destructor attacks healthy Trees, 644 ;
Nature of Mineral Veins, 645; The Black-
chin Glebe is merely the little Glebe, 647 ;
Comments on Mr. Blyth's remarks on spe-
cific Distinctions, 647 ; Sparrows taking
Possession of the Nests of Swallows, 648. ,
HINTS FOR IMPROVEMENTS.

Proposals for the Publication of a W r ork on
the Nests of British Birds, 212 : Remarks on
the extravagant Price of Works an Natural
History, 213.

OBITUARY.
Rev. George Reading Leathes, A. M., 164;
William Turton, M.D, 220; H. H. Good-
hall, Esq., F.G.S.,220; Thos. Purton, Esq.,
606.

MAN'S PROGRESS IN NATURAL

HISTORY.

Islington Literary and Scientific Institution,

49. 219; Royal Geological Society of Corn-

CONTENTS.

IX

wall, 49 ; Museum at Saffron Waldcn,
Essex, 216 ; Norfolk and Norwich Museum,
217. 332 ; Sussex Scientific and Literary
Institution, 218. 440 ; Bristol Zoological
Garden, 218. 554; Bury St. Edmunds Botanic
Garden, 218 ; South London Mechanics'
Institution, 219; Entomological Society,
Prize Essay, 219 ; Edinburgh Botanical So-
ciety, 271 ; Edinburgh, Proposal for establish-
ing a Zoological Garden, 327 ; Nottingham
Natural History Society, 330 ; Durham
University Museum of Subjects of Natural

History, 331 ; Manchester Museum, S32';
Belfast Museum, 333. 559 ; United Service
Museum, 437 ; Medico- Botanical Society,
438 ; Zoological Society of London, 438 ;
Entomological Club of London, 439 ; Prac-
tical Entomological Society, 439 ; Warwick-
shire Natural History Society, 439 ; Shrop-
shire and North Wales Natural History and
Antiquarian Society, 440 ; Ludlow Na-
tural History Society, 441 ; Edinburgh
Botanical Society, 441 ; Yorkshire West
Riding Proprietary School, 441.

REVIEWS.

,riJoir

GENERAL SUBJECTS.

Cook, Captain : S.E., R.N., K.T.S., F.G.S.
Sketches in Spain during the Years 1829,
1830, 1831, 1832; containing Notices of
some Districts very little known ; of the
Manners of the People, Government,
Recent Changes, Commerce, Fine Arts,
and Natural History. In 2 vols, 8vo.
London, Boone, 1834 - - - 50

Sowerby, G. B., Jun. : A Plate of Figures
of Natural Objects as Specimens of the
Author's Ability in delineating and en-
graving Objects of the Kind. The plate,
4to 2s. 6d. - Hl!ii *

Silliman's American Journal of Science
and Arts, No. 59, October, 1335. O.Rich,
London -> - - - 111

Davis, J. B., Surgeon : A Popular Manual
of the Art of preserving Health ; em-
bracing the subjects of Diet, Air, Exer-
cise, &c. &c, 8vo. London, 1836. 10s. - 165

Hope, Rev. F. W. An Address on the
Second Anniversary of the Entomologi-
cal Society, Jan. 25. 1836 - - 166

Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. Third
Annual Report of the Society's Transac-
tions, 8vo - - 274

Smith, Egerton : The Elysium of Ani-
mals : a Dream. 8vo. London - - 274

Partington, C. F., Professor of Mechanical
Philosophy : The British Cyclopaedia of
Natural History ; combining a scientific
Classification of Animals, Plants, and
Minerals ; with; a popular View of their
Habits, Economy, and Structure - - 277

Society for the Diffusion of Useful Know-
ledge. The Penny Cyclopaedia - - 334

Loudon, Charles, M.D. : The Equilibrium
of Population and Sustenance demon-
strated; showing, on physiological and
statistical Grounds, the Means of obviat-
ing the Fears of Mr. Malthus and his
Followers. 8vo. 1836. Is.

Kenrick W. : The American Silk-grower's
Guide; or, the Art of Raising the Mul-
berry and Silk on the System of succes-
sive Crops in each Season. 8vo. Boston :
Barrett, Russell and Co. - - 335

On the Anatomical and Optical Structure
in .the Crystaline Lenses of Animals ;
being the Continuation of the Paper pub-
lished in the Philosophical Transactions
for 1833, by Sir David Brewster - - 336

Ensor, E. : Natural Theology ; the Argu-
ments of Paley, Brougham, and the
Bridgewater Treatises on this Subject
examined; also the Doctrines of Brough-
am and the Immaterialists respecting
the Soul. London. 8vo. - - - 383

Jardine, Sir W., Bart. ; J. P. Selby and
George Johnstone, M.D., Conductors :
The Magazine of Zoology and Botany.
No. 1. June, 1136. 3s. 64. - 384

The Back Woods of Canada; being Letters
from the Wife of an Emigrant Officer,
illustrative of the Domestic Economy of
British America ... 386

Wood, Neville : The Ornithologist's Text-
Book : being Reviews of Ornithological

Works ;' with an Appendix contain-
ing Discussion on various Topics of In-
I Iterest. 12mo. London, Parker _ 390

Extracts from Letters to Professor Hens-
„ low of Cambridge. Printed for Distri-
bution among the Members of the Cam-
bridg Philosophical Society. 8vo. 1835. 441
The British Naturalist. By Robert Mudie 495
The Naturalist. By B. Maund and W. Holt 498
Naratives in South America. By C. Emp-
son ------ 499

The Angler's Manual. By J. Turton - 500
Excursions illustrative of the Geology and
Natural History of the Environs of
Edinburgh. By W. Rhind - . 504

ZOOLOGY.
Jenyns, Rev. L, M.A., F.L.S., Z.S. : A
Manual of British Vertebrate Animals ;
or Descriptions of all the Animals be-
longing to the Classes Mammalia, Aves,
Reptilia, Amphibia, and Pisces, which
have hitherto been observed in the
British Islands; including the Domes-
ticated, Naturalised, and Extirpated
Species : the whole systematically ar-
ranged. 8vo. London, 1835. 13s. - 50
Perrott's, Mrs., Illustrations of selected

Species of British Birds - - - 52

The Transactions of the Entomological
Society of London. Vol. i. ; part. 2. 8vo.

7s. 6d. 54

The Entomological Magazine. No. xiii.

Oct. 1835. - - - .54

Ey ton, G. C, Esq. : A History of the Rarer
Species of British Birds ; illustrated with
Woodcuts. Intended as a Supplement
to the History of British Birds. By the
late Thomas Bewick. Part 1. 3s. 6d. - 109
Hewitson, W. C. : British Oology; being
Illustrations of the Eggs of British
Birds. Nos. xxiii. and xxiv. - - 109

Swainson, W., F.R.S., &c. : The Natural
History of Quadrupeds. Vol. lxxii. of
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia. 6s. - 166
The Entomological Magazine. No. xiv. 166
Webb, P. B., and Berthelot Sabin : Histoire
Naturelle des Isles Canaries. Ouvrage
publie sous les auspices de M. Guizot,
Ministre de L'Instruction Publique.
London : Hunneman, 9. Queen Street,
Soho. Paris : Bethune - - - 272

Weigmann, Arcud, Friedericus Augustus,
Dr. : Herpetologia Mexicana, seu De-
scriptio Amphibiorum Novae Hispaniae,
quae Itineribus Comitis de Sack, Ferdi-
nandi Deppe, et Chr. Guil. Schiede, in
Museum Zoologicum Berolinense per.
venerunt. London : W. Wood, Tavis-
tock Street - - - - 335
Wood, Neville : British Song Birds ; being
Popular Descriptions and Anecdotes of
the Choristers of the Groves. 8vo. Lon-
don : J. Parker. 1836. - - - 391
Falderman, Fr., Auctore. Coleopterorum
ab illustrissimo Bungio in China boreali,
Montgolia, et montibus Altaicis collec-
torum, nee non ab illustrissimo Turcza-
ninoffio et Stschukino e provincia Irkutz
missorum, Illustrationcs. Petropoli, 1835. 445

LIST OF ANIMALS, SHELLS, ETC.

A History of British Quadrupeds. By
Thomas Bell, F.R.S., &c. - - -499

A History of British Fishes, By W. Yar-

rell, F.L.S., &c 500

BOTANY.

Lindley, J., Ph. D. F.R.S. F.L.S., Professor
of Botany in the University of London :
A Key to Structural, Physiological, and
Systematic Botany. 8vo. 1335. 4s. 6rf. 52

Partington, C. F. : Introduction to the
Science of Botany ; illustrated on an ea-
tirely new Principle, by a Series of high-
ly finished Delineations of the Plants,
coloured to represent Nature ; including
characteristic Details of Physiology, Uses,
and Classification of the Vegetable King-
dom. 1835. 1 vol. 8vo. London. Dar-
ton aud Harvey - - - 53

Watson, H. C: The New Botanist's Guide
to the Localities of the rarer Plants of
Britain ; on the Plan of Turner and Dill-
wyn's Botanist's Guide. Vol. i., England
and Wales. 1835. 8vo. London, Long-
man and Co. - - - -53

Henslow, Rev. J. S., M.A., Professor of
Botany in the University of Cambridge :
A Catalogue of British Plants, arranged
according to the Natural System, with
the Synonymes of De Candolle, Smith,
&c. Second Edition. 8vo. London,
Rivington and Hatchard - - - 54

Baxter's Illustrations of the Genera of Bri-
tish Flowering Plants ... 109

Watson, H. C. : Remarks on the Geogra-
phical Distribution of British Plants ;
chiefly in Connexion with Latitude, Ele-
vation, and Climate. 8vo. Longman
and Co. 1835 166

Berkeley, Rev. J. M., F.L.S.: The English
Flora of Sir I. E. Smith. Class xxiv.,
Cryptog&mia, by W. J. Hooker, LLD.
Part, ii., comprising the fungi, by the
Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A. F.L.S. 8vo.
Longman and Co. London. 1836 - 166

Hooker, W. J., LL.D. Regius Professor
of Botany in the University of Glasgow :
The British Flora ; comprising the Pha?-
nogamous, or Flowering, Plants, and the
Ferns. 3d Edition. 8vo. 12s. 1835. - 167

Francis, G. : A Catalogue of the Species of
British Flowering Plants and Ferns that
are described in the third Edition of Dr.

Hooker's British Flora. In one Sheet.
Price 6d. 167

Sowerby's new Edition of the English Bo-
tany : to contain Figures and brief De-
scriptions of most of the Species of
Plants found wild in Britain. Published
twice a Month - - - 223

Cooper, Daniel : Flora Metropolitana ; or,
Botanical Rambles withinThirty Miles of
London. 12mo. London. S. Highley.
1836 - - -,*.,'- - 275

Lindley, John, F.R.S., &c. Natural Sys-
tem of Botany; 2d Edition, with numer-
ous Additions and Corrections. London.
1836. 18s. 246

Flora Hibernica. By J. T. Mackay, Dr.
Tailor, and W. H. Harvey - - 502

The Northern Flora. By Alexander Mur-
ray ... 503

GEOLOGY.

Transactions of the Geological Society of
Pennsylvania. Vol. i. Part i. Published
by the Society. Philadelphia - -110

Saull, W. D., F.G.S. An Essay on the Co-
incidence of Astronomical and Geologi-
cal Phenomena, addressed to the Geo-
logical Society of France. Pamphlet
8vo. 1336 - - - - 220

Lyell, C, Jun., M. A. F.R.S. The Address
delivered at the Anniversary Meeting of
the Geological Society of London, on
Feb. 19. 1836. 8vo. London - - 223

Catalogue of Fossil Fish in the Collections
of Lord Cole and Sir Philip Grey Eger-
ton, arranged alphabetically, with" Refer-
ences to the Localities, Geological Po-
sitions, and published Descriptions of
the Species. By Sir Philip de Malpas
Grey Egerton, F.R.S. F.G.S. - - 336

Silvertop, Chas. Capt., F.G.S., &c. A Geo-
logical Sketch of the Tertiary Formation
in the Provinces of Granada and Murcia,
Spain. 1836. 10s. 6d. - - - 446

METEOROLOGY.
Birt, W. R. Tabula? Anemologica*, or
Tables of the Wind; exhibiting anew
Method of registering the Direction of
the Wind, by which the daily, weekly,
and monthly Variations of the upper and
lower Currents of the Atmosphere, at
several Stations, are shown at one View 224

LIST OF ANIMALS, SHELLS, ZOOPHYTES, &c.

Acamarchis
.4'caii

^'carus Basten' -
Accentor Calliope -
Acentria -
Acentropus -
Actinia

Adlcnemus crepitans
iEqubrea radiata
/Jlcybnium -
^l^ssum calycinum
Amycterus
yinagallis arvensis
/Sfnagallis ca;rulea -
jNias Zfoschas
yl'nser cygnOidcs -
Anguinaria
,4'nguis fragilis
Antennuljiria
yi'nthus aquaticus -
,-1'nthus pratensis -
Ants

Indian
vfpus cancriformis -

- 4"

9 J'quila albicilla -

- 203

Bat

- 548

-2(

)7 J'rabis Turrita -

- 90

Great

- 379

- 31

3 Arcturus

- 54

Beaver

- 612

- 5<

\G J'rdea Garxitta

-319

Beech Tree

- 83

_

>5 A. nigra

- 599

Bees

- 207

. j

i5 Arenicola

- 234

Behemoth

-407

- a

3 A'rgulus foliaceus

- 498

J?el5ne vulgaris

- 499

- &

!4 Armadillo vulgaris

- 12

.Slennius ocellarius

- 203

- 3(

1 J'scaris

- 239

Bittern

- 528

- 4-

^4'scarus Zumbricoldes

- 242

Blackbird

- 378

- 4<

8 ^sellus aquaticus -
4 Astacilla longicornis

- 12

Blackcap

- 627

. *

- 80

Bloodhound -

- 156

- 2C

6 ^'stacus strigosus -

- 11

Boat Fly, glaucous

- 492

- 2C

6 vistdrias

- 236

Bombycilla garrula

- 527

506. 61

6 aranciaca

- 298

Bonito

- 327

- 51

1 endeca

- 299

Bos Thersltes

- 179

- 4t

6 Johnstoni - -

144. 282

Borlas/a

- 236

- 54

8 pentaphylla

-231

Botaurus stellans

- 528

- 46

8 papp&sa
1 rubens

- 474

BrachieBa salmonea

,- 239

- 6S

- 145

Brakehopper, sibilous
Branchiopoda stagnalis
2?ubo europ£e v s

- 208

- 51

- 61

6 Atelecyclus
2 dentatus

■ - 7
- 10

- 10

- 403

- 1

5 Aureli«

- 310

7?ufo rubdtra -

- 316

- 1

Barnacle

- 638

Bullfinch -

- 550

LIST OF ANIMALS, SHELLS, ETC.

XI

Utilla lignaria - - 195

.Bulla tentaculata - 230

Budytes flavtssima . 631

Pupleurum falcatum - 87

Zfuprestis nitidula - - 601

Bunting, Snow - - 526

corn ... - 6>3

yellow - - - 633

cirl - - -633

reed - - - 633

Bustard, Great - - 528

/iuteo Lagopus - - 527

Buzzard - - 623

rough-legged - 527

Calamophihis biarmicus - 394

Calceolaria filantaginea - 511

Caligus Mulle/7 - - 10

Callirhbe dubia - - 301

Campanularia - - 466
Canary - - 487. 533

Cancer Pagurus - 11

G'anis Lupus - - 72

Caprimulgus europse'us - 528

Carabus hortensis - - 242

L'drcinusJ/a^nas - - 10
Cat - - 199, 200, 201

domestic - - 616

Celtepora - - 469

Centaurda nigr^scens - 87

Centaur ea solstitialis - 87

Cephalopoda - - 194
Cephaloculus stagnbrum - 10

Cerura vinula - . 482

Cetbnia aurata - - 601

Chaffinch, northern - 633

common - 634

Charadrius Hiaticula - 521

Morinellus - - 525

Chat, Whin - - 627

stone - - 627

fallow - - 626

Chegoe - - - 290

Chelifer musaedrum - 14

Chewick - - 60

Chierna - - 455

Chiffchaff . - 629
Chondracanthus Lbphii - 81

Chough, red-legged - - 636

Cirrhatula - - 234

Clisiocampa neustria - 530

Clitellio - - 235

Clupea alba - - 318

Clytia - - .466

Cock, domestic - - 377

Cockchafers - - 601

Cblias Philodice - 600

C61uber constrictor - 416

iVatrix - - 315

Columba ffi^nas - - 521

migratbria - - 72

Colymbus I'mmer - - 480

Conchs . - 454

Copris Midas . -56

Coracias Garrula - - 202

Corallina - - 469
Coriocella ... 509

Coronilla varia - - 651

Corbphium grbssipes - 12

Corvix Cornix - - 615
Cbrvus Corbne - 315. 509

Coryne . . 419

Corystes Cassivelaunus - 10

Cow Bunting - - 57

troopial - -64

Crihigon vulgaris - 11

Crisis . • -468
Crossbill - - 202. 413. 635

Crow - - - 635

carrion - 315. 482. 56
hooded - 482. 615. 636

Cryptops hortensis - - 13

Cuckoo - - 58. 636

Culex - - - 612

Curruca Garrula - - 526

Cursorius isabellinus - 498

Cuttle Fish - - - 194

Cuviera Phantapus - - 472

G'ycMeaj - - - 102

Cyclops quadric6rnis - 10. 102

C.ygnus mutus - - 285

Cypris conchacea - - 10

Cytherdrt viridis - - 10

Dabchick - - - 326

Daphnia Pulex - - 10

Deilephila galii - - 482

Dentalium ; - - 234

Diplotaxis muralis - - 90

Dipper - - - 158

Discopora - - - 469

Distoma hepaticum - - 239

Divers - - - 617

Diver, Northern - - 480

Dotterel - - - 525

Dove, Stock - - - 521

Dragon Fly - 496

DreissSna polymorpha 573. 643

Drbmius - - -55

Duck, Pintail - - 616

Wild - - - 107

Eagle, cinereous Sea 483. 526

White-headed - - 483

Sea - - 203

Earthworm - - - 240

Echini - - - 452

Echinus - - - 238

Egret - - 319. 598. 647

Elephant - - - 459

Emberlza erythropthalma 60

E'ncrinus aster - - 238

.cpeira diaddma - - 208

Ephysa - - - - 301

Erbdium moschatum - 22

Erpobdella - - 235

Eucratia - - - 469

Euldpia cribrum - - 601

Pagus sylvatica - - 83

Falco flalia^tus - - 597

Falcon, ground - - 623

Hobby - - - 623

Kestril - - - 623

Fauvet, Garden - - 627

White-headed - - 627

Ferusa - - - 469

Fishes - - - 318. 457

Fibularia - - - 238

Finch, Bramble - - 207

Filaria Forf iculae - - 242

Flycatcher, Grey - - 625

Pied - - - 625

Flustra - - - - 469

Frogs - - - 318. 649

Common - - 317

Fringilla pecoris - - 57

melbdia - - - 60

Furzelin, Dusky - - 628

Fox - - - - 595

Galatda spinigera - - 11

Gammarus aquaticus - 12

iocusta - - 12

Gannet, Common - 186

Garpike, Common - - 599

Gastridium lendigerum - 86

Geophilus subternineus - 13

mari'timus - - 13

longicornis - - 13

el(5ctricus - - 13

Gillaroo Trout - - 120

Glareola Pratincola - 202

Glaux - - 179

G16meris marginata - 12

test^cea - - 12

Glowworm - 487. 616. 652

Gnaphalium luteo-album 90

Goldfinch, Siskin - - 634

Common ... 635

Goose, Ember - - 480

Goosander, Red-breasted 186

Gordius - - - 236

aquaticus - 241, 212- 355

Gorgdniaa - - * - 194

Grasshopper Warbler

- 103

Grebe . -

- 597

Blackchin

- 598

Crested

- 186

Large

202. 326

Greyhound, Irish
Grosbeak, Haw

- 156

- 634

Green

- 634

Gull -

- 642

Black-headed .

- 523

Herring

- 483

Iceland

- 187

Gymnadenia odoratfssima 475

Gyrinus natator

- 530

Halia^etus albicilla

- 526

Hare

- 2o0

Harrier, Blue-gray

- 923

Hawk, Common

- 623

Windhover

- 460

Hawks

- 553

Hen

- 105

Hipputhoa

- 539

.ffirundo

- 235

urbica

- 484

riparia

- 496

Hoopoe ' - 315.

527. 630

Hooter, tawny

- 624

H6plia squamdsa

- 601

Hfas araneus

- It

Hydra

- 417

Hyaena

- 595

Ianthina

- 193

.Tbis falcinellus

- 492

Ichthyobdella

- 236

Idotea entomon

- 12

ce'strum

- 12

Indigo Bird

- 66

Zulus

- 13

7ris tuberbsa

- 205

Jackdaw

- 635

Jay

187. 635

Janira

-- 469

Jigger

- 290

Kingfisher

- ess

Kinglet

- 630

iacerta agilis

- 548

Lacuna

- 292

LamellSria tentaculata -

Ljinius Collurio

- 43

excubitor

■- 528

Laomedes

'- 466

Laplysiaj

- 193

Lapwing

-522

Lark, Sky

- 516

Wood -

- 633

Field

- 633

iarus argent^tus

- 483

glaucus

- 483

ridibundus

- 523

icelandicus

- 187

Ldpas anatlfera -

- 638

Leveret

- 200

Leviathan

- 207

Libellula

- 496

Lima

- 194

Limapontia nigra -

- 79

Limnbria tenebrans

- 12. 55

Lingia oceanica -

- 12

Linnet, Song

- 634

mountain -

- 634

mealy -

- 634

rose -

- 634

Lithbbius forficatus

- 13

variegatus

- 13

leevilSbrum -

- 13

Lithbdes Maja

- 11

Locust

- 203

Zocusta migratbria -

- 204

Locustella -

- 628

Loricula

- 469

Loxia curvirostra -

- 202

Lucernaria -

- 304

Zumbrici

- 240

/.umbricus -

- 234

Macropbdia Phalangium - 11

Xll

LIST

OF ANIMALS, SHELLS

, ETC

Madge, long-tufted -

- 624

Pigeon, dovecot -

- 343

Song Sparrow -

- 60

short-tufted -

- 624

Nicobar

- 403

Sparrow, hedge

- 516

Magpie - - 225.

550. 635

Piliscelotus -

- 302

tree -

. 633

Marica Penelope -

- 616

Pinnoteres minCUus

- 11

house - 545. 633. 648

Martin, house -

- 484

Pipit, common

- 632

Spatangus -

- 238

sand

- 496

great .

- 632

Spathulea clypeata -

- 527

Mecistura rbsea

- 394

meadow -

- 516

Sphinx ephemeraeformis - 54

Medusa scintillans -

- 303

tree

- 632

ndrii

- 601

Melitae v a Euphrosyne

- 600

Pintail duck

- 107

Spha?roma serrita -

- 12

ikfergus serrator

- 186

Pisa tetraodon

- 11

Spider -

- 612

Merlin

- 623

Planaria

- 16. 239

Spirorbis - » '

- 233

A/erula iliaca -

- 526

Plover, Norfolk

- 524

Splo -

- 234

mustelina -

- 507

ring

- 521

Spongia" -

- 470

torquata -

- 526

PIumul«lria

- 466

Spongilfa -

- 470

viscivora -

- 508

P6diceps cristatus -

136. 202.

Squirrel, American flying 569

Mdspilus germanica -

- 66

236

Siila Bassana -

- 186

Microxylbbius Westwood« 55

hebridicus

- 599

Starlings - - 350.

481. G35

Mimela

- 55

minor

- 326

Sterna nigra -

- 187

Mocking Bird

- 484

Pollard maple

- 34

Stormcock

- 409

Mole -

482. 546

Polydesmus complanatua - 13

Sttirnus vulgaris -

- 481

Jtfotacilla alba

- 524

Polygonum dumetbrum - 86

Serpent - - . -

- 546

neglecta -

- 352

Poly6mmatus Argiblus - 493.

S£rpula *3THA'PL,

- 233

Moths

- 528

546

Sertularia - Ub"i«|no

- 468

Australian

- 55

Polyphemus oculus

- 10

Shoveller -

- 527

brown -tailed

- 530

P6ntia cardamines

- 493

Shrike, ash-coloured

528. 625

death's-head -

- 482

Pontobdella

- 286

flusher -

- 625

gold-tailed
lackey -

- 530

Porcellana -

- 48

red-backed -

- 40

- 530

platychlles -

- 11

Strychnine, acetate of
Stylaria

- 546

Motheater -

- 625

Porc^llio

- 12

- 235

Mus decumanus -

- 1

Porthfesia auriflua

- 530

Swallows -

- 107

Muscicapa olivacea -

- 63

chrysorrhce'a

- 530

Swan, common

- 285

Grisola -

- 406

Portunus

- 8

Swifts ---

- 350

Myrica Gale -

- 547

pilber

- 10

white-bellied -

- 625

3/ytilus crenatus -

- 574

Pranticole -

202. 598

Swiftfoot -

- 497

polymorphus -

- 573

Prostoma

- 236

Sylvia Hippolais
locustella -

485. 525

Natica glaucina

- 191

Psamathe fuse

a

• 14, 15

- 106

lacuna -
monilifera

- 192

- 191

Psyche plumii
Ptarmigan, re

"era
i -

- 54

- 547

pinuf." J : 5 ll

nitida

- 192

Pteromys volu

cella

- 569

sibilatrix

- 525

pallidula -

- 192

Ptilex penetrs

ns

290. 294

Taenia

- 239

rufa -

- 191

Purpura

- 193

Talitrus Zocusta -

- 12

Naticina -

- 192

Querquedula

icuta -

- 616

Terebella -

- 233

Natterjack -

- 316

/iana tempora

ria -

- 317

Tern, black to jja> r

- 187

iVarcissus moschatus

- 494

Rats -

.

200. 649

Terrier, dog

- 182

N6phrops norwegicus

- 11

musical' -

-

- 105

Testudo Midas

- 498

Nereis -

- 234

Rat, black -

-

- 612

Tetragonolobus angulifer 210

Nightingale -

- 627

the brown

- 1

Tetrantaris -

- 239

Nas v sa bidentatus -

- 12

white -

.

- 182

7'etrao Petrix '-^tii&ta

- 511

Notonecta glai'ica

492. 553

water -

-

- 597

- 499

Thalassama -
Thbea - ifcohio o

- 238

Nullipora -

- 470

Redshank -

- 468

Nymph urn gr6ssipes

- 13

Redstart

207. 486. 54i

Thrush, black bdorrfj

- 626

Ocyrhoe

- 302

Redwing -

.

- 526

fieldfare - emofci

- 626

Odynerus Antilope

- 55

Reedling, Fen

-

- 629

mavis - . airtfiv

- 626

Oniscus Jsellus

- 12

Wedge -

_

- 628

mistletoe .ik&aa-i

- 409

Ophiura

-237

Remphan H6

lei

- 54

missel --,« ^^^fo1

- 626

Wilis -

- 212

Robin -

106. 128. 158. 62

mountain

- 626

Rosula

- 233

Roller -

-

- 202

redwing _" '-'■«*'

- 626

Ornithorhynchus

- 403

Rooks - 483. 1

44. 548.

636. 651

Thysanurae hibernicas

- 55

Orchestia littbrea

- 22

.ftubecula fam

liaris -

- 6

Titmouse - osibno

- 74

O'rpheus polyglottus
Osprey - 202. 597.

- 484

Sabellaria

-

- 234

Toads - - 316. 482. 649

622. 652

Salicaria arun

linaria

498. 596

Tdtanus hypoleiicus

-526

0'tis tarda

- 528

Salicorniaria -

-

- 469

ochropus -

- 524

Ousel, ring

- 526

Salmo Fario

-

- 121

Trichocfyhalus

- 233

water-

- 323

Sandpiper, cor
double for

imon -

- 526

Prigla Blochtf **&"*

- 463

Owl, common

- 624

k-tailed

- 186

Tringa Cinclus

- 326

Oxydrus

- 238

green -

loo"

- 524

minilta * fi ?" «P n

- 186

Pagtirus Bernhardt*
Palae'mow serr&tus -

- 11

Satfirnia H^sp

erus -

- 692

Tubifex Q 0lzo Xi u

- 235

- 11

Pavonia

_

- 482

Tubularia

- 466

Papilio Machaora

- 499

Sax f cola ffina

ithe -

- 523

Purdus melodus -

- 65

Podalirius - 498.

599. 643

Scirpearia -

-

- 470

mustelinus

- 73

Papio

- 179

Scolopax grise

a

- 186

C/pCipa ^'pops m

- 527

Parrot

- 347

Scolytus destn

ictor -

- 644

Urogallus vulgaris
Vanellus cristatus

- 528

Partridge, red-legged

- 612

Scomber Pelai

nys -

- 327

- 522

Passenger Pigeon

- 72

Scorpiiirus sul

catus -

- 86

Velella

- 303

Pectenaria

- 234

Sepia

- 452

Fespertilio n6ctula -

379, 597

Pediculus

- 612

SeptJiria

- 491

Vermflia - c "^T 19 *

- 233

Pettychaps, dark-legged - 552

Serialaria -

- 467

Voluta Lamberti

- 540

lesser

- 525

Slro rubeus

- 12

Vorticella

- 419

Phalangium sp." -

- 14

Slow worm -

- 548

Vanessa Antiopa -

- 482

Phoenicia Tethys -

- 545

Slug, spinning

- 195

Wagtail, dark -

- 630

Phasianus colchicus

- 511

Sow

- 377

grey-headed

- 352

Philomela iuscinia

- 508

Snails

- 490

pale

- 630

Physalia pelagica

- 194

Snake, black -

- 416

pied ; -

- 524

Plcus martins

- 599

Snipe, grey -

- 186

Warbler, reed

- 526

Pigeon

- 201

Snowflake -

-

- 633

Wasps -

- 488

LIST OF ENGRAVINGS.

Xlll

Wasp, common
Waxwing

Bohemian
White-Bait
Whitethroat, lesser
Woodcock
Wheatear
Woodcock
Woodpecker

black

green -

pied

barred - »

Wood Thrush

American lomA-
Wolf

Wren, Wood
Wryneck - - jn#
Zancle
Zygaj^na filipendula?

PLANTS.

Acacia longifblia
Acacia Necker

- 4S2

- 630
201. 527

- 318

- 526

- 543

- 523
107. 642

- 74

- 598

- 636

- 636
-636

- 65

- 73
- 72. 595

- 629

- 636

- 55

- 601

- 478

- 476

A y cer camp£stre - - 84

Calceolaria purpurea - 511

Cacalia suavSolens - 196

Coronflla varia - - 603

Dabce\»'a polifblia - 121

Fedia aurfcula - - 85
Musk-scented Heron's Bill 22

Myrica GMe - - 000

Planta~go major - - 204
Rhododendron ponticum 476

.Ricinus communis - 602

Robinia Pseud-^c^cw? - 528

Sagittaria sagittzefblia - 113

Salvia Sclarea - - 148

FOSSIL REMAINS,
MINERALS, &c.
Argillaceous Nodules
,4st6rias Murchisbni -
Bear's tooth -
Bodies, Fossil
Z?6s LPrus -
Calcareous Spar
Cancer Ma/nas -

£2d
0*

£82

vor

£82
058

asa

YG*
No.

65.

14.

24.
25.
53.
73.
74.

lo oisiook \!i[ii(uio^i?,

EhkiyiS

- awotlfiwa

nommo'j e njsv»8

LIST

8*

—
SI
0B3

- 425

- 263

- 17

- 256

- 491

- 154

rol

Cdrvus
Chalk -
Conglomerate, modern

■

Conia, Fossil
Cypris arcuata

concentrica
Elephants
Elephants' bones -
Gault

Gloss6petrae
Hippopotamus
Hippurltes Morton?
Pnachus Lamarckw -
Mammoth
Mastodon -

dephantdldes -

giganteus

latidens -
Ophiura loricata
Pyrites -
Rhinoceros
Shark's tooth | .
ETnio distortus

- 103.

256
44
46

209

377

376

37. 46

- 26

' 472

- 546

104.

VTi.

210
151
544

39
151
152
151
554
557

39
[546
376

feilisd-stirfw

FISH.
Trigla, new British Species of

MOLLUSCOUS ANIMALS.
Limap6ntia nigra
Natica monilifera
Lamellaria tentacul&ta
JArio distortus, fossil shell of
DreissSna polymorpha, shell of -
M Stilus crenatus, shell of

WORMS. ANNELIDES.
Psamathe fiisca I oiiiioT

(M -

OF ENGRAVINGS.

- 464

- 79

- 191

- 229

- 376

- 573

- 574

15

- 16

- 234

- 236

- 238

- 239

- 355

- §1

2. Planaria subauriculata

27. Splo calcarea -

28. Ichthyobdella Pe>ca>

29. Prostoma arm^tum

31. Oxytirus Gadi

32. TetrantSris im -
52. Gordius aquaticus

CRUSTACEOUS ANIMALS.

15. Astacilla longicomis

16. Chondracanthus Lbphii

54. Cypris concentraca, fossil shell of - 376

55. arcuata, fossil shell of - - 377

INSECTS.

40. Sand Flea (Pulex penetrans), its nest as
seen in the foot of a dog - - 294

41. Sand Flea, half enclosed in a membra-
nous vesicle - 295

42. Sand Flea. Ventral aspect magnified - 295
51. .4'caris Baiter* - - - 353

RAYED ANIMALS.

.4st£rias rubens - - - 145

J6hnstom - - - 146

Ophiura rosula - - 231

echinata - - 237

^stdrias araanciaca - - 298

20.
21.
26.
30.
43.

No. Page

44. v4st£rias endeca - - - 300

45. Cya*nea inscripta - - - 301

46. Ephysa hemisphas'rica - - 302

47. Oc^rhoe cruciata - - 302

48. Piliscelbtus vitreus - - 30

49. Actinia monlle - - - 304

50. margaritifera - - 304
56. Jfydra brunnea - - 418

59. Vorticella pulvinata - - 420

60. intacta - 421

61. elongata - - - 421

66. SerialMa verticilljita - - 467

67. Sp6ngia confervicola - - 471
69. .<4st§rias pappdsa - - 475

63. Murchisom, fossils - - 425

64. Ophiura loricata, fossil - - 427

68. CuviSra Phantapus - - - 472

BOTANY.

3 — 11. Erbdium moschatum, apparatus for

dispersing its seeds

17. Symphysis in plants

18. Cycas revoluta

34. Sphagnum obtusifblium

35. squarrbsum

36. acutifblium

37. cuspidatum

71. Gymnadenia odoratfssima

72. G. conbpsea

- 22, 23

- 84

- 103
-*.252

- 252

- 252

- 282
-476

- 476

METEOROLOGY.

12. Aurora Borealis as seen at High Wy-

combe, Bucks - - - 25

62. Rain gauge - - 424

FOSSILS.

13. Fossil Bodies found in the Gault at

Folkstone - - - 47

19. Fossil Conia - - 104

XIV

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

A. B. - - - - .606

AC.- - - - 492

A. R. Y. - - - - 495

Aaron, J., M.R.C.S. - - - 107

Admirer of Lamarck - - - 542

Aliquis - - - - 1C6

Anonymous - - - 217

Bablngton, Charles C, M.A., F.G.S., - 119

243
Bakewell, Robert - - - 37

Baxter, William - - - 204. 553

Bean, William . - - 367

Beeston, J. W. - - 317

Berkeley, Rev. J. M., M.A., F.E.S., - 572
Berry, Henry - . - 317

Birt, W. R. - - - 360. 362

Blyth, Edward - 393. 482, 483. 505. 545, 546. 551
Bree, Rev. W. T., M.A., - 314. 316. 349. 382
482 493 544
Bromfield, W. A., M.D. . 85. ' 597." 602

Brown, John, F.G.S. - - 43.429. 491

Brown, J. S. - - - 201

Brown, P. J. - - 209. 601

C. - - - 265

C. J. - - - 106. 515
Charlesworth, Edward, F.G.S. - - 535
Clarke, Rev. W. B., M.A., F.G.S. - 29. 487
Conway, C. 432
Correspondent - - - 185
Couch, Jonathan, F. L.S. - . 473

D. W. L. - . - - 569
Dale, J. C, M.A., F.E.S. - -598
Delta - - - - - 264
Dennis, G. E - 203. 463. 481

E. C. - 542
E. N. D. - - - 488
E. T. S. - - -243
Fennell, James - - 493. 553. 603
Forbes, Edward - - - 169. 191. 2oO
Franklin, T. Jnu. - .379
Gardener, W., Jnu. - - 81. 195. 208
Glossop, F. H. - . 932
Godsall, W. - - - 242
Guilding, Rev. Lansdown, F.L.S., de-
ceased - - 193. 239. 317, 318. 326. 357

H. - - - - 7

Harvey, John - - 205

Henslow, Rev. J. S., M.A., Proffessor of
Botany in the University of Cambridge

88. 276. 551
Hoy, J. D. - - 352

Hunter, W. Perceval - - 97. \55. 251. 279
Indigena - - - - 491

J. D., Sen. . - - - 377

J. D. - - 48. 90. 205. 240

J. G. - - - 467

Johnston, George, M. D- 14. 79. 144- 204. 229
297. 353. 472

- 330

- 128

- 198
- 49. 154

- 271

- 316

- 22

K. C.

Lingwood, R. M.
Lorimer, Robert
Lukis, F. C.
M.

Mackey.J. T.
Mallet, Robert
Mantell, Dr.
Marshall, Samuel - 306

Martin, T. S. - - 480. 483

Mathews, Andrew, A.L.S. . .173

Mumby, Giles - - - 113

Morris, Rev. Francis Orpen, B. A. - 159. 269.
332.413.434.437.610
Morris, John - - 46. 461. 57*. 593

Moss, Samuel - - - 181. 545

Naturalist, Young - . . 315

O. - 91

Ord, George - - - 57. 416

P. N. . . . 318

Pamplin, W., Jun. - . 475

Ruskin, J. . - 488. 533

Rylands, Peter - - - 130. 175. 322

S. D. W. . . .6. 320

S. T. . . . 386

S. W. .. . 220

Salmon, S. D. . . 326. 492. 520

Salway, T. . . .850

Scouler, John, M.D. - - .327

Shuckard, W. E - .294

Squire, Lovel, Jun. - . 313

Stanway, J- H. - . - 91

T. - - - 203

Taylor, R. C, F.G.S. - . 72. 459

Taylor, Samuel - - 31. 378. 484

Tatem, James G. - 23. 157, 158. 357. 422. 459
480. 532
Templeton, Robert - 9. 233. 301. 417. 466! 546
Thompson, William - - - 147

T. K. - - - 202. 315. 423

Tulk, A. - - .107

Turner, Henry - - - 203

Ventris, Rev. E., M.A. - 202. 301. 483. 484

W. D. V. - - - 408

W. W. C. - - - - 361

W. R. - - - 201

Walsh, B. D. - - 83

Waterton, Charles - 1. 74. 158. [187.225. 260.
290. 323. 343. 409. 460
Watson, Hewit C, F.L.S. . .17

Westwood, J. O., F.L.S. . . 528. 561

White- W. H. - 28. 105. 155. 198. 210-247. 281.
305. 346. 397. 479. 486. 548. 605
Williamson, W. C, Curator of the Man-
chester Museum ... 425. 543
Wood, C. T. f^.tr . .138.212.337

Wood, Neville - . 208. 326. 485. 491. 566. 597
Woodward Samuel - - 36. 47. 151

-hbM oils vyi bi

THE MAGAZINE
NATURAL HISTORY.

__ — — —

JANUARY, 1836.

-jloilw oilT MioW oxh Sue .

^\VlSd^MWTCOMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. Notes on the History and Habits of the Brown, or Grey,
Rat (Mus decumanus). By Charles Waterton, Esq.

Some few years after the fatal period of 1688, when our
aristocracy, in defence of its ill-gotten goods, took upon itself
to dispose of hereditary monarchy in a way which, if attempted
nowadays, would cause a considerable rise in the price of
hemp, there arrived on the coast of England a ship from
Germany, freighted with a cargo of no ordinary importance.
In it was a sovereign remedy for all manner of national
grievances. Royal expenditure was to be mere moonshine,
taxation as light as Camilla's footsteps, and the soul of man
was to fly up to heaven its own way. But the poet says,

^no8 ban wwabifl. ■, dlC1( l" e beat " S , , „

Ante obitum nemo, supremaque itinera debet ;

that is, we must not expect supreme happiness on our side of
the grave. As a counterpoise to the promised felicity to be
derived from this superexcellent German cargo, there was
introduced, either by accident or by design, an article destined
at no far distant period to put the sons of Mr. Bull in mind
of the verses which* I have just quoted.

This was no other than a little grey-coloured short-legged
animal, too insignificant, at the time that the cargo was landed,
to attract the slightest notice. It is known to naturalists some-
times by the name of the Norwegian, sometimes by that of
the Hanoverian, rat. Though I am not aware that there are
any minutes, in the zoological archives of this country, which
point out to us the precise time at which this insatiate and
mischievous little brute first appeared among us ; still, there
is a tradition current in this part of the country, that it ac-
tually came over in the same ship which conveyed the new

Vol. IX. — No. 57. b

2 History and Habits

dynasty to these shores. My father, who was of the first
order of field naturalists, was always positive on this point;
and he maintained firmly that it did accompany the House of
Hanover in its emigration from Germany to England. Be
this as it may, it is certain that the stranger rat has now
punished us severely for more than a century and a quarter.
Its rapacity knows no bounds, while its increase is prodigious
beyond all belief. But the most singular part of its history
is, that it has nearly worried every individual of the original
rat of Great Britain. So scarce have these last-mentioned
animals become, that in all my life I have never seen but one
single solitary specimen : it was sent, some few years ago, to
Nostell Priory, in a cage, from Bristol ; and I received an in-
vitation from Mr, Arthur Strickland, who was on a visit
there, to go and see it. Whilst I was looking at the little
native prisoner in its cage, I could not help exclaiming, —
" Poor injured Briton ! hard, indeed, has been the fate of
thy family ! in another generation, at farthest, it will probably
sink down to the dust for ever I"

Vain would be an attempt to trace the progress of the
stranger rat through England's wide domain, as the old people
now alive can tell "nothing of its coming amongst them. No
part of the country is free from its baneful presence : the
fold and the field, the street and the stable, the ground and
the garret, all bear undoubted testimony to its ubiquity and
to its forbidding habits. After dining on carrion in the
filthiest sink, it will often manage to sup on the choicest
dainties of the larder, where, like Celaeno of old, " vestigia
fceda relinquit." We may now consider it saddled upon us
for ever. Hercules himself, could he return to earth, would
have his hands full, were he to attempt to drive this harpy
back again to Stymphalus. It were loss of time to dwell on
its fecundity. Let any body trace its movements in the cellar,
the dairy, the outhouse, and the barn, and he will be able to
form some notion of the number of hungry mouths which we
have to fill. Nine or ten young ones at a time, twice or
thrice during the year, are an enormous increase, and must
naturally recall to our minds one of the many plagues which
formerly desolated the fertile land of Egypt. In the summer
months it will take off to the fields, and rear its young amongst
the weeds which grow in the hedgerows ; plundering, for
their support, the birds' nests with a ferocity scarcely con-
ceivable in so small an animal.

Man has invented various instruments for its destruction ;
and what with these, and with poison, added to the occasional
assistance which he receives from his auxiliaries, the cat, the

of the Brown, or Grey, Rat. 3

dog, the owl, the weasel, the ferret, and the foumart, he is
enabled, in some degree, to thin its numbers, and to check its
depredations.

There are some localities, however, from which it may
be effectually ousted, provided you go the right way to work.
My own house, than which none in Great Britain can have
suffered more from the plundering propensities of the Ha-
noverian rats, is now completely free from their unwelcome
presence. On my return to it in 1813, they absolutely seemed
to consider it their own property. They had gnawed through
thirty-two doors ; and many of the oaken window frames
were irreparably injured by them. While I was in Guiana,
a Dutch lady named Vandenheuvil had given me a young
tiger-cat, which one of her negroes had taken that day in a
coffee field. It was the marjay, which, by the by, Buffon
considers untamable. I raised it with great care; and it
grew so fond of me, that it would follow my steps like a dog.
Nothing could surpass the dexterity with which this little
feline favourite destroyed the rats on our reaching home.
Towards the close of day it would ascend the staircase ; and
no sooner did a rat make its appearance from the casements,
than it would spring at it with the velocity of an arrow, and
never fail to seize it. In 1828, having got, by long ex-
perience, a tolerably good insight into the habits of this tor-
menting quadruped, and having found that it spoiled or
pilfered every thing within its reach, I finally resolved that it
should look out for another place of residence. Wherefore 1
carefully searched for all its various entrance holes, These I
effectually closed with stone and mortar. I then filled up all
useless sewers, and paid great attention to the paving and re-
newing of those which were absolutely required ; fixing, at the
same time, in either end of them a cast-iron grate movable
at pleasure. The bottoms of all the outer doors were done
with hoop iron; and the pavement which goes round the
house was relaid with particular care. By these precautions
I barred all access to these greedy intruders; and, as no
rubbish or lumber is now allowed to remain in the different
nooks and crannies commonly found near ancient dwellings,
there is no place of shelter left to conceal any stray individual
whose bowels may chance to yearn for one more repast on
cheese or bacon. In the meantime, the cat and the owl meet
with no obstructions, while prowling for those which may still
linger in the environs. The mice, too, seem to have taken
the alarm. In a word, not a single mouse or rat is to be
found in any part of the house, from the cellars to the attic
stories.

B 2

4 History and Habits

In case it were not convenient or practicable to adopt,
similar precautions to those already enumerated, I would
suggest what follows : — Take a quantity of oatmeal that
would fill a common-sized wash-hand basin ; add to this two
pounds of coarse brown sugar, and one dessert spoonful of
arsenic. Mix these ingredients very well together, and then
put the composition into an earthen jar. From time to time
place a table-spoonful of this in the runs which the rats fre-
quent, taking care that it is out of the reach of innocuous
animals. They will partake of it freely ; and it will soon
put an end to all their depredations.

Rats are fond of frequenting places where there are good
doings ; while their natural sagacity teaches them to retire in
time from a falling house. This knack at taking care of self
seems common both to man and brute. Hence the poet : —

" Donee eris felix, multos numerabis amicos ;
Tempora si fuerint nubila, solus eris."

When Fortune smiles, thy friends are many ;
But, if she frowns, thou hast not any.

Whilst the rats had all their own way here, they annoyed
me beyond measure ; and many a time have I wished the
ship at Jericho, which first brought their ancestors to these
shores. They had formed a run behind the plinth in my
favourite sitting-room, and their clatter was unceasing.
Having caught one of them in a box trap, I dipped its hinder
parts into warm tar, and then turned it loose behind the hol-
low plinth. The others, seeing it in this condition, and
smelling the tar all along the run through which it had gone,
thought it most prudent to take themselves off; and thus, for
some months after this experiment, I could sit and read in
peace, free from the hated noise of rats. On removing the
plinth at a subsequent period, we found that they had actually
gnawed away the corner of a peculiarly hard-burnt brick,
which had obstructed their thoroughfare.

The grey rats are said to destroy each other, in places
where they become too numerous for their food ; but, bad as
they are, I will not add this to the catalogue of their mis-
demeanours. They can never be in such want of aliment as
to do this ; because instinct would teach them that where
there is ingress to a place, there is also egress from it ; and
thus, when they began to be pinched for food, they would
take off in a body, or disperse amongst the fields, and live upon
the tender bark of trees, and upon birds, beetles, and other
things which the adjacent ground would afford.

That they move from place to place, in large bodies, cannot

of the Brown, or Grey, Hat, 5

well be disputed. A respectable farmer, by name John
Mathewman, now living in this neighbourhood, has informed
me that, as he was returning home one moonlight night,
about eleven o'clock, he suddenly came upon a large drove of
rats, near Sandal Three- houses. They were coming up a
lane which opened upon the high road ; and, as soon as they
discovered him, they gave mouth in a general squeal. Those
nearest to him rose on their hind legs ; and then the whole
body separated, and scampered off in all directions. Pro-
bably these adventurers were on the look out that night for
better quarters.

Rats will occasionally attempt to feed on individuals of the
human species when they are asleep. In 1824, I went with
that excellent American naturalist, Mr. Titian Peale, down
the Delaware, to the neighbourhood of Salem, in order to
make researches in ornithology ; and we procured good
lodgings at a farmer's house. During the night I was dis-
turbed by a movement in the straw mattress on which I lay,
of a somewhat suspicious nature ; but, being exceedingly tired
with our day's exertion, I fell asleep again till about half-past
four, my usual hour of rising. At breakfast, " Madam," said
I to the farmer's wife, " I could almost have fancied that
there were rats in my mattress last night." " Very likely,
Sir," said she, with the greatest composure ; and then she
told me that the year before, whilst she was fast asleep in the
bed which I had occupied, a rat began to eat into her
shoulder. On saying this, she bared the place to let me have
a view of it; and 1 distinctly saw the marks which the hungry
rat had left. " Upon my word, Madam," said I, " though I
am not prone to make wry faces at a fair allowance of fleas
or bugs, still I must own to you that I have not yet quite
made up my mind to be devoured alive by rats; wherefore,
if you have no objections, when our breakfast is finished, we
will go and take a peep into the interior of the mattress."
On ripping it up, no rats were found ; but out bounced seven
or eight full-grown mice. The old lady smiled as they ran
across the floor; and I thought I could read in her face that
she considered I had raised a false alarm.

When I reflect on the numbers and the appetite of the
Hanoverian rat, and put down to its account the many de-
predations which it is perpetually committing, I cannot bring
my mind to show it the same good feeling which is extended
in this park to the rest of animated nature. In truth, I con-
sider its arrival in our country an event productive of much
annoyance to the community at large ; and, had I the power,

b 3

6 Habits, Haunts, and Nidificatioii

I would send its whole stock, root and branch, back again to
the country whence it came; seeing that we have gained
nothing by letting it exterminate the original English rat,
Walton Hall, Nov. 9. 1835.

Art. II. On the Habits, Haunts, and Nidification of the Robin
Redbreast Nubecula familiar is Blyth.) By S. D. W.

" The redbreast swells,

In the slow fading wood, his little throat
Alone, for other birds have dropped their note."

What lover of nature has not watched, admired, and en-
couraged that confiding familiar bird, the robin redbreast,
singing so cheerily his " home beside ? " This sweet little
garden minstrel, although petted by every one, has, strange
to say, been much maligned : no less a charge than that of
ingratitude has been preferred against him. He is represented
as visiting the dwellings of man in winter, for the sake of food
and warmth ; and then, continue the accurate observers, he
retires to the inmost recesses of the woodland shade, or else
resorts to our gardens to rob us of the scarlet-fruited currant*
As far as my experience has gone, this is an erroneous state-
ment ; for the bird of " the russet wing and ruddy breast "
deserves the epithet familiaris (so aptly applied by Mr. Blyth)
all the year round. In the summer time, two or three of these
little favourites enter a room about the same time, unaware of
each other's presence ; the third has scarce passed the window
sill, when yon saucy little fellow perched on the bookcase
darts down on it, and the intruder is well off if his " scarlet
btomacher " sustains no damage : the second, seeing the state
of affairs, likewise makes a speedy retreat, and the conqueror
remains the sole feathered possessor of the room. He forthwith
commences a song of self-gratulation, which might, perhaps,
be interpreted, —

" I am monarch of all I survey,

My right there is none to dispute;"

and the little fellow looks happier and perter than ever.

This is a blemish in the character of this social bird which
must not be concealed ; and a very prominent trait it is. I
have frequently witnessed desperate battles on frosty days,
and their collisions seem to be of more frequent occurrence in
winter than at other seasons ; rather a rough way of keeping
each other warm, it must be confessed. And it is not only
with birds of its own species that the redbreast wages war,

of the Robin Redbreast, 7

but with other birds, who are not unfrequently " boxed on
the ear " by our pugnacious little friend, whose organ of com-
bativeness must, we suppose, be pronounced to be " largely
developed." The puffy, dumpy, squabbling, house sparrow
(Passer domesticus Aldr.), and even the blithe, inoffensive,
sombre hedge dunnoc * (Accentor modularis Cuv.), come in
for a share of the redbreast's ill-humour. I have more than
once seen birds of different species, as the garden linnet (Li-
naria cannabina Lin.) and the grey wagtail (ikfotacilla cinerea
Aldr.), playfully contending with each other : but the redbreast
seems to consider undue familiarity too serious an affair to be
trifled with. This disposition continues unabated, according
to Dr. Bechstein, in confinement. I will transcribe the worthy
doctor's words : - — "In confinement, the inhabitants of my
neighbourhood like to see the redbreasts hopping about the
room; and they make a roost for them of oak or elm branches.
They find that this bird destroys flies, and even bugs. Such
a situation appears to agree with him very well, as he lives in
this way from ten to twelve years. He is sojealousand un-
sociable, that he must not have a companion ; he must be quite
alone : a second would cause battles, which would end only
with the death of one of the combatants. If, however, they
are equal in strength, and in a large room, they will divide it,
and, each taking possession of his half, they remain in peace ;
unless one should pass his limits, in which case war begins,
and is maintained to the last extremity." The same author
says that hybrids between the redbreast and dunnoc may be
procured : — " Dunnocs may be paired with redbreasts, and
these unions succeed very well." (Cage Birds, art. Dunnoc.)

