2-5 /^
J'fJO.£
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London.
cf. B. D. Jackson, General Index to the first
twenty volumes of the Journal (Botany) and the
proceedings, Nov. 1838 to June 1886 of the
Linnean Society. London 1888, p. v-vii.
lumber
Pages
Dates of
issue
1
1-8
9 Mar. 1839
2
9-16
27 Apr. 1839
3
17-32
16 May 1839
4
33-40
5 Nov. 1839
5
41-48
17 Dec. 1839
6
49-56
3 Mar. 1840
7
57-64
7 Apr. 1840
8
65-72
10 Nov. 1840
9
73-80
17 Dec. 1840
10
81-88
6 Apr. 1841
11
89-96
22 Apr. 1841
12
97-112
12 June 1841
13
113-120
18 Jan. 1842
14
121-128
5 Apr. 1842
15
129-152
14 Nov. 1842
16
153-160
16 Feb. 1843
17
161-168
23 May 1843
18
169-176
9 Aug. 1843
19
177-184
7 Feb. 1844
20
185-196
May 1844
21
197-212
Sept. 1844
22
213-220
? 1844
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221-228
Feb. 1845
24-27
229-268
6 May 1845
28
269-284
May 1846
29
285-304
Aug. 1846
30
305-312
16 Feb. 1847
31
313-320
30 Apr. 1847
32
321-328
13 May 1847
33
329-340
9 Sept. 1847
34
341-364
2 May 1848
35
365-380
14 July 1848
36
381-388
2 Oct. 1848
37
389-401,
index, title etc.
15 May 1849
38^0
1^8
6 Nov. 1849
41
49-64
16 Apr. 1850
42
65-80
18 Oct. 1850
43
81-96
30 Oct. 1850
44
97-112
15 Apr. 1851
45-46
113-144
4 Nov. 1851
47
145-160
19 Apr. 1852
48
161-176
23 July 1852
49-50
177-200
28 Oct. 1852
51
201-220
23 June 1853
52-53
221-252
8 Nov. 1853
54
253-268
7 Feb. 1854
55
269-284
2 May 1854
56-57
285-316
19 Sept. 1854
58
317-332
7 Nov. 1854
59
333-348
6 Feb. 1855
59t
333t-336t
27 Feb. 1855
60
349-364
1 May 1855
61-63
365-412
5 Sept. 1855
64-65
413-436
19 Oct. 1855
66
437-448,
title, index
31 Oct. 1855
PROCEEDINGS
K
LINNEAN SOCIETY
OF LONDON.
VOL. I.
From November 1838 to June 1848.
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY,
BY R. AND J. E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
LIST OF PAPERS.
page
Arnott, G. a. Walker, LL.D., F.L.S., Regius Professor of Botany
in the University of Glasgow.
Note on Samara lata, L 326
Babington, Charles Cardale, Esq., M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S. &c.
On Cuscuta epilinum and halophyta 44
A Description of a new genus of Linece 90
On Spiranthes gemmipara 189
Babington, Churchill, Esq.
Remarks on British Lichens and Fungi, principally on Species
or Varieties new to our Flora 32
Bauer, Francis, Esq., F.R.S. & L.S.
Observations on the Ergot 52
Bentham, George, Esq., F.L.S.
On the Heliamphora nutans, a new Pitcher Plant from British
Guiana 63
Account of two new genera of Plants, alUed to Olacinece 85
Berkeley, Rev. M. J., M.A., F.L.S.
On a Gall gathered in Cuba, by W. S. MacLeay, Esq., on the
leaf of a plant belonging to the order Ochnacece 33
On an edible Fungus from Tierra del Fuego, and an allied Chi-
lian species 97
On Agaricus crinitus, L., and some alUed species i. 230
Bird, Golding, A.M., M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
On the Siliceous Armour of Equisetum hyemale, L., with an ac-
count of its hitherto undescribed Stomatic Apparatus 290
Blackwall, John, Esq., F.L.S.
Descriptions of newly-discovered Spiders 41
The Difference in the Number of Eyes with which Spiders are
provided, proposed as the Basis of their distribution into Tribes ;
with the characters of a new Family and three new Genera
of Spiders 66
A Catalogue of Spiders, either not previously recorded or little
known as indigenous to Great Britain, with remarks on their
Habits and Economy 130, 131
BooTT, Francis, M.D., F.L.S. &c.
On Carex saxatilis, L., and an allied Species 180
Caricis species novae vel miniis cognitae 254,258, 284
Brown, Robert, Esq., D.C.L., V.P.L.S. &c.
Some Account of an undescribed Fossil Fruit 344
BuNBURY, Charles James Fox, Esq., F.L.S.
Remarks on certain Plants of Brazil, with descriptions of some
which appear to be new 101, 108
IV
page
Cantor, Theodore, M.D., Civil Surgeon, Prince of Wales's Island.
Observations on two Malayan species of Semnopithecus 235
Description of the Wild Dog of the Malayan Peninsula 236
Clark, — , Esq.
On the Sea Cocoa-nut of the Seychelles, Lodoicea Seychellarum,
Comm. and Labill 152, 153
Clark, Bracy, Esq., F.L.S., Corresp. Memb. of the French Instit.
An Appendix or Supplement to a Treatise on the CEstri and Cu-
terebra of various Animals 99, 100
Clarke, Hyde, Esq., F.L.S.
Note on the Preservation of Specimens of Natural History 96
Clarke, Robert, Esq., Senior Assistant Surgeon to the Colony of
Sierra Leone.
A Notice of the African Grain called Fundi or Fundungi 155
Cooper, Daniel, Esq., A.L.S.
On the Structure of the Nut knovm as Vegetable Ivory 120
Couch, Jonathan, Esq., F.L.S.
A Letter on the occurrence of Wilson's Petrel {Procellaria Wil-
soni) on the British coast 2
An Account of a Fish, nearly allied to the genus Hemiramphus,
taken in Cornwall 161
Coxe, John Redman, M.D., Professor of Materia Medica in the
University of Pennsylvania.
Observations on some Fungi or Agarici, which by deliquescence
form an inky fluid, drying into a bister-coloured mass, capable
of being used as a water-colour for drawings, and of a very
indestructible nature by means of common agencies 19
Curtis, John, Esq., F.L.S.
Descriptions of the Nests of two Hymenopterous Insects inhabit-
ing Brazil, and of the species by which they were constructed 186
Descriptions of the Insects collected by Capt. P. P. King, R.N.',
F.R.S., F.L.S. &c., in the Survey of the Straits of Magellan.. 196
On the Economy of the Order Strepsiptera 212
Don, David, Esq., Libr. L.S., Professor of Botany in King's Col-
lege, London.
Description of a new genus of Plants belonging to the Natural
Family Bignoniacece , 3
Descriptions of the Indian species of Iris 8
An Account of the Indian Species of Juncus and Luzula 9
A Monograph of the genus Disporum 44
A Monograph of Streptopus, with the description of a new
genus now first separated from it 47
On the Structure of the Tissues of Cycadea 53
On a peculiar kind of Organs existing in the Pitcher of Nepen-
thes distillatoria 91
Doubleday, Edward, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Remarks on the genus Argynnis of the ' Encyclopedic Metho-
dique,* especially in regard to its subdivision by means of cha-
racters drawn from the neuration of the wings 229, 233
On the Pterology of the Diurnal Lepidoptera, especially upon
that of some Genera of the Heliconidce 348
page
Edgrwobth, M. Pakenham, Esq., F.L.S., Bengal Civil Service.
Descriptions of some unpublished species of Plants from North-
western India 252
Description of a new genus of Lentibularice, with remarks on
some Indian species of Utricularia 351
Falconer, Hugh, M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.. Superintendent of the
Hon. E.I.C.'s Botanic Garden at Calcutta.
Extracts from Letters addressed to Dr. Royle, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.,
Prof. Mat. Med., King's College 13
Description of Aucjclandia, a new genus of Composite, supposed
to be the Costus of Dioscorides 80
On a reformed character of the genus Cryptolepis of Brown ... 114
On Edgeworthia, a new genus of Plants of the Order Myrsinece 129
Description of the Asafoetida plant of Central Asia 308
Account of Gamoplexis, an undescribed genus of Orchideous
Plants ...320
Description of Athalamia, a new genus of Marchantiece 343
Forbes, Edward, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.. Professor of Botany in
King's College, London.
On Pectinura, a new genus of OphiuridcB, and on the species
of Ophiura inhabiting the Eastern Mediterranean 167, 1 74
On the Radiata of the Eastern Mediterranean 1 84
On the Medusa proboscidalis of Forskahl 222
Notice of some Peloria varieties of Viola canina, L 382
Forrest, Thomas.
A notice of the Encephalartos horridtis, which flowered at Kin-
mel Park....t 9
FoRSTER, Thomas, M.B., F.L.S. &c.
Oh the permanent varieties of Papaver orientale, L 158
On the Migration of the Swallows 296
Fox, George Townshend, Esq., F.L.S.
A notice of the Birds of Iceland, accompanied by specimens...... 21
Gardner, D. P., M.D., of Hampden Sidney College, Virginia.
On the Influence of the Dew-Point on the Temperature of
Plants 119, 120
Gardner, George, Esq., F.L.S.
Description of Peltophyllum, a new genus of Plants allied to
Triuris of Miers, with remarks on their Affinities 176
Giraud, Herbert, M.D.
Contributions to Vegetable Embryology, from Observations on
the Origin and Development of the Embryo in Tropceolum majus 124
Griffith, William, Esq., F.L.S.
On the Ovulum of Santalum, LorantJms, Viscum, &c. 162, 166, 168
On the Root Parasites referred by authors to Rhizanthece and
their Allies 179, 180, 189, 190,209,216
On the Development of the Ovulum in Avicennia 223
On the Ovulum of Santalum, Osyris, Loranthus, and Viscum ... 223
On the Ambrosinia ciliata of Roxburgh 263
On the Anatomy of Eriocaulonece 271
On the Structure of the Ascidia and Stomata of Dischidia Raffie-
siana, Wall 279
On the Seeds of Careya, Roxb 280
VI
page
Papers on various subjects, bearing date in 1834 and 1835 281
On the Impregnation of Dii'cAirfia , 324
Hamilton, Francis Buchanan, M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &e.
Commentary on the Eighth Book of the Hortus Malabaricus of
Van Rheede 134, 293, 310, 343, 356
Commentary on the Ninth Book of Van Rheede's Hortus Mala-
barictis 361
Haro, a., M.D., of Mentz.
On Secale comutum, the Ergot of Rye, and on a species of
Aspleniuniy related to A. Trichomanes, L 159
Harris, Major W. C.
Account of the Trees producing Myrrh and Frankincense, as
found in those parts of the coast of the Red Sea and Indian
Ocean whence those Gums were obtained in the first dawn of
Commerce .". 181
Hassall, Arthur Hill, Esq., F.L.S.
Observations on the Growth and Reproduction of Enteromorpha
intestinalis 152
An Essay on the Distribution, Vitahty, Structure, Modes of
Growth and Reproduction, and Uses of the Freshwater Con-
fervcB 160, 163
Heming, G. C, M.D., F.L.S. &c.
On the Muscles which move the Tail and Tail-coverts of the
Peacock 212
Henderson, Mr. Joseph.
On the reproductive Organs of Equisetum 74
Henfrey, Arthur, Esq., F.L.S.
Observations on the immediate causes of the Ascent of the Sap
in Spring 229
HiNCKS, Rev. W., F.L.S., F.R.S.E. &c.
Descriptions of three Vegetable Monstrosities lately found at
York 46
Descriptions of some Vegetable Monstrosities 118
On the causes of disjunctions of Vegetable Substance, especially
those which are horizontal 273
Hogg, John, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Additional observations on the Spongilla fluviatilis 8
Further Observations on the Spongilla fluviatilis, with some re-
marks on the nature of the Spongice Marines 3Q, 225
Additional remarks on the Spongilla fluviatilis 226
D'HoMBRES Firmas, Baron.
Notes on the Seals of Linnajus 323
Hooker, Joseph Dalton, M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
An Enumeration of the Plants of the Galapagos Islands ... 231, 238,
263, 276
On the Vegetation of the Galapagos Archipelago, as compared
with that of some other Tropical Islands and of the Continent
of America 312, 313
Hope, Rev. F. W., M.A., F.R.S. & L.S.
Descriptions of some new Insects collected in Assam, by William
Griffith, Esq., Assistant Surgeon in the Madras Medical Ser-
vice 42
vu
page
Descriptions of some new Insects collected in Assam, by William
Griffith, Esq., Assistant Surgeon in the Madras Medical Esta-
blishment ^^
On some rare and beautiful Coleopterous Insects from Silhet,
the major part belonging to the collection of Frederic Parry,
Esq. of Cheltenham 127, 157
KipPiST, Richard, Esq., Libr. L.S.
On the existence of Spiral Cells in the Seeds of Acanthacea 63
On Jansonia, a new genus of Leguminosee, from Western Au-
stralia 330
KoLLiKER, Albert, Professor of Physiology and Comparative Ana-
tomy in the University of Zurich.
Some Observations upon the Structure of two new species of Hec-
^ocofyZe parasitic upon Tremoctopus violaceus, Delle Chiaje, and
Argonauta Argo, L., with an exposition of the hypothesis that
these HectocotyloB are the males of the Cephalopoda upon
which they are found 236, 237
Lankester, Edwin, M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
On a White Incrustation on Stones, from the bed of the river
Annan 81
Lhotsky, Dr. John.
An Account of a species of Lepidosperma, from Tasman's Penin-
sula, Van Diemen's Land 4
Some Data towards a Botanical Geography of New Holland ... 11
A Biographical Sketch of Ferdinand Bauer, Natural History
Painter to the Expedition under Capt. Flinders 39
LiNDLEY, John, Esq., Ph.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.. Professor of Botany
in University College, London.
A Note upon the Anatomy of the Roots of Ophrydeee 10
Maconochie, Capt. Alexander, R.N., late Lieutenant-Governor
of Norfolk Island.
Some Notes on the Natural History of Norfolk Island 228
Main, James, A.L.S.
Remarks on Vegetable Physiology 226
Michelotti, Signor Giovanni.
Observations on some new or little-known species of Polyparia,
found in the supercretaceous strata of Italy 95
MiERS, John, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
On some new Brazilian Plants allied to the Natural Order Bur-
manniacecB 60
Additional Observations on some Plants alUed to the Natural
Order Burmanniacece 66
Description of a new genus of Plants from Brazil 96
On a new genus of Plants from Chili 122
On a new genus of Plants of the family Burmanniacece 328
On the genus Atamisquea 355
Nees von Esenbeck, C. G., F.M.L.S., President of the Imperial
Leopoldino-Caroline Academy Naturae Curiosorum.
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Graminete and Cyperacea con-
tained in the Indian Herbarium of Dr. Royle 92
Newport, George, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Monograph on the Class Myriapoda, Order Chilopoda, with ob-
servations on the general arrangement of the Articulata 190, 191
Vlll
page
Additions and Corrections to his Monograph of the Myriapoda
Chilopoda 231
On the Natural History, Development, and Anatomy of the Oil
Beetle, Meloe, more especially Meloe cicatricosus. Leach 268
On the Aqueous Vapour, and on the dark colour of the Wax, in
Bee-hives 288
Note on the Generation oi Aphides 292
On the Natural History, Anatomy and Development of Meloe
(Second Memoir) 317
Note on Cryptophagus cellaris, Payk 327
On the Natural History, Anatomy and Development of Meloe
(Third Memoir, the Anatomy) 346, 368
On the Formation and Use of the Air-Sacs and Dilated Tracheae
in Insects 353
On the Anatomy and affinities oi Pteronarcys regalis, Newm. 370,387
Ord, George, Esq., F.L.S.
Notes on the Habits of the Box-Tortoise of the United States of
America, the Cw^MC?a CaroZma of Gray 116
Owen, Richard, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
On a new Species of the genus Lepidosiren of Fitzinger and
Natterer 27
Planchon, J. E., Docteur-es-Sciences.
On Meliantheee, a new natural order of Plants 36 1
QuEKETT, Edwin John, Esq., F.L.S.
Observations on the Anatomical and Physiological Nature of
Ergot in certain Grasses 4
Observations on a certain Crystalline Matter found on the re-
cently cut surfaces of the Wood of the Red Cedar 58
Some ftirther Observations on the Nature of the Ergot of Grasses 160
Remarks on the Examination of some Fossil Woods which tend
to elucidate the structure of certain tissues in the recent Plant 232
On the Development of Starch and Chlorophylle 293
Ralph, Thomas Shearman, Esq., A.L.S. &c.
On the Axial and Ab-axial arrangement of Carpels 284
On the Structure of Viola, in connection with its Impregnation 297
Reeve, Lovell, Esq., A.L.S. &c.
On the calcifying functions of the Cowry and the Olive, two ge-
nera of Pectinibranchiate Mollusks 307
On the Structure and Comparative Physiology of Chiton and
Chitonellus 322
RuDGE, Edward, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
A notice of Cereus tetragonus 7
SCHOMBURGK, Sir RoBERT H.
Description of the Curata, a plant of the tribe of Bamhusece, of
the culm of which the Indians of Guiana prepare their Sarba-
cans or Blowpipes 49
Smith, Mr. John, A.L.S; of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew.
Observations on the cause of Ergot 1
A Notice of a Plant which produces perfect Seeds without any
apparent action of Pollen on the Stigma 41
A Note on the Fern known as Aspidium Baromez 58
Arrangement and Definition of the Genera of Ferns, founded
IX
upon their venation, with examples of the species, and obser-
vations on the affinities of each genus 75
Solly, Edw^ard, Esq., jun., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
On the SoHd Vegetable Oils ^ 214
SowERBY, G. B., Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Description of a new species of Cowry 314
SuTTOR, George, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Notes on the Forest-trees of Australia 177
Taylor, William, Esq., F.L.S.
A Note on the Bokhara Clover ^^
Thwaites, G. H. K., Esq.
On the Structure and Movements oi Bacillaria paradoxa, Gmel. 310
On the early stages of the Development of Lemanea Jluviatilis,
Agardh 360
Valentine, William, Esq., F.LTS.
On the Structure and Development of the Reproductive organs
oi Pilularia glohulifera 20
Supplementary Observations on the Development of the Theea,
and on the Sexes of Mosses 33
Walker, Francis, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Notes on the Variations of Structure in the British species of
EurytomidcB 233
Characters of undescribed species of British CAaZcirfi^e* 261
Westwood, John Obadiah, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Descriptions of some new species of the Coleopterous genus
Cerapterus , 76
Observations on the genus Derbe of Fabricius 82
A Synopsis of the Coleopterous family Paussida, with descrip-
tions of a new Genus and some new Species 110
A Description of an additional species of Paussus 115
Description of a new Indian species of Paussus 133
On the occurrence of the Potatoe Disease, independent of the
Attacks of Insects 345
Descriptions of some new species of Athyreus, MacL., a genus
of Lamellicorn Beetles 358
On the Australian species of the Coleopterous genus Bolboce-
ras, Kirby 365
Descriptions of some new or imperfectly known Species of Bol-
boceras 384
White, Adam, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Notes towards a Statistical Account of the Fauna of New Zea-
land and the Auckland Islands, so far as regards Annulose
Animals 306
Woods, Joseph, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Attempt to arrange the Carices of Middle Europe 209
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS,
page
Ansell, John, Esq.
Notice of Juncus diffusus, Hoppe, gathered near Hoddesdon,
Herts 313
Babington, Charles Cardale, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Notice of some Fir-cones taken from beneath about 10 feet of
sohd peat at Burrishoole, near Newport, co. Mayo 89
Backhouse, James, Jun., Esq.
Notice of specimens of Spergula stricta, Swartz., and of Equise-
turn Drummondii, Hook., both collected in Teesdale, Yorkshire 222
Bennett, John Joseph, Esq., F.R.S., Sec.L.S. &c.
Note on a new species of the genus Arundinaria of Michaux ... 61
BiDWELL, J. C, Esq.
Notice of a new species of Araucaria from the neighbourhood
of Moreton Bay, and of the germination of Nuytsia Jloribunda 123
BoRRER, William, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Notice of Leersia oryzoides, Swartz, gathered in Henfield Level,
Sussex 222
BosTOCK, John Ashton, Esq.
Extract of a Letter to J. Bostock, Esq., M.D., F.L.S., on an
extraordinary Flight of Locusts observed between Cawnpore
and Agra 183
Bromfield, William Arnold. M.D., F.L.S.
Notice of a species of Calamintha from the Isle of Wight 179
Burnham, J., Esq.
Extract of a Letter to H. Clarke, Esq., F.L.S 99
Cameron, Mr. Richard, A.L.S.
Notice of a Fern, cultivated in the garden of the Birmingham
Horticultural Society as the Agnus Scythicus, or Vegetable Lamb 57
Clarke, Joshua, Esq.
Notice of specimens of Galium Vaillantii, Dec, gathered near
Saffron Walden 222
Notice of Barkhausia setosa, Dec, found near Safiron Walden... 179
Cooper, Daniel, Esq., A.L.S.
Notice of specimens of Lastrea rigida collected at Settle 52
Cumming, Mr. William.
Notice of specimens of Lagurus ovatu^ collected near Safiron
Walden 49
Notice of specimens of Lagurus ovatus, Briza maocima, and
Mentha crispa, gathered near Safiron Walden 81
XI
page
Farre, Frederick, M.D., F.L.S. &c.
Notice of a singular gall on the leaves of a species of Oak from
Mexico 65
Felkin, William, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of some specimens of Sea- Island Cotton grown in a
cotton-mill in the centre of Manchester 99
Fox, George Townshend, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of a specimen of Phrynosoma comutum from Texas 67
Francis, George, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of Lepwrandra 5amc?ora, Graham 73
Gardner, George, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Extract of a Letter to J. Miers, Esq., F.L.S 99
Gould, John, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Notice of a nondescript Lizai'd from New Holland 81
Griffith, William, Esq., F.L.S.
Extracts of Letters to R. H. Solly, Esq., F.L.S., on the Ovula
of Ephedra and Callipeltis ; and on the parasitism of Cuscuta
and Orobanche 90
Extract of a Letter to R. H. Solly, Esq., F.L.S., on the Ovulum
- of Osyris 113
Extract of a Letter to R. H. Solly, Esq., F.L.S., on the Ovula of
Santalum and Osyris ; and on the Sporules of Isoetes, Azolla,
and Anthoceros 121
Hankey, John Alexander, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of specimens of Fritillaria Meleagris gathered at Finch-
ley, Middlesex 134
Hassall, Arthur Hill, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of an Apple in which decay had been induced by inocula-
tion of decayed matter 160
Hincks, Rev. William, F.L.S.
Notice of a specimen believed to belong to Neottia gemmipara.
Smith, from the collection of Dr. Wood of Cork 1 62
Home, Sir Everard, Bart., Capt. R.N.
Extract of a Letter to R. Brown, Esq., V.P.L.S., giving an Ac-
count of the Measurement of some of the largest of the New
Zealand and Norfolk Island Pines 321
Hope, Rev. Frederic William, F.L.S.
Notice of an extensive Collection of Engraved Portraits of Linnaeus 1 &6
HoRE, Rev. William Strong, F.L.S.
Notice of a remarkable variety of Duck 46
Iliff, William Tiffin, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of some larvse believed to belong to Musca canicularis,
contained in the Urate of Ammonia voided by a Boa Con-
strictor 52
Janson, Joseph, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of specimens of Neottia cestivalis collected near Lynd-
hurst 80
Notice of some living flowering plants of the "hungry rice" of
Sierra Leone, Paspalum exile, Kipp 167
KiPPisT, Richard, Esq., Libr. L.S. &c.
Note on Crepis biennis and Barkhausia taraxacifolia 98
xu
page
Description of the Fundi or Fundungi, a new species of granife-
rous Paspalum from the colony of Sierra Leone 156
Note on the characters and distribution of Barkhausia setosa,
Dec 179
Lankester, Edwin, M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Notice of an Agaric in which gills were abundantly developed on
a portion of the surface of the pileus directly over the stipes... 226
Notice of a Fucus sold in London under the name of " Australian
Moss," believed to agere with Fucus spinosus, L 267
Lay, John Tradescant, Esq.
Notice of some specimens of the Keih-seen-me, a species of Alga
related to Nostoc, and eaten as a dehcacy among the Chinese 180
Mann, Thomas White, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of an instance of extraordinary vitality in a specimen of
Sedum Telephium 89
Newman, Edward, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of a species of Trichomanes lately found in the co. Kerry,
and supposed to be distinct from Tr. speciosum 179
Newport, George, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Notice of Fteronarcys regalis, Newm., a Neuropterous insect
furnished with external branchiae in its perfect state 180
Northumberland, His Grace The Duke of.
Notice of the Fruit of Chrysophyllum monopyrenum, Sw., grown
at Sion House 99
Notice of the Fruit of Diospyros edulis, grown at Sion House ... 134
Ogilby, William, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of a new species of Clover (allied to TrifoUum resupina-
tum) recently introduced from Cabul 80
Ralph, Thomas Shearman, Esq., A.L.S.
Notice of a Collection of Indian Fruits and Seeds presented by... 158
Rauch, Francis, Esq.
Notice of a Fruit of Salisburia adiantifolia, grown in the Impe-
rial Garden at Vienna 73
Read, W. H. Rudston, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of a shell of Spondylus varius, Brod., beneath the enamel
of which a quantity of water had been retained for several
months 134
Reeve, Lovell, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of a specimen in spirits of the Animal of Panopoea Al-
drovandi 160
Solly, Richard Horsman, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S.
Notice of a male plant of Encephalartos pungens, which had
flowered in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew 52
Notice of some effects produced on specimens of Fossil Wood
preserved in a Cedar-wood Cabinet 128
Stocks, J. Ellerton, Esq., M.D., F.L.S.
Notes on the Vegetation of Scinde 367
Taylor, William, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of the Oil of Madia sativa, grown neai* Ipswich 77
Notice of the seeds, oil and oil-cake of Camelina sativa, Crantz. 162
XIU
page
Ward, Nathaniel Baoshaw, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of a specimen of the Agnus Scythicus, or Vegetable Lamb 58
Notice of a Plant of Musa Cavendishii brought from the Navi-
gators' Island in one of Mr. Ward's cases 157
Notice of specimens exhibiting the extreme states of Chondrus
crispus, Lyn^bye, gathered at Linmouth, N. Devon 283
Notice of specimens of Uncaria procumbens, Burch. ; and of a
portion of the stipes of a Fern, probably Pteris esculenta, Sol. 293
Notice of Italian Specimens of Adiantum Capillus Veneris, L.,
and Asplenium Trichomanes, L., one of the latter bearing on
several of its pinnae sori, taking their origin from the upper
as well as from the lower surface of the frond ; also of a branch
of a Scotch Fir hollowed by hornets ; 317
Notice of several Ferns collected in Ireland 326
Watson, Hewett Cottrell, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of specimens of Carum Bulbocastanum gathered near
Cherry Hinton, and of Seseli Ldbanotis gathered near Seaford 51
Westcott, Mr. Frederick.
Description of a Fern cultivated in the Garden of the Birming-
ham Horticultural Society as the Agnus Scythicus, or Vegeta-
ble Lamb 58
Westwood, John Obadiah, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of various Insects from the Collection of Lieut.-Col. J. B.
Hearsey 131
Notice of the Aerial processes of the roots of Sonneratia acida,
L., sent by Mr. Templeton from Ceylon 166
Notice of some (Estrideous Insects received from Professors Zet-
terstedt and Dahlbom 179
Notice of several instances of Insect Monstrosities 346
Notice of the Silk spun by the Caterpillars of the new Indian
Silk Moth Bombyx Huttoni,Westw 357
Wood, Rev. William, B.D., F.L.S.
Notice of a remarkable variety of Typha angustifolia 42
Woods, Joseph, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
On Crepis biennis and Barkhausia taraxacifoUa 98
Wright, Hon. H.
Notice of specimens of the inner bark of the Cinnamon-tree,
peeled of extraordinary length 151
Yarrell, William, Esq., F.L.S.
Notice of an interwoven mass of filaments of Conferva fluviatilis,
of extraordinary size 65
XIV
OBITUARY NOTICES.
page
Abraham, James Hussey ... 2.98
AUen, William 202
Anderson, William 331
Ansley, John 135
Baily, Francis 238
Bartlet, John ^7
Bauer, Francis 101
Beatty, Sir Wm., Knt., M.D. . 135
Bedford, John, Duke of &7
Beetham, William Q7
Bell, Sir Charles, K.H 135
Bell, Rev. Isaac 135
Bevan, Thomas, M.D 332
Biggs, Arthur 371
Blumenbach, John Fred., M.D. 72
Bostock, John, M.D 333
Bowman, John Eddowes 1 35
Bree, Rev. Robert Francis 145
Bridgman, William 334
Brookes, Samuel 34
Butt, Rev. Thomas 137
Carhsle, Sir Anthony, Knt. ... 104
Chichester, The Bishop of ... 105
Chinnock, Henry Singer 298
Christy, William, Jun 67
Churchill, Lord Chas. Spencer 67
Churchill, Lord Henry John
Spencer 105
Clarke, Edmund John, M.D. . 137
Coles, George 137
Cooper, Daniel 173
Cordeaux, Charles, M.D 239
Cotton, Richard 67
Cunningham, Allan &7
Cuvier, Frederic 35
Dalton, Rev. James 172
Davy, Rev. Martin, D.D 34 *
DeCandoUe, Augustin Pyramus 142
Delessert, Baron Benjamin ... 339
Dietrichsen, Lionel 334
Don, David 145
Dreyer, Rev. Richard, LL.B. . 34
Dunston, John 372
Dutrochet, Henri, M.D 341
Ellis, John 372
Famham, John Lord. 34
page
Field, Barron 298
Finch, William, M.D 372
Forester, Forester Rich., M.D. 203
Fox, George Townshend 372
Gilbert, Davies 68
Gimbemat, Charles de 35
Gisborne, Rev. Thomas 299
Goodall, Rev. Joseph, D.D. ... 70
Goodenough, The Very Rev.
Edmund, D.D 239
Goolden, Richard 137
Graham, Robert, M.D 300
Grey, Sir Thomas, Kt., M.D. 334
Griffith, William 239
Guillemard, John Lewis 244
Hailstone, Rev. John, M.A. ... 372
Harlan, Richard, M.D 246
Harrison, William 137
Hatchett, Charles 334
Hills, Robert 244
Holford, Charles 34
HoUinshed, Lawrence Brock ... 34
Holme, Edward, M.D 373
Hope, Thomas Charles, M.D. 250
Hornemann, Jens Wilken 145
Hoy, James Barlow 204
Hull, John, M.D 34
Hunneman, John 36
Hurlock, Joseph 244
Jacquin, Baron Joseph Francis 73
Jamison, Sir John, M.D 244
Janson, Joseph 301
Johnson, James Rawlins, M.D. 137
Keith, Rev. Patrick 70
Kendrick, James, M.D 376
Kent, William 71
Knapp, John Leonard 244
Knight, Henry Gaily, M.P. ... 301
Knowlton, Thomas 302
Lagasca, Don Mariano 71
Lambert, Aylmer Bourke 137
Lane, Charles 139
Latham, John, M.D 172
Latham, Richard 302
Leigh, Richard 139
Locke, WiUiam Oliver, M.D. 376
XV
page
Loddiges, George 334
Loudoji, John Claudius 204
Lubbock, Sir John Win., Bart. 105
Lush, Charles, M.D 302
Lynn, James, M.D 172
Macartney, James, M.D 206
Main, James 303
Marlborough, George, Duke of ^7
Martin, Matthew 35
Matthews, Alexander 173
May cock, James Dottin, M.D. 72
Menzies, Archibald 139
Mills, William 72
Milne, George 35
Morgan, John 376
Mountnorris, the Earl of 245
Newman, Rev. Thos., M. A. ... 172
Newton, Rev. Thos., M. A. ...172
Nixon, Rev. Robert, B.D 35
Northumberland, Hugh Percy,
Duke of 335
Nouaille, Peter 303
Onley, Charles SaviUe 207
Parkmson, John 336
Pavon, Don Jose 208
Peete, William 377
Pennant, David 141
Penny, George 36
Quekett, Edwin John 378
Rackett, Rev. Thomas, M. A. ... 105
Roddam, George, M.D 379
Rokewode, John Gage 172
Rudge, Edward 337
St. Aubyn, Sir John, Bart. ... 72
page
St. Hilaire, Etienne Geoflroy . 247
Samouelle, George 304
Saye and Sele, Lord 338
Sharpe, James 72
Sheppard, Rev. J. Revett, M.A. 106
Simmons, Richard, M.D 338
Shgo, the Marquis of 245
Smimove, John 245
Solly, Samuel 339
Sowerby, Charles Edward 149
Stephenson, Simon 207
Sternberg, Gaspard Count ... 35
Stuart, Daniel 339
Sutton, Charles, D.D 341
Taylor, Thomas, M.D 379
Tnnius, Karl Beruhard von ... 249
Valentia, Lord Viscount 1 06
Vigors, Nicholas Aylward,
D.C.L 106
Viney, Major-General 107
Walsingham, Lord, Rev. Thos. 72
Wedgewood, John 245
Weekes, Richard 380
Wheeler, Thomas 380
Wickham, William Nicholas ... 339
Wilmot, Sir John Eardley, Bart. 381
Wilmot, R. Montague, M.B.... 107
Wood, George Wilham 207
Wood, Rev. William, B.D. ...107
Woods, Henry 107
Wright, Francis Boucher 107
Young, William Weston 36
Younge, William, M.D 35
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON.
November 6, 1838.
Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
The Society assembled this evening for the Session.
The Vice President stated that the late Nathaniel John Winch,
Esq.. A.L.S., of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, had bequeathed to the So-
ciety his entire herbarium, consisting of upwards of 12,000 species
of plants, and his librar)^ of Natural History.
f
Read, " Observations on the' cause of Ergot." By Mr. John
Smith, A.L.S., of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew.
Mr. Smith, like many others, liad supposed that the ergot of rye
"Was an organized fungus, growing in the florets of the r}'e and other
grasses, but in the early part of October his attention was particu-
larly directed to the subject by observing several large drops of a
brown -coloured fluid suspended from a spike of a species of Elymus,
in which were several full-grown ergots, and others in a younger state.
The fluid was viscid and had a saccharine flavour. On subjecting
a portion of it to the microscope, it was found to be full of innume-
rable minute, oblong, transparent bodies, varying from the 3000th
to the 7000th of an inch, and resembling the sporules of fungi, and
slightly bent, having a somewhat indistinct spot at each end. On
applying a drop of water to a full-grown ergot, multitudes of these
bodies became disengaged from its surface, and issued from the
cracks or longitudinal fissures which generally characterize the fully
develoi)ed ergot. These bodies imparted to the water a milky ap-
pearance. He observed the same bodies on ergot? of all ages and
sizes, and on opening the unexpanded flowers of ergot-bearing spikes,
they were met with in abundance on the ditterent organs, especially
on the anthers; for, on cutting an anther and applying water, they
No. I — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
2 Linnean Society, [Nov. 6, 1838.
were seen to float out along with the pollen. They were also ob-
served on the ovarium, and in little clusters on the hairs and feathery
stigmata. These bodies are found to accompany the ergot through
all its stages, and are present even before the fecundation of the ova-
rium, at least before the discharge of the pollen, and consequently
before there is any appearance of an ergot ; they therefore cannot be
the sporules, but must be the cellules of the minute fungus itself.
On examining an ergot, the surface before being moistened presents
under the microscope the appearance of a thin whitish pruinose
crust, which, on the application of moisture, speedily separates into
myriads of the minute transparent cellules before mentioned. On
viewing the ergot in the dry state under the microscope, the pruinose
appearance of the crust will be found to arise from these bodies being
united together longitudinally, forming slightly elevated spiculse, but
crowded underneath and forming a' kind of crust. These cellules so
united present the appearance of slender-jointed filaments, either
simple or branched, in which state they occur likewise on the an-
thers. Mr. Smith regards these cellules as the articulations of a
minute filamentous fungus which is developed in the early stage of
the flower,' and propagating itself by the separation of the joints and
impregnating the soil or the perfect seeds of the gra^, which on
germination and subsequent development carry up some of the re-
productive matter of the fungus, which again developes itself in the
flower, in the manner |hat Mr. Francis Bauer has shown to take
place in the propagation of the smut and grain- worms in wheat.
Read, "A Letter on the occurrence of Wilson's Petrel (Pro ce//ana
Wilsoni) on the British coast." By Jonathan Couch, Esq., F.L.S.
A single specimen of the bird was found in a field near Polperro
in Cornwall, about the middle of August last, when the stormy pe-
trel (P. pelagica) abounded on the coast. Mr. C. instituted a com-
parison between them, and the result was as follows :
"Weight of the stormy petrel 4 drams, 35 grains; of Wilson's petrel 5
drams, 2 scruples.
Length 6 inches 7 inches.
Spread of wings 14^ — 16^ —
Wings extended beyond the tail ... -| — l^- —
With the lears extended, the toes ) , ,. t> j xt. ^ -i • ni-
extend short of the tail..: ) ^ ^^""- ^^^^"^ *^^ ^^'^ - ^"- ^ 1^"-
The stormy petrel is feathered just to the basal joint ; but in
Wilson's petrel the feathers only approach within 4 lines of it. In
the former the tarsus is in length 1 line short of an inch, in the
latter 1 inch 4 lines, and equally slender with the former ; and the
Nov. 20, 1838.] Linnean Society. 3
hinder toe is so minute that it might escape any but attentive exa-
mination. In the bill the markings are more strongly defined, with
the terminal hook longer and sharper. The prominence of the fore-
head is less than in the more common species. Colour of the head
black with a hoary tint, lighter on the throat. The back, belly, wings,
and tail are ferruginous, lighter on the wing coverts ; the rump white,
and a little of the same at the vent. Tarsi and feet black, with a
longitudinal stripe of sulphur-yellow, more of a golden at the bor-
ders or the web between each toe.
The stouter configuration of this species enabling it better to
escape the violence of a storm may be ascribed perhaps as a reason
why it is not more often found on our coasts.
On examining the stomach of a stormy petrel Mr. Couch found
about half an inch of a common tallow candle, of a size so dispro-
tionate to the bill and gullet of the bird, that it seems wonderful
how it could have been able to swallow it.
November 20.
Edward Forster,,Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Read, " Description of a new Genus of Plants belonging to the
Natural Family Bignoniacece." By D. Don, Esq., Libr. L.S., Prof.
Bot. King's College.
The subject of this paper was collected by Capt. Sir James Ed-
ward Alexander, during a journey through the interior of Southern
Africa to the western coast. The plant was discovered by that en-
terprising traveller in the open desert, called the Kei Kaap, in Great
Namaqua Land, in 25° S. latitude and 17° E. longitude. It is a
thorny bush, about six feet high, with small simple, hoary, wrinkled,
serrated leaves and large white flowers. There can be no doubt that
the plant belongs to the Bignoniacece, although in habit it bears a
stronger resemblance to Verhenacece, especially to Duranta and Gmelina.
In its spathaceous calyx and regular funnel-shaped corolla the genus
comes near to Spathodea, but is abundantly distinguished from it by
the cells of the anthers being parallel and connate from the middle
upwards. Its regular funnel-shaped corolla, spathaceous calyx,
equal stamina, and serrated leaves essentially distinguish it from
Burchell's curious genus Rhigozum, with which it agrees in habit.
On the specimen were two expanded flowers and a bud. The calyic
in all three had six teeth, and both the expanded flowers and the
bud had a six-cleft limb ; one of these had seven stamens, and the
4 Linnean Society, [Dec. 4,
other, as well as the bud, six, so that this last may be regarded as
the normal number.
The following- are the name and characters of this new genus.
Catophractes. Calyx spathaceus, hinc fissus, inde 6-dentatus. Corolla
infundibuliformis : limbo C-lobo, patenti, aequali. Stamina 6, raro 7.
subaequalia, exserta. Antherarum loculi paralleli, e medio sursum con-
nati. Ovarium abbreviatum, conicum, biloculare ?
Frutex (namaquensis) erectus, spinosus. Folia fasciculata, simplicia,
serrata. Flores laterales, subsessiles, speciosi, albi.
Sp. 1. C. Alexandri.
Read, ** An Account of a species of Lepidosperma, from Tasman's
Peninsula, Van Diemen's Land.'* By Dr. Lhotsky. Communicated
byProf. Don,Libr. L.S.
This species is nearly allied to the Lepidosperma elatior of Labil-
lardi^re, and is remarkable for the great length of its leaves, varying
from 10 to 15 and even 20 feet. A specimen exhibited to the meet-
ing had the leaf upwards of 13 feet long. It was discovered by
Dr. Lhotsky in Tasman's Peninsula, Van Diemen's Land, growing
in a dense jungle, through which its long slender leaves contrive to
penetrate. It is termed " Cutting Grass," and like the other spe-
cies of this Cyperaceous genus is characterized by the sharp edges
of its leaves, which inflict wounds on the unwary traveller who
happens to pass the plant hastily.
December 4.
Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
G. E. Dennes, Esq., Vine Street, Golden Square ; R. G. Holland,
Esq., Surgeon, Sheffield; and Henry Laxton, Esq., Parliament
Street, were elected Fellows of the Society.
Read, " Observations on the Anatomical and Physiological Na-
ture of Ergot in certain Grasses." By E. J. Queckett, Esq., F.L.S.
Having had the opportunity of examining the formation of the
ergot in several grasses, the author has endeavoured to trace the
cause and origin of this singular formation on them, and particularly
on Elymus sabulosus.
It was found, that when a grain of the grass was to be replaced by
an ergot, it presented before the period of expansion of the flower a
singular mildewed appearance. This, when examined microsco-
pically, was seen to consist of filaments, at whose base were myriads
I
1838.] lAnnean Society. 5
of particles of exceedingly diminutive size, forming a complete
coating to the young grain, so that no part of its body was visible
through it.
From this state the increase of the young ergot, but not of the
filaments and particles, was very rapid ; for in a short time after, when
the ergot began to appear between the paleae of the flower, its violet
black colour was then visible, on account of the mildewed appear^
ance not keeping pace in development with the ergot*.
After the ergot begins to appear beyond the paleae, it in a short
time attains its full size, and loses almost entirely its mildewed
covering, presenting now its perfect violet black surface, and mea-
sures in different specimens from half an inch to one inch and half.
If the ergot be examined carefully at this period, in such speci-
mens as have not been subjected to injury or displacement on the
plant, it will be found that at its base are the two scales which are
observable in the same place in the healthy grain, and that it is ar-
ticulated to the receptacle, and separates from it as readily as the
grain when ripe does from the same spot, and at the apex of it is a
small body, frequently hairy, on which can be observed the remains
of the stigmas.
From the relations of the ergot to these parts, and compared with
those of the healthy grain, it is found that it is placed between and
upon the same organs as the grain, and there cannot be a doubt but
that this singular body is not an independent fungus, but a grain
diseased from causes presently to be mentioned.
When the particles before mentioned, which occur on the surface
of the ergot, and which are also found in a viscid fluid that hangs
about the paleae of the infected grass, are examined by the micro-
scope, their size is found to be -nAnr part of an inch in length, and
tttW part of an inch in diameter in the generality of instances, and
their number is countless, probably 20 millions on each ergot.
When magnified from 500 to 800 times, it then can be observed that
their interior contains several well-defined green dots or granules,
two or three being the most common numbers.
If these particles, which are no doubt the cause of the ergot, as
they are found on every ergotized grass and are the sporidia of a cer-
tain fungus, be kept moistened on any convenient surface, as between
a plate of glass and talc, they soon commence germinating (if recent)
• The growth of the ergot is very rapid when compared with that of the
grain. Philippar, in his * Traite Organographique et Physiologico-agricole
sur I'Ergot, &c., dans les Cereales', observed some particular plants of rye,
whilst passing by a certain corn-field, which had no appearance of ergot, but
ten or twelve days after these same plants had full-sized ergots upon them.
6 Linnean Society, [Dec. 4, 1838.
in various ways ; sometimes by emitting a tube or tubes containing
green granules, similar to those in the interior of the sporidia, and
which probably separate finally into as many perfect reproductive
atoms ; in other instances one sporidium gives off a minute process
from its side, which goes on increasing and ultimately becomes like
its parent, and then separates from it. Often several sporidia so ge-
nerated, remain united to each other for a short time, forming a mo-
niliform filament, composed frequently of seven or eight joints.
The next and last method is the most perfect when it is found
that the sporidia have their cavity divided by a septum, which is
formed by a green granule of the interior extending itself laterally ;
each half of each sporidium being again subdivided, and by endless
repetitions of this process a radiated plant is produced, which, when
arrived at a certain size and age, bears upon its branchlets sporidia
similar to that one from which it was first produced.
From these observations, it is proved that the sporidia, foimd on the
surface of the diseased grain, can germinate and ultimately develope
the means of their reproduction, without forming any body analo-
gous in shape or structure to an ergot, which fact is conclusive that
the filaments and sporidia are no part of that body, because they are
found to flourish unconnected with it, and even grow on many parts
of the same grass, as seen in the anthers by Mr. Smith, of Kew Gar-
dens, and observed by Mr. Queckett on the paleae, glumes and ra-
chis ; therefore the ergot, Mr. Queckett conceives, originates by the
grain of the respective grass becoming diseased, from the presence of
a parasite, which occasions such alteration in its developement as to
cause it to assume the well-known form, and to possess also the sin-
gular properties manifested in that of rye.
If the ergot be sliced into thin transverse sections, and these ex-
amined with a very high magnifying power, it will be seen that nu-
merous particles escape from them when they are placed in water.
These have been taken by Philippar for sporidia, from which cir-
cumstance he considered the ergot as the reproductive apparatus
of a fungus ; but such particles are only those of a fatty oil, which
escape from the divided cells, and collect on the surface of the water,
in which the sections are immersed, and differ from the sporidia of
the exterior by floating on the surface, whilst the latter always sub-
side to the bottom of the vessel containing the water. The appli-
cation of heat to these supposed sporidia fuses them into irregular
masses of diff^erent sizes ; and ether or turpentine, if allowed to eva-
porate after being added to them, leaves similar appearances.
The internal structure of the ergot looks extremely irregular, there
Dec. 18, 1838.] lAnnean Society, 7
being no equally formed cells, but a confused jumble, out of which
can scarcely be traced the true cells, on account of their boundaries
being exceedingly sinuous, which structure is very like the centre
of the fungus produced during the germination of the sporidia, and
appears to be occasioned by fungoid matter having grown in the in-
terior of the grain.
From these observations, which have been followed up in many
ergotized grasses, Mr. Queckett is inclined to believe that the ergot
is a grain diseased by a particular parasitic fungus developing in or
about it, whose sporidia find the young state of the grain a matrix
suitable for their growth, and quickly run their race, not entirely
depriving it of its vitality, but communicating to it such impressions,
which pervert its regular growth, and likewise the healthy formation
of its constituents, being at last composed of its diseased mate-
rials, which are mixed up with fungic matter, which has developed
, within it.
The fungus caused to germinate in the way described is quite in-
visible to the naked eye, seldom measuring beyond the one or two
hundredth part of an inch ; and from comparisons with British and
foreign genera of Fungacese, it has not been found that it belongs
satisfactorily to any as at present constituted ; the author therefore
proposes a new genus, with the title Ergot at ea, to represent this
minute fungus, which will belong to the sub-order Coniomycetes
of Fries, and to its division Mucedines, very near to the genus Sepe-
donium.
After repeated experiments with the sporidia of the ergot of rye,
of ElymuSy and other grasses, the author has always succeeded in
making them germinate, and has not discovered such differences as
would lead him to consider that the parasite in each case was not
the same, therefore he has applied the term abortans, as the specific
name of Ergotcetea, to the plant found on the ergot of rye, and be-
lieves the parasites, on the other grasses which have been examined,
to be of the same species.
December 18.
Edward Forster, Esq., V. P., in the Chair.
Read, *' A notice of Cereus tetragonus,'* by Edward Rudge, Esq.,
F.R. & L.S.
This plant has blossomed during the three past years in Mr.
Rudge's collection at Abbey Manor House near Evesham. The
S Lirinean Society. [Dec. 18, 1838.
flowers expand in the evening like those of C grandiftoi^s , which
they resemble, but are Hot above half the size. The number of the
angles of the stem is variable. The species is an old inhabitant of
our stoves, but has rarely flowered.
Read, " Descriptions of the Indian species of IrisT by D. Don,
Esq., Libr. L.S., Prof. Bot. King's College.
The number of species of this beautiful genus belonging to the
Indian Flora is five, three of which have not been previously de-
scribed : one of the species is from Cashmere, another from Ludak,
a country situated beyond the Himalaya, and the remaining three
are natives of Nepal and Kamaon, and of the country to the west-
ward.
The following are the characters of the undescribed species :
1. /. kamaonensis (Wall. Cat. n. 5052.), barbata; scapo brevissimo uni-
floro, tubo perianthii longissimo subfiliformi, sepalis interioribus bilo-
bis longe unguiculatis, ovario turbinate 3-gono.
2. I. longifolia (Royle 111. t. 91. f. 2.), imberbis ; foliis margine scabris,
scapo brevissimo unifloro, sepalis sublanceolatis integerrimis, tubo pe-
rianthii vix uUo, ovario elongato triquetro scapum adsequante, stigma-
tis lobis integerrimis.
3. /. Moorcrq/Vmwa (Wall. Cat. n. 5051.), imberbis ; scapo bifloropedun-
culis breviore, spathis gluniaceis tubum perianthii superantibus, sepalis
lanceolatis acutiusculis, ovario 6-sulcato.
Read, *' Additional observations on the Spongilla fluviatilis." By
John Hogg, Esq., M.A., F.L.S.
The author's views of the vegetable nature of the river sponge
were given in a paper read before the Society on the 5th of June,
1838, a report of which was inserted in the August number of the
* Annals of Natural History.'
The present paper contains additional observations in confirmation
of those views, derived from a more accurate examination of the
seed-like bodies, which are found adhering in abundance to the walls
of the cells or cavities of the sponge, and are also frequently free
and endowed with the faculty of locomotion ; and which have been
regarded by some authors as the ova of the Spongilla, and by others
as those of the Plumatella. Mr. Hogg has determined the identity
of these bodies, having succeeded in raising young Spongilla from
both kinds ; and he has also ascertained that they are destitute of
cilia, being merely studded with minute granular papillae. The mo-
tions of the unattached bodies resemble those observed by linger in
the sporules of Ectospora clavata, and Mr. Hogg considers the cur-
rents to be due to the same causes, which affect the circulation of
the fluids in the cells of vegetables.
Jan. 15, 1839.] Linnean Society. 9
January 15, 1839.
Edward Forster, Esq., V. P., in the Chair.
Major Thomas Best Jervis, E. I. C. Engineer Service; Thomas
Bruges Flower, Esq., Bath ; J. C. Hall, Esq., Kensington ; R. M.
Lingwood, Esq.^.A., Uckfield, Sussex ; and F. J. White, M.D.,
Warminster, were elected Fellows of the Society.
Read, " A notice of the Encephalartos horridus, which flowered at
Kinmel Park." By Mr. Thomas Forrest. Communicated by the
Secretary.
This brief notice was accompanied by the male spadix, which had
flowered at Kinmel Park, the seat of Lord Dinorben, and was sent
for exhibition to the meeting by command of His Royal Highness the
Duke of Sussex. The plant had been sent to Lord Dinorben from
the Cape of Good Hope about six years ago by Lord John Spencer
Churchill, Capt. R.N. The spadix was of unusual size, and bore a
strong resemblance to a gigantic pine cone. The most remarkable
peculiarity observable was, that several scales, less developed than
the others, bore only a single unilateral mass of anthers, whilst in
others the two masses were scarcely confluent.
Read, '* An account of the Indian Species ai Juncus and Luzula."
By D. Don, Esq., Libr.L.S., Prof. Bot. King's College.
The species described in this paper are all from Northern India,
and were mostly collected by Dr. Royle in the range of the Hima-
laya, included between the Ganges and Sutlej. Of the eight spe-
cies described, seven belong to Juncus, and only one to Luzula.
Three of the former genus are entirely new, two had been previously
gathered by Dr. Wallich's collectors in Nepial, and of the two others,
one (/. bufonius) is common throughout the northern hemisphere,
and the other (/. glaucus) is abundant in northern and central
Europe. The Luzula is spicata, which occurs on the mountains of
the north of England, Scotland, and throughout Europe, reaching
as high as 71" north latitude, and which is likewise found on the
Caucasus and Altai mountains in northern Asia. The present va-
riety is from Lippa in Kunawur, a country situated beyond the
Himalaya, in about 31° 33'.north latitude, being about 11° more to
the south than any station previously recorded for Luzula spicata.
The variety differs in its broader sepals, blunt capsule, with obovate
valves, and in the seeds not being above half the size.
No. II. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
10 Linnean Society, [Feb. 5^
We subjoin the characters of the new species.
1. /. leucanthus (Royle), culmo bifolio tereti, foliis margine invohitis
filiformibus ailmum subaequantibus, capitulo terminali solitario 6 — 10-
floro, involucre 5-phyllo ghimaceo floribus longiore, sepalis acutius-
culis, antheris acutis filamentis duplo longioribus, ovario incluso, stig-
matibus stylo ter brevioribus.
This species is nearly allied to /. triglumis.
2. J. leucomelas (Royle), culmo enodi filiformi aphyllo, foliis subulatis
canaliculatis, capitulo terminali 3 — 5-floro involucro 3-phyllo acuto
breviore, sepalis obtusis, antheris filamentorum fere longitudine, capsula
acuminatjt perianthio longiore.
3. /. memhranaceus (Royle), culmo tereti subdiphyllo, foliis subfiliformi-
bus obtusis, capitulo terminali solitario 4 — 8-floro bractea communi
membranacea breviore, sepalis obtusis capsula acut^ longioribus, stami-
nibus inclusis, antheris filamentis dilatatis ter brevioribus.'
4. /. concinnus (Don. Prodr. Fl. Nepal, p. 44), culmo tereti subdiphyllo,
foliis planiusculis obtusis, capitulis 3 — 6-floris corymbosis, bractea
communi elongata foliacea, sepalis acutis capsule acuta longioribus,
staminibus longe exsertis, antheris filamentis simphcibus 6-pl6 brevi-
oribus.
5. /. indicus, triandrus ; capitulis multifloris squarrosis trichotome cy-
mosis, sepalis lineari-lanceolatis apice mucronatis recurvis capsulae mu-
ticae longitudine, stigmatibus sessilibus.
February 5.
Edward Forster, Esq., V. P., in the Chair.
J. J. Adams Esq., Surgeon, Finsbury Square, was elected a Fel-
low of the Society.
Read, a paper entitled " A Note upon the Anatomy of the Roots
of Ophrydecc:' By John Lindley, Ph. D., F.R. and L.S., Prof. Bot.
University College.
The object of the author in this paper was to show that salep, the
prepared roots of certain Ophrydece, is not a substance consisting
principally of starch, as is the common opinion among writers of the
present day, but is composed of a bassorine-like matter, organized
in a peculiar manner.
After stating the opinions of recent authorities, the author gives
the results of his own microscopical examination of the tissue of re-
cent and prepared roots, by which it appears that the tubercles of
Ophrydece universally contain large cartilaginous nodules of a muci-
1839.] Linnean Society, II
laginous substance, not coloured by iodine, and a small quantity of
the grains of starch, lying in the usual manner in the parenchyma
which surround the nodules, and readily susceptible to the usual ac-
tion of iodine. The tubercles of many South- African Ophrydecc pre-
sent when dried the appearance of bags filled with small pebbles, as
if the epidermis had contracted over hard bodies in the inside. If a
fresh root of Satyrium pallidum be divided transversely the cause of
this appearance is explained, for with its soft parenchyma are mixed
tough nodules, clear as water, and often twenty times as large as the
cells which surround them. These nodules are easily separable, are
tough like horn, and on being sliced appear to be perfectly homo-
geneous. They are scarcely soluble in cold water; when boiled they
become tumid and partially dissolve into a transparent jelly. If ex-
posed to the air they rapidly dry and become brown, llie aqueous
solution of iodine has no sensible effect upon them in their natural
state.
On charring slices of some salep procured at Covent Garden, a
coarse preparation of wild OphrydecB, the author found that the no-
dules apparently homogeneous were composed of extremely minute
transparent cells, filled, as he supposed, with a secretion of the same
refractive power as themselves, and adhering naturally to each other
firmly ; the double walls of the cells and intercellular spaces being
only made apparent by the charring process. The author explains
the error of those who have considered salep to consist chiefly of
starch, by allusion to the mode of its preparation. The tubercles
are first parboiled and then dried, the effect of which is to dissolve
what starch exists in the cells surrounding the nodules. The dis-
solved starch flows over the surface of the nodules, from which when
dried it is undistinguishable, and consequently when iodine is ap-
plied to salep the mass appears to become iodide of starch. If the
nodules, however, after this action of iodine, be removed, they are
seen to retain their original vitreous lustre.
The author remarks that these nodules of Ophrydete are, as far as
his observations extend, absent in the tubercles of the other tribes
of Orchidaceee.
Read, a paper entitled " Some Data towards a Botanioal Geogra-
phy of New Holland." By Dr. John Lhotsky, late of the Civil Ser-
vice, Van Diemen's Land. Communicated by Prof. Don, Libr. L.S.
The author commences his paper with the observation, that it was
the lot of Mr. Brown to become connected in an almost exclusive
way with the Flora of New Holland, he having been the first to illus-
12 LAmiean Society. [Feb. 5,
trate its vegetable riches in an extensive and philosophic manner.
Notwithstanding the important discoveries since made, his re-
marks, and especially those upon the botanical geography of that
country, (published nearly twenty years ago,) have been confirmed
by subsequent observations. The great approximation towards the
European Flora, in that part of the country first explored by the
author, agrees perfectly with the following observation of Mr. Brown :
" It appears that a much greater proportion of the peculiarities of the
Australian Flora exist in this, which I have therefore called the prin-
cipal parallel (between 33° and 35° S. latitude), and that many of
them are nearly confined to it.*" The author proposes the follow-
ing geographical division of the Flora of the south-eastern part of
New Holland.
1st. The coast vegetation. — This class of vegetation clothes the
almost moveable sand of the coast, and the rocks of sandstone of the
coal formation, or skirts the ponds of salt or brackish water. Epa-
cris, Boronia, Lambertia, Astroloma, Xanthorrhaa, Hakea, Banksia,
&.C. are the most characteristic genera, forming usually a dense
shrubbery of stiff and harsh plants. Of trees, scarcely any but
species of Eucalyptus are to be met with.
2nd. Vegetation of the rocky gullies near the sea coast. — Such lo-
calities are generally characterized by small creeks or springs of fresh-
water, of which the localities of the former class are mostly devoid.
Two palms, Corypha australis and Seaforthia elegans, and the won-
der of Australian forests, Dorymthes excelsa, adorn these localities.
3rd. The Argyle vegetation characterizes those park-like spots, with
their stately Eucalyptus trees growing at some distance from each
other, with very little underwood, which have attracted the notice of
travellers, from Tasman down to those of our times. The geological
features of this region consist of various rocks, the sandstone of the
coal formation excepted, which last never yields a good soil. The
genera of this class of vegetation are various grasses, Thlaspi,'Cera-
stium, Thymus, Scandix, Hydrocotyle, Dianella, Exarrhena, Silene,
Hypericum, &c., many of them European forms, and soft juicy
plants. Where this vegetation occurs are to be found some of the
most advantageous parts of the colony for the purposes of grazing.
4th. The Menero vegetation comprehends the Flora of those exten-
sive downs which extend on the east side of the Alps to the extent
of more than a hundred miles, and which are capable of maintaining
vast numbers of sheep and other cattle. These downs present a dif-
* General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the Botany of
Terra Australis, p. 586.
1839.] Linnean Society, 1$
ferent aspect in different seasons, being in some covered with the
most luxuriant herbage, which at other times is parched and dried
up. Many genera of the preceding class occur in these localities,
besides Lythrum, Epilohium, Potentilla, Leuzea, Rumex, and other
European genera. The author regrets that the season was too far
advanced to examine the Graminea; and Cyperaceee, which abound
in this region.
5th. Alpine vegetation. — This was traced by the author to the
summit of Mount WiUiam the Fourth.* These mountains being very
extensive, will yield a great harvest to future travellers. The few
plants collected by the author in this first investigation were two
species of Gentiana, Mniarum, Sphagnum, Dracophyllum, Azeroe, Co-
prosma, Podolepis, some of the latter genus being three feet high.
February 19.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Mr. George Dickie, of Aberdeen, was elected an Associate of the
Society.
Read, ** Extracts from Letters addressed to Dr. Royle, V.P.R. &
F.L.S., Prof. Mat. Med., King's College." By Dr. Falconer, Super-
intendent of the Hon. E. I. C.'s Garden, Saharunpore.
Under date of January 24, 1837, from Saharunpore, Dr. Falconer
gives a general report of the state of the garden.
*' The Bixa Orellana," he remarks, " now flowers and fruits freely.
The umbelliferous flowered Panax, near the cinnamon tree, is now
a large and lofty tree, and there are numbers of it all over the gar-
den. The Bombay Mangoes and Leechees are abundant with us.
The medicinal garden still gives the annual supply of Hyoscyamus,
and the Canal nursery turns out about 2000 teaks. The Otaheite
sugar cane, brought up by Colvin, is likely soon to spread all over
the district ; it has succeeded famously here, and I have now in pre-
paration about a couple of beegahs of ground outside the garden for
it. I am also preparing for sowing about twenty beegahs with up-
land Georgia cotton seed, which will undoubtedly be most success-
* According to a recent calculation, made from the degree of temperature
at wliich water boiled on the top of this mountain (viz. 196°), it possesses an
absolute height of SOOO feet, being by far the highest point reached hitherto
by any traveller in Australia.
14 Linnean Society. [Feb. 19,
ftil ; it ripens before the Bourbon cotton comes into flower. Tliis
last season I got a few pods of Egyptian cotton, of the garden
growth ; the seed only reached me on the 15th of July, six weeks at
the least too late, and it did not all ripen before the frosts, but what
did ripen was long, fine, and strong in the staple, and the pods
large. I expect to have a better account of it at the end of this
season. I have also some Peruvian seed to experiment on.
** The herbarium has been largely added to. The family of all others
that has yielded most additions perhaps is the Orchideee. There
are upwards of thirty epiphytous species growing on the trees in the
garden, and many more in the herbarium ; some of them are most
interesting additions : one of them is a triandrous Dendrobium,
D. normcUe, Fal. The three anthers are not the only singularity
about it. The flower is perfectly regular ; the three sepals being
exactly equal, as are also the three petals, which, although of the
same length, are twice as broad as the sepals. The column is also
symmetrical, and as there is no labellum, it is difficult when the
flower is removed from the axis to find out which of the petals re-
presents the lip. Further, and what is most interesting of all, it
clearly shows what is the normal position of the supplementary an-
thers in the family. Lindley makes them alternate with the lateral
petals ; while Brown, from the structure of Apostasia and Cypripe-
dium, states that they alternate with the lateral sepals, and belong
to a diff'erent whorl from the fertile anther. In my plant it is most
distinctly evident, both by a decurrent ridge on each filament
and by transverse sections of the column at all heights down to
its base, that the supplementary anthers have the same relative
position as the usual fertile one, and in harmony with Lindley's for-
mula. Further, I have another variety of the species, in which the
column is sliced ofi^ in front as is usual in the genus, and then the
labellar petal is invariably developed into a spurred lip, so that it
would appear that in the family the irregularity of the lip is a state
of anamorphosis consequent on the imperfect development of the
column, or vice versd ; in fact, that the deficiency of the one is abs-
tracted to make up the excess of the other. Next I discovered an-
other genus of the tribe Gastrodice, with a monophyllous perianth, the
segments, sepals and petals being united for two-thirds of their length
into a tube. I found it on Dhunoultee, and have called it Gamo-
plexis ; it has the habit and look of an Orobanche, I have found
also a magnificent Malaxideous genus, standing, when in flower, 9
feet. You never saw a more superb affair, with rich yellow flowers
like the Cyrtopera. I have called it Thysanochilus. The seed-vessel
1839.] Linnean Society. 15
has no ribs, and in one flower of it I found a plurality of stamens.
I have several other new genera, which it would tire you to de-
scribe. Talking of Dhunoultee, I found Wallich's Fraxinus flori-
bunda growing on the ridge half-way between it and Landour, close
to the road. You remember the description you give of the irregu-
larity of the Paris polyphylla in Wallich's Plantae Asiaticae, — I found
the Podophyllum Emodi growing intermixed with it, and strange to
say, as if bewitched with the same turn for vagaries, with every
number of stamens from 6 to 10, and in almost every flower one
filament bearing two anthers, and that filament invariably the one
opposite the petiole of the flower-bearing leaf. In one flower I found
the following irregularities : 6 petals, 10 anthers, 7 filaments, or
stamens if you like ; on one filament 3 anthers, on another 2, and the
remaining 5 regular. Singular that it and the Paris should grow
together and both so irregular."
Under date of January 26, 1838, from Cashmere, whither he had
proceeded on a Botanic mission in connexion with Sir Alex. Burnes's
Expedition, Dr. F. says, " I am now wintering in Cashmere, with the
prospect before me of pushing across through Little Thibet towards the
Kuenlun Mountains when the snow clears. I started from Loodiana,
where, by the by, I got the Butomus umhellatus in flower and fruit,
new, I believe, to the plains of India ; and after a few days at Lahore,
I marched on through the Punjab to Attock in the month of July ; no
rains and fearful heat in the sandy plains I went along. From the want
of rain and my route being through an open plain I did not glean much
in my march. The Flora is exactly that of the neighbourhood of Delhi;
Peganum Harmala everywhere, with Capparidea, Crotolaria Bushia,
Calotropis Hamiltonii, Alhagi Maurorum, Tamarix, Acacia modesta,
&c. &c. Near Lahore I got what I believe to be anew Asclepiadeous
genus exactly intermediate between Calotropis and Paratropis, with
the angular and saccate sinued corolla, membrane lipped anthers and
corona of the former, but the coronal leaflets cleft and the pollen
masses oval and ventricose as in the latter, with other peculiar cha-
racters besides. It is a low, twining, small, fleshy, lance- leaved under-
shrub. I have called it provisionally jBM^ro/?i5. It is in great abundance
in the Punjab. I met with the Dhak (Buteafrondosa) as far as the west-
ern bank of the Jhelum. The Flora begins to change atRawulPindee,
which is elevated and continuous so on to the plain of Chuch, along
the banks of the Attock. Here I first came on the famous Zuetoon,
the wild olive, Olea ? and further on, at Hussan Abdal, I found
Himalayan Rubi and a Cashmeer Dianthus, white flowered and new
16 Linnean Society, [Feb. 19,
to you. Near Attock I joined the party, having marched hitherto
alone. We halted at Attock, the dry arid hills of which have a pecu-
liar vegetation. We crossed the noble Indus at Attock ; a fearful
ferry, in the rains the river running eight knots an hour. The
lower part of the plain of Peshawur, where we now were, is sandy,
and has exactly the Flora of the arid tracts of the Punjab ; Salsolas,
Chenopodea, Alhagi, Calotropis, Peganum, Tamarix, &c. But when
we got to Peshawur, so much do the seasons differ that i)eaches
were coming into fruit the 15th of August, and the Kurreel {Cap-
paris aphylla) out of flower only lately. From Peshawur I made an
excursion to Cohaut, and from thence to the Salt Hills and the
valley of Rungush. In the Salt Hills I got a Stapeliaceous Asclepiad,
unfortunately neither in flower nor fruit, very probably one of Wight's
Carallumas or Boucerosias. Also the Cassia obovata, the Egyptian
senna in flower. I had previously got the same plant from near Delhi,
no doubt about the species ; certainly not the ohtusa of Roxb. ; the
legumes always crested over the bulge of the seeds. I got numerous
other plants. From Peshawur Burnes started for Cabul, and Mackeson
and I for Cashmeer. From Attock, Mackeson went by the straight
militar}'- road, as he was on a military survey, while I made an
attempt to run up the Indus into the hills. I got on three marches
and was forcibly stopped at Durbund (look at Burnes's map) and
threatened with rather rough usage. I then turned across the hills
and rejoined my companion in the noble valley of Huzara. The vege-
tation along the banks of the Indus from Attock to Durbund surprised
me much. It is quite that of the characteristic forms of the Deyra
Dhoon, and taking difference of latitude and altitude into account,
with the great distance westward, this might not have been looked for ;
Grislea tomentosa, Rottlera tinctoria, Hastingia coccinea, Acacia Ca-
techu, Holostemma, &c. On the banks of the Indus, in the valley lead-
ing up to Cashmeer from Huzara, I found the Dodonoea Burmanniana.
You remark in your notice of the. Sapindacea its absence from the
Bengal and Hindoostan region. Its occurrence with a leap further
north is remarkable. From Huzara we marched on by the Paklee
road to Mosufferabad. Near Drumbur I came on the Hovenia dulcis.
At Mosufferabad I got on a high ridge, and followed it on to Cash-
meer, where we arrived early in October. It was now too late in
the season to exhaust the Flora of the valley and neighbourhood, so
I made up my mind to winter here and make a fresh start in spring.
It would take pages to contain what I have observed about the Flora
here, late as I came. It has several anomalies ; few if any oaks de-
scend on the northern side of the Peerpunjal into the valley. I have
1839.] Linnean Society, 17
not seen one yet. I have selected oaks as a very characteristic type.
The same holds with respect to the plants that are associated with
the oaks, &c. about Mussourie. In the lake you see Nelumbium
and Euryaleferox, growing dlon^vfiXh. Menyanthes trifoliata\ and
cotton, a poor sort, growing on the banks, while the sides of the
bounding hills are skirted with pines. I got Staphylea Emodi grow-
ing along with Ribes Grossuiaria (your Himalense ?), while it grows
as you know at Mussourie on low slopes near Budraj. The Prurigos
pabularia grows in the valley. I found it most abundant on Ahatoong,
a low trap hill on the valley, but it is not so vigorous a plant as in
its Thibetian habitat. I expect in the summer to get as far north
as lat. 36° at the least on the Kuenlun or Kara Korun range, a
most desirable tract to explore, as it will be clear beyond Hima-
layan vegetation, partly characteristic of that of central Asia. I have
already seen enough to convince me from a trip to the Thibet
frontier to near Durass, that the Flora ahead will bear a close re-
semblance in many general relations to that of the Altai Mountains
shown by Ledebour and yourself."
" Deosir, Cashmeer, June 20, 1838.
" I have written to you twice from Cashmeer. I have been going
leisurely all round the valley, and into all the subordinate valleys
which radiate on all sides from the great one. I have made many
acquisitions. Among Ranunculacece I have got species of Hepatica,
Ceratocephalus, and Callianthemum, all of which I believe to be new,
and making up the very blanks you notice in your ' Illustrations.*
Of Callianthemum, I have no knowledge, besides your quotation, but
my plant has leaves with umbelliferous habit, 8 white strap-shaped
clawed petals, with the nectariferous pore high up on the claw, and
a pendulous ovulum. It cannot therefore be a Ranunculus, nor your
R. pimpinelloides. Further, I have got anew Ranunculaceous genus,
new unless Jacquemont has got it, having the habit of Trollius in its
leaves and mode of inflorescence, 8 herbaceous sepals, 24 strap-
shaped petals, plane with no fovea at the claw, and solitary trans-
versely attached ovula, being neither pendulous nor erect. It forms
a transition from Adonis to the Ranunculece. This is another
blank filled up in the desiderata so pointedly mentioned by you. I
have called the genus Chrysocyathus^ It grows intermixed with
Trollius, ' inter nives deliquescentes,' and till I examined it I took it
for a Trollius. I have got a new species of Adoxa, forming I believe
the second of the genus, A. inodora (mihi), a larger plant than
the A. Moschatellina, and with the lateral flower 12-androus, and
No. III. — Proceedings of the Linxean Society.
18 JAnnean Society . [Feb. 19,
6 segments in the flowers. I have also a new Epimedium, a large
handsome leaved herb, E. hydaspidis (mihi), and two species o{ Al-
chemilla. Fritillaria imperialis, the Crown Imperial of English gardens,
grows wild in the lofty shady forests of Cashmeer. The Cashmerees
regard it to be unlucky, and grow it only near musjids and over graves.
Fothergilla involucrata (mihi), belonging to the Hamamelideee, exists
in vast abundance in Cashmeer, forming whole tracts of low jungle ;
— strange that it should not have been brought before either to you
or to me. It occupies the place that the hazel {Corylus Avellana)
does in England, and at a little distance does not look unlike it.
Thus, Hamamelidece are found at opposite ends of the Himalaya
range, Bucklandia and Sedgwickia in Assam, and Fothergilla in Cash-
meer, but none of the family have yet been met with in the interme-
diate tracts. Prang OS pabularia I have found in vast abundance in
several directions, but the Cashmerees do not know it for any useful
purpose, except as a plant highly prized by Europeans. They some-
times use the roots to destroy worms, by steeping them in Dhaun
fields as Calamus {hutch) is used in Hindoostan. The UmbelUfera
have not come into fruit yet, so I do not know much of my new ac-
quisitions, but I have got among others a species of Turgenia, a genus
which I believe is new to the Himalayas. My brother wrote me
that you were inquiring about Koot and Amomum. Koot is ex-
ported from Cashmeer : it is a plant of the natural family of Compo^
sitce, which has not yet come into flower, but I shall let you know
about it hereafter. Amomum, Humama, or Amamoon, is not known
in Cashmeer nor to be had at the Piensarees. I have got a magni-
ficent species of Ornithogallum ?, with a scape 7 feet high : the Cash-
merees call it Prustereen, and prize it highly as a culinary vegetable.
I have had Dodonaa brought to me from above Jummos in the heart
of the hills, growing along the banks of the Chenab. I mentioned
to you in a former letter some of the anomalies I had met with in
the absence of forms common elsewhere ; not an oak, nor Andromeda,
Rhododendron arboreum, Mahonia nepalensis, &c., have I yet found,
though so common in the hills elsewhere. I have got Sparganium
{carinatum, mihi), Butomus and Villarsia Nymphoides from the jhils.
A species of Sagittaria is used here as a Cashmeree Salep, the natives
collecting the roots as in China. The Coniferce are, as to the east-
ward, 3 pines, 2 or 3 firs and Deodar, but I have not seen the Cu-
pressus torulosa, the lofty cypress of the Mussourie hills."
1839.] Linnean Society. 19
March 5 .
Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Read, " Observations on some Fungi or Agarici, which by de-
liquescence form an inky fluid, drying into a bister-coloured mass,
capable of being used as a water-colour for drawings, and of a very
indestructible nature by means of common agencies." By John
Redman Coxe, M.D., formerly Professor of Materia Medica in the
University of Pennsylvania. Communicated by the Secretary.
Dr. Coxe having gathered a Fungus and placed it on a sheet of
white paper, leaving it until the next day, found several drops of an
inky fluid, slowly trickling from the inner surface, which had as-
sumed a black appearance ; by placing the Fungus in a glass, the
whole except the outer skin liquefied. The colour of the fluid was
rather a deep bister than black, and being left in the glass, in a few
hours it separated into a solid sediment, with a lighter coloured fluid
swimming above. Having afterwards collected a considerable quan-
tity of fluid from the same species, he obtained by drying an extract
of a pretty deep black colour of both parts conjoined, which would
otherwise have separated. This on trial formed an admirable bister-
like water-colour, well adapted for drawing when mixed with a little
gum.
Dr. Coxe used the " fresh inky fluid as ink, and from such fresh
fluid the accompanying drawings were made ;" but it was soon found
that its change was too rapid to think of depending on it for such a
purpose, he therefore was led to dry it as quickly as possible by
spontaneous evaporation, and then to use it diluted with water.
Having exposed various portions of writing thus made to the direct
rays of the sun for several months with little change, he tried the
eff'ects of chlorine and euchlorine gas, muriatic acid, and ammoniacal
gases : from these but a trifling change ensued, except from the mu-
riatic acid gas, which destroyed very considerably the dark tint of
the writings. He also placed some small and recent specimens of the
Fungus in a solution of corrosive sublimate, which preserved them
and prevented any deliquescence : the same eff^ect was produced by
alcohol.
The ink is fully formed and escapes in about three or four days.
When received into a phial, in a short time the heavier and blacker
matter was found to settle as a sediment ; the lighter brownish amber-
coloured fluid surmounts it, and may be poured off" from it to dry them
20 Linnean Society. [March 5,
separately. From a good sized specimen nearly half an ounce of
fluid has been obtained.
The following chemical experiments among others were made : —
1. Two drachms of the fluid added to J 1 of hydrate gave a clear
brown transparent solution, to which in separate glasses was added
2. Nitrate of Silver : no effect at first, but in a few minutes dark
brown flocculi subsided, leaving a transparent fluid above.
3. Muriate of Barytes : no efi^ect at first, finally a subsidence of
dark brown flocculi.
4. Acetate of Lead. Immediate dark brown flocculi, leaving a
clear liquid above.
5. Carbonate of Potash. Transparency destroyed ; a trifling brown
deposit in a few hours.
6. Alcohol. No apparent change from it.
7. Solution of Corrosive Sublimate. An apparent diflfiision of brown-
ish hue, gradually subsiding in dirty brown flocculi.
8. Dilute Muriatic Acid. The same, but much smaller in amount.
10. Lime Water. Light brown flocculi in a few hours.
1 1 . Liquor Ammonia. No efi^ect.
12. Succinate of Ammonia. Deep brown deposit in a few hours.
13. Prussiate of Potash. No eff"ect.
14. Oxalate of Ammonia. Clouds form and settle in a dirty brown
sediment.
From these experiments Dr. Coxe is disposed to think that an ex-
cellent India Ink might be prepared for drawing ; perhaps its dried
deposit mixed with oil might answer for engravings ; and as an ink,
indestructible from any common agents, it might be well to try it in
the filling up of bank notes and other papers of consequence, as he
believes it cannot be extracted by any means without destroying the
paper itself.
The Fungus described, and on which the above experiments were
tried, is referred with some hesitation to Agaricus ovatus, Schseff^er,
' Icones Fungorum,' fig. 7. A. cylindricus, fig. 8. A. porcellaneus,
fig. 46. and 47. The drawings are named Agaricus ovatus"*".
• The drawings evidently represent Agaricus fmetarius, Linn, and Curtis;
A. comatus, Mull, and Berkeley ; A. cylindricus, Sowerby ; to which A. cy-
lindricus, Schaeff. f.8. and A. porcellaneus, figs. 46 & 47. belong; it is not
so clear that A. ovatus, fig. 7. (the name adopted by Dr. Coxe) does. In the
subgenus named by Berkeley Coprinus every species is deliquescent. Curtis
observes, under his A. ovatus, which is A. atramentarius. Bull, and Berk.,
that the seeds may he seen in the black liquor if magnified.
1839.] Linnean Society, 21
ft
March 19.
Edward Forster, Esq., V. P., in the Chair.
Robert John Ashton, Esq., Brompton; Patrick Leigh Strachan,
Esq., of the Civil Service, Sierra Leone; and Alfred White, Esq.,
Islington, were elected Fellows of the Society.
Read, " A Notice of the Birds of Iceland, accompanied by speci-
mens." By George Townshend Fox, Esq., F.L.S.
It is perhaps not generally known that the Durham University
has established a Museum as one of the necessary appendages of an
academical institution ; the subcurator of which, Mr. Wm. Proctor,
requested and obtained permission to go out to Iceland in the summer
of 1837 to procure a collection of the birds of that island. Three
months were passed on the most northern part of Iceland, this local-
ity being chosen by Mr. Proctor as one least visited by naturalists,
and therefore the most likely to repay his labours by the number or
rarity of the specimens to be obtained. Skins of fifty-two species of
birds were brought home, besides skins of six Rein Deer, three spe-
cies of Seals, two large Fishes (Anarrhicas), and a Porpoise,
Frederick Faber in his Ornithology of Iceland, published at Copen-
hagen in 1822, enumerates eighty-four species of birds; of which
about twenty are land birds, and sixty water birds. Faber adopted the
nomenclature of Linnaeus, but an examination of the skins brought
home by Mr. Proctor has led to the belief that several of Faber's
birds are not identical with the Linnean species. The Iceland
Falcon is considered by Mr. Hancock* as distinct from the whiter
falcon of Greenland. The Iceland Grouse is correctly considered
by Faber as peculiar to that island. The Bridled Guillemot, Uria
lacrymans, Lapyl., is for various reasons believed to be a species
distinct from the Common Guillemot, Uria Troile, Lath. Clangula
Barrovii was found breeding on the ground in a nest formed of
its own down, and placed among aquatic plants a little above high-
water mark. Some rare eggs were also obtained, namely, those of
the Iceland Falcon, Little Auk, Bridled Guillemot, and Sclavonian
* Grebe.
Read also a paper, "On the Structure and Development of
the Reproductive organs of Pihlaria glohuliferay In a letter to
* See Mr. Hancock's paper on this subject in the * Annals of Natural
History,' vol. ii. p. 241.
i2 Linnean Society. [March 19,
R. H. Solly, Esq., F.R.S. and L.S. By William Valentine, Esq.,
F.L.S.
The author observes, that the involucrum of Pilularia globulifera
contains two kinds of bodies, which, however, occupy distinct sacs ;
one kind are round, very numerous, and minute, not larger than the
460th part of an inch ; they are found principally in the upper part
of the involucrum, and are about forty in each sac. The other kind
are of an oblong pyriform shape, a little constricted near the middle,
with a conical projection at one extremity, and are much less nu-
merous, about sixty, and occur singly in each sac ; they are about
the 80th part of an inch broad, and have the power of germination,
which the former kind do not appear to possess. Both kinds are
loose in their sacs, and have an opake, pure white, minutely granular,
testaceous covering, and are imbedded in a kind of gelatin, which
softens and expands by the action of water, but is not completely
dissolved. The larger bodies, the undoubted sponiles, after a very
slight maceration in water, (less than a minute is sufficient,) are en-
veloped by a well-defined covering of gelatinous matter, which be-
fore the maceration existed in a concrete state. Further macera-
tion does not appear to affect this gelatinous covering, as it remains
unchanged long after germination, and gives to the sporule the ap-
pearance of having a very delicate transparent border, whose breadth
is about the 4th part of .the diameter of the sporule.
The sporule consists of three coats, the outer of which is white,
opake, somewhat brittle, more or less incomplete at the conical ex-
tremity, but much thickened about the upper third of the sporule,
where it exhibits traces of cellularity. The middle coat iS mem-
branous, elastic, of a light yellowish brown colour, and perforated at
the apex of the conical projection which is essentially formed by
this coat, the outer coat being gradually lost upon its surface, or in
some instances being scarcely continued on to it, in which case the
sporule appears truncated, the middle membrane not having sufficient
firmness of itself to support the conical form. This conical projec-
tion is more or less plicated, and in those instances in which the outer
coat is very deficient the middle membrane exhibits lines radiating
from the aperture. The third coat, or internal membrane, is similar
in colour to the middle, differing from it however in being inelastic,
and not being continued into the cone, but forming a short cavity,
by passing directly across the base of the cone, at which point it is
not in contact with either of the other membranes, and is marked
by three lines, which radiate from the centre of the unsupported
portion, and indicate a valvular structure to allow of the protrusion
1839.] lAnnean Society. 23
of the growing matter in germination. The cavity of the sporule is
occupied by a quantity of grumous fluid and particles, which are of
various sizes, the larger ones being mostly of an ovoid shape, but
altering by pressure.
I found many of these sporules in a germinating state, the major-
ity having escaped from the involucrum, but in several instances I
found them considerably advanced in germination before the rupture
of the involucrum and whilst they were yet inclosed in their sacs.
The first external sign of germination is either the appearance of
four cells projecting through the apex of the conical projection
or a general swelling of that part. By dissection, however, we
can observe this process at an earlier period, and I find upon re-
moving the conical projection that the first evidence of germination
having commenced is an appearance of cellularity within the unsup-
ported or valved portion of the internal membrane, which is transpa-
rent ; and I now find for the first time a very delicate pellucid mem-
brane lining the whole cavity of the sporule, and having the cells
which give the appearance just mentioned either lying on its exter-
nal surface or forming that portion of it which lies beneath the valves.
From the appearances and impossibility of separating the cells from
the membrane I am inclined to believe that the cavity formed by this
membrane is completed by the cells, or, in other words, that the
sac is partly membranous and partly cellular. It is possible that
this last described membrane may exist before germination begins,
notwithstanding the numerous unsuccessful dissections which I
have made to discover it, the failure being owing to its extreme de-
licacy ; but I am pretty well satisfied that it is a product of germi-
nation, because I have not the slightest difl[iculty in demonstrating
it after that has commenced, nor is there the slightest trace of it in
any stage of the development of the sporule. However this may be, it
is quite certain that fresh cells are gradually formed on the external
surface of the cellular part of the sac, and that the valves of the
third membrane are very soon ruptured and gradually turned back
by the growth and protrusion of this button-like cellular germ.
The enlarging cellular mass then distends the conical projection,
unfolding the plicae of that body, and at length appears externally,
with four of its cells projecting beyond the general mass and com-
pressed into a quadrangular form, I fancy by the pressure of the apex
of the cone, the aperture in which is quadrangular. These projecting
cells soon harden and acquire a reddish brown hue, and in the ad-
vanced stage of germination ajipear like a brown quadrangular space,
which I should have little hesitation in referring to the above cause
24 Linnean Society. [March 19,
did I not find several similar spaces on the germinating sporules of
Isoetes lacustris, which I could not refer to such an origin : it must
be observed however that I have not seen the earlier stages of germi-
nation in Isoetes. Soon after the exposure of the entire germ, which
is effected by the reflexion of the valves and conical membrane over
the side of the sporule, where they lie quite concealed by the germ,
little fibrillse or rootlets begin to shoot from one side. They are
simply articulated tubes or elongated cells applied end to end with
frequently a bulbous extremity, and each is produced from one of
the cells of the germ. They differ much in length in different
sporules ; in some they are not longer than the sporule, whilst in
others they are three or four times that length, and, in common with
the cells of the germ, contain granules which in these are colourless
but in the germ green. The cluster-like appearance of the cells
which form the germ, soon after the appearance of these librillse be-
gin to change, the cells becoming flatter and more intimately con-
nected with each other. At the same time an internal change is taking
place, for by a gradual arching or receding upwards of that part of
the germ which closes the cavity of the sporule the germ becomes
hollow, the hollow communicating "with the cavity of the sporule,
which is of course proportionably enlarged. The germ now gra-
dually points in two places, which are by no means fixed, but occur
in various situations according to the position of the sporule in rela-
tion to the light. The direction of the first leaf is generally in the
direction of the axis of the sporule, or rather a little inclined, and
that of the first root at right angles or lateral, but very soon chan-
ging to an opposite direction to that of the leaf. This would be the
constant direction if the sporules were always left to themselves free
from entanglements, on account of the peculiar structure of their
outer coats ; the spongy fibro-cellular texture of the superior third
of which, causing that end to be the most buoyant in the water, ex-
poses the superior surface of the germ to the direct action of the
light ; but as it cannot always happen that the sporules should be
free, the direction of the leaf and root is sometimes quite the reverse,
and at others both leaf and root are lateral, but proceeding from
opposite sides of the germ. These two jioints gradually lengthen,
and if dissected each will be found to consist of a closed sheath, con-
taining in one instance the leaf, in the other the root in the form of
a conical process like a finger in a glove. The young leaf, which is
taper and its cells crowded with green granules, being in advance of
the root, which is obtuse and destitute of green granules, bursts
through the summit of its sheath when it has become rather longer
1839.] Linnean Society. U5
than the sporule, whilst the root, although more backward in its de-
velopment, pierces its sheath before it is as long as the sporule. The
sheaths are not distinct, but communicate with each other ; and the
only point of connexion between the sheath (there being in fact but
one) and the germ is around its base close to the sporule, so that
nearly the whole of the germ is inclosed in this sheath. Besides
this sheath which embraces the upper part of the root, there is an
exceedingly delicate expansion, which so closely embraces the ex-
tremity of the root like a cap, that it is only by a careful examina-
tion that it can be discovered. I am not aware that this has ever had
any connexion with the sheath through which the root bursts, but,
on the contrary, I believe it to be a distinct formation. After the
leaf has grown many times the length of the sporule, or about 2
lines long, another leaf grows from the germ close to the first, to
which it is in all respects similar, and then a bud begins to be de-
veloped from some indefinite part of the germ, but like the leaves
and root from within the sheath, which is now frequently much lace-
rated. This bud is covered by a peculiar kind of jointed hairs, whose
attachments are lateral, at a short distance from their bases, and
they contain a few colourless granules. This bud sometimes appears
after the first leaf, in which case there is no second primordial leaf
formed, and is the rudimentary stem, the first growth from it being
a leaf which exhibits, although in a small degree, the first evidence
of gyration, and shortly after a root which is furnished with its own
sheath. As I have not seen more advanced specimens, I am unable
to describe the succeeding steps; but as, up to this point, my obser-
vations were made upon several hundred examples, I may safely
aflirm that the instances were sufficiently numerous for my purpose.
All the leaves after the primordial ones, or those which grow direct
from the germ, are developed in a similar manner to ferns, and even
the running stem partakes in a slight degree of the same gyrate evo-
lution. The roots are all formed in sheaths, through the apices of
which they ultimately burst ; the sheath continuing to embrace the
base of the root, whilst a distinct and far more delicate sheath
closely embraces its point. Transverse sections of the stem, root,
and leaves show them all to be hollow with the cavity divided longi-
tudinally into separate channels. In the stem these longitudinal par-
titions are about fifteen or sixteen in number, and in the leaf and
root they are about ten or twelve, which in the latter £ure arranged
in pairs. These partitions radiate from a central column of enlarged
cells which surround a bundle of minutely dotted ducts that may be
unrolled spirally, and the channels between these partitions are fro-
26 Linnean Society. [March 19,
quently divided by transverse partitions or diaphragms. The cells
which form these partitions are curiously arranged — they are flat-
tened on two opposite sides, and connected with each other by their
narrow sides and extremities, but only at intervals, so that there are
numerous holes formed which aiFord a free communication between
all the channels. In the partitions of the root the intervening holes
are so large in proportion to the breadth of the cells that these have
the appearance of a string of beads. Another peculiarity of the
root is, that, in addition to the diaphragms formed of this tissue,
which are also found in the stem and leaf, a peculiar body is fre-
quently met with occupying a similar position to the diaphragms.
These bodies (for they are sometimes numerous) are each formed of
one or more cylindrical cells coiled up in a gyrate manner. They
grow from the angle formed by the partition and the cuticle, and
are developed subsequent to the other tissue, for they may be found
in various stages of advancement in the same root. Their nature I
have not been able to ascertain.
The author then proceeds to describe the development of the spo-
rules. A transverse section of the involucrum when about the size
of a small pin's head shows it to consist of four integuments, con-
taining a mass of very delicate spongy compressible cellular tissue,
subdivided into four equal triangular portions by four lines radiating
from the centre. In the centre of each of these portions is a cavity,
and projecting into each of these cavities are a number of nipple -
like processes which are attached in each cavity to a common recep-
tacle, whilst this again is connected with an open rigid cellular
tissue that lies between the spongy tissue before described and the
involucrum, and serves as a connexion between the two. As the
involucrum advances, the spongy tissue recedes all round the four
cavities, which consequently become larger and afford more space
for the growth of the nipple-like processes. This recession of the
spongy tissue is not caused by the pressure of the growing pro-
cesses, for it is frequently in advance of them ; but it is produced by
a gradual condensation inherent to the tissue around the cavities
and along the radiating dividing lines, which, in fact, are nothing
more than this condensation, which at maturity is so complete that
the whole of the spongy tissue is condensed into four dissepiments,
dividing the cavity of the involucrum into four equal loculi. The
nipple-like processes are found upon a careful examination to be
hollow sacs with obscurely cellular walls — those which occupy the
lowest part of the involucrum being considerably in advance of the
upper ones. These sacs contain a quantity of grumous matter, and
1839. J Linnean Society, 2J
a number, perhaps about ten, of soft rather opake pulpy bodies,
which are evidently compounded of four closely connected parts so
placed on each other as to form a cone with a triangular base.
April 2.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Henry Bingley, Esq., Queen's Assay Master, Royal Mint ; Joseph
Dickinson, M.B., Lecturer on Botany at the Philosophical Institu-
tion, Liverpool ; George Everett, Esq., Clapham ; and John Miers,
Esq., Chelsea, were elected Fellows of the Society.
Mr. Owen read. a Paper on a New Species of the genus Lepido-
siren of Fitzinger and Natterer. The author commenced by advert-
ing to the first announcement of that anomalous animal, the Lepido-
siren paradoxa, as the type of a new genus of Perennibranchiate
Reptiles by Fitzinger at the meeting of the German naturalists at
Prague in 1837, and to its subsequent description by its discoverer
Dr. Natterer, the well-known South American traveller.
With the generic characters assigned by these able German na-
turalists to their Lepidosiren, the species described by Mr. Owen
fully and closely agreed ; but it differed specifically in the greater
relative length of the head and rudimental extremities, and its much
smaller size.
Mr. Owen observed, that since the time of the discovery of the
Ornithorhynchus there had not been submitted to naturalists a spe-
cies which proved more strongly the necessity of a knowledge of its
whole organization, both external and internal, in order to arrive at
a correct view of its real nature and affinities, than did the Lepidosiren,
and as he had felt a reluctance to bring before the Society an in-
complete description, w^hich might only have served to raise new
doubts in the minds of naturalists with regard to this animal, he had
deferred since June 1837 the completion and communication of the
present paper. He had however at that time prepared a brief descrip-
tion of the specific characters of the specimen in question, under
the name of Protopterus, and had referred it in the Catalogue of the
Museum of the College of Surgeons to the Class of Fishes, on ac-
count of its scaly covering and the condition of its nostrils as plicated
sacs, and to the abdominal family of the Malacopterygian order'
of that class, in which it seemed to present an extreme modification
28 Linnean Society. [April 2>
or rudiraental condition of the fins indicative of a transition from the
abdominal to the apodal families.
The anatomical details which formed the principal part of the pre-
sent communication, confirmed the propriety of referring the LepU
dosiren to the class of fishes ; but they also led, Mr. Owen observed,
to a considerable extension in his original views of its affinities in
that class.
A minute description was then given of the external characters
and peculiarities of the present species, which differed from the Le-
pidosiren paradox a in the greater relative length of the head and ru-
dimental fins as compared with that of the trunk ; and in its general
size, which is three-fourths smaller.
The chief peculiarities of the skeleton consist in its imperfect, or
rather partial ossification, and in the green colour of the ossified
parts ; in which it resembles that of the gar-pike (Belone vulgaris).
The parts which continue permanently in the cartilaginous condition
are the petrous elements of the temporal bones containing the acoustic
labyrinth, a portion of the articular pedicle of the lower jaw, the
branchial arches, and the bodies of the vertebrae : these, moreover, are
not separated to correspond with the neurapophyses and ribs, as in
Plagiostomous Cartilaginous Fishes, but retain their primitive con-
fluent condition as a round continuous chord, extending from the oc-
ciput to the end of the tail : this vertebral chord consists of an ex-
ternal firm, elastic, yellowish capsule, enveloping a softer subgelati-
nous material, as in the Cyclostomous Fishes. The corresponding
parts or basilar elements of the cranial vertebrae were ossified : and
Mr. Owen then entered upon a detailed description of the skull.
The ribs are thirty- six pairs, and consist of short, slightly curved,
slender styles, encompassing, with the spine, about one-sixth part of
the cavity of the abdomen. These ribs are attached to the lower part
of the side of the fibrous sheath of the central vertebral chord ; their
pointed free extremities are cemented to the intermuscular ligaments.
The superior spines are throughout separated from the neurapo-
physes, and these are not anchylosed together at their upper extre-
mities. Hsemapophyseal spines are developed in the caudal region,
and both these and the neurapophyseal spines have articulated to
them dermo-osseous spines, of equal length, with their distal extre-
mities expanded, and supporting the transparent elastic horny rays
of the caudal fin. . The rudimental filiform pectoral and ventral
fins were supported each by a single cartilaginous ray composed of
many joints.
The muscles of the head, jaws, hyoid and branchial apparatus
1839.] Linnean Society, 29
were then described : the muscular system of the body consists of
subvertical layers of oblique fibres separated at brief intervals by
aponeurotic intersections.
The following peculiarities of the Digestive system were then
pointed out ; — two long, slightly curved, slender, sharp-pointed
teeth project from the intermaxillary bones, which are moveable.
The upper maxillary bones support each a single dental plate divi-
ded into three cutting lobes, by two oblique notches entering from
the outer side : the lower jaw is armed with a single dental plate si-
milarly modified, the produced cutting edges fitting into the notches
above : these maxillary teeth somewhat resemble the dental plate of
the extinct Ceratodus of Agassiz. The fleshy and sensitive parts of
the tongue are more developed than in fishes generally. The jaws
are adapted to minutely divide and comminute alimentary substances;
the pharyngeal opening is contracted ; the entrance to the pharynx
guarded by a soft semicircular valvular process. Gullet short, straight,
narrow, but longitudinally plicated. Stomach simple, straight, with
thick walls, in capacity corresponding with the oesophagus ; termi-
nating by a valvular pylorus projecting with a scalloped margin into
the intestine. No pancreas or spleen. Liver well-developed, partly
divided into two lobes. A gall-bladder, and large ductus choledochus,
opening by a valvular termination close to the pylorus. Intestine
round, straight, at first of equal diameter with the stomach, but gra-
dually contracting to the vent, with thick parietes ; traversed inter-
nally by a spiral valve describing six gyrations ; the first of which is
the longest.
The respiratory organs consist of branchiae, and a double elon-
gated air-bladder, with the usual vascular and cellular structure of
the lungs of a reptile.
The branchice consist of elongated, sub-compressed, soft, pendu-
lous filaments, attached to cartilaginous branchial arches; these
arches are not joined together, or to the os hyoides by an interme-
diate chain of cartilages or bones below, nor are they articulated to
the cranium above. There are six branchial arches on each side,
and five intervals for the passage of the water from the mouth to the
branchial sac. All the branchial arches do not support branchial
filaments ; but only the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth. The first and
last branchial arches each support a single row, the fourth and fifth
each a double row of branchial filaments. The second and third
branchial arches have their full proportions, but offer not the slight-
est trace of gills. The branchial sac is pretty large, and opens ex.<
ternally by a small vertical fissure immediately anterior to the ru-
dimental pectoral extremities.
30 Linhean Society. [A])ril 2,
The heart is situate below the oesophagus, in a strong pericardium ;
it consists of a single auricle and ventricle and a contorted bulbus
arteriosus, with a longitudinal valvular process as in the Siren. The
two branchial arteries, which wind round the gill-less arches, after-
wards unite together on each side, and give off branches which form
the pulmonary arteries, or those which go to the air-bladders.
The apparatus for aerial respiration commences by a short, single,
wide and membranous trachea, or ductus pneumaiicus, which com-
mences by a longitudinal laryngeal slit, one line in extent, situated
three lines behind the orifice of the pharynx : a single plate of car-
tilage is continued from this laryngeal opening forwards to that of
the pharynx : the plate is as broad as the floor of the pharynx, and
its office seems to be to prevent the collapse of the parietes of that
tube, and to keep a free passage for the air to the trachea. This tube
dilates at its lower end into a sac with very thin parietes, which com-
municates directly with each division or lobe of the air-bladder.
These lobes or lungs are partially subdivided into small lobes at their
anterior and broadest part ; and then continue simple and flattened,
gradually diminishing to an obtuse point situated behind the poste-
rior extremity of the cloaca. The whole of the parietes of the lungs
is honey-combed : the cells are largest, deepest and most vascular
and subdivided at the anterior and broader end of the lung. The
lungs are situated behind the ovaria, the kidneys, and the perito-
neum, which is in contact with merely that part of their ventral
flattened surfaces, not covered by other viscera.
The two kidneys are quite distinct, very long and narrow, but
broadest towards the cloaca : the ureters communicate with the back
part of the common termination of the oviducts. There were not
any suprarenal bodies, nor any spleen.
The ovaria are two long, flattened bodies, with ovisacs and ova of
difi*erent sizes : many between 2 and 3 lines in diameter, scattered
among clusters of other ova of smaller size. The oviducts are distinct
tortuous tubes, which commence by a very wide and thin-coated
portion, opening by a slit, 3 lines wide at their anterior extremity,
and not communicating with each other before opening into the pe-
ritoneal cavity, as in the Plagiostomes. The oviduct contracts and
performs many short undulations, adhering to the ovarian capsule
as it descends : its coats become thicker, and oblique spiral folds are
developed from the inner surface ; the capacity of the oviduct in-
creases before its termination, which is by a single prominent open-
ing, common to the two oviducts in the posterior part of the cloaca.
A small Allantois is situated between the oviduct and rectum.
The cloaca receives the above parts in the following order, — first, or
1839.] Linnean Society. 31
most anteriorly, the common opening of the peritoneal canals ; se-
condly, the anus ; thirdly, the AUantoid bladder ; fourthly, the ovi-
ducts, with the ureters, which open into the back part of the ovi-
ducts.