But, notwithstanding the truth of the proverb, " Unum
arbustum non alit duas rubeculas " [Two robins cannot dwell
in one bush], this " poet bird " will always be regarded with fa-
vourable eye by the true lover of nature, and those who require
something more substantial than the endearing associations
which have been linked with his very name in the glowing
pages of the poets, those, in short, who direct their attention
principally to things " of the earth, earthy," will find ample
reason for cherishing the bird for its insectivorous services.
I have before shown (VIII. 517.) that the redbreast does not
altogether reject currants; but, at the same time, I know, from

* Mudie suggests the popular name " dunnoc " to relate to the dun-
coloured plumage of the bird ; and thus it is a very appropriate appellation.
" Sparrow," by which name it is even yet sometimes known, is very inappro-
priate, as the bird is not in the genus Passer. For an arrangement of the
British birds, see the Analyst, No. xiii,, for October, 1835. (Vol. iii.
p. 26—35.) '

b 4

8 Habits of the Robin Redbreast.

experience, that this species consumes but a very small portion
of that fruit; but, were the quantity ten times what it is, this
familiar guest should be welcome to it all ; ay, all. The
black-capped fauvet (i^icedula atricapilla Aldr.) and the
garden fauvet (F. hortensis Blyth) are great consumers of
fruit; as well as the hedge coalhood * (Pyrrhula modularis W.),
the garden tit (Parus major Lin.)) &c. ; but I never suffer a
single individual of these pretty flutterers to be destroyed.
They are always welcome guests. The coalhood, it is true,
destroys many buds which might, in due season, have yielded
fruit; and thegarden tit eats many peas: but what then ? Is the
palate the only sense to be gratified ? are we to sacrifice the de-
lightful employment (luxury I may call it) of watching the habits
of the feathered race ; of investigating their uses and affinities,
an exercise no less beneficial to the body than the mind, to
say nothing of their charming songs ? shall we sacrifice these,
merely to obtain additional gratification for the palate ? The
organ of alimentiveness is, I take it, very well in its way ; but ?
to gratify it at the expense of the intellectual organs, is not
acting quite in accordance with what might be expected from
a rational being. The inferior animals (as man loves to call
them) were given for our use, and to administer to our plea-
sures ; and, when they interfere with any project, or in any way
annoy us, we have a right to rid ourselves of them ; but to de-
stroy them when they are capable of affording us intense plea-
sure, in order that we may obtain an inferior pleasure, is not
very reasonable.

But we have almost lost sight of our spruce little friend.
With regard to its nidification many mistakes have been made.
Turner, an old ornithologist, says it builds with leaves; and
Willughby copies this assertion. The nest is composed
chiefly of moss, with a lining of horse-hair. It generally
builds at the roots of an old tree, in a low bush, and very
frequently in the holes of walls. Rennie, in his Architecture
of Birds, doubts this ; but I am certain of the fact. In the
thirteenth number of the Analyst is a very spirited and well-
written article, " A Retrospect of the Literature of British

* It has been suggested that coalhood is not very appropriate as a generic
name, as it is probable that other species may be discovered which may
have no black on the head. But does not the same objection apply with
equal force to redbreast, waxwing, warbler, &c. Another objection has
been raised, namely, that the name coalhood will apply equally well to other
genera: but does not this apply equally to wagtail (Motacilla), longspur
(Plectropkaties), reedling (Salicaria), flycatcher (Mtiscicapa), diver (Colym-
bus), &c. In short, 1 do not know a single meaning name in ornithology,
with the exception of crossbill (Cracirostra), which will not designate other
genera equally well with that to which it is appropriated.

Catalogue of Irish Crustacea. 9

Ornithology; from the Close of the 17th Century to the pre-
sent Time." I mention this, because most of the works which
have appeared on ornithology are therein noticed ; and many
unaccountable errors, similar to that I have just mentioned,
are pointed out. To this article, therefore, I refer Mr. Rennie;
and return we once more to the redbreast, which, we begin to
fear, will get rather ruffled at the repeated breaks in his history.
Another very favourite place of nidification with the redbreast
is the thatch of old sheds. The industrious little bird is not
satisfied with the natural nest, as it were, thus afforded, but
builds one within this, in the same way that the common
redstart (Ruticilla £uscinia) does; and neither of these birds
easily forsake their eggs. [IV. 465.] I have known redbreasts
caught many times a day on their eggs, yet continuing to sit
on them : —

" Sit on ; away we would not bear

Those freckled eggs, thy anxious care;

Nor of thy plumes a feather mar,
Thou social bird !

" Sit on, and keep thy leafy bed,
Secure in thy secluded shed,
Till forth thy spotted brood be led
Yon shrubs among. "

It only remains to give the description and colours ; which
is, as Wilson remarks, necessary even in the commonest birds.
Male. Head, back, wings, and tail, olive brown tinged with
green ; forehead, cheeks, and breast, reddish orange, some-
what inclining to brick-red; the red on the breast sur-
rounded with light grey ; belly white ; thighs brownish
green ; flanks the same ; quill-feathers brown, edged with
olive; bill and shanks dark brown; length 5} in. — Female.
Rather smaller ; colours not so bright, nor so distinct ; in
other particulars similar. — Young. Oil-green tinged with
brown, and spotted with lighter brown. In this state they
are sometimes, by the inexperienced, mistaken for the hedge
dunnoc. [IV. 4-12.] The common blueback (Sialia familiaris)
claims a near relationship to the robin redbreast; and was,
by some of the American ornithologists, called Nubecula
sialis, the blue-backed redbreast.

Near Derby, October 5. 1835.

Art. III. Catalogue of Irish Crustacea, Myriapoda, and Arach-
n'oida, selected from the Papers of the late John Templeton, Esq.
By Robert Templeton, Esq.

Considerable additions have been made since the date of
this catalogue (1826), due principally to the exertions, in foe

10 Catalogue of Irish Crustacea.

cause of science of two of the most distinguished members of
the Belfast Natural History Society, George C. Hyndman and
R. Patterson, Esqrs.

CRUSTA N CEA.
ENTOMO'STRACA.

I.

^4 N pus Cuv. Scop, cancriformis Lam. ? In stagnant waters.

— Caligus Milll. Mullen, Samouelle Ent. Comp. p. 79. On
the codfish. — C. productus Mull. On the salmon.

II.

Daphnia Mull. Pulex Lin., Samouelle Ent. Comp. p. 80. In
the pond at Cranmore. — D. longisplna Mull. In the pond
at Cranmore. — Cypris Mull, conchacea Lin. Inhabiting
ditches and stagnant waters, where I have seen it on the
dissolving of the ice after a severe frost. — Cytherea Mull,
viridis Mull. Among Puci at Bangor and Macedon point.

— C. lutea Mull. Among JFuci at Bangor.

III.

Cyclops Mull, quadricornis Lin. In the drains at the moss,
Cranmore. — C. minutus Miiller. Early in spring, in the
drains of Cranmore. — C. longicornis Milll. In the drains
at the point fields, Bel fast. — Polyphemus Mull, oculus Mull.,
Cephaloculus stagnorum. In marshes and drains, very
rare.

IV.

Branchiopoda Lam. stagnalis Linn. In the pond along with
Daphnia Pulex.

MALACO'STRACA.

PODOPHTHA'LMA.

1. BRACHYinRA.

Corystidce.
Corystes Lat. Cassivelaunus Penn. Found on the shore at
Cushendall Bay. — Atelecyclus Leach 7-dentatus. Found
in the stomach of a codfish, January 17. 1817.

Portunida?.
Carcinus Leach Mae N nas Auct. Common about all our
shores. — Portunus Fab. puber Linn. Found in Belfast
Lough. — P. depurator Linn. Found on the sands at Dun-
fanaghy, county Donegal, July 13. 1815. — P. livid us
Leach. With last, on the shore at Dunfanaghy.

Catalogue of Irish Crustacea. 1 1

Canceridce.
Cancer Linn, Pagurus Linn, Common.

Oxypodaidce.

Pinnoteres Latr. minutus Linn, Penn* Dredged up in Bel-
fast Lough, August 18. 1811.

Maiadce,

Pisa Leach tetraodon Penn, — Hyas Leach ^franeus Linn.
Carrickfergus, on the shore ; in the belly of a codfish, Ja-
nuary 1798.

Lithodiadce.

Lithodes Latr. Maja Linn, Found on the coast of the county
Wexford, a specimen thence is in Trinity College Museum.
It is called by the people Craban.

Macropodladce.

Macropodia Leach Phalangium Penn. Not uncommon on
the Irish coast.

2. macrou v ra.

Vagiiridce.

Pagurus Fab, Bernhardt Auct. Very common on the coast,
in the deserted shells of Murex antiquus and Z?uccinum
undatum.

Galateaddd.
Porcellana Lam. platycheles Pe?in. Whitehouse shore, Mr.
James Grimshaw, jun. — Galatea Fab. spinigera Leach,
v^stacus strigosus Penn., Herbst, not of Linnaeus. Found
on a rock near Bangor, November, 1819. Another speci-
men in the stomach of a codfish.

Ast&cida.

^'stacus Fab. Gammarus Linn, Along all our rocky coast.
— A. fluviatilis Fab., Cancer ^4'stacus Linn. Inhabits several
of our lakes and rivers. In great abundance in a lake near
Tullahan, county Monaghan ; near Antrim, in the 6-mile
water Nephrops Leach norwegicus Linn. A rare spe-
cies, but sometimes found in Belfast Lough.

Pala?m6n\dad,
Crangon Fab. Latr. vulgaris Fab. Common. — Palae v mo/j
Fab. serratus Penn. Inhabits sandy bays ; was once com-
mon in Belfast Lough, now rare. — P. Squilla Linn. Com-
mon on the shore of Belfast Lough.

12 Catalogue of Irish Myriapoda.

EDRIOPTHA'LMA.

Gammaridce.

Talitrus Latr. .Locusta Latr. Inhabits all our sandy shores.
— Orchestia Leach littorea Mont. Inhabits all our sandy
shores, living under stones and i*uci, and, when disturbed,
leaping to a considerable distance. — Gammarus Latr.
Pulex Linn, aquaticus Leach. Inhabiting our rivers and
springs. — G. /,ocusta Mont. Inhabits the sea along our
coasts, never voluntarily leaving the water. — Cbrophium
Latr. grossipes Linn., longicorne Latr. Leach. Inhabits
Belfast Lough. In the little pools of salt water at the point
fields, Belfast.

Idoteada?.

Idotea Fab. entomon Linn. Common on rocks. — I. cen-
trum Penn. On rocks.

Nae'stf Leach bidentatus Adams, Linn. Trans., vol. viii. tab. 2.
fig. 3. Found on some limestone lifted out of the sea at
Whitehouse. — Sphaeroma Lat. serrata Fab. Found at
Whitehouse shore among sea weeds, Sept., 1807. — Lim-
noria Leach terebrans Leach. Occurs on several parts
of the coast, along with the Zeredo, on piles and timber.

Asellidce.

^sellus Geoff, aquaticus Linn. Common in rivulets and
ditches.

Ligladds.
Ligia Fab. oceanica Fab. Common on our shores on rocks.

Qniscidce.

Oniscus Auct. ^(sellus Linn. Common among rotting timber,
&c. — Porcellio Latr. ^sellus Fab., scaber Latr. Com-
mon under stones, wood, and in old walls. — P. lae\is
Leach. Rare : I have only seen one specimen. — P. convexus
I have not met with.

Armadillo Lat. vulgaris Lat. Inhabits among stones and
moss.

MYRIA'PODA.
CHILO'GNATHA.

Glomcridce.

Glomeris Lat. marginata Fill. Leach. Very common under
stones, and in moss. — G. testacea. Similar to the last, but
of a brick red; the segmental margins a little paler. I
have seen a few specimens of this Glomeris : one is at pre-

Catalogue of Irish krachnlnda. 13

sent in the collection of the Museum of Natural History,
Belfast ; the rest in Mr. G. C. Hyndman's cabinet. It is,
perhaps, merely a variety of the last.

\ididce.
Zulus Linn, terrestris Linn. Inhabiting moss under stones
and rotting bark of trees. — /* dubius. Pale brown, with a
tinge of purplish red : segments striated, a brown dorsal
line : the stigmata dark brown ; the 4 anterior and 4 pos-
terior rings without stigmata ; the extreme segment pointed.
Among rotting wood, not uncommon at Cranmore. — /.
punctatus Leach. Not very rare among rotting wood. — I.
pulchellus Leach. Very common in gardens, &c. : it de-
stroys bulbous and tuberous roots. It is the dreaded wire-
worm of gardeners and farmers. — /. pusillus Leach. I
met with one specimen under a slate, among the blanched
roots of grass.

Polydesmidce.
Polydesmus Latr. complanatus. Common.

Scolopendridce.
Lithobius Leach forficatus Linn. Very common. — L. va-
riegatus Leach. Not uncommon. — L. laevilabrum Leach.
Occasionally seen. — Cryptops Leach hortensis Leach.
Not uncommon among moss and rotting plants in fields.

Geophilidce.

Geophilus Leach subterraneus Shaw, Leach. Very common
in the garden at Cranmore. — G. maritimus Leach. I
found some specimens under stones at Bangor. — G. lon-
gicornis Leach. Under stones, &c. — G. electricus Linn.
Found in crevices of decaying trees in damp situations.

^RACHNOFDA.

PODOSCXMATA.

Nymphonidce.
Nymphum grossipes Linn. ? Found among Confervae col-
lected about the Whitehead, Belfast Lough. The speci-
men is at present in the Belfast Museum. Dr. Drummond
found another species, April 1820 ; but, as I have not seen
it, I cannot refer it to its proper species.

POLYMEROSO'MATA.

Sir on ides.
Siro Lat. rubens Lat. Among moss, rare.

1 4 Illustrations in British Zoology : —

Scorpidnides.

Chelifer Geoff, musaeorum Leach. Broad, sub-pentagonal, pale
brown, imbricated, depressed, legs pale reddish brown, 5-
jointed. Cheliferous legs, with the first joint minute cy-
lindric ; second, large triangular; third, elongate cylindric,
truncated obliquely at the extremities ; fourth, clavate ; fifth,
pyriform ; all more or less covered with minute hairs : the
hinder legs with 2 claws. Beneath, the abdomen has, near
its centre, an infundibuliform rhomboid depression. R. T.
In Mr. Hyndman's cabinet. — C. parasitica Herm. The
hairs on the abdomen of this species are all spatulate with
the apex generally trifid; those on other parts, lobated
or toothed laterally. Caught in Island Magee, county
Antrim, and at present in Mr. Patterson's cabinet, Belfast.
Herman's figure is far from correct, especially in the form
of the points of the cheliferous legs. R. T.

DIMEROSO'MATA.

Vhalangidce.

Phalangium Linn, bimaculatum Fab. Common. — P. cor-
nutum Linn., P. cornutum Linn, male, P. Opilio Linn.
fern. Common. — P. annulipes. Two female specimens.
— P. pusillum. Not uncommon. — P. armatum. Common.
— P. nigripalpe. Rather rare. — P. trispiniferum. P. his-
pidum ? Herm., P. spinulosum ? Herm., P. tricuspidum
? Dufour. Very common. — P. longipes. P. longipes ? Herm.
Common. — P. rotiindum Latreille. Very common.
Woolwich, Sept. 30. 1835.

Art. IV. Illustrations in British Zoology. By George Johnston,
M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of ' Surgeons of Edinburgh.

CI. Annelides, Ord. Errantes, Fam. Nereis.
Genus PSA'MATHZ?.

Character. — Body scolopendriform : head small : eyes 4,
in pairs : tentacula 4, short, frontal : mouth edentulous, the
proboscis very short, its aperture encircled with papillae :
tentacular cirri 4 pairs, unequal ; feet uniramous, bifid at the
apex; the dorsal cirri elongate, jointed, the ventral short:
tail with two filaments.

This genus, which I have named Psamath^, in honour of
the daughter of Nereus and Doris, will take rank, as it appears

Psamathe fusca.

15

to me, between Scyllis and Hesion*. It differs from the first
in the number and structure of the tentacula, in the form of
the head, and in the arrangement of the eyes ; and from the
latter in the form of the body, which, I think, is a very impor-
tant character, and in the structure of the proboscis, which, in
Hesion^, is very long and destitute of oral papillae. I have
seen but one species which may be named.

51. Psa'math£ fu'sca. (j%. 1.)

a, PsSmathe fusca, considerably magnified ; b, the head, with the proboscis protruded, more
highly magnified ; c, a foot, very much enlarged j rf, a bristle ; e, a spine.

Description. — Animal scolopendriform, 1 inch long, slightly
narrowed at the head, tapered towards the tail, constricted
between the segments, of a yellowish-brown or fuscous co-
lour : head small, square, entire in front ; eyes 4, very dis-
tinct, occipital, placed in pairs ; tentacula 4, very short, un-
jointed, frontal, the superior pair thicker than the inferior;
mouth terminal, edentulous, furnished with a very short
thick proboscis, whose aperture is encircled with a double
series of papillae ; tentacular cirri 4 pairs on each side, the
inferior about half the length of the superior, jointed, and
issuing from a bulged base; segments numerous, nearly of
the same breadth and length ; feet much developed and very
prominent, all alike, conic, the apex divided into two obtuse
lobes between which the bristles are protruded : on the upper
side of the foot there is a long cirrus, jointed like a Conferva,
scarcely moniliform, and arising from a swollen basilar
sheath ; on the ventral aspect the cirrus is short, not extend-

16

Planar ia sabauriculata .

ing beyond the foot, neither is it jointed : bristles retractile,
strong, jointed near the top, the point fixed on in a bayonet
fashion; they are collected into two small unequal fascicles
having a rather small spine in the middle of each : anal seg-
ment truncate and terminated with two long tentacular cirri.
This little worm is occasionally met with in Berwick Bay,
lurking at the roots of Conferva?, corallines, and sponges, be-
tween tide marks. It advances through the water with con-
siderable velocity, and in a wriggling manner, pushing out
and alternately withdrawing the bristles of its feet, and mov-
ing its long cirri in every direction. When the creature is
active and first taken, the cirri have a somewhat moniliform
appearance under the microscope, but as its activity declines
this appearance becomes fainter : they then appear only
jointed like a common Conferva, and after death even these
joints disappear, and the whole organ assumes a homogeneous
structure.

52. Plana'ria subauricula v ta. {Jig. 2.)

The animal, when fully extended, is about six lines long,
and two broad, obtuse in front and tapered behind ; thus as-
suming a lanceolate, 2
or tongue-shaped,
figure, very thin,
flat, smooth, and of
a pale or wood-brown
colour, with some
milk white spots scat-
tered over the back.
Towards the anterior
end we perceive nu-
merous Small black Uf Pianaria subauriculata of the natural size ; b, the same
eveS 01' SDecks Col- magnified, the dorsal aspect ; c, the ventral aspect.

lected into two irregular parcels with a transparent space
between them: the eyes themselves are placed about and
within a small circular transparent spot on each side, which
is changeable in appearance, and has sometimes the look of
a small fold, or auricle, as is represented in figure b. The
body is transparent enough to allow us to perceive that there
are no defined organs, or vessels, beyond the proboscis, which
is situated about the middle, and opens on the ventral sur-
face : the interior appears to be entirely composed of gela-
tinous globules, separated into compartments by clear lines,
which run from the centre to the pellucid margin in an im-
perfectly radiating manner.

Maps illustrating the Distribution of Plants. 1 7

Planaria subauriculata is a marine species, and was found
on a leaf of a young specimen of Laminaria saccharina grow-
ing near the lowest tide-mark. Kept in sea water, it seemed
to sicken sooner than most of its tribe, living with me little
better than two days ; and although the water had not been
changed, yet the coolness of the weather had preserved it from
putridity. Its motion was, in general, very rapid ; and so
smooth, continuous, and even, and made without the slightest
apparent effort, that it reminded one of the noiseless lapse of
time: but occasionally the worm would behave itself very
unseemly, rolling itself up until head and tail met; then un-
bending, and tossing up and down the tail, as if annoyed by
some pest of which it wished thus to rid itself.

It is a genuine species of Planaria; but I have not been
able to identify it with any hitherto described. It certainly
approaches very nearly to the Planaria flexilis of Mr. Dalyell
(Obs. on Planaria, p. 5. fig. 1, 2.); yet there are differences,
which persuade me they are distinct, especially the transparent
circular spots in the neighbourhood of the eyes, of which
there is no trace in P. flexilis. I propose to distinguish them
by the following characters : —

1. P. flexilis, body lanceolate, very thin, semicircular in
front, of a dull whitish or pale ash colour; eyes numerous,
in two clusters ; the intervening space like the rest of the
body.

2. P. subauriculata, body lanceolate, very thin, obtuse in
front, of a yellowish-brown colour ; eyes numerous, in two
clusters, with a clear circular spot to each, and a clear in-
tervening space.

Art. V. Observations on the Construction of Maps for illustrating
the Distribution of Plants, ivith Reference to the Communication
of Mr. Hinds on the same Subject. (Vol. VIII. p. 498.) By
Hewett C. Watson, Esq., F.L.S.

After wailing a couple of months to ascertain whether any
other person would pursue the subject started by Mr. Hinds,
I take the liberty of offering some comments in reference to
the remarks of that gentleman and, on the subject generally.
Mr. Hinds writes, " As the subject of geographical botany
has as yet met with but little attention, it is not to be expected
that any maps with which we may be furnished would convey
much information. The few that exist are, therefore, very
bare of facts, containing merely the names of some plants, ac-

Vol. IX. — No. 57. ' c

1 8 On the Construction of Maps

cording to their common denominations ; without any detail
of physical agents, limits of the extension of genera and species,
or any circumstances desired by the naturalist. They seem
framed more to meet and please the general reader, than for any
benefit for the advancement of science." That the maps
hitherto published (at least, such as I have seen) bear the im-
press of that imperfection, which marks a newly created depart-
ment of science, is too true ; and it is impossible that they can
yet exhibit the "limits of the extension of genera and species."
But from the sweeping assertion, that they contain merely the
names of some plants, without any detail of physical agents, and
are calculated chiefly foi the general reader, I must dissent,
and most decidedly dissent : for the best maps which I have
seen appear to be constructed altogether on the opposite
plan ; containing no names of plants ; being almost utterly un-
serviceable to the general reader ; and referring chiefly to the
physical peculiarities of the countries represented and the
climatic distribution of plants within them. In saying that
no plants are named in De Candolle's map of French bo-
tany, I speak from the memory of some years, and not with
any confidence; but Wahlenberg's map of Lapland (Mappa
Botanico-geographica), and of the tract of the Carpathians
(Mappa Physico-geographica), are now lying before me, and
do not exhibit the name of a single plant, except very few
(Jour and one) incidentally in marginal explanations. The
language in which it is written, I regret to say, prevents me
having any knowledge of the work of Schouw; but, judg-
ing by the translated extracts which have appeared in the
Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, this author also uses colour
in lieu of names. There is, however, a chart by Humboldt,
in which the distribution of plants is in some degree shown
by the position of their names. The same occurs partially in
a map accompanying Barton's Lecture on the Geography of
Plants. In several instances, also, the altitudinal limits are
shown by the names placed at the particular heights in a
scale ; but the best botanico-geographical maps yet published I
apprehend to be in the works of the three first-named authors.
(Such readers as may feel interested in this subject, I beg to
refer to Murray's Encyclopedia of Geography, in which is an
outline of botanical geography from the pen of Dr. Hooker,
embracing a general sketch of the labours of Wahlenberg, De
Candolle, Humboldt, and others. A perusal of Mr. Swain-
son's remarks on the distribution of birds, in the same work,
will repay even the botanist ; because most of the general laws
must apply to both, and Mr. Swainson's primary divisions
widely differ from those usually taken by botanists.)

illustrating the Distribution of Plants. 19

Now what is the best manner of constructing such maps,
or any diagrams in substitution ? this being the essential point.
Before replying to the question, we should call to mind the
different matters which it may be wished to represent, and the
degree of precision to be sought in such representation. It
may be wished to display the distribution of individual forms
known as species and varieties, or the groups of technical bo-
tany called orders and genera ; or the object may be to
exhibit the local physiognomy of vegetation en masse, in con-
nection with differences of climate, physical configuration, soil,
&c. The maps will vary accordingly.

To represent the distribution of individual forms or species,
let us first imagine a common geographical map, in outline,
of such dimensions as would render it possible to mark
every locality for any given species, by some sign, or spot of
colour, covering a corresponding space of the map. This
would give an exact picture of the topographical distribution ;
but, as it would require to be made on the scale of at least a
yard to the mile, it is obviously quite out of the question.
With less precision, though still keeping sufficient exactness
for useful purposes, we might greatly reduce the scale by in-
dicating all localites within certain distances of each other as
single ones, the distances depending on the size of the map.
In maps on a very small scale, localities many miles asunder
would necessarily be reduced to units, and single stations of
trifling extent would be exaggerated, much as we see the
breadth of rivers, roads, and canals in ordinary maps. On
botanical maps of this kind, the political divisions and names
of places might be given, or omitted, as found convenient.
Another mode of representing the distribution of species,
would be by an outline map, in which the only places named
should be those where the species was known to grow, larger
or small topographical divisions (townships, parishes, coun-
ties, &c.) being adopted according as the species was more or
less generally diffused. Additional information respecting the
greater or less abundance of the plant, its claims to be con-
sidered native, and the authority for its existence in the places,
might be conveyed by a corresponding variation in the size or
character of the letters composing the names, as usually done
to distinguish cities, towns, and villages. In these cases, a
map would require to be devoted to each species, and the cost
be very great.

But it is by no means impossible to give a general sketch of
the distribution of several species by means of a single map,
though precision of detail must be sacrificed if many are in-
troduced into the same map. To convey pretty full details of

C 2

20 On the Construction of Maps

a few species, we might adopt some arbitrary sign (see Mr.
Hinds's Paper before referred to), composed of parts, any of
which could be subtracted at pleasure. Each part should
represent a given species, the whole sign representing all the
species. On any spot of the map, the whole or part of this
sign could be placed, according as all or fewer of the species
were known to exist in the locality which it would thus point
out. It would be a more simple, although a less precise me-
thod, to write the name of each species, within the outline of
a common map, in characters extending over a larger or
smaller space, according to the actual extension of the species.
As the size of the letters must correspond to the space over
which the names would be extended, a single glance would, in
most, cases teach the prevalent vegetation of a country; a
closer inspection becoming necessary to discover its rarer
plants, the names of which would be written in small characters
at their particular localities ; as we see the names of villages
and towns in less conspicuous characters than those used for
counties or kingdoms. Unless in the case of particular
species of much importance or interest, it could hardly be
worth while to attempt any of these methods, as being far too
expensive for ordinary publication, and the advantage gained
not being equivalent to the cost; since all the information
could be conveyed by language alone, assisted by a common
geographical map. The superiority of maps over printed
pages rests in the former presenting a picture to the sense of
sight, all seen at a glance ; whereas words excite only an ima-
ginary picture in the mind, often a very imperfect one, and
rapidly fading from memory.

The distribution of orders and genera might be shown ex-
actly in the same way as species, by regarding these groups
as individuals ; and the plans suggested for depicting the dis-
tribution of several species on one map, would be well adapted
to exhibit that of orders and their included genera, or of
genera and their included species. But these imaginary
groups, into which it is found requisite to arrange vegetable
forms for the convenience of technical botany, appear to have
so little of necessary connection with geography, or even of
direct relation to it, that we must be regarded as studying
coincidence, rather than dependence and causation, when
seeking to connect them. This assertion is at variance with
received notions, but I am unaware that it can be disproved.

It is, of course, altogether otherwise when the general
stamp or physiognomy of vegetation, as affected by differ-
ences in the climate and physical peculiarities of countries,
comes under consideration. Here botany and physical geo-

illustrating the Distribution of Plants. 2 1

graphy are directly and inseparably connected in the relation
of cause and effect. Here, therefore, we most need to call in
the aid of maps ; and here, fortunately, we shall find them
most easily applicable, and at a cost comparatively small. As
in this investigation we represent vegetation in the aggregate,
not according to technical details, a single map may be made
to include the whole flora of a country ; and one in which its
physical peculiarities are well represented should be selected
for the purpose. On such a map the divisions and sub-
divisions into vegetable regions could be marked nearly in
the same manner as we see the extent of kingdoms, counties,
&c, laid down. Since nature, however, does not admit the
precise and abrupt lines of demarcation seen in political and
parochial divisions, it would be wiser to avoid attempting
boundary lines; shadings or conventional marks being sub-
stituted instead, such as might be gradually intermingled in
proportion to the intermingling of the real vegetation. Co-
lours might be used in place of the marks, but would scarcely
answer so well ; or the names of places in different characters
could represent their vegetation.

I have remarked above, that nature does not admit of pre-
cise boundary lines; yet hitherto lines have been almost in-
variably resorted to for the purpose of indicating distribution
in botanico-geographical maps. In the distribution of species
(and other superior groups necessarily follow the same laws),
we usually see a definite extent of country over which each
respective species is copiously scattered. Whichever way
we depart from these head quarters, the number of specimens
or individuals is found to decrease; large intervals then
occur without a plant of the species being seen ; and, finally,
a few localities may be found, scores of miles apart, and with-
out a single specimen between them. How can such dis-
tribution be represented by lines ? If we connect the ex-
treme localities by lines, they must be drawn across, and also
include, a large tract where the plant does not grow ; and
thus they will convey to the eye an appearance of abrupt
termination which has no real existence. Signs more or less
thickly placed, and shadings more or less intense, are ob-
viously far better adapted to depict the realities of nature.
Thus, we come nearly to the plan suggested in an early
Number of this Magazine ; and if the skeleton maps there
proposed can be carried into effect, they will form a most
important aid to the geographic botanist. See II. 342.

Ditton Marsh, Surrey, Nov. 1835.

c 3

22 Seed-dispersing Apparatus of Er odium moschatum.

Art. VI. On the seed-dispersing Apparatus of the musk-scented
Herons Bill (Erbdium moschatum W.). By Robert Mallet,
Esq.

Having some plants of the Erodium moschatum in culti-
vation, I have been struck with admiration in observing the
arrangements for the dispersion of the seeds ; and, having
looked into many books, and not found any particular notice
of this, I am induced to send a description of it, for the
benefit of those who admire the innumerable and beautiful
contrivances of the Almighty Architect.

Each seed (of which there are five to each flower) is enclosed
in a capsule [car-
pel] {figs. 3, 4, 5.), at-
tached by its upper ex-
tremity to a tail, or awn,
which possesses the
most wonderful hygro-
metricsensibility;as,in-
deed, does every other
partof the plant. These
five awns lie in grooves
in the receptacle of the
flower [and this recep-
tacle is central to, and is the axis of, all parts of the flower and
fruit] (as in pelargoniums, geraniums, &c); and a magnified
section of it is shown in fig. 6. ; and, also, a section of one of
the awns as it lies in the groove. Fig. 8., shows the general
appearance of the calyx and receptacle
clothed with the seeds. When the whole
system has arrived at a certain point
of aridity, the awns, which are pro-
vided with an exquisite power of tor-
sion, twist themselves out from their

grooves {fig.

9.), and, at the same

moment, a number of downy filaments,
hidden at the back, or inward face,
of the awns, bristle forth: they all to-
gether become, now, detached, and fall to the ground, as in

But here they still continue to twist; and, from the position in
which they always lie, keep tumbling over and over, and thus
receding from the parent plant, until they have twisted them-
selves into the form offig.l 1., in which they are perfect balloons,
ready to be wafted away by every zephyr. The awn attached
to each capsule [carpel] assumes, in the progress of twisting,
the sections a, b, c, {fig. 7.) as viewed microscopically. But

Aurora Borealis at High Wycombe.

23

motive power has not ceased to the apparatus attached to the
seeds when this has twisted itself
into this balloon shape; the slight-
est hygrometric change pro-
duces motion, either backwards or
forwards, in the awn ; and the con-
stant tendency of this motion is
to screw the seed into the ground.
Such is the shape and great sen-
sibility of the awns, that they
may be readily applied to form
most delicate differential hygro-
meters, for which purpose I have
used them.

The arrangement of the seeds
of the Pelargonium peltatum is
almost identical with the above,
but less marked.

The extreme beauty of the
contrivance, thus attempted to be
described, can hardly be appre-
ciated without examination of the
plant itself; for which object, as well as for its appearance
as a border plant [and the high musky odour of its herbage],
it is worthy of cultivation.

It seems to me that no part of the organisation of plants is
so well worthy of attentive examination as the contrivances
for effecting the dispersion of the seeds: these in all cases
show the benevolent provisions of the Creator, that vegetable
food may be spread abroad, and increase, and that the earth
may be full. Each solitary contrivance of dispersion strikes
the mind as above human invention, and as defying human
imitation ; but when we wander from one to another, and see
their almost infinite variety, admiration of individual con-
trivance is lost in the plenitude, the apparent wantonness of
immeasurable design, every where different, and every where
perfect.

Capel Street, Dublin.

Art. VII. Particulars on Appearances of Instances of Aurora
Borealis at High Wycombe, Bucks, on Nov. 18-19. 1835,
Jan. 7. 1831, Sept. 9. 1835, and Sept. 13. 1835. By James G.
Tatem, Esq.

The aurora borealis which was observed last night, Novem-
ber 18-19. 1835, was too splendid, and too extensively seen,

c 4>

24- Appearances of Aurora Borealis

not to claim the attention of the correspondents of your Ma-
gazine. Allow me, therefore, to state the appearances at this
place, in the hope that others, better qualified than myself,
may add to the report of their observations their thoughts on
the origin or cause of this beautiful and interesting kind of
phenomenon.

At 9 p.m. the aurora was first seen by me, although some
indications had been noticed more than an hour before. At
this time the whole sky, from the n.e. point of the horizon to
the s.w., was highly illuminated : at the base was a brilliant
elliptic arch of bright yellow; above which, at some distance,
was a second luminous arch, surrounded, at the apex and for
some distance on each side, with points, those nearest the
centre forming isosceles triangles : the space below the first
arch was of a ferruginous purple colour, while that which se-
parated the two arches assumed a brighter blue tint, approach-
ing nearer to the general colour of the sky at night. From
these arches frequently emanated long streams of light, some
of a bright red, and others of a greyish blue, colour, which
extended considerably to the southward of the zenith ; at times
the whole body of light was much increased, as if a discharge
had taken place, when streams like to those before-mentioned
were ejected, and coruscations, having the appearance of tidal
waves flowing on a level shore, were noticed. These flickered
in an extraordinary manner, and their undulations were ex-
tremely rapid as they passed off into the distance. By 10 p.m.
the rays and coruscations had ceased, and the lower arch of
silvery light alone remained ; but about 1 1 o'clock the grey
rays were again ejected, but did not continue for any length
of time ; from .this hour, until 5 o'clock the following morning,
the north-western quarter of the heavens was illuminated by a
silvery light, like that of the rising moon, rendering distant
objects distinctly visible. What most excited my surprise is,
that, at the time the aurora was brightest, a few streams of
red light seemed to cross those issuing from the arches almost
at right angles. A fresh breeze blew from the westward
during the time; the barometer rose a little, and the thermo-
meter, which stood at 41° 50' at 10 p.m., fell to 35° 25' in the
night; some rain fell on the night of the 19th. The accom-
panying sketch shows the appearance about half-past 9 o'clock

(M 12.)

The appearance of aurora borealis above noticed was by
much the most splendid one that has been seen at Wycombe
during my residence at it (nearly thirteen years). The other
instances in which they have been deserving of particular at-
tention occurred on January 7. 1831, and on September 9.

at High Wycombe, Bucks.

25

and 13. 1835: the following is a copy of my notes on these,
made at the time : —

January 7. 1831. — The most splendid aurora borealis that
has been seen in these parts for the last thirty years, was ob-
served this evening. About 7 o'clock, the whole atmosphere
from the e.n.e. to the n. was brilliantly illuminated by a deep
yellow light ; from the first-mentioned point several curved

and divergent rays issued ; at intervals streams of a greyish-
blue light shot up with great velocity, and, passing the zenith,
vanished in a few seconds ; these appearances continued for
nearly an hour, when the radii assumed a deep red tint, and
the whole light spread further to the westward ; at one time
two red rays took the shape of a very pointed arch, like that
of a lancet window ; with little variation as to form and bright-
ness, the rays continued, until past 9 o'clock, still extending
more to the westward, and reaching from the e.n.e. to the

26 Appearances of Aurora Borealis

w.s.w. After this hour the aurora gradually became fainter,
but had not entirely disappeared until after midnight.

September 9. 1835. — This evening the most brilliant aurora
borealis that has appeared here since January 7., 1831, was
observed. The whole north-western quarter of the heavens
was illuminated by a pale yellowish light, from which rays
of nearly the same colour shot forth, and extended beyond
the zenith : these appearances continued for nearly the space
of two hours.

September 13. 1835. — The aurora was again visible this
evening, when the rays were of a red tint, and rose nearly to the
zenith ; but were not so bright, and did not continue so long,
as on the 9th. The wind, on both occasions, blew fresh from
the westward, and these phenomena were succeeded by rain.

It may be well to notice, that the wind blew from the west-
ward when the aurora of January 7., 1831, was visible; that
the barometer was very high, and that the thermometer fell
fifteen degrees below the freezing point during the night, but
afterwards gradually rose; and that rain fell on the night of
January 9.

Wycombe, November 19. 1835.

Art. VIII. Particulars on Appearances of Instances of Aurora
Borealis at Stoansrvick, near Bath, on Nov. 17-18, 18. 1835. By

The beautiful phenomena of the aurora borealis having been
displayed, with unusual splendour, on the evening of November
18., and, in various parts of the country, excited more than
ordinary attention, it may be interesting to some of your read-
ers to record the following memoranda of their appearance ;
and these may, by affording means of comparison with the
observations of more scientific individuals in other and distant
parts of the country, be useful in a meteorological view.

The aurora borealis had been marked on the night of the
17th, and early in the morning of the 18th. The prevalence,
however, of an almost uniform stratum of cloud prevented, at
the time of my observation, any other appearance than that
of considerably diffused and reddish light along the northern
horizon. About 1 a.m., this light was equal in intensity to
strong moonlight in a clouded night.

On the evening of the 18th, circumstances were highly fa-
vourable for observation. Soon after sunset, considerable light
was seen to be diffused along the northern horizon, assuming,
about 8 p.m., the appearance of a broad and ill-defined bank

at Swafiswick, near Bath. 27

of hazy light. From a quarter before nine, till a quarter past
nine p.m., the phenomena were of the most striking description.
A broad, elliptical, but ill-defined, arc of light extended from
about e. by n. to w. by n. The altitude of the centre of this
arc of light, which, at a quarter before nine, p.m., was about 30°,
became gradually less ; the arc itself finally, as it were, dis-
solving, and leaving only a general and faint light along the
horizon. Meanwhile, however, streams of light, varying in
intensity and breadth, were sent up from different parts of the
arc, at irregular intervals, towards, and reaching, the zenith ;
sometimes appearing stationary ; at others, visibly moving
with great velocity. But the most remarkable feature of the
phenomenon was the rapidity and intensity of the coruscations,
often thrown up simultaneously from almost all parts of the
arc of light, and producing an effect somewhat similar to the
consecutive and concentric waves on a pond after throwing in
a stone : there were certain parts of the heavens in which these
waves of light were usually much more brilliant than in others.
These coruscations were very similar in appearance to those
in the imitative-aurora electrical experiment in the exhausted
flask ; and they followed, often, so rapidly, and in masses of
such breadth, as to have somewhat the effect of immense clouds
of luminous striated smoke.

The arc of light, when first observed, about a quarter before
nine p.m., passed across the stars^ a and /3 (the pointers) in
Ursa Major. The principal stars in that constellation were
visible through the luminous arc, but somewhat feebly. About
the zenith, and extending eastward as far as the Pleiades, the
clouds of luminous matter darted sometimes from e. by s. to-
wards the n., and sometimes from e. to w. A considerable
breadth of the heavens between the N.w. and the w. was
overspread with a dull red light. About nine p.m. a bright
meteor, or falling star, was observed ; it appeared about the
middle of the constellation Camelopardus ; its direction was
opposite to that of the auroral coruscations, darting towards
the n.e. point of the horizon ; and its train visible, probably
about 10° or 15°.

Thebarometer, which, at the place of observation, stood, on
the 13th, at 29*86, had gradually sunk, at nine a.m. on the
18th, to 29*49, but at ten p.m. had risen again to 29*52.

The minimum temperature of several preceding days had
varied from 30° to 36° Fahr. ; but in the night, between the
17th and 18th, had not been lower than 42°.

The wind had gradually veered from n. on the 15th, to
n. by w. on the 16th, and w. by n. on the 17th, to w. on the
1 8th, and blew steadily, and rather briskly, during the whole

28 Aurora Borealis near London.

of the evening of this day. The morning of the 18th pre-
sented extensive and almost continuous sheets of cumulo-
stratus, followed by '03 of fine rain; but, excepting a few clouds,
ranking under the denomination of cirro-cumuli, the night was
clear and beautiful.

The auroral light was sufficient to throw considerable, though
indistinct, shadows of near objects on a whitened wall. About
eleven p.m. no trace of the aurora remained, except a faint
luminosity in the northern horizon.

The minimum temperature of the succeeding night was 37°
Fahr., and the barometer rose to 29*59, the morning being
fine and clear, with the wind n. by w.

P. S. — I may add, that the minimum temperature of the 21st
and 22d has been 50° Fahr. — Swanswick, about two mites
north of Bath, November 20. 1335.

Art. IX. Particulars on Appearances of Instances of Aurora
Borealis observed in the Neighbourhood of London^ on Novem-
ber 17-18. and 18. 1835; and on Events in the Weather subse-
quently: with Remarks relative to the Question of the Shower of
Meteors annually occurrent about Nov, 13. By W. H. White,
Esq.

The two beautiful exhibitions of aurora, on Tuesday and
Wednesday evening last, must have afforded great pleasure
to every lover of meteorological science who witnessed them.
The first of them appeared about 1 1 p. M. on the 1 7th, and
played about the n. and n. w. for about an hour, exhibiting
every variety of form and colour that imagination could well
picture : indeed, so much did the appearance resemble a na-
tural fire at a distance, that we are told by a paragraph in
the Times of Thursday, that " sixty men and twelve fire-en-
gines" hastened towards some "dreadful conflagation ! "
About midnight, clouds intervened, and the fire became ex-
tinguished ; but the aurora again burst forth about 3 a.m.,
so that the firemen were again on the alert ; and so completely
were they deceived by the appearance (though I regret I did
not witness this second exhibition myself), that several of the
fire-engines actually went as far as to Hampstead, and others
to Kilburn, before the men were undeceived. This aurora
was followed by a steady gale about 4 p. m. on Wednesday,
which lasted about two hours, and terminated by a heavy
shower ; after which the evening was calm, clear and mild ;
and

An Aurora of a very different character appeared about 8

On the Question of Annual Meteoric Display. 29

p.m., which sent forth dartings of white light, which appeared
not much unlike that beautiful playful lightning often wit-
nessed on a clear summer's evening. A little before 9 p. m.
columns of white light shot up from an immense arc, about
30° of altitude, which was stretched across the horizon from
n.w. to n.n.e. This luminous arc appeared to form a part of a
circle, the greater portion of which was below the horizon,
and of which, I should suppose, the sun formed the centre, as
the arc gradually moved towards the east, and at the same time
diminished in its altitude, as the aurora became more faint :
few traces were left at 11 p.m. The streams of light, which
"reared their heads" as high as the zenith (and sometimes be-
yond), and which issued from the arc, and sometimes from
within it, followed each other in swift undulatory motion,
stretched from w. to the Pleiades, over which it appeared
sometimes as if a veil of the finest texture was thrown, as
they were perfectly visible through it. Few, if any, of the
columns were tinged with colour. Rain followed on Friday
morning, when the massive clouds that followed indicated a
stormy atmosphere.

The meteoric Shower ', expected about the 12th of the present
month, I fear has not been very distinctly seen this year. I
have only seen one meteor, and that was on the night of the
12th, at 10 minutes before 11 p.m. It appeared near the
North Pole Star, and passed off just below the Pleiades,
leaving a short train of light behind. Evenings were generally
cloudy and unfit for observation.

Old Kent Road, Nov. 20. 1835.

Art. X. Notices of Facts in Application to the Question of the
Occurrence of an extraordinary Display of Meteors every Year,
on about Nov. 13.; and on the Displays of Aurora on Nov. 17.
18-19. 1835. By the Rev. W. B. Clarke, A.M. F.G.S., &c.

There was no meteoric display seen here on the night of
Nov. 12-13. 1835, nor on any preceding or succeeding night
up to this date. The sky was clear and favourable on the
1 2th, 1 3th, and 1 4th : it had been for several days obscured,
as also on the 1 5th and 1 7th. The wind in the east, and
north-east, and north, from the 10th to the 17th; on the 17th
it came from the west : the cold previously inconvenient to
the feelings; thermometer exposed, 35° to 50° at noon. On
the 6th, at 7 J a. m., a splendid meteor was seen at Bristol, in
the east, about 20° high, emitting blue and red sparks, with

30 On the Question of Annual Meteoric Display.

a long train, the circumference nearly as large as a man's
head. Rain followed at noon, lasting till night. On the
15th and 16th falling stars, not numerous, but frequent, a
little to the south of the zenith, at this place ; direction gene-
rally to the north-east. Clouds immediately followed, obscur-
ing the stars, before seen distinctly. No snow or frosts here
this autumn, save one or two hoar-frosts. On the 17th, at
7 p. M., in the south, the aurora rather bright, streaming
from a very black cloud, extremely low in the atmosphere.
Stanley Green, Nov. 19. 1835.

[An addition subsequently made by Mr. Clarke.]

12th. — At 9J p.m. a splendid meteor rushed from the Pleiades
to Ursa Major, leaving a train of sparks and balls of fire,
which were visible several seconds after the meteor vanished.

14th. — Very sudden cold, with frost and snow, at Stras-
bourg ; thermometer there at — 7° R. Cold more intense
in other places of Rhenish Bavaria ; the thermometer at
— 12° R.

17th.— Clouded; aurora in the south, about 30° high ; night
very dark.

18th. — Splendid aurora, with merry dancers, from half-past
7 p.m. to 1 a.m. on 19th; the beams and coruscations shot
up past the zenith ; a triple arch formed. The cloud upon
which the lowest was formed gradually disappeared to the
north. By the accounts from Lincolnshire, Cumberland,
Middlesex, Kent, &c, it appears that aurorae were visible
all that night over those counties ; but, by comparison of the
time, it also appears that the aurorae travelled northerly,
appearing later constantly in that direction. There must
have been many that night ; and, from observations made here,
I think they were not very high, but greatly extended. The
magnetic needle vibrated perpendicularly during each fresh
jet and rush of the light to the zenith.

18-1 9th (night). — Tremendous gale at Hamburgh and Cux-
haven from the north-west, producing great inundation. — Ice
broke up at Riga. The wind changed in the south of Eng-
land to west, with rain, just before the aurora. During the
time it was brightest, several meteors shot along the line, per-
pendicular to the auroral rays ; and one or two along the
edge of the cloud, leaving trains, immediately after which the
wind freshened.

Stanley Green, Dorsetshire, Nov. 28. 1835.

Weather attending Instances of Aurora Borealis. 31

Art. XI. Remarks on Appearances of the Display of Aurora on
November 18. 1835, as observed in Norfolk. By Mr. Samuel
Taylor. Extracted from a Letter to the Conductor.

Did you see the aurora borealis last night (18th) ? I cer-
tainly never witnessed any thing so splendid. The whole
northern hemisphere seemed a blaze of mild white light : an
immensely wide-spread arch, or bow, from which issued the
most brilliant coruscations ; sometimes shooting up in long
flashes, or flakes, as it were ; and at others rolling upwards
like waves, only with infinitely greater rapidity. These
rapidly succeeding waves of light reminded me of mist driven
by a strong wind up the mountain sides. Have not you seen
such ? What is the cause of this phenomenon ? It seems
intended as a provision for light ; but, if so, why does it occur
so seldom ? Many of our nights are totally dark ; though I
suppose, at these very times, other and more northern regions
are benefited by the aurora. The day with us had been un-
usually stormy, with occasional heavy rain ; but the evening
was uncommonly clear, and the stars displayed great bril-
liancy. This morning the air was mild, the sun shone
brightly, but the evening was cloudy. I do not know why,
but the wise in such matters tell us we are to have a hard
winter ; of which, as they say, the early appearance of wood-
cocks, and other birds of passage, is a sure indication. Has
the aurora borealis aught to do in this matter ? I should
fancy not ; because I remember that two years ago, though
not so brilliant as last night, still very brilliant it assuredly
was ; and yet we had a mild winter, as, indeed, we had last
year.

Whitlington, Stoke Ferry > Norfolk, Nov. 19. 1835.

Art. XII. A Statement of the Condition of the Weather, chiefly
the Direction of the Wind, before and after Instances of Aurora
Borealis, observed at Dundee in 1833 and 1834 ; and an Account
of Instances of Aurora Borealis, and other Meteoric Phenomena^
observed at Dundee in Dec. 1834, and in part of 1835. By Mr.
William Gardiner, Jun.

Agreeably to the desire of Mr. W. H. White (VIII. 345.),
I supply a few statements respecting the direction of the winds
before and after the time of my observing of the instances of the
aurora borealis, in 1833 and 1834 (VIII. 94—96.).

In the first column of the following tabular view, the dates
of the auroral appearances are given as registered in VIII.

32

Condition of the Weather attending Instances

95, 96. ; in the second, the prevailing winds preceding the dis-
plays, and in the third, those succeeding them.

1833.

April 5.

1 — 4. east, strong; 5. west.

11.

9. w.j 10. s.w., stormy; 11. n.

May 1 6.

12. s.w.; 15. s.; 16. s.w.

17.

17. south-west.

June 4.

May 31. s., thunder; June 1.

s. w. ; 4. e.

Aug. 6.

4. w. ; 5. n., strong; 6. s.w.

20.

ll.N.w.; 13.N.E.; 17— 20.N.W.

Sept. 1.

Aug. 31. n., strong; Sep. 1. n.,

strong.

9.

8. east ; 9. the same.

12.

11. south; 12. west.

17.

17. north-east.

18.

18. north-west.

19.

19. north-west.

Oct. 6.

2. east; 6. west.

8.

8. south-west.

10.

10. south, strong.

11.

11. south-east to south-west.

12.

12. north-west.

15.

15. south-west.

Nov. 2.

1. n.w., hard gale; 2. var.

3.

3. west.

5.

5. south-west.

6.

6. south-west.

7.

7. north-west.

8.

8. north-west — south-west.

15.

14, 15. south-east.

16.

16. south-east.

23.

23. south-west.

Dec. 4.

3. north-west; 4. south-west.

9.

9. south-west.

29.

26. south-west ; 29. strong gale

1834.

Feb 9.

4. south-east ; 6 — 9. s.w.

Mar. 5.

1. s.w.; 2.W.; 3 — 4. s.w., vio-

lent gale.

6.

6. south-west.

7.

7. south-west.

9.

9. south-west.

10.

10. north-west.

30.

28. s. stormy; 29. n.w.; 30. s.w.

31.

31. south-west.

6. e.; 8. s.w.; rain and thun-
der, 7 and 8.

12. N.w.; 13. s.w.; 18. n.w.;
19 — 29. w. and s.w.

17. south-west.

19. s.e.; 21. s.w ; 25. N., strong

6. s.w.; 12. N., strong; tre-
mendous thunder storm, on 1 1 .

7. s. ; 8. e. ; 9. n., thunder
and heavy showers.

21. s.; 22. s.w., strong gale.

2. s.w.; 3. n.; 5. s.w.

10. south-west and south.

13. south-east ; 15. east.

18. north-west.

19. north-west.

20. var.; 21. s.w.; 22. s.e.,
very strong; 25. s.

7. south-west.
9. south-west.

11. south-east to south-west.

12. north-west.

14. south-wesf, strong.

16. n.e.; 18. w.; 20. stormy at
night ; 24. east.

3. west, strong.

4. north-west, strong.

6. south-west, strong gale.

7. north-west.

8. evening, south-west.
9 — 13. south-west.

16. south-east.

17. w.; 18. s.w.; 21—22. s.w.,
violent gale.

25. n.w.j 28. s.e., violent gale.

5. s.w., stormy, lightning j
6. w.j 7. s.w.

11. s.w. to n.w.j 13. s.w.j

21. n.j 25. n.w.
31. north.

10. south-west; 13. west.

6. south-west, violent gale.

7. south-west, calmer.

8. s.w., violent, gradually dy-

ing away.
10. north-west.

12. s.w.j 13. s.e.j equinoctial

gale, 22, to 25.
31. south-west.
April 2. west.

of Aurora Borealis observed at Dundee.

33

April 4.

3. north-west; 4. south-west.

5. N.w.; 7. s.w.; 8— 11. n.
and n.e.

28.

24. s.w.; 28. n.e., stormy.

29. north-east ; May 2. east.

May 3.

3. south-west.

4. south-west.

5.

5. south-west.

6. south-west.

7.

7. south-west.

9. north-west.

12.

11. south-west.

13. s.w.; 15. E.; 18. w.; 22. e.

June21.

9 — 21. mostly south.

23. var. ; 29. east.

July 18.

15. s.w.; 18. n.e., strong.

19 — 20. north-east, stormy.

25.

25. north-east.

26. n.e. strong gale ; 31. s.w.

Aug.31.

27. north-west ; 30. south-west.

Sep. 1. south-west.

Sept. 1.

1. south-west.

2 — 5. south-west.

6.

6. north-west

8. n.b.; 13. s.w.

Oct. 1.

1. south-west.

2. south-west.

3.

3. south-west.

4. s.w., strong gale.

4.

4. south-west.

5. south-west.

5.

5. south-west.

6. south-west.

6.

6, south-west.

7. n.w., strong; s.w., even.

7.

7. north-west.

8 — 9. s.w., strong gale; 17,
N.w., violent.

23.

21 — 23. north-west boisterous.

24. north-west, loud.

26.

26. west.

27. south-west.

29.

28—29. south-west.

30 — 31. s.w., very stormy.

Nov. 2.

1 — 2. south-west, stormy.

3. to 5. almost a hurricane.

3.

3. south-west.

6. north ; 17. s.w.

Dec. 4.

1. s.w., very stormy; 2. n.w.;
3. s.w.

5. south-west.

5.

5. south-west.

6. south-west.

6.

6. south-west.

7. s.w., very"stormy; 8. n.w.,
strong.

In December, 1834, there were two aurorse observed here,
additional to those recorded in VIII. 96., the one on the even-
ing of the 21st, and the other on that of the 22d. The 21st
was a most delightful day, and made one fancy that midwinter
was wed with midsummer; for the trees, shrubs, and herbage,
though denuded of their green glory and blossomy grandeur,
were profusely decorated with beautiful frost-flowers, among
which the sun's light sported in all the glowing tints of a warmer
season ; the air was clear and healthful ; and the flocks of
finches and larks that bivouacked about the hedges and fields,
evinced, by the sprightliness of their motions, and their half-
warbled ditties of gladness, a much greater share of vivacity
than is usually shown by them at this season. The manifest-
ation of the aurora in the evening was splendid, but that on
the succeeding night was much more brilliant and extensive,
and the streamers kept up their airy revels till next morning.
On the 19th, a hard frost had set in, which continued till the
afternoon of the 29th, with the exception of a thaw of short
duration on the 23d. The wind was chiefly westerly until the
29th, when it shifted to the s.w., and brought fresh weather,
with an ample outpouring of rain during that night and next
Vol. IX. — No. 57. d

34 Condition of the Weather attending Instances

day. These auroras were followed by a very dense hoar-
frost, but no immediate fall of rain in this locality, although
in Dorsetshire (see VIII. 144.), there was^rain on the evening
of the 24th.

Up to this date, in the present year, 1835, there have been
only six manifestations of the phenomenon, and none of these of
very great brilliancy. The first occurred on the evening of
January 4th, consisting of a beautifully stratified arch of light
and shade, rising to a considerable distance above the horizon,
and throwing out a few rather vivid streamers. The wind
was s.w., with a strong frost, and on the 5th, 6th, and 7th, the
sky was obscured, and the streets whitened with a hoar-frost
that was falling like a shower ; or, in the homely words of our
good old dames, there was " a smore o' rime to th' very
doors." There was a thaw on the 6th, but of short continu-
ance, as the frost overcame it in the evening. On the 10th,
there was a lunar halo; and on the morning of the 11th, a
large and well-defined halo encircled the sun, showing dis-
tinctly all the colours in the prismatic spectrum, and curiously
intersected by long streaks of whitish clouds. The wind
veered to n.e. in the evening, and there was a heavy fall of
snow, followed next day by a thaw with rain ; wind s.e. On
the 19th, there was a violent snow-storm; and, on the 20th,
the frost was so intense, that the Perth steamer was stopped
from plying on account of the state of the river with ice*
Mild fresh weather succeeded; the sky-lark was in full song
on the 29th ; and on the 30th, the blackbird and thrush poured
the rich sweetness of their mellow song. The next aurora
was on February 7th, and vivid. On the 5th, the wind was
n.w., and the 7th s.w., and on the 8th n.w. again, and stormy,
with rain and snow. On the 3d of March there was an aurora,
but neither brilliant nor extensive ; and on the 4th a fire-
ball, wind N.w. The weather was very stormy from the 25th of
February to the middle of March. On the 5th, the wind was
s.w., with much rain in the evening, and on the 7th n.e., with
a heavy fall of snow. On the 25th, there was another aurora,
without coruscations; wind n.w., accompanied with much
hoar-frost, and followed by cloudy weather, but no rain till the
the 31st, when a good quantity fell. Wind n.e. on the 27th,
s.w. on the 28th, and E. on the 31st.

There were no more aurorae until the 24th of September; but
on the 1 1th of August there was a thunderstorm of such awful
intensity, as will render it memorable in this quarter for many
a day. It began about seven o'clock in the evening, and con-
tinued till past midnight, during which period a scene of such
terrific grandeur was presented as is seldom witnessed, except

of Aurora Borealis observed at Dundee. 35

in tropical climates. The approach of the storm was indicated
by a distant growl, which grew louder as it advanced, and the
lightnings streamed from the gathering clouds. As the dark-
ness increased the lightnings became more vivid, and revelled
in all the exuberance of their wayward fancy, darting from
cloud to cloud their forked splendours, and tossing from hea-
ven to earth, and from earth to heaven, their broad sheets and
bright balls of living flame. About ten o'clock, the storm
reached the acme of its magnificence, and was then dreadfully
appalling. The darkness was now so intense that the tops of
the houses in the streets were rendered invisible; but the gloom
was only momentary, for the lightnings flashed incessantly,
and with more brilliancy than ever ; the thunder was one wild
and deafening roar, —

" Peal on peal
Crushed horrible, convulsing heaven and earth," —

and the rain rushed down in an almost unbroken torrent.
The rain was not of long duration ; but the thunder continued
to bellow tremendously till nearly midnight, when it gradually
died away in the n.e., and the lightnings were seen to flash
for two or three hours longer. In Forfar a young man fell a
victim to the fury of the elements in his own bed ; and pro-
perty in various places sustained different degrees of injury.

On the evening of September 24th, there was an aurora with
coruscations betwixt^ten and twelve o'clock, but not extensive ;
none of the streamers rising above Ursa Major. On the
23d and 24th there was a brisk gale from s w., which in-
creased in strength on the 25th, but slackened about noon ;
and rain fell from one till four, and again in the evening. On
the 27th there was much rain; on the 28th a cold stormy
breeze, rain with and lightning ; and on the 29th a violent
gale.

The last aurora observed here was on October 21., and,
though not of great brightness, attracted the attention of those
who were gazing towards the western sky at the dim form of
Halley's comet. It was accompanied with many shooting-
stars. From the 12th to the 20th the wind had been s.w. ; on
the 21st it was n.w., and on the morning of the 22d s.w. again,
but shifted to e. during the day, and blew in violent gusts in
the evening, with rain from eight till ten o'clock. On the 26th,
there was a severe storm of wind and rain, which was much
more terrible in its consequences than the thunder storm of
August 1 1. The 25th was cold, with an easterly wind, the
barometer suddenly sunk very low, and in the evening rain
began to fall, and continued till next day, being very heavy

d 2

36 Aurora Borealis observed at Norwich.

about midnight. At an early hour on the morning of the 26th,
the wind began to blow from n. or n.e. with terrific violence,
and continued till noon. The streets were strewed with frag-
ments of chimney-cans, bricks, slates, stones, mortar, &c. ;
and the lead was torn from the roofs of the churches and
houses, and hung dangling in the gale. The chimney-stalk
of the engine-house at the top of the first inclined plane of the
railway fell with a dreadful crash, and killed two men on the
spot. The destruction of wood was immense. On the estate
of Burnside, near Forfar, it is said 1100 trees (some of large
size) were torn up by the roots ; the wood of Turin was in
ruins ; and the road between Forfar and Glammis was blocked
up with huge trees. In Balgay wood, in the vicinity of Dun-
dee, after the storm, I counted upwards of 100 large trees,
principally alders and larches, laid prostrate on the earth ;
and in other places I saw instances of trees with their trunks
snapt asunder at a few feet from the ground, where they mea-
sured 3 ft. or 4 ft. in circumference. The river Almond, the
Water of Leith, the N. and S. Esk, and other streams, were
so much swollen that they overflowed their banks, and did
much damage to the adjacent country. The Tweed rose 10 ft.,
and the Tyne 7 ft., above their usual level. At Stonehaven the
hurricane tore up trees by the roots and dashed them about,
and threw down stacks of corn, and scattered the sheaves over
the fields ; and was accompanied with torrents of rain, which
made the Carron burst its boundaries and inundate the town.
Banff was also flooded ; and the destruction of property there,
as well as at other places, was very great.
Dundee, Forfarshire. Nov. 13. 1835.

Art. XIII. A Notice of the Display of Aurora on Nov. 18. 1835,
as observed at Norwich. By Samuel Woodward, Esq.

On Wednesday evening, November 18., at from nine to ten
o'clock, this phenomenon was more brilliant than I had ever
seen it. The movement of the luminous particles so strongly
reminded me of the play of light On the surface of the sea on
a warm summer evening, which, although the agent is a mi-
nute Medusa, the ruling cause is no other than electricity.
To a common observer, the movement of the aurora on this
evening would have been attributed to the w r ind ; as the elec-
trical current which produced the flashes, affected also the
remaining foliage of the trees, in the same way that a current
of air would ; the wind at the time was southerly. — Nor-
wich, November 28. 1835.

Mammalian Fossils found in Norfolk, 3 7

Art. XIV. On the Fossil Remains of Elephants, and other large
Mammalia, found in Norfolk. By Robert Bakewell, Esq.

During a visit of some weeks in the present autumn (1835)
to Cromer and the eastern side of Norfolk, I have examined
many of the fossil remains of large Mammalia, particularly
those of the elephant, which are found so abundantly in this
part of the kingdom that it might be geologically called the
Land of Elephants. I believe the number of grinders and
bones of the elephant that have been recently discovered on
the north-east coast of Norfolk exceeds the aggregate amount
of all that have been elsewhere found in Great Britain of
which we have any record.

It is only within a few years that these fossil remains have
been generally known. Mr. R. C. Taylor, formerly a resi-
dent in Norfolk, published a brief account of the geology of
the eastern part of that county, in the Philosophical Magazine,
in 1822, accompanied with a print of a mutilated grinder of
an elephant, from a drawing by himself: this it may be pre-
sumed he would not have given had perfect specimens been
as abundant as at present The fishermen who formerly
dredged up large bones and teeth from the oyster banks at
Hapsborough, threw them away, or broke them to pieces in
ignorant sport.

I propose, in the following observations, to notice the more
remarkable fossil remains of the elephant, the hippopotamus,
the rhinoceros, and the mastodon, which I examined in dif-
ferent collections near Cromer, and at Norwich, and to men-
tion the state of preservation in which they occur in the prin-
cipal situations where they are found. In a future Number I
intend to offer some further remarks on this great deposition
of mammalian remains, and to say something respecting the
beds of sand and gravel which in Norfolk are provincially
called "crag," wherever they occur. Had these beds re-
tained the common designation of sand and gravel, they
would never have acquired the geological importance they
have so absurdly attained. Strangers, who were unacquainted
with the meaning of the word " crag " in Norfolk, supposed,
when it was introduced into geology, that it was something
novel and important, different from the beds of ancient sand
and gravel on Hampstead Heath and other parts of the Vale
of Thames. From this error I have been relieved by my late
visit to that county. The occasional and irregular occurrence
of shells is an accidental and not an essential character : but
of this more hereafter.

d 3

38 On the Fossil Remains of Elephants,

Among the large Pachydermata of Norfolk, I have placed
the mastodon, which, however, I have done doubtfully, for
reasons that will be stated.

The Elephant, — The fossil remains of this animal are far
more numerous than those of the other genera. I believe
there were more than one hundred grinders in the collections
I examined, and I was infoi-med that the single collection of
the Rev. J. Layton, formerly of Catfield, Norfolk, but now
removed to Sandwich, contains not less than one hundred
grinders of the elephant: very few tusks have been discovered
entire, but numerous fragments are constantly found. The
bones that are the most common in collections are, as might
be expected from their great size, the pelvis and the femur:
very few vertebral bones have been preserved. The entire
head of an elephant, with the tusks projecting from the sand,
was discovered at Cromer u few weeks before I was there ;
the boys who found it amused themselves with breaking the
tusks, and beating to pieces the skull. The jaws, with grind-
ers in them, escaped mutilation, and are now in the possession
of Mr. Wyndham of Felbrook Park, where I examined them ;
they are of an enormous size.

Cabinet naturalists might please themselves with the dis-
covery of several species of elephants among the remains found
in Norfolk ; but I am persuaded that many, if not all, of what
would be regarded as specific differences in the form of the
grinders, are mere variations, arising from age and the differ-
ent stages of developement. In several specimens, the plates
or laminae of the teeth, presented, in one part, the character
of the Asiatic, and in another part of the same tooth that of
the African species. The laminae at one end of the tooth
sometimes resembled the pointed tubercles on the tooth of
the mastodon. The peculiar mode of dention of the elephant
occasions a great diversity of form in the grinder of the same
individual; this is so clearly and briefly described by Cuvierthat
I will translate the passage : " The distinctive character of the
elephant consits in the grinders (machelieres), the body of which
are composed of a certain number of vertical laminae, formed of
a bony substance enveloped in enamel, and bound together by
a third substance called cortical, such as may be seen in the
teeth of the guinea pig and other gnawing animals (rongeurs).
The grinders of the elephant succeed each other, not by being
pushed up vertically like human teeth, but they are driven
forward from behind by the new grinder, as the old one
wears away. Thus the elephant has sometimes one, and
sometimes two grinders in each jaw; that is from four to eight
on the whole, according to the epoch of dentition. The first

rinders have few laminae ; those which succeed them have

and other large Mammalia, found in Norfolk, 39

always more. It is said that certain elephants change their
grinders eight times. Their tusks are only changed once."
(Regne Animal, torn. i. 239.) [Mag. Nat. Hist, vi. 392, 393.]
Such being the mode of dentition, it is evident that the grind-
ers of the elephant, from the same individual, admit of a great
diversity of appearance. In the new grinder, before it is gra-
dually brought into action the upper surface of the laminae,
presents a succession of rounded ridges ; but at one end of
the grinder they are often pointed and tubercular, like the
smaller tubercles on the tooth of the mastodon, and a portion
of the grinder broken off in this part, might be, and I believe
has been, mistaken for a part of a grinder of the latter animal.
In a few grinders which I examined, the laminae appeared
nearly as broad as those of the Mastodon latidens from
Java.

The Hippopotamus. — The remains of this animal are far
more scarce than those of the elephant. I only saw three
grinders in the different collections, and a few of the incisive
teeth. Mr. S. Woodward of Norwich has in his collection
a very large canine tooth or tusk with the same singular un-
dulations and markings on the surface as may be seen on the
tusk of the recent hippopotamus, of which there is a head in
the Norwich Museum. Part of a similar tusk was given to
me at Cromer.

The Rhinoceros. — Of this animal I saw only four molar
teeth, three of which were perfect. As the living animals of
this genus have a great number of teeth (according to Cuvier
twenty-eight), it may be inferred that the rhinoceros, as well
as the hippopotamus, was a comparatively rare animal at the
epoch when elephants flourished so abundantly in northern
latitudes : it is true that the teeth of the rhinoceros, being
much smaller than those of the elephant, may be more
difficult to find. However this may be, it is probable that, as
the hippopotamus and rhinoceros require the vicinity of large
rivers for their accommodation, they were never so numerous
as the elephants, which enjoy a wider range of country, and
are naturally gregarious.

The Mastodon. — The remains of this animal have not
hitherto been discovered in any part of England, except in
the county of Norfolk ; and even there, I think their occur-
rence at present problematical.

A fragment of a tooth, said to be of the mastodon, found at
Bramerton near Norwich, was shown to me in the museum ;
and when I first examined it, I had little doubt that it was
correctly named, but after I had seen several grinders of the
elephant, in which the parts not brought into action presented

d 4

40 On the Fossil Remains of Elephants,

a cluster of tubercular projections, like the smaller tubercles
on the tooth of the mastodon, I became very uncertain res-
pecting the animal to which the tooth in the Norwich Museum
really belonged. In the collection of Miss Johnson of Nor-
wich there is a fragment of an elephant's grinder, which bears
as close a resemblance to that of the mastodon as the specimen
in the Museum, and yet there can be no doubt of its belonging
to the elephant, as similar tubercles may be seen in other
teeth, in which the greater part of the laminae present the
true elephantine character of parallel laminae. Mr. Wood-
ward has a fragment of the same tooth as that in the museum,
but it is too small to determine its character. The question
might perhaps be determined by an examination of the in-
ternal structure. The tooth of the supposed mastodon, des-
cribed by Mr. William Smith, I have never seen. There
can indeed be no reason alleged, why the remains of the
mastodon may not be found in England, as they have been
found in several countries in Europe. I have in my collection
a large well-characterised grinder of the mastodon, which was
found near Grenoble, along with teeth and bones of the gi-
gantic tapir and the rhinoceros. A large and perfect grinder
of the mastodon was found at Alpnach in Switzerland, under
300 ft. of solid strata of limestone and sandstone. I saw it in
the museum of Professor Meisner of Berne, who presented
me with specimens of the strata, and a correct drawing of the
tooth, which is copied in the fourth edition of my Introduction
to Geology, and which distinctly shows the small tubercles at
the end, precisely similar to the tubercles on some of the
grinders of the fossil elephants of Norfolk.

The number of the mammalian remains lately discovered
on or near the coast between Cromer and Hapsborough, a
distance of about twelve miles, cannot now be ascertained.
Mr. Woodward in his Outline of the Geology of Norfolk, pub-
lished in 1833, says, " that the grinders found on the oyster-
ground of Hapsborough, warrant us in concluding that up-
wards of five hundred elephants were deposited in that limited
space." These fossil remains also occur imbedded in a thin
stratum of blue clay, covered by a stratum of gravel, near the
bottom of the Cliffs at Cromer, and extending thence to
the sea, where the chalk on which these beds rest may be
traced during very low tides, ranging along the coast. As
the Cliffs of Cromer are chiefly composed of sand and of clay,
which has little tenacity, they are annually falling down and
receding, and the elephant stratum becomes more and more
exposed. Beside these localities, in which the remains are
embedded, the action of the tides is constantly throwing bones
and grinders among th*»> shingles and on the sand, where

and other large Mammalia, found in Norfolk. 4 1

they are collected, and are sold to the visiters of Cromer,
and distributed over, the kingdom, or deposited in private
collections in Norfolk. It has already been mentioned that
numerous specimens were destroyed before their value was
known.

The total amount of these elephantine and other remains
recently found is very great ; but it is impossible to form a
conjecture respecting the numbers that have been turned up
by the tides and destroyed in preceding ages. It appears
highly probable that flocks of elephants have lived and perished
at no great distance from the land where their remains are
now so abundantly distributed : but I must, for the present,
postpone my remarks on this subject and on the Norfolk crag,
and shall conclude with some observations on the state of
preservation in which these fossil remains are found.

The bones and grinders thrown on the coast by the tides
are, as might be expected, often more or less waterworn, par-
ticularly the vertebral bones : the teeth are frequently very
little abraded. The remains from the oyster-beds of Haps-
borough, which, I believe, are chiefly gravel, are often in
high preservation, and are very hard, from the mineral matter
with which they are penetrated. It is well known that organic
remains of all kinds generally receive a colour from the stra-
tum in which they are imbedded ; thus the bones from the
gypsum and gypseous marl of Montmartre are almost always
nearly white, while those in the dark lias clay are black. The
grinders from Hapsborough gravel-bank have generally a
reddish-brown colour, derived from the oxide of iron in the
gravel : they have, also, frequently a glossy kind of varnish
on the surface. The remains imbedded in blue clay have
commonly a blueish-grey colour, and are sometimes penetrated
by pyrites, and have undergone a degree of chemical decom-
position. In some specimens, the colour approaches to dark
or blackish-brown. Some of the bones are still porous, the gela-
tine and other animal matter has been removed, and the place
has not been supplied by the substitution of mineral matter :
other bones are extremely hard. The specific gravity of a
polished portion of a fossil grinder I compared with that of a
portion of a polished recent grinder from India. Both speci-
mens were very compact, and appeared to have been cut from
grinders of nearly the same size.

Specific gravity of the grinder from India, 2'08

of the fossil grinder from Cromer, 2*73

It thus appears, that the fossil tooth had gained an accession
of weight of nearly one third.

42 Geological Conditions of the Chalk,

In describing the fossil teeth as being often very perfect, I
refer to the crown and body of the tooth ; for, in many spe-
cimens, where these parts have undergone no abrasion, the
lower part or roots are more or less wanting ; yet I am in-
clined to believe that they have not been water-worn or che-
mically decomposed. If the teeth of the elephant are pro-
truded from behind, their original roots must be more or less
absorbed to admit of the tooth being moved forward in a
nearly horizontal direction ; and this mode of dentition may
explain why many of the fossil grinders, in other respects per-
fect, have their roots very much shortened.

The head of the elephant before mentioned, found near
Cromer, had suffered little from mechanical action when first
discovered ; and it is scarcely possible to believe that this
head with its tusks had been drifted very far from the place
where the animal perished : if this be admitted, it will render
a similar inference probable respecting the other mammalian
remains in its vicinity.

Hampstead, December 12. 1835.

Art. XV. A Description of the Geological Conditions of the
Chalk, and Argillaceous Beds, at Ballingdon Hill, Essex, with
Inferences. By John Brown, Esq.

The observation of your intelligent correspondent [Mr.
Hunter] in speaking, in VIII. 597., of the limestone quarries
and petrifying spring of Pounceford, Sussex ; and in his
allusion to what Dr. Fitton says, that no opportunity should
be omitted of examining and measuring strata in highly cul-
tivated districts, is perhaps as applicable to the spot under
review as the locality which he has so ably illustrated, although
it be another portion of the field of geological inquiry; as, in
both localities, agricultural pursuits are carried out to their
full extent : and, perchance, another reason will avail us here,
for briefly noticing the geology of this interesting locality,
namely, the level and unbroken surface, and the generally
monotonous character of the Essex strata. These are some of
the reasons why I communicate an observation or two that oc-
curred to me during a brief survey of this part of our county.

A favourable opportunity has been offered, during the last
spring and summer, for ascertaining the geological structure
and the mineral contents of one of the highest hills in this
part of the county of Essex, by removing the upper part of
Ballingdon Hill for about 30 ft., in a vertical direction from
the top, and for a considerable way down ; and carrying the
earth to the lower part to improve the London road.

and Argillaceous Beds, at Ballingdon Hill, 43

The upper parts of this hill are composed of a stiff clay,
interspersed with nodules of chalk, and numerous large boul-
ders of granite, gneiss, and of other members of the primary
class ; accompanied by pebbles and boulders of the secondary
and trap rocks, and many organic remains, those from the
lias formation being the most numerous. The beds of clay
are horizontally stratified from the chalk on which they repose
to the summit of the hill. According to my measurement,
the superincumbent clay is 123 ft. in thickness. The colour
of this clay, near the surface, is dark brown ; but lower down,
it is of a dark blue colour. The latter colour, and the cha-
racter, of the organic remains found in it (which may be seen
in the accompanying list) would indicate that it is the lias
formation which has contributed most to its accumulation.

Mr. Woodward, in his Outline of the Geology of East Nor-
folk, makes the same observation on the Cliffs between Hasbro*
[Hapsborough] and Cromer.

This clay forms the surface of the country, and the upper
parts of many of the hills in this neighbourhood, both in this
county and in Suffolk adjoining ; and it has been notorious,
for many years past, that Ammonites, Gryphites, Belemnites,
beautifully preserved, with many other organic fossils of the
secondary rocks, have been frequently turned out of the soil
by the plough, and in agricultural processes.

I collected, at intervals, the mineral specimens and the
organic fossils which compose the following list, while the
works were in progress ; and I have no doubt but the list
might have been much longer had more time been devoted
to it.

Mineral Specimens found in the Clay.

Primary rocks. — Granites* gneiss, chlorite schist, quartz
rock.

Seconday rocks. — Red sandstone, calcareous sandstone.
Two other modifications of calcareous sandstone. Silicious
sandstone. Mountain limestone. Black marble in a large
boulder. Lias, in large boulders. An aetites or eagle stone.
Septaria. Green sandstone. Concretions of iron pyrites, with
casts of shells.

Tertiary rocks. — Freshwater limestone, with shells.

Trap rocks. — Compact felspar, with crystals of horn-
blende and felspar (porphyry). Dark-coloured and compact
felspar, with crystals of glossy felspar (porphyry). Compact
felspar, with quartz and crystals of felspar (porphyry). A variety
of the last. Compact felspar, with crystals of green hornblende,
and glossy felspar (porphyry). Compact felspar, with crystals
of the same decomposing. Red felspar, with crystals of glossy

44 Geological Conditions of the Chalky

felspar. Hornblende and felspar (basalt). Compact horn-
blende rock. Three other modifications of hornblende, in
separate large boulders. Greenstone. Sienite.

Organic Remains found in the Clay.

Radiata, — Pentacrinite.

Annuldta. — Serpula.

Conchifera. — Gryphae^a dilatata, Gryphae^a incurva, Gry-
phae x a arcuata. Avicula. Plagiostoma. Cyclas. Cyrina.
Cardita. A'rca.

Mollusca. — Three species or varieties of ammonite. Be-
lemnites. Pleurotoma?

Pisces. — Vertebras of a species of Squalus.

CHALK.

The upper surface of the chalk in this locality appears to
have been subjected to violent abrasion and waste, previous to
the deposition of the clay upon it> by its broken surface, and
the suddenly truncated ends of its strata at their terminations.

It is impossible te conclude that such heavy and compact
bodies, as the large blocks and boulders which are found in
the clay above, and are evidently foreign to this locality, could
have been rolled along over the surface of the chalk without
scooping out, and wasting its surface; or that its surface
should be otherwise than we find it, namely, lacerated and
broken.

In support of this breaking up of the chalk strata, previous
to the deposition of the clay, I shall adduce one or two facts.
At the village of Lamarsh, about four miles from Ballingdon,
as we descend the stream of the river Stour, on its southern
side, are to be seen a group of large blocks of green sandstone :
one, 6 ft. long, and about one ton in weight ; from which I
detached a good characteristic specimen. To the transporting
cause which brought the large blocks and boulders of granite,
gneiss, &c, from their native beds, we may, perhaps, attribute
the formation of the mound or hill of large angular flints which
is so strikingly displayed at Acton, within three or four miles
of Ballingdon : noticed in VIII. 352. And may we not add
the formation of the whole of our heterogeneous gravel beds
to the same cause ? It is curious and interesting, at least to
persons following these pursuits, to observe the outsides of
some of the boulders, being highly polished, without doubt
by the friction which they must have undergone on their jour-
ney hither. This polish is particularly evident on the outsides
of the hard limestone boulders found here.

At a quarry, near the foot of this hill, the chalk is delved to
the depth of 37 ft. from its junction with the clay. This gives

and Argillaceous Beds, at Ballingdon Hill. 45

us a depth of 160ft. in a perpendicular direction; at this
depth, the water rises and inundates the sinkings so much as to
prevent further progress downwards. All the chalk strata that
I have seen at this locality are, generally speaking, horizontal,
Although its strata seams are, in many quarries, undulatory
or wavy. Its flinty nodules are here irregularly dispersed,
and not in straight and parallel lines, as we often see them in
other chalk districts. Although in the parish of Hartest,
distant about seven miles in a northerly direction from the
spot we are speaking of, there occurs chalk, with its strata
dipping rapidly to a southerly direction with its flinty nodules
in straight lines, and dipping at the same angle as the strata.
The clay appears to have had no subsequent disturbance
since its deposition ; but that the subjacent chalk has been
displaced is, I think, evident, by the thick shells of the
Inoce ramus, and the shells of other genera, being not only very
much broken, but that the fragments are scattered and inti-
mately mixed up in the chalk. It is a very rare circumstance
here, to find a whole shell of an .Echinus ; although there is
no scarcity of the fragments of that fossil. The flints being
irregularly disseminated throughout this chalk, and the seams
of its strata being crooked or wavy, upon the small scale, is,
I submit, indications of subsequent displacement. The
natural partings of this chalk are covered with the black den-
dritical appearances alluded to by Mr. Bakewell, in his Intro-
duction to Geology, as indicative of the presence of magnesia.
Radiated concretions of iron pyrite are frequently found in
the chalk here.

Some of the Organic Remains found in the Chalk.

Radidta. — Ananchites. >Spatangus.

Conchifera. — Inoceramus. Chama. Plagiostoma.

Mollusca. — Belemnites.

Comparing my list of the mineral substances, of which the
boulders and pebbles found in theclay of this hill are composed,
with those found occurring in the clay cliffs on the coast of Nor-
folk, as described by the different writers, as well as from my
own observation, I find there is a striking similarity ; and the
organic fossils, so frequently found in the intervening localities, -
strengthen the analogy. Mr. R. C. Taylor, in his Geology
of East Norfolk, gives us a list of boulders washed out of the
cliffs west of Cromer, of very nearly the same properties as my
own : his are primary, secondary, and trap specimens ; so
are those found in the clay of Ballingdon Hill: and Mr.
Woodward, in his Outline of the Geology of East Norfolk, tells
that the blue clay cliffs which extend from Hasbro' to Cro-
mer are evidently the wreck of the lias. With the assistance

46 Modern Conglomerate.

of these facts, it does not appear straining analogy too far to
conclude that the same cause has operated throughout the
whole space from the eastern coast of Norfolk, to that part of
Essex I have been considering, and even much further. —
Stanway near Colchester, Essex, November 11. 1835.

[Fossil Bones of the Elephant and Beer found near Balling-
don, Essex (VIII. 353,354.) — Mr. Brown sent a drawing
in illustration of the preceding communication, and to indicate
the site in which the fossil bones of the elephant and deer
were found : see VIII. 353, 354. To the definition of this
site, given in VIII. 353, 354., it may be added that] " from
the spot where the bones were found to the top of the hill, is
about three quarters of a mile." [Mr. Brown has commu-
nicated, besides, that] " at the same spot, about a month ago,
a further discovery of two molar teeth of the elephant was
made. They are in fine preservation, and I had the pleasure
of seeing them on my last visit to Ballingdon."

Art. XVI. Short Communications.

Geology. — A notice of a rather recently discovered Locality
for some Fossil Remains of the Elephant. — These remains con-
sist of two tusks and a molar tooth, and were found, some time
since, in a bed of sandy gravel at Betchworth in Surrey, near
where the river Mole runs through the parish. The tusks
were about 3 ft. in length, and were rather decomposed ; the
tooth was about 7^ in. long, and had twenty plates, the usual
character of the common fossil tooth. The gravelly deposit
is superimposed on the greensand of the district, having an
area of two to three miles, and consists of angular and rounded
fragments of chalk flints, and the more ferruginous portions
of the greensand — John Morris. Kensington, Oct., 1835.

Modern Conglomerate. — A small piece of puddingstone was
this summer found upon the beach at Cromer, by Mr. Hartt
Eade, of Marsham, near Aylsham, in whose possession it
now is, which contains a farthing of George the IV., a small
white metal button, and some pieces of lead; probably the
contents of some poor shipwrecked sailor's pocket. The
farthing and button are in contact, the lead is on the opposite
side of the stone, and near the button is the impression of a
bent iron nail dissolved by the action of the salt water and
air, and to which the conglomeration of this strange assem-
blage may be attributed. The matrix is the common beach
sand, on the surface of which are three ironstone pebbles,
one of yellow flint, and a small one of discoloured quartz.

Coprolites from the Gault at Folkstone.

47

There was, I believe, only one coinage of farthings in the last
reign, namely, that of 1822, and supposing that the full term
of 13 years had been occupied in forming the mass, it is a
curious fact; but I conceive half that time would be as much
as we could fairly allow. Might not indestructible garden
walks be formed by mixing small fragments of iron and com-
mon salt with the gravel? — S. Woodward. Norwich, Nov.
28. 1835.

Art. XVII. Queries and Answers.

What are those Bodies, some circular, some oval {fig. 13.),

which are to be found in
the Gault at Folkstone ? —
They are not unlike
the coprolites figured in
the Geological Society's
Transactions, discovered
by Dr. Buckland in the
oolitic group, and some
of them have the appear-
ance of containing undi-
gested remains, which is the case with those of Dr. Buckland's
communication ; of this sort is b, of which I have sent a
sketch above, the prominence marked (a) resembling part of
a limb of a crustaceous animal. They are covered with
furrows and small punctures, and are of a light-yellowish clay
colour, internally black, very heavy, and difficult to break.
They are in great numbers, and of all sizes. The four
sketched above seem to me characteristic of all the speci-
mens I observed. Query : Have coprolites been yet men-
tioned as found in the gault ? and, if they be coprolites, to
what animals can they have belonged ? to fish ? or to the
few Reptilia yet discovered in the cetaceous group ? — H.
Hastings, 1834.

[The reply to enquiry made subsequently to the receipt of
this communication is, that the bodies have been long
known; and that Dr. Fitton will allude to them in his forth-
coming memoir on the greensand.]

Art. XVIII. Retrospective Criticism.

On the Animals designated in the Scriptures by the Names of
Leviathan and Behemoth, (p. 193—197. 305 — 320.) — Mr.
Thompson's opinions on this subject, expressed in his treatise

48 Leviathan and Behemoth, Crustaceans.

upon it in p. 193 — 197. 307 — 320, are discussed in the
Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, the Number for Octo-
ber, 1835, by a writer, whose name is not given, who has con-
ceived " Mr. Thompson's conclusions .... to be erroneous ;
and" has "set down some of what appear to" him " the most
decisive proofs that they are so." His own conclusions are,
that the leviathan was the crocodile of the Nile, and that the
behemoth was " one of the larger herbivorous mammalia,"
and " some large .... species of the bovine genus of Lin-
naeus." The treatise occupies from p. 263. to 281., and is
learnedly written.

It would not have been more than was due to the Magazine
of Natural History, had the title of this work been allowed
to appear as the repository of a printed exposition of Mr.
Thompson's views : this is not the case throughout the thesis
cited. A second instance of this injustice occurs in a com-
munication in the same Number of the Edinburgh New Phi-
losophical Journal, entitled, " On the Falls of Niagara, and
the Reasonings of some Authors respecting them. By
Henry D. Rogers, F.G.S., of London, &c." Refer to Mag.
Nat. Hist. III. 117—130.

Metamorphosis in, and Habits of, Crustaceous Animals.
(II. 244, 245.; IV. 256—259.; VIII. 261—277. 467—469.
482 — 486.550,551.) — There is contained in the Entomologi-
cal Magazine, No. 13. October, 1835, in p. 275 — 280., a
" Memoir on the Metamorphosis in Porcellana and Por-
tunus. By J. V. Thompson, F.L.S., Deputy Inspector-
General of Hospitals," illustrated by three figures; and,
besides, other information on the deemed metamorphoses of
crustaceous animals and on the habits of certain species of
them, this notification is made: — >'* We have, perhaps, our-
selves been somewhat to blame in not allowing it [' Crus-
taceology'] a more prominent place in our pages than we
have hitherto done. We now announce our intention of
repairing this error ; and, aided by the valuable contributions
of Mr. Thompson, we hope that no future number will appear
without, at least, one article on Crustacea."

I have stated, in VIII. 468., that ecdysis and transformation
are subjects not identical : they are identified, on reasons, in
the Ent. Mag., p. 293. of the Number cited above. — J. D.

Phyllosbma ; Mr. LuJcis has pi^oposed the epithet, sarniense,
to designate the species that is described and illustrated from
him in p. 459 — 462 : a correction of two errors in the descrip-
tion. — My absence from this island prevented my seeing the
article introduced in p. 459., relating to a species of Phyllo-
soma, taken on this coast; consequently I could not answer

Progress of the Knowledge of Natural History. 49

the suggestion affixed to it in p. 462. In reply, I beg to state
that the species of Crustacea there described, although differ-
ent, in some particulars, from the genus of Leach and La-
treille, as published in the Malacostraca of De Blainville, may-
still, with propriety, be left among the Phyllosomata, to pre-
vent the multiplying of terms and families. My individual
appears to have been undescribed ; and, in proposing a name,
I conceive Phyllosoma sarniense, from its locality, Guernsey,
to be less objectionable than applying to it one derived from
its form or other peculiarity, which, in a genus as yet little
known, may be liable to variation in relative significance.
May 1 draw your attention to an incorrect reference made
under Jig. 38. in p. 459.? where it is said, " a, a represent-
ation of the animal," &c, " the aspect ventral ; " it should be
aspect dorsal ; and b, " the aspect dorsal," should be aspect
ventral. — F. C. Lukis. Guernsey, Oct. 22. 1835.

[Mr. Lukis's correction, in the cases mentioned, renders
necessary the additional one of reading a for b } in p. 461.
line 9.]

Art. XIX. Man's Progress in the Diffusion of the Knowledge of
Natural History.

The Islington Literary and Scientific Society. — This Society
gives direct attention to natural history : among the subjects
which it facilitates the acquisition of the knowledge of, zoology
and astronomy are subjects enumerated in a short list of lec-
tures sent; the zoology to be treated on by Dr. Grant, the
astronomy by J. Wallis, Esq. The rayed animals (Radiata
or Cycloneura) are the subject of four lectures by Dr. Grant,
and a syllabus of these is given in the printed circular sent ;
all of these will have been delivered before the publication
of this notice. The whole must, from Dr. Grant's cha-
racter, be rich in interesting information and views. This
Society has a library and museum. " The museum is enriched
with collections in various departments of natural history and
science."

The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall held its twenty-
second annual meeting on October 9. 1835, and reported on
the events that had transpired relative to it through the past
year. Considerable additions have been made to the museum,
partly by purchase and exchange, but principally by donations. .
The curator, assisted by the secretary, has been engaged in
reducing to order the various series of geological specimens
that had accumulated. Several treatises have been commu-

Vol.IX. — No. 57. e

50 Jenyns's Manual of British Vertebrate Animals.

nicated and read. The funds, though somewhat less than
last year, are still prosperous. The council expect to com-
mence printing the fifth volume of Transactions before the
next meeting ; but " they do not expect that it will be ready
for publication until the year following, on account of the
numerous tables and illustrations that will be required. "
There has been an increase in the number of members.
(From an authorised report in the West Briton of Oct, 26.
1835.)

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Notices on Works in Natural History.

Cook, Captain S. K, R.N., K.T.S. F.G.S. : Sketches in
Spain during the Years 1829, 1830, 1831, and 1832 ; con-
taining Notices of some Districts very little known ; of the
Manners of the People, Government, Recent Changes,
Commerce, Fine Arts, and Natural History. In 2 vols.,
8vo, above 600 pages. London, Boone, 1834.

The portion on natural history includes some particulars on
vegetation, on birds, and on subjects in geology.

Jenyns, Rev. Z., M.A. F.L.S. Z.S. Ent. S., and of the
Cambridge Philosophical Society : A Manual of British
Vertebrate Animals : or Descriptions of all the Animals
belonging to the Classes Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Am-
phibia, and Pisces, which have been hitherto observed in the
British Islands: including the Domesticated, Naturalised,
and Extirpated Species : the whole systematically arranged.
8vo, 590 pages. London, 1835. 135.

The forthcoming of this work has been announced in VI.
442,443; VIII. 248. 359.

Extracts from the Preface, The descriptions are, as far
as possible, original. In a large number of instances, they are
derived from recent specimens. The name of the author from
whom any thing is borrowed is, in almost all cases, subjoined.
When the accounts of what have appeared the best authorities
differ, the discrepancies are pointed out.

By some it may be thought that the descriptions are too
long ; but when it is considered how many species have been
overlooked from their supposed identity with others ; how
many, some even of the most common occurrence, have been
misunderstood, and referred to others, which, perhaps, are
not inhabitants of this country ; and that these and similar

Jenyyiis Manual of British Vertebrate Animals. 5 1

errors have arisen, not merely from the imperfect, but, it must
be added, careless descriptions which have been given of such
animals, it is hoped that the pains which have been taken to
render this portion of the work as complete and accurate as
possible, will not be thought entirely thrown away.

In the class of birds, the different variations of plumage,
arising from age and season, have been pointed out and cha-
racterised, so far as they are known. Appended to the de-
scription of each species [in all the classes], are a few general
remarks illustrative of its habits ; more especially those con-
nected with locality, food, and propagation. In classification,
the system of no one individual author has been rigidly ad-
hered to. Regard has been paid to what has been written on
this subject by the most recent writers in each department, of
all the larger groups, as well as, in most instances, their mode
of collocation has been derived from such sources.

The author has exercised his own judgment in the adoption
of certain" genera and subgenera, [and has referred, for his
principles on these, to his expression of them in this Maga-
zine : see VI. 385 — 390. VII. 97 — 99.] The subgenera are
inserted in such a manner, that any one who chooses may
place them on the same footing with the genera, or take no
notice of them at all.

[The author expresses his acknowledgements to the follow-
ing parties who have assisted him in the fulfilment of his
undertaking.] To Mr. Yarrell, in particular, for the able
help which he has experienced at his hands. This help has
been especially felt upon the subject of the British fishes.
Assistance has been not the less afforded him in the other
classes. Mr. Yarrell's well-known practical acquaintance with
our British birds has enabled the author to detail more at
length the change of plumage to which some species are
liable, and to correct a few errors into which previous writers
had fallen on this subject. The same gentleman kindly
volunteered an accurate description, accompanied by mea-
surements, of the egg of every species of which his extensive
collection afforded specimens. To Mr. Gray, for the readi-
ness with which he has, at all times, allowed him to consult
the specimens in the British Museum. To the officers of the
Zoological Society for similar liberty to examine a few speci-
mens contained in their collection.

[The author is of opinion that] even the vertebrate animals
of our country are far, yet, from being thoroughly understood ;
[and solicits] such observations, notices of new or rare species,
and, where it may not be inconvenient, specimens, as it may
be in the power of any of his readers to supply.

e 2

52 Lindley's Key to Botany.

In the Analyst, No. xiii., published in Oct. 1835, are three
treatises, which merit the attention of naturalists. The titles
of them, and the pages they occupy, are: — Remarks condu-
cive to the improvement of ornithological nomenclature,
p. 26. to 35. ; a retrospect of the literature of British orni-
thology, p. 78. to 99. ; on the study of Latin, more especially as
regards the interests of the medical profession. In the second,
the majority of the works, published from 1678 to Sept. 1835
are characterised. The Analyst is now published quarterly.
" Arrangements have been made by which the proceedings of
the learned bodies" in the populous and intellectual towns of
the midland counties "will be fully and accurately reported "
in it. " The transactions of the several institutions will be
thereby quickly disseminated, instead of being, as hitherto,
buried in the recesses of their lecture-rooms."

rfairiw i lo

Mrs. Per rot? s Illustrations of Selected Species of British Birds.

(VIII. p. 523, 524.)

It has been objected to this work, in the Analyst, No. xii.,
that it is without plan or order. The authoress regards as
exonerative of this charge, the following statement in her pub-
lished prospectus: — "As the work is published in numbers,
opportunity will be afforded for the insertion of any new
discovery ; and the arrangement being deferred to the conclu-
sion, allows a probability that a better form of classification
may be adopted, which may reconcile the conflicting opinions
of authors, establish more order in the system, and elucidate
the obscurity and confusion in which many of the genera are

involved "

l>ijjori8 9ini)k>y bin aoh

Lindley, J., Ph. D. F.R.S. F.L.S. and G.S., Professor of
Botany in the University of London, and in the Royal
Institution of Great Britain : A Key to Structural, Physio-
logical, and Systematic Botany. 8vo. 1835. 4s. 6d.

The most comprehensive work on these branches of botany
of any that has been yet published in Britain. Not any
person interested in botany should be without it. The mat-
ter on the structure and physiology of plants is an improved
edition of that in the author's Outline of the First Principles
of Botany ; the matter on the systematisation of plants, is an
improved edition in English, except the denominative terms,
of that in the author's Nixus Plantarum, published in Latin
in 1833. The Nixus is noticed in VI. 505, 506.

Partington, C. F., Author of various Scientific Works, and
Editor of The British Cyclopaedia : Introduction to the

Watsorfs New Botanist's Guide. 53

Science of Botany ; illustrated on an entirely new principle,
by a Series of highly finished Delineations of the Plants,
coloured to represent Nature ; including Characteristic
Details of the Physiology, Uses, and Classification of the
Vegetable Kingdom. 1835. 1 vol., 8vo, 150 pages, and
1 plate of 4 coloured figures : some wood-engravings are
in the pages. The coloured delineations of plants are
detached, are of 4to size, in a set of 10, or one of 14, with
stands, and placed in an ornamented case. The volume,
and either of the sets of coloured delineations, are pur-
chasable separately. London, Harvey and Darton, Orr
and Smith.

The author's manner is sketchy and sentimental ; the get-
ting-up of the book is what may be termed elegant ; and the
detached pictures are beautiful. Those of the technical points
of botany, to which the author's work introduces, are the
terms of the more obvious parts of plants, and examples
of them : the Linnaean classification, and the classification
according to the natural orders. The volume, and the de-
tached pictures, may avail those who have not a vigorous
appetite for a stricter knowledge of botany, and can afford to
purchase them.

Watson, H. C. : The New Botanist's Guide to the Localities
of the Rarer Plants of Britain ; on the Plan of Turner and
Dillwyn's Botanisfs Guide. Vol. I. England and Wales.
1835, sm. 8vo, 408 pages. London, Longman & Co.

" This volume includes all the counties of England and
Wales, and will form a complete work in itself, if the publica-
tion of a second volume should be prevented by any unforeseen
circumstance. The counties of Scotland, with the adjacent
isles from Man to Shetland, are intended to be comprised in
the second volume, which will be ready in 1836. All com-
munications of localities, for insertion therein, should be made
as early as possible in the year. By adopting a smaller and
much closer type than that of Turner and Dillwyn's Guide,
the present volume has been reduced to one half the bulk,
notwithstanding that the large additions to the species and
localities of flowering plants, in many of the counties, will
more than counterbalance the omission of cryptogamic plants,
which comparatively few persons take the trouble to collect.
On a rude estimate, from a few pages taken at random, it
appears probable that the volume contains between 15,000
and 20,000 localities or stations (habitats, according to the
phraseology of many botanists), and most of these include
more than one proper name to each, some even half a dozen."

54 Henslow's Catalogue of British Plants.

Henslow, Rev. J. S., M.A., Professor of Botany in the Uni-
versity of Cambridge; A Catalogue of British Plants,
arranged according to the Natural System, with the Syn-
onyms of De Candolle, Smith, Lindley, and Hooker.
Second edition, 8vo, 66 pages. London, Rivington and
Hatchard, 1835.

Of the species registered, the author has indicated by signs
those which he considers to be in any of the four following con-
ditions : — Possibly introduced by the agency of man. Natural-
ised species, certainly not indigenous. Occasionally found wild,
but not even naturalised, extinct, or erroneously introduced ;
and which ought to be excluded from our floras. Included in
the flora of Cambridgeshire. The author has referred, in his
preface, to his views exhibited in this Magazine (Vol. VIII.,
p. 84? — 88, not "Vol. VII." as cited), relatively to, at least
some of, these distinctions. It is intended to present, in a fu-
ture number, a list, taken from the author's catalogue, of such
species as he may have designated relatively to the views there
proposed.

The Transactions of the Entomological Society of London.

Vol. I. Part II., 8vo, 96 pages, 6 plates of figures, some of

the figures coloured. 1835. 75. 6d.

The contents of the first part are enumerated in VIII. 62, 63.
The subjects treated of in the second part are as follows : —

Remphan Hope/ Waterhouse, " a new species of longi-
corn beetle, from the East Indies." G. R. Waterhouse, Esq.
has described and named this : it is illustrated by a coloured
figure. It is of the family Prionidae. Its body is 2 in. 11
lines long.

Amycterus [#, without, mukter, a proboscis.] Sconhem
Hope, " a new curculionideous beetle, from the Swan River,"
in New Holland. This is described and named by the Rev.
F. W. Hope, and is elucidated by figures. Its thorax bears
tubercles in longitudinal rows, and its elytra spines in longi-
tudinal rows.

" Observations on the osculant Crustaceous Genus Arc-
turus of Latreille ; with the Description of a British Species.
By J. O. Westwood, F.L.S., &c." The species described is
identical with the Astacilla longicornis Flem., illustrated by
Dr. Johnston, in this Magazine, VIII. 494 — 496. Mr. West-
wood's treatise is illustrated by a plate bearing 30 figures.

" On the Apparent Identity of Sphinx ephemeraeformis of
Havvorth, with Psyche plumifera of Ochsenheimer. By J. F.
Stephens, F.L.S., &c." A figure is provided of the species
of insect that Haworth described.

Entomological Transactions. 55

rt

" Notice of the Habits of Odynerus Antilope. By J. O.
Westwood, F.L.S., &c." In this Magazine, V. 109, 110.
206., are facts, some of them communicated by Mr. West-
wood, on one or more species of Odynerus.

" Observations on certain Species of the Genus Dromius.
By Charles C. Babington, M.A., F.L.S., &c." Thirteen
species, and varieties besides, are described : four species are
figured. Descriptions by Mr. Babington of two of the thir-
teen species are published in this Magazine, V. 327, 328.

" Thysanurae Hibernicae, or Descriptions of such Species
of spring-tailed Insects (Podura and Lepisma, Linn.) as
have been observed in Ireland. By R. Templeton, Esq., R. A*
Corr. Member of the Natural History Society of Belfast:
with Introductory Observations upon the Order, by J. O.
Westwood, F.L.S., &c." This is a contribution which will
much enrich every one who will appropriate the information
imparted in it. The number of species treated on is as fol-
lows : Lepisma saccharin a, enumerated ; Forbicina polypoda,
described and figured ; Petrobius maritimus, enumerated ;
Orchesella, 2 sp., described and figured : Podura, 7 sp., de-
scribed and figured : Achorutes, 2 sp., described and figured;
Smynthurus, 2 sp., described and figured, and one other
species enumerated.

Microxylobius WestwoodzY Chevrolat, a species of beetle
of about 1 line long, and, broad, the third of a line, from
St. Helena, is illustrated by a description by M. A. Chevro-
lat, M.E.S. of France, &c, and by figures.

" Descriptions of new Species of Indian Ants. By Lieut-
Colonel W. H. Sykes, F.R.S., &c." Three species are de-
scribed and figured, and interesting facts on their habits are
communicated.

" Monograph on Mimela, a Genus of Coleopterous Insects.
By the Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S,, &c." Thirteen species
are described, muh.^ibn

" Note upon the British Genera Acentna, Acentropus, and
Zancle. By J. O. W r estwood, F.L.S., &c." These are iden-
tified as one, and it is argued of this that it belongs to the
order Lepidoptera.

" Observations on the Ravages of Limnoria terebrans, with
Suggestions for a Preventive against the same. By the Rev.

F. W. Hope, F.R.S., &c."

" Description of a new Species of Australian Moth. By

G. R. Gray, Esq., M.E.S. France and London."

" Observations on Insects producing Silk, and on the Pos-
sibility of rearing Silk Crops in England. Bv the Rev.
F. W. Hope, F.R.S., &c."

56 Literary Notices.

" Remarks on some Mechanical Peculiarities noticed in a
Spider's Web, observed at Wandsworth, Surrey. By W. W.
Saunders, Esq., F.L.S., &c." These remarks are kindred to
those of Mr. Spence, in this Magazine, V. 689 — 691.

" Observations upon the Habits of Copris Midas. By
Lieut.-Colonel W. H. Sykes, F.R.S., &c."

These treatises occupy 66 pages. A continuation of the
" Journal of Proceedings " follows them, and occupies 29
pages. This includes very varied matter ; as records of dona-
tions made, memoirs read, and exhibitions made. The in-
stances of donations of works on insects and of specimens of
insects are numerous ; events advantageous to the Society's
thrift.

" The period for receiving the prize essays upon the turnip
fly," is extended " until the anniversary meeting in January,
1836."

Various Contributors : The Entomological Magazine, No.
XIII. October, 1835.

See in M. N. H., xi. 48. In this Number "of the Ent.
Mag. are, besides, two contributions of noticeable interest.
One, an elaborate monograph, " On the Species of Platy-
gaster, &c. : by Francis Walker," assisted by Mr. Haliday :
the other, " Remarks on the Entomology of Epping and its
Vicinity : by Edward Doubleday." In the first are des-
cribed, of Platygaster, 101 species and some varieties; of
Inostemma Holiday, 8 species and some varieties; of Iphi-
trachelus Haliday, 1 species. A plate of 21 figures is supplied
in illustration of certain of the species described. The mono-
graph occupies 58 pages. Mr. Doubleday's " Remarks" are
of noticeable interest in this Magazine, from the fact that he
has appended to them a " Catalogue of Birds which have oc-
curred in the neighbourhood of Epping," and, added, remarks
upon certain of the species, as to the rate of the frequency of
occurrence, and on other points.

Art. II. Literary Notices.

Mr. Bushnan, the author of the Introduction to the Study of
Nature, is preparing for the press a work to be entitled The
Elements of Ichthyology : it is to be illustrated by numerous
woodcuts.

The Zoological Journal : it has been announced that No.
xx., and Part v. of Supplementary Plates, have been pub-
lished, and that the work is now complete.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

FEBRUARY, 1836.

— ■ "

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

L

Art. I. Observations on the Cotv Bunting of the United States of
America. By George Ord, Esq.

Of all the known birds which are indigenous to North
America, perhaps there is not one whose habits are so inter-
esting as those of the bird denominated cow bunting, cow
bird, cow-pen bird, or cow blackbird (the JFringilla pecoris of
Latham) ; and yet there is hardly one whose history has hi-
therto been involved in greater obscurity.

Wilson was the first writer who made public the fact, that
this species does not construct a nest for itself; but, like the
cuckoo of Europe, deposits its eggs in the nests of other birds,
and confides to strangers the care of its offspring.

A habit so singular as this had early awakened the attention
of the author of the American Ornithology, He had supposed
that persons residing in the country were conversant with it ;
and, by diligent enquiry among them, he was enabled to collect
some information which was deemed authentic. But, had
our ingenious ornithologist relied more upon his personal
observations than upon the testimony of vulgar observers,
he would have avoided some errors, which it is the intention
of the writer of this article to point out.

The following propositions have been assumed : —
There is never more than one egg of the cow bunting depo-
sited in the same nest.
The egg invariably hatches before those of the foster-bird.
The foster-mother, in seeking food for her first-born, neglects

her own eggs ; and their embryos, consequently, perish.
The birds selected by the cow bunting, as nurses of her pro-
geny, are always smaller than herself.
Vol. IX. — No. 58. f

58 Observations on the Cow Bunting

That all these propositions are untenable, will be evident
from the facts related in this paper. I would premise, how-
ever, that the circumstance of two eggs of the cow bunting
being sometimes dropped in the same nest, became known to
Wilson not long before his death ; for, as he and I were
pursuing our ornithological researches, near the coast of New
Jersey, in the month of May of the year 1813, I found the
nest of the Sylvia pinus, which contained three of her own
eggs, and two eggs of the cow bunting. Wilson was not a
little surprised at this discovery ; and declared it was the first
instance, that had ever come to his knowledge, of a deviation
from what he had considered an invariable habit of the cow
bird.

In Wilson's history of the cow bunting the following pas-
sage occurs : — " The well-known practice of the young cuc-
koo of Europe, in turning out all the eggs and young which
it feels around it, almost as soon as it is hatched, has been
detailed, in a very satisfactory and amusing manner, by the
amiable Dr. Jenner; who has since risen to immortal cele-
brity in a much nobler pursuit; and to whose genius and
humanity the whole human race are under everlasting obli-
gations. In our cow bunting, though no such habit has been
observed, yet still there is something mysterious in the disap-
pearance of the nurse's own eggs soon after the foundling is
hatched, which happens regularly before all the rest. From
twelve to fourteen days is the usual time of incubation
with our small birds ; but, although I cannot exactly fix
the precise period requisite for the egg of the cow bunting, I
think I can say, almost positively, that it is a day or two
less than the shortest of the above-mentioned spaces. In this
singular circumstance we see a striking provision of the
Deity; for did this egg require a day or two more, instead
of so much less, than those among which it had been dropped,
the young it contained would, in every instance, most inevitably
perish ; and thus, in a few years, the whole species must be-
come extinct. On the first appearance of the young cow
bunting, the parent being frequently obliged to leave the nest,
to provide sustenance for the foundling, the business of incu-
bation is thus necessarily interrupted ; the disposition to continue
it abates ; nature has now given a new direction to the zeal of
the parent ; and the remaining eggs, within a day or two, at
most, generally disappear. In some instances, indeed, they
have been found on the ground near, or below, the nest ; but
this is rarely the case."