The brain consists of two elongated subcompressed distinct cere-
bral hemispheres ; a single elliptical optic lobe, or representative of
the bigeminal bodies ; a simple transverse cerebellar fold, not cover-
ing the widely- open fourth ventricle ; largely developed pineal and
pituitary glands ; and a single corpus mammillare.
The nerves given off from the brain, were the olfactory ; the optic,
which arose from the same point at the middle line between the
crura cerebri, and did not decussate ; the fifth pair ; the acoustic ; the
pneumogastric ; and lingual nerves : there were no traces of the third,
fourth, or sixth nerves ; there being no muscles to the eyeballs.
The eyes are very small, and adhere to the skin, which passes over
them without forming any projection ; they have a small spherical
lens, and no choroid gland.
The organ of hearing consists of a vestibule enclosed in a thick
cartilaginous case, without external communication except for the
foramina transmitting the portio mollis : it consists of two large
otolithic sacs, containing each a white chalky mass ; the external one
being six times the size of the one next the brain : above these sacs
are three small semicircular canals. No trace of tympanic cavity or
Eustachian tube.
The organ of smell consists of two oval membranous sacs, pli-
cated internally, and having each a single external aperture upon
the upper lip ; but without any communication with the mouth, — a
structure which the author obsei*ved was perhaps the only single
character which unexceptionably proved the Lepidosiren to be a true
fish. The remaining evidence of its ichthyic nature reposed rather
upon the concurrence of many less decisive characters.
These characters were stated to be, its covering of large round
scales ; the mucous ducts of the head and lateral line ; the many-
jointed soft ray supporting the rudimental pectoral and ventral fins ;
the gelatinous vertebral chord, united anteriorly to the whole of the
basi- occipital, and not to two condyles as in Batrachia; a prae-
opercular bone, the intermaxillary bone being moveable ; the lower
jaw having each ramus composed simply of a post-mandibular and
dentary piece ; the double row of spinous processes, both above and
below the vertebral chord ; the green colour of the ossified parts of
the skeleton ; the straight intestine, with its spiral valve ; the absence
of pancreas and spleen ; the single peritoneal outlet ; the position
32 Linnean Society, [April 16,
of the anus ; the single auricle of the heart ; the number of branchial
arches, and the internal position of the gills ; a long lateral nerve ;
acoustic labyrinth with large otolithes. These characters, with the
nasal sacs opening only externally, prove satisfactorily the Lepido-
siren to be a true Fish, and not a Perennibranchiate Reptile.
In the class of fishes, Mr. Owen pointed out the interesting rela-
tions of the Lepidosiren as a link connecting the Cartilaginous fishes
with the Malacopterygians, and especially with the Sauroid genera,
Polypterus and Lepidosteus, and at the same time making the near-
est approach in the class of fishes to the Perennibranchiate Reptiles.
For the species here described Mr. Owen proposed the name of
Lepidosiren annectens. It is a native of the river Gambia, Africa.
Aprill6.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Read, " Remarks on British Lichens and Fungi, principally on
species or varieties new to our Flora." By Churchill Babington,
Esq.
The object of Mr. C. Babington in this paper is to give descrip-
tions of some species or varieties of Lichens and Fungi hitherto un-
published in any British Flora, and also to communicate observa-
tions on the transit of monstrosities to their proper forms. The
Lichens brought into notice as not yet introduced into the British
Flora are, Lecanora elatina, Ach., from Rose Hall, Cumberland ;
Sterocaulon denudatum, Florke, (confounded with S. paschale) from
Scotland ; Lecidea nitidula, Fries, also from Scotland ; Lecidea mis-
cella, Ach., as distinct from L. miscella, Eng. Bot. ; Biatora Kro-
ckiana, Hoppe, from Isles of Rum and Skye ; Biatora anomala, Fr.,
from Yoxall Lodge ; Opegrapha signata, Ach., from Herefordshire ;
and Verrucaria margacea, Wahl., from Charnwood Forest. Among
the Fungi are, Agaricus Marine, Klotsch ; A. serrulatus, Fr. ; The-
lophora ferruginea, Pers. ; T. lactea, Fr. : T. Icevis, Pers. ; Peziza
I,edi, Alb. and Schw. ; Stictis Uchenicola, Mont. ; Sclerotium ro-
seum, KneifF. ; Spharia scoriadea, Fr. ; S. mesiota, Bab. ; S. rhy-
tismoides, Bab. ; S. arbuticola, Fr. ; . calcaratum, umbellis pedunculatis sub-5-flori8, sepalis lanceolatis
acutiuscuHs basi long^ calcaratis, antheris filamentis stigmatibusquc
stylo tripl6 longioribus, foliis ovato-lanceolatis sessilibus.
Uvularia calcarata. Wall. Cat. n. 5087.
2. D. WalUchii, umbellis subsessilibus sub-S-floris, sepalis lanceolatis
acuminatis, calcaribus rectis abbreviatis, antheris filamentis 4-pld bre-
vioribus, stylo stigmatibus longiore, foliis ovato-lanceolatis subpetio-
latis.
Uvularia Hamiltoniana, B. et C. Wall. Cat. n. 5088.
3. Z). Hamiltonianum, umbellis pedunculatis sub-5-floris, sepalis lanceo-
latis acutis, calcaribus abbreviatis recurvis, antheris filamentorum longi-
tudine, stylo stigmatibus subaequali, foliis ovato-lanceolatis subpetio-
latis.
Uvularia Hamiltoniana, A. Wall. Cat. n. 5088.
U. Betua. Ham. MSS.
4. D. Horsfieldii, umbellis pedunculatis sub-5-floris, sepalis spathulatis
mucronatis puberulis, antheris filamentis dupl6 brevioribus, stylo stig-
matibus duplo longiore, foliis ovato-lanceolatis subpetiolatis.
Uvularia Hamiltoniana, D. Wall. Cat. n. 5088.
5. D. Leschenaultianum, umbellis sessilibus 3 — 5-floris, sepalis ovato-
lanceolatis acutis basi gibbosis, antheris filamentis vix dupld breviori-
bus, stylo stigmatibus ter longiore, foliis ovatis subpetiolatis.
Uvularia Leschenaultiana. Wall. Cat. n. 5089.
6. D. Pitsutum (Don, Prodr. p. 50.), umbellis pedunculatis 7 — 9-floris,
sepalis cuneato-lanceolatis obtusiusculis basi gibbosis, antheris fila-
mentis ter brevioribus, stylo stigmatibus dupld longiore, foliis lanceo-
latis subpetiolatis.
7. D. parviforum (Don, Prodr. p. 50.), umbellis subsessiUbus 2— 7-floris,
sepalis lanceolatis acuminatis basi gibbosis, antheris filamentis dupld
brevioribus, stigmatibus stylo ter brevioribus, foliis lanceolatis subpeti-
olatis.
8. D. fulvum (Salisb. in Hort. Trans, i. p. 330.), umbellis sessilibus sub-
4-floris, sepalis lanceolatis acutis basi breviter calcaratis, antheris fila-
mentis vix brevioribus, stigmatibus styli longitudine, foliis lanceolatis
subpetiolatis.
The author concludes his paper with the description of a new and
nearly-related genus, founded upon a plant which was introduced
by Mr. Allan Cunningham from New South Wales into the Royal
Botanic Garden at Kew, in 1823, and which is remarkable for its
unenclosed embryo, and for the singular appendages, similar to
those of Parnassia, which are seated at the inner base of the sepals.
The following is the description of this interesting genus : —
46 Linnean Society. [Dec. 3,
TRIPLADENIA.
Perianthium 6-phyllum, petaloideum, patens, aequale, deciduum : foliolis
aestivatione involutis, basi biappendiculatis ! sessilibus. Stamina 6,
toro, nee basi sepalorum inserta. AnthercB erectae, extrorsae, bilocu-
lares, duplici rima longitudinal! dehiscentes. Ovarium liberum, trilo-
culare : loculis biovulatis : ovulis campylotropis, collateralibus, erectis.
Stigmata 3, recurvata. Pericarpium subbaccatum, 3-loculare, 3-valve,
loculicido-dehiscens : loculis 1 — 2-spermis. Semina sub-orbiculata, hinc
convexa, inde angulata, v. concaviuscula, glabra, nitida, colore suc-
cinea, hilo maxime fungoso-strophiolato, cbalaza orbiculata concava
fuscH, raphide dimidio seminis vix breviori, elevata : testa tenui, mem-
branacea: albumen copiosum, corneum, album. Embryo oblongus,
albus, hinc convexus, inde planiusculus, more Graminum extra albumen
locatus, eodemque facie plana applicatus, funiculo maxime strophiolato
solummodo obtectus ! extremitate radicular! (cauliculari) paullo latiori.
Herba (Novae Hollandiae) perennis, rhizomate multicepite, caulibus subsim-
plicibus multangulis, foliis amplexicaulibus ovato-lanceolatis, pedunculis
axillaribus solitariis unijloris infra medium articulatis involucrelloque
3-phyllo munitis.
1. T. Cunninghamii.
December 3.
Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Edward S. Blundell, M.D., Lower Seymour-street, Portman-
square, was elected a Fellow ; and the Rev. William Stobbs, Strom-
ness, Orkney, was elected an Associate of the Society.
The Rev. "W. S. Hore exhibited a specimen of a remarkable va-
riety of Duck, supposed to be hybrid between the Anas Boschas
and Anas acuta of Linnaeus,
Read, ** Descriptions of three Vegetable Monstrosities lately found
at York." By the Rev. W. Hincks, F.L.S.
Two of these monstrosities occur in species of Iris and much re-
semble each other. The species are /. versicolor and /. sambucina.
They have 5 parts in each circle, except that the inner circle of pe-
tals consists of 4 in one instance and only 3 in the other. It is suf-
ficiently manifest that they are produced by the union of two flowers
to form each, and they lead to the conclusion that when Irises with
4 parts in each circle occur (which are not very uncommon) they are
1839.] Linnean Society, 4J
unions of two flowers, one third part of each having perished in the
junction. Various other monstrosities consisting in the union of
two flowers were compared with the subjects of the description, par-
ticularly some of QEnothera, flowers having 7 petals, 14 stamens,
and 7 stigmas, where the parts preserved in the union are in exactly
the same proportion as in the Irises.
The third specimen described as a monstrous union of 4 flowers
in Scrophularia nodosa. The flower-stalk may be perceived to be
formed by the adherence of several stalks. The parts found are 15
sepals, 16 petals, 20 stamens, 2 separate ovaria, each with 2 carpels,
and a third ovarium formed by the adherence of 2 more, and con-
sisting of 8 carpels. Explanations were attempted of the manner in
which the union of 4 flowers would account for these numbers of
parts. The increased developement of the circle of stamens, 5 ap-
pearing for each flower, though of these several are united in threes
together, and two are imperfect, and the increased number of carpels
in two of the united flowers, are interesting facts. They show that
the union of the flowers had the eff^ect of diminishing and rendering
more equable the pressure on the interior circles so as to allow of
the growth of parts which are usually abortive.
There was also read, ** A monograph of Streptopus, with the de-
scription of a new genus now first separated from it." By D. Don,
Esq., Libr.L.S., Prof. Bot. King's College.
The genus Streptopus was established by the elder Richard in
Michaux's ' Flora Boreali-Americana,' and was intended to include,
besides the Uvularia amplexifoUa of Linnaeus, which is to be regarded
as the type, two other species, then entirely new to botanists, namely,
jS. roseus and lanuginosvs. The first is common to Europe and Ame-
rica, while the two last are confined to the latter continent. A fourth
species, a native of Gosaingthan and Kamaon, was described under
the name of simplex in the ' Prodromus Florae Nepalensis.' The lanu-
ginosus is considered by Professor Don as the type of a new genus,
which he has named Prosartes, and which is distinguished from
Streptopus by its lengthened filaments, binary pendulous ovula, and
terminal inflorescence. In Streptopus the filaments are short, with
erect sagittate anthers, the cells of its baccate pericarpium are po-
lyspermous, the seeds erect, and the flowers are axillary and solitary.
Both genera belong to the SmilacetE, and serve to connect that family
with Meianthacea. The characters of the new genus and of the
species belonging to both are here subjoined : —
48 Linnean Society, [Dec. 3,
1. S. amplexifolius (Lam. et DeCand. Fl. Franc. 3. p. 174.), glaber;
pedunculis medio convolutis appendiculatis, sepalis obtus^ acumi-
natis, antheris sagittatis acuminatis, stigmate trilobo, baccae loculis
6-spermis.
2. S. roseus (Mich. Fl. Bor. Amer. i. p. 201.), hirtellus; foliis ciliatis, pe-
dunculis recurvatis subbifloris, sepalis lanceolatis acuminatis, antheris
bicuspidatis filamentorum longitudine, stigmatibus stylo 6-pl6 brevi-
oribus, baccae loculis 4 — 6-spermis.
3. S. simplex (Don, Prodr. p. 48.), glaber ; pedunculis rectis ! nudis, se-
palis obtusis, antheris cordato-lanceolatis obtusis, stigmatibus styli sub-
longitudine, baccae loculis 10 — 12-spermis.
PROSARTES.
Streptopi sp., Mich.
Perianthium 6-phyllum, petaloideum, campanulatum, sequale, deciduum :
folioUs basi foveolatis v. saccatis. Stamina 6, basi sepalorum adnata,
simulque decidua. Antherce erectae, innatae, obtusje, biloculares, rim4
duplici marginali longitudinaliter dehiscentes. Ovarium liberum, 3-
loculare : loculis biovulatis : ovulis obovatis, a placentae apice pendulis !
Stigmata 3, brevissima, recurvata. Pericarpium baccatum, 3-loculare.
Semina solitaria, v. rarius bina.
Herbae (Amer. bor.) perennes, pube ramosd vestitcB, rhizomate diviso mul-
ticepiie. Caules teretiusculi. Folia sessilia, dilatata. Inflorescentia
terminalis, umhellata. Bacca rubra.
1. P. lanuginosa, umbellis bifloris sessilibus, sepalis lanceolatis acumi-
natis 3-nerviis basi foveolatis, stylo glabro, foliis cordato-ovatis subam-
plexicaulibus utrinque pubescentibus.
2. P. Menziesiiy umbellis sessilibus bifloris, sepalis oblongis mucronatis 6-
nerviis margine revolutis basi saccatis, stylo longissimo piloso, foliis
ovatis sessilibus glabriusculis.
This new species is a native of the north-west coast of America,
where it was first found by Mr. Menzies in the voyage of discovery
under Vancouver, and it has been very properly named in compli-
ment to that venerable botanist.
The plant bears a close resemblance to some species of Disporum,
and it moreover agrees with that genus in its sepals being produced
into a short spur or pouch at their base. The flowers are consi-
derably larger than those of lanuginosa, and they are apparently of a
yellow colour. The style is long and copiously hairy. The genus
is essentially distinguished from Disporum by its innate anthers,
nearly concrete styles, and pendulous seeds.
1839.] Ltnnean Society, 49
December 17.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Specimens of the Lagurus ovatus collected last summer at Sewer's
End, two miles from Saffron Walden, were presented by Mr. Gum-
ming, who discovered the plant about three years ago in that locality,
which is its only actual English station.
Read, " Description of the Curata, a plant of the tribe of Bamhusea,
of the culm of which the Indians of Guiana prepare their Sarbacans
or Blow-pipes." By Robert H. Schomburgk, Esq., communicated
by the Secretary.
Referring to a passage in Baron Humboldt's " Personal Narra-
tive" of his Travels in America, in which the learned author de-
scribes the reeds of which the Indian Blow-pipes are made, and re-
grets his inability to determine from what plant they were obtained,
Mr. Schomburgk states it to have been a point of the greatest in-
terest with him in his recent journeys in the interior of Ouiana to
ascertain this fact. He found that the Macusi tribe of Indians ob-
tained these remarkable reeds by barter from the Arecunas, who
again made journeys of several months* duration to the westward to
procure them from the Maiongcong and Guinan Indians, to whose
country they are restricted, and who have thence acquired among
the other natives the appellation of the Curata people. The Are-
cuna thus becomes the medium of the barter carried on of blow-
pipes on the one hand for Urari poison on the other, the latter being
found in the district inhabited by the Macusi, and exchanged by
them for the tube through which the arrows impregnated with it are
discharged with such deadly effect. It was at a settlement of Maiong-
cong Indians near the river Emaruni that Mr. Schomburgk at last
succeeded in obtaining positive information of the locality of these
reeds, which he was informed were found on two lofty mountains,
named by the Indians Mashiatti and Marawacca, the former of which
was pointed out to him at the distance of about 20 miles. The latter
however lying more directly on his route was visited by him in pre-
ference ; it is seated at a day's journey from a Maiongcong settle-
ment on the banks of the Cuyaca, from whence the natives showed
the beaten track. After having ascended the mountain to a height
of about 3500 feet above the Indian village, the traveller followed the
course of a small mountain stream, on the banks of which the Curas
or Curatas, as these reeds are called by the Indians, grow in dense
tufts. They form in general clusters of from forty to a hundred
No. VI. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
50 Linnean Society. [Dec. I?, 1839.
stems, which are pushed forth, as in many other Bambuseae, from a
strong jointed subterranean rootstock. The stem rises straight
from the rhizoma, without knot or interruption, and preserving an
equal thickness throughout, frequently to the height of 16 feet, be-
fore the first dissepiment is stretched across the interior and the first
branches are given off^. The joints that follow succeed each other
at intervals of from 15 to 18 inches ; and the whole plant attains a
height of from 40 to 50 feet. The stem when full-grown is at the
base about an inch and a half in diameter, or nearly 5 inches in cir-
cumference ; but Mr. Schomburgk mentions having seen young
stems, which at the height of 20 feet, and with a thickness of scarcely
a quarter of an inch, offered no signs of articulation. The branches
are only formed when the stem begins to increase in diameter. The
full-grown stem is of a bright green colour, perfectly smooth and
hollow within. The branches are verticillate, generally from 3 to 4
feet in length, very slender, terete and nodose ; the upper joints
separated by an interval of from 2 to 3 inches, and clothed by the
sheaths of the leaves, which are split at the apex, persistent, striate
and somewhat scabrous. The leaves are linear-lanceolate, obliquely
rounded at the base, acute, of a bright green above, glaucescent
below, nervoso-striate, with the midrib prominent, and the margin
scabrous, from 8 to 9 inches long, and 5 or 6 lines broad ; they are
furnished with a short petiole, which is articulated to the vagina ;
and a series of long setae occupy the place of the ligula. The inflo-
rescence is in terminal spikes, with a flexuose rachis ; the locustse
subsessile, lanceolate, lax, from 1^ to 2 inches in length. The en-
tire plant is from 40 to 50 feet in height ; but the weight of its in-
numerable branches causes the slender stem to curve downwards so
that the upper part generally describes an arch, which adds greatly
to the gracefulness of its appearance. Leaving out of consideration
the length of the first nodeless joint, it resembles in its general habit
the Bamhusa latifolia of Humboldt, which Mr. Schomburgk was not
unfrequently led into the mistake of confounding with it at a di-
stance. He estimates the height at which it grew as 6000 feet above
the level of the sea ; and its growth appears to be limited to the
chain of sandstone mountains which extends between the second and
fourth parallel, and forms the separation of waters between the rivers
Parima, Merewari, Ventuari, Orinoco and Negro. The only ascer-
tained localities were Mounts Mashiatti, Marawacca and Wanaya.
Mr. Schomburgk describes at length the process by which the
blow-pipes are prepared, and encased, for their better security in the
hollowed trunk of a slender species of palm ; together with the mode
Jan. 21, 1840.] Linnean Society. 51
in which other parts of the apparatus are supplied in order to render
it available for its important uses, and the various modifications in
its construction occurring among the different tribes. He adds also
9. particular description of the arrows and quivers in use among
several of the native tribes.
To this paper was appended the following note by John Joseph
Bennett, Esq. F.L.S.
** Mr. Schomburgk having placed in my hands specimens of the
grass which forms the subject of his communication, with a request
that (if I should find it to be unpublished) I would describe it, I
consulted the publications of Nees von Esenbeck and Kunth, and
was at first strongly inclined to suspect that it was identical
with the Arundinaria verticillata of those authors ; but a subsequent
examination has satisfied me that it is a distinct species of that
genus. I have had no opportunity of comparing it with specimens
oi A. verticillata, but it difi'ers from the descriptions of that species,
given by the two eminent botanists above named, in the following
particulars. Its leaves are linear, instead of lanceolate, and smooth
on both surfaces, instead of scabrous ; the mouth of their sheaths
is furnished on either side of the articulation of the leaf with a fringe
of long rigid setae, which are not mentioned as occurring in A. verti-
cillata ; its locustse are sessile, instead of being pedicelled ; and the
hypogynous scales are lanceolate and acute, instead of obovate and
obtuse. The following character will therefore serve to distinguish
the species : —
Arundinaria SchomburgUi.
A. foliis linearibus acuminatis laevibus; vaginarum ore utrinque longe
setoso, spic^ simplici pauciflor^, locustis sessilibus, squamulis hypogynia
lanceolatis acutis."
January 21, 1840.
Mr. Forster, V.l^., in the Chair.
Mr. Hyde Clarke, of Great Ormond Street, and James Rankine,
M.D., of Ayr, were elected Fellows.
Mr. Hewett Cottrell Watson, F.L.S., exhibited specimens of Ca-
rum Bulhocastanum discovered by Mr. W. H. Coleman, near Cherry
Hinton, Cambridgeshire, and of Seseli Libanotis gathered by the
same in a Dean west of the river Cuckmere, near Seaford, Sussex,
being the first time it has been observed in that county.
52 Linnean Society, [Feb. 4,
Mr. Solly, F.L.S., exhibited two splendid drawings executed by-
Mrs. Withers of a male plant of Encephalartos pungensy which
flowered in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, in October last.
Mr. IlifF, F.L.S., exhibited some urate of ammonia voided by the
Boa Constrictor at the Surrey Zoological Gardens, in the midst of
which were several larvae supposed by Mr. Curtis to be those of the
Musca Canicularis of Linnaeus. Mr. IlifF is of opinion they were
voided with the excrements of the Boa, and referred to a case in the
Memoirs of the Medical Society of London, where he believes si-
milar larvae were voided from the intestines of a man.
Specimens of the Lastrea rigida collected at Settle, Yorkshire,
were presented by Mr. Daniel Cooper, A.L.S.
Read " Observations on the Ergot." By Francis Bauer, Esq.,
F.R.S., and L.S.
The author, as is well known, has made the ergot a subject of
particular study, and about thirty years ago he undertook, at the
suggestion of Sir Joseph Banks, a series of careful microscopical ob-
servations, with a view to determine the nature and cause of that
singular production, and the beautiful drawings prepared by him at
that time, illustrative of the ergot in various stages of its develop-
ment, form part of the Banksian collections now deposited in the
British Museum. Mr. Bauer's investigation led him to determine
the ergot to be a morbid condition of the seed, but he was unsuc-
cessful in ascertaining the cause of the disease, which Messrs. Smith
and Quekett have satisfactorily shown to be occasioned by a mi-
nute filamentous fungus, a fact already recorded at p. 1 & 4. After a
long lapse of years Mr. Bauer was induced to resume the subject,
and the result has been an additional drawing from his masterly
pencil, displaying the minute fungus already noticed in different
stages of its growth. The fungus has been named by Mr. Quekett
Ergotcetia ahortifaciens .
February 4.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Thomas White Mann, Esq., of Upper Hollo way, was elected a
Fellow ; and Mr. David Moore, Curator of the Botanic Garden at
Glasnevin near Dublin, was elected an Associate of the Society.
1840.] Linnean Society. 53
Read, '* On the Heliamphora nutans, a new Pitcher Plant from
British Guiana." By George Bentham, Esq., F.L.S.
The interesting subject of this communication was discovered by
Mr. Schomburgk growing in a marshy savannah on the mountain of
Roraima, on the borders of British Guiana, at an elevation of about
6000 feet above the level of the sea. It belongs to the Sarraceniacea,
and constitutes a very distinct genus of that small but remarkable
family of plants, hitherto exclusively confined to the United States.
The genus is principally distinguished from Sarracenia by the entire
absence of petals, small apterous stigma, and trilocular ovarium.
The following are the characters of this new genus :
HELIAMPHORA.
Perigonii foliola 4, 5, (vel 6 ?) hypogyna, libera, eestivatione valde imbri-
cata, subpetaloidea. Stamina numero indefinita, hypogyna. Anihera
oblongo-lineares, versatiles, biloculares, loculis oppositis longitudinaliter
dehiscentibus. Ovarium triloculare, ovulis numerosis anatropis pluri-
seriahter placentae axili affixis. Stylus simplex, apice truncatus. Stigma
parvum, obscure trilobum, minute ciliatum. " Capsula trilocularis,
trivalvis, polysperma" (Schomb.). Semina obovata, compressa, testa
fusca laxiuscula, vix rugosa, in alam fusco-membranaceum semen
cingentem expansa. Embryo parvus, teres, rectus, prope basin albu-
minis copiosi, radicula juxta hilum, cotyledonibus parvis.
Herba perennis, uliginosa. Folia radicalia ; petiolus tubuloso-amphoree-
formis, ore obliquo margine subrevoluto. Scapus erectus, apice simpli-
citer racemosus, glaber. Flores nutantesy alhi v. pallida rosei.
1. H. nutans.
Read a paper, entitled " On the Structure of the Tissues of Cy-
cadecd" By D. Don, Esq., Libr. L. S., Prof. Bot. King's College.
In ConiferiB the structure of the stem presents the ordinary appear-
ance of dicotyledonous trees ; the annual layers are distinctly
marked, and there is a regular bipartition of each into wood and bark
(liber) ; but in Cycadece no bipartition takes place of the fibro-vascular
bundles, which in that respect resemble those of monocotyledonous
plants, and the differences otherwise are very striking, Cyca^ having, be-
sides a large central pith, several thick concentric alternating layers
of cellular and fibro-vascular tissue ; and in Zamia and Encephalartos,
besides the pith, there are only two very thick layers, one of fibro-
vascular, and the other, which is also the exterior one, of cellular
tissue. The great peculiarity of the Conifer a, and which distin-
guishes them as well from Cycadea as from every other family, is
the remarkable uniformity of their woody tissue, which consists of
54 lAnnean Society, [Feb. 4,
slender tubes, furnished on the sides parallel to the medullary rays
with one or more rows of circular or angular dots ; but in Cycadecs
no such uniformity is observable, their tissue, as in other phsenoga-
mous plants, consisting of two kinds of vessels, namely of slender
transparent tubes, without dots or markings, and of dotted, reticulated
and spiral vessels, which are capable of being unrolled. The former are
identical with the fibrous or woody tissue, whilst the latter, which form
a part of each bundle, can only be compared to the strictly vascular
tissue of other plants. These dotted vessels in Cycadea bear a con-
siderable resemblance to the vessels of Coniferce, and especially to
those of Dammara and Araucaria, from the dots being disposed in
rows, and confined to the two vertical sides of the vessel only, and
they are moreover alternate, as in the two genera just mentioned.
In CycadecB, however, the dots present much less regularity in
number and size than in Conifer a, not only in different vessels of the
same bundle, but in different parts of the same vessel, forming one,
two, three, four, and five rows ; and they are not always confined
to the vertical sides, but appear in some cases to follow the entire
circle of the vessel. Their form is oblong, or elliptical, in Cycas re-
valuta, circinalis, glauca, and speciosa, Zamia furfur acea and pumilat
as well as in Encephalartos horridus and spiralis; but they are
sometimes longer, narrower and nearly linear, giving the vessel
the appearance of being marked with transverse stripes. The
vessels in all present so much similarity, that no generic distinction
can be drawn from them. The dots are always arranged dia-
gonally. The dotted vessels of Zamia furfuracea and pumila
were observed to unroll spirally in the form of a band, pre-
senting a striking resemblance to those of Ferns. The band was
found to vary in breadth in different vessels, and was furnished
with transverse rows, composed of two, three, or more dots. The
coils followed the direction of the dots, and the unrolling was from
right to left. In Cycas revoluta dotted vessels frequently occur with
a single row of dots ; but, from the circumstance of the dots on both
sides being in view at the same time, they are liable to be mistaken
as having a double row on each side. Besides the dotted vessels,
there occurs throughout Cycadece another variety, differing but
little from the ordinary spiral vessel, except in the tendency of the
coils to unite. In some vessels the coils are free, and the fibre ex-
hibits frequently, at intervals, bifurcations or narrow loops ; in others
the coils unite at one or both sides, in which case the vessel presents
a series either of rings or bars ; the fibre then is with difficulty un-
1840.] Linnean Society, 55
rolled, and it often breaks off into rings, or the bars separate at the
point where the coils unite, which is generally on the perpendicular
sides of the vessel. In other cases the vessels are distinctly reticulated,
and they then exhibit a striking analogy to the dotted cellules in Cycas
revoluta. All these modifications are frequently to be observed in
the same vessel in Zamia furfur acea andpumila, a fact which affords
conclusive evidence of the accuracy of the theory advanced by Meyen,
which refers the spiral, annular, reticulated, and dotted vessels to a
common type. The dots and stripes are evidently the thinnest por-
tions of the tube, being most probably parts of the primitive mem-
brane remaining uncovered by the matter subsequently deposited on
the walls.
The cellular tissue of Cycadees consists of tolerably regular paren-
chyma, composed of prismatic, six-sided cellules. In the species of
Zamia and Encephalartos, so often referred to, the walls of the cellules
appear to be of a uniform thickness and transparency, and destitute
both of dots or markings ; but in the adult fronds of Cycas revoluta
a different structure presents itself, for the walls of the cellules are
furnished with numerous elliptical, obliquely transverse dots or
spaces, where the membrane is so exceedingly delicate and trans-
parent as to give to the cellules the appearance of being perforated
by holes, the intervening spaces being covered by incrustating
matter, disposed in the form of confluent bands, which, when
viewed under the microscope, resemble a kind of network. The
dots or spaces uncovered by incrustating matter, are generally of
a large size, and occur more particularly on the vertical sides
of the cellules, a band usually running along the middle of the
two opposite sides. Tlie bands vary in breadth, as do the dots,
and they not unfrequently exhibit minute transparent points or
spaces where the solid matter forming the band shows a tend-
ency to separate. The extreme delicacy and transparency of the
dots or spaces of whatever size, appear fully to prove that they
are parts of the primitive membrane of the cellule, which are un-
covered by the incrustating matter. A solution of iodine will be
found of great service in determining the actual existence of the
membrane at those parts ; for although it does not materially alter
its colour, it tends very much to diminish its transparency and ren-
ders it distinctly visible, so as to leave no doubt that the spaces are
not openings. The bands are evidently the result of a partial ligni-
fication ; and indeed no better example can be offered than Cycas
revoluta to illustrate and confirm the correctness of the views ad-
56 Linnean Society. [Feb. 4,
vanced by Schleiden as to the origin of the bands and fibres
in the cellules and vessels of plants. Being anxious to ascer-
tain whether the bands exist at an early period, the author had
recourse to the examination of a young undeveloped frond, about
two weeks old, and he was much gratified by finding his previous
suspicions fully confirmed ; the cellules then being of a uniform
transparency, presenting neither bands nor dots, but furnished with
a distinct cytoblast or nucleus, which was found to have entirely dis-
appeared from those cellules in which the incrustating matter was
visible, proving that the incrustating matter is formed at the expense
of the nucleus. The matter forming the bands is continuous, and is
evidently not formed by a coalescing of spiral fibres, as some might
suppose ; for it is perfectly solid, and shows no disposition to un-
roll or to break up into fibres. The bands most probably originated
from the shrinking up of the incrustating substance, which at first
was equally diff^used in a fluid state over the walls, and which, from
the mere effects of consolidation, aided by the distention, and per-
haps enlargement of the cellule, would naturally leave portions of
the primitive membrane uncovered. That the dotted and reticulated
vessels in Cycadeae are of the same nature, and originate in a similar
way as the cellules just described, there seems no reasonable ground
to doubt. The parenchymatous cellules in Cycas circinalis, glauca,
and speciosa resemble those of Zamia and EncepJialartos in having
their walls of a nearly uniform thickness and transparency, being
but rarely furnished mth a few elliptical obliquely transverse spaces
or dots. The cellules in Cycas revoluta vary both in size and
structure, some being three or four times longer, whilst others are
still longer and narrower, and furnished with more numerous and
much smaller dots, which are not confined to the sides, but are
disposed around the tube. These last, which have been observed
also in Cycas. glauca and circinalis, present an evident transition to.
the dotted vessels.
The whole of the CycadecB are supplied with numerous gummife-
rous canals, often of great length, and uniformly furnished with
distinct cellular walls of considerable thickness, and which have
been accurately described and figured by Professor Morren in a
recent memoir.
Notwithstanding the analogies presented by their reproductive
organs, the author considers the Cycadeee as related to Conifer(B
only in a remote degree, and that they constitute the remains of a
class of plants which belonged to a former vegetation.
1840.] Linnean Society, Bj
February 18.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
The Rev. George Isherwood, of Old Windsor, was elected a Fel-
low of the Society.
Mr. George T. Fox, F.L.S., exhibited a specimen of the Phryno-
soma cornutum (Agama cornuta of Harlan) from Texas.
Mr. Cameron, A.L.S., presented a specimen of a new fern (Cibo-
Hum Baromez, J. Sm.) which has lately borne fructification, for the
first time in this country, in the garden of the Birmingham Horti-
cultural Society. A description of the plant by Mr. Westcott ac-
companied the specimen. The fern has been cultivated for some
years in the gardens as the Agnus Scythicus or Vegetable Lamb
{Polypodium Baromez, Linn.), but whether identical with the plant
of Linnaeus is a question still undetermined, as there happens to be
j/ no specimen in his herbarium, and the description alone is too meagre
to settle the point. Mr. Westcott is however in possession of a spe-
cimen of a fern collected in Mexico by Mr. Ross, which closely re-
sembles the plant of the gardens, and should they prove to be iden-
tical, all doubt will be removed as to the claims of the present plant
to be regarded as the Baromez of liinnseus, which is a native of
China.
The following is Mr. Westcott's description of the species :—
Rhizoma densely clothed with yellow woolly articulated hairs.
Stipes about 7 feet high, roundish, of a dark reddish brown colour,
more or less covered with tufts of woolly hairs near the base, naked
for about half its height : upper part flexuous from the point where
the pinnae commence. Frond bipinnate ; pinna alternate, ovate-lan-
ceolate, acuminate, smooth, under surface glaucous, upper surface
dark green ; those pinnae bearing the sori curved, the barren pinnsB
straight ; pinnules pinnatifid, alternate, linear-lanceolate, acuminate ;
upper ones decurrent ; lower ones shortly petiolate ; lobes oblong,
sharply serrated, more or less truncated, acute ; margins somewhat
revolute, lobes in the upper row of each pinnula somewhat larger
than those of the lower row, and those nearest to the rachis in the
upper row the largest of all. Venation in the barren pinnae branched,
in the fertile pinnae simple ; veins alternate. Indusia pouch-like,
coriaceous sessile, situate on the apex of a vein at the margin, and
near the base of the lobe of the pinnula : dehiscence by a transverse
No. VII. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
58 Linnean Society, [March 3,
slit near the apex ; outer valve white, inner valve brown, and form-
ing a persistent operculum or lid. Thecce roundish, stipitate, half
surrounded by an articulated ring. Sporules numerous, angular.
Read, " Observations on a certain Crystalline Matter found on the
recently cut surfaces of the Wood of the Red Cedar." By Edwin J.
Quekett, Esq., F.L.S.
Mr. Quekett remarked, that on the recently cut surfaces of the
wood of the Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiand) a crystalline matter is
observed to form, which puts on the appearance of a mouldiness, but
which, when viewed with a magnifying glass, is seen to consist of
innumerable extremely minute crystals of an acicular form. The
substance was observed to form on the duramen or heart wood only,
and not universally, but in patches. It is easily volatilized by heat,
and gives out the well-known odour of the wood. Mr. Quekett
showed that the duramen of the red cedar contains an abundance of
a concrete volatile oil, on which the peculiar odour depends, and
that the crystalline substance is a compound formed between the air
and the oil, for when the latter was obtained from the wood, and ex-
posed to the action of the air, it was soon also found to be covered
with the same acicular crystals. This substance, which possesses
many of the properties of benzoic acid, Mr. Quekett considers new,
and he proposed for it the name of Cedarine.
March 3.
Mr. Brown, V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. Francis Boyle Garty, of Camberwell, and the Rev. William
Strong Hore, M.A., of Devonport, were elected Fellows ; and Mr.
Frederick John Bird, of Wilmington Square, was elected an Associate
of the Society.
Mr. Ward, F.L.S. , exhibited a specimen of the Agnus Scythicus,
or Vegetable Lamb, from the collection of the Apothecaries' Com-
pany.
Read, " A Note on the Fern known as Aspidium Baromez." By
Mr. John Smith, A.L.S.
This plant, of which a description by Mr. Wcstcott was read at
the preceding Meeting, and of which an abstract has been given.
1840.] Linnean Society, 59
was shown by Mr. Smith to be a legitimate species of the genus
Cibotiunit with which it agrees in the venation of its frond, the dis-
position of its sori, and in the structure and texture of its indusium.
March 17.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
William Ifill, M.D., of Welbeck Street ; Edwin Lankester, M.D.,
of Campsall Hall, near Doncaster ; and Lieut. William Munro, of
Her Majesty's 39th regiment of foot, were elected Fellows of the
Society.
The following addresses of congratulation to Her Majesty and to
His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, on
occasion of Her Majesty's marriage, were read from the Chair, and
unanimously adopted by the Meeting, viz.
" To the Queen's most Excellent Majesty.
*' The humble Address of the President, Council, and Fellows
of the Linnean Society of London.
** Most Gracious Sovereign,
** We, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Pre-
sident, Council, and Fellows of the Linnean Society of London, beg
leave to approach Your Majesty, humbly to offer our heart-felt con-
gratulations on the joyful occasion of Your Majesty's nuptials with
His Royal Hijghness Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha.
" Deeply impressed with feelings of loyalty and devotion towards
Your Majesty, we hail this auspicious event as an assurance of last-
ing happiness to Your Majesty, and of permanent blessings to the
British Empire, and we most fervently implore the blessings of Al-
mighty God upon Your Majesty, that through His mercy and good-
ness He may be pleased to extend His watchful care over the lives
and the happiness of Your Majesty and Your Majesty's Royal Con-
sort.'*
** To His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha.
" The humble Address of the President, Council, and Fellows
of the Linnean Society of London.
" May it please Your Royal Highness,
" We, the President, Council, and Fellows of the Linnean So-
ciety of London, beg leave humbly to present to Your Royal High-
60 Linnean Society. [March 1 7,
ness our cordial congratulations on the happy occasion of Your Royal
Highnesses marriage with Her Majesty our gracious Queen and
Patron.
** We hail this auspicious event as equally promoting the happi-
ness of Her Majesty and the best interests of Her Majesty's aiFec-
tionate and loyal people, and we most devoutly implore the blessings
of Almighty God on Your Royal Highness, that He through His
goodness and mercy may be pleased to extend His watchful care
over the lives and happiness of our beloved Sovereign and Your
Royal Highness."
Read " On some new Brazilian Plants allied to the Natural
Order Burmanniacece." By John Miers, Esq., F.L.S.
Of the thirteen recorded species of Burmannia five are natives of
Brazil, where they were found by Von Martins, who has not only
accurately described them, but has given an able detail of the genus.
The author, previous to his departure from Brazil, discovered five
new plants, evidently allied to Burmannia, but which differ in many
essential characters : from these he has established three new ge-
nera, Dictyostega, Cymhocarpa, and Stemoptera : they possess the
habit of Burmannia in their thickened rhizoma with branching fibres,
an erect stem, almost naked, or furnished with a few distant bracti-
form leaves and terminal flowers, with a tubular petaloid perian-
thium, having a six-partite border, composed of three sepals and three
petals ; stamens three, almost sessile, in the mouth of the tube be-
low the petals ; anthers with the cells disjoined and opening trans-
versely ; a simple style ; three stigmata and a capsule surmounted by
the "withered perianth bursting irregularly ; seeds minute, resembling
those of Orchidece ; but the most important difference consists in their
having unilocular capsules, with three parietal placentae, while Bur-
mannia has always a trilocular capsule, with central placentation,
an essential difference, which entitles them to be considered, if not
as forming a new natural order, at least as constituting a distinct
sub-family. Allied to these are to be arranged three other plants,
already recorded, the Apteria setacea of Nuttall, a native of North
America, and Gonyanthes Candida and Gymnosiphon aphylhim of
Blume, by whom they were found in Java. The author considers
his genus Dictyostega as coming very near Apteria, which, however,
from the drawing and description of Mr. Nuttall, would seem to re-
semble Stemoptera still more closely in its habit, its seeds, and its
large single flowers ; but it does not appear to possess the very
1840.] Linnean Society, 61
rfemarkable stamens of the latter genus, nor the habit or singular
seeds of Dictyostega. He gives a full description of the charac-
ters of his new genera and species, adding at the same time the
character of Apteria and of Dr. Blume's two genera, so as to collect
all the evidence yet known respecting the order of Burmanniacea.
Of the genus Dictyostega he describes three species, which he found
in Brazil, to which is to be added a fourth species, discovered by
Mr. Schomburgk in British Guiana.
The following are their characters : —
DICTYOSTEGA.
Perianthium tubulosum, ovario adnatum, supem^ liberum : Umbo G-fido,
laciniis 3 altemis minoribus. Stamina 3 : filamentis brevissimis : an-
ther ec loculis disjunctis, transversim dehiscentibus. Sty his simplex.
Stigmata 3. Capsula 1-locularis, sub 3-valvis, polysperma, apice dehi-
scens : valvis medio placentiferis. Semina minuta, scobiformia, testa
lax&, reticulata, pertranslucidiL, nucleo quintuple longiore vestita.
Plantae (brasilienses) rhizocarpeco, radice fibrosa, squamis membranaceis,
imbricatis, ciliatis, incanis tectd. Caulis erectus, subfiexuosus, pallide
purpurascens, subsolitarius, rarius ramifenis, et tunc ramis 1 — 3
erectis, alternis, trunco consimilibvs. Folia bracteiformia, subsessilia,
adpressa. Jnflorescentia terminalis, dichotome racemosa, vel subum-
bellato-cymosa, floribus purpurascentibus, pedicellatis.
1. D. orobanchioides, caxile ereeto simplici vel ramifero, racemis geminis,
floribus nutantibus unibracteatis, bracteis cum pedicellis alternantibus,
capsula subvalvatd ecostatH longitudinaliter dehiscente. — Monte Corco-
vado, Rio de Janeiro.
2. D. umbellata, caule ereeto simplicissimo, foliis erecto-patulis, umbella
simplici 6 — 9-flora, floribus erectis, pedicellis basi bracteatis, ovario
ecostato. — Serra dos Orgaos, Prov. Rio de Janeiro.
3. D. costata, caule ereeto simplici, floribus erectis, cym& bibracteal^, pe-
dicellis ebracteatis, capsule evalvi 6-costata apice dehiscenti. — Rio de
Janeiro.
4. )S>. Schomburgkii, caule ereeto subsimplici, racemis geminis paucifloris,
floribus unibracteatis, bracteis pedicello oppositis, perianthio medio
baud constricto, laciniis obtusioribus, capsul4 6-costata apice dehiscenti.
— Guiana.
CYMBOCARPA.
Perianthium tubulosum, ovario adnatum, supem^ liberum : Umbo 6-fido,
laciniis tribus altemis minoribus. Stamina omniiio Dictyostegee.
Stylus simplex. Stigmata 3-loba, lobis gibboso-rotundatis, comubus 2
62 Linnean Society, [March 17,
subulatis erectis instructis. Ovarium gibboso-3-gonum, l-loculare,
placentis 3 parietalibus. Cajtsula 1-locularis, latere unico angulo su-
periore tantiim dehiscens. Semina scobiformia, numerosissima, testa
reticulata nucleo vix excedente.
PlantsB (brasilienses)^ rhizocarpetB, radice Jihrosd. Caulis simplex, suh-
flexuosus, erectus, albescens. Folia sessilia, bracteiformia, erecta, aut
adpressa. Inflorescentia dichotome spicata, paucijlora, fioribus fia-
vescenti-albidis, basi bracteatis, cum pedicellis brevissimis summo abrupte
declinatis geniculatis.
1 . Cymbocarpa refracta. — Monte Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro.
STEMOPTERA.
Perianthium ovario adnatum, supra liberuin, subinfundibuliforme : favce
turgida sacculis 3 interioribus aucta : limbo 6-partito, laciniis acutis,
aestivatione marginibus induplicatis, 3 alternis brevioribus. Stamina
3, fauci adnata : filamentis complanatis, e margine sacculorum orienti-
bus bifurcatis, ramulo singulo antherifero alato. Ovarium turbinatum,
l-loculare, placentis 3 parietalibus. AS^^/wslongitudinestaminum. Stig-
mata 3, recurvata, apice glandulifera. Capsula 1-locularis, polysperma,
subtrivalvis, apice 3-fisso dehiscens, Placentce 3, parietales. Semina
numerosissima, scobiformia, testa nucleo vix excedente, reticulata, are-
olis elongatis obliqu^ dispositis.
PlantsB (brasilienses) rhizocarpecB, radice fibrosd. Caulis erectus, subdi-
chotome ramosus, ramis subjlexuosis, pallidis, subpurpurascentibus. Fo-
lia pauca, sessilia, erecta, bracteiformia, pallida. Inflorescentia termi-
nalis, unijlora. Flores cceteris mojores, ebracteati, purpurascentes, Ap-
terise Nutt. Jiaud absimiles.
1 . Stemoptera lilacina. — In uliginosis ad Serra dos Orgaos Prov. Rio de
Janeiro.
All the species are described at length in the paper, and their cha-
racters are further illustrated by drawings, with details of the parts
of fructification. The author remarks, that upon the same principle
that Apostasiacete have been separated from Orchidea, and Xyridecd
from Restiaceee, these plants ought to constitute an order distinct
from BurmanniaceiB ; but the difference between the unilocular cap-
sule with parietal placentation and the trilocular capsule with axile
placentation, which at first sight seems to offer a wide and well-
founded distinction, appears of less value when we consider that
the extensive order Gentianece presents similar differences, toge-
ther with every possible gradation of transition from one extreme
to the other. He therefore inclines to the view of preserving all
1840.] lAnnean Society, 63
within the natural order Burmanniaceee, dividing it into two sub-
families, viz. 1. Burmanniece, which will contain only the single
genus Burmannia (and perhaps the Gonyanthes of Blume may be
found to belong also to this section) ; 2. Dictyostegea, com-
prising Dictyostega, Cymbocarpa, Stemoptera, Apteria, Gonyanthes,
and Gymnosiphon. He then proceeds to show the close affinity which
Burmanniacea bear to Orchidea, which often also present nearly a
naked stem, with imperfectly developed leaves, and instances are
moreover known in which they exhibit three distinct stamens and
three stigmata : they have also an unilocular ovarium, with parietal
placentation ; there exists also a close resemblance in the structure
of the walls of the capsule, and there is hardly any difference in the
shape and structure of the seeds of Dictyostega and some species of
Pleurothallis, which have both a transparent reticulated testa, show-
ing distinctly the included nucleus suspended from the apex. The
pollen of these plants also bears much resemblance to that of Or-
chideae, in being inclosed in a peculiar anther-case, and consisting of
coarse grains cohering in waxy masses. Dictyostega orobanchioides
also offers a beautiful illustration of the emission of pollen tubes,
which are seen penetrating the stigmata in crowded bundles of cot-
tony filaments, each thread being clavately terminated by its re-
spective grain of pollen.
There was also read a paper, entitled, " On the existence of Spiral
Cells in the Seeds of Acanthacea." By Mr. Richard Kippist. Com-
municated by Prof. Don, Libr. L.S.
After briefly enumerating the other natural families in whose seeds
spiral cells had been previously observed, the author proceeds to de-
scribe those of a plant brought from Upper Egypt by Mr. Holroyd
(Acanthodium spicatum, Delile), whose peculiar appearance when
placed under the microscope, first led him to examine those of other
Acanthacea, in which family the existence of spiral cells had not be-
fore been noticed. The entire surface of the seed in Acanthodium is
covered with whitish hairs, which are appressed, and adhere closely
to it in the dry state, being apparently glued together at their ex-
tremities. On being placed in water, these hairs are set free, and
spread out on all sides, they are then seen to l^e clusters of from five
to twenty spiral cells, which adhere firmly together in their lower
portions while their upper parts are free, separating from the cluster
at different heights, and expanding in all directions like plumes,
forming a very beautiful microscopic object. The free portions of the
64 , Linnean Society. [March 1 7,
cells readily unroll, exhibiting the spire formed of one, two, or occa-
sionally of three fibres, which may sometimes be seen to branch, and
not unfrequently break up into rings. Throughout the whole length
of the cell the coils are nearly contiguous ; in the lower part they are
united by connecting fibrils, and towards the base of the adherent
portion become completely reticulated. The testa is a semitrans-
parent membrane formed of nearly regular hexagonal cells, whose
centre is occupied by an opake mass of grumous matter. Those
cells which surround the bases of the hairs are considerably elon-
gated, and, gradually tapering into transparent tubes, appear to oc-
cupy the interior of the spiral clusters. Some of these appearances
were noticed by Delile, who described the Acanthodium in the
splendid work on Egypt, published by the French Institute, where
also a slightly magnified figure of the seed will be found, but with-
out representing the spiral cells, which Delile does not appear to
have detected.
Two species of Blepharis are mentioned as possessing a structure
very similar to that of Acanthodium spicatum, differing chiefly in the
smaller and more uniform diameter of the spiral cells, and in their
thicker fibre, which is always single and loosely coiled.
The seed of Ruellia formosa on being placed in water develops
from every part of its surface single short thick tapering tubes,
within which in some cases a spiral fibre is loosely coiled ; whilst in
others the place of the spiral fibre is supplied by distant rings.
In the seeds of Ruellia littoralis, Phaylopsis glutinosa, and Barleria
noctiflora, the whole surface becomes covered with separate tubes,
very similar in form, but destitute of spiral fibre, and terminating in
a minute pore, from which streams of mucilage are discharged.
Those of several species of Barleria, Lepidagathis, &c. are entirely
covered with long tapering simple hairs, which expand in water, and
like the rest are enveloped in a thick coat of mucilage.
In all the foregoing species the hairs occupy the entire surface of
the seed, and are usually directed towards its apex, though they
occur often most abundantly at the edges ; in others they are only
found attached to a marginal ring of a different texture from the rest
of the seed. This is the case in Strobilanthus lupulina, Blechum
Brownii, and Ruellia secunda. The seeds of many plants of this family
are wholly destitute both of spiral cells or of any other appendages
possessing hygroscopic properties, such for example as Acanthus
mollis and ilicifolius, Dipteracanthus erectus, and several sj^ecies of
Justicia and Eranthemum.