Before commenting upon the singularly erroneous assertions
contained in the foregoing paragraph, I would take the liberty
of suggesting that there must have been some mistake in the

of the United States of America. 59

facts related by Dr. Jenner on the subject of the cuckoo. I
am unwilling to believe that any bird, as helpless as a young
cuckoo is before its eyes are open, has the power, or even the
inclination, to eject from its nest the young and eggs which it
feels around it. Why should this feeble creature, so feeble
that it cannot support itself upon its legs, wish to get rid of
companions which in no respect incommode it ; but which,
on the contrary, add to its convenience ? For it cannot be
denied, that a single bird, when first hatched, is less comfort-
ably situated than when it is accompanied with nest-mates,
the softness of whose down has a tendency to maintain that
equality of warmth which callow young require. As to the
ejection of eggs by the newly hatched cuckoo, it cannot be
the fact ; the physical powers of the bird not being adequate
to the purpose.

It is no unusual circumstance for a bird to commence sitting
upon her first egg; and this frequently happens in those places
where egg-destroying birds abound. Now if, on the hatching
of the first egg, the vital action in the remainder were inter-
rupted by the absence of the parent, the embryos which they
contained would perish ; nay, the young already hatched
would also perish: but no such interruption in reality takes
place. The bird that begins incubation upon her first egg,
although her complement may amount to five or more, as
certainly brings forth the whole brood as there are embryos
contained in them. The absence of the parent is but for
short intervals. Her first care, in hatching, is to remove the
shells. This performed, she seeks food ; and is more solicitous
to remain in the nest, after the appearance of the young, than
before. The conduct of the domestic hen, at the period of
her hatching, is a good exemplification of that of all birds in
like circumstances. Before the appearance of the young, she
will not hesitate to quit her nest for the space of an hour at
a time ; but the moment the first chick breaks its covering,
the disposition to continue incubation, instead of abating, re-
ceives a new impulse ; her maternal affections are aroused ;
the titillation, occasioned by the contact of the chicken with
her body, affords her exquisite pleasure ; and so anxious is
she to to guard her progeny from harm, that she would rather
forego the wants of nature, than forsake her nest, until her
brood have acquired sufficient strength to accompany her.

The habit which small birds have of bestowing the same
attention upon their callow young, as regards brooding them,
as upon their eggs during incubation, is so universal, that it
is a matter of wonder how it could have escaped the attention
of so observing a naturalist as Wilson was. But let it be

r 2

60 Observations on the Co'w Bunting

noted, that the state of the atmosphere invariably affects the
conduct of the bird, not only in relation to the eggs, but also
to the young. If the weather be cool or humid, the parent
is never absent from her nest longer than a few minutes at a
time; whereas, should the weather be clear and warm, the
absence of an hour would occasion no detriment to either eggs
or young. I have taken notice, that some birds continue to
cover their young, at night, until the latter leave the nest.

The extraordinary power which eggs possess of retaining
vital heat appears to have been overlooked by all those natu-
ralists with whose works I am acquainted. It is generally
imagined, that, should an incubated egg be neglected until it
feels cold to the touch, its embryo would inevitably perish.
A writer in this Magazine, for June, 1835 [VIII. 331.], thus
expresses himself: — " Every one must know that, after the
vital action within an egg has once commenced, a very short
suspension of the necessary heat is siifficient to destroy the embryo"
What the respectable writer above quoted (Mr. Blyth)
means by necessary heat, I can only conjecture ; and his phrase-
ology induces me to say that his meaning is, the heat of the
brooding bird. Now, between vital heat, and the heat of the
brooding bird, there is this difference, that, although one is
radically derived from the other, yet the latter may be sus-
pended for a considerable period, without, in any essential
degree, counteracting the effects of the former. Let us not
forget the important part which the blood performs in the
maintenance of vital action, and this assertion will not be con-
sidered problematical.

In confirmation of the foregoing opinion, I will relate the
following facts : — On the 5th of August, of the present year,
I discovered, in my wood, the nest of the chewick (Emberiza
erythrophthalma Wils.). Contrary to the ordinary practice of
this species, this nest was built, not on the ground, but on a
chestnut sucker, which lay on a fence, placed around a stump,
to protect it from injury. The nest contained three eggs, all
of which were so cold, that I concluded they had been aban-
doned. This was in the morning. In the afternoon of the
same day I again inspected the nest, and found the eggs still
cold, and no chewick in the vicinity. The next day rain pre-
vented me from visiting it ; and on the 7th I determined to
remove it; but I was astonished to find the female snugly
seated in it, betraying no signs of uneasiness, although I ap-
proached within a yard of her. On the 8th of August the
three eggs were hatched; and on the 17th the whole of the
young departed !

On the 29th of July, a song sparrow (ZfangiUa melodia

of the United States of America. 61

Wits.) laid her first egg in her third nest for the season. This
nest was constructed on the ground, in my garden, amid a
mass of cucumber vines. The next day another egg was laid,
and she began to sit. The following day she produced a
third egg. Incubation was continued, uninterruptedly, until
two or three days of her hatching, when I perceived that she
was absent from the garden. Three times in the course of the
day, which was a warm sunshiny one, I examined the nest,
but saw no bird. My last visit was at twilight. The next
morning, at an early hour, I was again at the nest, but no
bird appeared. Now, I do not mean to insinuate that the
sparrow had not been sitting upon her eggs during the night;
for I think it probable that she had been ; although I neglected
to ascertain whether the eggs were cold or not. After break-
fast I found the sparrow returned to her station. In the after-
noon of the 1 1th of August two of the eggs were hatched ; and
the third egg was hatched early the following day. The song
sparrow, in common with almost all our small birds, sits
twelve days.

In the month of August, one of my domestic hens, after
having been sitting about two weeks, forsook her nest. I per-
ceived that she was afflicted with the louse disease ; and, on
examining her, I found her cold and dying. She had been
absent from the eggs for the principal part of the day ; and,
as they did not exhibit the least external signs of heat, I broke
one, and found the embryo extremely feeble, so much so,
that scarcely any signs of life were visible. The remainder
were removed to two sitting hens, and they all produced
healthy chicks.

One of my neighbours told me that he had known a sit-
ting hen to be absent from her nest for a day and a night, and
still the eggs hatched.

The opinion advanced by Wilson, and echoed by others, that
the cow bunting's egg is invariably the first hatched, is a mere
conjecture, totally unsupported by facts. It must now yield to
truth ; although the sentimental reader will, doubtless, re-
gret that the profound reflections on the " wisdom of nature,"
which this hypothesis has given birth to, must lose much
of their efficacy or application. He will, however, derive
consolation from the assurance, that our venerable mother,
Nature, is not so improvident as she has been represented
to be.

Mr. Audubon considers it " a very remarkable circum-
stance, that, although the cow bird is larger than the species
in the nests of which it deposits its eggs, the eggs themselves

f 3

62 Observations on the Cow Bunting

are not much superior in size to those of their intended foster-
parents." (Ornithological Biography, i. 496.)

If this were a fact, it would justly be entitled to the epithet
remarkable ; but that this writer is greatly overseen, would be
evident by a comparison of the egg of the blue-grey flycatcher,
of the chipping sparrow, or of the indigo bird, with that of the
cow bunting. The relative size of these eggs would be found
to be equal to that of those of the ordinary hen and the turkey.

Reasoning from this supposition, the author above quoted
sagaciously notes " the adaptation of means to ends which
nature has so admirably made." " The object," continues he,
"has been, to secure the developement of the embryo, by
adapting the size of the egg to the capability of imparting
heat to it."

It sometimes happens that a plausible theory is demolished
by a single fact. Had our ingenious naturalist bethought
him, that the egg of a goose requires no longer term of incu-
bation, when placed under a hen, than when under the goose
herself; and that, should a hen sit upon her own eggs, mixed
with those of a goose, the heat imparted to each kind, although
so greatly dissimilar as to size, would be precisely the same ;
he would have hesitated before he uttered an opinion which
should seem to bespeak a want of knowledge of one of the
simplest laws of nature. Every one who has paid the least
attention to the breeding of poultry must know that the
plumage of a sitting bird, being a non-conductor, forms an oven,
the heat of which, although not precisely equal in all its parts,
is, nevertheless, rendered equally efficient to all its contents, in
consequence of an invariable habit which the bird has of
frequently shifting her eggs from the circumference to the
centre.

Mr. Nuttall*, a more discerning naturalist than the one just
named, seems at no loss to account for the circumstance of the
cow bird's egg being the first hatched : its largeness bringing
it nearer to the body of the sitting bird than her own eggs, it
is, consequently, better warmed, and sooner hatched ! But
let us have his own words : — " The most usual nurse of this
bird appears to be the red-eyed vireo, who commences sitting
as soon as the cow bird's egg is deposited. On these occa-
sions, I have known the vireo to begin her incubation with only
an egg of each kind ; and in other nests I have observed as
many as three of her own, with that of the intruder. From
the largeness of the strange egg, probably the nest immediately
feels filed, so as to induce the nurse directly to sit. This

* A Manual of the Ornithology of the United States, and of Canada. By
Thomas Nuttall, F.L.S.

of the United States of America, 63

larger egg brought nearer to the body than her own, is, conse-
quently, better warmed, and sooner hatched ! "

Mr. Nuttall appears to be the only writer who was ac-
quainted with the fact, that the young cow bunting, and the
young of the foster-bird, are sometimes reared together ; and
he conjectures that, " from the great size of the parasite, the
legitimate young are often stifled." This author says that he
has " remarked, sometimes, two of these eggs in the same nest;
but in this case one of them commonly proves abortive." If
one, commonly, proves abortive, both, sometimes, must hatch.
Now, as Mr. Nuttall does not inform us that he ever saw two
cow buntings in the same nest, we are compelled to infer that
the circumstance of abortion is related at second hand.

" The cow bird," says Wilson, " continues to be seen so
late as the middle of June; after which we see no more of them
until about the beginning or middle of October." That this
was an oversight of our excellent ornithologist ; nay, that he
himself, in the hurry of composition, stated what his own
knowledge disproved; is evident from his assertion, that he
had observed the yellow bird, or goldfinch (.Fringilla tristis),
performing the duty of nurse to the cow bunting. This over-
sight has been the occasion of Wilson's veracity being called
in question by Mr. Nuttall ; who, in his history of the Ameri-
can goldfinch, observes that, " from the late period at which
they begin to breed, it is impossible they can ever act in the ca-
pacity of nurses to the cow troopial I " If Mr. Nuttall had
taken the pains of extending his enquiries into these matters,
he would have learned that the cow bunting is common in
Pennsylvania in the month of July, the season of the nidifica-
iion of the goldfinch; and that, therefore, there was no occasion
to insinuate a want of veracity in one whose noblest charac-
teristic was his inflexible adherence to truth. It will be seen,
hereafter, from my observations, that a cow bunting's egg
was deposited in an indigo bird's nest as late as the 20th of
July. I would, finally, add, in vindication of my friend, that
I myself have seen a cow bunting's egg in the nest of the
goldfinch.

It appears to be' the prevailing opinion, that, if the cow bird
deposits her egg in a nest wherein the owner has not yet begun
to lay, the nest is either deserted forthwith, or the egg of the
intruder is so buried by the addition of fresh materials, that it
becomes abortive. On this head I am not prepared to speak,
further than that the opinion wears the appearance of pro-
bability. On the 11th of June, last year, I found the nest
of the red-eyed flycatcher (Muscicapa olivacea Wils.) con-
taining a cow bird's egg, and one of her own. As, from the

f 4

64t Observations on the Cow Bunting

smallness of the nest, the cow bird could not enter its cavity,
she was compelled to sit over it ; and her egg, in dropping,
broke the flycatcher's. The nest was abandoned.

There is a passage in Mr. Nuttall's history of the blue-
grey flycatcher, which I cannot forbear quoting, as it involves
one of the most preposterous ideas that ever entered into the
brain of a naturalist. After describing the nest of the fly-
catcher, our author adds, " In this frail nest, the cow troopial
sometimes deposits her egg, and leaves her offspring to the
care of these affectionate and pygmy nurses. In this case, as
with the cuckoo in the nest of the yellow wren, and that of the
red-tailed warbler, the egg is, probably, conveyed by the parent,
and placed in this small and slender cradle, which could not
be able to sustain the weight, or receive the body, of the in-
truder." It seems that some astute observers have lately
discovered, that the European cuckoo is in the habit of trans-
porting her egg in her mouth, when the situation of the nest
of her selected nurse (a hole in the wall for instance) should
seem to hinder her ingress to it. Mr. Nuttall, seizing upon
this idea, does not hesitate to conjecture that the same strata-

fem is practised by our cow bunting, in the case instanced by
im !
Dr. Potter, whose long letter, published by Wilson, tended
not a little to mislead our honest ornithologist on the peculiar
habits of the cow bunting, thus writes : — "I will not assert that
the eggs of the builder of the nest are never hatched; but I can
assert that I have never been able to find one instance to prove

the affirmative " How are the eggs removed after the

accouchement of the spurious occupant ? By the proprietor of
the nest, unquestionably ; for this is consistent with the rest of
her economy. After the power of hatching them is taken away
by her attention to the young stranger, the eggs would be only
an incumbrance, and, therefore, instinct prompts her to remove

them Would the foster-parent feed two species of

young at the same time ? I believe not. / have never seen an
instance of any bird feeding the young of another, unless imme-
diately after losing her own. I should think the sooty-looking
stranger would scarcely interest a mother, while the cries of
her own offspring, always intelligible, were to be heard."

It would, perhaps, be difficult, in the whole range of natural
history writing, to find as notable an instance of false reasoning
as is presented in the foregoing extract. The epithet " sooty-
looking," applied to a newly hatched cow bunting, is so entirely
inappropriate, that one is led to believe the writer never saw a
young cow bird. The young cow bunting, like the young of
all our small birds, is clothed with a fine down, so thinly spread

of the United States of America. 65

over its body, that the skin is visible ; and, in respect to colour,
it cannot be distinguished from the young of either the Mary-
land yellow throat, or those of the indigo bird. In one in-
stance, indeed, I observed that the down of the cow bunting
was a shade lighter than that of two indigo birds, its nest-
mates.

An opinion has lately been broached, that " birds have pro-
bably the means of knowing an addle egg, for, when any such
remain after the hatching of the others, they always remove
them from the nest" (Audubon's Qrn. Biog., i. 497.) I
have reason to believe that birds possess no such know-
ledge ; and I am confident that, when an addle egg is removed,
it is not by the owner of the nest, but by some vagrant bird
in search of food : except, indeed, in the case of its being
broken, when it is invariably removed by the proprietor. To
find an addle egg among nestlings is so common an occur-
rence, that instances of the fact, which is known to every ex-
perienced naturalist, would be useless.

I shall now proceed to detail the result of some particular
observations on the cow bunting, in the hope that other na-
turalists may be induced to pursue a subject which is worthy
of investigation.

My residence is in the county of Bucks, Pennsylvania ; a
retirement selected for its amenity and sylvan character, inas-
much as an ample forest lies contiguous to my dwelling. In
this forest the sound of a gun is seldom heard ; no vagabond
bird-collector is allowed to pollute a retreat, which even the
volatile schoolboy has been taught to respect, as a sanctuary
of the feathered race. Here is the chosen abode of the
splendid tanager, the golden oriole, and the tuneful wood
thrush ; and here the indigo bird, the song sparrow, and many
others, construct their nests and rear their young in safety.

On the 9th of June, 1834, I discovered a nest of the wood
thrush (Turdus melodus Wils.). It was placed on a horizontal
branch of a low cedar, four feet from the ground ; and con-
tained two eggs belonging to the owner of the nest, and an
egg of the cow bunting. The latter was smaller than the
others, as the bird which laid it is smaller than the thrush ;
the cow bunting, according to Wilson, being 7 in. in length,
and the wood thrush 8 in.

Early in the morning of the 10th of June, I found one of
the thrush's eggs hatched, and the cow bunting's. They had
both been hatched either the preceding night, or that morn-
ing, as I had not perceived any external signs of hatching in
the evening of the 9th. In the morning of the 12th of June,
the thrush's second egg was hatched.

66 Observations on the Cow Bunting

This, to me, was a period of great anxiety. I literally
lived in the woods, in order to guard a treasure, which an
ornithologist alone would know how to appreciate. Every
thing went on as smoothly as could be desired; the nestlings
improved under the care of the parents ; the wants of all
were alike attended to ; and it appeared that the poor little
cow bunting, instead of being viewed as a parasite, or an in-
truder possessed as great a share of the affection of the
foster-parents, as that which was bestowed upon their own
offspring. On the 18th of June, the cow bunting left the
nest ; and, as the underwood was very thick, it so effectually
concealed itself, that I never afterwards saw it. The webs of
its quill-feathers were about an inch in length ; but it must
be observed, that almost all birds of the bunting and sparrow
kinds leave the nest some days before they are able to fly.
Our young song sparrows will seldom remain in the nest
longer than ten days ; and I have known them to depart when
only eight days old. The young of the Towhe bunting com-
monly quit the nest in nine days.

In the morning of the 20th of June, one of the young
wood thrushes jumped from the nest, as I cautiously advanced
to view it. I could not prevail with it to remain, although I
replaced it several times ; and on the 23d the last departed.
None of these birds could fly.

On the same day that the forementioned discovery was
made, I found another nest of the wood thrush. It was built
on a horizontal branch of a small white oak ; and contained
three of the thrush's eggs, and an egg of the cow bunting.
The nest of the wood thrush is large and substantial ; its
concavity is wide and commodious. On the morning of the
17th of June, at an early hour, I observed that the cow bunt-
ing's egg was hatched, and one of the thrush's. The next
morning another egg was hatched ; and in the afternoon of
the same day the third thrush came forth. Here we have a
brood, composed of a cow bird and three thrushes, all so
closely resembling each other, that the most experienced ob-
server would, probably, not have been enabled to point out
the difference. As in the former instance, the nest was daily
watched by myself; and I could not perceive that the parent
thrushes had the least idea that they were nourishing the off-
spring of a bird different in its nature from themselves.

On the 26th of June, nine days after its birth, the cow
bunting quitted the nest. Of the wood thrushes, one de-
parted on the 30th, and the other two the following day.

On the 16th of June, I discovered an indigo bird's nest.
It was constructed in a thick mass of chestnut suckers ; and

of the United States of America. 67

contained one egg of a pure white, without any spot or mark-
ing whatever. The next day the indigo bird laid another egg.
In the night there was a thunder-storm, with violent rain. On
examining the nest, in the morning of the 18th, I found it
removed from its upright position, and nearly broken loose
from the shoots to which it was attached. The two eggs were
lying nearly out of the cavity of the nest ; and on the ground
there was a cow bunting's egg, broken. It was evident that
the cow bunting had anticipated the indigo bird, by taking
possession of the premises, before the rightful owner was pre-
pared to lay her third egg. The weight of the cow bunting,
together with the moisture which the nest had imbibed from
the rain, occasioned the accident. The nest was replaced in
its former position, and secured by strings, but the owner
abandoned it.

Small birds generally lay very early in the morning ; hence
he who would wish to observe them in the act of dropping
their eggs must rise betimes. Of this fact Wilson was aware ;
he, consequently, was in the habit of commencing his researches
at the break of day. His detection of a cow bird in the nest
of a red-eyed flycatcher was the result of his early vigilance.

As I have noted the colour of the indigo bird's egg, found
in the nest above mentioned, it seems proper to speak of a
curious circumstance, which, it appears, is unknown to our
ornithologists. The egg of the indigo bird is sometimes of a
pure white, of a bluish white, of a pale blue, without any
spot or marking whatever ; and, again, we find it marked either
as Wilson describes it, " with a blotch of purple at the great
end," or with pale ferruginous spots. The egg of the Ame-
rican goldfinch is subject to nearly similar variations ; for it is
found of a dull white, and of a bluish white, without any
spots ; and sometimes, as Wilson has it, " thickly marked at
the greater end."

Mr. Nuttall, presuming that his knowledge of our birds
was superior to that of the author of the American Ornithology -,
corrects, in the most emphatical manner, Wilson's supposed
error in regard to the spots on the egg of the goldfinch ; and
adds, that his " description was taken from eight nests, which
were all made towards the close of summer, chiefly in the
Botanic Garden at Cambridge." Wilson, in common with
all naturalists, was liable to error, when he trusted to inform-
ation derived from others ; but when he had had the chance
of an autoptical examination, his descriptions are entitled to
the fullest confidence. Had Mr. Nuttall known this, he might
not only have spared his significant rebuke about the spots ;
it might also have occurred to him, that the nest of the

68 Observations on the Cow Bunting

goldfinch may be found in other places than the Botanic
Garden of Cambridge, answering to Wilson's description of
it; namely, " covered on the outside with pieces of lichen ."

On the 14th of June, of the present year, I discovered a
nest of the indigo bird, containing four eggs ; two of these
were those of the cow bunting, and the others belonged to the
owner of the nest. The ground colour of the cow bunting's
eggs being different, that is, one being darker than the other,
it appeared probable that they had been dropped by different
individuals. The eggs of the indigo bird were of a dull
uniform white. The nest was situated on the border of my
woods, on a hickory shrub, about 2 ft. from the ground ; and
firmly secured at the divergence of the branches.

Early in the morning of the 21st of June, I found one of
the cow buntings hatched, and the other just emerging from
its shell. The next morning one of the young indigo birds
appeared ; but the second egg^ having been punctured by
some insect, was addle. This addle egg had been the first
laid ; as it is not probable the parent would have adhered to
her nest, had the eggs of the cow bunting been dropped be-
fore any of her own. The simultaneous hatching of the eggs
of the cow bird proves that they had been deposited by dif-
ferent individuals.

By the 23d, the two cow buntings had increased so greatly
in bulk, that I became apprehensive they would soon smother
the diminutive indigo bird, which did not appear to be much
more than one fourth of their size. I could perceive, however,
that it received a full share of parental attention, its crop ex-
hibiting an ample supply of food. It was frequently in an
uneasy position, and seemed to respire with difficulty. At
every movement of the buntings, the little creature would get
to the bottom of the nest, and had to struggle hard to relieve
itself from their oppressive weight. The following day it was
no longer to be seen : it had, probably, perished in the night,
and had been removed to a distance by its mother, as I
sought for it in vain below and about the nest.

Neither gallinaceous birds nor domestic pigeons remove
their dead young ; but small birds invariably do : their habits
of cleanliness are remarkable. It is well known that the
young of the latter are in the practice of muting immediately
on being fed ; and that the excrement, which is enclosed in a
pellicle, is forthwith carried away by the parent. As there is
something anomalous in the excrementitious matter of the
young cow bird, I shall advert to it by and by.

On the 25th, the two cow buntings were in good plight ;
and their pin-feathers were rapidly advancing. Their appetite

of the United States of America. 69

seemed to increase with their strength ; for, by the 30th, the
industry of the foster-parents hardly sufficed to satisfy their
wants. It was now evident that the concavity of the nest was
not sufficiently capacious to admit of their remaining at ease ;
for one was continually lying over the other; and, in their
exertions to nestle side by side, the nest became considerably
elongated. Early the next day, the 1st of July, they both
departed. They were ten days old.

I sought for these cow buntings in vain until the afternoon
.of the next day; when I discovered them perched upon the
limbs of a small white oak, situated within a few feet of their
nest. They were accompanied with both of the foster-parents,
the female of which was in the act of feeding one of them,
whilst the other stood by, importuning for food, and quivering
its wings. It was impossible for me to determine that these
were the same birds that I had seen in the nest; but it must
be admitted that the opinion of their identity is a probable
one. And yet, when I took into view their size, for they were
considerably larger than their foster-parents ; the length of
their tail, which was an inch or more; and the ease with which
they fluttered from limb to limb ; I was almost disposed to
think that they were different birds. One fact is certain, that I
saw no other indigo birds in the vicinity ; and the pair above
mentioned, with their clamorous wards, frequented the place
for two or three days.

On the 15th of June, I found, in the interior of my forest,
the nest of the red-eyed flycatcher. It was suspended at the
divarication of a branch of a hickory shrub ; and contained
two young, about two days old, and an addle egg. As soon
as the pin-feathers of these birds made their appearance, I
ascertained that they were cow buntings ; consequently I
watched them, from day to day, with increased interest. On
the morning of the 21st, I observed that they entirely filled
the cavity of the nest. Their plumage was pretty well deve-
loped, their quills being 1 in. in length. In the afternoon of
this day, a cat, prowling about the woods, espied the nest ;
and I was apprised of the fate of the poor buntings, by be-
holding their loosened tenement, and their feathers scattered
on a neighbouring stump. As it is probable the flycatcher
had laid more than one egg in this nest, when it was discovered
by the cow buntings, it may be presumed that they were
broken, as in the instance before mentioned.

On the 10th of July, I found another indigo bird's nest. It
was placed in the top of a black oak shrub, ?> ft. high. It
contained three eggs, of a bluish white, marked at the great
end with pale ferruginous spots ; and an egg of the cow bunt-
ing. On the morning of the 21st, my visit to the nest had

70 Observations on the Cow Bunting

been retarded until 9 o'clock, when I observed that two of
the indigo birds, and the cow bird, were hatched. As the
shell of the latter, and that of one of the former, were yet in
the nest, it was an evidence that the young had just come
forth. In the course of the morning the last egg was hatched.

Here, then, is a proof that the cow bird's egg was deposited
after two eggs had been laid by the indigo bird, which com-
menced sitting immediately on laying her third egg. As it is
admitted that the cow bunting never drops her egg in the
nest of a bird that has commenced incubation, we must infer, ,
from the simultaneous hatching of the eggs, that their period
of incubation is precisely the same, namely, twelve days.

On the 24-th, all the nestlings appeared to be well ; but the
size of the cow bird was nearly double of thatr of the indigo
birds. When passerine birds are newly hatched, they do not
place themselves in a regular order in the nest ; they frequently
lie across one another ; but when their eyes are unclosed, they
arrange themselves side by side, so that they may conveniently
be fed by the parent, and discharge their faeces. The cow
bird, in this instance, appeared by no means disposed to ac-
commodate his nest-mates ; for he was continually stretching
himself over them, and interfering with their convenience.
The indigo birds exhibited signs of uneasiness, and appeared,
occasionally, to breathe with difficulty.

On the 28th, the cow bunting had grown so large, that he
could extend himself quite across the nest, which appeared
completely filled. I took notice that the three indigo birds
occupied one side of the nest, as if sensible of their consan-
guinity, and as if aware that the fosterling was not one of
their kindred. The latter afforded strong evidence that he
had not been slighted by his nurses : the sides of the nest,
besmeared with his excrements, attested to his voracity. I
before observed that there is something anomalous in the
muting of the young cow bunting; for, when it is become
pretty well grown, the faeces do not appear to be removed by
the foster-parents, but accumulate on the sides of the nest.
This day there was an easterly wind, with rain ; and the next
morning I found the smallest of the young indigo birds lying
upon the ground, beneath the nest, dead. It had, probably,
been jostled out of the nest when striving to get food from its
parent. In the night of the 29th there was heavy rain ; and,
on the 30th, I observed another of the indigo birds lying dead
in the nest. This bird had been evidently sick, as its crop
showed no signs of food, and as its position was a commodious
one. The remaining indigo bird was standing upon the edge
of the nest, whence it escaped, in my presence, into the
bushes.

of the United States of America, 71

The cow bunting remained until the morning of the first of
August, when it departed. It will be perceived that it was
eleven days old. With a view of examining the bunting, I
sought for it among the bushes, without success ; but I had
the luck of discovering the young indigo bird, which was
perched upon a limb of a small poplar, about 3 ft. from the
ground ; and it had evidently been in this secure place for
some time, as the leaves below it were soiled with its excre-
ments. The old indigo birds, on perceiving that I had found
their young, enticed it away, and I saw it no more.

On the 5th of August, I saw the cow bunting. It was in
the company of its foster-parents ; and it flew with ease.

Finally, on the 4th of August, I discovered another nest of
the indigo bird. It was built in a chestnut shrub ; and was
canopied with a thick growth of leaves, so that it could hardly
be perceived. It contained two indigo birds, and a cow bunt-
ing, about three days old, as their eyes were beginning to
unclose. No accident whatever happened to this brood;
and on the 10th the two indigo birds left the nest. The next
morning they were followed by the cow bunting.

Not to fatigue the reader with any further details on the
subject of this anomalous bird, I shall close my observations
with the following summary: —

First : There are sometimes two eggs of the cow bunting de-
posited in the same nest.
Secondly : The cow bunting sometimes drops her egg in the

nest of a bird larger than herself.
Thirdly : The egg of the cow bunting requires the same term

of incubation as that of the foster-parent.
Fourthly : The eggs of the foster-parent are never removed

from the nest, but hatch as in ordinary cases.
Fifthly : When two eggs of the cow bunting are hatched in

the nest of a bird smaller than herself, the young of the

foster-bird, for the want of room, are either smothered in

the nest, or jostled out of it.
Sixthly : When only one egg of the cow bunting is hatched

in the nest of a bird smaller than herself, the young cow

bird, and the young of the owner of the nest, are nourished

and reared with equal affection, and dwell in harmony

together.
Seventhly : When the cow bunting drops her egg in the nest

of a bird larger than herself, the selected nurse does not

eject the egg, but hatches the stranger, and nourishes it as

her own.
Eighthly : The cow bunting will drop her egg into a nest

which contains more than one egg.
Buckingham, Pennsylvania, Sept. 20. 1835.

72

Natural History of the N, E. Extremity

Art. II. A Supplement to the List of Species of Birds occurrent
on the North-eastern Extremity qf the Alleghany Mountain
Range, printed in VIII. 539, 540. ; and Information on Traits
in the Habits of the Passenger Pigeon (Columba migrator id), and
of the Wolf (Canis^ Liipus). By R. C. Taylor, Esq., F.G.S.,
Member of the Geological Society of Pennsylvania, &c.

Along with my last communication on the geology and
natural history of the north-eastern extremity of the Alleghany
mountain range, in Pennsylvania (VIII. 529 — 541.), I stated
my hope that, in a subsequent visit to this region during the
present summer and autumn, I should be enabled to enlarge
the zoological catalogue I transmitted to you. Having devoted
four months to further explorations in this interesting district,
I am now enabled to make some additional contributions,
particularly in the department of ornithology, for which I am
indebted to my friend Dr. Saynisch of Blossburg, on the
Tioga river, who has collected nearly all the birds in the fol-
lowing list during the present year.

The figures indicate the number of species enumerated.

Order I. Accipitres, Rapacious Birds.

3. Str'ix passerina, Little owl.

4. Falco uliginosus, Marsh hawk.

5. Falco sparverius, American

sparrow hawk.

Order II. Yicce, Pies.

7. Picus carolinus, Red-bellied

woodpecker.

8. villosus, Hairy woodpecker.

9. pubescens, Downy wood-

pecker.
2. Skta carolinensis, White-breast-
ed black-capped nuthatch
of Wilson,
varia, Red-bellied black-
capped nuthatch.
Cuculus erythrophthalmus,

Black-billed cuckoo.

3.

2.

Order III. Yassennce, Passerines.

9. Turdus auricapfllus, Golden-
crowned thrush.
10. Turdus solitarius, Hermitthrush.

2. Emberiza americana, Black-

throated bunting.

3. erythrophthalma Towhe

bunting.

4. Emberiza oryzivora,Rice bunting.

1. Tanagra aestiva, Summer red

bird.

2. rubra, Scarlet tanager.

8. .Fringilla cyanea, Indigo bird.

9. purpurea, Purple finch.
10. melodia, Song sparrow.

1. ^4'mpelis americana, Cedar bird.

2. Sylvia .Kegulus, Golden -crested

wren.

.Mbtacilla domestica, House
wren.

Lanius tyrannus, Tyrant fly-
catcher, or king bird.

Muscicapa querula, Small green-
crested flycatcher.

Loxia rosea, Rose-breasted
grosbeak.

1. Curvirostra americana, Ameri-

can crossbill.

2. Caprimulgus americanus, Night

hawk. [VII. 633. 635. :
VIII. 470.]

1. Ifirundo americana, Barn swal-

low.

2. virfdis, Green-blue, or

white-bellied, swallow.

3. pelasgia, Chimney swallow.

4. purpurea, Purple martin.

1.

1.

2.

of the Alleghany Mountain Range. 78

Order V. Grdllce, Waders. Order VI. Alnseres, Birds of the
1. Tringa solitaria, Solitary sand- Goose Kind.

piper. 2. ^4'nas albeola, Buffel-headed

3. 5c<51opax vociferus, Tell-tale duck.

godwit, or snipe. 3. dfscors, Blue-winged teal.

1. J'rdea virescens, Green heron.

These birds, it may be proper to remark, were all obtained
at an elevation of from 1350 ft. to nearly 2000 ft. above the
level of the sea, but principally from the former.

My geological investigations in the Tioga valley, during
this autumn, have extended through the area which I men-
tioned (VIII. 535.) as having been a few years since occupied
as the nesting-place of the passenger pigeon (Cbliimba migra-
toria). I have found that I had materially underrated the
length of this valley of pigeons, and am enabled to assert,
from my own observation, that full fourteen miles in length
were occupied by these birds. I am not prepared even to say
that this is the utmost limit, as my opportunity for observing
terminated at that point ; and here the numerous felled trees
and old nests showed the former abundance of these transitory
visitants. I am informed that the various processes of build-
ing the nests, of incubation, and of the flight of the young
birds, and the departure of the old ones, are remarkably
simultaneous. The young pigeons, or " squabs," appear to
quit their nests, and essay to fly, nearly all within a day or two
of each other. Consequently it becomes necessary, on the
part of those who seek these birds, to be on the watch, or
they will be unsuccessful in capturing the game. It was stated,
that comparatively a very few young birds were taken even
on the third day after the general flight took place. By per-
sons who assisted at this time in collecting a great number of
the squabs from this place, I was assured that they rarely found
more than one young bird in each nest. Mr. Audubon,
whose account of these birds is the result of much observa-
tion, affirms that each brood generally consists of a male
and a female. The relation, given by this delightful ornitho-
logist, of the nesting of the passenger pigeon, I have found
to be perfectly correct. I have never been in the vicinity of
one of their roosting places.

I believe the songster of the Alleghany woods, to which
allusion is made in my preceding communication (VIII.
534f.), is the American wood thrush (Turdus mustelinus), in
whose praise the author above alluded to speaks with such
enthusiasm.

At present I have little to add to the list of Mammalia
inhabiting this district. Having passed much time in the
present year in an unfrequented and elevated forest region,

Vol. IX. — No. 58. g

74 Remarks on Trees, with Reference to

during which time I have slept sixty nights out in the woods,
some additional opportunities have occurred to make zoologi-
cal observations.

The Wolf, — In one of the rocky ravines which descend into
the Tioga, near its source, is a favourite resort or den of the
common wolf (Canis Z/upus). Here I have recently followed
the bloody track of a buck, which had evidently been pur-
sued, and probably fastened on, by one or more wolves. The
carcass was still warm, but a large portion of its flesh was
already gnawed away. Three days previously I was present
at the killing of one of these animals, a mile or two from the
same spot. It is asserted that the common wolf of America
is remarkable for its cowardice. Trappers have told me that
this animal, when trapped, displays no ferocity, is silent,
subdued, and unresisting. One old hunter stated that he
has frequently taken a wolf out of the trap, and compelled it
to lie down by his side, after threatening or giving it a few
blows, whilst he reset his trap. In a case which occurred
not twenty days ago, in which I was present, a fine young
wolf, about fifteen months old, being suddenly attacked with
a club, offered no resistance, but crouching down and coiling
up, in the supplicating manner of a young dog about to be
chastised, suffered himself to be knocked on the head. Such
a circumstance is altogether so unusual, that, although a wit-
ness of the fact, 1 feel some difficulty in explaining the cause
of so wary an animal permitting itself to be so attacked, and
to surrender with so little effort to escape. There was no
indication of disease, and it was pronounced to be a healthy
animal, so far as could be judged, by numerous individuals who
examined it. I conceive it may be chiefly explained by the
circumstance of its being taken by surprise, as it was stealing
off from a "patch" of laurel (Kalm/a). Be this as it may,
it proved a fortunate affair to my companion, as the bounty
for the scalp of every wolf is here twelve dollars, and its skin
is worth two more.

313. Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, U. &,
Oct. 5. 1835.

Art. III. Remarks on Trees, voith Reference to their being per-
forated by the Titmouse and the Woodpecker. By Charles
Waterton, Esq.

The tree, that noble and gigantic son of earth, is the fa-
vourite resort of most birds; and so intimately is it connected
with the charming science of ornithology, that he who has
neglected to pay attention to it will often find himself at a

the Titmouse and the Woodpecker. 75

loss to give correct information, in his description of the habits
of the feathered tribes.

The bloom, the fruit, the health and vigour of a tree, are
interwoven with the economy of birds. Do you wish to have
a view of seven or eight different species of Colibri, collected
at one tree ? Wait, in patience, till the month of July ; when
a vast profusion of red flowers on the bois immortel (a tree
well known to every planter in Guiana) invites those lovely
creatures to a choice repast. Are you anxious to procure the
pompadour, the purple-breasted and the purple-throated
colingas ? Then, mark the time when the wild guava tree ripens
its fruit; and on it you will find these brilliant ornaments
of the forest. Is the toucan your object ? You have only to
place yourself, before the close of day, at the shaded root of
some towering mora whose topmost branches have been dried
by age, or blasted by the thunderstorm, and to this tree the
bird will come, and make the surrounding wilds reecho to its
evening call. Would you inspect the nest of the carrion crow ?
Brittle are the living branches of the ash and sycamore ;
while on the contrary, those which are dead on the Scotch
pine are tough, and will support your weight. The arms of
the oak may safely be relied on ; but, I pray you, trust with
extreme caution to those of the quick-growing alder. Neither
press heavily on the linden tree ; though you may ascend the
beech and the elm, without any fear of danger. But let us
stop here for the present. On some future day, should I be
in a right frame for it, I may pen down a few remarks, which
will possibly be useful to the naturalist, when roving in quest
of ornithological knowledge. I will now confine myself to
the misfortunes and diseases of trees ; and I will show, that
neither the titmouse nor the woodpecker ever bore into the
hard and live wood.

Trees, in general, are exposed to decay by two different
processes, independent of old age.

The first is that of a broken branch, which, when neglected,
or not cut off close to the parent stem, will, in the course of
time bring utter ruin on the tree. The new wood, which is
annually formed, cannot grow over the jutting and fractured
part, into which the rain enters, and gradually eats deeper and
deeper, till at last it reaches the trunk itself. There it makes
sad havoc ; and the tree, no longer able to resist the fury of
the tempest, is split asunder, and falls in ponderous ruins. But
ere it comes to this, the titmouse will enter the cavity in a dry
spring, and rear its young ones there. Now, if the diseased
or fractured branches were carefully cut off" close to the bole,
you would see the new accession of wood gradually rolling

g 2

76 Remarks on Trees, with Reference to

over the flat surface, which, in time, would be entirely covered
by it ; and then the tree would be freed for ever from all
danger in that quarter.

The second process towards decay is exceedingly curious,
and cannot well be accounted for. If it takes place to a seri-
ous extent, no art of man can possibly save the tree ; and
sooner or later, according to the magnitude of the disease
with which it has been tainted, it will fall before the force of
the raging winds. Should this disease be slight, the timely
prevention of rain from penetrating the injured part, will
secure the tree from further mischief.

I must here observe that, in animated nature, the vital func-
tions are internal ; so that, if the part within be mortally
wounded, death is the inevitable consequence. With most
trees, and all of those of Britain, it is otherwise. Their
vitality is at the periphery, connected with the bark, under
which an annual increase of wood takes place, so long as the
tree is alive. Should, however, the bark be cut away, the
tree will die upwards from the place where all the bark has
been destroyed. Not so with its internal parts. You may
entirely excavate the interior of a tree ; and, provided you
leave a sufficient strength of wood, by way of wall, in order
that it may be able to resist the fury of the tempest without,
taking care at the same time to exclude the rain, your tree
will remain in vigour from generation to generation. The
internal texture of a tree will perish, without any notice by
which we may be forewarned of the coming ruin. The disease
which causes the destruction takes place in the oak ; but more
frequently in the sycamore ; and most commonly of all in the
ash. We will select this last tree by way of elucidation.

Often, when arrayed in all the bloom of vegetable beauty,
the ash tree is seen to send forth from its bole, or from some
principal branch, a small fungus, which, during the summer,
increases to a considerable size. It ripens in the autumn, and
falls to the ground when winter's rains set in. The bark
through which this fungus sprouted is now completely dead,
though it still retains its colour ; and that part of the wood
from which it proceeded is entirely changed in its nature, the
whole of its vitiated juices having been expended in forming
and nourishing the fungus. Nothing remains of its once firm
and vigorous texture. It is become what is commonly called
touchwood, as soft and frangible as a piece of cork, which,
when set on fire, will burn like tinder. In the meantime, the
tree shows no sign of sickness ; and its annual increase goes
on as usual ; till, at last, the new swelling wood closes over
the part from which the fungus had grown, and all appears to
go on right again. But, ere the slow process arrives at this

the Titmouse and the Woodpecker, 77

state, the titmouse or the woodpecker will have found an
entrance, and a place of safety for their incubation. They
quickly perforate the distempered bark ; and then, the tainted
wood beneath it yields to their pointed bills, with which they
soon effect a spacious cavity.

Here then we have the whole mystery unfolded. These
birds, which never perforate the live wood, find in this diseased
part of the tree, or of the branch, a place suitable to then-
wants. They make a circular hole, large enough to admit
their bodies ; and then they form a cavity within, sufficiently
spacious to contain their young. Thus does Nature kindly
smooth the way, in order that all her creatures may prosper
and be happy. Whenever I see these sylvan carpenters thus
employed, I say to them, " Work on, ye pretty birds ; you
do no harm in excavating there : I am your friend, and I will
tell the owner of the tree that you are not to blame." But
his woodman deserves a severe reprimand. He ought to have
cut down the tree, in the autumn after the appearance of the
fungus.

On the island where this house stands, two stately syca-
mores have afforded ample proof of what I have advanced.

One of these, some forty years ago, began to put on a sickly
appearance ; and I heard my father say that he expected to
see it blown down in a heavy gale of wind. In the summer
of ] 800, I climbed up to the place where the brown owl for-
merly used to breed. The hole was full of water, in a branch
leading from the bole, at about 20 ft. from the ground. Pre-
suming from appearances that the damage was extensive, I
took a wimble, and bored into the tree, at the height of 5 ft. ;
then at 3 ft. ; and lastly, I got a chisel, and cut into it at 3 in.
from the walk. Twenty-four gallons of water, having the ap-
pearance of strong coffee, were procured from these apertures
in the course of the day. After this, I put a cap of lead over
the hole on the high branch above, leaving an entrance for
the owl, should she ever come again; and I drove two long
pieces of iron into the bole below the aperture, sufficiently
low to form a floor for the owl's apartment, which I made
with scraps of stone covered with sawdust. In the summer
of the present year, 1835, 35 years from the first operation,
I enlarged the lowest hole next the walk 4 in. ; and, by the
help of a little iron shovel, I took from the interior of the
tree four large wheelbarrows full of decomposed wood, not
unlike coffee-grounds in appearance. With this substance,
there came out some of the small scraps of stone, which I
had used in making the floor for the owl's residence : proof
incontestable, that the rain water had gradually destroyed the

G 3

78 Trees, Titmouse, and Woodpecker.

internal texture of the sycamore, from the broken branch at
the height of 20 ft. The tree, though hollow as a drum, " or
lovers' vows," is now perfectly healthy.

At a little distance from this, is another sycamore, once a
towering and majestic tree. Some fifteen years ago, it put
out a fungus, about 25 ft. from the ground. I saw, by the
enormous size of the fungus, that the tree must give way ere
long. In 1826, during a heavy gale of wind, it broke in
two, at the diseased part ; leaving one huge branch, which
continued to be clothed with rich foliage every succeeding
season. I built a stonework on the remaining part of the
trunk, by way of covering ; and I made sixteen apartments in
it for the jackdaws, planting an ivy root at the bottom. In
the summer of 1831, another large fungus made its appear-
ance at 8 ft. from the ground. One Sunday morning, during
a raging tempest, the trunk gave way at the fungus, carrying
the remaining branch, the stonework, and the jackdaws'
nests, with a tremendous crash, into the lake below. I roofed
the remainder of the stump again, leaving an entrance for the
owl. It is now quite covered with ivy, and has sent forth a
partial vegetation annually from its last misfortune. In June
of the present year, another huge fungus came out at 4 ft.
from the ground. I understand the warning; and I clearly
foresee that the final doom of this " statio malefida " volucri
is close at hand.

Thus have two sycamores, within a few feet of each other,
been a prey to distinct diseases, and both of them afforded an
inward retreat to birds. The first, having entirely lost its
inside, by the slow-consuming process of wet entering at a
broken branch, still flourishes by the art of man. The second,
for centuries the ornament of the rock upon which it grew,
struck at last by the hand of nature with an inward distemper
which nothing could arrest, broke down at intervals in partial
ruins ; and probably will disappear for ever during the next
fierce wintry blast.

There is still another process by which an entrance is pre-
pared for birds in the boles of trees. Frequently a large
branch fails without any apparent cause ; and it remains dead
on the tree for many years. At last, down it comes, having
given way close to the stem. On inspection you will find
that decay has entered deeply into the tree itself, without any
aid from rain water. The surrounding live wood, which kept
swelling gradually while the dead branch remained on the
tree, now that the obstruction is removed, begins to advance
over the newly exposed and distempered part. In the mean-
time, the birds find no difficulty in excavating this part, and

Limapontia nigra. 19

there forming a place for incubation, or for a nocturnal resi-
dence. Mice and rats will also find their way into these dis-
eased parts of trees. I know of a crab-tree in which a mouse
lives. Its hole is about 5 ft. from the ground.

I have written this paper, first, to show the true habits of
the titmouse and the woodpecker relative to their choice of a
place for their incubation; and, secondly, to catch the eye
of the proprietor of the American Quarterly Review, who, I
am informed, has thought fit to heap anonymous abuse upon
me, with an unsparing hand. Let this sage discerner of orni-
thological merit turn to pages 200. and 343. of the Biography
of Birds, and then blush for American ignorance.

Walton Hall [, near Wakefield, Yorkshire], Dec.2l. 1835.

[In the Architectural Magazine, the number for August,
1835 (ii. 361, 362.), are printed remarks by Mr. Waterton
" on what is commonly called dry rot," and on a method of
preventing it. In the communication above, he has treated
on decay in trees ; in that communication, on decay in timber,
by what is commonly called dry rot. Mr. Waterton con-
siders that " Dry rot is a misnomer. This disease in timber
ought to be designated, a decomposition of wood by its own
internal juices, which have become vitiated for want of a free
circulation of air."]

Art. IV. Illustrations in British Zoology. By George John-
ston, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edin-
burgh.

Limapo'ntia ni v gra. {fig. 14<.)
Description. — Body limaciform ; when extended, two lines
in length; the back 14

convex, protube-
rant; very black,
smooth, naked :
head rounded or
truncate in front,
depressed, light-co-
loured, the mouth
terminal, subinfe-
rior : eyes two,
lateral, black, ses-

• I c |. a Limap6ntia nigra of the natural size ; b, the same magnified ;

Slle I IOOt linear- ' C) the same in a state of semi-contraction; d, the animal seen

oblong, tapered be- swiraming in a reversed position -
hind and extended beyond the body, so as to form a small tail,
whitish, with a few obscure yellowish specks.

g 4

80 AstadUa lomicomis

&•

My friend, Mr. W. Baird, discovered this little snail when
he was examining some marine Conferva? which had been ga-
thered in Berwick Bay. It has a close resemblance to the black
slug, and its motions are similar, creeping along the bottom,
or swimming on the surface, reversed, with equal ease, although
at a slow rate. When disturbed it withdraws the head under
the cloak, just as the slug does, and assumes a nearly circular
form, which it preserves for some time. It was fond of leaving
the water, and crawling a short way up the edge of the saucer,
as most littoral Mollusca are. The quantity of gelatinous
secretion which oozed from the skin seemed to be unusually
great. When it was immersed in fresh water, the wrinkled
state of its skin proved that the creature was pained, and it
died shortly after, without excreting any coloured liquid ; but
after death it exhaled a very perceptible odour, which was pe-
culiar and not disagreeable.

That Limapontia nigra belongs to the gasteropodous Mol-
lusca, I entertain scarce a doubt. The consistence and form
of the foot, its distinctness from the skin of the back or cloak,
the opacity of the body, and the mode of progression, convince
me of this ; and an attempt to examine the internal struc-
ture showed that there were various distinct viscera, although
I could not ascertain their relations and nature : a stomach
and intestine, however, were obvious ; but I detected no trace
of any structure like a lung or gills, so that the order in which
the animal ought to be placed is uncertain. My impression
at first was, that I had before me the mollusc of some of our
minute internal shells, which seemed to be indicated by the
protuberance of the back ; but no shell of any kind could be
detected. Limap6ntia appears to me to have a close relation-
ship to the Aplysia viridis of Montagu ; and perhaps these,
and some other analogous beings, might be collected together
to form a separate order of their class, distinguished by the
want of gills, whose office the cutaneous envelope probably
performs.

Astaci'lla longico'rnis, in the young state, {fig. 15.)

I have given (in VIII. 494 — 4960 a description and figure
of this singular crustacean, and I return to it, for recent
observations enable me to add one or two particulars to its
history. The animal creeps by means of the three pairs of
posterior legs, aided by the long antennae, which are made to
touch the ground so as to support it in front, and drag it in
some degree forwards. Its motions in this way are slow, but,
on the contrary, it swims rapidly ; the principal organs of
natation being the lamellar plates under the tail, for the ante-
rior ciliated feet did not appear to be called much into action.

Astacilla longkornis. 8 1

When at rest, the Astacilla clasps 15

hold of any object in the water
by its creeping legs; and, when
alarmed, it bends itself at the tail
and erects all the body anterior
to this, having the antennae folded
under the belly more or less. In this rather grotesque atti-
tude it resembles many caterpillars.

I have mentioned (VIII. 496.) that the ova are produced in
the large barrel-like middle segment, which is true ; but the
animal is not oviparous, as my remarks might lead any reader
to infer. The eggs are hatched within this uterine cavity, so
that the animal is ovo-viviparous. The young, while yet in
the uterus, are about the eighth of an inch long, and have a
general resemblance to their parent; but the differences are
remarkable enough, and are as follow: — 1st, There is no
marked disproportion in the size of the segments, and the
middle segment was not to be distinguished from the others.
2dly, The young were smooth every where : ciliae could be
detected neither on what were presumed to be the anterior
legs, nor on the caudal processes; neither were claws visible.
3dly, The number of pairs of legs, or leg-like organs, was ex-
traordinary. Besides what were conjectured to be the rudi-
ments of the anterior legs, there were four pairs of long fila-
ments, jointed like legs; and behind these, separated by a
short space, were other two pairs of similar ones : these were
followed by three pairs of shorter legs, and at the tail there
were numerous appendages, apparently of two kinds, but their
number and shape could not be well made out. 4thly, The
head and superior antennae were larger in proportion than
they are in the adult ; but, in the general contour of the body,
there was no great dissimilitude between the young and ma-
ture individuals. The figure appended to this notice was
drawn with care, but the softness of the specimens, which
were dead and had been macerated in fresh water for a few
hours, prevented them being displayed in such a manner as
would have allowed the details to be given more fully and
accurately. Such as it is, your readers will see, by a com-
parison of it with the figures in VIII. 495., the nature of the
metamorphosis which the animal undergoes in its progress to
maturity.

Chondraca'nthus Lo v phii. (Jig. 16.)

Animal milkwhite, soft, opake, the body half an inch long,
two tenths broad, the caudal filaments rather more than 2 in.
long. Head tolerably distinct, convex dorsally, with two
round eminences on the crown, and a narrow mesial groove
running forwards to a small marginal sinus, semicircular in

82

Ch on dracd nth us Loph ii,

a, Chondracanthus L&phii, natural size, back view ; b, the same on the ventral side ; c, the
same magnified.

front, narrowed behind to form a sort of short neck. Antennae
two pairs, the first pair placed on each side of the frontal sinus,
small, cylindrical, with a bulging basis ; the second pair
lateral, pointing backwards, larger, but, otherwise similar to
the first. Mouth inferior, placed at the base of the first pair
of antennae, furnished with a pair of sharp curved mandibles.
Body oblong, divided into three portions by deep sinuations.
The back convex, with a row of soft spines down the middle.
There are two similar spines at eachsinuation, and the posterior
angles are terminated by one spine thicker than the others ;
the spines of the dorsal line are always six in number, exclu-
sive of a small tubercle behind the first. Ventral surface with
two pairs of unequal, unjointed, forked, rather nodulous,
feet ; the forks unequal, obtuse, and a single soft spine near
the middle behind these, and another towards the tail. Fila-
ments originating in the, ventral side, near the margin, and
between the lateral processes, filiform, tortuous, and com-
pactly filled with egg-like bodies.

I found several specimens of this species, which is not de-
scribed in any work to which I have access, in the pouches
under the fins of the Lophius piscatorius. They were all
alike, and adhered to the skin very closely. Its strong resem-

Instances of Symphysis in Plants. 83

blance to the crustacean Caligi cannot be overlooked, and
affords additional proof of the soundness of M. Edwards's
views in approximating these families, and placing them in
one order. It differs from the Lernae « [VIII. 565.'] in the
bilateral symmetry of the body, for this part is divided into
two halves, exactly alike, by a clear tendinous structure ; and
the sides are mottled with the convolutions of an intestinal
tube, which, however, we have not attempted to exhibit in
the figure. -—Berwick upon Tweed. {Received Dec. 23. 1835.]

Art. V. An Instance, perhaps Two Instances, of Symphysis in
Plants described. By B. D. Walsh, Esq.

In that part of the Black Dog Wood which adjoins Chap-
manslade, a* village about four miles from Frome, there grows
a remarkable beech tree (jPagus sylvatica), of parts of which I
transmit sketches. (Jig. 17.) At a distance of several feet from
the ground, there shoots out from the trunk a small limb
(a b) 9 which, after rising 13 in., enters again into the trunk,
without any appearance of a scar or seam in any part of it.
The larger figure (a) represents the lower part of the tree,
in a side view of the limb. The next larger figure (b) repre-
sents a front view of the limb, as connected with the contigu-
ous part of the trunk. At c, and for some inches above and
below, the bark of this small limb is perfectly smooth all the
way round, and the only vestige of a juncture having taken
place at a is a slight wrinkling and chipping of the parent
stem, which makes its appearance here and there in an irre-
gular semicircle above a. Supposing a horizontal section to
be made at c (as in Jig. c), there is a longitudinal groove
both at e and d ; the smaller branch being very much flattened,
as shown in the figure, throughout the whole of its course.
Fig. n represents a section at a.

Has this phenomenon been caused by the pressure of
another branch, as appears to be indicated by the flatness of
a b? and if so, what branch could have produced that
effect ? The tree has been a good deal lopped, but none of
the stumps appear to have thrown out a limb in that direction.
Or must we regard it as a hisus natures ? which, after all, means
nothing more than that we know nothing at all about the
matter.

While on this subject, I may as well mention another tree
remarkable for the same peculiarity, growing between Spring
Gardens and Selwood Cottage, near Frome. This is an old

84

Instances of Symphysis in Plants.
17

From a to b, 13 in. The circumference of the small limb at c, 16£ in. The circumference of the
trunk at c, exclusive of the small limb, 47£ in.

pollard maple (^4 N cer campestre Z.), which has one root, but two
separate trunks, growing side by side, till they unite in a head
at about 3 ft. 9 in. from the ground ; each being nearly cylin-
drical and covered on the whole of the inner and great part of
the outer half by a rough and knotty bark full of seams and
scars; altogether presenting an appearance not unlike the
lower half of a man suffering, like Daphne, an Ovidian meta-
morphosis into a tree. In this case we may either suppose
that the centre has rotted away, and bark formed over the
wound, or that the appearance has been caused by some such
practice as that mentioned by White in his Natural History
of Selborne, letter 70.

Park Hill, near Frome, Somersetshire, July 2. 1833.

Localities of some rare British Plants, 85

I believe that persons of extensive experience among
plants, whether observers in a botanical mode or otherwise,
do not find instances of symphysis in plants of extremely rare
occurrence, reckoning instances of every mode of this, one of
which is

a double cherry, seeming parted,

But yet a union in partition,

Two lovely berries, moulded on one stem."

Mids. Night's Dream.

I have observed an instance in the hawthorn analogous to
that described of the beech ; and I have observed an in-
stance of a branch that had crossed, having grown together at
the crossing, with the part beyond alive, in the apple and the
elm ; with only that part of the branch present which inter-
vened the branch out of which it had grown and the branch
into which it had grown, in the sycamore and the yew; and
have been told of instances of symphysis observed in the yew,
the beech, and the hornbeam. In gardening, inarching, in-
grafting, and budding, are modes of artificially putting parts of
plants in conditions favourable to the issue of symphysis. — J. D.

Art. VI. A Notice of the Localities of Habitats of some rare
British Species of Plants. By W. A. Bromfield, M.D.

Fe v dia Auricula Dec. — This, which is the true Auricula
of De Candolle, grows along with the ordinary dentata of Bri-
tish authors (F eriocarpa Dec. ?), in various places amongst
corn around Hastings, and in profusion in an old clover field,
with jEuphorbz'a platyphylla (stricta of Smith), JLinum angusti-
folium, &c, near Valebrook Farm, a short mile from that
town. I communicated specimens to Mr. Borrer, under the
impression of its being a species new to Britain, or at least
very rare, when that accomplished botanist kindly favoured
me with the synonymes of this and other indigenous species
of the genus, when I had the pleasure of pointing the plant
out to him in his visit to Hastings in July last (1835). De
Candolle has given excellent dissected figures of the fruit both
of his Auricula and eriocarpa, and which admirably agree with
the seed vessels of our two Hastings plants. Mr. Babington
found our Fedia Auricula in the west of Ireland this season, as
appears on a comparison of his own with my English speci-
mens. The Cornish plant sent to Mr. Borrer by Mr. Bree,
as Fedia dentata, differs but slightly, as I am told by the former
gentleman, from our Auricula.

86 Localities of Habitats

Gastridium lendigerum. — I found this rare grass in a very
luxuriant state, in a fallow near Hastings, last August. Knapp's
figure of it {Gramina Britan.) is miserably deficient, and but
for the accompanying dissections would hardly be recognised.

Polygonum dumetorum L. — First detected by Alexander
Hankey, Esq., of London, in a wood near Wimbledon, in
1834. The spot where my own specimens were found, was
in a wood immediately opposite the house of Sir C. C. Pepys,
the present Master of the Rolls, facing which there is a gate,
on entering which a few yards within the wood, the polygonum
will be seen climbing over some low bushes, but confined to
a spot of limited extent. Mr. Hankey was kind enough
to point out the exact locality, from which, in July or August
last (1835), I gathered specimens in high perfection, as re-
garded the beautifully winged fruit. It is unquestionably the
Polygonum dumetorum of Continental authors, as I have
carefully compared the descriptions of Pollich, Krocker, Host,
Wahlenberg, &c, with the recent plant from Wimbledon,
and find them coincide in every respect. Wahlenberg, in the
Flora Upsalensis, looks upon P. dumetorum as merely a
variety of P. Convolvulus; his words are, u non nisi forma
magis sylvestris praecedentis ; " but, in the Flora Suecica of the
same author, published many years subsequently, the same
opinion is not expressed. No one but himself seems to have
entertained the same doubt, which the numerous differences
in the two species, pointed out by Mr. Babington in an able
paper on the genus Polygonum, lately read to the Linnsean
Society, demonstrate to be untenable.

Scorpiiirus sulcdtus. — Three specimens of a scorpiurus an-
swering to the above were gathered by a young lady of this
town, last July (1835), amongst wheat in Battersea Fields, the
attempt to determine the nature of which, by reference to
Smith's English Flora, occasioned her, as may be conceived,
no small degree of trouble and loss of time. Two of these
examples, in flower and fruit, are in my possession, but were
doubtless imported along with foreign corn, amongst which
the various species of this genus are not unfrequent in many
parts of the south of Europe. A subsequent search on the
same spot was quite unsuccessful.

Mespilus germanica. — In No. 55. of this Magazine, Mr.
Trevelyan, in an interesting list of new localities for rare
plants [VIII. 631,632.], mentions [p. 632.] the thorny va-
riety of M. germanica as growing in hedges between Tunbridge
Wells and Penshurst. The tree is by no means uncommon
in the vicinity of Hastings, and is always spinous, flowering
abundantly, but fruiting sparingly ; the wild medlar is about

of some rare British Plants. 87

the size of a moderate walnut, very austere, and of a stony
hardness. M* germanica is scattered over a very extensive
district ; as about Hastings, and at the back of St. Leonard's
in many places ; also about Ashburnham, between Catfield
and Ninfield, in some places quite a conspicuous ornament
to the hedgerows, which is not the only situation it affects,
occurring apparently truly wild, though rarely, in the midst
of natural woods near Hastings, as in those at the Old Road,
Coghurst, &c, in which places I have found seedlings as well
as trees of advanced growth, springing up perfectly sponta-
neously, and very remote from habitations or cultivated
ground. In Guernsey and Jersey, I have often found it
wild, so that its claim to be considered indigenous can hardly
be questioned ; besides, I have never seen it in any garden, as
a cultivated fruit tree, within many miles of this place.

Bupleurum falcatum. — The exact station for this plant,
gathered by myself in July, is in hedgerows and borders of
fields between High Ongar and Chelmsford, beginning to grow
exactly at the turnpike by the third milestone from Ongar,
or seventh from Chelmsford. It is most abundant on the
right hand of the road towards the latter town, particularly in
the hedge bounding the highway, but is so confined to the
field side of the hedge, that not a plant is to be seen from the
road. The bupleurum is spread over a wide extent of ground,
covering the banks of the fields, but never mingling with the
crops ; amongst which, however, I found .Bupleurum rotundi-
folium in great luxuriance and vigour, amongst barley, and in
such profusion .as to be a troublesome weed. On the same
spot I noticed Fedia dentata, and, in the hedge first mentioned,
iathyrus ^4'phaca and L. Nissolm in greater quantity than
I have ever seen it elsewhere. The name of Norton Heath,
given in Hooker's Flora as the station for the J5upleurum fal-
catum is liable to mislead, since the land is now completely
enclosed, a small portion only of common remaining.

Centaurea solstitidlis. — In several fields about Barton, near
Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, as also about Rougham, in the
same vicinity, but seldom found in the same spot for many
seasons in succession.

Centaurea nigrescens Willd. — This species, which has
usually been considered as a var. of C. nigra with radiant florets,
is not uncommon in the Isle of Wight, particularly around
Carisbrooke Castle, where I found it several years ago. The
scales of the involucre are much less regularly pectinated, and
more membranous, than in the ordinary C. nigra; it ap-
proaches C. Jacea in the character commonly given to that
species, and is perhaps truly distinct from either.

88 Species arid Varieties of Plants

In concluding these notices, I cannot help expressing a wish
that in future the pages of this Magazine may regularly be-
come the medium of communicating, more definitely than is
usually done, the exact stations of all our rarer indigenous
plants, by those whose personal knowledge of their habitats
enables them to do so with absolute certainty. By following
such a course these volumes would prove a most valuable
" Botanist's Guide" and faithful record of lost or still exist-
ing stations to succeeding times, in place of those vague indi-
cations which seldom conduct the botanist to the object of his
search. — Hastings, Sussex, 1835.

Art. VII. An Enumeration of Species and Varieties of \Plants
which have been deemed British, but "whose Indigenousness to
Britain is considered to be questionable. By the Rev. J. S. Henst
low, M.A., Regius Professor of Botany in the University of
Cambridge.

In February, 1835, I sent you a communication respecting
the indigenous flora of Britain [VIII. 84 — 88.], with a pro-
mise to forward some further remarks, or, rather, the list of
plants, marked in the way I have there suggested. When I
was about to do so, I found that a second edition of my Ca-
talogue was wanted ; and, having determined to insert these
notices in it, I now send you the Catalogue itself, from which
you can easily extract the names of those plants to which any
mark has been attached.

I am obliged to Mr. Bree for taking up the subject [VIII.
386 — 388.]. He will observe that I do not intend to say,
that /Vis fcetidissima and Polygonum Bistorta are not truly
native. I know that the former is plentiful in the south of
England ; and I have found both in Kent in abundance, and
evidently indigenous. I alluded merely to one spot where
they occur under suspicious circumstances, but have been
introduced into a local flora without any comment.

Cambridge, Nov. 23. 1835.

[The Catalogue sent is noticed in p. 54. In it is presented,
besides some synonymes, designation of these five conditions
in application to certain of the species and varieties registered.

1. An estimation as varieties of certain reputed species.

2. " Possibly introduced by the agency of man." 3. " Na-
turalised, certainly not indigenous." 4. "Occasionally found
wild, but not ever naturalised ; extinct ; 'or erroneously intro-
duced, and which ought to be excluded from our floras." 5.
" Included in the flora of Cambridgeshire."

of questionable Indigenousness. 89

The following lists are of species and varieties designated
under the conditions here prefixed to them.]

Occasionally found wild, but not even naturalised ; extinct, or
erroneously introduced, and which ought to be excluded from
our Floras. — Ranunculus gramineus, .Epimedium alpinum,
Papaver nudicaule, Glaucium phceniceum, Chelidonium la-
ciniatum, Matthiola incana, Cardamine &ellidif61ia, Konig«
maritima (Alyssum maritimum, VI. 54., VII. 272.), Carrich-
tera Fellae, Reseda fruticulosa, Helianthemum fedifolium,
Frankenia pulverulenta, Cucubalus bacciferus, Silene Ar-
maria, Buffonz« tenuifolia, Hypericum calycinum and bar-
batum ; Pilia europae N a, grandifolia, and grandifolia var.
corallina ; Zanum usitatissimum, Staphylea pinnata, Medicago
muricata, Rubus arcticus, Potentilla alba, Rosa cinnamomea,
Cotyledon lutea, Sempervivum tectorum, Archangelica offici-
nalis, Tbrdylium officinale, Echinophora spinosa, Asperula
arvensis, Z)ipsacus fullonum, Centaurea Isnardz, Xanthium
strumarium, Artemisia caerulescens, Gnaphaliumluteo-album,
Filago gailica, Campanula ^?ersicaefolia, Z/edum palustre,
Swertm perennis, Gentidna acaulis, ischium italicum and
wolaceum, Datura Stramonium, iysimachia punctata, Ar-
maria ^>lantaginea, Amarantus Rlitum, Polygonum Fagopy-
rum, Euphorbia Characias, Scilla bifolia, Pypha minor, Po-
tamogeton oblongus, Eriophorum alpinum, £tipa pennata,
Rromus squarrosus.

Naturalised, certainly not indigenous, — Anemone apennina,
Adonis autumnalis, Aconitum Napellus, Papaver somniferum,
Corydalis solida and lutea, Cheiranthus Chelri, Barbara*
prae N cox, Cochlearia Armoracea, /beris amara, ZZesperis ma-
tronalis, Camelina sativa (VIII. 388, 389.), Zepidium Z)raba,
/satis tinctoria, Rrassica Rapa and Napus, Diplotaxis muralis,
Dianthus Caryophyllus, Althaea hirsuta, A^cer Pseiklo-Plata-
nus, Impatiens fulva, O'xalis corniculata, Medicago falcata and
sativa, Pyrus domestica, ilfespilus germanica (see Dr. Brom-
field's statements in p. 86,87.)» Oenothera biennis; Ribes Gros-
sularia, UVa-crispa ; Petroselinum sativum, Carum Carui,
Tbrdylium maximum, Turgenia latifolia, Coriandrum sativum,
Sambucus nigra var. laciniata, Centranthus ruber, Valeriana
pyrenaica, Centaurea solstitialis, Zfrigeron canadensis, Senecio
squalidus, Finca major,|Rorago officinalis, Antirrhinum majus,
Linaria Cymbalaria, Veronica BuxbaumzV, Aristolochia Clema-
titis,Z?uphorbzVzZathyris; Ulmus suberosa and major (these two
are those designated ; and it is remarked, that " perhaps none
but " montana •■ is truly indigenous ") ; Crocus, every kind
of; Narcissus poeticus, Muscari racemosum, Ornithogalum

Vol. IX.— No. 58. h

90 Plafits of questionable Indigenousness.

umbellatum and nutans, Allium Ampeloprasum, Phalaris
canadensis.

Possibly introduced by the Agency of Man, — i?anunculus
arvensis, Z)elphinium Consolida, Psebnia corallina ; Papaver
hybridum, Argemone, Argemone var. maritima, dubium, and
jRhce'as; Rcemena hybrida (Glaucium violaceum), Chelido-
nium majus ; Pumaria officinalis, media, capreolata, parvi-
flora, parviflora var. leucantha, and VaillantzY ; Jf'rabis Tur-
rita, Thlaspi arvense, Erysimum orientale, Diplotaxis tenui-
folia, Paphanus Raphanistrum, Saponaria officinalis and
officinalis var. hybrida, Silene conica and italica, Lychnis
Githago, Trifiolium stellatum, Zathyrus latifolius, Spiraea
salicifdlia, Tamarix gallica, Pupleurum rotundifolium and
falcatum (see in Dr. Bromfield's communication, above),
Peucedanum officinale, Caucalis c?aucbides, Chserophyllum
aureum and aromaticum, Caprifolium perforatum (Lonicera
Caprifolium), Lomcera Xylosteum, Galium tricorne and spu-
rium; Valerianella (Fedia) olitoria, carinata, dentata, erio-
carpa, mixta, and Auricula ; Centaurea Cyan us, Tragopogon
jsorrifdlius and j^orrifolius /3 aequalis ; Pfieracium dubium, au-
rantiacum, auricula, and amplexicaule ; Chrysanthemum sege-
tum, Antennaria margaritacea, Doronicum Pardalianches and
jslantagineum, Pulmonaria angustifolia (VIII. 89, 90.), and
officinalis (VIII. 89, 90.), Anchusa officinalis and semper-
virens, Antirrhinum Orontium ; Mentha viridis, gracilis, and
citrata; Stachys annua, Teucrium Chamaedrys, Suxus sem-
pervirens ; Euphorbia platyphylla, stricta (see Dr. Bromfield's
communication, above), and pilosa ; &alix Woolganawa, Cas-
tanea vesca, Galanthus nivalis, Tulipa sylvestris.

. '^.

[Diplotaxis murdlis. — I believe that this grows at Bungay,
Suffolk.

Diplotaxis tenuifblia. — Plants of this grow on walls west
and east of the road by which one passes from Kensington,
at the church, to Kensington Gravel Pits, in perhaps rather
more than midway of the distance. The road is called
Church Lane, at the Kensington end, and Silver Street at
the end by Kensington Gravel Pits.

A'rabis Turrita. — In about September, 1835, Mr. Biggs,
curator of the botanic garden, Cambridge, gave to me a
packet of seeds for disseminating, which latter he had sug-
gested. I sowed most of the seeds upon the north wall of
Kensington Gardens, for a not long length of it east of the
Bayswater gate, on the side next the Gardens.

Gnap/idlium luteo-dlbum. — The late Rev. George Reading
Leathes, Shropham, Norfolk, once found this growing, I

Accounts of Instances of Aurora Borealis. 91

believe, not sparingly, in either Norfolk or Suffolk. He in-
troduced it into the collection of the botanic garden, Bury
St. Edmunds, where it grew, and propagated itself by seeds
readily. — J. D.~\

Art. VIII. Accounts, from American Newspapers, of Instances of
Aurora Borealis observed in North America, on Nov, 17. and 18.,
1835; transmitted by Dr. Dana to Dr. Dalton, and communicated,
with the permission of the]latter, for publication in this Maga-
zine. By J. H. Stanway, Esq., Fellow of the Royal Astrono-
mical Society.

The Magazine of Natural History for the last month con-
tained (p. 23 — 36.) so many interesting and circumstantial
accounts of aurorae boreales which have been seen in Great
Britain, and, especially, of those which were visible on Nov.
17th and 18th, 1835, that I showed it to our eminent and
scientific townsman, Dr. Dalton, who, as may be seen in his
lately republished Meteorological Essays, has for many years
taken great interest in these phenomena.

He received, a few days afterwards, a letter from Dr.
Samuel L. Dana, of Lowell, in the United States of America,
containing accounts of aurorae seen in many parts of the
United States on the same evenings ; and as the descriptions
of these aurorae, as well as of those seen in Great Britain,
are given in such terms as to show that the extent and bril-
liancy of the appearances have rarely, if ever, been excelled,
and as the occurrences happened on the same days and at the
same time (an allowance of about five hours being made for
the difference of the clocks at the respective places), it has
been j udged that so remarkable a circumstance would be par-
ticularly worthy of notice in the history of the auroral phe-
nomena.

For this reason, Dr. Dalton has given me permission to
take copies of the particulars sent to him by Dr. Dana ; and
I forward them to you in the hope that they will be reprinted
in your scientific journal.

Old Tr afford, near Manchester, Jan. 12. 1836.
From the Newhaven Herald.

Auroral Phenomenon.'- -Last night (Nov. 17.) our northern
hemisphere was adorned with a display of auroral lights, re-
markably grand and diversified. It was first observed at 15
minutes before 7 o'clock (mean time), when an illumination of
the whole northern sky, resembling the break of day, was
discernible through the openings in the clouds. About 18
degrees east of north was a broad column of shining vapour,

H 2

92 Accounts of Instances of Aurora Borealis

tinged with crimson, which appeared and disappeared at in-
tervals. A westerly wind moved off the clouds, rendering the
sky nearly clear by 8 o'clock ; when two broad white columns,
which had for some time been gathering between the stars
Aquila and Lyra on the west, and the Pleiades and Aries on
the east, united above so as to complete a luminous arch,
spanning the heavens a little south of the prime vertical. The
whole northern hemisphere, being more or less illuminated,
and separated from the southern by this zone, was thrown
into striking contrast with the latter, which appeared of a
dark slate colour, as though the stars were shining through a
stratum of black clouds. The zone moved slowly to the
south until about 9 o'clock, when it had reached the bright
star in the Eagle, in the west, and extended a little south
of the constellation Aries, in the east. From this time it
began to recede northward, at nearly a uniform rate, until 20
minutes before 1 1 o'clock ; when a vast number of columns,
white and crimson, began to shoot up simultaneously from
all parts of the northern hemisphere, directing their course
towards a point a few degrees south and east of the zenith,
around which they arranged themselves as around a common
focus. The position of this point was between the Pleiades
and Alpha Arietis, and south of the Bee, having a right as-
cension of 42°, and a declination of 24°, as nearly as could
be determined without the aid of instruments ; but this comes
so near to the pole of the dipping needle, and to the magnetic
meridian, that we need not hesitate to conclude that, agreeably
to what has been observed of similar phenomena before, the
columns arranged themselves exactly in obedience to the laws
of terrestrial magnetism.

Soon after 11 o'clock, commenced a striking display of
those undulatory flashes denominated in the northern regions
merry dancers. They consist of thin waves or sheets of light,
coursing each other with immense speed. Those undulations
which play upon the surface of a field of rye, when gently
agitated by the wind, may give to the reader a faint idea of
these auroral waves. One of these crimson columns, the
most dense and beautiful of all, as it ascended towards the
common focus (the vanishing point of perspective for parallel
lines), crossed the planer, Jupiter, then at an altitude of 36°.
The appearance was peculiarly interesting, as the planet shone
through the crimson clouds with its splendour apparently
augmented rather than diminished.

A few shooting stars were seen at intervals, some of which
were above the ordinary magnitude and brightness. One
that came from between the foot of the Great Bear, at 8

observed in North America on Nov. 17, 18. 93

minutes after 1 o'clock, and fell apparently near to the earth,
exhibited a very white and dazzling light, and, as it exploded,
scattered shining fragments very much after the manner of a
sky rocket.

As early as 7 o'clock the magnetic needle began to show
unusual agitation, and it has been since carefully observed
by Mr. Loomis. Near 11 o'clock, when the streamers
were rising and the corona forming, the disturbance of the
needle was very remarkable, causing a motion of 1° 5' in
five minutes' time. This disturbance continued until 10
o'clock this morning; the needle having traversed an entire
range of 1° 40', while its ordinary diurnal deflection is not
more than 4'.

The thermometer at 1 1 o'clock was at 33° ; it shortly fell
to 31°, and remained nearly at this point during the rest
of the night — a degree of cold considerably below that of the
few preceding nights. The ground this morning was covered
with a copious white frost, indicating an unusual deposition of
watery vapour.

At about 3 o'clock the sky grew cloudy, and, the moon ris-
ing shortly afterwards, further observations were prevented ;
but the continued disturbance of the magnetic needle would
induce the belief, that the aurora continued through the night,
and even to a late hour this morning. — O. [Believed to be
Professor Olmstead.~]

Yale College^ Nov. 18.

From the Boston Daily Paper.

The sky presented a singularly beautiful appearance
on Tuesday evening, the 17th of Nov. Between 7 and 8
o'clock, the broken clouds were tinged with a beautiful red,
particularly at their edges, not unlike the appearance they
occasionally assume immediately after a brilliant sunsetting in
a summer's evening. At the same time the whole horizon
was lighted up, to a degree fully equal to the light of the un-
clouded full moon. This continued through the whole even-
ing. About 10 o'clock the light was more brilliant than
before ; the clouds were mostly gone, and the splendid corus-
cations of the aurora borealis extended entirely over the
heavens, from the north quite down the horizon in the south.

Occasionally the light faded, and then again grew brighter,
and arranged itself in columns and pyramids ; some of which
were but momentary in their form and appearance, and others
were visible and unchanging for some minutes. >

About 1 1 o'clock a mass of clear bright red light filled
a circle of 8° or 10° diameter a little to the south-east of the

h 3

94 Accounts of Instances of Aurora Borealis

zenith, from which rays of the same hue and brilliancy issued
in every direction, This light appeared to have a slow motion
towards the south, and in about half an hour faded, or rather
seemed to disperse itself through the sky.

As this phenomenon was exceedingly peculiar, differing,
not in splendour only, but in form, hue, and character, from
all the appearances of the aurora in this country, of which we
have any record, it was doubtless generally seen ; and, if it
was observed with sufficient care, and in many places, it may
assist in deciding how far the light itself was from the surface
of the earth. This would be easily ascertained, if the angles
under which it was seen at the same time in different places
are compared. Here, the centre of the mass of light was, as
well as we could judge by the eye, about 8° north-west of the
Pleiades, at a quarter past 1 1 o'clock.

Also from the Boston Daily Paper.

The brilliant northern light which was observed here on
Tuesday night was observed also at New York, though evi-
dently, as far as we can judge from the descriptions given,
with considerable variation of appearance, and also of time.
It was observed also at sea, between this place and Portland,
as we learn from a passenger on board a packet from that
city ; and, we doubt not, along the whole coast.

A brilliant light also appeared here through the whole of
Wednesday evening, the 18th, extending over the whole
northern part of the heavens, and, at intervals, in streams of
light to the zenith.

From the New York Daily Advertiser of the 18th.

There was a most magnificent display of the northern
lights during the early part of last evening.

At 7 o'clock, the northerly division of the horizon was il-
lumined by an unusual light, which attracted general observ-
ation. At about 11 o'clock, the whole horizon presented a
most extraordinary appearance, something like the glare of
an extensive conflagration : the lights radiated from the zenith
of the horizon, having the appearance of the rays of the sun
when it is partly obscured by a cloud, or, as it is commonly
called, when the sun draws water : the hues of the various
radii were principally of a light pink, transparent as ether;
others were white, and a few nearly of a lead colour. In the
course of 10 or 15 minutes, they moved round towards the
east, and gradually faded away. It was the most singular
phenomenon of the kind that has been witnessed in these
regions for many years ; and, indeed, so much did it resemble

observed in North America on Nov. 17, 18. 95

a conflagration, that many of the bells of the city sounded an
alarm of fire.

From the New York Commercial Advertiser*
The heavens were in a glow, at intervals, last evening
from the early hour of 6 o'clock until 11, and how much
longer we cannot say. We viewed the phenomena from the
deck of the Ohio steam-boat, between Kinderhook and Catskill.
The lights were first observed as the passengers were ascend-
ing from the cabin after tea. They were streaming up from
the south-west, and at times shot almost across the zenith. The
colours were various, mingled with purple and vermilion, and
at times of a deeper red. At one time a beautiful arch of
silvery light spanned the southern heavens, so thin and trans-
parent, that the stars twinkling through the glory seemed to
sparkle with unwonted radiance. At other times myriads of
columns or streams of light shot up from the western horizon,
and remained stationary for a few moments, until they faded
away. \^

The next and last change that we observed was a bank of
soft phosphorescent light, extending along the horizon from
the south-west, around to the north and north-east. The ap-
pearances in this city were various, and exceedingly brilliant
and beautiful.

From the Woodstock {Vermont State) Courier.

The aurora borealis on Tuesday evening had an unusual
appearance. It commenced with streams of a bright red,
shooting up from the north-west horizon, intermingled with
those of the usual hue, and extending nearly to the zenith.
At times a considerable portion of the northern heavens glowed
with red, similar to the most rosy hue of the western sky
at sunset ; and about 8 o'clock we noticed an extensive and
brilliant appearance of this kind in the north-east, streaked
perpendicularly with the common-coloured ascending rays of
the northern light.

At one time a luminous, well-defined arch spanned the
south-eastern portion of the heavens, rising half way to the
zenith ; parallel with which, and crossing directly overhead,
was another luminous bow of nearly equal brilliancy.

From the Montreal Gazette.
We do not recollect having ever witnessed a more brilliant
display of the aurora borealis than that of Tuesday evening
last, Nov. 17. ; nor have we met with any description of that
extraordinary meteoric phenomenon which could at all com-
pare with the beauty of that to which we now allude. At

h 4

96 Accounts of Instances of Aurora Borealis.

about 7 o'clock, we first noticed a slight appearance of the
aurora towards the northward, but it was somewhat con-
cealed by a heavy bank of clouds which settled upon the
horizon. These were, however, tinged with a reddish hue,
and induced many to suppose that a great fire was raging at
some distance down the river. Occasionally some of the
smaller clouds higher up in the heavens would have the same
colour, but less apparent and more flickering and changeable.

At about ] 0, the sky presented a complete sheet of the
aurora, from north to south, and from east to west ; at one
time forming itself into arches, at another running into spear-
like points ; now shining with a clear lunar refulgence, and
then diminishing away gradually. At length, after it had
played its gambols about the heavens, it seemed to reserve all
its extraordinary brilliancy for its final display, at about
half-past 10 to 11 o'clock. Over head, as if from a centre,
rays of glory shot to every portion of the heavens, reaching
to the edge of the visible horizon. We can compare it only
to the outstretched web of an umbrella, or of a large tent, or,
perhaps more properly, to the neatly arranged silk panel of
a cabinet piano.

At first, it exhibited a slight roseate hue, which at length
increased to a deep red colour, varying, as the aurora flickered,
between a beautiful pink and a blood-red tint. The variations
were most splendid ; and nothing could equal the brilliancy
of the changes which each moment produced. The stars
which were occasionally visible through the red flashes were
each encircled with a small halo, adding much to their beauty,
though their brilliancy was somewhat dimmed.

From the Baltimore Chronicle.

The Charleston Mercury states, that during the late gale
at the south, whilst the schooner Laura, Captain Walker,
was in about latitude 30° north, and to the eastward of the
Gulf Stream, about 70 miles from land, she was visited by a
very large number of land birds, which appeared to have
been blown off by the wind, then blowing very hard from
north to north-west. Many were swept beyond the vessel,
and, in the endeavour to return on board, fell exhausted into
the water, and perished. A great number came on board,
and were sheltered in the cabin. Seventy-two were killed
and eaten by the sailors.

As near as can be recollected, the following birds were
identified — red-headed woodpeckers, reed birds, mocking
birds, blue jays, stone plovers, large blue herons, and night
herons. They remained with the vessel until the gale abated,

Freestone Quarries of the Isle of Portland. 97

when such as were able took their departure for the land.
At the same time, immense flocks of wild geese were seen
flying over, some of which manifested a disposition to alight
upon the rigging.

Art. IX. Rough Notes made during a Visit to the Freestone
Quarries of the Isle of Portland , on Wednesday, August 25.,
1835. By Wm. Perceval Hunter, Esq., Member of the
Geological Society of France, &c. &c.

The Isle of Portland, and its vicinity, is one of the most
interesting spots to the geologist in the British dominions.
Setting aside the interest and curiosity every one must na-
turally feel respecting the quarries whence the materials for
raising our most ornamental public buildings (St. Paul's,
Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge, Somerset House,
&c.) have, for a period of upwards of two hundred years, been
derived, and its remarkable fossil forests of palm trees (prov-
ing to a certainty the great changes in climate, vegetation, and
physical structure our own island, in common with the rest
of the world, has, during the myriads of ages which fall under
the contemplation of the fossil naturalist, undergone), its vi-
cinity, for an area of fifty miles, possesses a variety and rich-
ness of geological wonders, such as few spaces of land of
similar extent in Europe can equal, most assuredly none sur-
pass. The Burning Cliff, only eight miles from Weymouth,
in the strata above which I found the same silicified trunks
of Cycadoidese, though, strange to say, not reposing on the
same " dirt-bed," as in Portland ; the layes of Kimmeridge
coal, so interesting from their geological position, though, I
believe, of very little value as to the quantity and quality of
their contents ; the Isle of Purbeck, whence all the flagstones
for the foot-pavements of London were, till within the last
few years, procured, and where the whole range of that re-
markable geological group, the Wealden Rocks, may, in
Dudley Cove, from the highest to the lowest member of the
series, at one glance be surveyed ; the beds of plastic clay
surrounding the eminence on which stand the romantic and
picturesque ivied ruins of Corfe Castle, whence, when I
rode by, cart-loads were being excavated and waggoned for
the potteries of Staffordshire ; the dunes of sand at the entrance
of Poole harbour, with the magnificent sections of precipitous
rocks of various strata, some perfectly horizontal, others as
perfectly vertical, some slightly inclined, and others again
broken into the wildest and most fantastic shapes, laid open

98 Notes made during a Visit to the

to the view of those who boat it from Weymouth to Poole ; —
all these beauties and wonders are to be seen at a few hours'
journey from the Isle of Portland : while the extraordinary
organic remains found in the lias of Bridgenorth and Lyme
Regis ; the Pterodactyli or flying lizards, the various species
of Icthyosauri and Plesiosauri, with their extraordinary and
invaluable coprolites, manifesting to us the ichthivorous — if I
may^be allowed the expression — the ichthivorous and cannibal
propensities of those monsters of " the vasty deep," in a world
which existed millions of years before the flood ; the tertiary
beds of Christchurch and Hordwell, in Hampshire, and the
meiocene and eocene clays, sands, and freshwater strata of the
Isle of Wight, — are all within a day's distance of the same
place. That such an island should have been, though often
visited, so seldom described, so inaccurately and carelessly
examined, is certainly extraordinary, but is nevertheless a
fact. Any information, therefore, however slight, from a field
naturalist respecting it will, I feel convinced, be deemed of
interest by your readers ; and on this account I shall make no
apology for sending you the subjoined notes in the same rough,
but I hope accurate, shape in which they were taken down
on the spot.

The Island of Portland is about 14 miles in circumference,
with a population (in 1832) of 27,280 souls. There is very
little wood on the island, but the ground, being well manured
with lime,produces very fair wheat, and affords fine grazing
land for cattle. There are above 500 men, including sur-
veyors, supervisors, clerks, persons employed in the shipping,
&c. engaged on these quarries. The pygmy curlew, a rare bird,
I believe, in most parts of England, is found occasionally in
considerable abundance on the Chesil Bank, a long, elevated
and narrow ridge of shingle, 10 miles in length, and 12 ft.
high, which, with the exception of a narrow passage, where
there is a ford at high water, though it may be passed on foot
at low water, connects the island of Portland with the main-
land. The whole isle rests on Kimmeridge clay, and on one
side is rapidly diminishing in size ; no less than 40 ft., it is
said, having fallen into, or been carried away by the sea,
within the last 50 years.

I. Section of the Strata in Ring's (the largest) Quarry in the
Island, from the Surface to thefrst " Dirt-bed"

All the strata are very much dislocated ; saddles are numerous, and the
marks of elevation and depression very strongly developed.

The names of beds marked with inverted commas are the names in use
amongst the workmen.

1

3

1

1

3

3

1

2

4

1

9

1

3

1

13

10

Freestone Quarries of the Isle of Portland. 99

ft. in.

1. Soil . - - -

2. ' Rubble ' - - -

3. * Blue clay »

4. ' Slate ' [This bed is used for roofing houses and walls*

for which purpose it is an excellent and
durable material]

5. A layer of reddish-brown clay -

6. f Bacon tier '

7. A layer of blackish-brown clay - -

8. « Ash *

9. Ash burr, or soft burr -
10. < Dirt-bed '

Total - - - -

These beds vary considerably in thickness at different
places, owing to the strata in many parts being, as above
stated, so very much dislocated : in some places they are so
disturbed and broken, that the measurement varies every foot ;
in other places, however, as where my measurements were
made, they are only slightly inclined (having neither compass
nor clinometer with me, I could not learn in what direction,
or at what angle) ; and in a few places, Fern Street Quarry,
for example, these beds are almost, if not perfectly, horizontal.
The " dirt-bed " consists of a black rich-looking mould, con-
taining, like the surface, a great many white-coloured water-
worn stones ; and in it, and upon it, are found the remains
of groves of palms and other trees allied to the modern genera
Zamia and Cycas, now only flourishing in warm climates,
evidently standing on the very spot in the dark-stained soil
in which they originally grew. These trees are tolerably
abundant, and their remains are scattered, more or less, over
the whole quarry ; some of the trunks lie prostrate on the
ground, many are inclined at various angles, and some few
stand perfectly upright, their roots firmly fixed in the " dirt-
bed," and their stems and branches stretching upwards
through the " soft burr " and " ash " above. They seldom,
however, when so situated, exceed 3 ft. or 4 ft. in height. One
of these trees, I particularly noticed in this quarry ; it was
inclined at a slight angle, about 3 J ft. high, was only half ex-
cavated, the other half being imbedded in the limestone
(which, adjoining this wood, is uncommonly hard, much more
so than in other places, owing to the presence of flint derived
from the silicified trunks), and must have measured at least
9 ft. in circumference, and the quarrymen assured me that
some are found from 1 2 ft. to 1 5 ft. in circumference. Of
this petrified wood very good whetstones, for sharpening
knives and razors, are fabricated by the workmen.

100 Notes made during a Visit to the

II. Section of the Strata at Rings Quarry from below the " Dirt-
bed" down to the " Whit-bed."

In the subjoined strata, which exhibit few of the marks of violence so
striking in the beds above, vast clefts or chasms occasionally occur from
2 ft. to 4 ft. in width at the surface, which go down to a considerable
depth, gradually decreasing in size as you descend.

ft. in.
Total of the thickness of the first section - - - 13 10

11. * Rising of the cap' - - - - 2

12. * Top cap ' At bottom of this a bed called * grizzle,' abound-

ing in shells, which none of the beds above-
mentioned, nor the skull-cap below, contain,
occasionally, but very irregularly, occurs.
Sometimes, however, it is entirely wanting,
and no organic remains are met with till we
reach the roach - - -40

13. Second * dirt bed ' consists of the same black mould, with the

same water-worn pebbles as the first ' dirt
bed.' It contains a great many round
masses of petrified wood, called by the
quarrymen * petrified crows' nests, '
which, in shape and contour, they cer-
tainly somewhat resemble; but which
Dr. Buckland, with much greater proba-
bility, considers to be the fruit of the trees
aforementioned, which he has denomi-
nated Cycadoideae, and on which he has
published a long and interesting disserta-
tion in the 2d volume of the 2d series
of the Transactions of the Geological So-
ciety of London -

14. « Skull cap '

15. * A layer of flint*, broken to pieces, runs along the top of the
roach ------

16. * Roach ' - - - - • -

1 7. * Whit-bed,' or the very best Portland building stone

18. A layer of flint about -

Total -

Nos. 11. and 12. " Top cap" and " rising cap," although
destitute of shells or other organic remains, are burnt for lime,
and are in high repute amongst the agriculturists of Dorset-
shire for that purpose.

No. 16. The " roach " contains an immense quantity of
testaceous remains, being in some places a complete aggregate
of fossil marine shells ; it forms, however, — so at least the
quarrymen assured me, — a good building stone, very durable
and impervious to the rains and frost. None of the other beds,
save, as already stated, the " grizzle," occasionally found
under the " top cap," contain any organic remains.

4

2

3

2

G

7

6

6

32

11

Freestone Quarries of the Isle of Portland. 101

III. Section of Strata measured at Fern Street Qiiarry, from
below the " Whit-bed " Flints, to the last Bed of the Portland
Building Stone.

Total of sections 1st and 2d -

19. A limestone, partly cretaceous, partly slightly oolitic

20. A layer of flint - - - -

21. Limestone -

22. Siliceous limestone -

23. A thin vein of grey-coloured flint

24. 'Carff' - - - - -

25. A layer of clay ----- -

26. * Roach ' - - - ; # - -

27. • Best-bed, ' or Portland building stone : this is not, as its

name would imply, by any means so good a
building stone as that furnished by the
' whit-bed' - - - - 5 10

47

ft.

in.

12

11

2

S

1

5

1

6

2

1

9

2

1

28. A layer of flints lying under the ' best-bed,' is succeeded by a
vein of blue clay ; after which occur beds,
called by the workmen * rubble,' an argilla-
ceous freestone, containing more or less of
silex, closer to the Kimmeridge clay, on
which, as before stated, the whole isle rests.
The workmen are paid by what they exca-
vate, and seldom make more than two
shillings a day. The highest part of the
island, the head quarryman informed me, is
between 300 ft. and 400 ft.

The following is a statement of the exact quantity of stone
excavated and shipped from the Isle of Portland, during the
last two years and a half, furnished to me by the keeper of
accounts. There are sixteen square feet to a ton.

1833. Block or Portland stone - - - -

* Roach ' » -

* Rubbish,' pieces knocked off from the above while

squaring the blocks, and afterwards col-
lected for roofing walls and cottages -

Total -

1834. Block - - -

< Roach' -----

' Rubbish ' - - - - -

Total

1835. First six months.

Block - - - - • -

* Roach' » - - - -

* Rubbish' - - - - -

Isle of Valentia, Kerry, Ireland, Dec. 7. 1835.

tons.

ft.

14773

9

1467

5

4088

20328

14

19062

8

2161

13

4692

25916

5

9010

7

612

12

856

10479

3

102 Cycas revoluta Tliunb.

[Of living species of plants of the order Cycadeae, 26 are
registered in Loudon's Hortus Britannicus, p. 403., as having
been introduced into Britain ; and this generalisation on the
species of the order Cycadeae is presented in p. 535. of that
work. " All are natives of countries beyond the reach of
frosts, chiefly of the Cape of Good Hope and equinoctial
America. With a low trunk, which rarely exceeds the height
of a few inches, they have the fronds and appearance of pygmy
palms, and the inflorescence of gigantic equisetums. The
trunk of Cycas contains a great quantity of faecula, which is
manufactured into a kind of spurious sago."

In the Encyclopaedia of Plants are figures of 4 species of
Zamia, and figures of Cycas circinalis L., female, as to its
fruit-bearing spadix and the fruit upon it, and part of a frond.
C. circinalis is registered in both works as native of India,
and first brought to Britain in 1700. Of C. revoluta Thun-
berg, another species, registered in both as native of China,
and first brought to Britain in 1737, there is a figure of a
plant of the male sex of, in Gard. Mag., iv. 162., which is
here introduced (Jig. 18.), and on which the following in-
formation is deduced from the account in p. 161 — 163. The
plant represented was at Cally, in Kirkcudbrightshire, on
April 4. 1828, and then in flower there for the second time:
it had flowered there, for the first time, in June 1826. At
the date of its second flowering it was reputed to have been
at Cally upwards of 30 years, and that its age must exceed
40 years. The tub in which the plant was growing was 2 ft.
in depth, and 6 ft. 6 in. in circumference. The stock or stem
of the plant was 1 ft. 6 in. high from the surface of the soil
in the tub, and 2 ft. 6 in. in circumference; covered with the
remains, of a dark-brown colour, of the different crops of
fronds. The fronds are produced at the summit of the stock
or stem. Those of the last crop w r ere 36 in number, in length
4 ft. 6 in., and in circumscription of the spread of the whole,
27 ft. : in colour of a fine dark green, the rachises or ribs
rather lighter than the pinnae or leaflets : the fronds of the
previous crop had been all cut off. The catkin, which rose
perpendicularly out of the apex of the stem, had a very short
footstalk, thinly set round with leathery spathulate scales,
of a dusky orange colour; was in height 2 ft. 10 in., and at
the greatest circumference 1 ft. 3 in. tapering from about half
way up to the top. It was set round with about 1500 of these
scales, regularly imbricated, which radiated from the centre.
The one shown in the figure (a, b) is of the full size, a the
breadth, b a side view taken from the bottom of the catkin ;
the others gradually diminish in size towards its top. The

Rare Species of Fossil Shell.

103

under sides of these scales, as they -come into perfection,
become covered with numerous globules (c), the anthers,
which expand into little cups, out of which a quantity of
yellow powder, pollen, falls, of a beautiful shining orange
colour, which emits a very exhilarating resinous fragrance.
The remains of the catkin produced in 1826 still hung down
under the leaves, a number of the scales having fallen or been
rubbed off from its top.]

Art. X. A Notice and an Enquiry on a rare Species of Fossil
Shell discovered in a Chalk-Pit near Lewes, and deemed to be a
Species of Cbnia. By Robert Hudson, Esq.

The accompanying drawing [copied in Jig. 19.] is an
accurate representation of a fossil shell, which I found some
little time back in a chalk-pit near Lewes, and which I believe

104

Rare Species of Fossil Shell.

is unique. Mr. Mantell (that indefatigable investigator into
the treasures of the chalk, whose museum at Brighton con-
tains one of the finest collections from that stratum in the
kingdom) found some fragments of the upper chamber of a
similar shell from the same locality, which he has named in his
Geology of the South-East of England (8vo. edition, p. 130.)
Hippurites Morton/. I am,however, inclined to doubt whether
it is a hippurite at all, believing it to be rather a gigantic
species of barnacle ; and in this opinion I am borne out by the
testimony of the able president of the Geological Society, Mr.
Lyell, whose Principles of Geology will always entitle him to
the best thanks of every admirer of this most interesting
branch of natural science. Mr. Lyell, to whom I sent this
specimen with an intimation of my doubts of its being a hip-
purite, states in his answer, " You are quite right in supposing
that your fossil is not a hippurite, but of the i?alanus family :
it belongs to Leach's genus C6nia, a balanus with four, in-
stead of six, divisions or plates ; so we have no hippurite from
the chalk. It is, however, a beautiful specimen as a Conia ;
and no fossil Coniae were known before, as far as I can learn."
I have lately heard that similar specimens have been discovered
in the chalk, since mine, but I have not seen any one. I
should, therefore, feel obliged to any of the contributors to
your Magazine, if they would inform you, whether they have
found any similar fossil, and, if so, whether their specimens
differ from this ; by which means we may be enabled to class
this properly. My specimen is as nearly of the size of the

Musical Ratcatcher. 105

drawing as possible. It is a multivalve shell, hollow at each
end, and has the commencement of another attached to it;
all round the edge, as may be seen in the drawing, are parts
of some bivalve shells firmly attached to it.
Clajpham Common, Jan, 14. 1836.

Art. XI. Short Communications,
Mammiferous Animals and Birds. — The Musical Rat-
catcher. — Many quadrupeds, as well as serpents, &c, are so
extremely fond of music, that their ferocity becomes in a
great measure subdued, and they fall an easy prey to the
sportsman. The following anecdote is given me by my son,
who is just returned from Calcutta, and who has repeatedly
witnessed the following successful mode of capturing rats on
ship-board. As soon as evening commenced, the ship's
steward baited his traps, and placed them near the rats'
holes ; then took his flute, and played some lively airs : the
rats w T ere attracted by the music*, and came into the traps,
quite unconscious of that danger which, without any allure-
ment, instinct taught them to avoid. In this simple manner,
from fifteen to twenty rats have been captured in about three
hours f ; a number which would have required three or four
weeks to capture by bait only : hence,

'* Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast."
I wonder whether English rats are as fond of music as the
rats of India? If so, it would be worth while for many a
farmer to learn the flute or violin, the expense of which might
soon be saved in grain, — W, H, White. Old Kent Road,
London, Nov. 2. 1835.

Combat between a Hen and. a Rat. — A few days ago, a
singular combat was witnessed in the yard of Mr. George
Johnson, razor-manufacturer, between a hen and a large rat.
The rat approached the place where the hen was brooding
her chickens, as it appeared, to take a share of some grain
with which they had been fed ; when the hen attacked it. The
rat stood on the defensive, and fought for five minutes, but
was killed by its antagonist. The hen was severely bitten in
the engagement, but is recovered. (From the Sheffield Inde-
pendent, July 1835.) [Contributed to this Magazine by Mr.
White, with the preceding.]

* I have myself repeatedly seen mice come from their holes, and listen
attentively to the playing of a flute or violin ; but retire as soon as the
music ceased.

•f- This feat obtained for the ship's steward the appellation at the head
of this anecdote.

Vol. IX. — No. bS. i

106 Robin, Grasshopper Warbler,

Birds. — A Robin has mistaken a dead stuffed Robin for a
live one, — To day we observed a robin fly into the drawing-
room, and perch upon the branch of a mimosa beside a stuffed
specimen of a bird of the same species. We watched its move-
ments for some time, and, after flying round the room, show-
ing no inclination to depart through the opened windows, we
placed the stuffed bird on the edge of a flower-pot, and then
the poor robin came and placed itself close to it, and warbled
a sweet, low, tender strain; and then, flying again round and
round in narrowing circles, it pecked at the lifeless robin, and,
again chirping, flew further off. It thus continued, for a
quarter of an hour, chirping and singing, flying off, or peck-
ing at the other; and, appearing, at last, to despair of arousing
the insensible creature, it flew out of the window, chirping as
it went. {From the Manuscript Diary of my Cousin Lucilla,
dated Valentine's Day, 1835.) — Aliquit [who had proposed
humorous associations, on the coincidence of robin's acting
as described on Valentine's day. It may be advantageously
associated with other facts kindred in their relation to what
J. Rennie, Esq. (since Professor Rennie) has denominated, in
I. 373., " mistakes of instinct : " several such facts are in
I. 68. 332. 373, 374. 496.; III. 50.; IV. 157. 498.; V. 276.;
VI. 67. 68. 81. 145. 394—398. 513, 514.].

The Grasshopper Warbler {Sylvia locustella Latham) is
said to be a very scarce species ; to be remarkably shy and
timid ; and to utter its chirping notes, for the most part, dur-
ing the dusk of evening. I observed several birds of this
species among the furze and bramble bushes on the extensive
bed of shingle in the neighbourhood of Eastbourne, on the
Sussex coast, in July and August this year (1835). They
were then in moult, but uttered their usual sibilant cry. I
often heard them in the afternoon. They did not appear
peculiarly shy ; on the contrary, when disturbed, they fre-
quently rose into the air, hovering above my head, and at the
same time repeating their cricket-like note. Mr. Selby ob-
serves, that, in order to obtain specimens, he had been obliged
to watch for a considerable time before a distinct view of the
individual, and an opportunity to fire at it, could be obtained.
In the breeding season they may be more timid and wary ;
but among these bushes I might have shot a considerable
number, as they often perched, several together, on the tops
of them. In the last week in August, I observed one cast on
shore by the waves : this had probably been overtaken in its
attempt at migration by a contrary wind, which accompanied
a thunder-storm ; and, unable to withstand the tempest, had
yielded to its fury. I did not hear these birds afterwards.
Mr. Rennie, in his edition of Montagu's Ornithological Die-

Swallows, Hybrid Duck, Flies. 107

iionary, states that the grasshopper warbler has no long claw
behind. In the specimens which I shot, the hind claw was of
considerable length. It was from this circumstance, I pre-
sume (with deference to the opinion of the learned professor),
together with its somewhat similar markings and colour, and,
moreover, its habit of rising in the air, and singing or chirp-
ing on the wing, that it obtained the appellation of grass-
hopper lark. — C. J. Oct. 24. 1835.

Swallows, an extended String is used as a Perch by certain.
— During my stay, last midsummer (1835), down at Dover,
I was much amused with watching the numerous flights of
swallows that disported daily around the venerable ruins of
its ancient castle. My being delayed rather later in the sea-
son than I expected, gave me a pleasing opportunity of
observing the congregations of these birds before taking their
annual departure. One of the chief places selected for their
rendezvous (and curious enough, from the apparent incon-
veniency of its situation) was a string, which, after running
for some considerable distance from the window of the cell of
the debtors' prison across the castle moat, is attached to a
little bell which overhangs a box, on the side of the road,
" for the relief of the poor debtors," &c. It was on this that
the swallows perched in considerable numbers, and, as I was
then told, have continued so to do for many years past, Habit
seems to have entirely reconciled these birds to the oddness
of their station, as, every time the string is pulled to implore
the " charity of passers by," the birds rise just a few feet in
the air, but almost instantly alight again, making all the time
a busy chattering. — A. Tulk. Richmond Green.

[In VI. 4<55, 456., is a notice of two broods of swallows
being reared in two nests built, one in one year and one in
another, on the crank to which a bell-wire was attached in
the passage of an inhabited house ; the bell in use. The
young of one of the broods, when they had become full fea-
thered, roosted on the bell-wire, or the crank — it is not clear
which.]

A kind of Duck, deemed a wild. Hybrid, between the Pintail
Duck and the common Wild Duck. (VIII. 509.) — A case pre-
cisely similar occurs in the museum of Mr. Reid, of this town.
— F. O. Morris. Doncaster, Sept. 18. 1835.

{The Woodcock sometimes breeds in Britain. (VIII. 612.) —
Many instances are registered in II. 86, 87., communicated
by Mr. Bree.]

Insects. — Flies seen with a Globule of Fluid at the Tip of
the Proboscis, and observed alternately to absorb and regorge
it : a Notion on their Motive. in doing this. (VII. 531.) — The

i 2

108 Sowerby's Specimen Plate.

first time I ever observed the occurrence noticed in VII. 531.
was several years ago, when sitting one day, about the mid-
dle of summer, with a dessert of fruit and cowslip wine. A
little of the wine, having been spilt upon a plate, was imme-
diately surrounded by many flies (Musca domestica), which
attacked it with great avidity. One in particular I noticed,
more thirsty than the rest, who, after distending his paunch
to nearly twice its original size, stood for some time wiping
his proboscis, brushing his wings, and rubbing his fore legs
together, with evident satisfaction; and then disgorged a por-
tion of the fluid, which appeared at the end of his proboscis,
exactly as described in VII. 531.; and, after a second or two,
disappeared, again appeared, and again disappeared, for many
times in succession : the abdomen diminishing and increasing
in size, according as the fluid was alternately expressed and
imbibed. My first impression was, that my uninvited, though
not unwelcome, guest was " not, as he should be — ipse, but,
as he should not be — tipsy ; " but the manner in which,
after a little more pluming, he flew away, discountenanced
this supposition. However this may be, I have observed this
process so frequently since that time, at all periods of the sum-
mer, and in almost all cases in individuals in perfect health,
that I cannot look upon it, as J. D. seems to do (VII. 531.) 9
as an evidence of incipient disease. These facts, together
with the pleasure the insect appears to experience in the act,
dispose me to consider it as a voluntary one, and have sug-
gested to me the idea of its being an analogous process to that
of rumination in the ox, &c. I am no entomologist, but
merely an occasional observer of the insect race. I there-
fore content myself with mentioning the fact, and throwing
out the foregoing suggestion for the consideration of those
better capacitated, in every respect, than I am for making
future observations and correct deductions. — J. Aaron,
M.R.C..S. Birmingham, Oct. 29. 1834.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Notices of Works in Natural History.