1840.] Linnean Society. G5
April 7.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
The Rev. John Berrington, A.M., of Kingston, Surrey, and Si-
gismond Rucker, Jun., Esq., of Wandsworth, were elected Fellows ;
and Mr. Henry Letheby, of Pentonville, was elected an Associate of
the Society.
Dr. Farre, F.L.S., exhibited specimens of a singular form of gall
on the leaves of a species of oak from Mexico. The gall consisted
of an aggregation of hollow cylindrical tubes, nearly an inch in
length, and furnished with a fringed orifice. The tubes were
remarkable for their elegance and uniformity; their colour was
white, suffused with red, especially towards the apex.
Mr. Yarrell, F.L.S., exhibited a specimen of a satin-like mass of
Conferva fluviatilis, which grew in a water meadow near Totness.
A spring, which flows only in winter, rises in the meadow, and this
substance is taken from narrow gutters, from one of which, twelve
inches wide, a piece was taken up which measured seventy-nine feet
in length, so firm and tough was its consistence ; and another piece
broke off at thirty-nine feet. In consistence and appearance it bore
considerable resemblance to a piece of cotton wadding, but of a
firmer texture. A portion was carefully examined under the micro-
scope, and found to consist entirely of an interwoven mass of filaments
of Conferva fluviatilis. The plant was compared with the authentic
specimen of that species preserved in the Linnaean Herbarium, and
was seen to differ only in the greater length of the articulations.
The under surface of the mass was of a bright green colour, but the
upper surface was white from the effects of direct exposure to the
air and light, which had caused the death of the plant at that part.
Read, a continuation of Mr. Smith's "Arrangement of the Genera
of Ferns."
April 21.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Read, a paper by John Blackwall, Esq., F.L.S., entitled " The
Difference in the Number of Eyes with which Spiders are provided.
No. VIII. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
66 Linnean Society. [May 25
proposed as the Basis of their distribution into Tribes ; with the
characters of a new Family and three new Genera of Spiders."
Mr. Blackwall begins by stating his objections to the bases of ar-
rangement adopted by MM. Walckenaer and Dufour in the subdi-
vision of the order Araneidea, and proceeds to give his reasons for
preferring a division founded on the number of eyes ; in conformity
with which he proposes three tribes, viz. 1. Octonoculata; 2. Senocu-
lina; 3. BinocuUna.
In the first tribe he proposes three new genera, two of them be-
longing to a family which he characterizes under the name of Cini-
floridce : these genera he also characterizes under the names of Ciniflo,
founded on the Clubiona atrox of Latreille, and Operaria, compri-
sing the Theridion benignum, Walck., Drassus exiguus, Blackw., and
Drassus viridissimus, Walck. The third genus characterized by Mr.
Blackwall, is referred by him to the family of Agelenidcd, under the
name of Cavator : it is founded on the Clubiona saxatilis, Blackw.
May 5.
ITie Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Read, " Additional Observations on some Plants allied to the
natural order Burmanniacese." By John Miers, Esq., F.L.S.
These observations have reference chiefly to the relative position
of the parts of the flower in the tribe of plants above-mentioned.
The author remarks, that the stamina, placentae, and stigmata in
these plants, are disposed in the same line, and opposite the inner
series of the perianthium. The placentae are always invariably
double ; and the stigmata in such cases as the present are to be re-
garded as being made up of the confluent margins of the two ad-
joining carpel-leaves, as suggested by Mr. Brown in his learned
Memoir on Cyrtandrea lately published.
May 25.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
This day, the Anniversary of the birth-day of Linnaeus, and that
appointed in the Charter for the election of Council and Officers ;
1840.] Linnean Society, Gf
the President opened the business of the meeting, and in stating the
number of Members whom the Society had lost during the past
year, gave the following notices of some of them : —
George, Duke of Marlborough, one of the Honorary Members, was
distinguished for his botanical taste, and for his zeal in the cultiva-
tion of exotic plants ; and the magnificent collection formed by him
at White Knights was long one of the finest in this country, both ia
regard to its extent, and the rarity and beauty of the specimens.
His taste for Botany continued unabated to the last, and the col-
lection established afterwards at Blenheim was chiefly cultivated
under his own immediate superintendence.
John Bartlet, Esq.
John, Duke of Bedford, K.G. — This amiable and accomplished
nobleman was a most munificent patron of the arts and sciences in
general, and especially of Botany, in the cultivation of which he
took great delight. We are indebted to him for several splendidly
illustrated works, abounding in valuable practical remarks, on par-
ticular tribes of plants, of which he had formed extensive collections
at his magnificent seat of Woburn Abbey.
William Beet ham, Esq.
William Christy, Jun., Esq. — Few persons cultivated Botany and
Entomology with more ardour than Mr. Christy, who, to the regret
of his friends, and to the loss of science, was cut off at an early age.
His zeal and success in the pursuit of science were only equalled by
his readiness and liberality to impart to others a portion of the
stores which he had collected. He had formed an extensive Her-
barium of British and Foreign Plants, and for that purpose had
made several extensive tours in the British Isles, and had also vi-
sited Madeira and Norway. His collection of dried plants, and
books on Botany, he gave to the Botanical Society of Edinbui'gh,
of which he was one of the institutors.
Lord diaries Spencer Churchill.
Richard Cotton, Esq.
Allan Cunningham, Esq. — This eminent botanist and traveller was
born in the beginning of the year 1791, at Wimbledon, where his
father (who was a native of Ayrshire) held the situation of gardener.
His father took great pains with his education, and placed him,
along with his younger brother, Richard, at an excellent academy at
Putney, then conducted by the Rev. Mr. Adams. About the year
1808 both brothers were engaged in the office of the Royal Botanic
(rardens at Kew, at the period when the second edition of the *Hor-
ius Kewensis * was passing through the press. In the autumn of
68 Linnean Society. [May 25,
1814, having been appointed a Botanical Collector for the Royal
Gardens, he left England, in company with Mr. James Bowie (who
had also received a similar appointment), for the Brazils, where they
remained two years, and among many other plants transmitted by
them, were Gloxinia speciosa, Cereus speciosissimus, Jacaranda mi-
mosifolia, and Calathea zehrina, then new to the Gardens. The two
companions now separated, Mr. Bowie having received instructions
to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope, and Mr. Cunningham to
New South Wales, where he arrived in 1817, and shortly after
joined the expedition into the interior of that colony, under Mr.
Oxley, the Surveyor-General. On his return to Sydney he em-
barked as botanist in the voyage of survey under the command of
Lieutenant, now Captain Philip Parker King, of the Royal Navy.
The survey continued four years, and during that period they cir-
cumnavigated Australia several times, and visited Van Diemen's
Land, Timor, and the Mauritius, at all of which places Mr. Cun-
ningham formed extensive collections. After the conclusion of these
voyages, Mr. Cunningham made several journeys into the interior
of New South Wales, and subsequently visited Norfolk Island and
New Zealand, where he remained several months. The fruits of
his researches in the latter country are given in the ' Companion to
the Botanical Magazine,' and ' Annals of Natural History.' After
an absence of seventeen years, Mr. Cunningham returned to his
native country, and continued to reside in the vicinity of Kew, until
the melancholy tidings arrived of the death of his brother Richard,
whom he was appointed to succeed in the quality of Colonial
Botanist in New South Wales, where he again arrived in February
1837. In the following year he revisited New Zealand, and re-
mained there during the whole of the rainy season, which produced
serious effects upon a constitution already greatly debilitated, and
on his return to Sydney his health visibly declined until the period
of his death, which took place on the 27th of June last, at the age
of 48. He was distinguished for his moral worth, singleness of
heart, and enthusiastic zeal in the pursuit of science.
Davies Gilbert, Esq., F.R.S. — Mr. Davies Gilbert was distin-
guished by his high attainments in science and literature, his simple
and gentle manners, and his amiable purity of heart. He was the
son of the Rev. Edward Giddy, and was born on the 6th of March,
1767, at St.Erth, in Cornwall.
Davies Giddy was a child of early intellectual promise, but his
health was feeble, and he received not only the rudiments, but al-
most the whole of his education under the paternal roof, guided and
1840.] lAnnean Society, 69
assisted by a father whose classical learning was of a high order.
For about a twelvemonth he was placed under the tuition of the Rev.
James Parken, Master of the Grammar School at Penzance, to which
town his family removed for that purpose ; but he soon returned
to Tredrea, which was long afterwards his favourite abode, to pursue
his studies in a manner more congenial to his feelings. He had by
this time formed a taste for mathematical investigations, in which
he was aided by the knowledge, freely and kindly imparted, of the
Rev. Malachi Hitchins of St. Hilary, a man whose name is well
known and respected by practical astronomers. In the year 1782
he removed with his family to Bristol, and continued to cultivate the
severer sciences with undiminished ardour. On the 12th of April,
1785, he entered as a Gentleman Commoner of Pembroke College
in the University of Oxford, and soon attracted the notice of many
of its Professors and Senior Residents. He resided pretty constantly
there from his matriculation, except during the long vacations, till
the year 1789, when he became an Honorary Master of Arts, but still
continued to make long visits to his old College.
In November, 1791, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society,
and formed a connexion with Dr. Maskelyne, Sir Joseph Banks,
Mr. Cavendish, and other eminent members of that body, which
terminated only with their lives. Though the sciences dependent
on and connected with mathematics were the chief objects of his
early studies, he was far from inattentive to the claims of Natural
History on a portion of his leisure. He cultivated chiefly that
branch of it which embraces the vegetable kingdom ; and an ac-
quaintance formed in Cornwall with Dr. Withering, as well as his
friendship with Dr. Beddoes and Dr. Sibthorp at Oxford, contri-
buted to the same end. He became a Fellow of the Linnaean So-
ciety in 1792, in which year he also served the office of Sheriff for
his native county. In the year 1804 he was chosen one of the re-
presentatives of the borough of Helston, and in 1806 *was returned
in a new Parliament for that of Bodmin. In this seat he continued
till the year 1832, when he ceased to be a member of the legislature.
During the whole time of his continuance in Parliament, he was the
encourager and indefatigable supporter of every measure connected
with the advancement of science ; and by his representations and
exertions many services were rendered to various scientific societies
and institutions, in promoting whose prosperity and usefulness he
was incessantly and zealously occupied. He took a prominent part
in the inquiry relating to the currency, and published in 1811 a
plain statement of the bullion question ; and he was also very
70 Linnean Society, [May 25,
active both in the House of Commons and out of it in the arrange-
ment of the standard of weights and measures.
In 1806 he married Mary Anne Gilbert, and in 1817 he assumed
the name of her family, in pursuance of the injunction contained in
a will of her uncle, Charles Gilbert, Esq., of Eastbourne, in Sussex.
By this marriage he had seven children, of whom only four sur-
vived him ; John Davies Gilbert, Esq., the present Sheriff of Sussex,
and three daughters.
He became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1820, and
was likewise Fellow of the Astronomical and Geological Societies.
He continued to perform the office of Treasurer of the Royal So-
ciety, till in 1 827 he became President of that distinguished body.
In the year 1831 he retired from the chair, and was succeeded by His
lloyal Highness the Duke of Sussex. In 1832 he received from the
University of Oxford the Degree of Doctor of Laws, by Diploma.
His last visit to his native county took place in 1839. On lea-
ving Cornwall he came through Exeter and Oxford to London, and
returned after a few days to Oxford. This last journey, which was
attended by some untoward circumstances, was too much for his
sinking strength. On his return to London he fell into a state of
lethargy, from which, though he was enabled to reach his home, he
never fully recovered, but after lingering in this state for some time,
he expired, on the 24th of December, 1839, and in the 73rd year
of his age.
The Rev. Joseph Goodall, D.D., Provost of Eton College. — Dr.
Goodall was ardently devoted to the study of Natural History, but
more especially to Conchology, wdth which science he was tho-
roughly acquainted, and his collection in that department was re-
garded as one of the most valuable in this country. He was ever a
warm and zealous friend of this Society.
The Reverend Patrick Keith. — Mr. Keith long and successfully
cultivated the interesting department of Vegetable Physiology,
to which he published an Introduction in 1816, under the title of
* System of Physiological Botany,' in two volumes, 8vo. The
work contained the fullest and best account of the subject at that
time in the English language, and was, moreover, enriched by nu-
merous original remarks. Mr. Keith was likewise the author of a
Botanical Lexicon, published in 1837, and three separate Memoirs,
printed in the 11th, 12th and 16th volumes of the Society's Trans-
actions ; the first on the Formation of the Vegetable Epidermis, the
second on the Development of the Seminal Germ, and the third
on the Origin of Buds. Several jxipers on botanical subjects, from
1840.] Linnean Society. *J\
the pen of Mr. Keith, occur also in the Philosophical Magazine and
Annals of Natural History.
Mr. Keith had long been suffering from severe illness, which ter-
minated in his death on the 25th of January last, at the age of 71,
at the parsonage of Stalisfield, in Kent, of which parish he had been
for many years vicar. He was a native of Scotland, and received
his education at the University of Glasgow.
William Kent, Esq. — Mr. Kent was a zealous botanist and hor-
ticulturist, and formerly possessed an exten&lve garden at Clapton,
where, among many other choice plants, he successfully cultivated
the beautiful Nelumbium speciosum, and other tender aquatics, of
which he was a liberal distributor to his friends. His health obli-
ging him to retire to Bath, he lost the means of indulging his inclina-
tion to horticulture on so large a scale ; but of his garden on Bath-
wick Hill, it might truly be said that there never perhaps were so
many rare plants cultivated together in so small a space. Notwith-
standing he laboured under a painful complaint, he was also happily
able to amuse himself by landscape j)ainting ; and at the same time
he was ever active in promoting useful institutions, moral, scientific
or literary.
Don Mariano Lagasca, Professor of Botany, and Director of the
Royal Botanic Garden at Madrid, was a native of the province of
Arragon, where his father followed the occupation of a farmer. He
was sent at an early age to the Gymnasium of Tarragona, and after
pursuing the course of study prescribed at that institution, he re-
paired to Madrid to complete himself for the medical profession, for
which he had evinced a predilection. At Madrid he had the good
fortune to attend the lectures, and to acquire the friendship, of the
celebrated Cavanilles, at that time Professor of Botany in the
Spanish capital, and these circumstances laid the foundation of
the eminence to which he afterwards attained. In 1822, on the
assembling of the Cortes, he was returned Deputy for his native
province, and on the overthrow of the constitutional form of go-
vernment in November of the following year, he was obliged to
consult his safety by flight, first to Gibraltar, and afterwards to
this country, v/here his high moral character, amiable disposition,
aiKi eminent talents, gained him universal esteem and respect.
Spain, long famed as the granary of ancient Rome, is known to
surpass all other countries in the great variety of those grasses
which are cultivated for human food, such as wheat, barley, rye and
oats : and many of those whom I am now addressing may remem-
ber the extensive and interesting collection of Spanish Cerealia cul-
7^ Linnean Society, [May 25,
tivatcd by Professor Lagasca in the garden belonging to the Society
of Apothecaries at Chelsea. The publication of a * Ceres and Flora
Hispanica * had long been a favourite object with him, but which he
did not live to accomplish. He departed this life in the 58th year
of his age, on the 23rd of June last, at the palace of his early friend
and school associate, the present Bishop of Barcelona, who hearing
of his infirm state of health, had invited him to partake of his
hospitality and kindness, in the hope that the milder air of Cata-
lonia might be the means of restoring him. His remains were ho-
noured with a public funeral, and an oration was pronounced over
him by his friend Don Augustin Yanez, Professor of Natural History
at Barcelona.
It was in Systematic Botany that Professor Lagasca had more
particularly distinguished himself, and he has added greatly to our
knowledge of various families of plants, such as Umbelliferce, Dip-
saceee and Compositce, of one of the groups of which, the Lahiatiflorce,
he may be regarded as the founder.
James Dottin Maycock, M.D. — Dr. Maycock is deserving of no-
tice as the author of a Flora of Barbadoes, in which island he had
long resided. The work forms a catalogue of the indigenous as well
as cultivated plants of that island, and contains besides a number
of interesting notices on their oeconomical uses. The author has fully
established the identity of the species which aiFords the Barbadoes
aloes, with the Aloe vulgaris, accurately figured in the ' Flora Grseca.*
William Mills, Esq.
Sir John St. Auhyn, Bart., F.R.S. — A distinguished cultivator of
the science of Mineralogy, and who possessed one of the most ex-
tensive and valuable collections in that department of Natural His-
tory ever formed in this country.
James Sharpe, Esq.
The Rev. Thomas, Lord Walsingham.
Amongst the Foreign Members occur —
John Frederick Blumenhach, M.D., Professor of Medicine in the
University of Gottingen, Foreign Member of the Royal Society of
London, and Associate of the Royal Academy of Sciences of the
French Institute, was pre-eminently distinguished by his important
researches in General Anatomy and Physiology, which he continued
to prosecute during a long life ardently devoted to the advancement of
science. He was equally remarkable for the extent and variety of his
knowledge and the philosophical sagacity of his views. Professor
Blumenbach died on the 22nd of January last, at the advanced age
of 88.
1840.] Linnean Society, 73
Joseph Francis, Baron Jacquin, Professor of Botany and Che-
mistry, and Director of the Imperial Botanic Garden at Vienna, to
which appointments he succeeded on the resignation of his father,
the celebrated traveller and botanist. He was author of Ecloga
Plantarum, a folio work, containing descriptions and coloured figures
of the new and rare plants which flowered in the gardens under
his care, and also of a valuable work on birds.
Baron Jacquin was distinguished for his urbanity and kindness,
especially to strangers ; and few cultivators of science visited the
Austrian capital without partaking of his good offices and hospita-
lity. He died at Vienna, on the 10th of December, in the 74th year
of his age.
The President also announced that seventeen Fellows and four
Associates had been elected since the last Anniversary.
It was then moved by the President, and unanimously agreed to
by the meeting ; '* That the cordial thanks of the Society be given to
Dr. Boott on his retirement from the office of Secretary, for the in-
cessant attention which he has shown to the duties of that office, and
for the ability, zeal, and urbanity with which he has discharged those
duties."
At the election, which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop
of Norwich was elected President; Edward Forster, Esq., Trea-
surer ; John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary ; and Richard Taylor,
Esq., Under-Secretary. The following five Fellows were elected
into the Council in the room of others going out; viz. Thomas Bell,
Esq., George Loddiges, Esq., Gideon Mantell, Esq., LL.D., Richard
Horsman Solly, Esq., and Sir George Thomas Staunton, Bart.
June 2.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
William Felkin, Esq., of Nottingham, was el6cted a Fellow of
the Society.
Mr. George Francis, F.L.S., exhibited a portion of the trunk of
the Lepurandra saccidora (Graham, Cat. Bomb. PI. p. 193.), from
Western India, of the bark of which sacks and bags are made.
Mr. Ranch exhibited a specimen of the fruit of Salisburia adianti-
folia, which was grown last year in the Imperial Botanic Garden at
Vienna.
No. IX. — Proceedings of the Linnkan Socibtt.
74 lAnnean Society. [JunelG,
Read, " On the reproductive Organs of Equisetum." By Mr.
Joseph Henderson, Gardener to Earl Fitzwilliam, at Milton Park,
communicated by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, F.L.S.
Mr. Henderson's observations were made on Equisetum hyemale
and other species, and embrace the entire period of development of
the sporae and of the thecse containing them. The theca is in the first
instance filled with cells of extreme tenuity, in the interior of which
the sporae afterwards take their origin. After the appearance of the
sporae the containing cells gradually become thickened, and sepa-
rate from each other; and at a still later period their walls are
marked by spiral sutures, by means of which they are subdivided
into two narrow bands with broad and rounded ends. As the sporae
approach maturity these bands separate at the sutures, and the con-
taining cell is thus resolved into its component parts, the supposed
filaments and antherae of Hedwig. The sporae, when ripe, have a
double membrane, which is rendered evident by the addition of
tincture of iodine. In the immature state of the thecae, up to the
time when the spiral lines become distinctly marked on the integu-
ment of the sporae, they form transparent membranous reticulated
bags, the meshes of which have different directions in different
parts. When the sporae have attained their full size, a new deposit
of vegetable matter is added, and spiral vessels are formed within
the flattened cells of which the membrane is composed, and the
outlines of which are indicated by the meshes on the surface. In
some situations these vessels are true spirals, in others they partake
more of the character of the annular.
While making these observations, Mr. Henderson was not aware
that he had been in part anticipated by Treviranus, BischofF, Meyen
and Mohl. They differ, however, in some particulars from the ob-
servations of those physiologists, who also differ from each other.
June 16.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Thomas Harris, Esq., of Kingsbury, was elected a Fellow of the
Society.
The President nominated the four following Members of the
Council to be Vice-Presidents for the year commencing on the
1840.] lAnnean Society, JS
25th of May last, viz. Robert Brown, Esq., Edward Forster, Esq.,
Thomas Horsfield, M.D., and Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq.
Read, "Descriptions of some new species of the Coleopterous
genus Cerapterus." By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S.
In the present paper the author enumerates eight species of this
interesting genus of the family of Paussidte, which he distributes
into six subgenera. The following are the characters of the new
species : —
1. C. Horsjleldii, piceus ; thorace antic^ emarginato, elytris macula apicali
flavescente baud rotundat^ literam y quodammodo simulante, palpo-
rum labialium articulo ultimo securiformi.
2. C. quadrinotatus, piceo-niger, nitidissimus ; thorace (antice viso) sub-
emarginato, maculis duabus magnis ovalibus prope scutellum, alterisque
duabus apicem versus majoribus antic^ et postice lobatis rufo-fulvis.
Long. Corp. lin., lat. lin.
3. C piceus, nitidus; antennis pedibusque rufo-piceis, punctis irregula-
ribus minutissimis.
4. C. brasiliensis, fulvo-rufescens ; oculis albidis tenuissime punctatis, ver-
tice depress©, thorace intra ^ngulos posticos utrinque foveolato.
Long. corp. lin., lat. lin.
This remarkable species was discovered by Mr. Miers in the vi-
cinity of Rio de Janeiro, and a drawing of the insect accompanies
the present paper. Mr. Westwood regards it as the type of a new
subgenus, which he names Homopterus.
5. C. Westermanni, rufo-piceus, baud nitidus ; elytris nigris postic^ cruce
nifescente notatis basi bicostatis discoque longitudinalit^r subimpressis^
apice rufescente.
Long, corp. lin., lat. lin.
Read also the conclusion of a paper, entitled " Arrangement and
Definition of the Genera of Ferns, founded upon their venation,
with examples of the species, and observations on the afiinities of
each genus." By Mr. John Smith, A.L.S.
The principles of the author's arrangement are similar to those
proposed by Presl in his Tentamen Pteridographia, published at
Prague in 1836, in which the venation of the frond (a character, the
importance of which, combined with the relation of the sori to the
veins, was first pointed out by Mr. Brown) is adopted as the basis of
generic division. Mr. Smith states that his arrangement was com-
pleted before the work of Professor Presl had reached this country,
and thinks that the coincidence of their views affords presumptive
evidence in favour of the accuracy of the principles upon which
their distribution of the species is founded. This extensive family.
76 Linnean Society, [Nov. 3,
or rather class, was divided by Mr. Brown into four very natural
subfamilies. It is only with the first of these {Polypodiacea) that
Mr. Smith has more particularly occupied himself in the present
paper. The following are the names and characters of the tribes
into which he has distributed the Polypodiacece.
Subfam. I. POLYPODIACEiE, R. Br.
Sporangia globose, or oval, transparent, unilocular, pedicellate, or rarely
sessile, opening transversely by the elastic property of a vertical, rarely
oblique, articulated ring.
Tribe I. PoLYPODiEiE. Sori punctiform or elongated, destitute of a spe-
cial indusium.
Examples. — Polj^podium, Sw. Grammitis, Sw, Hemionitis, L.
Tribe II. Acrostichie^. Sori amorphous, destitute of a special indusium.
Example. — Acrosticlmm, L.
Tribe III. Pteride^e. Sori punctiform, or elongated transversely. In-
dusium lateral, attached exteriorly.
Examples. — Pteris, L. Adiantum, L.
Tribe IV. Asplenie^. Sori elongated, oblique. Indusium lateral, linear.
Examples. — Asplenium, L. Diplazium, Sw.
Tribe V. Aspidie^. Sori punctiform, intramarginal. Indusium orbicu-
lar and central, or reniform and lateral, and attached interiorly.
Examples. — Aspidium, Sw. Nephrodium, Mich., R. Br.
Tribe VI. Dicksonie^. Sori marginal. Indusium lateral, attached in-
teriorly, its free margin conniving with the indusiform margin of the
frond, forming a calyciform bilabiate cyst.
Examples. — Lindsasa, Dry. Davallia, Sm, Dicksonia, L*Hkrit, Tricho-
manes, L. Hymenophyllum, Sm.
Tribe VII. Cyathe^. Sori punctiform, intramarginal. Indusium caly-
ciform, or wanting. Receptacle elevated.
Examples. — Cyathea, Sm. Hemitelia, R. Br. Alsophila, R. Br.
These tribes are again subdivided into minor groups, founded upon cha-
racters derived from the venation of the frond, the position of the sori, and
the form of the indusium. Notholcena and Ceratopteris are referred to
the first, Ceterach to the fourth, and Onoclea to the fifth tribes.
Nov. 3.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
George Stephens Gough, Esq., of Rathronan House, near Clon-
mel, and Captain D. McAdam, of the Royal Marines, were elected
Fellows of the Society.
1840.] lAnnean Society, 77
Mr. William Taylor, F.L.S., exhibited a sample of the oil obtained
from the fruit of Madia sativa, grown at Aspall Stoneham, near
Ipswich.
Read, " A Note on the Bokhara Clover." By William Taylor,
Esq., F.L.S.
Mr. Taylor obtained from Mr. Loudon a small parcel of seeds of the
Bokhara Clover (Melilotus arborea), which was sown early in April,
1839. The plant proved to be biennial, and stood the winter well.
On the 28th of April following, a part of the crop was cut down, the
stems measuring 15 inches in height ; and on the 28th of May, from
the same piece of ground, a second crop was obtained, which had
reached the height of 16 inches; a third on the 28th of June, 17
inches; a fourth in July, 16 inches ; a fifth in August, 15 inches;
and a sixth in September, measuring 14 inches. According to Mr.
Taylor's calculation, the Bokhara Clover would yield from 20 to 30
tons of green herbage per acre, and from 2 to 3 tons of strong fibre*
which appears capable of being manufactured into cordage.
The flowers are white and very fragrant, and the plant does not
appear to differ specifically from the Melilotus leucantha, although
regarded by DeCandolle as a distinct species.
There were also read, *' Descriptions of some new Insects collected
in Assam, by William Griffith, Esq., Assistant Surgeon on the Madras
Medical Establishment." By the Rev. F. W. Hope, M.A., F.R.S.,
and L.S.
This paper contains a further selection of new insects from Mr.
Griffith's Assam collection in the possession of Mr. Solly, an account
of part of which has been already noticed at p. 42, and has since
appeared in the Society's Transactions. The descriptions are ac-
companied by coloured figures. The species described belong chiefly
to the group of Lucanida, and are as follows : —
LUCANUS.
1. L. Forsteri.
Long. unc. 2, lin. 11 ; lat. elytr. lin. 10.
Nigro-piceus ; mandibulis valde exsertis intern^ multidentatis ad basin
dente valido suprk et infrk armatis, apicibus furcatis.
This species has been named in compliment to Edward Forster,
Esq., Treas. and V.P.L.S.
2. L. Rafflesii.
Long. unc. 2, hn. 6 ; lat. hn. 8.
78 Linnean Society, [Nov. 3,
Niger, nitidus ; mandibulis vald^ exsertis ante apicem unidentatis, apici-
bus obtusis et oblique truncatis.
This species is nearly related to L. nepalensis, but is of larger di-
mensions, and is extensively diffused over the eastern part of the
Indian continent, occurring in Nepal, Bengal, and Assam.
3. L. Spencei,
Long. unc. 1, lin. 9 ; lat. lin. 6.
Ater ; mandibulis exsertis basi robustis et unidentatis, apicibus furcatis.
4. L. ciirvidens.
Long. unc. 1, lin. 9 ; lat. lin, 6^.
Niger ; mandibulis exsertis intus dente curvato valido fere ad basin po-
sito.
5. L. hulbosus.
Long. unc. 1, lin. 6; lat. lin. 6.
Nigro-castaneus ; mandibulis exsertis dentibus bulbosis armatis, apicibus
acutis.
6. L. astacoides.
Long. unc. 1, lin. 3; lat. lin. 4.
Castaneus; mandibulis exsertis intus ad basin denticulatis denticulis ni-
gricantibus, apicibus acutis.
7. L. foveatus.
Long. unc. 2 ; lat. lin. 6.
Castaneus ; mandibulis vald^ exsertis, apicibus acutis, dente fere medio
fortiori, aliisque 4 sequalibus ante apicem positis.
8. L. omissus.
Long. unc. 1, lin. 9 ; lat. lin. 6.
Castaneus ; mandibulis valde exsertis, apicibus acutis, dentibus 2 nigris
subbasalibus, aliisque 4 subapicalibus.
9. L. serricolUs.
Long. unc. 1, lin. 3 ; lat. lin. 6.
Ater, politus ; mandibulis pariim exsertis sinuatis et punctatis.
10. L. punctiger.
Long. lin. 9^ ; lat. lin. 4.
Ater ; corpore punctato nitido, thoracis marginibus externis serratis,
elytris sutura parum elevata glabra insignitis, tibiis 4 posticis uniden-
tatis.
CHEIROTONUS.
Corpus oblongo-ovatum, crassum. Antennce 10-articulatsB. Thorax ely-
tris antice angustior, lateribus subrotundis, valde serrulatis. Elytra
thorace latiora. Pedes robusti, armati, antice longiores ; Uhiis externe
irregulariter dentatis : tarsis elongatis, articulis apice spina brevi ar-
matis, unguibus bidentatis. TibicB 4 posticce seriebus spinarum irre-
gularibus armatae,
1. C. MacLeai/ii.
Long. lin. 23 ; lat. hn. 13.
1840.] lAnnean Society, 79
iEneo-viridis ; thorace lateribus extern^ serrulatis et varioloso-punctatis,
sulco longitudinal! in medio dorso fortiter impresso, elytris nigro-seneia
maculisque croceis insignitis.
The insect which forms the type of the above new genus, has
been named in compliment to Mr. W. S. MacLeay. It forms,
along with Eucheirus of Kirby, and Protomacrus of Newman, a
small natural family, which has been termed by the author Euchei-
rida, and is regarded by him as related to the Dynastidce, and con-
stituting a link of connexion with the Goliathida.
LAMIA.
1. Z. Swainsoni.
Long. uuc. 1, lin. 4; lat. lin. 6.
Brunnea; thorace utrinque spinoso, dorso convexo in medio bulboso,
elytris concoloribus albo-variegatis et ad basin nigro-tuberculatis.
This species, which has been named after Mr. Swainson, appears
to constitute a subgenus related to Euoplia, described in the first
part of the account of Assam Insects at p. 42.
MONOCHAMUS.
1 . M. heryllinus.
Long. lin. 8 ; lat. lin. 3.
Coeruleo-beryllinus ; antennis griseis, thorace utrinque spinoso elytrisque
nigro-maculatis.
STIBARA. - f
Corpus Saperdaeforme, crassum, robustum. Caput latum, antice fer^
quadratum, postice convexum. j^ ntennce cori^ore breviores, 11-articu-
latae. Thorax robustus, nodosus, inermis. Elytra lata, thorace vix
triple longiora, apicibus abrupte truncatis, lateribus elevatis. Pedes
femoribus incrassatis, tibiis robustis.
1. S. tetraspilota.
Long. hn. 10; lat. lin. 3^.
Aurantio-rubra ; antennis oculisque nigris, thorace nodoso, elytris conco-
loribus, macula magna ovali nigr4 ad humeros posits, apicibus nigris,
2. S. trilineata.
Long. lin. 9 ; lat. lin. 3.
Pallide castanea ; antennis albo-cinctis, thorace nodoso utrinque denticu-
lato, elytris lineis 3 nigris insignitis, sutura latiori, lateribus punctatis,
punctis duplici serie ad disci medium fortissimo insculptis.
A new genus belonging to the Saperdida, to which family the
Lamia nigricornis is also referrible, besides several other types of
undescribed genera.
80 lAnnean Society. [Nov. I7j
November 17.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. Janson, F.L.S., exhibited specimens of the Neottia cdstivalis,
discovered in August last by himself and Mr, Branch, near Lynd-
hurst, Hampshire, being the first time it had been observed in
England.
Mr. Ogilby, F.L.S., exhibited a specimen in flower of a new
species of clover recently introduced from Cabul, remarkable for the
quantity of herbage which it yields. The species is very nearly re-
lated to Trifolium resupinatum.
Read, ** Description of Aucklandia, a new genus of Composita,
supposed to be the Costus of Dioscorides." By Hugh Falconer,
M.D., Superintendent of the Honourable East India Company's
Botanic Garden at Saharunpore. Communicated by Dr. Royle,
F.R.S. & L.S.
This interesting plant, the root of which, under the name of koot,
forms an important article of Cashmeer commerce, is considered by
Dr. Falconer as identical with, the long-disputed Costus of the an-
cients, and his opinion appears to be borne out by the accordance
of the root with the description given by Dioscorides, by the striking
analogy of the Arabian synonym hoost to its Greek and Cashmeer
appellations, and also by the commercial history of the drug.
The roots, which are possessed of a strong aromatic and pun-
gent odour, are collected in large quantities, principally for export-
ation to China, where they are held in high repute, as an aphrodisiac,
and are also burnt as incense in the temples. The quantity annu-
ally collected varies from 10,000 to 12,000 khurwars (of 96 seers,
or 192 lbs.,) or about 2,000,000 lbs. weight. At Canton the price
per cwt. is 2/. 7^. bd., while the cost at the depot in Cashmeer is
only 25. Ad.
The plant is not held in much repute as a medicine by the Cash-
meerians, who are only astonished at the estimation in which it is
held in other countries ; nor do they apply it to any other use than
that of protecting bales of shawls from the attacks of moths : por-
tions of the stem are, however, suspended from the necks of children
to avert the ** evil eye," and to expel worms.
The plant is regarded by Dr. Falconer as constituting the type of
a new genus of Cynarea, which he has named in compliment to the
present Governor- General of India ; and as it was discovered during
1840.] lAnnean Society, 81
a journey in Cashmeer, commenced under Lord Auckland's auspices,
and yields a valuable product, he regards the name as peculiarly
appropriate. The Aucklandin is a gregarious plant, growing in great
abundance on the moist open slopes of the mountains which sur-
round the valley of Cashmeer, at an elevation of from 8000 to 9000
feet above the level of the sea, but like some other plants of that re-
gion, it is extremely local, being confined to the immediate vicinity
of the valley. The genus is nearly related to Saussurea, and is stated
to be chiefly distinguished by the rays of its feathery pappus being
disposed in two rows, and cohering by twos or threes at the base.
The following is the author's character of the genus :
AUCKLANDIA.
Capitulum homogamum. Anther arum caudce lanato-plumosae. Pappi
setacei lamellcp biseriales, plumosae, basi ternatim quaternatimve co-
haerentes, in annulum deciduum concretse. Achenium glabrum,
Herba orgyalis, radice perenni ramosd crassd, caule erecto simplici
sulcata glabra folioso, foliis suhhjratis margine setaceo-dentatis suprd,
glabris atrovirentibus subtus glaucescentibus venis puberulis, capitulis
numerosis terminalibus aggregatis, Jloribus atropurpureis.
Sp. A. Costus.
December 1.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. Gould, F.L.S., exhibited a specimen of a nondescript LizEird
from .New Holland, remarkable for the extreme aculeation of its
scales.
Mr. William Cumming presented specimens of Lagurus ovatus,
Briza maxima, and Mentha crispa, which he stated that he had
gathered in the vicinity of Saffron Walden, Essex.
Read, " On a White Incrustation on Stones, from the bed of the
river Annan." By Edwin Lankester, M.D., F.L.S.
During a short stay which the author made last summer on the
banks of the Annan, in Dumfries -shire, his attention was arrested by
the appearance of the stones on the banks of the river. Wherever
a mass of gravel was exposed to the air, the surface of the stones
appeared covered with a white incrustation, as if they had been
white- washed. This appearance was more or less general on all
No, X. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
82 Linnean Society. [Dec. 1,
the exposed banks, but was most evident on the stones nearest the
water's edge. On examining the stones with a pocket-lens, their
surface appeared covered with acicular crystals, and hence it was
at first concluded that the incrustation arose from the crystalliza-
tion of some salt abounding in the waters. On procuring, however,
some stones from the water itself, they presented on their surfaces
the filaments of a minute conferva, which appeared to be the source
of the white crust ; but as the existence of the conferva would not
explain the crystalline appearance, it was examined under the micro-
scope, and was found to proceed from minute acicular bodies about
y^j^jth of an inch long and gw o^^ °^ ^^ "^^^ broad, which were most
of them arranged in a stellate form, although many were scattered
in all directions. Running under the whole were the filaments of a
minute conferva, on which the acicular bodies rested.
In Greville's Scottish Cryptogamic Flora, similar bodies are re-
ferred to the genus Exilaria, but Dr. Lankester describes the stellate
arrangement of the aciculae as giving to those examined by him a
different character from E.fasciculata. Hooker, in his continuation
of Smith's 'English Flora,' has placed Greville's name as a synonym
of Diatoma truncatum, from which D. fasciculatum is believed not to
be distinct.
In Ehrenberg*s work on the Infusoria, these bodies are figured
and described (p. 11. tab. xvii.) as Polygastric animalcules of the
family Bacillaria. The genus to which they belong is Synedra, and
the species which they most closely resemble is the Synedra Ulna,
which is characterized by being striated, with linear corpuscles,
straight, truncated at the sides, flat on the back and belly, with the
apex a little dilated as the individuals become aged. The bodies
from the Annan are not striated, nor are their ends dilated, although
they appear to be full-grown. The siliceous skeletons in which these
little animals are invested account for their white appearance. Al-
though similar bodies have been often described both as plants and
animals, the author believes that no notice has been taken of their
producing the phsenomenon here described.
Read also, " Observations on the Genus Derbe of Fabricius."
By John O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S.
After noticing the recent memoirs by Messrs. Percheron and
Boheman on this little-known Fabrician genus, and its very close
relationship to Otiocerus and Anotia of Kirby, the author states that
the Fabrician type of the genus, D. hcemorrhoidalis, is quite distinct
from the group described as such by^the two first-mentioned authors.
1840.] Linnean Society, 83
He accordingly restricts the generic name Derbe to the typical spe-
cies, with the following characters :
Derbe. Rostrum ad medium abdominis extensum, articulo apicali minuto.
Antennae breviores. Oculi subrotundati. Alae longiores, angustioros,
cost^ anticarum ante apicem incis^, venis numerosis, longitudinalibus,
in medio venis transversis conjunctis, mediana ramos lOlongitudinales
emittente ; alae posticaj vena postcostali 4-fida.
In addition to the typical species and D. nervosa^ Klug, Burm.,
the author adds the two following species to the typical group :
1. Z). semwiriata, luteo-fulva ; alis pallidis costa magis fulvescenti venis
nigricantibus strigisque tenuibus fuscis inter venas (nisi in cellulis api-
calibus) dispositis. Expans. alar. lin. 16f. Brasilia. Mus. Westw.
2. D. strigipennis, pallide fusco-lutea ; thoracis dorso carinaque faciei
sanguineis, alarum venis fuscis, strigls tenuibus fuscescentibus inter
venas omnes ad apicem alarum cirentibus, pedibus albidis. Expans.
alar. lin. 14. Brasilia. Mus. "Westw.
Mysidia. Rostrum ultra pedes posticos haud extensum. Antennae me-
diocres. Oculi rotundati. Alae breviores, latiores, pulverosae ; anticae
integrae, venis paucioribus, vena mediana ramos tres emittente, ramo
medio bifido ; posticae vena postcostali bifida aut trifida.
The variation in the position and number of the veins of the
wings affording a character of primary importance for distinguish-
ing the preceding groups, the author has at some length entered
into an examination of their normal state and direction, and the
manner in which they become modified. The following species are
referred to this subgenus : Derbe pallida, Fab., (described and
figured by Percheron from the Copenhagen Cabinet as the type of
the genus,) D. squamigera, Fab., D. costalis. Fab., and probably
D. punctum. Fab., D. testacea. Fab., and D. nivea, Fab., as well as
the following new species :
M. albipennis, parva, tenera ; alis albis, anticis puncto parvo ante me-
dium costae punctis nonnuUis ad marginem internum venis trans-
versis punctoque ante apicem nigris, lunulis parvis marginalibus fuscis.
Expans. alar. lin. 8. Vera Cruz. Mus. Westw.
M. lactiflora, luteo-albida ; vertice coUarisque margine antico parum
sanguineis, hujus margine postico margineque postico tegularum albis,
alis albis margine antico lutescente versus basin maculis tribus parvis
maculaque majori ante apicem nigris. Expans. alar. lin. 12^. Brasilia.
Mus. Westw.
M. subfasciata, alba ; alis fusco transverse nebulosis puncto ante apicem
iiigro ad basin areae parvae triangularis subapicalis, venis 4 transversis
obscuris. Brasilia. Mus. D. Burchell, et See. Zool. Loud.
84 Linnean Society, [Dec. 1,
Lydda. Rostrum brevius. Antennae breves. Alae anticse valde elongat£3e,
apice rotundatae, directione venarum anomala ; regione venae medianse
minimi, aut potius ejus rami in venae postcostalis ramos transformati.
The type of this subgenus is Derhe elongata, Fab., from New
Holland, in the cabinet of the Linnean Society.
Zeugma. Rostrum ultra basin pedum posticorum extensum. Antennae
rotundatae. OcelH obsoleti ? Prothorax lateribus pro antennarum re-
ceptione concavo-dilatatis. Alae anticae oblongo ovatae, apicfe subtrun-
catae, venis numerosis longitudinalibus ; vena postcostali ramos 8 posticS,
mediana tantum tres emittente.
This subgenus is stated to be intermediate between Derbe and
Thracia on the one hand, and Mysidia on the other. The only spe-
cies is
Z. vittata, fulva ; aHs anticis flavidis vitta lata media apicem versus
deflexa altevaque postica parallela apice vitta abbreviata fasciaque
tenui transversa fuscis. In Mus. Soc. Linn.
Thracia. Rostrum pectore longius. Antennae capite fere duplo longi-
ores. Oculi orbiculati. Ocelli nulli ? Alae anticse longissimae, angustas,
apice truncatae, venis 12 longitudinalibus inter angulum apicalem et
regionem analem.
This subgenus is proposed for the two African species, D. sinuosa
and D. nervosa, described by Boheman, and considered by him as
constituting the first section of the genus. Notwithstanding the
difference of its geographical range, the author adds the following
species from Java, which agrees with the other two in all the sub-
generic characters :
T, javanica, fulva ; abdomine obscuriore vitta centrali pallidiori, alis
pallide hyalinis anticis fascia lata costali fusca. Java. D. Horsfield.
In Mus. Soc. Mercat. Ind.
Phenice. Rostrum pectore vix longius. Antennae capite manifesto bre-
viores. Oculi oblongi, vel obovati, distincte emarginati. Ocelli di-
stincti. Alae anticae quam in Thracia breviores, apice subrotundatae,
venis fere ut in Mysidia dispositis, 12 longitudinalibus inter angulum
apicalem et regionem analem.
This subgenus is proposed for the three African species, D. fritil-
larisyfasciolata, and stellulata, described by Boheman, and forming
his second section of Derhe.
After reviewing the characters of the preceding subgenera, the
author expresses the opinion that Otiocerus (including Hypnis,
Burm.) and Anotia of Kirby, must also be considered as subgenera
of equal rank with the preceding ; that Anotia coccinea, Guer. Icon.
1840.] Linnean Society, 85
R. An. MS. pi. 58, L3, forms another subgenus ; and that the two
following groups also constitute two other subgenera of Derbe :
Patara. Rostrum ad basin pedum posticorum extensum. Ocuii maxjmi,
subtus emarginati. Ocelli obsoleti. Antennae maximae, compressae,
verrucosae, apice subtruncato et setigero. Alae anticae longitudine
mediocres, apice rotundatae, venis paucis celluHsque tribus discoidali-
bus.
F. guttata, capite tboraceque fulvis, alls anticis griseo-fuscis margine albo-
guttatis. Insula S" Vincentii. D. Guilding. Mus. D. Hope.
P. albida, luteo-aibida ; antennis nigricantibus, alis anticis albis farinosis
apicem versus fuscescenti-tinctis, guttis albis sanguineisque oruatib.
Insula S*' Vincentii. D. Guilding. Mus. D. Hope.
Cenchrea. Frons parum producta. Oculi magni, emarginati. Ocelli 2.
Antennae minutae, articulo 2do brevi subrotundato. Prothorax latus,
lateribus pro receptione antennarum concavo-dilatatis. Alae anticae
elongatae, angulo antico apicali valde obtuso, venis perpaucis longi-
tudinalibus.
C dorsalis, pallide testaceo-fulva ; alis anticis flavescentibus margine
interno fuscis apice punctis duobus purpureis. Insula S" Vincentii.
D. Guilding. Mus. D. Hope.
The species above described, together with their structural cha-
racters, and especially the vaiiations in the direction of the veins of
the wings, were illustrated by numerous magnified figures.
December 15.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
The Rev. William Cuthbert, D.D., and William Griffith, Esq.,
of the Hon. East India Company's Medical Service, were elected
Fellows.
Read, an " Account of two new Genera of Plants, allied to Ola-
cinecE." By George Bentham, Esq., F.L.S.
The two new genera on which this paper is founded are Pogope-
talum, Benth., collected by Mr. Schomburgk in British Guiana ; and
Jpodytes, named but not described by Prof. Ernst Meyer, among
the South African plants collected by Dr^ge. A third genus, Lere-
tia of Vellozo, figured in the ' Flora Fluminensis,' is also character-
ized for the first time.
After noticing the opinions of various authors as to the affinities
86 Linnean Society, [Dec. 15,
of Olacinete, and enumerating the genera hitherto referred to that
family, Mr. Bentham enters into a detailed examination of its cha-
racters and of their modifications in the different genera, the most
important of which he condenses into the following character of the
Order.
Ord. OLACINE^.
Calyx parvus, liber v. basi adnatus, truncatus v. dentlculatus, fructifer
persistens immutatus v. auctus. Corollce petala 4, 5, v. 6 hypogyna v.
subperigyna, subcoriacea, sestivatione valvata, libera v. per paria con-
nexa v. basi in tubum coalita. Stamina definita, cum petalis inserta,
iis coalita v. libera, numero petalorum dupla v. aequalia fertilia rarius
asymraetrica, alterna saepe sterilia difformia. AnthercB introrsse, bilo-
culares, loculis rima longitudinali dehiscentibus. Ovarium toro nunc
parvo, nunc incrassato et interdum cum calyce concrete insidens, l-lo-
culare (nunc spurie et incomplete 3 — 4-loculare) v. rarius excentrice 3-
loculare. Ovula in loculo 2, 3 v. 4 collateralia, rarius solitaria, ab apice
placentae liberae v. ovario v. dissepimentis spuriis connatae pendula, ana-
tropa. Stylus erectus, simplex, stigmate nunc truncato tenui, nunc
incrassato 2 — 3 — 4-lobo. Drupa calyce immutato stipata v. ampliato
cincta, velata v. adnata, pericarpio tenui carnoso v. exsucco, putamine
crustaceo v. osseo, abortu 1-spermo, rarius 2 — 3-spermo. Semen in-
versum, v. saepius placenta cum illo a basi concreta spuria erectum,
umbilico lato basilari affixum. Embryo in axi albuminis copiosi carnosi,
rectus, apici fructus proximus, nunc brevissimus, rarius dimidio albu-
minis longior, radicula apicem fructiis spectante brevissima, cotyledo-
nibus semiteretibus, plumula inconspicua. Arhores v. frutices erecti
V. interdum scandentes, inermes v. ramis axillaribus spinescentibus ar-
mati, glabriv. parce pubescentes. i^o/ia alterna, simplicia, integerrima,
exstipulata, glandulosa. Flares hermaphroditi, v. abortu polygami,
nunc axillares distincte v. irregulariter racemosi, spicati v. cymosi, nunc
terminales cymoso-paniculati, rarius solitarii laterales v. axillares. Brac-
tece squamaeformes, saepius minutae, rarius juniores* imbricatse. Brac-
teolcB parvae in cupulam connatae v. nuUae.
Mr. Bentham distinguishes three tribes characterized as follows ;
Trib. I. OLACEiE. Ovarium basi dissepimentis spuriis (rarius evanidis)
3 — 4-loculare, apice 1-loculare, placenta centrali dissepimentis spuriis
basi adhaerente superne libera. Ovula tot quot loculi spurii ex apice
placentae pendula. Semen erectum. Injlorescentia axillaris, racemosa,
racemis rarius ad florem unicum reductis.
Trib. II. OpiLiEiE. Ovarium a basi 1-loculare. Ovulum (saltem per an-
thesin) unicum, minimum, ab apice placentae liberae centralis pendu-
lum. Stylus centricus. Semen erectum. Injlorescentia axillaris, ra-
cemosa.
Trib. III. IcAciNE.*. Ovarium a basi 1-loculare, v. excentrice et complete
1840.] Linnean Society. 87
S-loculafe. Ovula in quoque loculo duo, ab apice placentae hinc ovario
adnata collateraliter affixa, pendula, in loculo superposita, placenta al-
tera elongata. Stylus excentricus. Semen pendulum. Inflorescentia
cymosa, axillaris v. terminalis.
To the first tribe Mr. Bentham refers Heisteria, L., Ximenia, L.,
Olax, L. (including Spermaxyrum, Labill., and Fissilia, Comm.), and
Scheepfia, L. ; to the second, Opilia, Roxb. (including Groutia, Guill.),
and Cansjera, Lam. ; and to the third, Gomphandra, Wall., Icacina,
A. Juss., Apodytes, Leretia and Pogopetalum.
He considers Schapjia to be far removed from Loranthacea by the
structure of its ovary, while it differs from Symplocos in the aestiva-
tion of its corolla and the incomplete division of its ovary, — two
points in which it agrees remarkably with Olax and Ximenia. He
describes the greater part of its ovary as well as the margin of its
calyx as free, and states that an adherence almost as complete exists
in some species of Olax. The gamopetalous corolla he regards as a
character of little consequence in orders where the aestivation is val-
vate, and as existing to a considerable degree in Olax itself. In
Schtepfia the stamens are more closely adherent to the corolla, but
the filaments are filiform and prominent from the base of the latter,
and are not confounded with its substance.
He states Cansjera to differ from Thymelece, to which it is usually
referred, in the nature of the floral envelopes, in the position of the
stamens, and in the structure of the ovary and of the fruit ; and adds,
that in all these points it agrees with Opilia, from which it differs
only in the adherence of its petals.
The genera Apodytes, Leretia and Pogopetalum are characterized
as follows :
APODYTES.
Flores hermaphroditi. Calyx parvus, immutatus. Petala 4, 5. Stamina
totidem, iis alterna, sterilia nulla. Ovarium 1-loculare. Fructus ovato-
reniformis, subcompressus, hinc appendice carnosS auctus. Inflores-
centia terminalis.
LERETIA.
Flores hermaphroditi, v. abortu masculi. Calyx parvus, immutatus. Pe-
tala 5, intus villosa. Stamina totidem, iis alterna, sterilia nulla. Ora-
ni/ml-loculare. i^rwc^M* (ex icone Fl. Flum.) depresso-globosus. Inflo-
rescentia axillaris, laxa.
POGOPETALUM.
Flores hermaphroditi. Calyx parvus (fructifer parum auctus?). Petala
4, 5, intus villosa. Stamina totidem, iis alterna, sterilia nulla. Ova-
rium 3-loculare. Fructus depresso-globosus ? Inflorescentia axillaris,
densa.
88 Linnean Society. [Dec. 15,
Of the latter genus two species are characterized :
P, orbiculatum, foliis ovato-orbiciilatis obtusissimis subtus ramulisque in-
canis, ovario hispido. — A shrub ten or twelve feet in height, found in
dry Savannahs on the Padavvire River, Schomburgk.
P. acuminatum^ foliis ovatis oblongisve acuminatis subtus vix pallidioribus,
ovario glabro. — A tree of about thirty feet high, growing on the high
banks of the Rio Negro, Schomburgk, n. 970.
Mr. Bentham suggests that the three tribes above characterized
may perhaps, when better known, be considered as distinct orders.
He thinks, however, that the species of Olax in which the dissepi-
ments of the ovary are almost entirely obliterated form a transition
to Opilie^e ; that Gomphandra connects Opilie(E with Icacinece ; and
that Pogopetaliim is in many respects equally allied to Olacece and to
Icacineoe, He states that OlacecB approach most nearly to the poly-
petalous orders with which Olacinece have been compared ; but he
cannot admit of the supposed affinity between them and Aurantiaceee.
Humiriacece are, he thinks, among Dichlamydeous plants, those which
come nearest to Olacinea ; and he considers Styracece (including
SymplocecB and HalesiacecB of Don) to be very near both to Humi-
riacefR and Olacinete. Cornece and some other albuminous orders
have also, in his opinion, some relation to them, but much more
distant.
He considers the nearest approach to Santalacece to occur in the
tribe Opiliece, where the calyx is reduced to little more than a dila-
tation of the torus ; and if it be admitted that there are true Santa-
laceous genera with a superior ovary, and if he is right in supposing
that, in the young buds of Opilia and Cansjera, there is more than one
ovule, these two genera become so nearly intermediate, in his opi-
nion, between Olacea; and Santalacece, as to have nearly as much
claim to be associated with the latter as with the former.
Lastly, he states that Icacinece recede from the two other tribes in
the adherence of the placenta to one angle of the ovarium, and in
the seed being consequently pendulous and not erect; a circumstance
which would have led him to propose it as a distinct order, were it
not for the remarkable resemblance in the floral parts to some true
Olacineous genera, and the absence of any other distinctive character
of importance.
In the notes to the paper Mr. Bentham characterizes several un-
described species of Olax in the following terms :
0. nana (Wall. Cat. Herb. Ind. n. 6783.) suffruticosa? glabriuscula, ra-
mis erectis parce ramosis, foliis subsessilibus oblongis lanceolatisve ob-
1840.] lAnnean Society. 89
tusis vix mucronulatis, pedicellis axillaribus solitariis l-floris, calyce
libero, staminibus sterilibus bifidis. — Napalia ? Wallich.
O. acuminata (Wall. /. c. n. 6781.), fruticosa scandens ? glabra, ramis an-
gulatis, foliis ovato-lanceolatis acuminatis, racemis brevibus distichis
paucifloris, calyce toro incrassato basi breviter adnato, staminibus ste-
rilibus bifidis. — Sillet, Wallich.
O. macrophylla, glaberrima, foliis ovato-lanceolatis acuminatis inaequila-
teris, racemis axillaribus brevibus distichis, calycibus glabris ovarii
basi adnatis : margine libero truncato, staminibus sterilibus integris v.
vix emarginatis, ovario glabro. — In Monte Padawan Guianae Anglicae,
Schomburgk.
O. paucijlora, foliis ovatis junioribus ramulis pedicellisque puberulis, pe-
dunculis axillaribus 1 — 3-floris, calycibus molliter pubescentibus ovarii
basi adnatis : margine libero brevissimo truncato, staminibus sterilibus
longe bifidis, ovario villoso. — Serra Acurua Provincire Bahiensis Bra-
siliae ; Blanchet, n. 2795. — An hue Dulacia singularis, Veil. Fl. Flum. ?
January 19, 1841.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Vv.
John MacClelland, Esq., of the Hon. East India Company's Me-
dical Service, was elected a Fellow ; and Mr. F. Westcott, of Bir-
mingham, an Associate of the Society.
Mr. Mann, F.L.S., exhibited a specimen of Sedum Telephium,
which had been preserved for two years in his Herbarium, and still
continued to send forth buds.
Mr. Babington, F.L.S., exhibited some Fir-cones taken from be-
neath about ten feet of solid peat at Burrishbole, near Newport, co.
Mayo, where they were accompanied by nuts of Corylus Avellana.
He stated that the trees in tfejfe' part of Ireland had all been de-
stroyed for about 200 years, and that no individuals of either species
now occur within very many miles, except a few planted of late
years and far^rom this locality. Professor Don remarked, that the
Cone^ differed from either of the varieties of Pinus sylvestris at pre-
sent found in Scotland ; and that they so entirely resembled those of
the alpine form of that species, figured by Jacquin under the name of
Pinus Mughus, as to leave but little doubt of their identity. He
added, that h'b'regarded Pinus Pumilio as only another form of the
same species. *,
No. XI. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
90 Linnean Society. [Jan. 19,
Read, " A Description of a new genus of Linece." By Charles
Cardale Babington, Esq., M.A., F.L.S.
This genus, which Mr. Babington regards as assisting to establish
more fully the relationship of Linea to MalvacecB, is stated to differ
from the usual structure of Linece by its imbricated and not contorted
petals, which are also not unguiculate, although slightly attenuated
below, and by the remarkably thick coats of its one-seeded, perfectly
closed carpels. Its essential character is given as follows :
CLIOCOCCA.
Sepala 5, integra. Petala 5, in gestivatione imbricata. Stamina 5. Cap-
sttla 10-locularis; loculis clausis indehiscentibus.
The plant on which the genus is founded was raised in the Cam-
bridge Botanic Garden from seeds gathered in the interior of New
South Wales by Mr. Melluish, and has flowered there during three
successive years.
Read also, " Extracts of Letters from Wm. GriflJth, Esq., F.L.S.,
to R. H. Solly, Esq., F.L.S."
In the first of these letters, dated from Olipore, April 8th, 1840,
Mr. Griffith states that he had recently examined two species of
Ephedra, and had no doubt that the ovulum is, as described by
Mr. Brown, naked. The first of these species has a very siliceous
stem," without stomata, unless certain discs blocked up with some
hard matter (silex }) are to be so considered ; which he believes to
be the correct view, inasmuch as the other species, which has no
siliceous deposit, has stomata of the ordinary structure arranged in
a similar manner.
He had also examined the ovaria of some Orchideous plants, in
which he found, in conformity with Mr. Brown's observations, that
the cords sent down to the placentae and subdividing into branches,
one of which passes on each side of each placenta, do not exist before
impregnation. He adds, that the size of the cords is certainly in
proportion to the degree of solution of the pollinia by the stigmatic
action.
In another letter, dated April 23rd, Mr. Griffith describes the
ovule of the outer cell of Callipeltis ? (that of the inner being always
abortive) as deriving its membranous covering from the inner layer
of the ovarium. The ovulum itself he states to be reduced to its
nucleus, but otherwise exactly to resemble those ovula which have
their foramen near the hilum. The same structure, he adds, exists in
the two species of Galium found in the neighbourhood ; the seed
1841.] lAnnean Society, 91
having no proper covering except the albumen and embryonary sac,
its proper coat adhering intimately with the free inner layer of the
ovary, and this again adhering slightly with the calycine layer of that
organ.
In another letter, dated from Cabul, July 23rd, 1840, Mr. Griffith
alludes to the mode of attachment of Cuscuta and Orobanche. CuscutOt
he says, differs in this respect but little from Loranthus : the suckers
stop at the first completely-formed wood, and never penetrate
further, and both the cortical and ligneous systems pass into the
stock. In Orobanche, which, however, he has only slightly examined,
the attachment seems to him to be made only by a bundle of ducts
derived from the outer part of the central system, which spread out
into a disc over the surface of the first comjiletely-formed wood they
meet. He states the Cuscuta examined to be a gigantic species in
extent, infesting willows, poplars, a species of Elaagnus and the
Alhagi Maurorum. It also preys, he says, extensively on itself ; and
one of its intricate masses, half covering a willow- tree twenty or
thirty feet high, presents a remarkable spectacle.
February 2.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Addresses of Congratulation to Her Majesty and to His Royal
Highness Prince Albert, on Her Majesty's safe delivery of a Princess,
were read and agreed to.
Read a paper " On a peculiar kind of Organs existing in the
Pitcher of Nepenthes distillatoria." By Prof. Don, Libr. L.S.
These organs, named by Prof. Don ' clathrophores,* occupy the
lower half of the inside of the pitcher, and have been described by
Treviranus, Meyen and Korthals. Doubts still exist as to their
precise function ; but it appears to him probable either that they are
the mouths by which the fluid is poured out into the pitcher, or that
they are connected with the function of respiration.
He thinks with M. Morren that the pitcher originates from the
lamina of the leaf, the margins of which become united at an early
period ; while he regards the operculum as formed upon the plan of
the cucullate sepal and petals oi Aconitum, and derived from the apex
92 Linnean Society, [Feb. 2,
of the leaf. He regards the pitchers of Sarracenia as formed upon
the same principle ; but compares those of Cephalotus to the labellum
of Cypripedium, the modified leaf being produced anteriorly into a
pouch, and the operculum being posterior, and not anterior, as in
Nepenthes.
The cuticle of the upper surface of the expanded part of the pe-
tiole of Nepenthes distillatoria is described as destitute of stomata;
that of the under surface as being furnished with numerous oval, or
nearly orbicular stomata, composed of two semicircular cellules with
rectilinear faces. That of the outer surface of the pitcher is also
without stomata, but covered, especially in the young state, with
long subulate hairs, frequently dichotomous, or furnished with a spur-
like process at their base. The outer surface of the operculum is
sparingly furnished with stomata, and clothed with hairs which are
frequently branched and fasciculate ; the inner has no stomata, but
is furnished with clathrophores and clothed with hairs, which are
often fasciculate, but mostly simple.
In Sarracenia purpurea the cuticle of the pitchers is described as
consisting of sinuously-lobed and somewhat stelliform cellules, with
numerous small, oval, closed stomata. The fibrous bundles are
stated to be composed entirely of long pleurenchyma, the paren-
chyma adjacent to which consists of beautiful spiral cellules. The
hairs of the inner surface of the operculum are simple, hollow, re-
flexed, subulate, and marked with numerous longitudinal parallel
lines or striae ; they proceed from a somewhat elevated base. In the
pitchers of Cephalotus the stomata are large, oval and closed ; the
spiral vessels smaller than in Nepenthes, and containing only a single
fibre ; and the hairs which form the fringed border are simple, ob-
tuse and transparent.
Read also " A Descriptive Catalogue of the Graminea and Cype-
racecE contained in the Indian Herbarium of Dr. Royle." By C. G.
Nees von Esenbeck, F.M.L.S., President of the Imperial Leopoldino-
Caroline Academy Naturae Curiosorum.
The following are the characters of the new genera described in
this paper.
Trib. SACCHARINES.
Leptatherum, Nees.
SpiculcB in rachi ad articulos barba cincta geminje, homogamse, hemio-
logamae, altera sessili, altera pedicellata, utraque setiger^. Glumce duae,
herbaceo-membranacese, acutaj ; inferior dorso canaliculata, quadri-
nervis ; superior carinata trinervis. Flosculi univalves membranacei ;
1841.] lAnnean Society, 9S
inferior neuter, muticus ; superior linearis, canaliculatus, apice trans-
iens in setam longam capillarem apice subcirrhosam non genuflexam.
LodiculcB 2, obconicae, plicatae, truncatae, ovario bveviores, membra-
naceae. Stamina 3, filamentis capillaribus. Slyli basi conjuncti, gra-
ciles ; stigmata villosa. Caryopsis libera, lanceolata, acuta. Inflores-
centia : Spicce, rachi continua, triangulari, glabra, solis spicularum in-
sertionibus barbulatis, fasciculatie, laxae. — Herba, habitu Panici Sec-
tionis Digitariarum. Culmus racemosus, adscendens. VagincB longae.
Folia lanceolata, acuta, plana, Iset^ viridia, nervo albo. Ligula nulla.
L. Boyleanum, Nees.
Batratherum, Nees.
Spicules in rachi articulate geminatae, heterogamae, alterfi sessili hemi-
gama, altera pedicellata neutrA. Gluma spicules perfectae 2, subaequales,
herbaceo-chartaceae, acutae, apiceve acut^ bidentatae, in aliis superior
apice setacea ; inferior plana, 2 — 6-nervis ; superior carinata, compli-
cata, 1 — 3-nervis, a dorso plicata, canalem struens, in quo seta flosculi
continetur, margine tenui simpliciter connivente. Flosculi membra-
nacei, glumis breviores, nunquam saltern longiores ; inferior neuter,
1-valvis, muticus ; superior bivalvis : valvula inferiori acuminata apice
minute bidentat^ prope a basi emittente setam in medio geniculatam
infern^ tortam ; superiori exigua lineari-subulata bidentata quandoque
nulla. LodiculcB latae, membranaceae, truncatae, dentatae, plicatae, in
semicirculo singulae singulum floris latus ambientes. Stamina 3. Stig-
mata villosa. Styli discreti. Spicula pedicellata angustior, subuniglu-
mis. Gluma plana acuta nervosa, margine subtilius serrulata ; superior
gluma et flosculi rudimentum minuta, rotundata, squamiformia. Injlo-
rescentia : Spica parce dichotoma, ad genicula magis minusve barbata.
Pedicelli spicularum sterilium ciliati. — Gramina repentia, ramosa, foliis
brevibus amplexicaulibus. Stipules membranaceae, exsertae.
B. micans, Nees.
APOCOPIS, Nees.
SpiculcB in rachi angustS, barbulat4 subgeminae muticae, altera rudimen-
tali pedicellari, alter^ polygama sessili. Glumce truncatae ; inferior
lata, plana, obovato-conica, coriaceo-chartacea, 8 — 9-nervis, laevis, apice
minute bidentata et inter denticulos subciliolata, basin versus firmior
et colorata ; superior ovata, apice angustior denticulataque, chartacea,
marginibus inflexa, laevis, quinquenervis. Flosculi 2, membranacei,
bivalves, mutici ; inferior masculus valvulis aequalibus, apice truncatis
denticulatis, dentibus aliquot magis distantibus. Stamina 3, antheris
angustis, fulvis. Lodiculce exilissimae, quandoque omnino nullae quan-
doque denticuliformes acutae. Flosculus superior hermaphroditus, vel
potius hermaphrodito-femineus. Valvula inferior pauld firmior reliquis
€t colorata, apice truncato-bi-tri-denticulato ; superior brevior, latiiis
truncata, ciliolato-denticulata. Lodiculce nullae, aut forsan, ut in mas-
culo, exilissimae. Stamina 3, eo tempore quo flosculi masculi stamina
94 lAnnean Society, [Feb. 2,
antheris perfectissimis filamentisque nondum elongatis intra valvulas
adhuc latent, Jaw maxim^ extenuatis filamentis antheris autem nullis
residuis extra valvulas prominentibus, conspicua. Ovarium lanceola-
tum, in stylum simplicem, mox bifidum, transiens. Stigmata longa,
linearia, brevi-villosa. Spicules neutrius vestigia produntur pedicello,
spiculse fertili adjecto, ciliato, mutilo. Infiorescentia : Sirica bifida aut
gerainata ; articulis trigonis ciliato-hirsutis ad genicula longiiis barbu-
latis. — Gramen tenerum, gracile, raraosum. Nodi glabri. Vaginte
arctae. Folia plana, lineari-acuta.
A. Royleanus, Nees.
Trib. STIPES.
Orthoraphium, Nees.
SpiculcB uniflorse. GlumcB duae convexsB, chartaceo-membranaceae, plu-
rinerves. Flosculus collo barbato hinc depresso-plano insertus, bival-
vis, chartaceus. Valvula inferior plurinervis, convoluta, apice attenuata
in subulam continuam non articiilatam neque contortam ; superior
brevior, binervis, dorso convexa. Lodiculce 3, membranacese ; duse
anteriores lanceolatse, ovarium aequantes, basi callo insertse ; posterior
lanceolato -linearis, ovario duplo longior. Stamina 3, antherae flavae,
apice barbatae aut nudae. Ovarium sessile, apice calloso-incrassatum.
Styli breves, basi contigui. Stigmata plumosa. Caryopsis libera. In-
Jlorescentia : Panicula angusta, ramis paucifloris. — Gramina foliis an-
gustis rigidis, cauda avistaeformi spiculanim raediocri rigidula scabra.
0. Roy lei, Nees.
Trib. CHLORIDES.
Melanocenchris, Nees.
Spiculce sesquiflorae aut subtriflorae, flosculo extremo rudimentali, in
rachi propria brevi alternss quidem, sed adeo approximatae ut capitu-
lum involucratum exhibeant ; superiores rachillae imperfectae. Glumes
in infimis duae, aequales, in superioribus quandoque in omnibus una
(supera), bracteaeformes, subulatae, rigidae, hirsutas, flosculis longiores,
basi membranaceo-marginatae. Flosculi perfecti duo, ubi gluma sin-
gula residet quasi axillares in angulo glumae et rachillae ; quorum alter
rachillae propior, hermaphroditus, perfectus, sessilis ; alter masculus vel
neuter pedicellatus ; tertius, ubi adest, rudimentalis, clavatus, nudo
pedicello seu rachillae apice indicatus. Valvules duae, membranaceo-
herbaceae ; inferior trinervis, apice bifida, laciniis aequalibus lineari-subu-
latis, vel bifida cum seta interjecta; superior aequ^ longa, plana, biner-
vis, apice bifida. Flosculus superior conformis, sed minor. Lodicules
breves, subquadratse, bidentatse, glabrae. Stamina 3. Antheres luteae.
Ovarium oblongum, compressum, Iseve, truncatulum. Styli longi, late
discreti, filiformes. Stigmata angusta, dissite brevi-puberula. Caryop-
sis libera. Infiorescentia : Spices partiales, forma involucrorum Cen-
chri aut Penniseti, in rachi communi flexuosi alternae, secundae, paucae,
nutantes racemulum exhibent. — Gramina perennia, parva, polyphylla,
1S4L] Linnean Society, 95
ramosa. Folia brevia, rigidula. Ligula nulla. Racemus exsertus,
gracilis, secundus, laxus. Seta flosculorum coloratse.
1. M. Royleana, Nees.,^
2. M. Bot^iana, Nees. ^'^
Pomereulla raonoica, Roth.
Trib. FESTUCEiE.
PLAGIOLYTRUM, Nees.
Spicula multiflora. GlumcB duag, spicule breviores ; inferior minor am-
plectens, oblique acutata, altero latere subpraemorsa ; superior biden-
tata, et inter dentes brevi-subulata, subul& dentes aequante, e nervi
dorsalis geminati apice unito orta. Flosculi jn axi gracili ad genicula
barbulata imbricati, bivalves. Valvula inferior ovata, lateribus incur-
va, herbacea, trinervis, apice bilaciniata laciniis muticis, setis tribus
strictis, e nervo medio duobusque lateralibus proficiscentibus interjectis ;
superior oblonga, magis membranacea, sursum plana, in apice obtusi-
usculo bifida, inferius convoluta, referens flosculum ligulatum Synan-
thereae, subquadrinervis, nervis duobus marginibus proximis distinctis,
mediis obsoletis. Lodiculis 2, coloratae, conicae, truncatae, glabrae,
angustae. Stamina 2 (?). Filamenta capillaria. Ovarium cylindricum,
glabrum. Styli filiformes, distantes. Stigmata laxe villosa. Caryopsis
elongato-cylindrica, compressiuscula, truncato-bidenticulata. Inflo-
rescentia : Spica simplex, disticho-subsecunda. — Gramina erecta, foliis
angustis, ligula brevi.
1. P. calycinum, Nees.
Dineba calycina, Hb. Wight.
2. P.Jiliforme, Nees.
3. P. unidentatum, Nees.
Many new species belonging to genera previously established are
also characterized and described.
February 16.
The Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
The Most Hon. Spencer Joshua Alwyne, Marquis of Northamp-
ton, President of the Royal Society, was elected a Fellow ; and Mr.
George Gordon an Associate.
Read "Observations on some new or little -known species of
Polyparia, found in the supercretaceous strata of Italy." By Signor
Giovanni Michelotti of Turin.
96 Linnean Society. [March 2,
March 2.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Read a " Description of a new genus of Plants from Brazil." By
John Miers, Esq., F.L.S.
The following are the characters of the new genus described : —
TRIURIS.
Flores dioici. Perianthii foUola 3, obovata, infra apicem processu longo
instructa. ^ Antherce 3? sessiles, loculis disjunctis, imo androphoro
magno carnoso central! insertae. $ Pistilla numerosissima, aggregata,
supera. Styli simplices, subulati. Fructus ignotus. — Planta pusilla
hyalina, foliis paucis hracteiformibiis.
T. hyalina.
Hah. in humidis Serra dos Orgaos Provinciae Rio de Janeiro.
Mr. Miers observed this minute plant only in a single locality, and
was unable to find ripe fruit. He perceived, however, in each pistil-
lum what appeared to him to be a solitary ovule, but so minute and
indistinct as to be evident only by the appearance of a darker oval
form in the centre. He has consequently no positive evidence
whether it is Monocotyledonous or Dicotyledonous ; but is induced
by various considerations to refer it to the former class. He notices
the points in which it appears to him to bear some resemblance to
different Monocotyledonous families, and suggests that, as it cannot
be distinctly referred to any of them, it may probably be taken as
the type of a distinct order, holding a place between Burmanniacece
and Fluviales.
The processes which are noticed in the character as arising from
below the apices of the divisions of the perianthiura, are described
as capillary tubes three times as long as the segments, within which
they are coiled up during aestivation, their apices exhibiting at the
apex of the bud three minute pore-like apertures open externally.
Read also a " Note on the Preservation of Specimens of Natural
History." By Hyde Clarke, Esq., F.L.S.
Mr. Clarke suggests the application of Payne's apparatus for the
preservation of animal substances for domestic purposes, to the pre-
servation of objects of Natural History. The apparatus consists of
an iron cylinder, in which the subject for preparation is placed, and
the air-tight cover screwed down. The air is then exhausted by
means of an air-pump, and when a sufficient exhaustion has been
effected, a cock is opened communicating with a vessel containing
1841.] lAnnean Society, 9?
the antiseptic fluid, which, on being admitted, thoroughly pene-
trates the object to be preserved, impregnating even the marrow of
the bones. He adds, that the process is useful not only for the
prevention of putrefaction, but also in arresting its progress, the
gases generated during putrefaction being expelled from the re-
ceiver along with the air, and their place supplied by the antiseptic.
March 16.
Mr. Brown, V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. William Kay was elected a Fellow of the Society.
Read " On an edible Fungus from Tierra del Fuego, and an allied
Chilian species." By the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A., F.L.S.
Mr. Berkeley describes these two species as constituting a new
genus, which he characterizes as follows : —
CYTTARIA.
Receptacula carnoso-gelatinosa in stroma commune subglobosum, epider-
mide crassiuscula vestitum, aggregata ; basi stipitiformi granulate.
Cupula peripherica, primo clausa, gelatina distenta, demum epidermide
rupta aperta. Hymenium, margine excepto, separabile. Asci ampli^
demum libcri, paraphysibus immixtis. Velum persistens, demum
ruptum, margine plus minus reflexo. Sporidia pallida.
Genus Bulgarice affine, sed stroraate pulvinato ex variis individuis com-
posite Sphceriam concentricam quodammodo referens, et hymenio sepa-
rabili valde diversum. Certe ad seriem Pezizarum pertinet, perithecio
spurio lion obstante. Confer Sphteriam monocarpam, Sebum, ad Pezi-
zam rhizopodam a clar. Friesio ascriptara. Nomen dedi a xyTTocgof,
ob superficiem fungi alveolatam.
1 . C. Darwinii, vitellina globoso-depressa, cupulis parvis ore irregulari de-
miim apertis.
Ilab. in Fagum beiuloidem in Tierra del Fuego, Dec.-Jun.
2. C. Berteroly pallidioB irregularis, basi subelongatd, cupulis majoribus ;
ore pentagono ; margine fisso reflexo.
Hah. in Chili in Fagum obliquam, vere et aestate.
The first species is noticed by Mr. Darwin (from whom Mr.
Berkeley obtained his specimens of both) at p. '298 of his ' Journal
and Remarks,' forming the third vol. of the ' Narrative of the
Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle' ; and Mr. Berkeley gives from
Mr. Darwin's MS. notes a more detailed account of his observations
made upon the spot. The second species is referred to in a post-
No. XII. — Proceeoinos of the Linkean Society.
98 Linnean Society. [March 16,
humous hst of the plants collected by Bertero (originally published
in the * Mercuric Chileno,' and translated in Silliman's ' North
American Journal,' vol. xxiii. p. 78), as forming, perhaps, " a new
genus approximating to the Spharia." A further account of this
species also is extracted from Mr. Darwin's notes : it seems to be
less eatable, and less frequently eaten than the first, which Mr.
Darwin describes as forming a very essential article of food for the
Fuegian.
Read also a " Letter from Joseph Woods, Esq., F.L.S., to Mr.
Kippist, on Crepis biennis and Barkhausia taraxacifolia."
Mr. Woods is of opinion that the plant described by Sir James
Smith in the * English Flora' and * English Botany,' by Sir W. J.
Hooker in the ' British Flora,' by Mr. Babington in the Society's
' Transactions,' vol. xvii. p. 456, and by Mr. Mackay in his ' Irish
Flora,' as Crepis biennis, is in reality Barkhausia taraxacifolia, di-
stinguished especially by the long beak of its achenia, while those of
Crepis biennis are, in the words of Gaudin, " neutiquam attenuata."
The stem of Crepis biennis is also less branched and more leafy than
that of Barkhausia taraxacifolia, the latter rarely producing a leaf
except where there is a branch. Mr. Woods adds, that it is almost
certain that we have the two species in England, though the dif-
ference has not been noticed. Crepis biennis grows in Kent and
Surrey.
In a "Note" appended to Mr. Woods's letter, Mr. Kippist
states that the authentic Linnean specimens of Crepis biennis from
Scania, although too young to have ripe seeds, appear to confirm
Mr. Woods's idea, the pappus being quite sessile even in those
most advanced, and the stem moderately branched in the upper
part, and very leafy below. The two specimens in the Smithian
Herbarium, one from Mr. Crowe's garden and the other from Mr.
Rose's Herbarium, have the stem much branched, and the pappus
apparently sessile, but the achenia are immature.
The only developed specimen in Mr. Winch's herbarium is from
Dartford in Kent, and has the pappus very decidedly stalked, the
stem much branched in the upper part, and only a few scattered
leaves in the lower, a branch being produced from the axilla of each
cauline leaf with the exception of one or two of the lowermost.,
Other specimens, gathered near Cobham and Ramsgate, in the same
county, and near Moulsey in Surrey, agree with Mr. Winch's plant
in their stalked pappus and branched stem, and probably therefore.
1841.] Linnean Society. 99
belong to Barkhausia taraxacifolia. The only British specimens in
the Society's possession that Mr. Kippist believes to be refenible
with certainty to Crepis biennis are two in the Hortus Siccus of
Mr. Woodward, with ripe achenia and perfectly sessile pappus ; the
habitats of the plants are not given, but in all probability they were
gathered either in Suffolk or Norfolk.
Read also an " Extract from a Letter to John Miers, Esq., F.L.S.,
from George Gardner, Esq.," dated Rio de Janeiro, Dec. 16, 1840,
in which Mr. Gardner gives some account of his journeys in the in-
terior of Brazil, and of the collections made by him subsequent to
May last.
April 6.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Read, an Extract of a Letter from J. Bumham, Esq., to Hyde
Clarke, Esq., F.L.S., on a supposed new British Juncus.
Read also the commencement of " An Appendix or Supplement
to a Treatise on the (Estri and Cuterebrce of various Animals." By
Bracy Clark, Esq., F.L.S., Corre.sp. Memb. of the French Institute.
April 20.
Mr. Brown, V.P., in the Chair.
John Branton, Esq., of Bush Hall, near Hatfield, Herts, was
elected a Fellow.
His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, F.L.S., sent for exhibi-
tion a specimen of the fruit of Chrysophyllum monopyrenum, Sw.,
from his living collection at Syon House.
W. Felkin, Esq., F.L.S., sent for exhibition specimens of Sea-
Island Cotton grown in a cotton-mill situate in the centre of Man-
chester,, accompanied by a Notice of the circumstances under which
the experiment was made. The details have been given in the
Transactions of the British Association.
100 Linnean Society. [April 20,
Read the conclusion of Mr. Bracy Clark's "Appendix or Supple-
ment to a Treatise on the (Estri and Cuterebrce of various Animals."
The first memoir to which this paper is intended as an Appendix
appeared in the third volume of the Linnean Transactions, published
in 1796. This memoir was republished by the author with consi-
derable additions in 1815, and a Supplement was added in the fol-
lowing year. Since that period much has been published on the sub-
ject, and Mr. Clark is desirous in consequence of making some ad-
ditions and corrections to his former publications.
After adding to and modifying some of the passages contained in
them, he examines the validity of several species of the genus (Estrus
proposed by writers. He suspects (E. Trompe of Modeer and (E.
ericetorum of Leach to be severally the males of (E. Tarandi and CE.
Bovis. He believes CR. Pecorum of Fabricius to be only a dark-
coloured variety of (E. nasalis, L. {(E. veterinus, B. CI.) ; and is sa-
tisfied by an examination of the original specimen, that Dr. Leach's
(E. Clarkii is nothing more than a very light- coloured variety of the
same species. He also regards CR. lineatus of Villars as synonymous
with (E. Bovis.
Referring to Latreille's account of the genus in Cuvier's * R^gne
Animal,* he points out some omissions with regard to the habits and
oeconomy of (E. Equi and (E. hemorrhoidalis, and objects to the
statement that the eggs of the latter are deposited on the verge of
the anus of the animal attacked. He strongly deprecates the opi-
nion of Pallas and Latreille, that there exists a proper human (Estrus y
which he regards as altogether founded in error ; and believes the
larva figured in illustration of a supposed case of the kind published
by Mr. Howship, to be that of CE. Bovis.
Lastly, he describes three species, added to the genus (Estrus since
the publication of his Treatise, viz. CE. pictus of Megerle, (E. Lihy-
cus of Ruppel, and CE, Clarkii of Shuckard. The following are the
characters of the latter species, figures of which, and of CE. Libycus,
accompany the paper.
(E. Clarkii, casrulescenti-fuscus, alis obscuris antice sinuatis basin versus
atro-bipunctatis.
Hab. ad Caput Bonse Spei.
He adds also a description of a new species of his genus Cuterebra,
with the following characters : —
C. fonianella, thorace atro lateribus albis, abdomine violaceo : segmentis
ultimis albis nigro-punctatis.
Hah. in Illinois Americae Borealis, cuniculis praecipu^ infesta.
1841.] Linnean Society, 101
May 4.
Mr. Brown, V.P., in the Chair.
Dr. Carl Ernst von Baer, His Serene Highness Maximilian Prince
of Wied-Neuwied, and Dr. Charles Bernhard Trinius, were elected
Foreign Members.
Read the commencement of " Remarks on some new or rare Spe-
cies of Brazilian Plants." By Charles James Fox Bunbury, Esq.,
F.L.S.
May 24.
The Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
This day, the Anniversary of the birth-day of Linnaeus, and that
appointed by the Charter for the Election of Council and Officers, the
President opened the business of the Meeting, and stated the num-
ber of Members whom the Society had lost during the past year.
The following is a list of the Members who have died within that
period, acccompanied with notices of some among them.
Francis Bauer, Esq., F.R.S., Sfc, was bom at Feldsberg, in
Austria, on the 4th of October, 1758. His father, who held an ap-
pointment as painter to Prince Lichtenstein, died while he was yet
a boy, and the care of his education devolved upon his mother. So
early was his talent for botanical drawing manifested, that the first
published production of his pencil, a figure of Anemone prat ensis, L.,
is appended to a dissertation by Storck ' de Usu Pulsatillae nigri-
cantis,' which bears date in 1771.
In 1788 he came to England in company with the younger Jac-
quin, and after visiting his brother Ferdinand, who was then engaged
in completing the beautiful series of drawings since published in the
* Flora Graeca,' was about to proceed to Paris. But the liberal pro-
posals made to him by Sir Joseph Banks on the eve of his intended
departure, diverted him from this resolution, and induced him to
remain in England and to take up his residence in the neighbourhood
of the Royal Garden at Kew, in which village he continued to dwell
until the termination of his life. It was the opinion of Sir Joseph
Banks, that a botanic garden was incomplete without a draughtsman
permanently attached to it, and he accordingly, with the sanction of
102 Linnean Society, [May 24,
His Majesty, fixed Mr. Bauer in that capacity at Kew, himself de-
fraying the salary during his own life, and providing by his will for
its continuance to the termination of that of Mr. Bauer. In fulfil-
ment of this engagement with Sir Joseph, Mr. Bauer made numerous
drawings and sketches of the plants of the garden, which are now
preserved in the British Museum. A selection from his drawings
was published in 1796 under the title of * Delineations of Exotick
Plants cultivated in the Royal Garden at Kew,' and this was in-
tended to be continued annually ; but no more than three parts, con-
sisting wholly of Heaths, and containing thirty plates, were published.
In the early part of 1801, Mr. Bauer made for Mr. Brown, who
had then been for some years engaged in a particular study of the
Ferns, drawings of many genera of that family which Mr. Brown
regarded as new. His drawings of Woodsia, made some years after-
wards, were published in the 11th volume of our Transactions, in
illustration of Mr. Brown's paper on that genus. At a later period
he again directed his attention to that tribe of plants, his labours in
which have within these few years been given to the world in Sir
William Jackson Hooker's ' Genera of Ferns.' The 13th volume of
our Transactions is enriched with his elaborate drawings accom-
panying Mr. Brown's memoir on Rafflesia ; and the part published
last year contains a paper by Mr. Bauer ' On the Ergot of Rye,' from
materials collected between the years 1805 and 1809.
The plate which accompanies the last-mentioned paper is derived
from drawings which form part of an extensive series in the British
Museum, illustrative of the structure of the grain, the germination,
growth and development of wheat, and the diseases of that and other
Cerealia. This admirable series of drawings constitutes perhaps the
most splendid and important monument of Mr. Bauer's extraordinary
talents as an artist and skill in microscopic investigation. The sub-
ject was suggested to him by Sir Joseph Banks, who was engaged
in an inquiry into the disease of Corn known under the name of
" Blight," and the part of Mr. Bauer's drawings which relates to
that disease was published in illustration of Sir Joseph's memoir on
the subject, and has been several times reprinted with it. Mr. Bauer
has himself given, in the volume of the ' Philosophical Transactions'
for 1823, an account of his observations on the Vibrio Tritici of
Gleichen, with the figures relating to them ; and another small por-
tion of his illustrations of the Diseases of Com has since been pub-
lished by him in the ' Penny Magazine' for 1833. His figures of a
somewhat analogous subject, the Apple- blight and the Insect produ-
1841.] Linnean Society. 103
cing it, accompany Sir Joseph Banks's Memoir on the Introduction
of that Disease into England, in the 2nd volume of the ' Transactions
of the Horticultural Society.'
Before the close of the last century Mr. Bauer commenced a series
of drawings of Orchidece, and of the details of their remarkable struc-
ture, to which he continued to add, as opportunities offered, nearly
to the terminatioii of his life. A selection from these, which form
one of the most beautiful and extensive series of his botanical draw-
ings, was lithographed and published by Professor Lindley between
the years 1830 and 1838, under the title of ' Illustrations of Orchi-
daceous Plants.'
His other published botanical works are : 1 . The first part, pubhshcd
in 1818, of * Strelitzia Depicta,' a work intended to comprise figures
of all the known species of that magnificent genus ; 2. ' Microsco-
pical Observations on the Red Snow' brought from the Arctic Re-
gions by Capt. Ross, the globules contained in which, by some re-
garded as an Alga, he described in the 7 th volume of the * Quarterly
Journal' of the Royal Institution as a species of Uredo; 3. 'Some
Experiments on the Fungi which constitute the colouring matter of
the Red Snow,' published in the ' Philosophical Transactions' for
1 820 ; and 4. The Plates to the Botanical Appendix to Captain Parry's
first Voyage of Discovery, published in 1821. One of the last pro-
ductions of his pencil, illustrating the structure of a plant growing
at Kew which produces perfect seeds without any apparent action
of pollen, will appear in the forthcoming part of our Transactions.
In the year 1816 he commenced lending the assistance of his
pencil to the late Sir Everard Home in the various anatomical and
physiological investigations in which that distinguished anatomist
was engaged ; and in the course of ten or twelve years furnished, in
illustration of his numerous papers in the ' Philosophical Transac-
tions,' upwards of 120 plates, which were afterwards reprinted with
Sir Everard's * Lectures on Comparative Anatomy.' These plates,
which form together the most extensive series of his published works,
embraced a great variety of important subjects, chiefly in microscopic
anatomy, and aflford abundant evidence of his powers of observation
and skill in depicting the most difficult objects.
It is this rare and previously almost unexampled union of the ob-
server and the artist that has placed Mr. Bauer foremost in the first
rank of scientific draughtsmen. His paintings, as the more finished
of his productions may well be termed, are no less perfect as models
of artistic skill and effect, than as representations of natural objects.
104 Linnean Society. [May 24,
Of all his predecessors, Ehret alone approaches him in these par-
ticulars ; among his contemporaries, none but his brother Ferdinand
can be regarded as his equal.
Mr. Bauer became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1804, and
of the Royal Society in 1820. He died at his residence on Kew-
Green on the 11th of December last, in the 83rd year of his age ;
and was buried in the church-yard of that parish on the 16th of the
same month.
Sir Anthony Carlisle, Knt., F.R.S., SfC, a distinguished surgeon
and physiologist, was born at Stillington, in the county of Durham,
on the 8th of February, 1769, and received his early professional
education partly at York and partly at Durham. He afterwards
came to London, entered himself as a student at the Hunterian
School uttder Cruickshank and Baillie, and became a resident pupil
to Watson, whom he succeeded as one of the Surgeons of the West-
minster Hospital in 1793. On the retirement of Sheldon, in 1808,
he became Professor of Anatomy to the Royal Academy, and re-
tained that office until 1824. He was also a member of the Council
and of the Court of Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons, of
which College he was twice President. At the accession of George
the Fourth he was knighted as a mark of acknowledgment to his
professional skill. He died at his house, in Langham Place, on the
2nd of November last, and was buried in the Cemetery at Kensal
Green.
Mr. Carlisle became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1792,
and of the Royal Society in 1804; and his most important contri-
butions to Natural Science are contained in the Transactions of
these Societies. His paper on the Structure and QEconomy of
Tceniie, in the second volume of our Transactions, is probably the
first attempt to illustrate the structure of Entozoa by artificial injec-
tions, and established, among other points, the non-existence of an
anus in the Tcenia. At this early period, Mr. Carlisle anticipated
M. Virey's idea of the state of the nervous system in the lowest
animals, on which the chief character of Mr. MacLeay's Acrita is
founded, ascribing to the Tcenice a diffused condition of the nervous
substance, and referring to John Hunter as having, in his lectures,
applied that character to many of the lower tribes of animals.
Of his papers in the * Philosophical Transactions,' the first in im-
portance and originality is the memoir * On the peculiar arrange-
ment of the Arteries in Slow-moving Animals;' and it is on the
striking discovery detailed in it that his memory as a comparative
1841.] LAnnean Society, 105
anatomist will chiefly rest. His paper on the Physiology of the
Stapes, published in the volume for 1805, affords a good example
of the application of Comparative Anatomy to the elucidation of a
difficult physiological question ; almost all the facts contained in it
relating to the form and structure of the stapes in various animals
were new. The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Organ
of Hearing formed the subject of his Lectures at the College of Sur-
geons in 1818.
His Lectures on Extra-vascular Substances, also delivered at the
College of Surgeons, but of which an abstract only of a small por-
tion was published in the * Annals of Philosophy,' are alluded to in
high terms by Mr. Lawrence. In 1820, and again in 1826, he de-
livered the Hunterian Orations at the College. The latter of these,
containing the Anatomy of the Oyster, has been quoted in reference
to the observations which indicate the sensibility of the Oyster to
light. He also spent much time in experiments on the growth and
reparation of Shell. In the prosecution of his various inquiries he
enriched the Museum of the College with some unique examples of
his peculiar anatomical skill.
Besides these contributions to Comparative Anatomy and Animal
Physiology, Mr. Carlisle communicated to the Horticultural Society
a memoir ' On the connection between the Leaves and Fruit of
Vegetables, with other Physiological Observations,' and another
paper published in the 2nd volume of the Transactions of that So-
ciety.
The Bishop of Chichester,
Lord Henri/ John Spencer Churchill,
Sir John William Lubbock, Bart,
The Rev. Thomas Rackett, M.A., F.R,S., SfC, during a long life
successfully cultivated viurious branches of Natural Science and the
liberal arts. Associated in his school-days with Hatchett, and after-
wards with Maton, Pulteney and Cavallo, he became attached to
the pursuits by which his friends Were distinguished, and assisted
warmly in the promotion of their views. In the years 1794 and
1796, he accompanied the two former in the tours which Dr. Maton
subsequently published under the title of ' Observations relative
chiefly to the Natural History, Picturesque Scenery, and Antiquities
of the Western Counties of England,' and furnished with his pencil
the embellishments of that work, which was inscribed to him in a
friendly and grateful dedication. In conjunction with Dr. Maton,
he published in the 7 th volume of our Transactions ' An Historical
106 Linnean Society. [May 24)
Account of Testaceological Writers,' and in the 8th * A Descriptive
Catalogue of the British Testacea.' These works may be justly
characterized as manifesting extensive research, careful comparison,
and accurate observation : the latter long continued to be the text-
book of British Conchologists. Dr. Maton and himself also pub-
lished in our 8th volume ' An Account of some remarkable Shells
found in cavities of a Calcareous Stone, called by the stone-masons
Plymouth-Rag ;' and he subsequently contributed to the 11th volume
' Observations on Cancer salinus' and to the 12th, ' Observations on
a Viper found in Cranborne Chace, Dorsetshire,' which he presumed
to be Coluber Chersea, L. In addition to his skill in the use of the
pencil, he was an accomplished musician, and devoted much of his
time to antiquarian research, as well as to the prosecution of Natural
and Experimental Philosophy.
Mr. Rackett became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1795,
and of the Royal Society in 1803. In the year 1780 he was insti-
tuted to the Rectory of Spettisbury and Charlton, in the county of
Dorset, and died on the 29th of November last, at the advanced age
of 85, after an incumbency of more than sixty years.
The Rev. John Revett Sheppard, M.A.
Lord Viscount Valentia.
Nicholas Aylward Vigors, D.C.L., F.R.S., M.R.I. A., SfC, one of
the most eminent ornithologists of the present day, was born in
1787 at Old Leighlin, in the county of Carlo w, where his family had
long been settled. He was educated at Trinity College in the Uni-
versity of Oxford, and gave early proof of the diligence and success
with which he pursued his classical and literary studies, by pub-
lishing in 1810 * An Enquiry into the Nature and Extent of Poetick
Licence.' Towards the close of 1809 he purchased an Ensigncy in
the Grenadier Guards, and was severely wounded in the action at
Barrosa, in the early part of 1811. On his return to England in the
same year he quitted the army, and for the next twenty years
devoted himself to the study of Zoology, and especially of birds
and insects. In both these departments he formed extensive col-
lections, and at a subsequent period liberally presented them to the
Zoological Society, of w^hich he was the first Secretary and one of
the most zealous and active promoters. On the death of his father
he succeeded to the family estate, and in 1832 became the repre-
sentative in Parliament of the borough of Carlow, for which, or for
the county of the same name, he continued to sit until the termina-
tion of his life on the 26th of last October.
1841.] Linnean Society, 10?
Mr. Vigors became a Fellow of this Society in 1819, and is author
of an important paper in the 1 4th volume of our Transactions, * On
the Natural Affinities that connect the Orders and Families of Birds.'
In this elaborate memoir he applied to the whole Class of Birds the
principles of the quinary arrangement propounded by Mr. W. S.
MacLeay in the ' Horse Entomological,' of which he continued
through life to be one of the most ardent supporters. In the suc-
ceeding volume he published, in conjunction with Dr. Horsfield, the
first part of ' A Description of the Australian Birds in the collection
of the Linnean Society, with an attempt at arranging them accord-
ing to their Natural Affinities,' in which the same principles were
further developed and applied to the illustration of the Raptorial and
Insessorial Orders. His only other contribution to our Transac-
tions consists of a * Description of a new Species of Scolopax lately
discovered in the British Islands ; with Observations on the Anas
glocitans of Pallas, and a description of the Female of that Species,'
contained in the 14th volume.
The first of his papers in the 'Zoological Journal' appeared in
1824 ; in 1827 he became its principal editor, and so continued until
its termination in 1834. Of his numerous ornithological memoirs
pubUshed in that work, perhaps the most important is his ' Arrange-
ment of the Genera of Birds ;' which, although scarcely more than
a bare enumeration of names, contains the most complete outline of
his views on the subject of classification. Some of his notices in
the ' Zoological Journal' are on Entomological subjects ; and several
valuable papers, written in conjunction with Dr. Horsfield, are de-
scriptive of new or rare Mammalia in the collection of the Zoological
Society. For several years before his death the active part which
he took in politics precluded his paying much attention to Zoology,
but he retained to the last a considerable interest in his former pur-
suits, especially in connexion with the Zoological Society, He con-
tributed many valuable notices to the ' Proceedings' of that Society.
Major- General Viney,
Robert Montague Wilmot, M.B.
Rev. William Wood, B.D., and
Francis Boucher Wright, Esq.
Among the Associates
Henry Woods, Esq., a surgeon, formerly resident at Bath, and
subsequently at Camden Town, near London, who was well versed
in the study of the Mammalia, a ' Natural History' of which he was
for many years engaged in preparing for the press. This work.
108 Linnean Society. [June 1,
which was intended to be on a very extensive scale, has never ap-
peared. He was author of * An Introductory Lecture on the Study
of Zoology,' of a memoir * On a new Species of Antelope,' in the
5th volume of the * Zoological Journal,' and of one or two notices
in the * Proceedings of the Zoological Society.' A few years before
his death he quitted the neighbourhood of London and returned to
Bath, where he became Secretary to the Literary Institution, and
died on the 18th of August last, at the age of 46.
The President also announced that twelve Fellows, three Foreign
Members, and two Associates had been elected into the Society
since the last Anniversary.
At the election, which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop
of Norwich was re-elected President; Edward Forster, Esq., Trea-
surer ; John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary ; and Richard Taylor,
Esq., Under-Secretary. The following five Fellows were elected
into the Council in the room of others going out, viz. Sir Wm.
Jackson Hooker ; Joseph Janson, Esq. ; The Most Honourable the
Marquis of Northampton ; John Parkinson, Esq. ; and John Obadiah
Westwood, Esq.
June 1.
Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair.
Read the conclusion of Mr. Bunbury's " Remarks on certain
Plants of Brazil, with descriptions of some which appear to be new."
The following are the characters of the species described as new :
Lasiandra calyptrata, ramis teretibus ferrugineo-tomentosis, foliis petio-
latis ovato-oblongis acutis 5-nervibus subsetoso-hirsutis subtus dense
villosis, racemis terminalibus paucifloris, pedicellis oppositis 1-3-floris,
bracteis hispido-pilosis convolutis calyptriformibus, calyce sericeo, fila-
mentis styloque hirsutis.
Hab. pvope Gongo Soco, in prov. Minas Geraes.
Clidemia ? glabrata, ramulis subtetragonis glabris, foliis petiolatis oblongo-
lanceolatis subcordatis acuminatis serrulato-ciliatis 5-nervibus utrinque
glabris: petiolis ciliatis, panicula tevminali trichotoiua divaricata glabra,
floribus'verticillato-aggregatis sessilibus ebracteatis, petalis lanceolatis.
Hab. prope Gongo Soco, in prov. Minas Geraes.
Clidemia deflexa, ramis subtetragonis petiolis paniculisque setoso-hispi-
dissimis, foliis ovatis acuminatis quintuplinervibus subdenticulatis cili-
1841.] Linnean Society, 109
atis utrinque hispidis, paniculS, terminali elongate opposite ramosa de-
flex& nutante, floribus ad ramulorum apices congestis ebracteatis, lobis
calycinis obtusis concavis dorso appendiculatis.
Hab, prope Gongo Soco.
Cremanium ? cordifolium, undique glanduloso-pilosissimum, foliis petio-
latis lat^ cordatis acuminatis inaequaliter denticulatis ciliatis 8ub-7-
nervibus, panicula subterminali nutante lax& opposite ramo8&, calyce
subrotundo-turbinato : lobis subulatis, petalis lanceolatis acuminatis.
Hab. prope Gongo Soco.
Hireea cinerea, foliis lanceolatis acutis supern^ glabris subtiis fructibusque
adpress^ sericeo-pilosis canescentibus, paniculd terminali trichotomy
folios&j calycibus eglandulosis adpresse pilosis, fnictds alis semiorbicu-
latis crenatis undulatis.
Hab. in sylvis montis Corcovado prope Rio de Janeiro.
T'etrapteris mutabilis, rarais paniculisque velutino-tomentosis, foliis
obovato-ellipticis obtusis rugosis utrinque tomentosis : petiolis apice
biglandulosis, panicula terminali laxa divaricata multiflora, alis fructils
inaequalibus.
Hab. in sylvis montis Corcovado.