Sojverby, G. B., jun. : A Plate of Figures of Natural Objects,
as Specimens of the Author's Ability in Delineating and
Engraving Objects of the Kinds. The plate, 4to, with the
figures coloured, 2s. 6d.

The subjects are E s mys concentrica, a dorsal and an ab-
dominal view of; the gold finny (Crenilabrus cornubicus),

Hew it soft's British Oology. 109

fossil //uciscus oeningensis? with the vertebral column of
another fish in the abdomen, Hepatus maculatus, Squilla,
Mantis, Phorus agglutinans. A copy with the figures co-
loured, and one with them uncoloured, have been seen. The
sight of them has been a treat.

Ei/ton, T. C, Esq. : A History of the Rarer Species of British
Birds ; illustrated with Woodcuts. Intended as a Supple-
ment to the History of British Birds, by the late Thomas
Bewick. To be completed in three monthly parts. Part
I. 3s. 6d.

The Egyptian vulture, red-legged falcon, blue-throated
redstart, Alpine accentor, fire-crested wren, shore lark, white-
bellied swift, mealy redpole, white-winged crossbill, Virginian
cuckoo, wood pigeon, migratory pigeon, black stork, red-
breasted snipe, buff-breasted sandpiper, pectoral sandpiper,
Temminck's sandpiper, are the names of the species described
and figured in Part I.

Hewitson, W. C. : British Oology ; being Illustrations of the
Eggs of British Birds, accompanied by letter-press. Nos.
XXIII. and XXIV.

A double number has been issued for November, which
completes volume 2d. The eggs of the red ptarmigan (La-
gopus britannicus) are especially beautiful ; nor are those of
the nightingale, the redbreast, the grebes, the linnet, the
curlew, the crow, &c, less worthy of commendation. The
author has followed the advice given in this Magazine (V.
p. 699.) of requesting correspondents to furnish him with
information, which will be published at the conclusion in the
form of a supplement. We particularly wish to direct atten-
tion to the list of desiderata, some of which, as those of the
shingle plover (Pluvialis cantanius), we should suppose it
not very difficult to obtain. We reckon full three hundred
birds as British ; Mr. Hewitson has figured the eggs of nearly
half this number. — S. D. W. Nov. 3. 1885.

The 25th Number of this work has been published.

Baxter's Illustrations of the Genera of British Flowering
Plants.

No. 40., published Nov. Incompletes vol. 2d., even to the
indexes, title page, and dedication. The author has announced
that the price of the future numbers will be raised, as " the
work has not nearly paid the actual expenses." It is to be
hoped that the subscribers will respond to the author's hope,

1 10 Transactions of Geological Soc. of Pennsylvania.

that they will not object to this. A work so elaborately exe-
cuted, and enriched with so much matter of worthy quality,
will be cheap at the advanced price. Since the writing of the
preceding, No. 41. has been seen : better paper is employed
in it than in the cheaper numbers.

Geological Society, Pennsylvania : The Transactions. Vol. I.
Parti. 8vo, 180 pages. Published by the Society. Phi-
ladelphia, 1834.

We hail the appearance of this number, as affording satis-
factory evidence of the labours of our transatlantic brethren
in this department of science. At the end of the volume it is
announced that numerous geological surveys of several parts
of the United States are in progress, and it is probable that
in a few years we shall possess a correct geological outline of
the whole of North America. Our limits will not allow us
to do much more than announce the principal contents of the
present number.

The first article is by R. C. Taylor, F.G.S., " On the
geological Position of certain Beds which contain numerous
fossil plants of the Family Fucoides, near Lewistown, Mifflin
County, Pennsylvania." The description is elucidated by
several well-executed drawings and sections. These fossil
fucoides occur in a succession of sandstone beds, which Mr.
Taylor refers to the grauwacke formation.*

The second article is, " An Essay on the Gold Region of
the United States, by James Dickson, F.G.S." M The gold
region of the United States of North America, so far as it
has been at present developed by mining operations, is con-
sidered to extend from the Rappahannock river, in the State
of Virginia, to the Coosa river, in the State of Alabama." But
Mr. Dickson adds, that indications of gold ores have been
met with as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, and, in a northern
direction, to Vermont. Mr. Dickson is also of opinion that,
from the vicinity to the wood, rivers, inland seas and bays,
and the cheapness of labour (slave labour), and considering,
also, the health and excellence of the climate, the gold region
of the United States possesses greater advantages than any of
the gold regions in South America, or the ancient continent.
It has been calculated that not less than six millions of dollars
in gold have been extracted from the branch gold mines of
the United States since the commencement of mining opera-
tions.

* For an account of the fucoides, by Mr. Taylor, see M. N. H., Jan.,
1834 [VII. 27— 32. 163.]. Professor Harlan refers their geological position
to compact sandstone subjacent to the coal-measures.

Sillimarfs American Journal. 1 1 1

The most important article in the present number is en-
titled, " Critical Notices of various Organic Remains hitherto
discovered in North America, by Richard Harlan, M. D."
The subject will be continued and completed in a subsequent
number; when we propose to take a review of the whole,
pointing out the remains which appear to be peculiar to the
American continent : we may also revert again to some other
articles in the present number. — B.

Silliman, B, M.D. L L.D., &c. : The American Journal of
Science and Arts, No. LIX. Oct. 1835. O. Rich, Lon-
don.

" Observations on the bituminous Coal Deposits of the
Valley of Ohio, and the accompanying Rock Strata: with Notices
of the Fossil Organic Remains and the Relics of Vegetable and
Animal Bodies ; illustrated by a geological map, by numerous
drawings of plants and shells, and views of interesting scenery.
By Dr. S. P. Hildredth, of Marietta, Ohio."

This is, perhaps, the most important geological memoir that
has been recently published, if we take into the account the
amount and extent of the mineral treasures which it developes,
and their immense value to the rapidly increasing population
of the United States on the western side of the ranges of the
Alleghany Mountains. The memoir occupies the whole of
the last number (for Oct. 1835) of that valuable work " The
American Journal of Science and Arts, conducted by Professor
Silliman, of Yale College, Connecticut ■" The extent of the
region described comprises about five degrees of latitude, and
as many in longitude, on each side of the river Ohio. The
mineral treasures are precisely those which are most available
to the comfort and prosperity of an industrious and enter-
prising people : rock salt, or rather brine springs, containing
15 per cent, of salt; coal in numerous beds, some many yards
in thickness, and of an excellent quality ; ironstone of various
qualities ; lead ore, limestone, and millstone, &c. The
coal of this vast region occurs in regular strata, scarcely
troubled by the faults and dislocations which so much impede
mining operations in other districts. In general the strata
have very little inclination, and present great facilities for
working. The salt springs are bored for, in many situations,
to the depth of 600 ft., and even 900 ft. When the bed which
contains the salt water is first pierced, there is generally a
great rush of carburetted hydrogen gas emitted : it has, in
some instances, been so violent as tb blow up the boring rods.
The memoir is accompanied by explanatory sections, which

1 1 2 Literary Notices*

present at one view the thickness and succession of the strata,
and is, in every point, deserving of the attention of the geologist,
and of all who feel an interest in studying the resources and
future prospects of the western United States. The memoir
occupies 154 pages, and is accompanied by 36 plates, besides
a large map of the region. — B.

Art. II. Literary Notices.

HisTOlRE Naturelle des lies Canaries, par. MM. P. Barker
Webb, et Sabiti Berthelot. — The coming of this work has been
spoken of for some time; at length a prospectus has been
issued. It is to consist of 3 volumes, quarto : the first on the
historical miscellanies ; the second on the geography, geology,
and the zoology ; the third on the botany. The work is to be
accompanied by an atlas of from 25 to 30 large plates, and the
whole work is to include about 300 engravings or lithographs.
It is to be published in 50 parts, one every 15 days. Barthes
and Lowell are the London agents for the sale of it.

Curtis* s cheap edition, edited by Dr. Hooker, of his Botanical
Magazine. — The publication of this work was commenced in
numbers, the first of which is noticed in VI. 267., and one volume
is completed. It is proposed in future to publish it in volumes,
and the second volume is in preparation. In this edition the
subjects are placed in the order of what is called the natural
arrangement, by which kindred species are brought together :
this renders this edition more readily illustrative of the species
treated of, than the first edition ; and the text is improved with
new matter.

Boyle s Illustrations of the Botany and other Branches of
the Natural History of the Himalayan Mountains, and of
the Flora of Cashmere. Part VIII. has been published.

A Catalogue of Birds which have occurred in the Neighbourhood
ofEpping, Essex with Remarks on certain of the Species,
by Mr. Edward Doubleday, are published in The Entomo-
logical Magazine, No. xiii. Oct. 1835, vol. iii. p. 290 — 292.
The catalogue includes 113 species.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY,

MARCH, 1836.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. A Sketch of the Natural History of the Neighbourhood
of Dijon, France, in 1835. By Giles Munby, Esq.

Being at Paris during last summer, and wishing to explore
the natural history of some part of France, I fixed upon Dijon
as a place likely to furnish a great variety in its natural pro-
ductions.

I, consequently, left Paris on the 9th of July, and pro-
ceeded up the river in a steam-boat as far as Montereau.
The beautiful scenery on the banks of the Seine, is too well
known to need any comment here. I observed floating in
the stream the leaves of Sagittaria sagittifolia, which, instead
of their usual arrow-shaped form, were several feet in length,
and resembled more the linear leaves of a iSparganium. I
passed through Sens, Joigny,&c, and reached Auxerre, where
I proposed stopping for a day or two. This small town is
very pleasantly situated on the river Yonne, and contains
above 11,000 inhabitants. The cathedral is considered to be
one of the finest Gothic edifices in France : it is celebrated
principally for its painted glass windows, the colours of which
are extremely rich. The celebrated statue of St. Christopher,
which was upwards of 30 ft. high, was destroyed in 1768, by
order of the chapter of Auxerre. The town clock is curious
in having a double circle of hours marked upon it. The
neighbourhood is very rich in vineyards. The celebrated
white wine of Chablis is produced at a village situated about
10 miles from Auxerre. Salvia $clarea was abundant in the
trenches, outside the town walls.

About 30 miles further, on the road towards Dijon, is a
small village called Rouvray, the neighbourhood of which
is rich in entomological productions. I took the fiuprestis
Vol. IX, ~- No. 59. k

114 Sketch of the Natural History

nitida. A very rare plant, peculiar to granitic formations,
the iSenecio adonirfz/o/zws, is found in the woods near this
place ; I also gathered the Antirrhinum Orontium in the
corn fields. The Medicago falcata was very common on the
road sides. The vineyards here are less frequent, the country
being principally sown with wheat, the crops of which seemed
very fine, and were nearly ripe.

Vitteaux is a village about 30 miles from Dijon, and is most
beautifully situated in a ravine, through which flows the small
river Breune. In the churchyard I gathered the Ceterach
officinarum, which was growing out of the walls, together with
Asplenium Trichomanes. In the neighbourhood, on the road
side, I gathered the Galeopsis ochroleuca. The country be-
tween Vitteaux and Dijon is very beautiful, especially near
Sombernon, near which place is found the rare JEpipaetis
(Cephalanthera Richard) rubra.

In approaching Dijon, I passed the small village of Pont de
Pasny, near which place is the immense forest of that name,
which clothes the north-western slope of the Cote d'Or. In the
forest there is abundance of wild boars and roebucks, but very
few wolves. We here pass from the basin of the Seine to that
of the Rhone. At Pont de Pasny I gathered the Digitalis lutea,
.Supleurum falcatum, Prunella grandiflora, Dianthus Carthu-
sianorum, Globularia vulgaris, Teucrium montanum, Coro-
nilla minima, i/elleborus fce'tidus, and Z/inum tenuifolium.
I also took, on elevated ground in the neighbourhood, a
specimen of Chrysomela cerealis, and several individuals of
.Melolontha atra.

I reached Dijon on the evening of the 12th of July, the
approach to which is not very striking, as the road lies on low
ground following the course of the river Ouche, and overhung
on one side by limestone rocks, upon which grows the Ononis
.Natrix, forming a conspicuous object from its yellow flowers :
another species of Ononis, viz. the O. Columns, also occurs, but
it is much rarer, and seldom exceeds an inch or two in height.

The department of the Cote d'Or is one of the four
formed out of the ancient province of Burgundy. It takes
its name from a chain of hills which extends towards the south-
east from Dijon, as far as the river Dheune, and is called Cote
d'Or, on account of the excellent wines which are grown on
it. The department is composed principally of an immense
fertile plain, bordered, especially on the west, by hills of con-
siderable elevation. The natural meadows on the borders of
the Saone are very rich. The lower part of the hills is partly
planted with fruit trees, and partly with vineyards ; and their
more elevated surfaces are covered with forests, filled with

of the Neighbourhood of Dijon. 1 ] 5

game, which consists principally of hares, rabbits, and roe-
bucks. It is the principal department in France, in respect
to the extent of its forests, and the fifteenth in respect to its
cereal productions. It contains many iron mines, coal pits,
quarries of marble, porphyry, alabaster, gypsum, &c. It
also contains many mineral, as well as saline, springs. All
the cereal productions are cultivated ; lentils, melons, truffles,
&c. Beet root is cultivated in great quantities, for the pur-
pose of manufacturing into sugar. The forests occupy a space
of 243,088 hectares, and the vineyards 20,053 hectares. The
wines are celebrated in the order following: — Cote de Nuits,
la Romanee Conti, la Romanee Saint Vivant, le Clos Vougeot,
la Tache, le Chambertin, leTart-sur-Morey, le Saint Jacques-
sur-Gevrey, Cote Beaunoise, Vollena}', Pommard, Beaune $
Alaxe (Corton), Savigny Chassague, Monthelie, Auxey, and
Santenay.

The chief town (chef lieu) of the department is Dijon, for-
merly the capital of Burgundy, whose population is 25,552 :
it is situated in a fertile basin which extends as far as the
mountains of Savoy, and is about four miles from the foot of
the Cote d'Or. The cathedral is a prominent object on en-
tering the town, and is surmounted by a spire 330 ft. high.
The botanic garden is as yet in its infancy, and was founded
by a M. Legouz. It has two considerable streams of fresh
water running through it ; and use is made of them to form
artificial marshes, as well as to ornament the grounds. I saw
here an experiment which seemed somewhat novel; it was
that of grafting the chestnut on the oak : the individuals that
I saw seemed to be thriving exceedingly well. The country
about Dijon consists principally of chalk, upon which the
chestnut will not grow, whilst the oak thrives vigorously. In
some of our botanical excursions, a man from the botanic
garden accompanied us into the woods, for the purpose of
grafting the oak trees. They wish to have the chestnut tree
naturalised, as well on account of its fruit as its wood. A
museum of natural history is also attached to the garden, of
which M. Nodot is curator ; a gentleman of considerable prac-
tical knowledge in ornithology and entomology. The mu-
seum, as well as the garden, is yet in its infancy. A public
promenade, called the Park, is a small enclosure close to the
town, planted with trees, and is the favourite resort of the
inhabitants of Dijon on a summer's evening.

A lover of natural history may, however, here find other
beauties of nature to admire, than those which she has placed
at the head of her innumerable varied forms. In the recesses
of the thick plantations is found the ,4'sarum europse N um, to-

k 2

1 16 Sketch of the Natural History

gether with the Hepatica triloba ; and the children walking
on the paths, being struck with the singularity of the flowers
of the O'rchis fusca, cannot refrain from nipping off the heads
of this rare plant, to satisfy their curiosity. The short grassy
turf is here and there adorned with the beautiful deep blue
flowers of the Salvia pratensis. I was particularly struck
with the beautiful and graceful flight of the Papilio Podalirius
(scarce swallow-tailed butterfly), which is very common in the
Park at Dijon. Instead of the ordinary fluttering motion of
the common butterflies, it sails round in circles, continually
hovering over the same spot, unless another of the species
chances to come within a short distance, when immediately a
furious chase commences, and each tries to deprive the other
of the elegant colourings and forms with which nature has
so beautifully enriched them. I was fortunate in procuring
four specimens of that rare coleopterous insect, Trichius ere-
mita : I dug them out of the decayed stumps of some of the
lime trees which form the alley leading towards the Park. In
the same station, I also took a specimen of E'later (Ludius)
ferrugineus. i?uprestis (Lampra) rutilans was common enough
on the trunks of the trees, but immediately made its escape
upon the approach of any person ; so that I with difficulty
caught three or four specimens. I also took Z?uprestis lae'ta
and nitidula. Among butterflies, the large silver spot, the silver-
washed, and the Queen of Spain, (fritillaries) were abundant, as
also the comma and great tortoiseshell.

That part of the neighbourhood of Dijon which is most
rich in productions of natural history, especially botanical
treasures, is the " Combe " of Gevrey. It is a wild deep
ravine, about six miles s. w. of Dijon, the sides of which are
very abrupt, and thickly clothed with vegetation. From the
elevated points of the Combe, Mont Blanc and Mont St.
Bernard may be distinguished, at a distance of upwards of
200 miles. It would be too long a task to enumerate in this
place all the botanical riches which this place affords ; but I
may be permitted to mention a few of the most striking. The
Digitalis lutea, or parviflora, is a very conspicuous object in
the lower parts of the Combe, together with the ^conitum ly-
coctonum, Chrysanthemum corymbosum, Orobanche caerulea,
Phalangium ramosum and Liliago, Centaur&a montana, Phy-
teiima spicatum, and Thalictrum minus. Whilst in the more
elevated parts I found ^nthyllis montana, Ononis Columns,
Helianthemum apenninum and canum, Trinia glaberrima,
Epipactis microphylla, Globularia vulgaris, i'nula montana
and squarrosa, Galium glaucum and harcynicum, ^thamanta
Zabandtis, Z>aserpitium gallicum and asperum, Cytisus capi-

of the Neighbourhood of Dijon. 117

tatus, Dianthus sylvestris ; TWfolium riibens, alpestre, and
montanum ; Genista pilosa and prostrata, j^uphorbza ^inifolia,
Phyteuma orbiculare and spicatum, ^lyssum montanum,
Draba aizoides, Ranunculus gramineus, Anemone Pulsatilla,
Cerasus Mahdleb, iftiamnus alpinus, &c. The vineyards
near Dijon produce the 22umex scutatus, Allium sphaeroce-
phalum, Centranthus angustifolius, ^41thae N a hirsuta and can-
nabina, Melica ciliata, Dianthus prolifer, £epidium ruderale,
Euphorbia verrucosa, jLamium rugosum, &c.

Near Nuits, which is distant from Dijon about 12 miles,
grows the Ruta graveolens ; near the same place, in the woods,
I met with the O'robus niger, Monotropa Hypopitys and
^f sarum europae v um. A butterfly, the Satyrus Hermione, was
very abundant in the copses. I took a considerable quantity
of the Cyclostoma elegans in the neighbourhood of Nuits ;
also two specimens of Helix melanostoma Drap. A little
to the s. e. of Nuits is situated Citeaux, which presents a
very marshy and low country, the botanical products of which
differ considerably, as might be expected, from those I have
just been describing. Amongst others, I may mention the
Lmdevnia pyxidaria, Z/y thrum /zyssopifolium, Cucubalus bac-
cifer, Potentilla supina, Gnaphalium 1 uteo- album, Hydrocharis
morsus ranae, and Gypsophila muralis; this last plant growing
in the moist corn fields, along with iathyrus hirsutus. I took
a specimen of Cerocoma Schaa'fFerz', a heteromerous coleop-
teron ; as also a larva of Mantis precatorius. I saw several
times the Vanessa Antiopa, but was unable to capture it.

At Citeaux are the ruins of a large monastery, formerly
belonging to monks of that order. Part of the ruins is now
converted into a dwelling-house, and the rest into an extensive
manufactory of sugar from beet root, which is grown in the
neighbourhood. Near Citeaux I first observed Indian corn,
or maize, cultivated on a large scale : it is generally made into
cakes with water, but sometimes mixed with wheaten flour,
for the purpose of making bread. The hoopoe seems to be
frequent near here, as I saw them flying across the road.
The golden oriole is common at certain seasons of the year.

In the immediate neighbourhood of Dijon is some rocky
ground, called the Quarries of the Carthusian Friars (Car-
rieres de Chartreux), being near the ruins of a monastery
belonging to monks of that order. I was very much delighted
with the large blue flowers of the Scutellaria alpina, which is
there abundant, and was gathered in this locality so long ago
as the end of the 17th century, by our countryman Sherard.
(See Morison, Plant. Oxon., part 3. sect. xi. p. 416.) Arenaria
fasciculata, Triticum tardus; Ononis Mtrix and Columns,

k 3

1 18 Natural History of the Neighbourhood of Dijon.

Helianthemum canum, i'nula montana, Scrophularia carina,
Cuscuta .Epithymum, Glaucium liiteum, and Dianthus Car-
thusianorum, are common enough. The Clausilia minima
is very frequent under stones, together with Pupa marginata,
secale, and variabilis, and Cyclostoma~maculata.

A little further from Dijon, going westward, are situated
Mont Afrique, and the hill of St. Joseph. Near the latter
place grow the rare Cynoglossum Dioscoridis, and still rarer
2?unium virescens. Specimens of Limodorum abortivum
occur occasionally, as also Satyrium hircinum, but neither of
them common. In the woods clothing Mont Afrique I found
the Dentaria pentaphylla, Genista sagittalis, Gentidna lutea,
Cytisus capitatus, ikfelampyrum cristatum, and Amelanchier
vulgaris. In the corn fields I met with Asperula arvensis,
Stachys annua, Saponaria vaccaria, A "juga Chamae N pitys,
Zolium arvense, Caucalis grandiflora and ^aucbides, Nigella
arvensis, and Centaurea lanata. At the Combe of St. Joseph
I gathered the beautiful Gentidna cruciata, also Buff6n/a
annua, Micropus erectus, Polycnemum arvense, jBupleurum
Odontites and rotundifolium, Helianthemum Fumana, and
Erysimum lanceolatum. I observed a great number of butter-
flies, among which I recognised Hipparchia Ascanius, and
Satyrus Hermion?. I took Chrysomela cerealis in abundance
on the elevated plateaux ; as many as eight and ten specimens
under one stone.

It now only remains for me to sketch over the productions
of the low grounds lying to the east of Dijon, which I will do
as briefly as possible. I regret not being able to give any
information respecting Val Suzon, which lies to the north of
Dijon, as I omitted visiting it any further than passing through
in the diligence. As far as I could learn, however, its botany
resembles that of the Combe of Gevrey, which I have de-
scribed. The river Seine takes its rise at this place. The
aspect of the country towards the east of Dijon is very flat,
and is watered by the small river Tille, which empties itself
into the Saone. The vine is here entirely neglected, and gives
place to fields of corn, hemp, mustard, turnips, &c. The
natural marshy woods are, as may be supposed, very favour-
able to the botanist.

In the neighbourhood of Arc-sur- Tille, I met with the rare
Allium senescens, together with 7 ; nula Helenium, Sisymbrium
supinum and asperum, Galium anglicum and tricorne, ^co-
nitum Napellus, Aspidium Thelypteris, A'tropa Belladonna,
Gratiola officinalis, Pimpinella magna, /nula salicina, Z?romus
arvensis, //ippuris vulgaris, Myriophyllum spicatum and ver-
ticillatuni, and Z)ipsacus laciniatus. This last plant is pro-

Natural History of Connamara. 1 1 9

bably only a variety of D. sylvestris, with which it grows, and
from which it differs only by its deeply pinnatifid leaves. I
took specimens of Cryptocephalus histrio and MoraeV, and
Adimonia halensis, and a few other common coleopterous
insects. Butterflies seemed to be extremely abundant, but not
many rare species.

Upon the whole, I did not much enrich my entomological
cabinet during my short stay at Dijon ; for, although there
are, as I have been given to understand, many rare insects in
its neighbourhood, yet they are not easily to be got at by a
stranger ignorant of their localities. The Clytus massiliensis
and Gazella, together with Stenopterus riifus, were abundant
on every cluster of flowers of the common milfoil. The
Purpuricium Kochlen and Hoplia squamosa are equally
common. Of Galenica lusitanica and Leptura hastata I took
single specimens only. The Melolontha atra and Hoplia
ruricola are plentiful on the road sides. The ilielolontha
fullo, which is so common at Lyons, is not found, I believe,
near Dijon. The Cantharis vesicatoria, or common blistering
fly, is extremely abundant in certain localities. I saw an ash
tree hanging over the road so crowded with them, that their
excrement literally blackened the ground ; and, on passing
underneath the tree, I felt my face as if bit by gnats. They
have a disagreeable sickening smell, which may be perceived
twenty or thirty yards off, according to the direction of the
wind. They are sold at about 6s. per pound, when dried.

I have thus brought to a close the result of my observations
during a fortnight's stay at Dijon ; and, although this paper
professes to be a sketch of its natural history, I am afraid
it will afford but a meagre account of its productions in
any branch of that science, except, perhaps, phanerogamous
botany.

7. Broughton Place, Edinburgh, Jan. 4. 1836.

Art. II. Observations made during a Visit to Connamara and
Joyces Country, Ireland, in August, 1835. By Charles C.
Babington, M.A. F.L.S. F.G.S., &c.

Having last summer (1835) paid a short visit to those
little known western districts of Ireland, denominated Con-
namara and Joyce's Country, I think that a short account
of them, particularly of their natural history, will be ac-
ceptable to the readers of your Magazine. Many of my rea-
ders have often, I doubt not, desired to see a country so
well known as the land of promise in all departments of

R 4

120 Observations made during a Visit

British natural history, but have despaired of ever being able
to obtain a share in the rich harvest which awaits the traveller
in those distant parts of the sister island. The false notion,
so generally current in England, that it is difficult, nay
almost impossible, to travel in the wilder or more distant
parts of Ireland, without personal danger, or, at least, very
great inconvenience, from the religious and political feelings
of the people, and the almost total want of accommodation in
the smaller towns, has, I doubt not, prevented many an
enterprising naturalist from leaving his fireside to pursue his
researches in the counties Mayo, Galway, or even in Kerry,
with the single exception of Killarney.

Such being the case, I shall proceed at once to give a short,
but very imperfect, account of those parts of the county of
Galway which are mentioned at the head of this paper.
After attending the meeting of the British Association at
Dublin, I proceeded, in company with two friends (Messrs.
R. M. Lingwood B. A. and J. Ball, both of Christ's College,
Cambridge, the first a botanist and entomologist, the other a
geologist), to the town of Galway. This is a large and inter-
esting place ; but, as an excellent account of it is contained in
Mr. Inglis's Tour in Ireland, I shall not describe it here.
From the bridge, in Galway, we were much interested
by noticing great numbers of salmon on their way to the
large expanse of Lough Corrib, or the mountain streams
communicating with it. The river which they were ascend-
ing is wide, with a swift stream running over a rocky bottom,
and therefore giving to the current a very turbulent cha-
racter. The salmon were lying in such dense masses in the
hollows formed by its rocky bed, that I consider myself fully
justified in stating that many hundreds must have been pre-
sent within fifty yards of the bridge.

From Galway we proceeded nearly due north-west through
a rather flat, and far from interesting, country, which, how-
ever, became gradually more and more hilly as we approached
Oughterard ; and, although for the most part totally devoid
of trees, it was plain, from the excellence of their growth near
to several gentlemen's seats, that the climate and soil were not
the causes of their deficiency. On both sides of the road the
country consists almost wholly of low rocky hills and bog;
but several views are obtained of that extensive sheet of water
denominated Lough Corrib. This lake is more than thirty
miles in length, extending from the centre of the Ma'am Turk
Mountains to within a few miles of Galway; and is about
eight miles in width between Oughterard and Cong. The gil-
Iaroo trout is found in it; a fish celebrated for having a

to Connamara and Joyce's Country, Ireland. 121

strong muscular stomach, resembling the gizzard of birds.
It is generally considered to be a variety of the common
species (>Salmo Fario). (See Jenyns's Manual of Vertebrate
Animals, p. 425.)

At about three miles before reaching Oughterard, the road
is carried over a natural bridge formed of carboniferous lime-
stone. By following the stream from this spot, for rather
more than half a mile, the geologist will be gratified by seeing
a most curious succession of natural arches, apparently form-
ing part of a once continuous cavern through which the river
flowed. The fields on both sides of the stream, judging from
the abrupt depressions of the surface which occur in many
places, are probably supported by a succession of similar
caverns. This singular structure appears to terminate at a point
which is well marked by a fine old castellated tower in pretty
good preservation. This building is very interesting from its
architecture, but still more so from its situation, being built
over the river, upon the last and loftiest of these natural
arches. Judging from the state of some of its outworks, it
appears not improbable that this castle was built before the
surface of the land near to it had sunk in the manner de-
scribed above. The river must then have been quite hidden,
and the site of the castle have appeared as a slight elevation
in a flat country. At a short distance beyond the natural
bridge, and close to the road, a small quarry of black marble
is worked in the carboniferous limestone.

Oughterard is pleasantly situated near the shore of Lough
Corrib, upon a small river, which, just above the town, is
broken by a succession of rapids nearly approaching in cha-
racter to a waterfall. Near the centre of the town stands a
new and handsome Roman Catholic chapel, just below which
the upper bank of the river has a highly interesting structure,
the limestone of which it is formed presenting the appearance
of half an elliptical arch over the water, of which the other
part has been destroyed by the action of the stream. Here
the Dabce N c/<z ^polifolia (MenzieszV* jsolifolia) first shows itself
in its full beauty, ornamenting every dry rocky spot of ground
with its large elegant flowers and conspicuous foliage. It may
be as well to observe, once for all, that this plant first appears
at the distance of a few miles to the east of Oughterard, in
very small quantity, but is plentiful throughout all the country
to the west of that place, as far as the Atlantic.

In the neighbourhood of Oughterard, the banks of Lough
Corrib are quite devoid of grandeur, being bounded by a
vast extent of bog, out of which rise a few low rocky hills,
partially cultivated : still, an expanse of water, eight miles in

122 Observations made during a Visit

width, and studded with numerous small islands, can never
be totally without interest. The shore of the lake, and its
islands, consist of carboniferous limestone, having a very bitu-
minous odour. The upper part of this stratum is full of
organic remains, such as Euoniphalus, O'strea, encrinites, and
corallines. Good specimens of most of them may be ob-
tained by the road side, near to a house belonging to Mr.
Martin of Ballinahinchj" and commonly denominated his
"gate-house," being the point where the road enters his
property.

On the side of the town furthest from the lake rises a hill
consisting of quartz rock, and covered up to its top with
large boulders of granite. The range behind it, formed of
mica slate and quartz rock, has no granitic boulders ; nor did
we observe them in any other part of the district. The base
of all these hills appears to be mica slate underlying and
passing into quartz rock. The boulders are made more in-
teresting by the fact, that the granite does not rise to any
great elevation in this part of Ireland; its highest point, in
these districts, being near Roundstone, where it reaches, as we
were informed, the height of 200 ft. or 300 ft. The broad
valley, stretching inland from Oughterard, consists of bog,
having granite, and, in some spots, primary limestone, appear-
ing through it. My friend, Mr. Ball, mentions his having
noticed old red sandstone near to the lake, at the distance of
a few miles west of Oughterard.

No traveller, who is interested in architectural remains,
should leave Oughterard without visiting the ruins of the
old church, in which are several windows of forms which I
have never before noticed. Not being skilled in architecture,
I am unable to describe them, but may add that they have
great similarity to several which occur in the old castle no-
ticed above. It may be as well to observe, that Connamara is
considered to begin at Oughterard, that town not forming
part of it.

Our next station was Ma'am, a small but excellent inn, at
the head of Lough Corrib. The road from Oughterard to
this place is carried through a moderately level district,
bounded by two ranges of rather lofty mountains. It passes,
in many places, over the bogs, and along the banks of
several pretty lakes, which contain small wooded islands,
although their shores are totally devoid of trees. The bor-
ders of these lakes are made very interesting by the occur-
rence of Eriocaulon septangulare and Dortmann« palustris
(Lobelz'tf Dortmanna Linn), in the greatest plenty. Cla-
dium Afariscus, although less common, may also be found

to Connamara and Joyces Country, Ireland. 123

growing in small detached clumps of three, four, or even a
single flowering stem ; presenting a striking contrast to its
appearance in the fens of Cambridgeshire (at Up ware, for
instance), where it covers hundreds of acres, to the total ex-
clusion of all other plants. In Connamara, also, it invariably
grows in the water, or the very wettest bogs, which is far
from being uniformly the case in the English fens.

At about eight miles from Oughterard, the road to Ma'am
leaves that leading to Clifden, and, turning to the right, gra-
dually ascends a pass between two lofty mountains, from the
highest point of which the first view of the inn at Lough
Corrib Head is obtained. That house stands upon the bank
of a small river, at about a mile above its junction with the
lake; it is backed by a lofty mountain range, and commands
in front a view over an extensive boggy plain, enclosed on all
sides by mountains, most of them forming part of the Ma'am
Turk range, and rising to an elevation of about 2500 ft. Sax-
ifraga umbrosa is peculiarly plentiful upon all these moun-
tains : indeed, it appears to supply the place of all the other
species, with the single exception of S. stellaris.

These mountains consist of mica slate and quartz, the
latter predominating tow r ards the summits, which are gene-
rally flat, and either bare rock or bog. Their base would
appear to assume a granitic character ; but the ground is so
much concealed by bog, that it is very difficult to determine.
It is worthy of remark, that the bogs are not confined to the
valleys and flat parts of the mountain tops, but, in many
places, cover their steep slopes, in some instances occupying
the shelving top of a crag, or even extending their spongy
bituminous masses some inches beyond its verge.

We ascended a lofty mountain opposite to the inn (called
Shanafolia), nearly equal in elevation to Ma'am Turk itself;
and our labour was fully repaid by the extensive view
obtained from its top. On one side there is a complete dis-
trict of mountains ; not a single range, but a succession of
lofty summits, following close upon each other, extending far
into the county Mayo, and terminated towards the east by
Lough Mask and Lough Corrib. In the opposite direction,
the scene is totally changed. The country there appears,
from this elevated point, to be a dead flat, consisting almost
wholly of bog, including a surprising number of small lakes
(we counted 175, without being particularly exact), and
bounded on the horizon by the Atlantic, on the coast of
which there are several rather lofty mountains. The top of
this mountain is quite barren, being nearly all bare rock-

124? Observations made fairing a Visit

The only plant of interest noticed upon it was Jiiniperus
nana, which occurred in very small quantity.

We observed iSaxifraga Geum in only one spot hi Conna-
mara, that is, by the side of a small waterfall upon the second
brook passed on the road from Ma'am to Lenane.

After spending some days at Ma'am, we took a car to con-
vey us to Tully, Clifden, &c, and back to Ma'am. I can-
not, perhaps, give a better idea of the country than by stating
our observations during that trip of about eighty English
miles. Our first stage brought us to Lenane, a very small
hamlet at the head of the Killery Harbour. The country
between Ma'am and this place consists of a mass of lofty
mountains, covered to their very tops with herbage, and
affording excellent pasturage for numerous sheep and oxen.
The valley contains very little cultivated land, being mostly
occupied by bog ; but we noticed several small patches of
oats, which promised a plentiful return for the labour be-
stowed upon their culture.

The situation of Lenane is one of peculiar grandeur.
The Killery Harbour is a deep narrow inlet of the sea, many
miles in length, and seldom more than a mile . in width,
bounded on both sides by lofty and precipitous mountains,
and curved in such a manner as to resemble a Highland lake,
perfectly hemmed in by rocky summits; presenting, as I am
informed, almost exactly the appearance of a Norwegian
fiord.

At Lenane is a small inn, kept by a person named John
Joyce, who is well known for his extensive influence over the
people of that mountain district denominated Joyce's Country,
claiming to be the representative of its ancient chiefs. He is
a man of great stature and immense bodily strength ; these
being, indeed, the characteristics of his whole clan. I have
never seen a finer race of men than the Joyces of that country.
He is an extensive farmer, and proposes soon to enlarge his
house so as to make it more convenient for the reception of
strangers. At a short distance above Joyce's residence is a
small but interesting waterfall, well worthy of a visit, both
for its own intrinsic beauty, and the grand mountain views
afforded by its elevated situation.

We observed clay slate in the neighbourhood of Lenane,
but had not time to ascertain its extent: and near to Mr.
Joyce's house there occurs a bed of clay extending for some
distance along the valley, of about 20 ft. in thickness, and
containing rounded masses of clay slate, quartz, mica slate,
and iron ore, in horizontal layers. Of this a good section is
exhibited by an excavation formed in making the new road.

to Connamara and Joyce's Country >, Ireland. 125

On the shore we noticed the usual sea-side plants, such as
Glaux maritima, Armeria maritima, Plantago Cbronopus,
^4'ster Tripolium, &c. After coasting the estuary for about
one third of its length, we turned to the left over an extensive
bog, part of which the proprietor is endeavouring to bring
into a state of cultivation, until we reached the north side of
the Twelve Pins of Bunarola, having fine mountain views on
all sides, particularly on the south and east.

This boggy country rests upon a rock, much resembling
grey wacke, in some places quite full of rounded masses of the
older rocks, forming a very curious conglomerate.

After crossing the bog, the road skirts a lake prettily situ-
ated in the midst of mountains of the most rugged and pic-
turesque forms, their descent to the lake being, in many
places, quite precipitous. Our object being to visit Tully and
Renville (the station for v4'rabis ciliata, which we did not
succeed in finding), we turned to the right immediately on
leaving the mountains, and traversed a wide heathy district,
extending quite to that place. Tully is situated near the
shore of the Atlantic, and not far from the foot of a lofty hill,
from the lower elevations of which there is an extensive sea
view to the north, including the mountain summits of Achill
Head, Coraan, Mullrea, Croagh Patrick, &c. The fore-
ground is occupied by numerous rocky islands, some of which
are of considerable height. Here we noticed Cytisus scopa-
rius, and Ammophila (^frundo) arenaria, in the greatest
plenty.

The more level land between this place and the hill con-
sists of mica slate alternating with and passing into quartzose
sandstone. The hill is similar in structure to the other moun-
tains of this district; namely, mica slate running into quartz
rock near the summit.

The road to Clifden, although it has little to detain the
naturalist, is far from uninteresting to the traveller, being a
continual succession of hill and valley, presenting fine views
of several extensive estuaries, and distant glimpses of the
Twelve Pin Mountains.

Clifden is situated at the head of a deep estuary, termed
Ardbear Harbour, and is a thriving town, having far the
most respectable appearance of any place in these districts.
It is not twenty years since this town was founded ; and it has
now several good streets, a small church, and a rather hand-
some Roman Catholic chapel. A new and direct road is
being made from this place to Oughterard, so as to form a
nearly straight communication with Galway. Clifden, which is
the most westerly town in the county, is fifty-one English

1 26 Observations made during a Visit

miles from Galway, and 184 from Dublin. Neither it,
Roundstone, Lenane, nor Ma'am, are noticed in any map of
Ireland that I have seen : indeed, there is no map yet pub-
lished which gives at all a correct delineation of this part of
the country : I ought, perhaps, to except the great map of
the county; but of that I am not certain.

We particularly noticed that LPlex nanus replaced U. euro-
pae N us in this neighbourhood, the latter being much the more
frequent species in all the other parts of Connamara and Joyce's
Country which we visited.

The road from Clifden skirts the heads of several small
inlets, and then, leaving the sea, enters upon by far the most
barren and desolate country which we noticed during an ex-
tensive tour in Ireland. It consists of bog, resting upon a
substratum of hornblende, the rock appearing in numerous
masses at the surface, and often containing felspar ; it is some-
times quartzose, but in many cases nearly pure. The whole
country is full of small lakes, and has, at a distance, a very si-
milar appearance to the district observed from the top of
Shanafolia Mountain, near Ma'am. The vegetation consists
solely of the following plants, the first two forming nearly the
whole herbage: — <Schce x nus nigricans and MoYmia caerulea are
common ; Eriophorum angustifolium, LTlex nanus, and Rhyn-
chospora alba, being far from common. The other plants
noticed were, Potentilla Tormentilla, ikfyrica Gale, Call una
vulgaris, and jBrica Tetralix, rare; E. cinerea, Narthecium
ossifragum, Drosera anglica and rotundifolia, very rare. In
the lakes we observed Cladium JVlariscus, Phragmites commu-
nis (^frundo Phragmites), #cirpus lacustris, and Utricularia
minor, all of them far from common. In this district the bogs
are often so soft (especially where the Moling'a caerulea pre-
dominates), that it is quite impossible to keep the ditches
open by the sides of the road, and a strong undulation is
caused in the water by any passing vehicle. The road is
bounded on both sides by country of this character for more
than five miles, and it appears to extend for a great distance
both to the right and left; being terminated on one side by
Urrisbeg, and the hills near the coast; and on the other, by
the splendid mass of mountains called the Twelve Pins of
Bunarola. In the eastern part of this district, and at about a
mile from the turning to Roundstone, is a low but extensive
mass of rocky ground, called Craigha Moira, which is quite
covered by a heath new to the British flora (which I have
called E. MackaiaW, in compliment to J. T. Mackay, Esq.,
the Irish botanist, conceiving it to be an undescribed species),
having the flowers of E. Xetralix, and the leaves and calyx of

to Connamara and Joyce's Country, Ireland. 127

E. ciliaris, but differing in habit from both of them. It was
pointed out to me, as probably different from any other in that
part of the country, by Mr. William MacCalla, the son of the
landlord of the inn at Roundstone. I have lately described
this plant in a paper read before the Linnaean Society. This
young man, although labouring under very great difficulties,
has by his own unassisted exertions, and with an almost total
want of books, obtained a very complete knowledge of the
geology, mineralogy, conchology, and botany of the neigh-
bourhood of Roundstone. He has now, I am happy to learn,
obtained the situation of national schoolmaster at Ballina
hinch.

Roundstone is situated on the shore of the bay of that name,
which has deep water at all times of the tide. It is at present
a very small place, but appears to be rapidly improving. The
view of the Twelve Pins of Bunarola is peculiarly fine from
this point, nearly their whole extent being visible. Several
of these mountains rise to the height of 3000 ft.

Mr. W. MacCalla went with us to the station of Gypsocallis
mediterranea (.Erica Hooker), in Glan Iska, a boggy valley
upon Urrisbeg Mountain. It is in the greatest plenty, occu-
pying the valley for more than a mile, and growing in tufts of
from 1 ft. to 2 ft. in height. He also pointed out a station for
^fdiantum Capillus- Veneris, at the foot of a rock facing south
west, on the bank of Lough Bulard. The specimens were
small and few in number, but in beautiful fructification.

Birterbuy Bay, of which Roundstone Bay may be considered
as a branch, is a fine harbour, extending many miles into the
land, and having, as we were informed, deep water in almost
every part. On a rocky island near to its head, called Cruig
Neit, we found I'nula Helenium in plenty, and more truly wild
than I had ever noticed it in Britain.

Near Roundstone, asbestos is found in veins; porphyry is
very abundant: rich copper ore and bog iron ore may also be
obtained there. The low tract near to the coast, and the low
islands in the bays, are formed of granite ; the higher islands
consist of hornblende and porphyry. Urrisbeg Mountain is
mica slate and quartz, primary limestone lying in beds towards
its base, where, also, green marble exists. On the opposite
side of the bay, the granite rises into low hills of 200 ft. or
300 ft. in height ; that being, as I have before observed, the
highest elevation at which granite, in situ, has been found in
these districts.

Our road to Ma'am led us again into the Clifden and Gal way
road, which passes by the celebrated salmon fisheries of Mr.
Martin at Ballinahinch. This is said to be the best fishery

128 Observations made during a Visit

for salmon now existing in the kingdom ; and, although the
season for fishing with nets was over, yet we noticed many fine
fish still making their way up the river.

The house of Ballinahinch is very extensive, but almost to-
tally devoid of beauty : its situation, however, is good, being
backed by a splendid mountain, forming one of the Twelve
Pins. Near Steely's Inn, a few miles beyond Ballinahinch,
there are extensive quarries of green marble, as also a copper
mine, containing, I understand, very rich ore.

Between this place and Ma'am nothing was noticed worthy
of being recorded here, except that, by attempting to take a
short cut over the mountains, we were benighted in the bogs,
and had the greatest difficulty in reaching our inn, where we
did not arrive until several hours after it had become quite
dark.

The following day we left Connamara, highly delighted by
our visit to a district which I cannot but consider much more
interesting to an admirer of romantic wild scenery, than
even the celebrated lakes of Killarney ; and the surprising
number of rare plants which are here collected together, as
well as the nearly total ignorance which exists of its produc-
tions in the other departments of natural science, cannot fail
to make it peculiarly interesting to the scientific traveller.

St. John's College, Cambridge, Jan, 15.1836.

A List of Species of Birds and Mammiferous and Amphibious Animals, observed
in Connamara, in August 1835; drawn up by R. M. Lingwood, Esq.
Where no station is indicated the species ivas observed throughout the district.
c, common ; v. c, very common.

Birds. — -d'quila Chrysaetos, ringtail ed eagle ; i/aliae v etus, osprey,
Oughterard. Falco Tinnunculus, kestrel, ^ccipiter/ringillarius, sparrow-
hawk, Ma'am. i?uteo cyaneus, hen harrier. Cinclus aquaticus, water
ousel, c. Sylvia Nubecula, robin, only one seen, Ma'am ; TVochilus,
willow wren, on bank of Lough Corrib, near Ma'am, ikfotacilla alba, pied
wagtail, v. c. ; Boarula, grey wagtail, v. c. Saxicola CEnanthe, wheatear,
Ma'am ; Rubfcola, .stonechat, Ma'am. Emberiza Citrinella, yellow ham-
mer, Ma'am, Pringilla domestica, common sparrow, Steely's Inn, the
only station observed; cannabina, grey linnet, v. c. Corvus Corax, raven,
Ma'am ; Cordne, crow, Ma'am ; <76rnix, hooded crow, called there
scraw crow, v. c. ; frugilegus, rook, a few observed at Tully ; -Monedula,
jackdaw, Oughterard; Pica, magpie, Oughterard. Troglodytes europae v us,
wren, Steely's Inn. i/irundo rustica, swallow, Oughterard. Cypselus
J v pus, swift, Tully, one only noticed. Tetrao scoticus, red grouse.
Hsematopus ostralegus, oyster catcher, Tully. J'rdea cinerea, heron, there
called crane, v. c. Numenius arquata, curlew, v. c. Totanus ochropus,
green sandpiper, Tully. tfcolopax Gallinago, snipe, c. yf nas 2?6schas, wild
duck, c. ; Crecca, teal. Phalacrocorax Carbo, cormorant, v. c, it frequents
both the lakes and the sea coast, iarus ridibundus, black-headed gull,
Tully ; tridactylus, kittiwake gull, Tully ; canus, common gull, Tully.

Mammiferous Animals. — Zepus timidus var. hibernicus, Irish hare, c

to Connamara and Joyce's Country », Ireland. 1 29

This is probably a distinct species from the English hare. (See Jenyns's
Manual of Vertebrate Animals, p. 35.)

Amphibious Animals. — i?ana temporaria, common frog, v. c, said not to
be indigenous, but introduced in 1669. (See Jenyns's Manual of British
Vertebrate Animals, p. 300.)

A List of Species of Plants observed in Connamara, in August 1835; including
only those considered worthy of notice, either from their rarity, or other causes.
Where no station is given, the species occurred throughout the district, r,
rare.

Ranunculus Lingua, Ma'am. iVymphae x a alba, Oughterard, confined to
limestone. Fiola palustris, in the bogs, very common. Drosera rotundi-
folia, r.; longifolia; anglica, very common. Silene anglica, Oughterard, in
corn fields. .Hypericum Jndrosae N mum, Lenane; humifusum, Oughterard;
elddes, in the bogs ; pulchrum, Lenane. U s lex europae v us, common in
all parts of the district, except near Clifden, where it is rarely found ; nanus,
Clifden and Roundstone, common. Cytisus scoparius, Tully. THfolium
filiforme, Lenane. i?ubus carpinifolius, Ma'am ; Kce'lhen var. fusco-ater,
Ma'am. Potentilla Comarum, Oughterard. Circae v « lutetiana, Lenane.
Sedum Rhodiola, Shanafolia Mountain, r. tfaxifraga Geum, just below a
small waterfall, on the second brook crossed on the road from Ma'am to
Lenane ; umbrosa, on all the mountains ; stellaris, Shanafolia Mountain, r.
Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Lenane, near a small waterfall above Mr.
Joice's house. Fedia dentata, Oughterard, in a corn field; auricula,
Oughterard, in a corn field, a new plant to Ireland, ^4'ster Tripolium,
Lenane. Gnaphalium sylvaticum (3 rectum, Oughterard and Ma'am.
Bidens tripartita, banks of Lough Corrib, near to Oughterard. i/ieracium
umbellatum?, on the banks of Lough Corrib, near Ma'am (I cannot refer
this plant to any other species ; but it does not agree well with this) ;
paludosum, on the mountain behind the inn at Ma'am. Dortmanna la-
custris, in all the lakes. Gypsocallis mediterranea, in Glan Iska, Urrisbeg.
i?rica Mackaidna, Craigha Moira, near Roundstone ; Tetralix and cinerea,
common, and peculiarly fine. Calluna vulgaris, common, and very fine.
Daboe^dtf jooliifolia, on all rocky spots at the lower levels, from near
Galway to the Atlantic : it does not occur at the tops of the hills. Arc-
tostaphylos U v va-ursi, Tully. Gentidna campestris, Oughterard and Ma'am,
ikfyosotis caespitosa, Ma'am. Digitalis purpurea, Oughterard. Veronica
montana, on the mountain behind the inn at Ma'am, r. Scutellaria minor,
Oughterard. Pinguicuiagrandifiora; lusitanica, Urrisbeg, near Roundstone.
Utricularia intermedia, in the ditches in deep bogs, particularly near
Oughterard, it does not flower ; minor, near Oughterard, with the last.
JCysimachia vulgaris, on the banks of Lough Corrib, near Ma'am ; nemorum,
on the mountain behind the inn at Ma'am. Glaux maritima, Lenane.
Armeria maritima, Lenane. Plantago Coronopus, Lenane. iJumex ob-
tusifolius, Ma'am ; crispus, Ma'am, tfalix fusca /3 repens, fusca e inCu-
bacea, both at Ma'am ; ambigua, Tully ; aquatica, oleifolia, and aurita, all
at Ma'am. Jvmiperus nana, Shanafolia Mountain and Urrisbeg. Habenaria
chlorantha, Ma'am, ./uncus obtusiflorus, common in the bogs. Luzula
sylvatica, Shanafolia Mountain and Lenane. Eriocaulon septangulare, in
all the lakes, tfparganium natans, Oughterard. ^choe^nus nigricans.
Rhynchospora alba ; fusca, common in the bogs near to Oughterard.
Cladium iliariscus, in very small patches on the borders of many of the
lakes. Eleocharis palustris, in the bogs ; paucifiora, forming a large por-
tion of the herbage on heathy ground. £cirpus setaceus, Oughterard ;
Savi?, Oughterard, Ma'am, and Lenane. Carex pulicaris, Ma'am ; stellulata,
Ma'am ; ovalis, Ma'am ; muricata, Oughterard ; binervis, Oughterard and
Ma'am ; joanicea, Oughterard and Ma'am ; recurva, Oughterard; caespitosa,

Vol. IX. — No. 59. l

130 On the Quinary System

Ma'am. No other Carices noticed. Molima caerulea, forming the greater
part of the herbage of the wettest bogs; caerulea var. depauperata, on
the rocks in the channel of the river at Oughterard, just below the rapids.
Danthonia decumbens, Oughterard, r. iVardus stricta, on the mountain
behind the inn at Ma'am. Lycopodium >Selago, Oughterard, r. Osmunda
regalis, Oughterard. ^4splenium ^diantum-nigrum, Urrisbeg : pointed out
to me as A. lanceolatum. ^diantum Capillus- Veneris, Urrisbeg, on a rock
facing s. w. on the shore of Lough Bulard. Aspidium cristatum, Oughte-
rard, only one plant seen. Hymenophyllum Wilsom, Shanafolia Mountain.

A List of Species of Shells found near to Roundstone, by Mr. W. MacCalla.

A'rca nucleus, N6<3P ; i?uccinum reticulatum, macula; Cardium edule,

Cyprse v a pediculus, Ddnax trunculus ; Helix ericetorum, ianthina, bifasciata;

Limneus piitris ; Mactra stujtorum, lutraria ; ikfurex antiquus, Mya mar-

faritifera, Jlfytilus incurvatus ; JVerita Canrena, littoralis ; Pecten varius ;
*atella la3 v vis, fissura, gra3 N ca ; Sdlen vespertinus, Strombus pes-Pelecani ;
aTellina tenuis, donacina, depressa, radula, solidula; Trochus Magus, crassus,
cinereus, umbilicatus, zizlphinus ; Turbo rudis, clathrus, terebra ; Venus
verrucosa, fasciata, gallina, decussata, pullistra, aurea, sinuosa,

Art. III. On the Quinary, or Natural, System of M'Leay,
Swainson, Vigors, 8$c. By' Peter Rylands, Esq.

No. I,
" There can," says Baron Cuvier, " be but one perfect
method, which is the natural method. We thus name an
arrangement in which beings of the same genus are placed
nearer to each other than those of the other genera ; the
genera of the same order nearer than those of other orders,
and so on. This method is the ideal to which natural history
should tend ; for it is evident, that, if we can reach it, we shall
have the exact and complete expression of all nature. In
fact, each being is determined by its resemblance to others,
and difference from them ; and all these relations would be
given in the arrangement in question. In a word, the natural
method would be the whole science, and every step towards
it tends to advance the science to perfection." No wonder,
then, that most naturalists have spent a considerable portion
of their time and talents, in attempts to discover this method,
"the only one of nature;" and, consequently, that systems
designated " natural " are extremely numerous. None, how-
ever, have been so particularly brought before the public, and
emphatically styled the natural system, as the one under our
consideration. If it is truly the long wished for natural
system, then is the most important and beneficial advance
which can be made in natural history attained ; but if, on the
contrary, though bearing the appellation of " the natural" it is
found to be nothing more than an artificial method, every
effort ought to be made, as early as possible, in order to over-

qfM'Leay, Swainson, Vigors, S?c. 131

throw it, or at least in a great measure to prevent the exten-
sion of the deceptive influence necessarily connected with,
and radiated by, it.

It appears to us, therefore, highly important to devote a
considerable portion of our study to, and reflection on, this
subject, in order to arrive at a just conclusion respecting its
merits, and the claims it has upon our notice.

It must, however, be premised, that what we shall advance
on this topic, is not intended to be what is generally termed
an " impartial survey ;" for, having duly considered it, we find
that, so far from being the natural, it must rank amongst the
lowest of artificial methods ; we shall therefore rest content
with pointing out to our readers the anomalies connected
with, or contained in it, the discovery of which has been the
result of our investigation. We perfectly agree with Pro-
fessor Rennie, in considering it not a little singular that, while
hypothetical theories such as this are, in a great measure,
banished from other sciences, they should now reign as pa-
ramount in this department as al enemy and astrology did in
the dark ages.

Mr. M'Leay has " the high and undoubted honour " of
having discovered this system; but, as his work (Horce Ento-
mologicce) is now so scarce, " that few can hope to consult
its philosophic pages," Mr. Swainson, in three late volumes
of Dr. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia, has published, in a
connected series, a detailed account of the first principles and
fundamental rules of the u quinary " (for we think this a much
more suitable appellation for it than " the natural ") system :
these will form the basis on which we shall construct our
remarks.

At page 225, of his " Treatise on the Geography and Clas-
sification of Animals," forming vol. 66. of Lardner's Cabinet
Cyclopaedia, Mr. Swainson gives the elements of the quinary
system in the form of the five propositions following : —

" 1. That every natural series of beings, in its progress
from a given point, either actually returns, or evinces a ten-
dency to return, again to that point, thereby forming a
circle,

" 2. The primary circular divisions of every group are
three actually, or five apparently,

" 3. The contents of such a circular group are symboli-
cally (or analogically) represented by the contents of all
other circles in the animal kingdom.

" 4. That these primary divisions of every group are
characterised by definite peculiarities of form, structure, and
economy, which, under deversified modifications, are uniform

l 2

132 On the Quinary System

throughout the animal kingdom, and are therefore to be re-
garded as the primary types of nature.

" 5. That the different ranks, or degrees of circular groups
exhibited in the animal kingdom, are nine in number, each
being involved within the other."

If any person reflect but for a moment on these proposi-
tions, he will at once perceive, that, although they may stand
theoretically, to use them practically, or, in other words, to
bind nature with certain laws, and to force her to conform to
them, is not only artificial, but impossible. Mr. Swainson is
fully aware of this ; for we find, in another work, that he
gives vent to his feelings, and demonstrates to the world that
he considers as impossible that very system he has spent,
and is now spending, so much time and reflection in attempt-
ing to construct. We refer to page 200. of the volume on
the classification of quadrupeds (vol. 72. of Lardner's Cabinet
Cyclopaedia); where, speaking of the Edentates, he says, — " A
more convincing proof, indeed, cannot be adduced, to show
the utter impossibility of laying down rules, beforehand, for
natural groups, or for erecting a system upon any set of cha-
racters, when nature every where tells us, that her system is
one of variation." Had the bitterest enemy, or the most
zealous opponent, to the Quinary System sat down to pen a
paragraph, or even chapter, against that system, we conceive
it would almost be impossible for him to express an opinion
more inverse to it than the author himself has in this brief
though expressive sentence.

It might be thought sufficient by some, that, having shown,
from the author's own words, the impossibility of his system
succeeding, for us now to let the subject rest. It will, how^
ever, bring the Quinary System more under the considera-
tion of our readers, if we review the attempt made for its
formation, and the success which has attended it : we shall
therefore proceed ; and, in order to treat the subject as expli-
citly as possible, we shall consider the propositions in the
order they stand, commencing with the two first : as they are
so intimately connected, it will not be advisable to take them
separately.

These propositions are, " that every natural series of beings,
in its progress from a given point, either actually returns, or
evinces a tendency to return, again to that point, thereby
forming a circle;" and, secondly, that "the primary divi-
sions of every group are three actually, or five apparently."

The meaning of the first proposition is so clear, that we
need not dwell on it : that of the second, however, may not
be comprehended by some ; we shall therefore give the au^

qfM'Leay, Swainson, Vigors, Sfc. 133

thor's own words in explanation of it. u As it is manifest,"
says Mr. Swainson, " that every group, according to its mag-
nitude, will exhibit more or less variety in its contents, the
first question which suggests itself is, Are these varieties
regulated by any definite number? and is that number so
constant in all groups, as have been properly investigated, as
to sanction the belief that it is universal? The answer is in
the affirmative. Every group, whatever may be its rank, or
value (that is, its size or denomination), contains, according
to our theory, three other primary groups, whose affinities
are also circular. One of these is called the typical, the
other the sub-typical, and the third the aberrant, group. This
latter is so much more diversified in its contents than the
other two, that many naturalists reckon Jive groups in all ;
the number Jive being made out by dividing the aberrant
group into three, instead of considering it as only one" (See
Geogr, and Classificat. of Animals, par. 278. p. 226, 227.)

It will be evident to most of our readers, that this proposi-
tion is the most difficult (if there can be more difficulty in
one than the rest, where there is an impossibility in all)
to substantiate. Hence we find one naturalist, or rather
systematist (the terms are far from being synonymous), pub-
lishing his belief that the "natural" number is three; a
second, that it is four; a third, five; while a fourth feels cer-
tain that it is seven !

We have given Mr. Swainson's opinion above : it will now
be proper to see in what manner he applies his theory, and
the success he has met with in its application ; that is, in at-
tempting to perform, according to his own phraseology, an
" utter impossibility."

He first, following Locke, divides every thing which the
mind of man can conceive into cogitative, or incogitative, or,
in other words, into intelligent, or unintelligent.

A deficiency of one division is here observable ; that is, he
has only two, while, according to his theory, he ought to have
three (our readers must perfectly understand, that we con-
sider it highly foolish attempting to arrange any thing meta-
physical under any particular system). Mr. Swainson refers
to this deficiency in a note on the same page, and actually, for
this reason, doubts the correctness of the celebrated Locke's
views. Just because those views do not conform to a fanciful
system, to rules laid down beforehand for natural groups, they
must be incorrect : he, however, is not able to discover a third
division, and is therefore unwillingly obliged to conform to
Locke.

Intelligent beings he divides into, first, God ; second, spi-

L 3

134* On the Quinary System

ritual beings; third, man; and then very seriously gives as
a proof that each of these forms a circle of itself, containing
three smaller circles, the Trinity of God I ! !

In reference to the minor circles contained in his natural
group of spiritual beings, he quotes from Coll, i. 16., where
St. Paul speaks of * principalities, powers, and rulers," which,
he considers, is referable to the three minor circles in ques-
tion ! !

Need the absurdity of this doctrine, I ask, be pointed out
to the reading and intelligent community of Britain ?

Of unintelligent beings he can, in like manner conceive
but of three sorts ; namely, matter, time, space. Matter he
can only divide into two kinds, ponderable, and imponderable.
Time he considers as eternal, and divides it into past, present,
and future, " The first and the last," says he, " are incalcu-
lable, for they are eternal ; while the present is but as a con-
necting filament to each." Of space he remarks, " In like
manner, may it be broken into infinite portions ; but of its
first great divisions we know nothing more than can be dimly
gathered from certain passages in revelation."

The belief that space, or, in other words, nothing, is divisible
into infinite portions, surprised us much : but that time is
eternal ; that the past and future, " are incalculable, for they
are eternal" is an expression, which most certainly would
have far better become the tongue of the infidel or the
heathen, than have proceeded from the pen of a British
author of the nineteenth century !

Bewsey House, Warrington, Nov. 7. 1835.

No. II.
In page 203, of his " Treatise," Mr. Swainson gives the
circular disposition of the animal kingdom in a diagram, from
Mr. M'Leay's Horce Entomologicce, We there find that his
five circles consist of vertebrated (Vertebrata), molluscous
(Mollusca), acritous (A'crita), radiated (Radiata), and annulose
animals (Annulosa), each forming a circle of themselves. But
Mr. M'Leay found that these five circles would not "blend
into each other at their confines," thereby forming a natural
progressive series, without the intervention of five others, "much
smaller, indeed, in their extent, but forming so many connect-
ing, or osculant, circles;" thus making the number of circles
ten. This Mr. Swainson is aware of; for on the same page
he says, — " The number, therefore, as many erroneously
suppose, is not five, but ten" Now, I would ask Mr. Swainson,
or any of the supporters of this system, whether this is in

ofM^Leay, Swainson, Vigors, fyc. 135

conformity to the rule given at p. 224-., forming the second
proposition ; viz. that " the primary circular divisions of every
group are three actually, or Jive apparently ? " Or does it
agree with any of the other groups which Mr. Swainson has
with some difficulty defined ? The answer must be in the
negative ; and we thus find that the very example to which
Mr. Swainson, at p. 226. of his " Treatise" refers his readers,
as proof of the validity of the first principles of his system,
not only gives clear evidence against them, but at the same
time manifests an entire absence of that pervading uniform
principle, even in the primary arrangement of the animal king-
dom, which Mr. Swainson, in most parts of his works, has so
much enlarged upon.

The application of the first two propositions of the Quinary
System, in the smaller divisions of the animal kingdom, now
claims our consideration. Mr. Swainson divides the class
Mammalia into five orders ; viz. : — Quadnimana, Ferae,
Cetacea, Ungulata, and Glires. How these orders constitute
a natural progressive series forming a circle, we are at a loss
to determine. We are never informed through what medium
Glires and Quadriimana " blend together at their confines."
But, supposing this could be shown, the " circle " then would
not be natural, in the true sense of the word.

The Linnaean method is universally acknowledged artificial.
It was morally impossible, with the comparatively few ma-
terials which Linnaeus possessed, for him to construct a natural
system. Since his time a great advance has been made in
natural history, and some thousands of species, entirely un-
known to him, have been discovered* Hence new divisions,
and new sub-divisions, have been required, and have there-
fore been formed: it is from this cause that many of his
genera now constitute families, that many of his orders are
now raised to the rank of classes, and so on. When Lin-
naeus published his system, it was not advisable for him to make
more divisions than was absolutely necessary. His system,
for the age in which he lived, was sufficiently complicated :
had it been more so, it would not have answered the purpose
which he intended. No one, we are pretty sure, was more
aware that the Linnaean arrangement was artificial than the
learned author of it himself was. The end of Linnaeus was
answered ; he put into the hands of the student a system
which he could use ; a system, actuated and led on by which,
he might attain an eminent and useful knowledge of natural
history. We can see no reason, however, for modern na-
turalists still pursuing and treading in the steps of Linnaeus.
His method was then an advantage ; it would now be a disad-

L 4

136 On the Quinary System

vantage : it was then an impetus ; it would now be a bane to
the advance of natural history.

The principal fault, then, of the Linnaean classification, viewed
in a modern light, consists in the paucity of divisions and sub-
divisions. Linnaeus formed but six orders : he was therefore
necessarily compelled to arrange under one order animals
which have no true affinity to each other. Cuvier was aware
of these anomalies : in his Regne Animal, therefore, he recti-
fied them, as far as he was able, by constituting new orders, for
the reception of such animals as were artificially joined with
others in the Linnaean method, and for such as had been dis-
covered since the time of Linnaeus. Swainson, however,
characterises all this great naturalist's endeavours as being
preeminently unsuccessful ; and, in order to improve them, we
find in his own system o\\\y Jive orders, that being one less in
number than Linnaeus had. Mr. Swainson, therefore, instead
of improving that author's method, has actually published a
worse, and more artificial one, in which the laws of natural
affinity (a subject on which he has written much, and should,
therefore, understand) are broken in cases far too numerous
to recount. In his first order (Quadrumana), true quadru-
manous animals are joined in close affinity with animals
which are not only not quadrumanous, but are also what may
be termed flying animals, being provided with wings : in the
second (Ferae), carnivorous, with animals subsisting entirely
upon insects, and presenting reciprocal differences as great
as those which separate rapacious from insessorial birds ; and
in the fourth (Ungulata), semi-unguiculated animals, without
incisor, and, in some cases, wholly destitute of any teeth, are
united with animals possessing both teeth and true hoofs ; pro-
vided, also, with the peculiar property of masticating their food
a second time, by bringing it back into their mouths after it
had passed the first deglutition ! In one order we have the
bulky elephant, and the graceful antelope ; the awkwardly
formed sloth, and the fleet reindeer ; the massive, thick, heavy,
short-legged i/ippopotamus, and the tall, slender-made ca-
meleopard ; joined together with the bands of this highly
"natural" arrangement ! !

What is the cause of Mr. Swainson so transgressing the
laws of natural affinity ? Why has he not constructed more
orders, and, by that means, produced a system more in accor-
dance with nature? These are questions which might arise
in the minds of some : as such, we will attempt to answer
them.

We are all aware that no man can be perfect in this world.
How numerous his talents ; how extensive his learning; how

qfM'Leay, Swainson, Vigors, fyc. 137

capacious his mind ; he is but a man, and must bow to the
imperfection of which all mankind are participants. Nay, we
may often observe, that our wisest and most learned men are,
as it were, blinded by their own learning, and " common sense "*
is too common to have a place in their minds ; especially when
advocating a theory which, whether right or otherwise, they
have determined to establish ; a theory which, perhaps, common
sense might be fatal to. The Quinary System is the favourite
theory of Mr. Swainson: he has, although, as we are led to sup-
pose from his own words, contrary to the dictates of his com-
mon sense, laid down rules beforehand for natural groups'; and,
as those rules constitute the principal part of a theory which
he appears determined to establish, he attempts to compel na-
ture to bend to them ; and, in so doing, he breaks her laws,
and bids defiance to the requirements of natural affinity. It
would indeed be an endless task to recount the numerous in-
stances in which this is observable. To how many tribes, fa-
milies, sub-families, and genera are the remarks we have
made with respect to the orders applicable !

But this is not the only manner in which Mr. Swainson, by
forcing the application of his two primary propositions, has
broken the laws of natural affinity. Some groups do not
admit of division ; the animals which compose them are so
united by affinity, that we at once perceive that they are in-
tended by nature to constitute but one family, or genus. This,
however, will not do for Mr. Swainson's theory : he must
have five divisions to every group, or they will not conform to
his rules, or (to use his own words) " be natural." He there-
fore separates animals which are evidently approximate;
he divides mto Jive what, following nature, ought only to be
one.

In some cases, however, circumstances will not admit of
this ; either on* account of the paucity of the species which
compose the group, or from the total absence of any
grounds on which, with the slightest show of sense, he could
construct any separation. From the same causes, also, Mr.
Swainson is not able to define the circular series of all such
groups. A person might be led to suppose that Mr. Swain-
son would either acknowledge these to be artificial according
to his theory, or give up the system at once, as being one
which cannot be substantiated. He would be strengthened in
his supposition by the author's remarks, which are given at
p. 340. of his Treatise : — • " Natural groups," says he, " are
thus to be detected by three different tests : 1. By their simple
series of circular affinity; 2. By the theory of analogy; and,
3. By the theory of variation. No group which will not bear

138 On the Propriety of altering

these tests can be natural." This supposition, although drawn
from these, the author's own words, and from his opinion ex-
pressed at other times, is denied by his practice, and, indeed,
by the sentiments which, however inconsistent and conflicting,
he has expressed in other parts of his volume, when applying
his theory. If a group of animals does not, nor cannot be
made to, consist of five other divisions, forming a circle, Mr.
Swainson expresses his opinion, that either some animals be-
longing to the group have yet to be discovered, or, having
existed, are at present extinct : and, because he fancies that
the group evinces a disposition to form a complete circle, he
presumes it to be " natural " ! !

In the volume on the classification of quadrupeds, there
are a few diagrams given of circular groups, the majority of
which are imperfect, but, for the reasons adduced above, are
presumed to be "natural."

In this manner proceeds our quinary author, and in this
manner does he destroy both the validity of his first principles,
and the uniformity of his plan ; thus, being so accustomed to>
break the laws of nature, he has no uncomfortable feeling,,
when, not exactly breaking (that would be too openly incon-
sistent), but, what is almost as bad, evading, his own !

He would not do this, if it were possible for him to do>
otherwise ; he would not, in their application, evade his own
laws, if that application was not an " utter impossibility"
What were Mr. Swainson's reasons for choosing five to be
his all-predominant and universal number, we cannot con-
ceive. His opinion could not well be drawn from the results
of his investigation and labours ^ for, on examining his work
on quadrupeds, we find that but one tenth of the groups which
ought to consist, according to his theory, of R\e other circular
divisions, exhibit this peculiarity ; and of this one tenth one
half are compelled to be such, and are, therefore, artificial, in
the true sense of the word : it is very obvious, that the re-
mainder may consist of five sub-groups, merely by chance,
affording no proof whatever of that number being universal.

Bewsey House, near Warrington, Jan. 1836.

{To be continued.')

Art. IV. Remarks on the Question of the Propriety of altering
established Scientific Names in Natural History, should they be
erroneous. By C. T. Wood, Esq.

Notwithstanding the advanced state of ornithology,
there is yet considerable diversity of opinion^ even among

established Scientific Names. 139

ornithologists of high scientific repute, as to the question now
under consideration. That any difference of opinion could
ever have existed, is to me a matter of no small surprise ; a
surprise which is by no means diminished on considering
the importance of the subject. The only rational ground on
which a dislike of change can be founded is, the indiscretion
which would be likely to be manifested by those who should
take on themselves to alter established names : many of these
alterations would, probably, be not for the better, and many
for the worse. But it would not be very reasonable to eschew
change altogether, because changes for the worse might be
made. If this principle were carried throughout, we should have
no improvements at all, because there is no human improvement
but what brings some admixture of evil. These remarks have
been suggested by a paper on nomenclature (VIII. 36 — 40.),
in which Mr. Strickland gives the world the benefit of his
thoughts on the subject. Let us examine this paper, and
probe the assertions therein broached, to see " what stuff
they are made of."

Mr. Strickland begins by pronouncing " the custom which
seems to be daily gaining ground, of altering established
generic and specific names of natural objects, without any
sufficient reason for so doing," to be " highly detrimental to
the progress of natural history." Now, I think this to be a
proposition from which no well-wisher of natural history can
dissent; and no one will agree to it more cordially than I do.
But then the question arises, What is " a sufficient reason "
for a change? According to Mr. Strickland, there is, apparently,
no reason of sufficient importance to warrant an alteration,
except when a bird is removed from one genus to another. It
appears to me, that no one, who has impartially considered the
question, can hold an opinion so inimical to the interests of
science : all such persons will see that some change is necessary,
though there may be difference of opinion as to the extent to
which it is advisable to carry the reform. I shall, in another
part, discuss the circumstances under which alteration is
allowable, and shall now proceed in the examination of Mr.
Strickland's arguments.

After many preliminaries about the u specific character,"
and the " description," which have nothing to do with the
question in hand, Mr. Strickland comes to the point. " The
object of the specific name," says he, " is precisely the same
as that of all names whatever ; which have been defined to
be, ■ arbitrary signs, adopted to represent real things or con-
ceptions.' " This is an excellent definition of ordinary names
and proper names, but utterly inapplicable in regard to scien-

140 On the Propriety of altering

tific nomenclature. No one contends, as Mr. Strickland
seems to imagine is done, that the specific name should con-
vey the whole specific character of the bird, but simply that
it should be derived from some striking peculiarity connected
with the bird. Thus, what a much more lively impression of
the birds do the following specific names convey, than if they
were the unmeaning terms for which Mr. Strickland argues :
whiteheaded abern (Neophron a]pinus) 9 forktailed petrel (Tha-
lassidroma furcata), rosecoloured amzel (Pastor roseus), yellow-
bill ouzel (Merula vulgaris), &c. Or, again, we may with
equal advantage take the specific name from the haunts of the
birds; as, house sparrow (Passer domesticus), garden fauvet
(i^cedula hortensis), sedge reedling (Salicaria phragmitis),
pine crossbill (Crucirostra pinetorum), alder gold wing (Car-
duelis Spinus), &c. An equally expressive and unobjection-
able kind of specific name, is that derived from the food / as
thistle goldwing (Carduelis elegans), haw grosbeak (Cbcco-
thraustes Crataegus), furze whinling(Meliz6philus provincialis),
honey pern (Pernis «pivorus), pippin crossbill (Crucir6stra
malum), &c. Or the specific name may be derived from the
voice; as melodious warbler (Silvia melodia), garrulous
fauvet (Ficedula garrula), sibilous brakehopper (Locustella
sibilans), ringing longtail (Afedula sonans). * I have been
thus particular in giving instances, in order to illustrate the
only four kinds of specific names which I think to be admis-
sible in ornithology.

Nor am I alone in my opinion concerning specific names.
Mr. Strickland is the first writer with whom I am acquainted
who maintains it to be non-essential that specific names should
have a meaning. Wilson's opinion entirely coincides with
my own : he says, " Specific names, to be perfect, ought to
express, some peculiarity common to no other of the genus ;
and should, at least, be consistent with truth." This " prince
of ornithologists," as he has well been called, likewise main-
tains, that specific names which do not answer to this descrip-
tion not only may, but should, be altered ; I contend for no
more. Another writer says, " It should be the aim of every
nomenclator to bestow only such names upon animals as will
express the peculiar forms, habits, &c, of the species to which
they apply ; but if, they fail in this particular, scientific names

* This is the longtailed tit of old authors (Par us caudatus of Aldro-
vand). This bird, as well as the bearded tit (Parus biarmicus of Lin.),
should no longer be retained in the genus tit. The latter is very properly
called the bearded pinnoc (Calamophilus biarmicus) by modern authors
All the birds in the genus tit build in holes, which the longtail (Afedula)
and the pinnoc (Calamophilus) do not.

established Scientific Names. 141

are but of little worth." This is the conclusion to which
every impartial investigator of the subject must inevitably
arrive.

Mr. Strickland continues : " Hence the use of names is,
in fact, nothing more than a kind of memoria technica (arti-
ficial memory) ; by means of which, in writing or speaking,
the idea of an object is suggested, without the inconvenience
of a lengthened description." No one doubts this ; and it is
in order that specific names may answer this purpose the more
completely that naturalists usually aim at giving appropriate
appellations to natural objects. A correspondent of this Ma-
gazine well remarks, " Even the learned are often obliged to
turn to their lexicons, and after all, perhaps, to remain in
doubt, if not in ignorance, as to the signification in particular
instances. The task of committing to memory a long list of
hard names is much diminished, and becomes, indeed, a plea-
surable occupation, when their meaning is known, and the
propriety of their application apparent." (IV. 471.) Mr.
Dovaston, likewise, who declares himself decidedly averse to
change, adopts for the pied flycatcher the name bestowed on it
by Temminck, Muscicapa luctuosa, instead of that of Linnaeus,
M. atricapilla ; giving as his reason, that the former is more
appropriate. (V. 83.) It argues but a small developement of
causality to adopt a name because it has been given by a great
naturalist, and without enquiring into the applicability : the
phrenologist will refer this to misdirected veneration and imi-
tation. However Mr. Strickland may argue for mere sound,
he will never persuade reasoning beings to disregard the sense.

Mr. Strickland continues : " It is remarkable that Linnaeus
was the first to distinguish each species of natural object by a
peculiar appellation. Before his time, naturalists were obliged
to resort to the singularly inconvenient method of repeating the
specific character every time that they wished to designate any
species." Linnaeus was the first to carry the binary system
throughout nature; but it is not correct to say, that he was the
first to adopt this method, or that naturalists were " obliged
to repeat the specific character every time they wished to
designate any species." Willughby (who, according to Swain-
son, <c was the most accomplished zoologist of this or any other
country ") has frequently given a generic and specific name
to birds, many of which have been falsely ascribed to Linnaeug
and other authors; as ^quila marina (common ospray), Falco
lapidarius (merlin, or stone falcon), &trix cinerea (gray owl),
Pica glandaria (common jay), ilierula aquatica (common
dipper), Perdix cinerea (common partridge), -Mbtacilla alba
(pied wagtail), ^nser Bassdnus (solan gannet), &c. Several

142 On the Propriety of altering

of the names of Willughby are even superior to those of
Linnaeus; as JFVingilla montana for the mountain finch; which
is far preferable to the awkward name i*ringilla montifringilla,
given by the Scandinavian naturalist. Returning from this
short, but necessary, digression, I shall proceed in my exami-
nation of the paper under consideration.

The whole of the paragraph in page 38. is founded on the
erroneous notion that, if specific names have any meaning, that
meaning must convey the whole specific description. No one
ever maintained this ; and thus Mr. Strickland may refute it
without much fear of contradiction. We shall therefore enter
on the next paragraph, Mr. Strickland says, — " In addition
to the arguments above stated, there are several other strong
objections to the arbitrary and unlicensed alteration of es-
tablished names." What, in the name of common sense, can
be the use of devoting pen and ink to refuting opinions which
were never held, much less defended? Mr. Strickland might
as well fight his own shadow. It having been previously
shown, both by argument and authority, that specific names
should not only have a meaning, but also a meaning agree-
able to truth, those specific names which do not answer to
this description should not be suffered to stain the cata-
logues of the scientific; and, that my meaning may be the bet-
ter understood, I shall give examples of objectionable specific
names, as I have previously of desirable appellations: 1st,
from the commonness of a species; as common crossbill (Cruci-
rostra vulgaris Stev.}, common coalhood (Pyrrhula vulgaris
Tern.) : 2dly, from the size ; as great snipe (Scolopax major),
little grebe (Podiceps minor), greatest toadeater (JSubo
maximus) : 3dly, from the name of a place or country ; as
Dartford whinling (Melizophilus dartfordiensis), Bohemian
waxwing (Bombycilla bohemica), European dipper (Cinclus
europae N us) : 4thly, from the names of persons ; as Richard's
lavroc (Corydalla Richard? Vieil.), Tengmalm's nightling
(Noctua Tengmalrm Selby.)* The objection to the first is
obvious : a bird which is common in one country, is very rare,
or not to be found, in another ; and this difference occurs not
only in countries, but also in counties and districts. The objec-
tion to the second mode is, that it is very probable that species
yet larger, or smaller, than those to which these epithets are
applied may be discovered ; in which case, it is no longer ap-
plicable : this frequently happens. Thirdly, the name of a coun-
try can never, with propriety, be affixed to a species, unless this
is the only species found in that country, and unless it is confined
exclusively to that country. It is thus evident that it can never
be adopted. The red ptarmigan (Xagopus britannicus) is, I

established Scientific Names. 143

believe, found only in Britain ; but then other species in the
same genus are found in that island ; and thus the epithets
" British," and " britannicus," to which it would otherwise be
entitled, are not admissible. Fourthly, naming after persons is
so very absurd and unscientific, that it cannot be too strongly
condemned. Several naturalists have spoken of it as so per-
nicious a system deserves ; and the only end which can be
sought by this unscientific mode must be to gratify a paltry
vanity, or to aim at that celebrity which could not be obtained
by fair means.

If I am right in considering these specific names to be ob-
jectionable, as regarding the progress of the student, and,
consequently, of science, it is plainly not only allowable, but
desirable and necessary, tnat they should be altered where-
ever and whenever they occur. And on this ground it is
that I have altered the name of the hedge coaihood (vulgarly,
alp, bullfinch, tonihoop, &c.^, fromPyrrhula vulgaris, to Pyr-
rhula modularis. (See The Analyst, Nos. xi. and xiii.) The
epithet vulgaris does not answer to Wilson's excellent defi-
nition of a specific name, which modularis does. I am not
aware of any other species, of coaihood to which this epithet
would apply; and, even if there is, still it will remain equally
applicable to the present species, which vulgaris will not. The
Pyrrhula enucleator of Temminck obviously does not belong
to the genus coaihood (Pyrrhula) : the name proposed (VII.
594.) may therefore be adopted ; namely, pine thickbill (Den-
sirostra enucleator). It is the durbec de& pins of the French.
I think it highly probable that, on close investigation, it will
be found that there is but one known species of coaihood,
though Linnaean authors have reckoned many.

Several writers (and among them lam sorry to find Mr. West-
wood, who is worthy of a better cause) have condemned change
altogether : but these worthy scribes, by grasping at too much,
lose all. Naturalists who have considered the subject impar-
tially, seeing the utter absurdity of such a position without
investigating the question deeply, think they may disregard it
altogether, and thus make unwarrantable alterations ; where-
as, had the anti-reformers been more reasonable in their de-
mands, the probability is, that their wishes would have been
gratified. Some change will take place; and, therefore, if, in-
stead of exposing their ignorance and their folly by attempting
to stop what no power on earth can stop, Mr. Strickland and
Co. were to exert themselves to modify and direct this neces-
sary change, they would be employing their time usefully, and
would gain their point. Thus, if naturalists were to unite their
voices with Wilson's in saying, m Specific names must in all

144 Asterias rubens.

cases be consistent with truth," nomenclators would be more
careful in bestowing names ; and thus the need of change
would at once be greatly diminished.

It should next be agreed, that not only must the name be con-
sistent with truth, but that it must not be founded on a generic
character : this necessary rule would exclude such names as
Loxia curvirostra, Cinclus aquaticus, Nucifraga caryocatactes,
^'quila Chrysaetos, &c. These two rules are, I think, amply
sufficient; and, surely, they are simple enough. It is against
those who should attempt to alter names which will stand the
test of these two rules that merited indignation should be di-
rected ; not against those who would make beneficial changes.
I will give a few examples of what I mean. The golden
eagle was called by Willughly ^'quila aurea ; a name to which
no one can reasonably object. But this bird might with
equal propriety be called .4'quila fulva: but he who should
endeavour to make such a change should be branded as a
retarder of science, equally with the non-reformers. In the
same way, the black cormorant may with equal propriety be
called Cormoranus Carbo, and Cormoranus cristatus; but the
former having the claim of priority, no one has a right to
change it, there being no objection to the name. But now we
will suppose another case : Linnaeus called the pied wagtail
Motacilla alba ; Rennie has named it M. lotor ; and another,
yet more recently, M. maculosa. I should here decidedly say,
that the first, although having the claim of authority and
priority, ought to give way to the third ; which, being consist-
ent with truth, and not being founded on a generic character,
no one has a right to alter-. M. lotor is consistent with truth ;
but then it is founded on a generic character; for it is applicable
to all the species in the genus wagtail, as now restricted. I
may here remark, that the yellow wagtail has been separated
from the genus under the name of spring oat ear (Budytes
flava Cuv.). So much for specific names.
Near Derby.

(To be continued?)

Art. V. Illustrations in British Zoology. By George John-
ston, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edin-
burgh.

-4STE V RIAS RU V BENS. {fig. 20.)

Synonymes. — Asterias rubens Lin., Syst., 1099; Mull. Zool. Dan.
Prod., 234.; Fab. Faun. Groenl., 367. ; Turt. Gmel.,iv. 130.; Lam. Anim.
s. Vert., ii. 562.; Turt. Brit. Faun., 139.; Flem. Brit. Anim., 486.—

Asterias rubetis.
20

U5

A. hispida? Pen., Brit. Zool., iv. 128. pi. 32. fig. 2. A. spinosa? Peiu,
Brit. Zool., iv. 129 ; Turt., Brit. Faun., 139 ; Flem., Brit. Anim., 487 —
? Borl., Cornw., 259. tab. 25. fig. 18.

Of the star-fishes found in Berwick Bay, this is the least
attractive; but a preference has been given to it in these illus-
trations because of some obscurity which hangs over its no-
menclature: for I can scarcely reconcile the descriptions of
authors with the animal before me ; and the figures of Pennant
and Borlase tend rather to bewilder the enquirer than to guide
him to a safe conclusion. They are very different from one
another; and yet there is something which leads me to guess
that they are intended to represent the same object, unless,
indeed, the figure of the Cornish historian may not be refer-
able to some variety of the Ophiura Rosula !

listerias rubens, or the species here exhibited, is not very
common on this coast, and4s always an inhabitant of the deep
sea, from which it is occasionally drawn by the lines of our
fishermen. It reaches a size superior to any other species,
the extreme diameter being sometimes more than 20 inches,
and the rays, at their insertion, as thick as a child's wrist.
It is so remarkably brittle, that it is rare to obtain a perfect
specimen, and impossible to preserve it so; for, whether handled
or not, killed quickly or allowed to die slowly, the arms break
Vol. IX. — No. 59. m

14-6 Aster ias Johnstom.

asunder in one or more pieces, and separate from the body
with a facility which is truly wonderful, and only rivalled by
some of the allied Ophiurae. The body is stellate, and of a
brownish or reddish orange colour; the back flattened and
rather smooth ; but, when viewed with a magnifier, appears
roughened with small tubercles, very closely set and irregu-
larly arranged, except at the margins, where they are some-
what larger, and disposed in lines: these tubercles consist
each of a short thick stalk, crowned with a circle of papillae,
which can be expanded or closed at the pleasure of the ani-
mal: rays 5 or 7, thrice the length of the diameter of the
disk, flattened, linear-lanceolate, armed beneath with strong
conical smooth spines placed on a transverse rib, and one half
the breadth of the ray : under surface straw-coloured : ten-
tacular avenues wide, the tentacula biserial only, and long.
In a large specimen, the diameter of the disk was 2 in.; length
of each ray 9 in., and its greatest breadth 1 J in.

Our figure, which is considerably reduced, was drawn from
an individual that had seven rays. One of the rays, it will
be observed, has been broken short, and is in the act of re-
producing the lost portion. Three spines of the natural size
are shown at a.

^ste n rias Jo'hnstoni. (Jig. 21.)

Description. — Body square ; sinuated between the angles, of
which two are somewhat more produced than the others ; flat,
rough with papillary warts and miliary granules, the latter
encircling the dilated smooth base of the obtuse papillae ; these
granules and warts cover the surface, but in the centre of a
ring of granules there are frequent small apertures protected

Abstract of a Paper on Irish k'lgcz. 147

by a pair of roundish scales, which open and shut at the will
of the animal : operculum lateral, slightly convex, deeply
grooved, the grooves branched : margin obtuse, thick, pro-
tected with a double series of large square plates studded
with from two to four papillae, and each of them surrounded
with a series of granules : the ventral surface is divided into
four triangular spaces by the tentacular avenues, which are
fringed on each side with a double series of smooth, blunt,
short, and slightly compressed processes, or spines : the trian-
gular spaces are very rough, with enlarged granules and val-
vular openings, but there are no dilated bases for papillae, and
the valvular apertures are arranged in rows ; in the centre of
each of the compartments there is a large irregular opening.
When fresh, the colour is a bright red or scarlet ; but, on
keeping, the colour fades to a faint and dirty brownish yellow.
The figure represents it about one half the natural size.

I procured this beautiful and rare species from the coast of
Caithness. Mr. J. E. Gray, who has examined the specimen
figured, tells me that it is quite distinct from the true ^4sterias
^questris ; and he has, in consequence, assigned to it the spe-
cific name which is here adopted. I am, nevertheless, con-
vinced that the species is identical with the A. ^questris of
British authors ; and, if this is a correct opinion, then the dis-
covery of it, as a native animal, is due to the late Mr. Brodie
of Brodie, who found it in the Murray Frith, and sent a spe-
men to Sower by, in whose British Miscellany it is figured.
My much esteemed friend Dr. Patrick Neill subsequently
met with this star-fish in the Frith of Forth; as yet the most
southern locality; though I doubt not, now that our natural-
ists are alive and active in their pursuits, it may, ere long, be
added to the English fauna. — Berwick upon Tweed, Jan. 1 8.

Art. VI. Abstract of a Paper on Irish A'lgce, read before the
Natural History Society of Belfast on January 20. 1836.* By
Wm. Thompson, Esq.,' Vice-President.

The following notes have originated from some attention
bestowed on A'lgse during a few weeks of last autumn which I

* Since this was written I have, on enquiry from Mr. J. T. Mackay (who
possesses the very latest information on Irish botany, and whose Flora
Hibernica, I am happy to say, is now in the press), learned, by a letter dated
January 16. 1836, that several of the species here mentioned were pre-
viously found, though not yet published, by Mr. David Moore, on the coast
of Londonderry, which county he was lately employed by government to
botanise : a pleasing duty, that was performed by him with remarkable suc-
cess. These species are marked thus *.

m 2

148 Abstract of a Paper on Irish k'lgce,

spent at Bangor, on the coast of Down. To Miss Ball, of
Youghal, I am indebted for such species as she has added to
our flora since the departure, about the end of last summer,
of William Henry Harvey, Esq. for the Cape of Good Hope,
to which time he had, as far as in his power, completed the
history of Irish A'lgse : in every instance these species were
determined by Miss Ball previous to their being forwarded.
Dr. J. L. Drummond's fine collection was likewise most kindly
made available to me at all times ; and it will be perceived
that from it considerable information has been gleaned.

Species new to Ireland.

Asperococcus ? pusillus Hook. Brit. Fl., ii. 277. Collected by
Miss Ball, at Ballycotton (co. of Cork), in August, 1835.
In September, I foundjt growing in the rock-pools at Ban-
gor. In both places it was parasitic only on Chorda filum,
as originally described.

Dictybta atomdria Grev. Algae Brit., p. 58. LHva atomaria
Eng. Bot., t. 419. Fine specimens, of the extreme size de-
scribed by Dr. Greville, were gathered by Miss Ball, at
Ballycotton, in August, 1835.

Laurenc'ia tenuissima Grev. ; jPucus tenuissimus Eng* Bot.,
t. 1882. A single specimen was obtained near Youghal
(co. of Cork), in autumn, 1835, by Miss Ball.

Gigartina erecta Hook.; Gracilaria erecta Grev. Alga: Brit.,
p. 124. t. 14. By minutely examining the vegetation of
the rock-pools about Bangor at low water, when the sun
shone brightly upon them, I procured a few specimens in
autumn, 1835.

Gigartina pistilldta Lamour. ; jPucus Gigartinus Eng. Bot.,
t. 908. A single specimen, in fruit, occurred to me at Bangor
in September, 1835 : so characteristic is the figure in En-
glish Botany, that, from recollection of it alone, I was en-
abled to distinguish its species as it lay upon the beach.
On looking back to some Jf'lgae collected by Mr. Hyndman
and myself at the same place in the previous month of
March, I found another specimen, likewise in fruit.

* Chondrus Brodicex Grev. ; Fucus BrodiaeV Eng. Bot., t. 1966.
I gathered several specimens, in fructification, near Ban-
gor, after a severe storm from the north-west, in October,
1835.

Sphaceldria filicina Ag. ; S. ^ypnoides Grev. Crypt. Fl., t. 348.
Of this singularly beautiful species a specimen occurred to
Mr. Hyndman and myself, in March 1835, near Bangor.

Polysiphbnia violdcea Grev.; Hutchinsza violacea Lyng ? Spe-
cimens gathered by Dr. Drummond, in June, 1834, at Ban-
or, have been named as above by Dr. Greville.

read before the Belfast Natural History Sodiety. 149

Callith&mnion Bdrreri Ag. ? ; Conferva Borrerz Eng. Bot., t.
1741. ? A single specimen, apparently of this rare species,
as figured and described in English Botany, but wanting the
filaments there represented, I collected at Bangor in Sep-
tember, 1835.

Mesogloia purpurea Harvey in Brit. FL, iL 386. Found
growing on the rocks at the island of Ireland's Eye (north
of Dublin Bay), by Robert Ball, Esq., during an excursion
we had thither in April, 1835.

Species new to the North, or hitherto unnoticed as occurring
North of the County of Clare, on the Western, and of the
County of Dublin, on the Eastern, Side qf Ireland.

Cystoseira granuldta Grev. Algae Brit., p. 5. t. 2. In the col-
lection of Dr. Drummond, to whom the species has long
been known, from his having on several occasions gathered
it at Lame (co. of Antrim). According to Dr. Drummond,
it attains a much greater size there than commonly described.

JDesmarest'ia liguldta Lamour., Grev. Alga Brit., p. 37. t. 5.
A few specimens have been collected by Dr. Drummond at
Bangor, where it occurred to me not uncommonly in Sep-
tember and October, 1835: one specimen then obtained
measured, though imperfect, 10| ft. in length.

* Sporochnus pedunculdtus Ag., Grev. Alga Brit., p. 41. t. 6.
A single specimen occurred to me at Bangor in October,
1835. Owing, probably, to the lateness of the season, very
few of the receptacles exhibited any appearance of the green
tuft of filaments which commonly terminate them.

Sporochnus rhizbdes Ag., Grev. Alga Brit., 43. t. 6., was,
during a few days in October, 1835, washed ashore in con-
siderable plenty at Bangor.

Bhodomeniajreniformis Hook. ; 2<ucus reniformis Eng. Bot.,
t. 2116. A single specimen has occurred to Dr. Drum-
mond at Larne. In the summer of 1833, several specimens
in my collection were obtained at Carnlough Bay, near
Glenarm, by Miss Davison.

Rhodomela subfusca Ag. ; i*ucus subfuscus Eng. Bot., t. 1 164.
Procured at Bangor in autumn, 1835.

Halymeniafurcelldta Ag.; OTva furcellata Eng. Bot., t. 1881.
Two specimens in my possession were collected by Miss
Davison, at Carnlough Bay, in the summer of 1833.

* Enteremorpha ramulbsa Hook. ;, £7'lva ramulosa Eng. Bot.,

t. 2137. ; I obtained in October,' 1835, near Bangor, where
it grows on the perpendicular sides of rocks, in company
with var. /3. of Ptilota plumosa.

* Brydpsis plumbsa Ag., Grev. Alga Brit., p. 187. t. 19. A

M 3

J 50 Abstract of a Paper on Irish A'lgce.

single specimen, growing on Corallina officinalis, occurred
at Bangor in September, 1835.

* Polysiphonia fruticulbsa Grev. ; Fucus fruticulosus Eng. Bot.,

t. 1686. Found growing in the rock-pools at Bangor in

October, 1835.
Polysiphonia Brodiai Grev.; Conferva BrodiaeV Eng. Bot.,

t. 2589. Bangor, May, 1831. Dr. Drummond.
Polysiphonia stricta Grev. ; Conferva stricta JDillw. Conf., t. 4-0.

Belfast Bay, July, 1824?. Dr. Drummond.
Polysiphonia parasitica Grev. ; Conferva parasitica Eng. Bot.,

t. 1429. In the same manner that Gigartina erecta was

procured, I obtained specimens of P. parasitica growing

upon various A'lgse in the rock-pools at Bangor in October,

1835 : in Strangford Lough, also, it has occurred to me.
Griffiths'^ multifida Ag.; Conferva multitidsL Eng. Bot., 1. 1816.

A single specimen was found by me at Bangor, in October,

1835.

* Callithdmnion Plumula Lyng. ; Conferva Turners' Eng. Bot.,
t. 1637. Thrown ashore in great abundance on the low
oozy part (and there only) of Belfast Bay, about Holy-
wood, in September and October, 1835. Dr. Drummond
and W. Thompson.

Callithdmnion Turneri Ag. ; Conferva Turners Eng. Bot.,
t. 2339. Larne ? Dr. Drummond. Bangor, W. T.

Callithdmnion tetragbnum Ag. ; Conferva tetragona Eng. Bot.)
1. 1690. : on two occasions has been received by Dr. Drum-
mond from Bangor ; occurred to me there not uncommonly
in October, 1835.

Callithdmnion pedicelldtum Ag.; Conferva pedicellataZfog. Bot.,
t. 1817. A few specimens were gathered at Bangor in
October, 1835.

Coriferva intricdta Grev. Fl. Edin., p. 315. Observed by Dr.
Drummond as commonly investing Sphacelaria cirrhosa in
Belfast Bay in September, 1835. See Harvey in Brit. Fl.
(p. 352.), on C. implexa.

Co?iferva pellucida Huds. Eng. Bot., t. 1716. Once found
near Larne by Dr. Drummond. Grows sparingly in the
rock-pools at Bangor, but was cast ashore plentifully
during October, 1835.

Mesoglbia virescens Carm. Brit. Fl., p. 387. A single speci-
men has been obtained at Larne by Dr. Drummond.

Species generally rare, or otherwise worthy of notice.

Cutler\& multifida Grev. Algae Brit., p. 60. t. 10. Specimens
varying exceedingly in form were collected by Miss Ball at
Ballycotton in August, 1835.

Remains of Mastodons found in Norfolk Strata. 151

Delesserla Hypogiossum Ag., Grev. Algce Brit., p. 75. t. 12.
Dr. Greville remarks of this species, M In Britain, its full
length is about 3 in. ; but a specimen in my possession,
gathered by Miss Hutchins in Ireland, measures about 8 in."
A specimen obtained by Dr. Drummond at Larne, in June,
1835, measures 19J in. in length; and many more, collected
at the same time, are in size very little inferior to it.

Rhodomenia sobolifera Grev. ; JPucus soboliferus Eng. Bot.,
t 2133. Obtained in different parts of Strangford Lough,
by Mr. Hyndman and myself, in 1834 and 1835 : some of
the specimens exceeded 7 in. in length.

Rhodomela lycopodioides Ag. ; i'ucus lycopodioides Eng. Bot.,
t. 1163. Not of uncommon occurrence on the stems of
Laminaria saccharina at Bangor, in October, 1835.

Cbdium tomentbsum Stackh., Grev., Algce Brit., p. 185. t. 19.,
has been found at Larne, occasionally, during winter, by
Dr. Drummond, but not of late years.
Donegal Square, Belfast, Jan. 27. 1836.

Art. VII. Evidence in Argument that Remains of Mastodon
giganteus and Mastodon latidens have been found in the Tertiary
Beds of Norfolk. By Samuel Woodward, Esq.

Some doubts having been expressed by Mr. Bakewell, in
37 — 4?2., as to the existence of the remains of mastodon in
the tertiary beds of Norfolk, I beg permission to lay before
your readers a few brief remarks on the subject.

The distinctive characters of the grinders of the elephant
and mastodon are so decided, that it is scarcely possible to
mistake the one for the other. The enamel of the former is
disposed in pairs transversely, to the number of about ten, sur-
rounded and held together by what Parkinson terms the
crusta petrosa. Now, the enamel of the grinder of the mas-
todon is all external ; whilst the crusta petrosa, or a substance
resembling it, is internal. * I saw a tooth of the elephant, the
other day, in the collection of the Rev. William Foulger,

* Since the above was written, I have read Mr. Clift's remarks on the
fossil remains from Ava, published in the Geological Transactions, 2d se-
ries, vol. ii. Speaking, in p. 373., of the tooth of M. elephantoides, and
its near approximation to those of the elephant, he proceeds to r say, " It is
not impossible that there may yet be a link wanting, which might be sup-
plied by an animal having a tooth composed of a greater number of den-
ticules, increasing in depth, and having the rudiments of crusta petrosa, that
necessary ingredient in the tooth of the elephant (for it is the animal mor-
tar, as it were, by which the plates, or denticules, are cemented together),
the entire absence of which distinguishes the tooth of the mastodon."

m 4

1 52 Bemains of M&stodon giganteus and M. latidens

which I remember having had offered me by some fishermen
at Bacton, on our coast, in 1824 ; and, but for their cupidity,
I should have possessed it. This singular specimen, from the
decomposition of the crusta pelrosa of the posterior end, ex-
hibits the upper part of two plates, terminating in points,
which may be closely represented by placing the palms of the
hands together, dropping one hand a little, and keeping the
ends of the fingers a trifle apart. Specimens approximating
this are not uncommon. Parkinson mentions one, in his
possession, resembling the paw of a bear. I have one in
which the protrusion of the points gives it a similar appear-
ance ; but, among

all the specimens "MM ^%^ 22
of the grinders of
the elephant from
our coast, I have
not seen any thing
like the mammil-
lated processes of the tooth of the mastodon [mastos, a teat ;
odous, odontos, a tooth; Jigs. 22, and 23.] associated with the
plates of that of the elephant : another criterion is, that these
points are in rows, whilst the mammae of the teeth of the
mastodon (with the exception, I believe, of M. elephantoides)
are irregular.

These remains appear to be of two species, Mastodon gi-
ganteus and latidens.

M. giganteus (Parkinson's Organic Remains, vol. hi. tab. i.).
The large grinder figured by Smith, in his Strata Identified,
was reported to have been found at Whitlingham, near Nor-
wich ; and, when at Scarborough, last summer, I put the
question to him, and he assured me that it was so found. I
believe that the fragment of a grinder which I found, some
years since, at Bramerton, also belongs to the same species ;
as does that of the Rev. William Foulger, found at the same
place. When I found my fragment, I think the whole tooth
must have been there ; as it was with a large mass of brown
decomposing matter, the firmer parts of which I placed in
my basket for further examination.

M. latidens (Geological Trans., second series, vol. ii. tab.
36. to 39.). The figures No. 22. a. and b. are of the fragment of
a grinder : the figures are of one fourth of the diameter of
the original, and represent a front view and a side one : found
at Horstead, in this county (Norfolk), about six miles north-
east of Norwich ; which, on comparison with those of that
species from Ava, in the collection of the Geological Society,
will be found to agree pretty well. This interesting specimen

found in the Tertiary Beds of Norfolk. i53

was first in the possession of the Rev. James Layton of Cut-
field, and afterwards of Dawson Turner, Esq., of Yarmouth,
who has for some time past missed it from his collection. The
sketch which I have given was taken whilst it was in that
gentleman's possession. Mr. Layton, in a communication to
Mr. Fairholme, published in his Geology of Scripture, p. 281.,
says, " In 1 820, an entire skeleton of the great mastodon was
found at Horstead, near Norwich, lying on its side, stretched
out between the chalk and the gravel. A grinder was brought
to me (it is still in the possession of Dawson Turner, Esq.,
of Yarmouth); but so long after it was discovered, that scarcely
any other part of the animal could be preserved. The whole
had been carried away with the chalk, and burnt for lime, or
spread in minute fragments over the fields." And in p. 370.,
" Your doubt, as to the great mastodon being found in Nor-
folk, came not at all unexpected : I should have doubted it
myself under almost any other circumstances : as it is, I feel
sure and certain of the fact. I lived at Catfield, in Norfolk,
six miles from Hasborough, and about as far from Horstead.
From this latter place marl is carried to all the villages in
the neighbourhood, to be spread upon the land. A boatman,
who was in the habit of bringing me fossils, brought a grinder
of this mastodon as a curiosity, saying it had been found in
the marl, and given to him by the head pitman. It was the
posterior portion of the grinder of the great mastodon (I am
certain of the fact), containing, as far as I recollect, eight
points, none of which had been cut or brought into use. On
the first opportunity I went to make enquiry about it at the
chalk-pit. The pitman pointed out to me the place where it
was found, and said that the whole animal was, as it were,
lying on its side, stretched out on the surface of the marl.
He described it as being very soft, and that a great part of
it would at first spread like butter ; the whole, however, had
been thrown down along with the marl, and carried away.
He said he had looked upon it as very curious indeed, but
of no use ; and he had kept that piece of the tooth merely
by accident. He afterwards found another fragment or two
of the bones in his garden, where he had thrown them, and
he sent them to me. They are now in my possession ; but I
am not able to identify them with the mastodon, as distin-
guished from the mammoth or elephant. The grinder I
sent to Dawson Turner, Esq., of Great Yarmouth, who, pro-
bably, has it now."

The fragment figured No. 23. a. and b. 9 which represent a
side view, and a front one, reduced to one fourth of the
diameter of the original, belongs, I conceive, to a young in-

J 54t Meteoric Appearances in Guernsey and Jersey.

dividual of the same species.
It was found at Bramerton
Cliff, associated with the cray
shells, by Captain Alexander
(now of Yarmouth), and pre-
sented by him, with numerous
other organic remains, particularly crabs (Cancer Mae s nas,
and Tnachus Lamarck//) and coprolites, to the Norfolk and
Norwich Museum.

Norwich, Jan. 20. 1836.

Art. VIII. A Notice of Appearances of the Sky in Guernsey on
the Nights of Nov. 17- and 18. 1835, in relation to the Instances
of Aurora JBorealis seen in these Nights in England ; and of
Appearances of a splendid Meteor seen in Guernsey and Jersey
in the Morning of Jan. 12. 1836. By F. C. Lukis, Esq.

The appearance of the sky, as seen from this island, on
the nights of Nov. 17. and 18. 1835, was not attended by
that brilliant display of rays or streams of light, as noticed
in the various accounts already published in p. 23 — .36.

On the 17th, the whole northern part of the horizon was
luminous to such a degree as to urge me to call several mem-
bers of my family to observe it. The general aspect was that
of splendid twilight, having a few dark dense clouds floating
gently along its whole range; that is, from north-east to north-
west.

On the 18th, the same appearances were repeated, with
equal brilliancy.

On both nights the weather was calm; but these days had
been preceded and were followed by partial showers.

[Meteor."] — I herewith send you two notices, from news-
papers, of a splendid meteor seen on Tuesday, Jan. 12. 1836.

From the Guernsey Comet. — On Tuesday morning [Jan.
12. 1836.], about half-past 6 o'clock, a friend of ours, who
was in St. Martin's parish, had his attention suddenly arrested
by a phenomenon in the heavens of uncommon magnificence,
which appeared in a southerly direction. It was visible for
two or three minutes ; and, during the period of its visibility,
it was so light, that any person could have easily picked up a
pin upon the ground. The phenomenon in question appeared
as large as the sun, and darted forth its rays in every direc-
tion, exhibiting one of the grandest spectacles he had ever
witnessed. After being stationary during the period already
mentioned, it moved with great velocity towards the west, and

Effects of Gas on the Atmosphere of London. 155

quickly disappeared, leaving behind it a radiance such as is
witnessed when the sun sets on a fine summer's evening.

From the Jersey News. — A phenomenon in the heavens oc-
curred on Tuesday morning last, between the hours of 6 and
7 o'clock, just before the break of day. A stupendous ball
of fire was seen to descend towards the earth, which so illu-
minated the horizon, that a person could distinctly see to pick
up any thing on the ground. Some country people, who were
hastening to their work from St. Clement's to the Pier, were
so alarmed at the sight, that they ran for shelter to the first
•house they came to. Its descent appeared to be very slow,
until it came within the influence of the earth, when it was
very rapid : it was travelling from north to south. The pre-
vious night was very stormy, with occasional vivid flashes of
lightning, which continued at intervals until the morning.

The Brighton Guardian of Jan. 13. 1836, notices the ap-
pearance of a meteor on the same day and hour as the above ;
which correspondence inclines me to believe it to have been
the same luminous body.