Abutilon benedictum, ramis sulcatis petiolis pedunculis calycibusque
floccoso-tomentosis, foliis lanceolatis acuminatis basi acutiusculis obtus^
serratis rugosis supra glabris subtus incano-velutinis, pedunculis axil-
laribus unifloris folium aequantibus.
Hab. in sylvis caeduis {capoeiras dictis) prov. Minas Geraes.
Rubus longifolius, caule angulato petiolis pedunculisque densissime glan-
duloso-setosis aculeatis, foliis quinato-palmatis : foliolis petiolatis ob-
longo-lanceolatis acuminatis basi subcordatis argute serratis utrinque
glabris, stipulis setaceis, calyce subsericeo-tomentoso reflexo.
Hab. prope Gongo Soco.
Lupinus nitidissimus, suftruticosus erectus ramosus aureo-sericeus, foliis
simplicibus ovatis acutis, stipulis petiolo adnatis breviter acuminatis,
racemis subterminalibus elongatis, floribus verti ciliatis, calycis labiis
integris : inferiore elongato.
Hab. in campis altis prov. Minas Geraes, prope Capao et Ouro Preto.
Achyranthes paludosa, caule herbaceo subramoso fistuloso, foliis obovato-
lanceolatis acutiusculis glabris, pedunculis axillaribus folium subaequan-
tibus, spicis abbreviatis capitatis glaberrimis.
Hab. prope urbem Buenos Ayres.
DesinochtBta ? sordida, caule herbaceo prostrate ramosissimo lanato, foliis
subrotundis mucronulatis in petiolum attenuatis glabriusculia, capitulis
sessilibus axillaribus ovatis, calycis foliolis '3 exterioribus majoribus;
interioribus carinatis conniventibus : setis uncinato-barbatis.
Hab. ad vias prope urbem Buenos Ayres.
ilO Linnean Society, [June 1^
Schultesia pallens, culmo erecto subramoso, foliis ovatis ellipticisque acu-
tiusciilis : summis lineari-lanceolatis acuminatis, floribus terminalibus
subsolitariis, alls calycis dilatatis semiovatis, corollae laciniis obovato-
rhombeis breviter acuminatis integerrimis.
Hub. piope Gongo Soco in prov. Minas Geraes.
Solanu7n graved ens, suffruticosum inerme glanduloso-pilosum viscosum,
foliis pinnatis : foliolis petiolulatis oblongo-lanceolatis acuminatis mem-
branaceis, racemis longe pedunculatis multifloris subcoryrabosis uni-
lateralibus, corolla quinquefidil.
Hab. prope Gongo Soco.
Solarium reptans, herbaceum inerme bispido-hirsutum, foliis pinnatis :
foliolis petiolulatis oblongis subacuminatis : petiolis alatis, racemis late-
ralibus folio brevioribus, caule prostrate radicante.
Hab. prope Gongo Soco.
Mr. Bunbury believes Lasiandra jissinervia, DeC, to be merely a variety
of L. Fontanesiana ; and Clidemia urceolata and C. biserrata to be one spe-
cies. He describes variations in character occurring in Lasiandra protea-
formis. DeC, Clidemia urceolata, DeC, C. longibarbis, DeC, Tetrapteris
acutifolia, Cav., Bignonia venusta and Neurocarpum angustifolium, Kuntli.
He thinks it possible, however, that his plant may differ from the latter, as
the flowers are resupinate, a character which could hardly have escaped M.
Kunth ; he therefore proposes for it the following character, should it prove
to be distinct : —
Neurocarpum resupinatum, frutescens erectum, foliis trifoliolatis : foliolis
ellipticis oblongisque retusis mucronulatis supra glabris subtiis pallidis
pilosiusculis,pedunculis subbifloris folio brevioribus, floribus resupinatis.
Hab. ad Botafogo, prope Rio de Janeiro.
Specimens of the plants noticed in this memoir were included in a col-
lection presented to the Society by Mr. Bunbury some years ago.
Read also a " Synopsis of the Coleopterous family Paussidce,
with descriptions of a new Genus and some new Species." By J.
O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S.
This paper contains a brief enumeration of the species of the re-
markable family of Paussidce, with some additions and corrections to
Mr. Westwood's Monograph of it, published in the 16th volume of
the Society's Transactions.
He proposes to exclude from the family the genus Trochoideus, an
examination of the cibarian organs having proved that genus to be-
long to the EndomychidcK ; and states that he is now acquainted with
four, if not five, species belonging to it, viz. 1 . Troch. cruciatus,
Dalm. ; 2. T. Dalmanni, Westw. ; 3. T. Desjardinsii, Guer. ; 4. T.
Americanus, Bucqu. ; and 5. ? T. Hopei, Westw. The last-named spe-
1841.] Linnean Society, 111
cies he has seen in Mr. Hope's collection : it is from New Grenada,
and is possibly identical with T. Americanus.
Mr. Westwood gives the following as a synopsis of the genera
belonging to the family in its present state : —
AntenncB quasi biarticulatae.
Caput thorace haud immersum, collo distincto, ocellis nullis.
Palpi labiates articulo ultimo elongato 1. Paussus.
articulis aequalibus 2. Platyrhopalus.
Caput thorace immersum ocellis duobus 3. Hylotorus.
AntenncB quasi sexarticulatae.
Prothorax angulis anticis valde productis 4. Pentaplatarlhrus.
transversus, angulis anticis rotun- 1 ^ T h' d
datis, posticis valde emarginatis /
truncato-cordatus 6. Ceratoderus.
AntenncE ({nsi,s\ decemarticulatae 7. Cerapterus.
I. Paussus, Linn.
Sect. A. Thorax quasi bipartitus.
a. Antennarum clava postice haud excavatd.
1 . P. microcephalus, L. Africa ?
2. P. Jousselinii, Guer. Rangoon.
3. P. Linncei, Westw. Habitat unknown.
4. P. Burmeisteri, Westw. Cape of Good Hope.
5. P. rujitarsis, Westw. Habitat unknown.
6. P. pilicornis, Donov. Bengal.
7. P. Turcicus, Frivaldsk. Balkan Mountains.
b. Antennarum clava postice excavata.
8. P. thoracicus, Donov. Bengal.
9. P. Fichtelii, Donov. Bengal.
10. P.fulvus, luteo-fulvus subopacus, elytris magis rufescentibus, anteU'
narum articulo basali thoracis lateribus postice femoribusque obscurio-
ribus, capite supra profunde impresso.— Zon^. corp, tin. 3.
Hah. in India Orientali.
\\. P. tibialis, castaneus nitidus, elytris singulis plaga magna nigr&, tibiis
4 anterioribus elongatis ; posticis multo latioribus compressis, antenna-
rum clavd postice profunde excavata. — Long. corp. lin. 2J.
Hah. in Bengala. In Mus. D. Westermann.
12. P. excavatus, Westw. Senegal.
13. P. ruber, Thunb. Cape of Good Hope.
14. P. cochlearius, Westw. South Africa.
15. P. Klugii, Westw. Cape of Good Hope.
Sect. B. Thorax subcontinuus.
a. Species Africanae.
16. P. sphterocerus, Afzel. Sierra Leone.
112 Linnean Society, [June 1,
17. P. armatus,]^e].\ P.cornutus, Q,\\e\ro\. Senegal.
1 8. P. curvicornis, Chevrol. ; P. cormdus, var. ?, Chevrol. Senegal.
19. P. Shtickardi, Westw. South Africa.
20. P. Uneatus, T\mnh. Cape of Good Hope.
21. P. qffinis, Westw. On the authority of the British Museum Cata-
logue Mr. Westwood is now enabled to give Africa as the habitat of
this species ; but he suggests that there may be some mistake as to lo-
cality, and that the insect may really be Indian, and not specifically di-
stinct from the following, P. cognatus.
b. Species Indicae.
22. P, cognatus, rufo-castaneus nitidus punctatus, elytris singulis plagS
magna nigra, capite antic^ linea tenui impressa : vertice impressionibus
duabus semicircularibus, antennarum clava subovat& basi extiis in ha-
mum producta. — Long. corp. lin, 4.
Hah. in Bengala. In Muss. D. D. Melly et Westermann.
23. P. HardwicJcii, Westw. Nepaul.
24. P. Saundersii, fulvo-rufescens subnitidus punctatus, capite thoraceque
obscurioribus, antennarum clava oblongo-ovatit basi extus in hamum
setigerum producta. — Long. corp. lin. 3f .
Hab. in India Orientali. Mus. D. W. W. Saunders.
25. (Sp. ined.), Latr. Isle of France.
Obs. P. rujicollis, Fabr., is given by Dr. Erichson as one of the Malachii,
and as identical with his Collops 4:-maculafus.
2. Platyrhopalus, Westw.
1 (26). P. denticornis, Westw. East Indies.
2 (27). P. unicolor, Westw. East Indies.
3 (28). P. acutidens, Westw. Nepaul.
4 (29). P. Westwoodii, Saund. East Indies.
5 (30).' P. angustus, Westw. East Indies.
6 (31). P. Melleii, Westw. Malabar.
7 (32). P. aplustrifer, Westw. Bengal. Certainly belonging to this genus.
8 (33). P. ? IcBvifrons, Westw. Senegal.
9 (34). P. ? dentifrons, Westw. Senegal.
3. Hylotorus, Dalm.
1 {Z5). H.buceplialus, GyW, Sierra Leone.
4. Pentaplatarthrus, Westw.
1 (36). P. paussoides, Westw. South Africa.
5. Lebioderus, Westw.
1 (37). L. Goryi, Westw.
6. Ceratoderus.
Corpus oblongum, depressum. Caput transverso-quadratum, postice collo
instructum, disco inter oculos bi-impressum. Antenn(S quasi 6-articu-
1841.] Linnean Society. 113
latae, articulis 4 intermediis transversis planis, ultimo semiorbiculari .
Maxilla minutae, planae, corneae, apice acutse curvatae, intus sub apice
dente acuto armatae. Palpi maxillares 4-articulati, articulo magno
ovato, 3tio 4toque minoribus subcylindricis ; lahiales articulo ultimo
praecedente baud multo majori ovato apice tnmcato. Prothorax capite
vix latior, cordato-tiuncatus, trans medium linea impress^ notatus.
Elytra oblongo-ovata, depressa. Pedes breviusculi ; femoribus tibiisquc
compressis, bis apice baud calcaratis ; tarsis distinct^ 5-articulati8, ar-
ticulo basali sequenti longiore.
1 (38). C. btfasciatus.
Paussus bifasciatus, Kollar in Ann. Wien. Mas. 1836, t. 31. f. 7. a, b;
Westtv. in Trans. Ent. Soc. ii. p. 91. pi. 10. f. 3.
Hah. in Indill Orientali.
7. Cerapterus, Swederiis.
1 (39). C. latipes, Swed. Bengal.
2 (40). C. Horsfeldii, Westw. Java.
3 (41). C. ^-maculatus, Westw. Java.
4 (42). C. (Orthopterus) Smithii, MacL. Soutb Africa.
5 (43). C. (Arthropterus) MacLeaii, Donov. Nevir Holland.
6 (44). C. (Phymatopterus) piceus, Westw. New Holland.
7 (45). C. (Homopterus) lirasiliejisis, Miers. Brazil.
8 (46). C. (Pleuropterus) Westermatini, Westw. Java.
June 15.
The Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
The President nominated the four following Members of the
Council to be Vice-Presidents for the year commencing on the 25th
of May last, viz. Robert Brown, Esq., Edward Forster, Esq., Thomas
Horsfield, M.D., and Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq.
Read, an Extract from a Letter from William Griffith, Esq., F.L.S.,
to R. H. Solly, Esq., F.L.S., dated Meerut, March 29, 1841.
Mr. Griffith states, that in its placentation, ovula, and protrusion
of the embryonary sac, Osyris approaches Santalmn, but presents in
some particulars still more curious anomalies. First, the embryo-
nary sac of Osyris seems to be produced beyond the base of the
ovulum, passing down through the placenta and through the central
tissue of the young fruit to its base. Secondly, the first steps of the
growths consequent on fecundation take place outside the protruded
No. XIII. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
114 Linnean Society. [June 15,
sac, which may be found unaltered in the placenta of the ripe fruit.
Whether the first cells, constituting the rudiments of the part in
which albumen is subsequently deposited, are derived from the boyau
or from the embryonary sac, Mr. Griffith states, that he has not
been able to determine ; but he imagines that they are derived from
the boyau. He adds, that if his views of the seed of Loranthus being
derived from the boyau solely be correct, Osyris is intermediate be-
tween Loranthus and Santalum ; and intimates his intention of send-
ing, on his arrival at Calcutta, a Supplement to his paper on Loran-
thus, published in the Society's Transactions.
Read also a paper " On a reformed character of the genus Cry-
ptolepis of Brown." By H. Falconer, M.D., Superintendent of the
Hon. East India Company's Botanic Garden at Saharunpore.
Dr. Falconer's character is as follows : —
Cryptolepis, R. Br.
Calyx 5-partitus. Corolla infundibuliformis, 5-fida ; tubo intus proces-
subus 5 carnosis, obtusis, inclusis, cum Hmbi laciniis alternantibus, in-
structo ; fauce nuda. Stamina in)o corollse tubo inserta, inckisa ] fila-
meiita brevissima, distincta; antherte sagittatee, dorso penicillato-bar-
batse, basl stigmatis niargini adhserentes. Massce pollinis solitaviae,
granulosse, corpusculi glandulseformis apjiendiculae lineari tenuissimsB
applicitae. Ovaria 2. Stylus brevissimus. Stigma dilatatum, margine
attenuatum, apiculo conico. Squamulce hypogyncB nullae. Folliculi di-
varicatissimi, ventricosi, apice acuto recto. Semina ad umbilicum co-
mosa.
Frutex volubilis, glaherrimus, succo lacteo scatevs ; foliis oppositis, hreve-
petiolatis, lato-eUipticis cum acumine suhulato brevi, supra Icete-viren-
tibus, subtus albido-glaucis, transverse venosis ; petiolis supra basin ar-
ticulatis ; corymbis axillaribus, breve-pedunculatis, curtails ; floribus
subsessilibus, majusculis, citrinis ; corollse limbo patulo, segmentis ligu-
latis.
C. Buchanani, Roem. et Sch., iv. p. 409.
C. reticulata, Royle, Illustr., p. 270.
Nerium reticulatum, Roxb. Flor. Ind. Orient, ii. p. 9.
Hab. passim in India Orientali.
In his Monograph in the Wernerian Transactions, Mr. Brown re-
ferred the genus Cryptolepis, which he there established, to Apocynece,
placing it next to Apocynum, and in this he has been followed by all
subsequent writers ; but Dr. Falconer states that it has the whole
stigmatic apparatus of Asclepiadece, with granular pollen as typically
developed as in Cryptostegia or any other of the PeriplocecB, although
in a less considerable degree of evolution. He regards it, however.
1841.] Linnean Society. 115
as constituting the closest known transition from that family to Apo*
cynea. He thinks the extreme minuteness of the appendiculae may
account for their having escaped Mr. Brown's observation in the dry
specimen ; but adds, that there are two other points of difference,
which lead him to suspect his plant to be distinct from that described
by Mr. Brown. These are the want of hypogynous scales, of which
he finds no trace, and which he believes to be wanting in the series of
Periploceous genera allied to Cryptolepis ; and the axillary, and not
interpetiolar, inflorescence. He also gives a detailed description of
the sexual organs, and states that he has never been able to observe
the pollen tubes either naturally or artificially produced.
In a supplementary note. Dr. Falconer adds, that he has since
learned by letters from Dr. Wight and Mr. Griflith, that both those
gentlemen have been long aware of Cryptolepis being an Asclepiadeous
genus. With reference to Dr. Wight and Mr. Arnott's genus Stre-
ptocaulon, under which those authors include the mass of Dr. Wallich's
Indian species of Periploca, he observes, that S. calophyllum wants
the principal character on which the distinction of that genus from
Periploca is founded, and suggests its restoration to Periploca, of
which he also characterizes a new species from the neighbourhood
of Cashmeer with a peculiar pseudo- aphyllous habit. Of these spe-
cies he gives the following characters : —
P. calophylla, volubilis glabra, foliis anguste lanceolatis longe attenuatis
utrinque nitidis transverse venosis, cymis subsessilibus paucifloris, flo-
ribus breviterpedicellatis, corollis intus parce hlrsutis, squamis hirsutis-
simis, folliculis elongatis gracilibus subparallelis (nee divaricatie !).
Streptocaulon calophyllum, Wight, Contr. Ind. But., p. 65.
Hub. passim in vallibus exterioribus montium Himalensium.
P. Hydaspidis, volubilis ramosissima glabra, ramis fasciculatis nodoso-
articulatis, foliis tenuissiniis linearibus apiculatis adpressis remotis ca-
ducis, cymis axillaribus nmltifloris, floribus breviterpedicellatis, coroUA
intus squamisque tomentosis.
Hah. secus ripas Hydaspidis extra Kashmeer prope ** Khutao Kelah." —
Fl. Septembri.
The paper was accompanied by a coloured drawing of Cryptolepis
Buchanani ? var. reticulata, and of* the details of its fructification.
Read also, *' A Description of an additional species of Paussus."
By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., &c.
The following are the characters of this species, which Mr. West-
wood states to be most nearly allied to P. ruber, Thb., and of which
he has seen only a single specimen in the collection of Samuel
116 Linnean Society. [Nov. 2>
Stevens, Esq., who obtained it together with specimens of Platyrho-
palus denticornis and P. aplustrifer in a small collection of Indian in-
sects, without any indication of its precise locality.
Paussus Stevensiamis, pallide luteus, capite nigosulo tuberculis 2 elevatis
inter oculos, antennarum clava magna postlce excavata, elytris versus
apicem fasciculis duobus minutis pilorum instructis.
November 2.
The Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
The Hon. William Henry Dawnay, M.P., and Samuel Solly, Esq.,
were elected Fellows of the Society.
Read, " Notes on the Habits of the Box-Tortoise of the United
States of America, the Cistuda Carolina of Gray." By George Ord,
Esq., F.L.S.
Mr. Ord states that this species is common in Pennsylvania, and
appears to prefer dry situations, only frequenting the wet in pursuit
of some favourite food, such as the remains of fish which lie scattered
under the trees in swamps where the Night-heron (Ardea Nyctica-
rax, L.) breeds. It feeds also on insects, worms, and tender fungi,
and eats greedily of strawberries, raspberries, and soft peaches. Its
flesh is excellent, but the farmers have the same prejudice against it
as against that of frogs. It hybernates about the middle of October,
preferring a loose soil and southern exposure ; and in severe winters
some individuals perish in consequence of not having penetrated to a
sufficient depth to escape the frost. About the 20th of April the sur-
vivors reappear in a feeble state, until invigorated by the returning
warmth.
Mr. Ord kept a number of these Tortoises for several years in his
garden, where they had an ample range, abundance of suitable food,
and convenient places of winter resort. They regularly deposited
their eggs, but seldom produced young, a circumstance which he at-
tributes to the destruction of the eggs by ants. He gives from his
books of memoranda the details of observations made in the years
1814 and 1832 on their mode of laying and depositing their eggs,
and the circumstances attending their hatching.
The earliest deposit observed took place on the 22nd of June 181 4.
The Tortoise scooped out the earth with her hinder feet, using them
1841.] Linnean Society, 117
alternately, as deep as she could reach, when the earth at the bottom
of the hole was loosened. The first egg was secured in this loose
earth, and five other eggs were laid and deposited in the same man-
ner, at intervals of four or five minutes, the earth being scraped from
the sides of the hole and carefully pressed upon each egg as it was
deposited, and the hole itself being finally covered over with the
loose earth carefully packed and pressed. The animal kept in one
position during the whole process, not looking once at the deposit.
The eggs appeared to pass with facility, and shortly after laying the
last egg, she uttered a guttural sound, several times repeated. The
number of eggs appears to vary from three to six.
In June 1832 Mr. Ord renewed his observations. Two of the
female Tortoises then in his possession having been disturbed when
about to lay, abandoned the place ; one of these laid on the subsequent
day, and the other not until the second day after, whence Mr. Ord
concludes that they possess the power of retaining their eggs under
certain circumstances. The eggs were always laid about or after sun-
set ; and some of the Tortoises, if not all, laid twice during the season.
Of a deposit made on the 28th of June, one of the eggs (that nearest
the surface) was hatched on the 24th of September. On struggling
out of the shell the young animal seemed to be almost blind ; its case
was very soft and cartilaginous ; and in the centre of the under shell,
or between the abdominal and the femoral shields, there was a large
umbilical process. It measured an inch in length and could crawl
with ease. On the 14th of October another young Tortoise made
its appearance from the same deposit ; it was livelier and larger than
that first hatched, measuring an inch and three-quarters in length,
and its eyes were completely open. Mr. Ord conjectures that it had
emerged from its shell some days previously, but had only then made
its way to the surface. On the 15th another made its appearance, of a
size between the other two ; and on the same day Mr. Ord inspected
the deposit and found a fourth young one, still in its shell, but strug-
gling to get free, in which it succeeded during the afternoon. It was
rather larger than any of the rest, and had remained in the shell one
and twenty days longer than the first. On the 29th of September,
Mr. Ord examined a deposit of eggs laid on the 26th of June. None
appeared to have hatched, but the shell of the uppermost having
been partly eaten by the ants, he opened it and found a perfectly
formed foetus, measuring an inch in length, attached to a yolk-bag
three-quarters of an inch long. On the 21st of October Mr. Ord
examined one of a number of eggs which he had removed from their
118 Linnenn Society. [Nov. 16,
deposits on the 24th of September, and found it to contain a living
young, not quite so large as that hist mentioned, and having a much
larger yolk-bag ; and on the 1st of December he took up all the eggs
of which he had any knowledge, none of which (although some were
still living) were sufficiently matured for exclusion ; a circumstance
which he attributes to a deficiency of the usual summer heat and to
severe early frosts. Of the four young ones hatched, one escaped ;
and the remaining three hybernated with the adults, reappeared in
the spring, and lived in the garden for several years.
November 16.
E. Forster. Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart., was elected a Fellow.
Read, " Descriptions of some Vegetable Monstrosities/* by the
Rev. William Hincks, F.L.S., F.R.S.E., &c.
In this paper, which is a continuation of one read before the So-
ciety towards the close of the year 1839, Mr. Hincks arranges the
monsters described by him under the several heads of adherences,
transformations, and increased or diminished developments of par-
ticular parts.
The adherences comprise, first, a case of the union of five grapes
into one fruit in so complete a manner as to render it probable that
the flowers were also united ; secondly, an instance of cohesion be-
tween four peduncles of Centaur ea moschata, without fusion of their
capitula ; and thirdly, the common case of adherence of two flowers
of Fuchsia fulg ens. The latter is introduced for the purpose of re-
marking how frequently, when the usual number of organs in a circle
results from the suppression of certain parts rudimentally present,
the same cause which produces adherence with the nearest flower,
also developes all the nidiments, and thus increases the number of
parts. On the other hand, in cases of union by fusion, that is, where
the united flowers form one enlarged flower, Mr. Hincks observes,
that one organ at least is generally sacrificed at each point of junc-
tion.
Of transformations Mr. Hincks notices two : first, a terminal bud
of an Azalea, gathered about the period when the plant ceased to
produce blossoms, which is partially converted into a flower, the
1841.] Linnean Society, 119
leaves nearest the centre being imperfectly changed into stamina,
and surrounded by many of petaloid aspect, while the outer leaves
differ from the ordinary appearance only in ha^^ng a little colour ;
the organs are not arranged in circles, and one leaf only, and that
among the most remote from the centre, assumes the form of a pi-
stillum. The second transformation described occurs in a specimen
of Gentiana campestris, in which all the parts of the flower are con-
verted into leaves, which are somewhat petaloid and crowded into a
rose-like tuft : this kind of transformation is similar to that described
and figured by M. De CandoUe in Trifolium rcpens.
The first case of increased or diminished development noticed by
Mr. Hincks affects a specimen of Anagallis arvensis, resembling one
described by M. Moquin-Tandon as found by M. Gay, in which an
increased development of the exterior circle is accompanied by dimi-
nution in the interior ones : the eflfect produced is stated to be very
unequal in different flowers, but the more the calyx is enlarged, the
more the interior circles are contracted. The second case is the well-
known wheat-ear carnation, Dianthus Caryophyllus imhricatus, L.^
which is noticed as probably affording the best example of the mon-
strous multiplication of a particular circle. A third case occurs in
a capitulum of Matricaria^ in which the bractese, consisting under
ordinary circumstances of paleaceous scales, are enlarged into full-
sized leaves, completely deforming the flower : the rose-ribwort is
noticed as a phaenomenon of the same kind. Fourthly, Mr. Hincks
mentions a monstrous variety or highly developed form of Convallaria
multiflora, cultivated at Kew, which he presumes to be the var.
bracteata of De Candolle and Duby : in it the number of flowers
usually reaches five or six, and each of them proceeds from the
axilla of a small leaf on the pedicel. And lastly, the author notices
under this head a case of abortion or atrophy affecting the leaf of
a fern cultivated by Messrs. Rolleston, by which in one instance the
whole side of a frond, and in another the secondary veins with the
parenchyma at both sides are entirely suppressed ; a phaenomenon
v\ hich he has also observed in Scolopendrium officinale.
Read also the commencement of a paper " On the Influence of
the Dew-point on the Temperature of Plants," by D. P. Gardner,
M.D., of Hampden Sidney College, Virginia, communicated by the
Secretary.
120 Linnean Society* [Dec. 21,
December 7.
R. Brown, Esq., V.P. in the Chair.
Mr. John Brett was elected an Associate.
Read, " On the Structure of the Nut known as Vegetable Ivory,"
by Daniel Cooper, Esq., A.L.S.
Read also the conclusion of Dr. Gardner's paper " On the In-
fluence of the Dew-point on the Temperature of Plants."
December 21.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
The following Addresses of Congratulation to Her Majesty and
His Royal Highness Prince Albert were read and agreed to : —
** To the Queen's most Excellent Majesty.
** Most Gracious Sovereign,
" We, Your Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects, the Presi-
dent, Council, and Fellows of the Linnean Society of London, beg
leave to approach the throne with the expression of our warmest
congratulations on the auspicious birth of an Heir Apparent to the
Crown of these realms.
" Deeply impressed with feelings of loyal attachment to Your
Majesty's person, we hail this event as an important addition to
Your Majesty's domestic happiness and a renewed pledge of the
permanence of Your Majesty's illustrious House. That Your Ma-
jesty may long, in the enjoyment of every blessing, reign over a
grateful people ; and may, at a far distant time, transmit to Your
Majesty's successor the best inheritance of a prince in the affections
of a loyal and devoted nation, is our most earnest prayer,"
•* To His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
" May it please Your Royal Highness,
'* We, Her Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects, the Presi-
dent, Council, and Fellows of the Linnean Society of London, beg
leave to offer to Your Royal Highness our warmest congratulations
on the birth of an Heir Apparent to the Throne of these realms.
" Deeply impressed with feelings of loyal attachment to Her
Majesty's person, we hail this event as an additional source of
1841.] lAnnean Society, 121
domestic happiness to Her Majesty and Your Royal Highness, and
as a pledge of the permanence of Her Majesty's illustrious House.
That Her Majesty and Your Royal Highness may long enjoy every
blessing that can attend the married state, is our most earnest
prayer."
The Secretary announced to the Society, that since its last meet-
ing it had sustained a severe loss by the death of its Librarian, Pro-
fessor Don, which took place at the Society's House on the 8th
instant.
Read an extract of a letter from William Griffith, Esq., F.L.S.,
to R. H. Solly, Esq., F.L.S., dated Serampore, the 11th of October
1841, containing the following observations : —
" In Santalum the ovulum consists of a nucleus and an embryo-
sac, prolonged both beyond the apex and base of the nucleus ; the
albumen and embryo are developed in the exserted part above the
septum ; the mass of the embryo is developed directly from the ve-
sicle, which is the termination of a pollen tube ; the seed (albumen)
has no other proper covering than the incorporated upper separable
part of the embryo-sac.
" In Osyris the ovulum is reduced to a nucleus and an embryonary
sac, prolonged exactly in the same directions as in Santalum, but not
to such a degree anteriorly ; this anterior portion resembling exactly
the unchanged part of the sac of Santalum below the septum. The
albumen and embryo are formed outside the sac, and are absolutely
naked, or whatever covering they may have did not enter into the
composition of the ovulum."
Mr. Griffith adds, " I have lately looked at Isoetes capsularis,
Roxb. ; it is an instructive plant, for it shows that botanists are
mistaken in their supposition as to the male. In Roxburgh's plant
the contents of the sporangium are sometimes of two sorts, but both
have the same origin, both are precisely similarly constituted, except
perhaps as to contents ; and the largest of these, the males of authors,
become afterwards like the others, but larger. There can be no doubt
that in all tliese plants the true sporules or seeds are those produced
by division of an original simple cell or its contents. Isoetes and
Azolla prove too a thing of some importance, that the dissimilar
organs which have so puzzled botanists may have a similar origin.
The true male of Isoetes will probably turn out to be the oblong,
cordate, fleshy laminae above the female. On the male my observa-
tions were stopped by indisposition. As a male it is certainly ano-
No. XIV. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
122 Linnean Society. [Dec. 21,
malous ; it is probably, I conjecture, developed originally within the
leaf, and the scale between it and the female is probably analogous
to the indusium of ferns. The most instructive plant is Anthoceros
(which is not a Hepatica), for this may explain Ferns by showing
that a pre-existing organ, to be acted upon by the male influence, is
not necessary. Endlicher says Isoetes has no stomata ; De Candolle
figures them in his ' Organographie ;' in /. capsularis they are very
evident : no matter whether emerged or submerged, all plants having
a cutis have stomata."
Read also a paper " On a new genus of Plants from Chile." By
John Miers, Esq., F.L.S.
This genus, which is named by Mr, Miers Solenomelus, on account
of the confluence into a tubular form both of the stamina and stig-
mata, belongs to the natural order Iridem, and is thus characterized :
Solenomelus.
Cruckshanksia, Miers, Travels in Chile, ii. p. 529. non Hook.
Perianthium petaloideum ; tubo brevi incurvo ; limbo 6-partito, laciniis
patentibus, 3 superioribus erectioribus, 3 inferioribus deflexis. Tubus
stamineus cum tubo perianthii coalitus, demum liber, ore antheras 3
sessiles gerens. Stylus filiformis. Stigma integrum, urceolato-tubulo-
sum, margine ciliatum. Capsula triquetra, trilocularis, loculicido-tri-
valvis. — Herbse Chilenses perennes, habitu Sisyrinchii. Spatha bivalvis,
dorso sub apice mucronata. Flores breviter pedicellati.
1. Solenomelus Chilensis, foliis lineari-ensiformibus, corolla aurantiaca.
Cruckshanksia graminea, Miers, Travels in Chile, ii. p. 529.
Hab. apud Concon, locis umbrosis.
2. Solenomelus punctatus, foliis aiigustioribus, corolM aurantiaca; laciniis
singulis supra basin puncto sanguineo notatis.
Hab. prope Concepcion.
Mr. Miers observes, that the curved corolla, the coherence of the
filaments throughout their entire length, and the union of the stig-
mata into an urceolate tube, aff"ord characters that sufficiently di-
stinguish this genus from Sisyrinchium, to which it is in other re-
spects most nearly related. In all the species of the latter genus
that he has examined he has found a portion of the filaments fi-ee ;
and he thinks the genus should be limited to those species in which
the stamina are only partially united. This would exclude S. odo-
ratissimum, Cav. (which is apparently the same as S. Narcissoides,
Lindl.) and S. flexuosum, Lindl., described as having entirely united
stamina, and further diff'ering from Sisyrinchium in having a long
infundibuliform corolla, with more distinct markings, and a very
1841.] lAnnean Society, 123
odoriferous smell. On these species Mr. Miers proposes to found a
genus under the name of Symphyostemon ; agreeing with Solenome-
lus in the complete union of its stamina, but diifering by its deeply
cleft style and the shape of its corolla. He thinks also that several
species added to Sisyrinchium by Sprengel, such as S. collinum, S.
filiforme and S. flexuosum, should be discarded from it, and believes
that the entire genus requires a revision, for which he regrets that
he does not possess sufficient materials.
Read also a " Notice of a new species of Araucaria from the neigh-
bourhood of Moreton Bay ; and of the Germination of Nuytsia flori-
bunda" in a letter from J. C. Bidwell, Esq., to R. Taylor, Esq.,
Under Sec. L.S.
January 18, 1842.
R, Brown, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
ITie Secretary reported that the Council held this day had agreed
to the following resolution, viz.
" That notice be given at the General Meeting this evening that
the Election of a Clerk, Librarian and Housekeeper will take place
on the 15th of February ; the Chair to be taken at half- past seven
o'clock in the evening, and the Ballot to close at nine."
He further reported that the Candidates were Charles M. Lemann,
M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in London, and
Mr. Richard Kipj)ist, Assistant Clerk and Librarian of the Society.
Edward Solly, Jun., Esq., the Rev. Henry Hawkes, B.A., and
Dr. William Henry Brown, were elected Fellows.
ITie Vice-President in the Chair then proposed, that in consequence
of the recent death of Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq., V.P.L.S., and
in consideration of his long connexion with the Society and emi-
nent services to natural history, the meeting should adjourn, which
was unanimously agreed to.
February 1 .
The Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Mr. John William Griffith was elected a Fellow, and Mr. Lovell
Reeve an Associate.
124 Linnean Society. [Feb. 1,
Read, " Contributions to Vegetable Embryology, from Observa-
tions on the Origin and Development of the Embryo in Tropceolum
majus." By Herbert Giraud, M.D., communicated by the Secretary.
After referring to the researches of MM. Schleiden, Wydler,
Mirbel and Spach, and A. St. Hilaire, on this important point. Dr.
Giraud states that he was induced to select Tropceolum as the sub-
ject of his own observations on account of its solitary ovula, and
their comparatively large size, which render the individuals of this
family, as well as the allied Geraniacece, peculiarly fitted for the pur-
pose. He arranges his observations under seven general heads cor-
responding with as many progressive periods in the growth of the
female organs, and extending from the completion of the anatropous
development of the ovule to the perfect formation of the embryo ;
or from the commencement of the expansion of the bud to the com-
plete formation of the fruit. The results are collected from a great
number of dissections.
In the first period, or just before the expansion of the bud, a lon-
gitudinal section of the carpellum from its dorsum towards the axis
of the pistillum, dividing the o\aile, shows the latter to have com-
pleted its anatropous development. A portion of rather firm and
dense cellular tissue enclosing a bundle of vessels descends from the
placenta and in apposition with it to form the raphe, and terminates
in the base of the ovule. The nucleus has only one integument, at
the apex of which is the exostome or micropyle, opening close by
and to the outside of the point of attachment; and the conducting
tissue of the style may be traced into the carpellary cavity as far as
the exostome.
In the second period, during which the expansion of the bud and
the dehiscence of the anthers commence, and therefore before im-
pregnation, a small elliptical cavity makes its appearance near the
apex of the nucleus, having a delicate lining membrane formed by
the walls of the surrounding cells : this cavity is the embryo- sac,
and a minute canal may be traced leading from it to the exostome.
The apex of the embryo-sac encloses at this period a quantity of
organizable mucilage containing many minute bodies having the
appearance and character of cytoblasts.
In the third period, the apex of the nucleus and of its integument
becomes slightly inclined towards the placenta. The embryo- sac is
much enlarged and lengthened ; its mucilage has disappeared and
given place to an elongated diaphanous utricle {utricule primordiale,
Mirbel ; vesicule embryonnaire, Meyen ; extremite anterieure du boyau
pollinique, Schleiden ;) containing a quantity of globular matter or
1842.] Linnean Society. 125
cytoblasts. This primary utricle is developed wholly within the em-
bryo-sac, from which it is obviously distinct.
The fourth period occurs after impregnation. The pollen tubes
do not extend into the carpellary cavity ; but the fovilla with its gra-
nules is found abundantly in the passage leading from the style to
the exostome. With the increased development of the embryo-sac,
the primary utricle elongates and becomes distinctly cellular by the
development of minute cells in its interior, while at the extremity
next the base of the nucleus it is terminated by a spherical mass con-
sisting of globular cells. The primarj' utricle at this period assumes
the character of the suspensor (Mirbel), and its spherical extremity
constitutes the first trace of the embryo.
In the fifth period the apex of the nucleus and of its integument
becomes more inclined towards the placenta ; the spherical extre-
mity of the suspensor enlarges, and it becomes more evident that it
constitutes the rudimental embryo. In the mean time the suspensor
has become lengthened by an increase in the number of its cells ;
and its upper extremity is found to be protruded through the apex
of the embryo-sac, the apex of the nucleus and the micropyle.
From this extremity there is a considerable development of cells,
many of which hang loosely in the passage leading to the conduct-
ing tissue of the style, while the rest unite in forming a process
which passes down the outer side of the ovulum within the carpel-
lary cavity. This process is composed of from nine to twelve rows
of cells, and its extremity resembles in appearance and in the ana-
tomical condition of its cells the spongiole of a root. By a slight
traction of this cellular process the suspensor with the embryo may
be withdrawn from the embryo-sac through the exostome, thus pro-
ving the continuity of the process with the suspensor, and through
it with the embryo itself.
During the sixth period the suspensor becomes more attenuated ;
and the cellular process has reached the base of the ovulum, the cells
of its extremity abounding with cytoblasts, which prove that it is still
progressing in development. The embryo also increases in size, and
two lateral processes are observed, which evidently form the first
traces of the cotyledons.
In the seventh period all distinction between the nucleus and its
integument ceases, and they form a single envelope enclosing the
embryo-sac ; the cellular process has become so much developed,
that its extremity has passed round the base of the ovulum and is
directed towards the placenta ; and the lateral processes of the em-
bryo have become distinct fleshy cotyledons, enclosing both the
126 Linnean Society, [Feb. 15,
radicle and plumule in corresponding depressions . of their opposed
surfaces. The subsequent changes consist chiefly in the great de-
velopment of the cotyledons, which ultimately occupy the entire ca-
vity of the nucleus, filling the space usually taken up by albumen.
From these observations Dr. Giraud deduces the following in-
ferences.
The formation of the embryo-sac and the development of cyto-
blasts within it having been shown to take place at a period prior to
impregnation, and even the primary utricle itself making its appear-
ance before the emission of the pollen from the anther and before
the expansion of the stigma, the origin of the primary utricle cannot
be referred to the influence of impregnation, nor can it have been de-
rived from the pollen tube pressing before it a fold of the embryo-sac.
The primary utricle at its first formation being quite distinct from
the embryo-sac, even at its apex (although brought into contact with
it at a subsequent period, and ultimately penetrating it), cannot re-
sult from a depression of involution of the embryo-sac, as is main-
tained by M. Brongniart.
The pollen tubes (which after impregnation may be traced in the
conducting tissue of the style) never reaching the micropyle, but
pollen granules being found in abundance in the channel leading to
it, and being doubtless brought into contact with the outer surface
of the embryo-sac through the exostome ; and the first trace of the
embryo appearing at this time in the formation of the spherical body
at the inferior extremity of the primary utricle — Dr. Giraud is led
to conclude that the origin of this simple spherical body results from
a peculiar process of nutrition, determined by the material or dyna-
mic influence of the fovilla, conveyed through the medium of the
primary utricle or suspensor.
The paper was accompanied by a series of drawings representing
the ovulum of Tropceolum in the several stages of development de-
scribed.
February 15.
R. Brown, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
The Meeting having been specially summoned for the election of
a Clerk, Librarian, and Housekeeper in the place of Professor Don,
the Vice-President in the Chair opened the business of the day, and
the Members present proceeded to ballot.
1842.] Linnean Society. 12 J
The Vice-President appointed Mr. Bentham and Mr. Yarrell to be
Scrutators, and the ballot being closed and the votes being counted,
the Scrutators reported the election to have fallen on Mr. Kippist,
who was thereupon declared to be duly elected.
March 1.
T. Horsfield, M.D.. V.P., in the Chair.
The Secretary reported, that since the last meeting the Society had
received from W. Borrer, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c., the present of a
valuable Herbarium of Foreign Flowering Plants.
George Gardner, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read a paper " On some rare and beautiful Coleopterous Insects
from Silhet, the major part belonging to the collection of Frederic
Parry, Esq., of Cheltenham." By the Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S.,
F.L.S., &c.
The number of species described amounts to fourteen, one of
which is regarded by Mr. Hope as forming the type of a new genus.
The following are the generic and specific characters : —
LUCANID^.
Hexarthrius Parryi, niger, mandibulis exsertis subdenticulatis bidentatis,
capite thoraceque scabriusculis, elytris postice castaneis. Long. lin. 36 ;
lat. lin. 10.
Odontolahis Cuvera, ater, mandibulis valde exsertis denticuiatis, elytris
pallida castaneis littera V nigra signatis. Long, (mandibulis inclusis)
lin. 34; lat. lin. -ll.
Odontolahis Baladena, niger, mandibulis porrectis multidentatis, capite
thoraceque unidentatis. Long. lin. 20; lat. 10.
Dorcas Wesfermanni, niger, mandibulis porrectis multidentatis capite
thoraceque parum brevioribus. Long. lin. 26^ ; lat. lin. 9.
Dorcas DeHaani, niger, mandibulis porrectis capite pariim longioribus :
dente forti fere trigono ante basin posito ; reliquis rainoribus. Long.
lin. 22 ; lat. lin. 7\.
Hah. in agro Assamensi. Mus. D. Hope.
Lucanus Brahminus, niger, mandibulis valde exsertis denticuiatis capiti
thoracique aequalibus, thorace postic^ utrinque dentato, elytris glabris
marginatis. Long. lin. 24^ ; lat. lin. 6^.
Lucanus Buddha, niger nitidus, mandibulis vald^ porrectis capite thora-
ceque longioribus denticuiatis. Long. lin. 21 ; lat lip. 6.
128 Linnean Society. [March 15,
RUTELIDJE.
Mimela Passerinii, viridis, thoracis lateribus luteolis, elytrorum margini-
bus elevatis pallide virescentibus, corpore infra roseo-cupreo, pectore ca-
pillis longis flavescentibus obsito. Long. lin. 9| ; lat. lin. 4^.
Hah, in Montibus Himalayanis.
BUPRESTID^.
Chrysochroa Edivardsii, viridi-aurata, thorace cupreo-purpureo, elytris
fascia irregulari macula flava insignitis, corpore subtus roseo-cupreo,
pedibus concoloribus. Long. lin. 27 ; lat. lin. Sf.
This superb Buprestis approaches most nearly to that named Pe-
rottetii by M. Guerin.
LONGICORNES.
Monochamus sulphurifer, corpore toto supra et infra flavo-sulphureo,
antennis pedibusque nigro cinereoque variegatis. Long. lin. 13 ; lat.
lin. A%.
Purpuricenus rubripennis, violaceus, elytris rubro-marginatis macula sub-
quadrata in medio disco insignitis, pedibus concoloribus. Long. lin. 15 ;
lat. lin. 4.
ZoNOPTBRUS, Hope.
Caput mandibulis arcuatis, fronte declivi, cornu brevi utrinque ad basin
antennarum. AntenncB 11-articulatse, articulo basali apice crassiore,
2do minimo, 3tio longissimo, 4to fere dimidio minore, 6 sequentibus
fere sequalibus, ultimo longiore acuto. Thorax depressus, capite dupld
longior. Elytra thorace triplo longiora, parallela, apicibus rotundatis.
Pedes femoribus 4 anterioribus incrassatis, posticis duplo majoribus
subcompressis ; tibiis posticis subincurvis.
Zonopterus flavitarsis, niger, antennis bicoloribus, thorace nigro-tomen-
toso, elytris flavo-bifasciatis, femoribus tibiisque atris, tarsis flavis.
Long. lin. 15 ; lat. lin. 4.
Colohothea ruhricollis, rubro-picea, antennis concoloribus, elytris nigri-
cantibus maculis flavo-ochraceis aspersis. Long. lin. 15 ; lat. lin. 4.
Sagrid^.
Sagra Carbunculus, cyanea, elytris igne auroque micantibus, pedibus pos-
ticis incrassatis ; tibiis incurvis. Long. lin. 4|.
March 15.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. R. H. Solly exhibited a Cabinet for Microscopic objects made
of Cedar-wood, the specimens contained in which, consisting of thinly
ground sections of fossil- wood cemented on glass, had become cp-
1842.] Linnean Society. 129
vered with a very adhesive varnish. Where the fossil-wood was
quite sound, and the cement (probably of Canada Bedsaro) did not
project beyond its edges, very little of the varnish was deposited ;
but where the fossil-wood was cracked or unsound, or where the ce-
ment projected beyond its edges, it was found in considerable quan-
tity ; and on the specimens not cemented to glass, it was deposited
chiefly in the pores or cracks which had imbibed some of the oil used
in polishing the surface. The cabinet was quite new when the spe-
cimens were placed in it, and Mr. Solly supposes that the air con-
tained in the drawers had become loaded with vapour from the Ce-
dar-wood, which coming into contact with oil or resin combined with
it to produce a varnish.
Read a paper " On Edgeworthia, a new genus of Plants of the
Order Mp'sinece" By Hugh Falconer, M.D., Superintendent of the
Hon. E. I. C.'s Botanic Garden at Saharunpore, communicated by
J. F. Royle, M.D., F.L.S., &c.
Dr. Falconer refers this new genus to the Tribe Theophrastea, and
characterizes it as follows : —
Edgeworthia.
Calyx 5- partitas; laciniis obtusis imbricatis. Corolla hypogyna, subcain-
panulata ; tubo brevi crasso, intus squainis 5 adnatis acuininatis, cum
linibi 5-partiti lobis acutis (in oestivatione contorlo-imbricatis) alter-
nantibus, instructo. Stamina 5, corollae tubo inserta, ejus denique la-
ciniis opposita, exserta ; filamenta subulata, basi cum squamis conflu-
entia ; antherae extrorsiB, versatiles, loculis longitudinaliter dehiscen-
tibus. Ovarium 1-Ioculare; placenta basilaris, parva; ovula pauca,
erecta, anatropa. Stylus elongatrus, etiam in alabastro exsertus ; stigma
minutum, indivisum. Drupa mono- (raro di-) sperma. Semen pelta-
tum, hilo lato excavato umbilicatum ; testa ossea. Embryo intra albu-
men (cartilagineum) ruminatum excentricus, transverse arcuatus ; ra-
dicula infera. — Arbuscula sempervirens ; foliis alternis ejcstipulatis,
ioiitariis v. fasciculatis, ellipti^is, integerrimis, coriaceis, marginatis ;
ramis spinescentibus ; pedicellis bracteolafis ; floribusjparvi* suhsessi/ibus
in capitula axillaria subumbellata dense coacervatis, chloroleucis ; drup&
eduli dulci.
Obs. Genua inter T/ieophrasteas,Jacquinitpet Theophrasta ]ii\ta charac-
teres tribuales affine, sed ab utroque et a sociis albuminc runiinato,
necnon inflorescentid distinctum. Notatu dignissimum, stylum etiam
in alabastro exsertum !
Edgeworthia buxifolia.
Hab. in collibus aridis Provinciarum Taxilae et Peucelaotis in Bactrim In-
feriore ; passim obvenit prop^ Peshawur, Cohaut et Attock, indigenis
No. XV. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
130 Linnean Society. [April 5,
Goorgoora dicta. Floret Februario ; fructus matiirescit JuHo. Semina
dura globosa vulgo in monilia precatoria conseruntur.
Dr. Falconer describes Edgeworthia as one of the most character-
istic forms of Lower AiFghanistan, where it grows associated with a
species of Dodoncea, Olea Laitoona, a species of Rhazya, and an un-
described Asclepiadeous genus. To the latter, which he refers to the
tribe of Periploceie, he gives the name of Campelepis^ with the follow-
ing generic characters i —
Campelepis.
Corolla rotata, 5-fida ; fauce coronata, squamis 5 cum segmentis alternan-
tibus, brevibus, fiexuoso-trilobis, confluentibus, medio aristatis, aristis
filiformibus erectis apice uncinatis ; tubo intus squamulis totidem inclu-
sis, laceris, patentibus, staminibus oppositis, instruct©. Filamenta di-
stincta, fauci infra squamas inserta ; antherae sagittatae, apiculo acuta
terminatse, dorso barbatae, basi stigmatis medio agglutinatae. Masses
pollinis solitarise, granulosse, corpusculorum stigmatis appendiculis di-
latatis applicitsB. Stigma dilatatum, muticum. FoUicuU cylindracei,
laeves, divaricatissimi. Semina ad umbilicum comosa. — Frutex erectusy
ramosissimus, glaber, quasi aphgllus; foliis nenipe squamcBformibus, deci-
duis, remofis; cymis hreve pedunculatis, paucifloris; floribus ^arm, cor-
riaceis ; coroUae laciniis intu§ prope apicem barbatis, disco leprosis.
Campelepis viminea.
Hah. passim in Bactrim Inferiore, prope Peshawur, Attock, &c.
April 5.
R. Brown, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
The Secretary announced that the Society had received, in pur-
suance of the bequest of the late Professor David Don, Libr. L.S.„
his Herbarium and collection of Woods and Fruits, with the ex-
ception of such as relate to Materia Medica.
Mr. Richard Kippist, Libr. L.S., was elected an Associate.
Read the commencement of " A Catalogue of Spiders, either not
previously recorded or little known as indigenous to Great Britain,
with remarks on their Habits and Economy." By John Blackwall,
Esq., F.L.S., &c.
1842.] Lmnean Society, 13 J
April 19.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
M. Pakenham Edgeworth, Esq., of the Bengal Civil Service, was
elected a Fellow.
The Secretary announced that the Treasurer had received from the
Executors of the late Archibald Menzies, Esq., F.L.S., the sum of
90/., being the amount of a legacy of 100/. bequeathed by him to tlie
Linnean Society, after deducting 10/. for legacy duty.
J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., exhibited numerous species of
Sphingida, Nocturnal Lepidoptera, and other insects, from the collec-
tion of Lieut. -Col. Hearsey, formed during a residence of thirty years
in Central India. He stated this collection to be very interesting on
account of its local character, and as compared with the splendid col-
lections recently received from Sylhet and the Himalayas, exhibited
at late meetings of this Society. In Colonel Hearsey's collection
the species of the modem genus Papilio are very few in number, and
well known. Of P. Hector there is but a single specimen. There
is not a single species of Lucanus, nor true Fulgora, in the collection ;
a striking peculiarity as compared with the Sylhet and Himalayan
collections. The collection, however, contains a species of Paussus
and one of Diopsis, both new ; a very minute Apotomus, specimens
of both sexes of the interesting Hymenopterous genus Trirogma, a
number of very English -looking Harpalidue, various Alhyrei and
Bolhoceriy as well as most of the new species described by Mr.
Saunders in the last Part of the Transactions of the Entomological
Society.
Read the concluding portion of *' A Catalogue of Spiders, either
not previously recorded or little known as indigenous to Great Bri-
tain, with remarks on their Habits and Economy." By John Black-
wall, Esq., F.L.S., &c.
The following is a list of the species enumerated by Mr. Black-
wall : —
1. Drassus sericeus, Walck. In several of the northern counties of En-
gland and Wales.
2. Drassus ater, Walck. Common in Denbighshire and Caernarvon-
shire.
132 Linnean Sociefij. [April ig'j.
3. Cluhiona epimelas, Walck. Found rarely in the wooded districts of
Denbighshire.
4. Cluhiona accentuata, Walck. In the woods of Denbighshire and Caer-
narvonshire.
5. Cluhiona erratiea, Walck. Frequent in the woods and commons of
Denbighshire.
6. Jrgyroneta aquatica, Walck. In the fens of Cambridgeshire, Mr. Ba-
hington ; and in small pools in Cheshire, Mr. Glover.
7. Cinijlo ferox, Blackw. Abimdant in England and Wales,
8. Ergatis latens, Blackw. On commons in Denbighshire.
9. Tegenaria domestiea, Walck. Oxford and Cambridge.
10. Lycosa andrenivora, Walck. Commons and old pastures in variou*
parts of England and Wales.
11. Lycosa agretyca, Walck. Old pastures in England and Wales.
12. Lycosa allodroma, Walck., var. leucophaea. Lycosa leucoplreea,
Blackw., in Lond. and Edinb. Phil. Mag. x. p. 104.
13. Lycosa picta, Hahn. In Cheshire and Denbighshire, frequenting
sandy districts on the coast.
14. Lycosa luguhris, Walck. Abundant in woods in Denbighshire and
Caernarvonshire.
15. Lycosa pallida, Walck. Frequent on banks of rivers in Denbighshire
and Caernarvonshire.
16. Lycosa piratica, Walck. Marshes and margins of pools in England
and Wales.
17. Dolomedes fimhriatus, Walck. In the fens of Cambridgeshire, Mr.
Bahingfon.
18. Salticus cupreus, Hahn. Mountain-woods of Denbighshire and Caer-
narvonshire.
19. Salticns coronatus, Blackw. Attus coronatus, Walck. Common in the
woods of Denbighshire and Caernarvonshire.
20. Salticus gracilis, Hahn. Gwydir woods in Caernarvonshire.
21. Thomisushrevipes, Hahn. In fields adjacent to woods, at Oakland,
near Llanrwst, Denbighshire.
22. Thomisus hifasciatus, Blackw. Xysticus bifasciatus, Koch. In pas-
tures near Llanrwst.
23. Thomisus citreus, Walck. In the western parts of Denbighshire.
24. Philodromus dispar, Walck. In the wooded parts of Denbighshire
and Caernarvonshire.
25. Philodromus cespiticolens, Walck. In woods in Denbighshire.
26. Philodromus ohlongus, Walck. In the north of Cheshire.
27. Sparassus smaragdulus, Walck. England, Mr. Bahington ; in the
woods at Tan-y-Bwlch in Merionethshire, Mr. Glover.
28. Theridion denticulaium, Walck. Common in England and Wales.
29. Theridion signatum, Walck. Among heath in Denbighshire : rare.
30. Neriene trilineata, Blackw. Theridion reticulatum, Hahn, Under
gtones in the neighbourhood of Manchester.
1"842.] Linnean Society^ 133
31. Neriene fframinicolens, Blackw. Sp. nov. a Neri'ene trilineaid di-
versa pedibus palpisque unicoloribus nee annulatis. Old pastures at Oak-
land, near Llanrwst, Denbighshire.
32. Mandnculus vernalis, Blackw. Theridion vemale, Hahn. In pas-
tures in various parts of Lancashire and Denbighshire.
33. Pkolcus phalangioides, Walck. Barmouth, Merionethshire, Mr. Pot-
ier ; Liverpool, Mr. Glover ; Isle of Wight.
34. Linyphia pallida, Bi&ckw. Theridium pallidum, ATocA. Anwng grass
in the grounds about Oakland.
35. Epeira bicornis, Walck. In the wooded parts of Denbighshire^
36. Epeira agelena, Walck. In pastures near Llanrwst.
37. Epeira scalaris, Walck. In the neighbourhood of London.
38. Epeira nmbratica, Walck. Abundant in various parts of England
and Wales.
39. Epeira fusca^ Walck. In Denbighshire and Caernarvonshire.
40. Epeira antriada, Walck. Common in the north of England and
Wales.
41. Dysdera erythrina, Walck. In the town of Manchester; also in Cam-
bridge, Mr. Potter.
42. Dysdera ritbicunda, Koch. Camhridge, Mr. Babington.
43. Dysdera Hombergii, Walck. Plentiful in the wooded districts of Den-
bighshire and Caernarvonshire.
44. Oonops pulcher, Tempi. Deletrix exilis, Blackw., in Lond. and
Edinb. Phil. Mag. x. p. 100. In Lancasliire, Denbighshire and Caernar-
vonshire : abundant in the two last.
Mr. Blackwall states, that with a few exceptions, the spiders com-
prised in the foregoing catalogue have never before been recognized
as British species. "With respect to nearly the whole of them, nu-
merous facts are detailed relative to their structure, instincts, eco-
nomy and haunts, with occasional remarks on their nomenclature
and systematic arrangement.
Read also a " Description of a new Indian species of Paussus.**
By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., &c.
This species, which is in the collection made by Lieut.- Colonel
Hearsey mentioned above, approaches Platyrhopalus in having the
penultimate joint of its labial palpi about two-thirds the length of
the terminal joint. In all its other characters, however, it accords so
exactly with the Indian species of Mr. Westwood's second division
of the genus Pcmssus, that were the antennae broken off, it would be
almost impossible to distinguish it from Paussus cognatus.
Paussiis Hearseyanus, rufo-castaneus nitidus punctatus, elytris singulis
plag^ lata longitudinali nigra, capite pone oculos carin& elevate trans-
versa alteraque longitudinali mediana ad nasum ferd duct&, antennarum
134 Linnean Society, [May 24,
clav& subovat^ basi ext^s in hamum producta ; margine postice super-
neque oblique 3-impresso.
The only specimen known was captured by Col. Hearsey at Be-
nares by night, having flown against the lamp and fallen upon the
table, a habit observed in other species of the genus by several Indian
entomologists.
May 5.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Capt. Theobald Jones, R.N., M.P., was elected a Fellow.
His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, K.G., F.R.S., F.L.S.,
&c., sent for exhibition a specimen of the ripe fruit of Diospyros
edulis, and of the female flowers of the same, grown in one of His
Grace's stoves at Sion.
J. A. Hankey, Esq., F.L.S., laid on the table for distribution nu-
merous specimens of Fritillaria Meleagris, L., gathered by himself
at Finchley, Middlesex.
W. H. Rudston Read, Esq., F.L.S., exhibited a specimen of a
shell {Spondylus varius, Brod.) collected at Riatea, one of the So-
ciety Islands, under the enamel of which was retained for several
months a quantity of water.
Read a portion of Dr. Hamilton Buchanan's Commentary on the
8th Part of Rheede's ' Hortus Malabaricus.'
May 24.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
This day, the Anniversary of the birth of Linnaeus, and that ap-
pointed by the Charter for the Election of Council and Officers, the
President opened the business of the Meeting, and stated the num-
1842.] Linnean Society, 135
ber of Members whom the Society had lost during the past year, of
some of whom the Secretary read the following notices : —
John Ansley, Esq.
Sir Wm. Beatty, Knt., M.D., F.R.S., well known as having been
surgeon of the Victory at the memorable action off Cape Trafalgar,
and as having in that capacity assisted at the last moments of Lord
Nelson, of which he afterwards published an account.
Sir Charles Bell, K,H., F.R.S. Lond. Sf Ed., Professor of Surgery
in the University of Edinburgh.
The very recent death of this eminent surgeon and distinguished
physiologist precludes on the present occasion any detailed account
of his life and works. He was born in Edinburgh in 1778, and the
early part of his life was spent in his native city as the assistant of
his brother John in his surgical lectures. He came to London in
1806, and became lecturer on surgery at the Hunterian School in
Windmill Street, and afterwards one of the surgeons of the Middlesex
Hospital. His important discoveries in the functions of the Nervous
System, by which his fame has been most widely spread, were com-
municated in a series of papers read before the Royal Society, com-
mencing in 1821. On the accession of King William the Fourth he
received the honour of knighthood ; and in 1836 he returned to
Edinburgh, having been appointed to the Professorship of Surgery
in that University. He died almost suddenly at the beginning of
the present month.
The Rev. Isaac Bell.
John Eddowes Bowman, Esq., was bom at Nantwich in Cheshire,
on the 30th October, 1785. He was in early life confined to busi-
ness during more than twelve hours of the day, and yet con-
trived, by early rising, to cultivate a taste for botany, which he had
imbibed from his father. The small town in which he lived fur-
nished no persons of congenial pursuits with whom he could asso-
ciate, but this circumstance, though it limited his progress, did not
damp his ardour. He became the manager of a bank at Welch Pool,
and with an income extremely limited, was not only enabled to
give a liberal education to his rising family, but, by the help of such
books and instruments as he could purchase, to extend his studies
to many branches of natural science with great zeal and success. In
1824 he became a partner in a banking establishment in Wrexham,
from which he retired in 1830, and never entered into business again;
for being in possession of a moderate competence, he willingly relin-
quished together the profits and the cares of active life, in, exchange
for the tranquil happiness he hoped to enjoy from the undivided pur-
l'^6 Linnean Society. [May 24,
suit of those sciences of which he had ever been passionately fond.
Hitherto he had been able to follow them only as a recreation, having
never allowed their cultivation to encroach on the time set apart for
business ; yet he had already, from the ample stores around him, ac-
quired extensive collections in the departments of botany and geology,
which were his favourite studies.
In 1837 he transferred his residence to Manchester, where he in-
tended to pass the remainder of his life. During his short abode in
that great emporium of manufactures and commerce he endeavoured
by all the means in his power to advance and diffuse a love for sci-
ence, and especially for natural history ; and by his associates in the
different societies of that place his memory will be warmly cherished.
He had looked forward with much interest to the approaching meet-
ing of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in
that town, but this hope was not realized. He died after a sudden
illness on the 4th December last.
Mr. Bowman became a Fellow of this Society in 1828. He has
contributed two papers to the sixteenth volume of its ' Transactions' :
viz. " An Account of a new Plant of the Gastromycous order of
Fungi," which is well described and figured under the name of Ener-
thema elegans ; and a memoir " On the parasitical connexion of
Lathrcea Squamaria, and the peculiar structure of its subterranean
leaves." The last-named paper is a valuable contribution to our
knowledge of a very obscure branch of vegetable physiology, the
connection, namely, of Root-Parasites with the plants on which they
grow, and is beautifully illustrated by two plates of details, from Mr.
Bowman's own pencil. His other natural-history publications are,
with one exception, geological. They consist of, 1. a memoir " On
the Longevity of the Yew, as ascertained from actual sections of its
trunk, and on the origin of its frequent occurrence in Churchyards,"
in Loudon's 'Magazine of Natural History for 1836'; 2. "Notes on a
small patch of Silurian Rocks to the W. of Abergele, on the north-
ern coast of Denbighshire," communicated by Mr. Murchison to the
Geological Society in 1838; 3. "On a white fossil Powder found
imder Peat-Bog in Lincolnshire, composed of the siliceous fragments
of microscopic parasitical Confervce;" 4. " On the origin of Coal, and
the geological conditions under which it was produced;" 5. "Ob-
servations on the characters of the Fossil Trees discovered on the line
of the Bolton Railway;" 6. "On the Upper Silurian Rocks in the
Vale of Llangollen, North Wales ;" (the four latter communicated to
the Manchester Geological Society, and published in the first volume
of their Transactions ;) 7. three papers in the ' Philosophical Maga-
1842.] Linnean Society, 137
zine' for 1840, "On the Natural Terraces on the Eildon Hills;" and
8. a memoir in the same Journal for 1841, "On the question whether
there are any evidences of the former existence of Glaciers in North
Wales."
The Rev. Thomas Butt.
Edmund John Clark, M.D.
George Coles, Esq.
Richard Goolden, Esq.
William Harrison, Esq., Queen's Counsel, a Bencher of the Inner
'I'emple, Counsel of the Treasury and War Office, and Attorney-
General for the Duchy of Cornwall, died at his seat at Cheshunt,
Herts, on the 4th of October last. He was eminently distinguished
in his profession, in the parliamentary business of which he for many
years took the lead. Those among us who have visited his retreat
at Cheshunt are not likely soon to forget the beautiful garden, with
its noble range of stoves and conservatories, which he had formed
there, or the kind hospitality with which they were received. Much
of his leisure was devoted to planting, and his garden exhibited, in
the great variety of trees and shrubs which it contained and the taste
displayed in their arrangement, ample proof of his attachment to that
pursuit.
James Rawlins Johnson, M.D., F.R.S., S^c, was author of "A Trea-
tise on the Medicinal Leech, including its medical and natural his-
tory, with a Description of its Anatomical Structure ; also. Remarks
upon the Diseases, Preservation and Management of Leeches," 1816,
8vo, London; and of two papers published in the 'Philosophical Trans-
actions' for 1817, entitled "Observations on the mode of Propagation
of the Hirudo vulgaris, or Rivulet-Leech," and " On the Hirudo com-
planata and Hirudo stagnalis, now formed into a distinct genus under
the name of Glossopora." These two papers were reprinted in 1825,
with some additional facts and observations, imder the title of
" Further Observations on the Medicinal Leech." In these publica-
tions Dr. Johnson contributed much to the elucidation of the natural
history of the Leech, which has since been so ably completed by Ca-
rena and others.
Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq., the last survivor of the original
members of the Linnean Society, and for nearly fifty years one of its
Vice-Presidents, was born at Bath on the 2nd of February, 1761.
His father, Edmund Lambert, Esq., of Boy ton-House, near Heytes-
bury, Wilts., married Bridget, daughter of the last Viscount Mayo
and his only surviving child, through whom Mr. Lambert inherited
the ftimily property and the name of Bourke. He was educated at
138 Linnean Society, [May 24,
St. Mary's Hall, in the University of Oxford, and attaching himself
early in life to botanical pursuits, joined the Linnean Society at its
foundation, and became one of its warmest friends and promoters. In
1791 he also became a Fellow of the Royal Society.
On succeeding to his paternal estate, he was enabled to indulge his
taste for botany more freely, and laboured with great ardour and suc-
cess to increase his herbarium, which at length acquired the charac-
ter of being one of the most valuable and important private collec-
tions in existence. Of this herbarium, and of the several collections
from which it was chiefly formed, an account has been given by Mr.
Don, who for many years acted as its curator, and who had also
charge of Mr. Lambert's extensive botanical library. These collec-
tions were at all times most liberally opened by their possessor for
the use of men of science, and one day in the week (Saturday) was
constantly set apart for the reception of scientific visitors, travellers
and others, who either brought with them or sought for information
on botanical subjects.
Mr. Lambert's separate publications are two in number : " A De-
scription of the Genus Cinchona," London, 1797, 4to, and "A De-
scription of the Genus Pinus," London, 1803-24, in two vols, folio.
Of the latter work, which is one of the most splendid botanical pub-
lications that ever issued from the press, a second edition, with addi- \
tions, was published in 1828, and a third volume was added in 18^. ij
A small edition, in two vols. 8vo, was also published in 1832.
His other works consist entirely of papers in our ' Transactions.*
They are as follows : —
"An Account of the Canis Graius Hibernicus, or Irish Wolf- Dog,"
in vol. ii.
"Anecdotes of the late Dr. Patrick Browne, author of the 'Natural
History of Jamaica'," in vol. iv., containing some interesting par-
ticulars relative to that intelligent naturalist, from whom Mr. Lam-
bert received and presented to this Society his MS, of a ' Flora Hi-
bernica,' together with a small herbarium, collected in the counties
of Mayo and Gal way, and a separate collection of Mosses.
" A Description of the Blight of Wheat, Uredo Frumenti."
" A Description of Bos frontalis, a new species from India," de-
scribed from a living specimen in the collection of Mr. Brookes of
the New Road.
" Observations on the Zizania aquatica," accompanied by a figure
from the pencil of Ferdinand Bauer, taken from specimens grown by
Sir Joseph Banks in a pond at Spring-grove.
" A further Account of Bos frontalis," containing numerous par-
1842.] Linnean Society, 139
ticulars of its habits, taken from a Letter written by Mr. Macrae.
These four papers are in vol. vii.
" A Description of a new Species of Macropus (M. elegans), from
New Holland," from a living specimen in the collection at Exeter
Change, in vol. viii.
"Some Account of the Herbarium of Prof. Pallas," in vol. x., which,
besides a general account of the collection, then recently purchased
by Mr. Lambert, contains characters of a number of new species of
plants, which are figured on six accompanying plates.
" Notes relating to Botany, collected from the MSS. of the late
Peter Collinson, Esq.," also in vol. x., and affording many interest-
ing notices relating to botanists, gardeners and gardens in England,
in the middle of the last century.
" Description of a new Species of Psidium " {P.polycarpon), which
had ripened its fruit at Boyton, in vol. xi.
" Some Account of the Galls found on a species of Oak from the
shores of the Dead Sea," and a " Note on the Mustard-plant of the
Scriptures," in vol. xvii.
Mr. Lambert's health had for some years been failing, and he had
ceased to visit his country-seat at Boyton, but preferred, when out
of town, taking up his residence of Kew, where his proximity to the
Royal Gardens, and to his friends in town, afforded him more co-
pious sources of enjoyment than he could have found elsewhere. He
died at Kew, on the 10th of January in the present year, and his
remains were removed to Boyton for interment. He married Catha-
rine, daughter of Richard Bowater, Esq., of AUesley in the county
of Warwick, but was left a widower, without any family, some years
before his death.
Charles Lane, Esq.
Richard Leigh, Esq.
Archibald Menzies, Esq., who, on the death of Mr. Lambert, be-
came father of the Society, was bom at Weem, in the county of
Perth, on the 15th of March, 1754. He was early attached to the
Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, of which his brother WiiHam after-
wards had charge ; and was enabled, through the kind assistance of
Dr. John Hope, then Botanical Professor in that University, who was
attracted by his love for natural history and especially botany, to
pass through the academiccd studies necessary for his education as a
surgeon. In the summer of 1778 he made a tour, under the auspices
of Dr. Hope, through the Highlands and Hebrides, with the view of
collecting their rarer plants, to which attention was then strongly
directed by the recent publication of Lightfoot's 'Flora Scotica.' He
140 Linnean Society. [May 24,
afterwards became assistant to a surgeon at Caernarvon ; but soon
quitting for a time the practice of his profession on shore, he entered
the navy, and became assistant- surgeon on board the Nonsuch,
Captain Truscott, in which vessel he was present at the famous vic-
tory obtained by Rodney over the Comte de Grasse on the 12th of
April, 1782. After the peace of that year he remained for some time
on the Halifax station. In 1 786 he embarked as surgeon on board the
Prince of Wales, a vessel fitted out by the enterprising firm of John
and Cadman Etches and Co., and was placed under the command
of Lieut, (afterwards Captain) Colnett, of the Royal Navy, for a voy-
age of commercial discovery to the north-west coast of America. In
this voyage he visited Staten Land, where he remained for some time,
the Sandwich Islands and China, as well as North-western America,
and returned from China by the direct route to England in the be-
ginning of 1789. In the following year he was appointed in the
capacity of naturalist, and with the rank of surgeon, to accompany
Captain Vancouver, on board the Discovery, in his celebrated voy-
age ; from which, after visiting King George's Sound on the south
coast of New Holland, a part of New Zealand, Otaheite and the
Sandwich Islands, and exploring by far the greater part of the north-
west coast of America, he returned to England in the autumn of
1795. During one of the visits made by this expedition to the Sand-
wich Islands he ascended Wha-ra-rai and Mowna-roa, two of the
principal mountains of the island of Owhyhee, and determined their
heights (that of the latter exceeding 13,000 feet) by barometrical
observations made simultaneously with others on board the vessel.
" Some account" of his ascent of the former was subsequently given
by him in the 1st and 2nd volumes of Loudon's 'Magazine of Natural
History.' From an early period of the voyage Mr. Menzies added
to his duties as naturalist those of surgeon of the Discovery, and it
aflfords a striking proof of his professional skill, that on so arduous
a service and in so protracted a voyage, not a single man was lost
by disease after quitting the Cape of Good Hope in their passage
out.
From these various voyages Mr. Menzies brought back with him
to England large collections of natural history, chiefly botanical. A
very considerable number of the plants which he had collected, and
especially of the Cryptogamous, to the study of which he was always
devotedly attached, were new to science, and have been described
from his specimens by Sir James Edward Smith, Mr. Brown, Sir
W. J. Hooker and other botanical friends, among whom they were
most liberally distributed. His own publications were few in num-
1842.] Linnean Society. 141
ber. In the lat volume of our ' Transactions' are contained " De-
scriptions of three new Animals [Echene'is lineata, Fasciola clavata,
and Hirudo branchiata] found in the Pacific Ocean** during his first
voyage round the w^orld ; and in the 4th, " A new Arrangement of
the Species of Polytrichum, with some Emendations," which, to-
gether with an Appendix, afterwards added, forms a valuable mono-
graph of that extensive genus. In the 'Philosophical Transactions*
for 1796, he gave, in conjunction with Mr. (afterwards SirEverard)
Home, " A Description of the Anatomy of the Sea- Otter," of which
he had brought home a fine specimen, afterwards presented, with
many other zoological specimens and a set of his plants, to the Bri-
tish Museum.
He subsequently served in the West Indies as surgeon of the Sans-
pareil, commanded by Lord Hugh Seymour ; but early in the present
century he quitted the sea, and continued to practise his profession
in London. For some years previous to his death he had retired to
Notting Hill, where he passed the tranquil remainder of his length-
ened existence, eager to the last to obtain additions to his botanical
collection, and enjoying the society of his numerous friends with a
kindness of heart that never failed.
He died on the 15th of February in the present year, having nearly
reached the age of 88, and was buried beside his wife (who died five
years earlier, and by whom he had no children), in the Cemetery at
Kensal Green. He left his herbarium, consisting chiefly of Crypto -
gamous plants, GraminecB and Cyperacece, arranged with character-
istic neatness on paper of an 8vo size, to the Botanic Garden at
Edinburgh, where he had studied ; and also gave by his will a be-
quest of £100 to this Society, of which he became a Fellow on the
19th of January, 1790, and to which he was always most WEirmly
attached.
David Pennant, Esq., son of the distinguished naturalist and ele-
gant writer to whom we owe so many agreeable and instructive
publications, and who, on the foundation of this Society, was elected
one of its Honorary Members, died on the 24th of June, in the 78th
year of his age. He edited some of his father's posthumous works,
to one of which, consisting of the third and fourth volumes of the
'Outlines of the Globe,* he supplied a preface containing some
account of the latter days of his parent, and an eloquent tribute to
his talents and virtues. He was himself one of the oldest Fellows
of the Society, having been elected in 1792.
Among our Foreign Members we have sustained, in common
with the whole world of science, a severe loss in the person of
142 Linnean Society. [May 24,
Augustin Pyramus DeCandolle, a botanist of such [distinguished
eminence as to demand from us a more than ordinary tribute of re-
spect. Descended from a family which came originally from Mar-
seilles, but had for more than two centuries been settled at Geneva,
and which towards the close of the sixteenth century furnished one
of that illustrious band of classical printers who united in so high a
degree the study of letters with the art of transmitting them to pos-
terity, he was born in the latter city, of which his father had been
Premier Syndic, on the 4th of February, 1778. His youthful incli-
nations were turned towards literature rather than science ; but a
residence in the country awakened in him a taste for botany, which
his attendance on the lectures of Professor Vaucher confirmed, and
at the age of sixteen his path in life was determined, and he devoted
himself to the cultivation of botanical science.
In 1795 he paid his first visit to Paris, where he attended the lec-
tures of Cuvier, Lamarck, Fourcroy, Vauquelin, and other distin-
guished professors ; and when Geneva was a few years afterwards
incorporated with the French .Republic he returned to the metropolis,
where he fixed his residence for several years, attending the medical
classes and pursuing his botanical studies at the same time under
Jussieu and Desfontaines, with both of whom he formed a close and
intimate friendship. Soon after taking up his abode in Paris he com-
menced the publication of his * Plantarum Historia Succulentarum,'
which was speedily followed by his * Astragalogia;' and in 1802 he
began to furnish the text to Redoute's magnificent work, ' Les Lilia-
cees,' which he supplied up to the 4th volume. In 1805 he was as-
sociated with Lamarck in the third edition of that excellent natu-
ralist's ' Flore Frangaise,' to which he prefixed an introduction, en-
titled 'Principes Elementaires de Botanique,' and containing the
outlines of a course of lectures which he had delivered in the pre-
vious year at the College de France. A ' Synopsis Plantarum in
Flor^ Gallica descriptarum ' followed in 1806. He had previously,
in 1 804, connected his medical and botanical studies in an * Essai
sur les Proprietes Medicales des Plantes, comparees avec leur clas-
sification naturelle,' of which a second edition appeared in 1816.
At an early period of his residence in Paris M. DeCandolle took an
active part in the formation, under the auspices of Baron Benjamin
Delessert, of the Societe Philanthropique for the supply of oeconomical
soups to the poor and other charitable purposes, of which he con-
tinued for several years to be the secretary. The Society for the
Encouragement of National Industry is also stated to have been
formed under his direction and management.
In 1806 he ceased to be permanently resident in Paris. He re-
1842.] Linnean Society. 143
ceived in that year a commission from the Imperial Government to
collect information on the state of botany and agriculture throughout
the empire, and in pursuance of this commission he took for six suc-
cessive years annual journeys into the several departments, the re-
sults of which are contained in his ' Rapports sur les Voyages Bota-
niques et Agronomiques faits dans les Departemens de I'Empire
Fran9ais/ which were published in a collected form in 1813.
Soon after his appointment to this important task he quitted Paris
for Montpellier, where he became Professor of Botany in the Faculty
of Medicine in 1807, and a Chair of Botany having been established
in the Faculty of Sciences of that Academy in 1810, he attached
himself with renewed ardour to the promotion of his favourite pur-
suit. Under his direction the Botanic Garden was greatly improved,
and a Catalogue, with descriptions of many new species, was pub-
lished by him in 1813, in which year his * Th6orie El^mentaire de la
Botanique' also made its first appearance. Many valuable memoirs,
scattered through various publications, but chiefly taken from the
' Annales du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle,' were in this year col-
lected into a volume.
After the second Restoration of the Bourbons, circumstances oc-
curred which induced him to quit Montpellier and return to his na-
tive city, now restored to independence. A Chair of Natural History
was instituted expressly for him, of which he took possession in
January 1816, and the Botanic Garden, established towards the
close of the last century with the assistance of funds bequeathed for
that purpose by the celebrated Bonnet, was greatly augmented, partly
by assistance derived from the Government, and partly by voluntary
subscription. Several Fasciculi of the ' Plantes rares du Jardin de
Geneve' attest the interest which he took in its success.
In 1816 he visited England for the purpose of consulting the Her-
baria of our country with a view to the general system of plants, the
publication of which he then meditated, and during his stay here
communicated to the Linnean Society a paper entitled " Remarks on
two Genera of Plants to be referred to the Family of Rosacea." These
are Kerria and Purshia, previously strangely misunderstood, and as
strangely misplaced in distant and very dissimilar families. His me-
moir on this subject, the only one by M. DeCandolle which has a
place in our ' Transactions,' is contained in the twelfth volume.
In 1818 appeared the first volume of his intended ' Regni Vege-
tabilis Systema Naturale,* which was followed by a second in 1821.
But the plan of this work was obviously too vast for accomplishment
by individual industry, however great ; and after the publication of
these two volumes, M. DeCandolle recognized the necessity of con-
144 Linnean Society » [May 24,
fining himself within narrower limits. In the year 1824 he commenced
the publication of his * Prodromus Systematis Regni Vegetabilis,' the
title of which indicates his intention at some future period to resume
the more extensive work. But even this ' Enumeratio Contracta,'
as he designates it, proved too mighty a labour, and in the remain-
ing seventeen years of his life, all that his unwearied energy could
accomplish was the publication of seven volumes, completing pro-
bably about two-thirds of the contemplated task. The value of these
important manuals, in the present state of botanical science, can only
be estimated by those with whom they are of necessity in daily use.
On many of the more interesting families on which they treat he si-
multaneously published a series of descriptive memoirs.
It is the great merit of this important work, that, far more than
any other approaching it in extent, it is founded on actual observa-
tion. M. DeCandoUe's own herbarium was extremely rich ; he had
visited and carefully examined many of the most extensive collections,
and especially those of Paris ; and many entire collections as well as
separate families, on which he was specially engaged, were from
time to time submitted to his examination by their possessors. He
had thus opportunities of comparison greatly beyond what in ordi-
nary circumstances fall to the lot of an individual. His library too
was stored with almost every important publication that could be
required for his undertaking. With such ample materials, aided by
his untiring zeal and the persevering energy of his character, he
steadily pursued his allotted task, and only ceased to labour at it
when he ceased to live.
It was not merely as a botanist that M. DeCandolle deserved well
of his country and of mankind. Both as an individual and in the
Council of his native city, he was ever active in the promotion of
measures of public utility, whether they related to the improvement
of agriculture, the cultivation of the arts, the advancement of public
instruction, or the amelioration of the legislative code. Even in his
botanical lectures he never lost an opportunity of inculcating the
importance of these and similar subjects. Those lectures were at-
tended by a numerous class, who caught from their teacher a portion
of the enthusiasm with which he was himself inspired. Some idea
of the manner in which he brought their subject before his auditors
may be obtained from his ' Organographie ' and ' Physiologic Vege-
tale,' published in 1827 and 1832, which contain the substance of
his lectures on those two great departments of the science.
For some years his health had been declining, and it is to be
feared that the severe and incessant attention which he paid to the
elaboration of the great family of Compositee had made a deep inroad
1842.] Linnean Society, 145
upon it. As a relaxation from his labours, he undertook, in the last
year of his life, a long journey, and attended the Scientific Meeting
held at Turin ; but he did not derive from this journey the anticipated
improvement in his health, which gradually failed until his death, on
the 9th of September last. He has left a son, Alphonse, well known
as the author of several valuable botanical publications, one of which,
his memoir on the family of Myrsinece, appeared in our * Transac-
tions.'
Jens Wilken Hornemann was born in 1770, and studied at the Uni-
versity of Copenhagen, where his * Forsog til en Dansk ceconomisk
Plantelaere' obtained a prize in 1795. In 1798 he commenced a
botanical tour through Germany, France and England, and in 1801
became lecturer at the Copenhagen Botanic Garden. He succeeded
his teacher Vahl as Regius Professor and Director of the Garden in
1804, and i)ublished in 1807 an 'Enumeratio Plantarum Horti Hav-
niensis,' and in 1813 and 1815 a more complete synopsis of the
plants there cultivated under the title of ' Hortus Regius Botanicus
Havniensis.' In 1819 he wrote a dissertation ' De Indole Plantarum
Guineensium.' After the death of Vahl he superintended the pub-
lication of the ' Flora Danica,' and several papers by him have been
published in the ' Transactions of the Danish Philosophical Society *
and the * Tidskrift for Naturvidenskaberne,' of which he was one of
the editors. His lectures and writings have done much to extend
the study of botany in Denmark, and have contributed to maintain
the character acquired for Danish botanists by Koenig, Forskfihl,
CEder, Rottboll and Vahl,
Among the Associates we lament the loss of
The Rev. Robert Francis Bree, who became a Fellow of the Lin-
nean Society in 1815, and was placed on the List of Associates in
1827. He died at his residence in the New Kent Road on the 28tli
of January in the present year, at the age of 66.
David Don, Esq., Professor of Botany in King's College, London,
and Librarian of this Society, was born in the year 1800, at Forfar,
where his father, an acute practical botanist, had established a Nursery
and Botanic Garden. On his father's being afterwards appointed to
the charge of the Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, he attracted the
notice of Mr. Patrick Neill, and was enabled to attend some of the
classes in that city. His father, however, after a while quitting
Edinburgh, he returned with him to Forfar, and received his early
training in the Garden there. Subsequently he again visited Edin-
burgh, and had charge of the stoves and greenhouses in the esta-
146 Linnean Society, [May 24,
blishment of the Messrs. Dickson of Broughton near that city, then
among the finest in Scotland. Late in 1819 he removed to London,
and soon after became librarian to Mr. Lambert, in whose house he
was domiciled, and of whose extensive herbarium he had charge.
About this period he published " Descriptions of several new or rare
native Plants, found in Scotland chiefly by the late Mr. George Don,
of Forfar;" and wrote "A Monograph of the Genus Saxifraga,'*
which appeared in the 13th volume of our 'Transactions.' These
publications brought him into favourable notice, and in the year 1822
he became Librarian of the Linnean Society, an office which he con-
tinued to hold till his death, and in which he acquired the universal
respect and esteem of the Members by the wide extent of his infor-
mation and the liberality with which he was at all times ready to
impart it.
On the death of Prof. Burnet in 1836 he succeeded to the Bota*
nical Chair at King's College, which he also retained till his decease.
His constitution was apparently robust, but towards the end of 1 840
a tumour appeared in his lower lip, which it was found necessary to
remove. The disease, however, after a short respite, reappeared in
the neck, and assuming by degrees a decidedly malignant character,
left no hope of his long surviving. He died on the 8th of December
last, worn out by severe suffering, which he bore with the most
exemplary fortitude, and was buried on the 15th of the same month
in the Cemetery at Kensal Green. He was married, but left no
children.
As a systematic botanist his character stands deservedly high.
His knowledge of plants was most extensive, and his appreciation of
species ready and exact. The most important of his publications are
his " Prodromus Florae Nepalensis ;" his monographs of Saxifraga
and other genera, and of the family of Melastomacece ; his memoirs
on Composita, in our * Transactions ;' and his papers, especially those
on the plants of Peru and Chile, in the ' Edinburgh Philosophical
Journal.' The following is believed to be a nearly complete cata-
logue of his works : —
L In the * Transactions of the Linnean Society :'
1. " A Monograph of the Genus Saxifraga," in vol. xiii.
2. " Descriptions of nine new species of Carex, natives of the Hi-
malaya Alps in Upper Nepaul," in vol. xiv.
3. " Description of Cowania, a new genus of Plants ; and of a new
species of Sieversia,'* in vol. xiv.
4. ** Description of a new genus (Lophospermum) belonging to the
Natural Family of Plants called Scrophularinea," in vol. xv.
1842.] Linnean Society, 147
5. "On the Origin and Nature of the ligulate Rays in Zinnia^ and
on a remarkable multiplication observed in the parts of fructification
of that genus," in vol. xvi.
6. " Descriptions of the new genera and species of the Class Com-
posita, belonging to the Floras of Peru, Mexico and Chile," in vol. xvi.
7. " On the Plant which yields the Gum Ammoniacum," in vol.xvi.
S. "Observations on thtTropaolum pentaphyllum, Lam.," and "Ad-
ditional Observations " on the same, in vol. xvii.
9. "On the modifications of ^Estivation observable in certain plants
formerly referred to the Genus Cinchona*' in vol. xvii.
10. " Remarks on some British Ferns," in vol. xvii.
11. "Descriptions of five new species of the Genus Pinus, disco-
vered by Dr. Coulter in California," in vol. xvii.
12. " Descriptions of Indian Gentianete,'' in vol. xvii.
13. "Descriptions of two new genera of the Natural Family of
Plants called Conifer (b,'* in vol. xviii.
14. " Description of a new genus of Plants (Catophractes) belong-
ing to the Natural Family Bignoniacece," in vol. xviii.
15. "Descriptions of the Indian species of Iris,'' in vol. xviii.
16. " An Account of the Indian species oi Juncus and Luzula," in
vol. xviii.
17. "A Monograph of the Genus Disporum," in vol. xviii.
18. "A Monograph of Streptopus, with the Description of a new
genus (Prosartes) now first separated from it," in vol. xviii.
II. In the * Memoirs of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh :'
19. " Descriptions of new or rare Native Plants, found in Scotland
by the late Mr. George Don of Forfar," in vol. iii.
20. " Descriptions of new Plants from Nepaul, in the Herbarium
of A. B. Lambert, Esq.," in vol. iii.
21. " Illustrations of the Natural Family of Plants called Melasto-
macea," in vol. iv.
22. "A Monograph of the Genus Pyrola,' in vol. v.
23. "On the classification and division of Gnaphalium and Xeran-
themum of Linnaeus," in vol. v.
III. In the ' Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal ;'
24. " Observations on Phiiadelphea and Granatea, two new Fa-
milies of Plants," in vol. i.
25. " On the AflSnities of Empetrete," in vol. ii.
26. " On the Rhubarb of Commerce, the Purple-coned Fir of Ne-
paul, and the Mustard-tree," in vol. ii.
27. "Description of the Genus Malesherbia of the Flora Peru-
viana, with remarks on its affinities," in vol. ii.
148 Linnean Society. [May 24,
28. " Observations on the Cow-tree of the Caraccas, and on the
culture of the Nutmeg," in vol. iii.
29. •' Remarks on the IrritabiUty of the Stigma, and on the Origin
and Nature of certain parts of the Fructification in Pinus Larix," in
vol. iv.
30. ** On the general presence of spiral Vessels in the Vegetable
Structure," in vol. vi.
31. "Descriptions of the Genera Columellia, Tovaria and Francoa,"
in vol. vi.
32. •* An attempt at a new Classification of the Cichoracea," in
vol. vi.
33. *• On the Characters and Affinities of Darwinia, Brunsfehia,
Browallia, Argylia, Eccremocarpus, and of a Plant improperly re-
ferred to the latter genus," in vol. vii.
34. "On the Affinities of Vellozia, Barhacenia, Glaux, Aucuba,
Viviania, Deutzia, and of a new genus of the Order Rubiacea," in
vol. viii.
35. "On the anomalous Structure of the Leaf oi Rosa berberi-
folia," in vol. viii.
36. "A Monograph of the Family of Plants called Cunoniacea,"
in vol. ix.
37. " On the Characters and Affinities of certain Genera, chiefly
belonging to the Flora Peruviana," various papers in vols. x. — xiv.
38. " Descriptions of some new species of Malesherbia, KagC'
neckia, Quillaja, and of a new genus of Salicarite," in vol. xii.
39. " Additional Remarks on Er cilia, Macromeria, Aitonia and
Citronella," in vol. xiv.
40. " On the Coniferce at present growing in Australia," in vol. xiv.
41. " On the Characters and Affinities of the Genus Codon," in
vol. XV.
42. " On the Connexion between the Calyx and Ovarium in cer-
tain Plants of the Order Melastomace^gean
Sea he found ten species of Starfishes of the order Ophiuridcs, several
of which are undescribed. In the present memoir he confines him-
self to those belonging to the genus Ophiura, and to an allied genus,
hitherto uncharacterized, to which he gives the name of Pectinura.
This genus is founded on a small starfish brought up by the dredge
from the depth of 100 fathoms on the coast of Lycia, and is charac-
terized as follows : —
Pectinura.
Corpus orbiculare, squamosum, granulosum, ad peripheriara radiatum ;
radiis simplicibus, squamosis, in corporis discum subprolongatis ; squamis
radiorum lateralibus adpressis, in marginibus superioribus spiniferis ;
ossiculis ovarialibus binis in corporis lobos non productis.
P. VESTiTA, disco orbiculari, radiis convexiusculis ; squamis superioribus
rotundatis : lateralibus 8 spiniferis. — Lat. disci \ unc.
Professor Forbes states that he should scarcely have ventured to
establish a genus on the single specimen of this species which he
possesses, and which is somewhat imperfect in the rays, had he not
had an opportunity of examining a large foreign species, which shows
it to be a well-marked genus, having a rather closer aflinity with
Ophiura than with Ophiocoma. It differs from the former in having
the disc clothed with granules, in the absence of the pectinated
scales embracing the origins of the rays, and in the ovarian plates
(not soldered into one as in Ophiura) not encroaching on the body ;
and from Ophiocoma by the lateral ray-plates overlapping each other
and the posterior ray-plates as in Ophiura, and instead of having the
spines on a transverse ridge or keel having them articulated to their
superior margins, so that when the animal is dead they lie close to
the rays and do not bristle out as in Ophiocoma.
168 Linnean Society. [April 18,
Of Ophiura Professor Forbes found three species, O. texturata, O.
albida, and a new species to which he gives the name of O. ahyssicola,
on account of its being found in deeper water than any recorded
starfish, at the depth namely of from 150 to 200 fathoms.^ A com;
parison of the characters of this new species with those of its de-
scribed allies, has enabled him to revise the characters of the genus
Ophiura as follows : —
Ophiura, Lam,, Agass.
Corpus orbiculare, squamosum, Iseve, ad peripheriam radiatum ; radiis
simplicibus, squamosis, in corporis discum prolongatis, ad origines
squamis pectiiiatis adpressis ; squamis radiorum lateralibus adpressis,
m marginibus superioribus spiniferis ; ossiculis marginis ovarialibus
simplicibus, in corporis lobos productis.
The following are the specific characters of the ^gean species : —
O. texturata, Lam. Squamis pectinatis ad radiorum origines plus quam
20-dentatis, ossiculis ovarialibus lyratis, radiis carinatis ; squamis supe-
rioribus transverse oblongis : lateralibus 7 spiniferis.
0. albida, Forbes. Squamis pectinatis ad radiorum origines 16-dentatis,
ossiculis ovarialibus scutatis, radiis convexis ; squamis superioribus trl-
angularibus : lateralibus 4 vel 5 spiniferis.
O. ABYssicoLA, squamis pectinatis ad radiorum origines binis 5 — 9-den-
tatis, ossiculis ovarialibus pentagonis, radiis carinatis ; squamis supe-
rioribus quadratis : lateralibus 3 vel 4 spiniferis. — Lat. disci -^V unc.
Read also a continuation of Mr. Griffith's memoir ** On the Ovu-
lum of Santalum" &c.
April 4."
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
George Suttor, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read a continuation of Mr. Griffith's memoir " On the Ovulum of
Santalum," &c.
April 18.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Robert Armstrong, M.D., Nathaniel Buckley, Esq., Charles Pope,
M.D., and Thomas West^ M.D., were elected Fellows.
Read the conclusion of Mr. Griffith's memoir " On the Ovulum 6f
Santalum, Loranthus, Viscum," &c.
1843.] Linnean Society, 169
In this paper, dated " Malacca, March 28th, 1842," Mr. Griffith
proposes to supply many of the deficiencies in his two memoirs on
the ovula of Santalum, Loranthus and Viscum, published in the 1 8th
vol. of the Society's " Transactions," to correct some important mis-
takes, and to extend his inquiries to another pjenus of the natural
family of Santalacea, viz. Osyris. With this view he gives a detailed
description of the progress of the development of the embryo, so far
as he has been enabled to observe it, in Santalum album, Osyris Ne-
palensis, Loranthus bicolor, Loranthus globosus and two species of
Viscum ; each of which subjects is illustrated by an extensive series
of microscopical drawings. In connection with these details he pro-
ceeds to remark at some length on the four following points : — 1 . the
solidity of the ovarium and the appearance of the ovulum after fecun-
dation, or rather after the action of the pollen on the stigmatic sur-
faces ; 2. the reduction of an ovulum to the nucleus or to the
embryonary sac ; 3. the embryonary sac ; and 4. the origin of the
embryo. The following is the summary given by him of his ideas
of the structure of Santalum, Osyris, Loranthus and Viscum : —
" In Santalum the ovulum consists of a nucleus and an embryonary
sac, prolonged beyond both the apex and base of the nucleus : the
albumen and embryo are developed in the parts above the septum
[in the exserted portion of the sac] , the parts below and the nucleus
remaining unchanged. The embryo is developed from the poUinic
vesicle. The seed has no actual proper covering, and no other theo-
retical coveriag than the incorporated upper separable parts of the
embryo-sac.
*' In Osyris the ovulum is reduced to a nucleus and an embryonary
sac, which is i)rolonged in the same directions as in Santalum, but not
to such a degree beyond the apex of the nucleus. The seed is formed
outside the embryo-sac, and is absolutely without proper tegument,
or whatever covering it may have did not enter into the composition
of the ovulum. The embryo appears to be developed at some di-
stance from the anterior end of the pollen tube.
" In Viscum the modifications appear to me to be two : in the one
an evident cavity exists in the ovarium, and the ovulumjippears to be
reduced to an embryonary sac hanging from one side of the base of
a nipple-shaped or conical placenta. In the other the ovulum is
reduced to an embryonary sac, but this is erect, and has no such ob-
viously distinct point of origin as in the first. In both the albumen
has no other proper covering than the incorporated embryonary sac ;
and, at least in the last, the embryo appears to be a direct transfor-
mation of the pollinic vesicle.
No. XVIII. — PROCEEniNGS OF THE LiNNEAN SoCIBTY.
170 Linnean Society, [April 18,
" In Loranthus each ovulum appears to be reduced to an embryonary
sftc, the albumen is developed either partly within the sac, or entirely,
or almost entirely, without it. The embryo is a growth from the
ends of the continuations of the pollen tubes outside the anterior
ends of the embryo-sacs, and is, in one modification, exemplified by
L. globosus, up to a certain period exterior even to the albumen. In
L. hicolor the albumen has no proper tegument ; in L. globosus it
may be supposed to have a partial one in the incorporated albumi-
nous part of the embryo -sac.
" The gradation of structure appears to me to be tolerably complete.
One modification of Viscum, in my opinion, tends to show that in San-
talum the first steps towards the disappearance of the usual nucleus
take place. Osyris seems to me to indicate that a similar tendency
may aifect the embryonary sac ; and Santalum appears to me to
allude to a reduction in the embryo-sac to the form of that of Osyris.
Nor is this all, Osyris has its albumen and embryo developed outside
that end of the sac to which the pollen tubes are applied : Loranthus
bicolor has the same developed outside the opposite end of the sac.
And the partial development of the albumen in the embryo-sac of
Loranthus globosus may perhaps be a passage to its development out-
side that sac in L. bicolor.
" The novel points of structure and development pointed out in
thi-s paper are, so far as I know, the possibility of the separation of
a continuous membranous embryo- sac into two distinct parts, of
which the lower remains unchanged, though it would almost appear
from Osyris to be the most permanent ; the presence of the embryo-
sac not being necessarily connected with its forming one of the con-
stituent parts of the young or of the mature seed ; the longitudinal
percursion of the embryo- sac by the pollen tubes ; the formation of
the albumen either only partially within the embryo-sac, or almost
entirely, if not quite so, without it ; the confluence of the albumina
of several sacs into one albumen ; the growth of the embryonic tis-
sues from the continuations of the pollen tubes outside the embryo-
sac ; the possibility of one embryo resulting from a combination of
several pollen tubes, and of its becoming interior to the albumen,
although it may have been for some time entirely exterior to it.
" I make no mention of the posterior prolongations of the sacs, in
doubt of the true nature or origin of the so-called chalazal apparatus
of Thesium ; or of the growth of the embryonic tissues from the ends
of the pollen tubes, in doubt of my having misunderstood the obser-
vations of M. Schleiden, and in ignorance of those of M. Wydler."
In a subsequent note Mr. Griffith notices certain peculiarities in
1843.] lAnnean Society, I?!
the development of the embryo in Avicennia, and in a genus which,
notwithstanding its very curious anomalies, he considers referrible
to Santalales, and to which he gives the following characters : —
MODECCOPSIS.
Calyx su^erus ; Umbo minutissimo, 5-dentato. Petala 5, ^isco epigyno
inserta, basi utrinque uni-glandulosa. Stamina 5, pctalis opposita.
Ovarium omnino inferum, 1-loculare. Ovula 3, ex apice loculi ! pen-
dula, anatropa! Stylus brevis. Stigmata 3, subcapitata. Fructus
subdrupaceus, monospermus, calyce demilm soluto quasi S-valvis ! !
i^ew^w unicum, pendulum ; endocarpio osseo inclusum. J Ihumeti co-
piosum. RadiculcB locus superus. •
Frutex scandefis, cirrhifer, cirrhis axillaribus. Folia alterna, exstipulata,
ohlongo-ovata, hast suhcordata et quinque-venia. Flores minuti, incon-
spicui. Glandulse apice pilifera ! Fructus abortu solitarius, cum pe-
dicello clavato-pyriformis ; valvse intus rubra.
Habitus Modeccce ; Rhamneis mediante Gouanid analoga ? Santalaceis
potius afHnis.
Bab. in Assami4 Superiore, Oris Tenasserim, Mergui Provinci&, Ma-
lacca.
May 2.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
M. Achillfe Richard and M. Joachim Frederic Schouw were elected
Foreign Members ; John Salt, M.D., was elected a Fellow ; and Mr.
Thomas Sansom an Associate.
In consequence of the recent death of H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex,
the Meeting adjourned.
Anniversary Meeting.
May 24.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
His Majesty the King of Saxony was elected an Honorary Member.
The President opened the business of the Meeting, and having
stated the number of Members whom the Society had lost during
172 Linnean Society, [May 24,
the past year, the Secretary read the following notices of some of
them ; —
The deaths among the Fellows have been six in number.
The Rev. James Dalton was educated at Clare Hall, in the Uni-
versity of Cambridge, where he took his Bachelor's degree in 1787,
and that of Master of Arts in 1790. He was much attached to bo-
tanical pursuits, and well acquainted with our native plants, and
especially with the Carices and Mosses. Among the latter he was
the first discoverer of several new species, and his name has been
commemorated by Sir W. J. Hooker in a well-known genus. Many
of his observations are recorded by Sir James E. Smith in his ' En-
glish Botany ' and ' English Flora.* He became a Fellow of this
Society in 1 803 ; and in 1 805 he was presented by the King to the
living of Croft in Yorkshire, where he continued to reside until his
decease, on the 2nd of January in the present year, at the age of 78.
John Latham, M.D., formerly a physician of considerable emi-
nence and extensive practice, was born at Gawsworth in the county
of Chester, Dec. 29, 1761, and educated at Brasen-nose College,
Oxford, where he took his Doctor's degree in 1788. In the same
year he established himself in London, and became successively
physician to the Middlesex, the Magdalen; and St. Bartholomew's
Hospitals, and Fellow and President of the Royal College of Physi-
cians. He was elected a Fellow of this Society on the 16th of March
1790, and was consequently its senior member. He died on the
20th of April in the present year at Bradwall Hall, Cheshire, to
which place he had retired from the fatigues of practice in 1829.
His published works are wholly medical.
James Lynn, M.D.
Rev. Thos. Newman, M.A.