My man-servant,, who was traversing a ploughed field at
the time, informs me that it passed with immense velocity, at
an angle apparently about 45° from the horizon, and that it
became broad daylight in an instant, so that he could observe
the smallest speck upon the ground on which he stood.

Guernsey, Feb. 2. 1836.

Art. IX. Some Notice of the Effects of the Gas in the City of
London on the Atmosphere. By W. H. White, Esq.

During the severe frost between Dec. 19. and 27. 1835, I
observed the streets in the city to become very dirty after the
evening closed in ; so that I more than once was led to the
conclusion that a rapid thaw was taking place ; but when I
came near to my house (3 miles south of London Bridge),
I found the roads quite hard, and the trees still covered with
their icy crystals : this led me to the consideration that the
difference of temperature in the city was owing to the heat
given out by the gas. It was, however, no great difficulty to
make the experiment with the thermometer ; in doing which,
I found that the temperature during the day, in the city, was
3° Fahrenheit higher than at my house ; and that, after the gas
in the city had been lighted four or five hours, the temper-
ature increased full 3° : thus making the difference of 6°, and
sometimes as much as 7°, in the space of three miles.

156 Bloodhound, Irish Greyhound.

This notice, though unimportant in itself, if you think it
worthy of a place in your Magazine, may, probably, lead to
further experiments, and to other useful applications of the
gas than merely the light from its brilliant flames.

Old Kent Road, Jan. 1. 1836.

Art. X. Queries and Answers.

The Bloodhound in Britain. — In a brief but interesting
sketch by Mr. Swainson on the zoology of Great Britain,
published in Hugh Murray's Encyclopaedia of Geography, it
is stated that the bloodhound, though formerly in high repute,
and used to track out and bring marauders and other cri-
minals within the grasp of the law, is now extinct. Is not
this a mistake? I remember that, in the spring of 1830,
whilst bird-nesting in the beautiful plantations round about
Dunkeld, in the Highlands, the Duke of AthoPs gamekeeper
offered me for sale two noble-looking dogs, with bluntish
muzzles and broad slouching ears, which he stated to be the
offspring of a female staghound and a male bloodhound. He
mentioned having had several of these dogs at different times
in his possession. Perhaps some of your Perthshire readers
will question him further on the subject ; as I was not aware,
at the time, that the bloodhound was so very rare, much less
that it was extinct. I saw none of these dogs in the Pyrenees,
nor in Spain, though the latter country contains a great variety
of races of that useful and faithful quadruped.

The Lish Greyhound, inhere can it be seen alive in Ireland t
— In the same work, it is stated that the breed of the great
Irish greyhound is still kept up in a few parks in Ireland ; but
the names of the parks, or of the counties in which they occur,
are not given. Some of your readers will, perhaps, be kind
enough to supply the desired information. Ought not natu-
ralists always to mention the exact localities where rare animals,
plants, or minerals are to be met with ? By so doing they
would confer a great obligation on wanderers like myself.
Most amateurs, I presume, would stroll many a mile out of
their road to get a glimpse of such a powerful, stately, ma-
jestic-looking quadruped as the Irish greyhound has always
been represented to be. — Wm. Perceval Hunter. Sandgate,
July 10. 1835.

«* Incendiaries discovered by Bloodhounds. — The old me-
thod of tracing perpetrators of any crime was, a short time
since, revived with great success in Oxfordshire. The Duke
of Marlborough has, in addition to the famous Blenheim

Superstition connected with the Horseshoe, 157

spaniel, retained unimpaired the breed of the old English
bloodhound. The Duke's steward, who has the care of
these noble animals, had recourse to this plan at that destruc-
tive fire (well-known in the neighbourhood) at Mr. G. Raing-
ley's, of Woodstock, one of the Duke's tenants. The steward
was one of the first on the spot, and observed some fresh
footsteps : he therefore marked their direction, and summoned
his conductor. The hound was no sooner put on the foot-
step than he opened his deep-toned note, and traced with
wonderful exactness every winding attempt to delude his eager
pursuit, until he reached a previously notorious cottage. The
door was opened ; but then appeared the failure, for no man
was found : however, the insatiable pursuer was not to be
thus deluded ; for, rushing out in the direction of the fire, he
became more anxious at every step, until he seized one of a
group going to assist (and, as was afterwards proved, the one
most lavish in abuse of the incendiary), to his no small asto-
nishment. The man was thunderstruck at his unexpected
discovery, and soon confessed that he was the actual per-
petrator of the diabolical act." ( The Bury and Norwich Post
and East Anglian, Feb. 12. 1834.)

[Since the preceding was put in type, the treatise on kinds
of bloodhounds in The Penny Cyclopaedia has been seen ; it
is a very interesting one, and is illustrated by figures. It is
included in Nos. 272, 273.]

Art. XI. Retrospective Criticism.

The Superstition connected with the Horseshoe. (V. 212. ,
VII. 54-6.) — The " Notices of certain Omens and Supersti-
tions connected with Natural Objects," communicated by
your intelligent correspondent, the Rev. W. T. Bree (VII.
545. et. seq^j, afforded me much entertainment and informa-
tion ; and to such as have received pleasure from the perusal
of them it may not be uninteresting to know that the
horseshoe superstition extends to Asia. In India, as appears
from Johnson's Field Sports of the East" the practice has
been observed, and horseshoes are to be there seen nailed to
the thresholds, and the idea of its preventing witches from
entering prevails : whether founded on the superstition of the
English in former days, is a matter of speculation, but de-
serves enquiry. On board small vessels, many years since,
the practice was very general ; but now a horseshoe is very
seldom seen nailed to any part of a vessel. The combing of
the companion hatch was more frequently the place to which

158 Robin and Dipper.

it was affixed than the mast. — James G. Tatem. Wycombe,
June 4. 1835.

Dr. Turton's Origines Zoological, or Zoological Recollections.
(VII. 315 — 328., 390—408.) — With the utmost respect
for your entertaining and instructive correspondent Dr.
Turton, I would beg to suggest that the saying, " Draw in
his horns" (VII. 391.), applies to the snail rather than to the
ox ; the former always drawing in his horns when appre-
hending danger, and retiring within his shell for safety.

The fair mentioned in p. 394., note *, is held annually at
Charlton, near Woolwich, Kent, on the 18th of October, and
is said to have owed its origin to, and derived its name from,
a compulsive grant made by some of our kings, when detected
in an affair of gallantry, while residing at Eltham Palace.
The procession from Deptford, through Greenwich, to Charl-
ton, each person wearing some ornament of horn upon his
head, has been long discontinued ; and the fair has degene-
rated into one for pleasure, rather than for business. —
James G. Tatem. March 16. 1835.

On the Robin and Dipper, and rumped, and rumpless, Birds.
(VIII. 637. 638.) — " I do not deny," says the Rev. F. O.
Morris, " (I never did) that the thrush and the robin have an
oil gland. They may be seen, before a shower of rain, anoint-
ing their feathers with its contents." May they? This
expression, " may be seen," is by no means satisfactory.
Will he tell us that he, himself, has actually seen any bird in
the creation express the contents from its gland and apply
them to its feathers ? "I doubt not," continues he, " but
that if they " (the robins) " were, under these circumstances "
(that is, after lubricating their feathers) " to fall into the water,
they would receive as little damage, or nearly so, to their
feathers, as the dipper." Had the reverend ornithologist
examined, with common attention, the nature of a land bird's
plumage, and then compared it with that of a water bird, he
surely would not have made this declaration.

He continues : " Soak a thrush or a robin, but for a few
minutes, in the water ; soak a dipper for an hour or more ;
lay them both in the sun to dry : the one will be unscathed,
unharmed ; the other will present a miserable clogged appear-
ance." But why in the sun, your reverence ? That very act
alone would insure the unsightly appearance in the land bird,
which seems to have given you so much pain. This unlucky
suggestion of yours proves to me that you are, as yet, quite
a novice in the nature of plumage ; whilst your allusion to a
" chemical or other tedious process" (supposed to be adopted
by me, in order to restore the feathers " of clogged and mi-

Question of Birds' oiling their Plumage. 159

serable appearance" to their original beauty) leads me to
suspect that you have been trying your hand at some bungling
experiments, and that you have failed in your object. It
neither requires the aid of chemistry, nor that of a tedious
process, to put all to rights again, after a land bird has been
immersed in the water.

It is somewhat arrogant in the Rev. F. O. Morris to insi-
nuate that I am " blinded by prejudice," because I do not
submit to what he, in his inexperience, considers " can almost
be demonstrated." " Almost," forsooth ! Why, this puts
me in mind of the Frenchman, who had almost found out the
art of living without food ; but, somehow or other, he hap-
pened to die on the seventeenth day through pure emptiness.
Will his reverence take the trouble to demonstrate fully (I'll
have no almosts) that the dipper walks at the bottom of the
water? and then I will strike to his superior weight of know-
ledge. In the meantime, I would put him in mind that he
has not refuted any part of my theory already advanced, to
show that birds cannot, by any means, walk on the ground
under water.

The reverend ornithologist asks, if any birds are entirely
devoid of the oil gland ? This is evidently a question from
one in rudiments. A very moderate attention to ornithology
would have taught him, that there are birds with tails, and
birds without tails. So that the robin of the Rev. F. O.
Morris, having a tail, would have wherewith to anoint its
plumage : but my barn-door fowl, having no tail, would not
have wherewith to anoint its plumage ; and, of course, it
would be obliged to remain ungreased. Then the upshot
would be, that my poor rumpless bird might catch a severe
cold, or sore throat, when " exposed to a shower of rain,"
unless it applied in time to its more fortunate neighbour's
toilette for a beak-full or two of his best Macassar. This
act of nature, in furnishing some birds with an oil gland, for
the purpose of oiling their feathers, according to the doctrine
of the Rev. F. O. Morris, and in denying to others this ines-
timable advantage, would, in Corporal Trim's notions, " be
putting one sadly over the head of another." I think so too. —
Charles Waterton. Walton Hall, November 5. 1835.

[Since our refusing, in VIII. 516., a long treatise on this
subject, by the Rev. Mr. Morris, which he had sent to us, we
have received from him the following in substitution.]

Touching the Question whether Birds oil their Plumage,
or not. [VIII. 375. note*, 514, 515. 637.; IX. 158.] —
" The bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill." — As far
as my knowledge goes, I am not aware of any one in the
present day, except Mr. Charles Waterton, who upholds or

160 Question of Birds' oiling their Plumage.

maintains the doctrine subversive of the generally received
one on the above head. In answering his arguments, I shall,
therefore, I presume, encounter all, or nearly all, that is to be
urged in opposition to the belief that birds do use an oil, sup-
plied by a gland which they possess, to render their feathers
impervious to water.

In a note [VIII. 375. note # ] to a short paper of mine (on
the habits of the dipper), which appeared in VIII. 374 — 376.,
I expressed a doubt as to the correctness of Mr. Waterton's
opinion as regarded the above question ; and I have been led
to the remarks I am about to make by having observed, in
V. 412 — 415., a paper by Mr. Waterton "on birds using oil
from glands; " and, to avoid any confusion, I will take his ar-
guments against the heretofore generally, if not universally, re-
ceived opinion in the order in which they present themselves.

First, then, from the circumstance of birds being annoyed
by small insects or vermin, Mr. Waterton takes it for granted
that, when birds are seen applying their bills to their feathers,
&c, they are endeavouring to dislodge these insects. That
birds are annoyed by insects " is most true ; " but, were his
hypothesis correct, it seems likely that the poor birds would,
in time at least, eradicate the nuisance, which, in Mr. Water-
ton's words, " no part of their bodies are ever exempt from,"
" and which," he says, " they so much suffer from." But,
after all their supposed endeavours, he himself allows that
" no part of their bodies " has, as yet, been freed from the
pest ; and, this being the case, it does not appear to me that
instinct would suggest to the birds a useless endeavour, or that
they would waste their time, accordingly, which might be so
much better employed. When, then, in this useless, fruitless,
and ineffectual supposed course, the bird has chased the para-
sites down to the oil gland at the root of the tail, " some
people," so says Mr. Waterton, " imagine that the bird is
procuring an oil from the gland by means of its bill, in order
to apply it to the feathers ; " instead of, as his theory goes,
being engaged in the pursuit of the insects. This, he argues,
can, at the best, " be but conjecture, because the feathers
hide from our view the operation that is going on." Now, I
am very willing to admit that no one has ever so far ingra-
tiated himself into the good graces of a bird as to get it to
voluntarily turn back its feathers from the gland, that we may
see it voluntarily engaged in carrying on the operation which
/ suppose it to carry on (in common, I believe, with most, if not
all, naturalists except Mr. Waterton). But, with all due deference,
I beg leave to differ on this subject " toto ccelo " from the author
of the Wanderings ; for how stands the case ? The d priori

Question of Birds' oiling their Plumage. 161

argument is certainly in our favour ; and we are backed in
our opinion by the wisdom of our ancestors, for which Mr.
Waterton elsewhere contends that he has so great a venera-
tion. I for one will vie with him in this veneration ; and I,
therefore, will not, for much stronger reasons than he has
adduced, give up, among others, the point in question, on
which they all agreed in days of yore. Mr. Waterton, how-
ever, assumes the point in question. " When," he says, " a
man versed in the habits of birds sees the bird do this, he
knows that it is trying to dislodge the vermin," &c. ; " except,
indeed," he parenthetically adds, " except after it has got
wet." What, then, I would ask (allowing even, which I do
not, his own argument as to the motive of birds in thus apply-
ing their bills to their feathers at other times), is its motive in
thus applying its bill when it (the bird) is wet. The answer
is obvious, as far as our present knowledge carries us ; for
even Mr. Waterton, though he endeavours to explode the
received opinion, advances nothing, positively nothing, in
proof of any other theory, but leaves the matter precisely
where he found it.

But to proceed : " Will any naturalist," he asks, M say that
he has actually seen a bird procure liquor or oil from the
gland with its bill, and then apply that liquor or oil to its
plumage?" (Yes; T. G. of Clitheroe: see VI. 159, 160.)
I have before allowed that the feathers prevent our seeing
what is going forward ; but we are not therefore to conclude
that the opinion which always has obtained as to the nature
of the process is erroneous ; for I very much doubt whether
the objector himself has ever " actually seen " a bird catch
one of these famous insects with his bill. As well might we
argue, that no other globe but our own is inhabited because
we cannot see the inhabitants thereof walking about ; or, that
our earth is stationary because we cannot perceive its motion*
But " I marvel how the oil can be obtained by the sharp
bill of the bird." Why should we marvel at any such thing,
when we consider that the bills of ducks, and many other sea
and water birds, which chiefly use this oil, and to which it is
especially useful, are more than ordinarily broad, and the
better adapted for compressing any soft part of their bodies ;
and when we remember, moreover, that in these very birds,
whose constant abiding on the water requires an increased
supply of oil to render their feathers impervious to it, that in
these very birds is this gland the most developed, and the best
supplied with oil? Mr. Waterton proceeds, " When the
nature of the gland, and the form of the bill, are duly con-
sidered, it is rational to conclude, that the application of the
Vol. IX. — No. 59. N

162 Question of Birds' oiling their Plumage,

hard bill to the soft gland would be very painful to the bird."
If so, then thrice unfortunate are ye of the feline race : if this
be so, how must your faces suffer, it is equally rational to con-
clude, when you wash them with your paws : 't is marvellous
that your talons allow any part to remain unscratched of the
contracting pupils of your eyes : dreadful must your sufferings
be. Mr. Martin should introduce an especial clause in his
hill to prevent the consequences of this wilful blindness of
your natures.

Oh, but Mr. Waterton is willing to "suppose that the bird
has succeeded in getting some of the liquor into its bill; " but
asks, " how is the liquor to be applied to its feathers ? It
cannot be rubbed upon them, because it is within the bill "
(certainly it must be received into the bill before it can be
applied by the bill to the feathers) ; " and, if the bird should
apply its bill to the feathers, they would merely come in con-
tact with the edges of the bill, while the liquor would have
sunk into the cavity of the lower mandible." As well may
we fear, unlucky aldermen ! that never again will ye be able
to pour any more turtle soup into your mouths when once
the liquid shall have passed into the cavity of your table-
spoons, at the Lord Mayor's feast. It is quite as impossible
for you to stoop your spoons as it is for a bird to stoop his
bill; and, perhaps, the new corporation bill will save you the
trouble of trying the experiment.

An argument follows the above which is really not deserv-
ing of notice. M I will now," says Mr. Waterton, " show
that this oily liquor would injure the feathers. The feathers
of birds, when in a perfectly dry state, have a beautiful and
downy appearance, which is lost when wetted, but returns
again when all the moisture is gone : if, however, any greasy
substance or oily liquor has come in contact with them, I do
not know what could be employed to restore the downy ap-
pearance to its pristine beauty. Let any body apply the oil
from the gland in question to a feather, and he will produce
a fixed stain." This all sounds very well ; but I am sorry
again to have to convict Mr. Waterton of assuming his pre-
mises, instead of proving them. 'T is likely, indeed, that
what he says is the case, as regards the oil obtained from a
dead bird, and applied to a feather of a dead bird ; but that it
is impossible for the oil to have the use generally assigned to
it in a living bird, is just as absurd as to argue that the gastric
juice cannot possibly exist in the stomach of a living animal,
for the purpose of digesting its food, because, forsooth, when
the animal is dead, it will often eat a hole out through the
very stomach that before contained it so well. So, again, the

Question of Birds' oiling their Plumage. 163

bile in the living and healthy subject has no power of staining
what it touches : when the subject is dead, discolouration fol-
lows contact with it. Neither, supposing that his experiment
could be tried with the oil, and on the feather of a living bird,
would I attach much importance even to its success ; so very
much, in all probability, would depend on the birds volun-
tary obtaining the oil, and voluntarily applying it ; nor know
we, moreover, in what quantity the bird would apply it : and,
besides, birds may possibly, and probably do, secrete from
their mouths some liquid, which, mixed with the oil, may pro-
duce, as a compound, the effect we believe it to have. This
we have obviously no means of disproving, and, if necessary,
it may be the case.

Lastly, Mr. Waterton contends, that the gland cannot con-
tain oil for the purpose of lubricating the plumage, because it
could not be applied by the bill to the back of its head (which
would therefore, I suppose, stand a chance of catching cold
in a shower of rain). Why, who ever said that it could be
applied by the bill to the back of the head ? or who ever saw
birds with their necks in the pillory, that they should not
bend their heads at pleasure ? What is easier, and what,
moreover, I will say, is oftener seen done, than for a bird to
stoop its head backwards or laterally, and rub it against the
feathers of other parts of its body ? in all probability for the
very purpose which Mr. Waterton says " he flatty denies"
without being able to assign any other use to the oil gland of
birds, or to advance one single opinion, grounded upon any
fact, against the received belief. This last argument is no
better than if one were to say that cats could not wash the
back parts of their heads because their paws, which they use
for that purpose, extend only in a forward direction ; or that
it were impossible for them to wash their faces at all, because
they use only their saliva for that purpose, which how are
they to get applied to the back part of their heads ? The
story of the eagle " varnished over," which next follows, I
will not comment upon any more than just to say that, if me
judice" Mr. Waterton has accounted for its appearing so
by an argument which militates against his own ,- for if the
difficulty be great for a bird to oil every part of his body
with oil obtained from the gland, on account of the impos-
sibility (which does not exist, as I have shown) of his getting
at the back of his head, I would ask, is not the difficulty in-
creased tenfold by supposing him to cover every part of his
body with slime by rolling on a fish? How is he (it might
just as well be asked) to besmear his head ? is he to stand
upon it, on the fish, or how ? I leave Mr. Waterton to an-

N 2

164- Obituary.

swer this question ; and will, at the same time, take my leave
of his paper in V. 412 — 415., only adding, that the gland
about which so much has been said has been dissected by
eminent anatomists, has been found to be supplied with oil,
and to be furnished with an excretory duct; certainly very
strong presumptive evidence as to its use in the economy of
birds, especially when coupled with the fact that Mr. Water-
ton, in VI. 275., states his total ignorance of any other use it
can be of. In VI. 277, &c, Mr. Waterton has a few more
remarks on the same subject ; but, in my opinion, the facts
mentioned in V. 159, 160., by eyewitnesses of the operation,
in reply to Mr. Waterton's former theory on the subject, are
more than sufficient to set the matter at rest.
BeecJifield House, Doncaster.

PS. — T. G. of Clitheroe, in his account of the Muscovy
duck, as quoted above, VI. 159, 160., has mentioned that he
saw it erect the feathers from the gland when wanting to ex-
tract the oil. What says Mr. Waterton to this ? And I
have, since writing the above, seen tame ducks do the same ;
then apply the bill to the gland, and then to the feathers.
w Auto boa" (Aristoph.). The thing speaks for itself.

Art. XII. Obituary.

Died, on Jan. 1. 1836, the Rev. George Beading Leathes,
A.M., at Shropham, Norfolk, aged 58, after a paralytic affec-
tion, which occurred to him on the Christmas-day preceding,
while officiating in the duties of public worship at Shrop-
ham Church, and from which he did not recover. He was
distinguished for the interest which he took in objects of
natural history, especially plants and fossils, for the extent of
his knowledge of them, and for the cordiality with which he
excited and promoted a kindred interest and knowledge in
others. Hisown collection of living plants, his museum, and his
library, were indexes of the extensive measure of his affection
for subjects of natural history ; while Smith's and Sowerby's
English Botany, Sowerby's Mineral Conchology, the Norfolk
and Norwich Museum, the Bury St. Edmund's Botanic Gar-
den, the Norfolk and Norwich Horticultural Society, the
Bury St. Edmund's Horticultural Society, and the collections,
both of plants and fossils, of his scientific friends, the Rev.
T. Rogers, Lackford; the Rev. T. Image, Whepstead; and
others; and for fossils, doubtless, the collections of his scien-
tific friends, Mr. S. V. Wood, Woodbridge, and Mr. S. W^ood-

Davis's Art of preserving Health. 165

ward, Norwich ; may be referred to in proof of the liberal
spirit with which he imparted and reciprocated his discoveries
and acquisitions. A species of fossil shell has been named
after Mr. Leathes, by Sowerby, O'vula LeatheszV: perhaps
other objects.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Notices on Works in Natural History.

Davis, J. B., Surgeon : A Popular Manual of the Art of
Preserving Health ; embracing the subjects of Diet, Air,
Exercise, Gymnastics, General and Physical Education,
Occupations, Bathing, Clothing, Ventilation, &c. De-
signed for the use of all ranks and professions in society.
8vo, 50'h pages. London, 1836. 10s.

A work that every naturalist who is not of the medical pro-
fession may study with much pleasure and advantage, and, one
would presume, with some pleasure and advantage if he be.
A philosophising habit pervades the work. The following
extract should obtain for the work the patronage of naturalists,
especially of those who are naturalists rather generally than
technically : — " There are far more practical advantages, more
real utility, in the study of natural objects, than in that of ab-
stract science or dead languages, especially in the earlier periods
of education. The one is far more consonant with what forms
the experience of life, and affords advantages of which the
other is almost wholly devoid, for the promotion and preserv-
ation of the health of the student. There is no necessity to
injure the health of the body, whilst we are seeking to en-
lighten the mind. Should the study of nature ever come to
be pursued, as it admits of being, as a means of education, it
will afford exercise to all the elements of which man is made
up. It will exercise and improve the senses, the lungs, and
limbs, and the understanding also. It will be a developement
of the natural method of education ; for when a child comes
into the world, how is it first taught to form ideas, to obtain
a control over its faculties, and to lay down the rudiments of
human affection ? Clearly through the medium of the senses
when exercised upon real objects, their forms, their colours,
their motions, constructions, and uses. And the delight of
the infantile mind, at its own progress in this course of study,
knows no mixture and no deduction. Joy and enjoyment
pervade the heart, and the powers are strengthened at every
step. And were this native bent of the mind fostered and en-

166 Swainson's Natural History of Quadrupeds.

couraged, it would give a tinge of character to the whole future
life, which would tend more to the equalisation of the exercise
of all the faculties, to that harmony of excitation and of action
we have seen to be so desirable, than anything else." (p. 361,
362.)

Swainson, W., F.R.S., &c : The Natural History of Quadru-
peds, vol. 72. of Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia. 6s,

This is vol. iii. of the System of Nature in the Cabinet
Cyclopedia : and it may, perhaps, be said to equal the two pre-
vious admirable volumes in the masterly manner in which
the subject is handled. In his characteristics of the genera,
at the end of the volume, it is to be regretted that he has not
always given English names ; and those which are given are
not always correct. The volume, however, notwithstanding
these and a few other defects, is the most accurate, masterly,
and complete compendium which has yet appeared on the
subject. — S. D. W. Nov. 3. 1835.

Hope, Rev. F. W. : An Address on the Second Anniversary
of the Entomological Society, Monday, Jan. 25. 1836.

The Society flourishes : want of space does not allow
quoting. •

Various Contributors : The Entomological Magazine, No. ] 4.,
Jan. 1836.

Besides interesting information on insects in this number,
there is a communication on metamorphoses of Crustacea, by
Mr. J. V. Thompson. It is illustrated by wood-engravings :
and one on the origin of Entozoa in the bodies of animals, by
Henry Metford, M.R.C.S.

Watson, H. C. : Remarks on the Geographical Distribution
of British Plants ; chiefly in connexion with Latitude, Ele-
vation, and Climate. Small 8vo, about 300 pages. London.
Longman and Co. 1835.

•&■

Of great value to botanists, both students and proficients;
and there is so much in it on the physical geography and cli-
mate of Britain as to render it likely to much avail those who
pursue these subjects.

Berkeley, Rev. M. J., M.A. F.L.S., &c: The English
Flora of Sir J. E. Smith. Class XXIV., Cryptogamia, by
W. J. Hooker, LL.D., &c. Vol. V., or Vol. II. of Dr.
Hooker's British Flora : Part II., comprising the .Fungi,

Literary Notices. 167

by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A. F.L.S., &c. 8vo,
above 400 pages. Longman and Co. London, 1836.

From a glance at this, it seems carefully and skilfully ela-
borated : a more considerate notice of it may be inserted
hereafter. It is a work that has long been wanted, and must
henceforth become the guide and the standard of all who en-
gage in the investigation of the British JPungi. (See under
Literary Notices.)

Hooker, W. J., LL.D., Regius Professor of Botany in the
University of Glasgow : The British Flora ; comprising the
Phaenogamous, or Flowering Plants, and the Ferns. The
third edition, with additions and corrections. 8vo, 500
pages. 1835. 125.

In curtailing my review of Dr. Hooker's British Flora,
3d edition [VIII. 472.], you have altered the connexion,
and, therefore, the meaning, of some of my remarks. I did not
use the word fault at all, nor say that it contained new words,
nor that it was more deficient in conciseness than the former
edition ; on the contrary, I gave Dr. Hooker much credit that
he had coined no new words, and lamented them, not as new
in themselves, but merely that the system of Linnaeus, for-
merly so simple, should lately have required the aid of such
words at all : and, certainly, I did not intend to accuse him
of their introduction, much less of coining them. Of his
work, in fact, I spoke in the warmest praise, both for its
arrangement, accuracy, and clearness. The insertion of this,
as it will show the true meaning of my words, will only be
doing justice to the Dr. and to myself, and remove any unfa-
vourable impression which your readers may have received
of his work, and, therefore, I am sure will meet with your at-
tention. — G. Francis. [Received on Jan. 27. 1836.]

Francis, G. : A Catalogue of the Species of British Flowering
Plants and Ferns, that are described in the third edition
of Dr. Hooker's British Flora ,- published to facilitate Bo-
tanical Correspondence, as an Index to Herbariums, &c.
In one sheet, price 6d. ; 5s. a dozen.

A second edition has been published, in which the names
of varieties are inserted, additionally to the names of the spe-
cies, as included in the first edition.

Art. II. Literary Notices.

A History of British Birds, in two volumes; A History of
British Reptiles, in one volume ; A History of British Crustacea

168 Literary Notices.

in one volume; and, A History of British Zoophytes, in one
volume ; are announced for future publication by J. V. Voorst,
as a portion of a uniform and complete illustration of the
zoology of Great Britain, of which other portions are Yar-
rell's History of British Fishes, already noticed in VIII. 244,
245. 584. ; and Bell's History of British Quadrupeds, an-
nounced in VIII. 584. The size of Yarrell's History of
British Fishes is 8vo : 13 parts of it have now been published,
and it is announced that it will be completed in May next.
Part I. of Bell's History of British Quadrupeds is to be
published in June.

Audubon's Ornithological Biography, Vol. III., price 255.,
has been announced.

Dr. Craigie's Elements of Anatomy, general, special, and
comparative, forming the article so entitled in the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 7th edition, is published separately by Messrs.
Black, Edinburgh, 4to, with 13 engravings.

Wilson's General and Systematic Treatise on Insects, in the
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 7th edition, is published sepa-
rately, by Messrs. Black, Edinburgh, 4to, with 540 figures,
engraved on steel.

Ehrenberg's Researches and Discoveries on the Infusoria.
An account of an extension of these is given in the last number
of the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, illustrated by a
plate. The contribution is one of great interest to na-
turalists.

Berkeley's Dried Specimens of the Species of British Fungi.
On March 1. is to be published, No. 1., price 105., of fas-
ciculuses of dried specimens of the Species of British
.Fungi, that are described by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A.,
in Vol. V. Part II. of the English Flora, and of such species
as may be hereafter discovered to be indigenous to Britain.
The numbers are to be published half-yearly.

Of Border's Lichenes Britannici, or Dried Specimens of the
British Species of Lichen, noticed in VIII., 416. 525., eight
fasciculuses have been published.

Daniel Cooper's Flora Metropolitana, or Botanical Bambles
within Thirty Miles of London, is to be published on March
1., price 45. 6d., 12mo.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

APRIL, 1836.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. Notes of a Natural History Tour in Norway,
By Edward Forbes, Esq.

(Continued from VIII. 307., and concluded.)

From Tiroe we sailed to Bondhuus, a small village at the
upper end of the Marenger-fiord, a branch of the Hardanger-
fiord, about a Norwegian mile in length, presenting scenery
of the wildest and most romantic kind. It is very narrow,
winding amongst mountains of great elevation, whose summits
are white with perpetual snows, and whose sides rise almost
perpendicularly from the water. At one place, a large and
unbroken waterfall plunged from a great height at once into
the sea. The village of Bondhuus is situated at the entrance
of a valley, the other end of which is adorned by the beautiful
glacier of that name. The glacier is about ten miles distant
from the houses ; but so near did it seem to be, that, although
we had arrived at a late hour, we proposed to our peasant
landlord a walk to the glacier whilst our supper was preparing.
The deceptive appearance of such masses of ice is well known
to such as have travelled in Switzerland.

We visited the glacier next morning. It is situated at the
end of a small lake, formed by the melting of the snows, and
presenting the beautiful milky blue colour which characterises
waters from such a source. The Bondhuus glacier is a branch
of the great Folgefund, but is diminishing yearly, and ex-
tended several hundred yards from its present limits twelve
years ago. Around its base grew Cerastium alpinum and
aquaticum, Silene rupestris ; Saxifraga Cotyledon, stellaris,
and caespitosa ; Phleum alpinum, and many other alpine
plants. On our return to Bondhuus, we proceeded by boat
to Viger, our next station. As usual, we were overtaken by

Vol. IX. — No. 60. o

170 Natural History Tour in Norway.

rain, and were benefited by a thorough ducking, which threw
a damp upon the pleasure of our sail. The scenery was as grand
as that we had passed through during the preceding day.
Indeed, I have never seen anything in Switzerland or in
Scotland which could compete with the stupendous magni-
ficence of the Hardanger- fiord.

Viger is a pretty village, in the middle of a natural park,
walled in by mountains. There being no "guest-giver"
there, we proceeded to the parsonage, and were received with
a kindness and hospitality never to be forgotten. From Viger
we journeyed to Eid-fiord, situated at the head of the fiord upon
a gravelly delta, formed from the debris of the neighbouring
mountains by the river Voring, which is expanded into a
lake about two miles broad, and the same in length, just above
this delta. At the upper end of the lake we found a series
of terraces of debris, on which grew Astragalus alpinus
(Phaca astragalina Dec), Erigeron acris, Carex recur va, and
A^abis petrae N a. Our object in visiting Eid-fiord was to see
the great fall of the Vorings-foss, one of the finest waterfalls
in Europe, first made known to the traveller by Professor
Hanstein a few years before, and which appears to be the water-
fall mentioned by Inglis, as of a somewhat apocryphal exist-
ence. It is formed by the fall of a large river down a deep
and narrow ravine, presenting an unbroken cascade of 800 ft.
or more. According to our guide, comparatively few of its
visitors had descended the ravine, which is easily accounted
for, when the difficulty, and often danger, of such a descent
is considered. We ventured, and were well repaid for our
pains by one of the finest sights, probably, in Europe.

The Vorings-foss is about fourteen miles distant from the
fiord ; and the elevation of the ground in the neighbourhood of
the fall must be very considerable. On it we found Phyllodoc?
tfaxifolia (Menziesza cserulea) abundant and in fine condition;
Aconitum lycoctonum, A'rabis alpina, Veronica saxatilis and
alpina, and Bartsza alpina. In the lower part of the valley, lead-
ing to the fall, grew Asperugo procumbens. We returned from
Eidfiord down the Hardanger to Graven, where (it being Sun-
day) we rested for a day, and had the pleasure, for the first time,
of tasting the flesh of the reindeer ; a delicacy peculiarly agree-
able to our palates, as for the last week our food had consisted
solely of cold fish and haver-brod, a sort, but a very poor
sort, of oat bread, which, combined with the misery of wear-
ing wet clothes, made anything in the shape of meat and a
warm shirt the summit of human felicity. The water of the
Hardanger-fiord around Graven tastes quite fresh : the sides
of the rocks at the water's edge are thickly covered with stunted
specimens of the iVfytilus edulis.

Natural History Tour in Norway. 171

At Graven I found specimens of a small Clausilia, which I
consider the C. obtiisa of Pseiffer. It differs from the Clau-
silia minima Zeigler, in the very obtuse termination of the
upper whorls, a character of rare occurrence in this intricate
genus.

From Graven we walked to Vossevangen through much
beautiful scenery. The pine forests were very extensive in
this district, with their usual inhabitant the Linnae^z. On the
way we observed ^erbascum nigrum and 5edum album for
the first time. Vossevangen is a considerable village, and
is the capital of the district of the same name.

From Voss we directed our course towards the Sogne-fiord.
The country around Voss is formed of a mica slate, in which
no garnets were observed. It is probably a bed in the gneiss.
Between it and the gneiss at Tvinde is found a singular rock,
a sort of granular quartz, substratified. At the same place,
on the road side, lay a detached mass of hypersthene ; but
I did not see it in situ. One side of the valley of Stalheim
is bounded by hills of snow-white quartz, which are almost
bare, and present mural precipices, having a very singular
appearance at a distance, from their shining white colour.

The valley of Stalheim is a great ravine of the most pic-
turesque character, in the middle of which rises the almost
isolated and inaccessible mountain of Jordan-nook. On
each side of the stair-like descent into the valley is a cataract
of the first magnitude. Stalheim is famous in Norway for
the number of the wolves found there ; and across the road,
in several places, we observed a rope suspended from a pole
on each side, which we were told was placed in that manner to
ward off the wolves, as their dislike is well known to any thing
suspended over their heads.

At Gudsvanger we again took to water, and sailed down
the Heimdals-fiord, a branch of the Sogne-fiord. The scenery
resembled that of the Hardanger-fiord. During the morning
a large eagle flew over our heads. Instead of turning off with,
the road to Christiania we sailed the whole length of the upper
Sogne-fiord to Lystre, where we commenced ascending the
mountains of Haranger to cross into Gulbrandsdalen. The
peaks of the Haranger- feld are the highest in Norway ; their
elevation reaching above 8000 ft. As these mountains rise
immediately from the level of the sea, and are very preci-
pitous, they lose nothing of their height to the eye.

After passing the night at Berger, a group of huts at an
elevation of about 2000 ft., we engaged a guide and ponies to
bring us to Lomb, in Gulbrandsdalen, a distance of near
40 miles, twenty of which were occupied in crossing an

o 2

172 Natural History Tour in Norway.

alpine plain, covered in many places with snow, and ex-
ceedingly rich in botanical treasures. At its highest elevation
we fotindyRanunculus glacialis and pygmae^us, Saxifraga rivu-
laris, Z/ychnis alpina and dioica, Salix herbacea var. polaris,
and Pedicularis lapponica. Somewhat lower, on the verge of
the snow, grew Eriophorum capitatum, ZSrigeroii ?, Woodsz'tf
hyperborea : and lower down, Saxifraga cernua, petrse^a, ?#us-
coides; jRanunculus hyperboreus, and Hierochloe borealis.
In the alpine valley of Bererdal, Gentidna nivalis was very
abundant, as also Pyrola rotundifolia and chlorantha, As-
tragalus alpinus, several species of Potentilla, and Androsace
septentrionalis.

The vegetation gradually changed character as we de-
scended on the beautiful lake of Lome; and we were sur-
prised to find jLychnis alpina growing on the margin of
cultivated places, at an inconsiderable height above that
lake, along with. a variety of Primula farinosa, approaching
P. stricta. We now directed our walk towards Guldbrandsdale ;
and our gradual departure from the mountains was marked
by the successive appearance of Thalictrum simplex, Draco-
cephalum Ruyschidna, and Polemonium caeruleum. The
snow-capped mountains of Lorn-field were gradually con-
cealed by the lower but nearer pine-covered hills that border
the rich and beautiful valley of Guldbrandsdalen, into which
we entered by that of Hedal, having taken a two days' walk
across the country by the compass; a mode of travelling,
without a guide as we were, by no means free from difficulties.
We entered the great road from Drontheim to Christiania,
near Froen, and proceeded southwards until we reached Zelle-
hummer, at the head of the Miosen-see. On our way from
Froen to Zellehummer, we saw the grave of the Scottish
captain, Sinclair : near it grew the Tamarix germanica.

Zellehummer is a small but flourishing village, deriving
its prosperity from its position at the head of the largest
lake in Norway, thus forming a convenient market for the
interior districts. It is situated in a trap country ; the rock
in its immediate vicinity is a primitive greenstone; about 10
miles from it, on the east side of the lake, this is succeeded
by a wackaceous conglomerate, the composite masses of
which are of very large size.

From the trap country we passed into that great tract of
limestone (transition) which forms the fertile province of
Hedemarcken. This limestone is of a dark bluish grey
colour ; brittle, not crystalline ; where in contact with the
trap, much indurated ; and every where scant in fossil remains.
A few belemnites were all I could obtain. Campanula persi-

Notes of a Journey in Peru. 173

caefolia and rapunculoides abound in Hedemarcken. Viola
mirabilis also occurs in this district.

The gneiss reappears near Eidsvold, and continues to
within a few miles of Christiania. The singularly interest-
ing geology of that neighbourhood is fully described by Von
Buch in his Travels.

The capital of Norway is a peculiarly favourable station
for the naturalist. The flora of its neighbourhood can vie
with that of any university town in Europe : the entomolo-
gist may there exert with success all his beetle and butterfly
catching propensities, and the student of ichthyology, of the
Mollusca, and the Crustacea, will find ample occupation
amongst the inhabitants of that fiord from which Muller
drew so many of his discoveries. In its university he will
meet with Esmarck, Hanstein, Rathke, and Blyth, all men
imbued with the true spirit of the naturalist, and glad to
render him every assistance in their power.

Edinburgh. [Received, Feb. 23. 1836.]

Art. II. A cursory Notice of Objects, natural and otherwise, ob-
served in the Course of a Journey in the Interior of Peru. By
Mr. Andrew Mathews, A.L.S., Travelling Collector of Na-
tural Objects.

As it is not an every-day occurrence to receive a letter from
this part of the world, I write to you by an opportunity
which has just offered to forward some letters by the Maranon
to Para.

During my journey down the river Huallaga, and a short
stay in Tarapota, I have added much to my collections in
animals, birds, insects, snakes, and land tortoises. On leaving
Cuchero, the journey for the first three days is on foot, over
immense hills, and along the border of the river, but through
an almost impenetrable forest, to where the river of Monson
joins the Huallaga (above this, to the river Cayumba, the
river is rapid and dangerous). At the junction of the river
Monson we took a canoe manned with six Indians, and in
three days reached the pueblo (small village) of Uchiza. To
this place the river is broad and deep, with two or three
mal-pasos (bad passes or rapids), but, with a little dexterity,
not dangerous. At Uchiza we took another canoe (but with
fewer hands, as the river is wider and more level) to Tocache,
which is only one day. At Tocache we had to take a larger
canoe, with seven Indians, as the river is more confined and
rapid between hills. The distance to Sion from the last-

o 3

174 Notes of a Journey in Peru.

named pueblo is one day, but has many mal-pasos, three of
which are dangerous, and require not a little skill and exer-
tion to avoid being carried from one side of the river to the
other, and swamped in the eddies of the rapid, or dashed
to pieces against the rocks. At Sion w r e took a fresh canoe,
with seven hands, as at a short distance below is a bad pass,
called Savalayacu, where it is necessary to unload the canoe,
and drag it for some distance to near the edge of the rapid.
The Indians then enter the canoe, and with all force descend ;
paddle for the centre of the rapid, and in an instant are below
it with the force of the stream ; and reload below the rocks.
From Sion to Lupuna is but one day : but, as the delay of
passing Savalayacu was considerable, we slept at a small
settlement called Balsayacquilla : thence the river widens,
and is less rapid. Lupuna is situated at the junction of the
river Huayabamba, which is also navigable for canoes for
some distance towards the Cordillera. From Lupuna to
Juan Guerra, on the river Myobamba, is two days : this
distance the river is magnificent, in some parts 9 or 10 miles
wide, and full of large islands : in some parts the hills ap-
proach close to the river, but are not so high as those to the
southward. The voyage may be performed in the time stated
from each pueblo; but, as my object was not speed, I stopped
at various places to collect as much as I could manage to
preserve.

The forests along the river abound *in monkeys and birds :
of the latter, two species of turkey, one of pheasant, and some
partridges, not only in beauty but in flavour, are superior .to
any thing we have in Europe. The ears of the Indians are
continually on the alert to catch the least sound of the voice
of a monkey or huangana (the peccary) ; which, when once
heard, they are all on shore in an instant with their serra-
batan (a hollow tube through which they blow a small reed
tipped with poison) ; and so sure and fatal is their aim, that
we were well supplied with roast and stewed monkey during
the journey. The villages south of Lupuna were formerly
called the Missiones altos del Huallaga, and had curates, or
missionaries; but" at present they are left entirely to themselves,
and daily decreasing, and becoming worse than before they
were converted. From Lupuna northward to this place the
people are far superior, more industrious, and rapidly in-
creasing in number. At Tarapota, and here, they are under
the care of two very excellent men. At Tarapota, one of the
old missionaries, the Fray Don Eusabio Arias, a most worthy
and exemplary character, has been 28 years in these parts,
and has composed a grammar and vocabulary of two of the

On the Quinary System. 175

languages most in use, both of which he has given to me,
and which will be a great addition to the knowledge of the
languages spoken on the Ucayali. The author being an ex-
cellent Spanish and Latin scholar, they may be depended on.
as exact. I do not expect to reach Lima before December
next; where I hope to hear that the Reform Bill has been of
some benefit to England. Did the British government but
possess this part of America, her superabundant population,
by means of the Maranon, might find food and employment,
quicker and with less risk than at Swan River.

It is impossible to say what are the riches and products of
this province, seeing that only the banks of the rivers are as
yet known. Though not a perfect plain, as has been represented,
the hills are moderate, and covered with timber. The hill
on which this town stands (Lamas) contains quicksilver ore,
and four kinds of earth which they use here for painting, o''
excellent quality, and colour so fine, that they require but little
grinding for use. The temperature is particularly fine : the
thermometer ranges from 70° to 85°, which is its highest in
the shade, and the place is free from those diseases common to
the humid parts of the tropics.

Ciudad de Lamas, Minas, Interior of Peru, June 14. 1834.
{Received on Nov. 10. 1835.]

[The present account is continuous to one by Mr. Mathews,
sent by us to the Analyst, see vol. iii. of that work, p. 36 — 42.,
No. xiii. Oct., 1835. Other notices by Mr. Mathews, since
he left England, are in our VI. 314 — 319., and VII. 633,
634. See, in relation to the last, VIII. 470.]

Art. III. On the Quinary, or Natural, System of M'Leay,
Stvainson, Vigors, fyc. By Peter Rylands, Esq.

(Continued from p. 138., and concluded.')

The third and fourth propositions of the Quinary System
now remain only to be discussed. The fifth, being merely a
matter of choice, and professing not to have any particular
influence on the system being natural, we shall leave unno-
ticed. They are as follows : — '3d, " The contents of such a
circular group are symbolically, or analogically, represented
by the contents of all other circles in the animal kingdom.
4th, That these primary divisions of every group are charac-
terised by definite peculiarities of form, structure, and eco-
nomy, which, under diversified modifications, are uniform

o 4

176 On the Quinary System

throughout the animal kingdom, and are, therefore, to be re-
garded as the primary types of nature"

We admit that all this is very striking and prepossessing
to a mere general reader, who would bend his eyes, for a few
seconds, on these, as being two of the principles of the system,
close the book, and extend his researches no further ; yet think
himself qualified to form a correct opinion of the subject.*
This, however, will not do for the naturalist: he has some
interest in the subject; and, in order to arrive at a correct
knowledge of it, must investigate its application,' and read
attentively the explanatory remarks the author introduces:
to use the words of Mr. M'Leay, " He requires its applica-
tion to nature, and its illustration by facts." (Linn. Trans.,
vol. xiv. p. 57.) An investigation such as this would fully
convince him, that, although at first these propositions may
appear striking and gratifying, they, in reality (i. e. in their
application), mean literally nothing.

One group, characterised by the definite peculiarity of form,
long legs, is, under a " diversified modification," represented
by a group with those organs quite the reverse. A second,
characterised by a short tail, is beautifully represented with
that appendage remarkably long. The lengthened bills of
the Grallatores are analogically represented by the abrupt
muzzle of the Mures. The species of a fourth group, re-
markable for the dulness and uniformity of their colour, are
strikingly represented, under a "diversified modification," by
the Trochilidae, the tints of whose plumage vie in resplendent
magnificence with the rainbow or Oriental gems. These are
a few instances of Mr. Swainson's theory of representation,
or analogy, or what would be better termed contrariety: more
specimens will be introduced in the detail.

Mr. Swainson's five " primary types of nature " are, the
quadrumaniform (or insessorial), typical; the carnivorous (or
raptorial), sub-typical ; and the suctorial (gliriform or gral-
latorial), the rasorial (or ungulated), and the aquatic (ceta-
cious or natatorial), aberrant forms. We shall trace each of
these, in their diversified modifications, through some of
the groups which Mr. Swainson and his colleagues have
defined.

We can make but few remarks on the quadrumaniform,
insessorial, or typical groups. According to Mr. Swainson,
these groups are the best organised ; and their chief distinc-

* On some such grounds as these, we must account for the language the
Literary Gazette uses, when reviewing Mr. Swainson's Treatise : — " One of
its most striking and gratifying features is, the strong analogies which it
presents between the several natural kingdoms."

oj ' M'Leay, Swainson, Vigors, fyc. 177

tion consists in qualities implied by the name they bear : they
are typical. This we cannot deny ; but we may remind our
author, that, considered in this light, this part of his theory is
nothing new: naturalists have always admitted, that in every
group there are species, which, from their superior organisa-
tion, &c, may be considered as typical of such groups: in
this, however, we must say we cannot perceive any trace of
the analogy of form, structure, or economy, mentioned in the
fourth proposition, as typical groups vary considerably in all
these respects.

The definite peculiarities of form, structure, and economy,
we learn, from perusing Mr. Swainson's work On the Classi-
fication of Quadrupeds *, of rapacious or sub-typical groups,
consist in their various organs being aptly adapted for living
upon and destroying animals both of their own and other
species; their carnivorous habits and bloodthirsty disposi-
tions ; and a tendency in their colour to assume a spotted or
striped appearance. We find this type typically represented
in its own "circle" by the jFelidae in Mammalia, and the Fal-
conidae in A\es. This is all fair and just : we must examine,
however, under what diversified modifications we find it in
other groups. It is represented in Quadrumana by Cercopi-
thecus, because the species this genus contains are " mis-
chievous and malicious " (On the Class, of Quadrupeds, vol. 72.
Lardner's Cab. Cyc, p. 72.) ; so that into this simple trait of
character has a modification reduced the terrible claws, the
enormous canines, the bloody dispositions, and the carnivorous
habits of the rapacious type of nature.

The rapacious type of the Silviadae (warblers), according
to our author, is the genus Sylvicola (Treatise on the Geo-
graphy and Classification of Animals, vol. 66. Lardner's Cab.
Cyc., p. 246.), in which we find the evil propensities, and the
formidable weapons, of the primary type, by a curious modi-
fication, reduced to an almost imperceptible notch, or tooth,
which may be discovered on the upper mandible of the bill of
these birds !

In the class Insecta, we are told, the rapacious type is re-
presented in the SphingicUe (which is a sub-typical, or rapa-
cious group of Swainson), by the " singular threatening aspect
which the caterpillars of the sphinx moths assume on being
disturbed ;" which is a reason sufficient to lead Mr. Swainson
to consider it as "a remarkable modification of the terrific
or evil nature which is impressed under one form or other
upon all sub-typical groups." (Ibid., p. 247.) But the most

* P. 101. 121, &c. j comp. On the Classification of Animals , p. 245, 246.

1 78 On the Quinary System

striking analogy which our quinary author has noticed, is that
of the sub-typical or rapacious type, as represented amongst
the Papiliones (Papilionaceae JR. [this term is in use in bo-
tany] ). The sub-typical form of this tribe, we are informed,
is Afymph alidae, some of which, when in the larva state, pro-
duce an uncomfortable sensation if held in the hand : hence
they are termed " stinging" caterpillars. But this is not the
only reason which led our propounder of types to consider
this as the "type of evil:" the chrysalises of these "stingers"
are suspended downwards; on which circumstance Mr. Swain-
son expresses his opinion, that they are "thus pointing to the
world, as the only habitation, where their innumerable types
of evil are permitted to reside ; or to that dark and bottomless
region, where punishment awaits the wicked at their last great
change " ! ! (Ibid., p. 248.) This is, it must be owned, very
poetical and striking; yet, as it is obvious that the inexpe-
rienced novice in natural history is competent to judge of the
merit of such logic as this in proving natural analogies, we shall
let it pass without further comment, and proceed to investigate
the application in nature of the next of Mr. Swainson's won-
derful "types."

"As to structure," remarks Mr. Swainson, "aquatic types"
(which now claim our consideration) " are chiefly remarkable
for their enormous bulk, the disproportionate size of their
head, and the absence, or very slight developement, of the

feet This structure implies the peculiar power of

seizing their food by the mouth alone, without the assistance
of the feet or claws ; and, as this power would only be ne»
cessary to such animals as lived upon others, we accordingly
find that all natatorial types are carnivorous : the medusas,
the cuttle-fish, the whales ; but none more perfectly than the
order Natatores amongst birds, the owls among the Raptores,
and the Fissirostres in the circle of the perchers (Insessores).
Sub-typical forms," continues our author, " as we have already
seen, are preeminently carnivorous; but they differ from the
natatorial in this, that the food is captured by the aid of the
claws, while, in the type we are speaking of, the mouth alone
is the instrument of capture." (Ibid., p. 219, 250, 251.) We
see, above, that Mr. Swainson brings forward amongst his
other instances, in order to prove the truth of his statement,
owls, and gives the reader to understand, in fact he tells him
distinctly, that owls seize their food by their mouth alone.
By owls, we conceive Mr. Swainson only refers to the species
which live on fish ; but these most certainly make use of their
claws as instruments of capture, and not (as Mr. Swainson
asserts, and would lead his reader to believe the same) their

of M'Leay, Swainson, Vigors, fyc. 179

mouths. In support of this, we shall bring to our aid the
acute observer and indefatigable naturalist, Wilson, who, in
his North- American Ornithology, speaking on the iVoctua
(Glaux Rylands's MSS. * ) iVyctea, snow owl, makes the fol-
lowing decisive observations. " Unlike most of this tribe, he
hunts by day as well as by twilight, and is particularly fond
of frequenting the shores and banks of shallow rivers, over the
surface of which he sails, or sits on a rock a little above the
water, watching for fish. These he seizes with a sudden and
instantaneous stroke of the foot, seldom missing his aim."
(Wilson's North- American Ornithology.)

We find the natatorial, or cetaceous, type represented in
the iSimiidae by Pdpio, because the species in this genus have
a large head, and little or no tail ! {On the Natural History
and Classification of Quadrupeds, vol. 72. Lardner's Cab, Cyc,
p. 72.) In Ursinae, the fact that an animal probably preys on
dead fish and blubber is a sufficient reason for Mr. Swainson
regarding it as aquatic (Ibid., p. 146.); while a species of ox
(Bos Thersites) is considered as this type, merely because the
" fore part of the shoulders is elevated " ! ! (Ibid., p. 285.)
In this last instance, the natatorial type is analogically repre-
sented by an animal frequenting neither the sea nor its vicinity;
being furnished neither with a short tail nor short legs ; and
not in the least carnivorous ; although all these properties are
to be found in, and constitute, the primary type.

The suctorial (also termed the gliriform and grallatorial)
is distinguished, according to our author, from the other types,
by these animals deriving their food by suction; being al-
ways the smallest in size, the most feeble and defenceless in
structure, and the most defective in the organs of mastication ;
their clothing being of a uniform dull colour. There is also
a great length, or attenuation, of the body ; the head is always
very small, generally prolonged into a pointed snout; and the
mouth, as adapted to sucking, uncommonly small. (On the
Natural History and Classification of Quadrupeds, p. 305. ;
comp. On the Geography and Classification of Animals, p.
254.)

* Our reason for proposing Glaux, as the sub-generic name of the snow-
owl (JVyctea) and its affinities, arises not from any wish to substitute our
own for other naturalists' nomenclature, but merely to prevent the disad-
vantage necessarily accruing from there being two genera in the animal
kingdom with the same appellation. Thus, an extensive group of insects
are arranged under the genus iVoctua, and iVoctua is likewise used to de-
signate the owl