Rev. Thos. Newton, M.A.
John Gage Rokewode, Esq., for many years Director of the Society
of Antiquaries, was the fourth and youngest son of Sir Thomas Gage
of Hengrave Hall in the county of Suffolk, the sixth baronet of that
family, and brother of the late Sir Thomas Gage, also a Fellow of
our Society and a botanist of considerable attainments, especially in
his knowledge of the family of Lichens. On the death of his second
brother, he assumed the name of Rokewode and entered into posses-
sion of Coldham Hall and the property belonging to it, in pursuance
of a settlement executed in 1728 by one of his ancestors. Mr. Gage
Rokewode was devoted from an early period of his life to the study
of the antiquities of his native country, to the illustration of which
his numerous publications in the * Archseologia,' in the * Vetusta
1843.] Linnean Society, 173
Monumenta,' and in various separate works, have greatly contri-
buted.
The Society has also to regret the loss of two of its Associates.
Mr, Daniel Cooper was the second son of Mr. John Thomas Cooper,
well known as a distinguished practical chemist. He was educated
for the medical profession, and assiduously devoted himself to the
study of natural history, and more especially of botany and concho-
logy. He took an active part in the establishment of the Botanical
Society of London ; and subsequently became one of the Assistants
in the Zoological Department of the British Museum, and delivered
Botanical lectures at various Medical Schools. On quitting the British
Museum he entered the Medical Service of the Army, and was for
some time employed in the Museum at Fort Pitt, Chatham ; whence
he was appointed Assistant- Surgeton to the 17th Lancers, then sta-
tioned^at Leeds. He died at the early age of 25, in the Cavalry Bar-
racks of that town, on the 23rd of November 1842, about two months
after joining the regiment, of a sudden attack of inflammation of the
veins.
Soon after the establishment of the Microscopical Society he com-
menced the publication of a * Microscopic Journal,' of which he
edited nearly two annual volumes, the latter in conjunction with
Mr. Busk. He published also a ' Flora Metropolitana,' 12mo, 1836,
which constitutes a useful guide to the stations of the rarer plants
found within a walk of the metropolis, and includes * A List of the
Land and Freshwater Shells found in the environs of London.' To
this little work a Supplement was added in 1837 ; and he also super-
intended a new edition of Bingley's ' Useful Knowledge ' remodelled
and with considerable additions.
Mr. Alexander^ Mathews, an active and intelligent botanical col-
lector, died at Chachapoyas on the Andes of Peru, on the 24th of No-
vember 1841. He had been engaged for many years in forming and
transmitting to Europe collections of Peruvian and Chilian plants ;
and was the first discoverer of many species of great interest and
beauty, which have been described, from the specimens gathered by
him, chiefly in Sir W. J. Hooker's various publications, in which also
occasional letters from him on the subject of his botanical pursuits
will be found.
The President also announced that two Foreign Members, eighteen
Fellows and six Associates had been elected since the last Anni-
versary.
At the election which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop of
174
Linnean Society.
[June 6,
Norwich was re-elected President ; Edj^vard Forster, Esq., Treasurer ;
John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary ; and Richard Taylor, Esq.,
Under-Secretary. The following five Fellows were elected into the
Council in the room of others going out : viz. Arthur Aikin, Esq. ;
Rev. Frederic William Hope ; William Horton Lloyd, Esq. ; Richard
Owen, Esq., and William Yarrell, Esq.
The Treasurer reported that the Subscriptions hitherto received
in aid of the fund for relieving the Society from its incumbrances
amounted to 982/. 145.*
June 6.
Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Thomas Turner, Esq., and James TuUoch, Esq., were elected
Fellows.
Read the conclusion of Professor Forbes's memoir " On the Ophiu-
ridce of the ^gean Sea."
The author commences this portion of his paper by a revised cha-
racter of the genus Ophioderma of Miiller and Troschel, as follows :—
* The following Subsci*iptions have been received subsequent to the pub-
lication of the List given at p. 150, making the total amount received up to
the 31st of July, 994/. 3s.
William Atkinson, Esq 2
Robert John Ash ton, Esq. ... 5
Henry Beaufoy, Esq 5
William Bridgman, Esq 5
Lieut.-Gen. Sir Thomas M.
Brisbane, K.C.B 5
Harford James Jones Brydges,
Esq 5
James Charles Dale, Esq. ... 5
M. Pakenham Edge worth, Esq. 5
Mr. James Forbes 1
Rev. Henry Hasted (2nd
subscr.) 3
Rev. Henry Hawkes 5
Mr. Joseph Henderson 1
Thomas Charles Hope, Esq.,
M.D 5
£ s.
James Charles Hurst, Esq.... 2 2
Mr. Abel Ingpen 1 1
Capt. Theobald Jones, R.N.,
M.P 5 0
Benjamin Kennedy, Esq. ... 2 0
John Kidd, Esq., M.D 5 0
Mr. James Main 1 1
Thomas White Mann, Esq.... 4 4
John Martin, Esq 1 1
Jonh Miers, Esq. (2nd subscr.) 5 5
Roderick Impey Murchison,
Esq 10 0
Mr. William Pamplin 1 1
John Reeves, Esq 5 0
Edward Rudge, Esq 5 0
Rev. George Thackeray, D.D. 5 5
John Windsor, Esq 3 3
1843.] Linnean Society, ' 175
Ophiodbrma.
Corpus orbiculare, squamosum, granulosum, ad peripheriam radiatum ;
radiis simplicibus squamosis ; disco in radiorum origines prolongate,
infrk poris genitalibus viginti ; squamis radiorum lateralibus adpressis,
in marginibus superioribus spiniferis, spinis simplicibus ; ossiculis ova-
rialibus parvis, oralibus pectinatis.
The species on which this genus is founded, Ophiura lacertosa,
Lam., is stated to be rare in the ^Egean Sea, and is thus character-
ized : —
Oph, lacertosa.
O. radiis convexiusculis ; squamis superioribus transverse oblongis : late-
ralibus 8-spiniferis : inferioribus quadratis.
Of the genus Ophiomyxa of the same authors, Professor Forbes
also gives the following revised character : —
Ophiomyxa.
Corpus pentagonale, coriaceum, laeve, ad peripheriam radiatum; radiis
simplicibus, interrupte squamosis ; disco in radiorum origines prolon-
gate ; squamis radiorum lateralibus spiniferis, spinis serrulatis ; ossi-
culis ovarialibus binis parvis, oralibus spinis serrulatis armatis.
The iEgean species, 0. lubrica, Forbes, was found in between ten
and twenty fathoms water in the sea of the Cyclades.
For a new species not uncommon in the seas of the Archipelago,
the author establishes the genus —
Ophiopsila, Forbes.
Corpus orbiculare, coriaceum, laeve, ad peripberiam radiatum ; radiis sim-
pliciter squamosis, infra discum insertis ; squamis latefralibus subcari-
natis spiniferis, spinis simplicibus ; ossiculis ovarialibus parvis, oralibus
ad latera nudis.
Oph. Aranea, Forbes.
Another new genus is constituted for the reception of the long-
rayed, scaly and smooth-bodied OphiuridcB, with simple tentacula and
smooth spines, and is characterized as follows : —
Amphiura, Forbes.
Corpus orbiculare, squamosum, laeve, ad peripheriam radiatum ; radiis
simplicibus squamosis, infra discum insertis ; squamis lateralibus sub-
carinatis spiniferis, spinis simplicibus ; ossiculis ovarialibus parvis, ora-
libus ad latera nudis ; cirrhis simplicibus.
Three species inhabit the ^gean Sea, of which one is undescribed.
Their characters are thus given : —
I A. florifera, Forbes.
A. disco squamis ccntralibus niaximis rosulatis, scutcUis ovatis disjunctis,
1 76 Linnean Society, [June 6,
squamis radiorum superioribus qiiadratis : inferioribus trilobatis : late-
ralibus 3-spiniferis ; spinis brevissimis linearibus simplicibus.
A. neglecta, Forbes.
A. disco squamis central ibus parvis rosulatis, scutellis oblongis conjunctis,
squamis radiorum superioribus quadratis : inferioribus oblongis : late-
ralibus 4 — 5-spiniferis ; spinis brevibus simplicibus.
Ophiura neglecta, Johnston.
A, Chiajii, Forbes.
A. disco squamis minutis rosulatis, scutellis cuneatis divergentibus apici-
bus approximatis, squamis radiorum superioribus lenticularibus : infe-
rioribus quadratis sulcatis : lateralibus 4-spiniferis ; spinis longis sim-
plicibus.
Ophiura filiformis, Chiaje (nee Miiller) .
' Lastly, the author adopts the genus Ophiothrix of Miiller and
Troschel, with the following revised character : —
Ophiothrix.
Corpus orbiculare, spinosum, ad peripheriam radiatum ; radiis simplicibus,
squamosis, squamis superioribus imbricatis, lateralibus carinatis spi-
niferis; spinis serrulatis; ossiculis ovarialibus parvis, oralibus ad latera
nudis ; cirrhis pinnatis.
Ophiothrix Rosula is common in the JEgean Sea.
Figures are given of all the new genera and species, with nume-
rous magnified details.
Read also a " Description of Peltophyllum, a new genus of Plants
allied to Triuris of Miers, with remarks on their Affinities." By-
George Gardner, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
The plant described in the present communication was discovered
by Mr. Gardner in the province of Goyaz, in the interior of Brazil,
and the few specimens which he possesses are unfortunately all
female. The following are its characters : —
Peltophyllum, Gardner.
Flores dioici. Masc. ignoti. Foem. Perigonium 6-partitum, coloratum,
patens, persistens ; laciniis ovatis, longe acuminatis ; acumine piano.
Ovaria plurima, in tori apice sessilia, adpressa, libera. Styli ad apicem
incrassati, oblique truncati. Fructus ignotus.
Hexhdi parvula Brasiliensis. Folia a scapo distantia, longe petiolata, pel-
tata, valde reticulata. Radix tuberosa, fibrosa. Scapus siibramosus,
bast squamosus ; -peduncuVis basi bracteatis, unifloris] floribus luteis.
Peltophyllum luteum, Gardn. Herb. Bras. n. 3570.
Mr. Gardner compares the female flowers of his plant with those
of Triuris, to which it is evidently nearly related ; and discusses at
some length the subject of their proper position in the natural system,
1843.] Linnean Society, 177
wliich he believes to be 'along vi'\t\\.Similace(B and the other orders of
the group to which Prof. Lindley gave first the name of Retosa and
subsequently that of Dictyogens. He proposes to form a distinct
order for their reception under the name of
Triurace^.
Herb(B parvulae, perennea, rhizomate repente ? Folia solitaria, a scapo
distantia, longe petiolata, nervosa, integerrima. Vagina ad basin pc-
tioloruin membranaceae. Scopus subramosus, basi squamosus. Floret
regulares, dioici ; pedicellis unifloris, bracteatis. Perigonium corollinum,
3- vel 6-partitum, patens, persistens ; laciniis longis, acuminatis, aesti-
vatione basi valvatis ; acumine interdiim tubuloso, ante aiithesin gy-
rate incluso. Stamina 3 vel 6 ? AnthertB extrorsiB, locuh's disjunctis,
imo androphoro magno earnoso centrali insertae. Ovaria plurima, in
tori apice sessilia, adpressa, libera. Ovula in loculis solitaria ? Stgli
sublaterales, subulati, vel ad apicem incrassati et obliqu^ truncati.
Fructus ignotus.
A figure of Peltophyllum luteum, with details, from the pencil of
Mr. Miers, accompanied the paper.
June 20. -
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Read " Notes on the Forest-trees of Australia." By George
Suttor, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Mr. Suttor states that the far greater number of these trees be-
L long to the or&^r My rtaceee, and chiefly to the genus Eucalyptus. The
^ species are very numerous, and many of them are still undescribed.
' They are generically known to the colonists as Gum-trees, and their
distinctive names are chiefly derived from the colour of their barkfl ;
as for example, blue, black-butted, red, white, yellow, green, and
spotted Gum-trees. There is also a Flooded Gum-tree, a Manna
Gum-tree, and a so-called Mountain-ash, all belonging to the genus
Eucalyptus. Many of the species are of gigantic growth, and the
Black-butted Gum-tree in particular (Eucalyptus globulus, Labill. ?)
attains a size equal perhaps to that of any tree in the world. It
derives its name from the blackness of its butt, caused, it is said, by
exposure to the fires which are so frequently kindled by the natives
' in order to biirn the grass and secure the game.
No. XIX. — Proceedings of the Linnkan Society.
178 Linnean Society. [Nov. 7^
The Manna Gum-tree {Eucalyptus mannifei'o) is also of large
growth, with widely spreading branches. Its manna drops in a
liquid state most plentifully in the summer from the flowers and buds
of the young shoots into the leaves, where it quickly becomes hard-
ened, and falls thence to the ground in irregular lumps. It has a
sweet agreeable taste, and is said to have all the properties of the
manna of the shops. The wood contains a large quantity of saccha-
rine sap, which soon becomes acid, and it is to this cause that Mr.
Suttor attributes the power of resisting fire, so remarkable in all the
Gum-trees, and which renders them peculiarly valuable in building
houses.
Another species of Eucalyptus, the so-called Mountain-ash, which
grows in the Blue Mountains, is a very fine timber-tree, which splits
freely into long pieces and is brought to Paramatta for chair-rafts,
&c. Its wood is very strong and elastic, and said to be equal in
those respects to any wood in the world.
The Forest- mahogany of the colonists {Eucalyptus rohusta. Smith)
has strong large spreading branches, forming a very large head, and
sweet-scented flowers. Its wood is heavy and close-grained, resem-
bles the mahogany of Jamaica, and is used in Sydney for making
chairs and bedsteads.
The timber-trees not belonging to the order Myrtacea consist of
a few species of Conifers, the Casuarince, and the so-called Cedar
(Cedrela Toona, Roxb.), the wood of which very much resembles the
Honduras mahogany, and is very valuable to the colonists in fitting
up their houses, making furniture, &c. The tree is of large growth,
and has not been found in the interior, but generally on the low
grounds of the coast rivers.
November 7.
R. Brown, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
A letter was read from the Baron de Gersdorff", Resident Minister
of the King of Saxony, addressed to the President, and stating that
" the King will feel highly gratified in seeing his name enrolled on
the list of Honorary Members of the Linnean Society of London, and
that his Majesty has accordingly been graciously pleased to accept
the Diploma transmitted by your Lordship, as President."
1843.] Linnean Society. 1/9
Dr. Bromfield, F.L.S., presented a specimen of a species of Cala-
mintha found by him in the Isle of Wight and regarded as new.
Mr. Newman exhibited a specimen of Trichomanes lately found in
the CO. Kerry, and supposed to be distinct from TV. speciosum.
Read a letter from Joshua Clarke, Esq., of Saffron Waldon, ac-
companying specimens of Barkhausia setosa, Dec, found in that
neighbourhood, with a note on the characters and distribution of the
species by Mr. Kippist, Libr. L.S.
Read also the commencement of " An Analysis of Rkizanthete.'*
By Wm. Griffith, Esq., F.L.S., being the first of a series of memoirs
on Root-Parasites and their allies.
November 2 1 .
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
David William Mitchell, Esq. was elected a Fellow.
Read the conclusion of Mr. Griffith's " Analysis of Rhizanthea"
and his " Description of Sapria, a Himalayan genus related to Raf-
flesia."
December 5.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. Westwood, F.L.S., exhibited a box of CEstrideous insects re-
cently received from Professors Zetterstedt and Dahlbom, with the
view of determining the correctness of Mr. Bracy Clarke's conjecture
as to certain characters, which, in his memoir published in the last
Part of the ' Transactions' of this Society, he had regarded as sexual,
and as proving that the (Estrus Tai-andi and (E. Troinpe are sexes of
the same species. Mr. Westwood stated that this collection con-
tained both sexes of each of these species, and that it would conse-
quently be necessary to reinstate these two species as well as several
180 Linnean Society, [Dec. 19,
others, which, on the same account, Mr. B. Clarke had sunk in his
memoir.
Read " Observations on Cy tinea and on the genus Thottea of
Rottboll," in continuation of Mr. Griffith's memoirs on Root-Para-
sites, &c.
December 19.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
William Ferrand Merson, M.D., William Tucker Alia way, M.D.,
John Hillier, Esq., and Sylvanus Hanley, Esq., were elected Fellows ;
and Mr. Henry Denny an Associate.
Mr. J. T. Lay, Her Majesty's Consul at Canton, presented a box
of specimens of the Keih-seen-me, a species of Alga related to Nostoc,
and eaten as a delicacy among the Chinese.
The Secretary exhibited on the part of Mr. Newport, President of
the Entomological Society, a specimen in spirits of a Neuropterous
insect, Pteronarcys regalis, furnished with external branchiae in its
perfect state.
Read a paper " On Carex saxatilis, L., and an allied species." By
Francis Boott, M.D., F.L.S. &c.
The allied species refeiTcd to was found in 1832 in Glen Phee,
Clova, by the party accompanying Dr. Graham on his annual bota-
nical excursion to the Highlands, and was considered as a form of
C. saxatilis, L. ; but Dr. Boott, whose attention has lately been called
to the subject by a letter from Mr. W. Wilson of Warrington, point-
ing out certain differences between the two plants, is led to regard it
as a distinct species, which he names and characterizes as follows : —
Carex Gra/iami, spicis 4 — 5 cylindricis ferrugineis ; masculis 2 (rarius 1)
gracilibus acutis : foemineis 2 — .3 subremotis crassis obtusis inferioribus
pedunculatis evaginatis subnutantibus, stigmatibus 2, perigyriiis ob-
longo-ovatis rostratis bifurcatis inflatis nervosis siiberectis ferrugineis
(rarius stran)ineis) basi pallid is squani^ ovata acuta fnsck apice albid^
ncrvo ])al]ido duplo longioribus.
1843.] Linnean Society, 181
Of Carex saxatilis, L., Dr. Boott gives the following character : —
C. saxatilis, spicis 2 — 3 atropurpiireis ; niascula 1 (rarius 2) cylindric&
peduMculata : fcemineis 1 — 2 rotundatis ovatisve infima plus minusve
pedunculata evaginat^ bracteatjl erecta, stigmatibus 2 — ;J, perigyniis
subglobosis ovatisve rostratis emarginatis stipitatis patentibus eiierviis
atropurpureis basi pallidis squama ovata obtusiusculA nigro-purpureA
apice albida nervo concolori longioribus.
C. saxatilis, L. Ft. Lapp. 2.59 (1737).
C. puUa, Good, in Linn. Trans, iii. t. 14 (1795).
Hah. in Alpibus Scotiae, Norvegiaj, Lapponioe, Succioe, Islandiae, Insula-
rum Faeroensium.
The author enters at length into a critical examination of the ori-
ginal authorities which prove the Carex pulla of Goodenough to be
the same with Carex saxatilis, L. ; and points out the origin of the
confusion of the latter with C. rigida, Good. He then examines more
particularly the distinguishing characters of C. Grahami and C. sax-
atilis ; and adds that he should have no doubt of the specific distinc-
tion between them but for the observations of Drejer, who in his
' Revisio critica Caricum Borealium ' describes, under the name of
C pulla /3 fusca, specimens from Iceland and Greenland closely
agreeing with C. Grahami, except that he makes no mention of the
nerves of the perigynium, and observes that the Greenland specimens
are so extremely variable that it could scarcely be believed that they
belong to the same species. In the absence of precise information
respecting the perigynium of the larger Greenland specimens. Dr.
Boott is inclined to refer them, together with the specimens from the
Rocky Mountains described by him in Sir W. J. Hooker's * Flora
Borccdi- Americana' under the name of C. saxatilis, to C. physocarpa,
Presl, a native of Nootka Sound. Of the latter his knowledge is
derived from M. Kunth's " Cyperographia."
In conclusion Dr. Boott leaves it to future observation to deter-
mine the value of the specific character which he has given of C. Gra-
hami ; whether it is to be considered as a distinct species, referred
back to C. saxatilis, L., or transferred to C. physocarpa, Presl, re-
peating that at present he considers it, with Mr. Wilson, entitled
to rank as a species.
Read also an " Account of the Trees producing Myrrh and Frank-
incense, as found in those parts of the coast of the Red Sea and In-
dian Ocean whence those Gums were obtained in the first dawn of
Commerce." By Major W. C. Harris, late on an Embassy- to the
182 Linnean Society. [Dec. 19, 1843.
Court of Shoa in Southern Abyssinia. Communicated by the Se-
cretary.
Major Harris describes the Myrrh-tree (Balsamodendron Myrrha)
as growing abundantly on the Abyssinian coast of the Red Sea to
the Straits of Bab el Mandeb, over all the barren hiil-sides of the
low zone inhabited by the Danakil or Adaiel tribes. It is called
Kurheta, and there exist two varieties ; one producing the better de-
scription of the gum being a dwarf shrub, with deeply serrated crisp
leaves of a dull green ; while the other, which yields a substance
more like balm than myrrh, attains a height of ten feet, and has
bright, shining, slightly dentated leaves. The myrrh, called Hofali,
flows freely from any wound, in the form of a milky juice, possessing
a perceptible acidity, which either evaporates or becomes chemically
changed during the formation of the gum. The seasons for collect-
ing it are in January, when the buds appear after the first rain ; and
in March, when the seed^ are ripe. Every passer-by transfers such
portions of it as he may find to the hollow boss of his shield, and ex-
changes it for a handful of tobacco with the next slave-dealer whom
he meets on the caravan-route. The merchants also of the sea-coast,
before returning from Abyssinia, send into the forests that gird the
western bank of the river Hawash, and bring away considerable
quantities of the Hofali, which is sold at a high price. The natives
administer it to their horses in cases of fatigue and exhaustion.
The shrub which produces the balm of Mecca, Balsamodendron
Opobalsamum, is found on the opposite Arabian coast at Cape Aden,
where it is called Beskdn, either the original of or a derivative from
the word Balsam. It is the Balessan of Bruce, who did not meet
with the true myrrh-tree. The balm flows copiously from any in-
cision, and the sethereal oil speedily evaporating, a tasteless gum
remains.
f ^ The Frankincense, Major Harris states, is found chiefly along the
// Somauli coast, in the neighbourhood of Cape Guardafui. At Bunder
f^ Maryah, twenty miles to the S.W. of Ras Feeluk, the mountains are
three miles from the shore and attain a height of five thousand feet.
Ascending a thousand feet a plain presents itself, bounded on every
side by precipitous mountains, studded with the Frankincense and
Gum-Acacia trees, although looking bare from the total absence of
under- wood. The frankincense -trees invariably grow from the bare
and smooth sides of the white marble rocks, or from isolated blocks
of the same scattered over the plain, without any soil whatever.
From the base of the trunk, and about treble its diameter, a round
thick substance is thrown out, of a nature between bark and wood.
Jan. 16, 1844.] Linnean Society. 183
adhering most firmly to the stone, and resembling at a distance a
mixture of mortar and lime. 'ITie stem rises from the centre of this
mass, and having first taken a bend outwards of several inches, rises
straight to a height of forty feet. It throws out from the top short
branches covered with a very bright green foliage, the leaves being
narrow and rounded at the end, five or six inches in length by one
broad, and crimped like the frill of a shirt, or rather like the sea- weed
called by children on the English coast " the old gentleman's ruflles,"
The usual girth of the stem is from a foot to eighteen inches. The
bark is perfectly smooth and consists of four distinct layers, the
outermost of which is very thin ; the two next of a singularly fine
texture, resembling oiled letter-paper, perfectly transparent, of a
beautiful amber-colour, and used by the Somaulis to write upon ;
and the innermost about an inch thick, of a dull reddish hue, tough
and not unlike leather, but yielding a strong aromatic perfume. The
wood is white and soft. On making a deep incision into the inner
rind, the gum exudes profusely, of the colour and consistence of milk,
but hardening into a mass by exposure to the air. The young trees
produce the best and most valuable gum, the older merely yielding
a clear glutinous fluid resembling Copal varnish and exhaling a
strong resinous odour. During the S.W. monsoon the pastoral tribes
in the neighbourhood of Ras Feeluk collect large quantities of frank-
incense, which they barter with the Indian Banyans, of whom a few
reside at the villages along the Abyssinian coast. Boats from Ma-
culla and from other parts of the Arabian coast also come across du-
ring the fine season and carry away the gums that have been accu-
mulated, in exchange for a coarse kind of cotton cloth which is worn
by the shepherds.
I
January 16, 1844.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Thomas Harrison, Esq., M.D., Edward Hamilton, Esq., M.D.,
William Francis, Esq., Ph. D., Augustus W. Clement, Esq., M.D.,
and John Mussendine Camplin, Esq., were elected Fellows.
Read an extract from a letter addressed by John Ashton Bostock,
Esq., Assistant Surgeon in H.M. 3rd Buffs, to his father John Bos-
tock, Esq., M.D., F.L.S.
184 Linnean Society/. [Jan. 16,
The letter is dated Agra, Oct. 21st, 1843, and describes the oc-
currences of a journey from Allahabad. The extract is as follows :
" Between Cawnpore and this place I witnessed one of the extraor-
dinary phsenomena peculiar to tropical climates, viz. a flight of locusts.
The direction of the flight was nearly due east, ^d the rate four miles
per hour ; and you will form some idea of the immense hbst, when I
tell you, that travelling at the same rate and in the opposite direc-
tion, I was between two an^i three hours in passing through them.
During the whole time, the horizon, as far as the eye could reach,
was darkened, and every nearer object was obscured. On looking
directly upwards the appearance was that of a very heavy snow-
storm, and the ground, which was covered by them, resembled the
fields strewed by the dried leaves of the autumn. Several of them
flew into my Palken. They were 2| inches long, of a pink colour,
marked with dark brown; The poor natives were shouting and en-
deavouring to prevent their devouring the crops, to which they prove
most destructive."
Read also a continuation of the series of memoirs on the Radiata
of the Eastern Meditierranean. By E. Forbes, Esq., F.L.S., Professor
of Botany in King's College, London.
The memoir now read relates to the order Echinida, the Mediter-
ranean species of which Professor Forbes states to amount in num-
ber to between twelve and fifteen. Of these nine occur in the seas
of the Egean Archipelago, at various depths, some being found as low
as a hundred fathoms. I'hey are enumerated as follows : —
Fam. Spatangace^.
Gen. Spatangus, L.
Spatangus purpureus is rare to the east of the Morea, but more
abundant and attaining a larger size on the coasts of Sicily and
Malta. The Mediterranean specimens are in every respect identical
with the British, and Spat, meridionalis of Risso is the same species.
Gen. Brissus, Klein.
Fragments of Sea-urchins belonging to this genus were repeatedly
found in very deep water on several parts of the Archipelago and on
the coast of Asia Minor, but too imperfect to admit of determination.
One of these, probably belonging to a new form, was taken in mud
at the depth of from 100 to 140 fathoms.
1844.] Linnean Society. 185
Gen. Amphidetus, Agansiz.
Of this genus Prof. Forbes describes a new species nearly related
to Spat, cordatus of Pennant, which he characterizes as follows : —
A. Mediterraneus, dorso convexiusculo ; depressione subplano ; iinpres-
sione scutifurmi, extremitate antili trunca!& impress^ cuud& prominenti
acuminata, ventre piano ; areA post-orali lanceolat4- — Long. \-^^ unc. ;
lat. lTV;alt. I,*,.
Of this species, which was taken in a few feet water in the Island
of Paros by Capt. Graves, but which Prof. Forbes has dredged as
deep as twenty fathoms, the author gives a detailed description ; and
particularly notices the occurrence on each side of the madrejjoriform
plate, obliquely beliind the posterior ovarian foramina, of a minute
perforation, surrounded by a circle of minute spiniferous tubercles.
Similar perforations similarly encircled are seen between each of the
ovarian foramina laterally and anteriorly, so that their total number
is five. These, the author states, are the eye-sockets with their
protecting spines or eye-lids. Their presence, he adds, is unnoticed
in any description of the species of Spatangacece, though they are
doubtless to be found in all.
Fam. CLYPEASTERIiE.
Gen. EcHiNOCYAMus, Leske. Fibularia, Lam.
Echinocyamus pusillus is abundant throughout the Egean Sea,
being thrown up in shell-sand and equally plentiful at all depths be-
tween one and a hundred and ten fathoms. Dead specimens were
even dredged at a depth of two hundred. Specimens taken alive in
the European seas are undistinguishable from those found in the an-
cient tertiaries of the Paris basin, in the miocene strata of Touraine
and the Crag, and in the pliocene beds of the Mediterranean. Prof.
Forbes regards Fibularia Tarmttina, Lam., Fih. Ovulum and probably
Fib. angulosa as synonyms of this species.
Fam. CiDARIDiE.
Gen. EcHiNu.s, L,
Echinus esculentus, L., was very rarely met with in the Egean Sea ;
while, on the other hand, Ech. lividus. Lam., was most abundant,
being always littoral and covering the rocks within a fathom of depth,
but never, so far as Prof. Forbes has observed, boring into them.
A living species which the author is unable to distinguish from
the fossil Echinus monilis, Defr., was found very abundantly at the
depth of between twenty and a hundred fathoms. It would appear
No. XX. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
186 Linnean Society. [Feb. 6,
to be the same with Ech. pulchellus, Ilisso, and a variety Ech. deco-
ratus, Agass. It is also Ech. miliaris of Grube, but very distinct
from the true Ech. miliaris.
Gin. CiDARis, Lam.
Species of Cidaris Hystrix, Lam., were frequently met with, but
perfect specimens are not so common. They are occasionally, how-
ever, found in considerable numbers and appeared to be gregarious,
between thirty and forty living examples having been taken in a
single dredge in seventy fathoms water off Cape Krio in Asia Minor,
the site of the ancient city of Cnidos. The author gives a particular
account of the differences between this species and Cid. papillaris of
the British and Norwegian seas, and observes that it possesses the
power of climbing up branching bodies by means of its spines alone.
He thinks it possible that the perforated tubercles of this genus may
have reference to this habit, the additional ligament giving additional
firmness to the long spine.
February 6.
R. Brown^ Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Read " Descriptions of the Nests of two Hymenopterous Insects
inhabiting Brazil, and of the species by which they were constructed."
By John Curtis, Esq., F.L.S.
The materials for this paper were obtained by Mr. Curtis from a
collection in the possession of Lord Goderich, to whom it was pre-
sented by the Right Hon. Henry Ellis, on his return from his late
special mission to Brazil.
The first insect described belongs to the family of Tenthredinida
and to the genus Hylotoma of Klug. But this extensive group, as Mr.
Curtis has already remarked, affording sufficient grounds for further
generic subdivision, he has distinguished the present species ])y the
following name and characters : —
DiELocERus, Curt.
AntenncE articulo 3tio in mare furcato, piloso ; in foemina simplici.
Tibice ante apicem espinosae. Clypeus profunde emargiiiatus. Lahriim
orbiculare: viaridibula graciles, acutae, altera denticulo interne mi-
1844.] Lintiean Society. 18?
nuto : maxilltB subaequaliter bilobse ; palpi mediocres, 6-articulati, arti-
cuHs tribus basalibus aequalibus, secundo tertioque crassis, quarto
paulo minore, quinto omnium minimo quadrato, sexto gracili, baud
reliquis longiore : mejilum sub-semiovatum ; palpi tuberculis promi-
nentibus affixi, breves, crassi, 4-articulati, articulo secundo latiore,
tertio omnium gracillimo longitudiue primi : labium latum, trilobuna.
Tliis genus is most nearly related to Schizocerus, Latr. The
s])€cies on which it is founded is named by Mr. Curtis Dielocerus
Ellisii, and is described at length, and the distinctions pointed out
between it and Hylotoma formosa^ Klug, to which Mr. Curtis was
at first inclined to refer it. Its economy is totally different from
that of any other known species of Tenthredinidce ; the caterpillars
of the solitary saw-flies, especially the larger species, forming single
oval cocoons of a very tough and leathery material attached to
twigs ; and those even of the gregarious species placing their co-
coons (which are oval cases of silk and gum) in an irregular manner
with no unity of design. The caterpillars of Dielocerus Ellisii, on
the contrary, which are evidently gregarious, unite to form on the
branch of a tree, an oval or elliptical case, four or five inches long,
narrowed superiorly, very uneven on its surface, and of a dirty
whitish ochre in colour. The cells, thirty-eight in number in the
nest examined, are placed at right angles to the branch, piled hori-
zontally one above the other, unequal in size and irregular in form,
those next the tree being pentagonal, the central ones hexagonal,
and some of the outer ones nearly round or oval. In one of these
cells Mr. Curtis found a dead female, and most of them had the
exuviae of the caterpillars remaining, but no shroud of the pupae ;
he thinks the smaller cells may have been occupied by the males.
At the end of each cell is a circular lid, formed of the same leathery
material as the rest of the comb, which being cut round by means of
the sharp mandibles, leaves an opening through which the saw-flie«
make their way. In two of the cells were found the dead cater-
pillars, which closely resemble those of the genus Hylotoma.
The author observes upon the dissimilarity of the mode of forma-
tion of this nest to that of any previously observed, the compound
nidus (as far as hitherto known) being always the work of the parent
insects for the protection of their young through the first three stages
of their existence. In this case, however, it is formed by the larvae
themselves for the purpose of their own metamorphosis. The nearest
approach to this economy seems to be the nidus formed by the mag-
gots of some of the Jchneumones adsciti, whose silken cells are placed
regularly in rows.
188 Linnean Society, [Feb. 6,
Mr. Curtis then proceeds to describe two species of Schizocerus
from his own cabinet with the following characters :
S, nasicornis, $ niger, abdomhie pallid^ oclivaceo apice nigro, alis nebu-
losis, pedibus fuscis ; femoiibus 4 postcrioribus ocbraceis, capite antic^
1-dentato.
S. ochrosfigma, p.— Caput parvum, complanatum
vei concavum. Pedes graciles, elongati. Corpus pyra-
midale, elongatum.
Gen. 27. lulus, L. — Caput convexum. Corpus cylindri-
cum. Prothoracis latera triangularia. Antennae elon-
gatae.
Gen. 28. Unciger, Brandt. — Squama inferior analis mu-
cronata. Corpus cylindricum
Gen. 29. Spirobolus, Brandt. — Caput convexum. Oculi
subtetragoni. Corpus subpyramidale. Prothoracis la-
tera triangularia. Antennae breves.
Gen. 30. Spiropoeus, Brandt.
Gen. 31. Spirocyclistus, Brandt.-^ hxiienndd breves. Oculi
elongati, triangulares. Thoracis latera brevia, triangu-
laria.
Gen. 32. Spirostreptus, Brandt. — Antennae breves, arti-
culis infundibulatis. Oculi transversi. Prothoracis la-
tera elongata vel dilatata.
Subfam. 2. Lysiopetalinte, Newp. Pedes laminis mobilibus
affixi.
Gen. 33. Lysiopetalum, Brandt. — Frons dilatata. Pedes
laminis liberis mobilibus affixi.
Fam. 9. Polyzonidce, Newp. (Ommatophora, Brandt). — Ocelli
conspicui, fronti inter antennas in seriebus transversis inserti.
Gen. 34. Polyzonium, Brandt, — Ocelli 6 parvi, in seriebus
2 transversis. Corpus depressum.
Gen. 35. Siphonotus, Brandt. — Ocelli 2, in serie simplici
transversal.
Fam. 10. Siphonophoridce, Newp, (Typhlogena, Brandt.) — Oculi
nulli.
Gen. 36. Siphonophora, Brandt. — Caput conicum, elonga-
tum. Nutritionis organa rostriformia, elongata.
The author then proceeds to treat at considerable length of the
external anatomy of the Myriapoda, commencing with the composi-
tion and mode of development of the segments and their appendages,
and comparing them in these particulars with Insects. The variations
196 Linnean Society, [May 7,
in the several genera of Myriapoda are particularly noticed ; and the
principles on which their development, in its various modifications,
depends, are elucidated by numerous observations on their mode of
growth. The structure and development of the head are next treated
of in detail in the different families and genera of the Chilopoda ; and
the organs of nutrition are especially examined with reference to their
development and analogies. This branch of the subject is concluded
by an appreciation of the relative value of the different parts of the
skeleton in furnishing generic and specific characters.
The systematic description of the families, genera and species of
the Myriapoda Chilopoda completes the memoir ; which was accom-
panied by a series of drawings, illustrative of their external anatomy
and generic characters.
May 7.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
M. Louis Agassiz, Professor of Natural History at Neufchatel, and
Dr. M. J. Schleiden, Professor of Botany in the University of Jena,
were elected Foreign Members.
Hugh Falconer, Esq., M.D., and Mr. George Brettingham Sow-
erby, Jun., were elected Fellows.
Read " Descriptions of the Insects collected by Capt. P. P. King,
R.N., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c., in the Survey of the Straits of Magellan."
By John Curtis, Esq., F.L.S. &c., in continuation of a paper printed
in vol. xviii. of the Transactions of the Society.
The present paper, like the former, is devoted to Coleoptera, and
the following are the new genera and species characterized in it ; —
Fam. HisTERiDiE.
Hister Mathewsii, violaceo-ater, capite thoracis margine elytrisque punc-
tulatis nisi in elytrorum disco ubi maculae 2 magnae violaceae striaeque
tres basales breves. Long. If lin. ; lat. 1^.
Hister fur catus, nitide virescenti-niger, thoracis lateribus brevi-canalicu-
latis punctulatis, elytris stria suturaH curvata basali tribusque costam
versus apicem baud attingentibus. Long. 1^ lin.; lat. 1^.
Hister castaneus, la&vis niger, thoracis lateribus punctulatis, elytris pedi-
busqne castaneis ; iilis stri^ snturali furcata duabus aliis aequilongis al-
ter&que humerali breviore. Long. If lin. ; lat. \\.
1844.] Linnean Society, 197
Fam. Hydrophilid^k.
Hydrophilus chalybeatus, intens^ nitid^ caeruleus, elytris lineis tribus
punctulorum remotorum piliferorum, palpis antennisqiie ochreis apice
nigris, pedibus siibcastaneis ; femoribus piceis. Long. 6 lin.; lat. 3.
Hydrophilus ochripes, palpis antennis labroque basi ochreis apice nigres-
centibus, pedibus thoracis margine inferiore sternoque ferrugineo-
ochraceis. Long. 4 lin. ; lat. 2\.
Fam. ScARAB£IDi£.
Sect. COPROPHAQJE.
Copris semisquatnosa, nigra, clypeo magno bidentato cornu brevi eniar-
ginato armato, thorace brevi antic^ irregulariter truncato, elytris pro-
fundi striatis. Long. 10^ lin.; lat. 6.
Copris punctatissima, nigra, clypeo emarginato hand tuberculato, thorace
magno punctatissimo tuberculato parvo antice armato, elytris profundi
punctato-striatis. Long. 8 lin. ; lat. 4f .
Sect. GeOTRUPID.^ Vel ARENICOLiE.
Acanthocerus muricatus, niger, punctulatus, elytris punctato-striatis apice
tuberculatis. Long, l^lin. ; lat. 1^.
Sphaerosomus muricatus, Kirby MSS.
Sect. TROGiDiE.
Trox buUatus, niger cinereo mixtus, thorace inaequali : angulis posticis
sublobatis, elytris tuberculis minutis conspersis lineisque tuberculorum
magnorum tribus parvorumque pluribus notatis. Long. 7^ lin. ; lat. 5.
Trox lachrymosus, cinereus nigro mixtus, thorace parvo inaequali, elytris
aniplis elongato-ovatis punctato-striatis lineis tuberculorum magnorum
4 parvorum 5 notatis. Long. 5 — 6 lin. ; lat. 3 — 4.
Trox trisulcatus, cinerascenti-niger, capite laevi, thoracis sulcis 3 latis
longitudinalibus, elytris striatis : intervallis fasciculatis. Long. 2^ — 3
lin.; lat. H— H-
Sect. ScARABiEIDiE Vel XYLOFHIL-fi.
Oryctomorphus pictus (Waterh.), piceus, clypeo bidentato, fronte tuber-
culato, thorace impressione centrali, elytrorum are^ scutellum ciiigente
strigaque in singulo obliqua undulata nitid^ ferrugineis. Long. 10
lin. ; lat. ultra 5.
Sect. Phyllophag^.
Gen. Tribostethes, Curt.
Palpi iis Brachystemi similes, nisi quod maxillares longiores, labiales
breves ; illorum articulus basalis minutus, 2du3 3tiusque obovato-
truncati, hoc breviore, 4tus longus, gracilis, fusiformis, extus sulco
longo exaratus. Antennae 10-articulatae; articulus basalis crassus, cla-
No. XXI. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
198 Linnean Society, [May 7?
vatus; 2dus parvus subglobosus; 3tius ellipticus; tres sequentes ob-
longi ; 7mus cuneiformis ; reliqui clavam ellipticam capitis longitudine
efformantes. Clypeus integer rotundatus, margine paulum elevato,
sutura transversali inconspicua. Thorax parvus, transversus ; scutel-
lum mediocre, cordatum. El3'tra thorace latiora, elliptica. Alae am-
plae. Pectus villosissimus, sterno baud producto ; pygidio nudo.
Pedes longiuscjili, baud crassi ; tibiae anteriores aiigustae, extus tri-
dentatae, reliquae setosae suturis ordinariis; tarsi graciles, articulis om-
nibus subclavatis ; ungue simplici.
Tribostethes castaneiis, pallide castaneus, capite tboraceque virescenti vel
aeneo tinctis. Long. 8 lin. ; lat. 4.
Brachygaster castaneus, Laporte, Cours Compl. d'Hist. Nat.
Gen. Callichi.oris, Dejean.
Palporum maxillarium articulus penultimus minutus, subglobosus; ter-
minal is crassior, longior, subfusiformis, extus planus. Antennae 10-
articulatae ; articulus basalis crassus, pyriformis ; 2dus subglobosus ;
3tius 4tusque oblongi ; 5tus brevis ; 6tus cyathiformis ; 7mus cunei-
formis ; reliqui clavam gracilem fusiformem efformantes. Labrum
transversum, medio paulum angulatum. Clypeus transverse ovalis,
medio fortiter reflexo. Femora gracilia : tibiae anticae versus apicem
angustatae, extus tridentatae ; reliquae subscabrae, apice pectinatae, cal-
caribusque 2 brevibus armatae : tarsi anteriores articulis 4 basalibus
brevibus, 3tio 4toque cyathiformibus ; omnium 5to intus emarginato ;
ungue longo, gracili, simplic', anteriore maxime inaequali. Sternum
baud productum.
CaUichloris perelegans, nitide flavo-virens punctatissimus, elytris punc-
tato-striatis, subtus pygidioque ferrugineis antice pilis albidis villosis
postice pubescentia concolori vestitis. Long. 7 lin. ; lat. 4.
Leucothyreus 1 spurius, sine nitore fulvus, capite tboraceque minute punc-
tulatis : bujus angulis posticis acutis, elytris singulis paribus 4 striarum
inconspicuarum notatis. Long. 8^ lin. ; lat. 5.
Leucothyreus 1 antennatuSf ochreus, capite castaneo, antennarum clava
longissima. Long. 6 lin. ; lat. 3.
Gen. Serioides, Guer. Camptorhina, Airby nee Schon/i.
Antennae 9-articulatae ; articulus basalis crassus, pyriformis; 2dus obo-
vatus; 3tius longior, gracilior ; 4tus gracilis baud 2do longior ; reliqui
clavam gracilem, tenuiter 5-lamellatam, efformantes. Clypeus rotun-
datus. Labrum eniarginatum. Palpi maxillares longi, graciles, 4 ?-
articulati ; articulo basali minuto, sequentibus elongatis subaequalibus,
terminali truncato : labiales 3-articulati, articulo tertio fusiformi. Ca-
put semiorbiculare. Thorax transversus, basi supra scutellum elonga-
tum emargiiiatus. Elytra longissima. Pedes longi, graciles: tibiae
anticae breves, latae, extus tridentatae ; reliqu.x spinosae : tarsi similes,
1844.] Linnean Society, 199
longissimi, graciles, setosi ; articulis subaeqiialibus : ungues dmnes sim-
plices, longi, graciles.
Serioides atricapillus, elongatus, violaceo-bninneus, punctulatus, elytris
rugosis lineatis. Long. 6 lin. ; lat 3.
Camptorhina atricapilla, Kirhy.
Serioides Reichii, Guh, Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 301?
Gen. Athlia, Erichs.
Palpi maxillares parvi, setosi, 4-articulati f articulo basali minuto, 2do
elongato-clavato ; 3tio obovato-truncato ; 4to longitudine primi sub-
securiformi. Antennae minimse, O-articulatae ; articulo basali crasso,
clavato ; 2do 3tioque obovatis, illo crassiore ; 4to brevi ; 5to 6toque
cyathiformibus ; reliquis clavam minutam, lobis cragsis cyathiformibus,
efTorraantibus. Clypeus reflexus, antic^ paulum angustatus, utrinque
emarginatus. Caput latiusculum. Thorax transversus, convexus, la-
teribus convexis, basi parum sinuatus, angulis anticis magis acumina-
tis : scutellum parvum ovatum. Elytra thorace multo latiora terque
longiora, abdomen operientia, postice latiora rotundata. Alae amplse.
Pedes longi, baud graciles : tibiae anteriores prof'unde emarginatae tri-
dentatae ; reliquae setosae : tarsi longissimi, subtus pubescentes ; ante-
riores crassiores : ungues omnium bifidi.
Athlia rustica (Erichs.), castaneus, punctulatus, pubescens, elytris sin-
gulis striis 4 elevatis, antennist pedibusque pallide ferrugineis. Long.
Q\ lin. ; lat. 3.
Gen. Pacuvia, Curt,
Palpi labiales minutissimi : maxillares graciles, 4-articulati ; articulo ba-
sali minuto ; 2do 3tioque ovalibus ; 4to multd crassiore, parvo, ovato-
lanceolato. Antennae parvae, 9-articulataB ; articulus basalis crassus,
clavatus; 2dus magnus, globosus ; tres sequentes minores, subglobosi,
5tus subcyathiformis ; 6tus cuneiformis ; reliqui clavam ovalem effor-
mantes. Caput trigono-truncatum. Clypeus reflexus, emarginatus.
Thorax transversus, subhexagonus, lateribus prominentibus. Scutel-
lum elongato-trigonum. Elytra thorace latiora, terque longiora, ellip-
tica. Alae amplae, Pygidium nudum. Pedes longi, extensi : femora
anteriora brevissima ; postica crassissima: tibiae anteriores breves, ex-
tus bispinosae ; reliquae pilosae, medio spinosae : tarsi longissimi, subtus
pubescentes ; 4 anteriorum articulo 2do 3tioque dilatatis ; omnium
articulo basali 2do multo breviore, terminal! gracillimo : unguibus lou-
gis, gracilibus, bifidis.
Pacuvia castanea, ochrea punctulata, capita tboraceque castaneis, elytris
singulis striis 4 duplicatis. Long. 4^ lin. ; lat. 2J.
Gen. AcciA, Curt.
Palpi nudi : labiales minutissimi ; maxillares parvi, 4-articulati ; articulo
basali minuto; 2do elongate, clavato; 3tio breviori, obovato; 4 to
200 Lintiean Society. [May 7>
omnium maximo, elliptico-truncato. Antennae parvae, 9-articulatae ;
articuli 2 basales crassi, 1 mo pyriformi, 2rlo globoso-pyriformi ; Stius
gracilis, longus ; 4tus ovalis ; 5tus 6tusque annuliformes ; reliqui
clavam tenuem efFormantes. Clypeus rotundatus reflexus. Caput
mediocre. Thorax transvevsus, basi sinuatus, margine anteriore ex-
cavatus, angulis prominentibus. Scutellum elongato-trigonum. Ely-
tra tliorace fer^ quater longiora, elliptica, pygidium baud complete
operientia. Alse amplae. Pedes longi, graciles : femora tibiaeque an-
teriores brevissimae ; hae latae, extus tridentatae ; 4 posteriores spinosae :
tarsi longi, graciles, setosi, baud subtus pubescentes; articulo basali
longitudine 2di : unguibus gracilibus, simplicibus.
Accia lucida, pitide testacea minute punctulata, capite ferrugineo, elytris
subcupreis striatis. Long. 4^ lin. ; lat. 2.
Colporhina bifoveolata, ferruginea asneo tincta punctulata, squamis albi-
dis in thorace elytrisque maculas efformantibus vestita. Long. 3 lin. ;
lat. n.
Macrodactylus marmoraiuSf subcastaneus pills albidis vestitus, thoracis
disco brunneo linea pilorum albidorum centrali, elytris fasciis irregu-
laribus brunneis pubescentiaeque albidae maculis notatis. Long. 3^
lin.; lat. 1^.
Fam. LucANiDiE.
Dorcas rufifemoralis, cinereo-niger, capite thoraceque nitidis, elytris
dense profun deque punctulatis: punctis ochreo-papillatis, coxis femo-
ribusque rufis. Long.
2. Observations on Plantations. 1804.
3. A Treatise on Hothouses. 4to, 1805.
4. A Treatise on forming and managing Country Residences.
2 vols. 4to, 1806.
5. An Account of the Paper Roofs used at Tew Lodge, Oxon.
8vo, 1811.
6. Designs for Laying out Farms and Farm -buildings in the Scotch
style ; adapted to England. 4to, 1811.
7. Remarks on the Construction of Hothouses. 4to, 1817.
8. Sketches of Curvilinear Hothouses. 4to, 1818.
9. An Encyclopaedia of Gardening. 8vo, 1822. Ed. 2, 1825.
10. The Greenhouse Companion.
11. Observations on Laying out Farms. Fol.
12. An Encyclopaedia of Agriculture. 8vo, 1825. Ed. 2, 1831.
Supplement to ditto. 1834.
13. The Gardener's Magazine, commenced in 1826, and continued
to the day of his death.
14. The Magazine of Natural History, commenced in 1828, car-
ried on for many years, and now incorporated with Taylor's ' Annals.'
15. The Encyclopaedia of Plants. 8vo, 1829.
First Additional Supplement to ditto. 1840.
16. A Manual of Cottage Gardening and Husbandry. 8vo, 1830.
17. Illustrations of Landscape- Gardening and Garden Architec-
ture, in Eng., French and German. Fol. 1830-31.
18. Hortus Britannicus. 8vo, 1830.
Supplement to ditto. 1832.
Second Additional Supplement (prepared by W. H. Baxter).
1839.
206 Linnean Society. [May 24,
19. The Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture
and Furniture. 4to, 1833.
First Additional Supplement to ditto.
20. Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum. 8 vols. 8vo. Com-
pleted in 1838.
21. The Architectural Magazine, commenced in 1834.
22. The Suburban Gardener and Villa Companion. 8vo, 1838.
23. Hortus Lignosus Londinensis. 1838.
24. A new edition of Repton's Landscape- Gardening. 1839.
25. An Encyclopaedia of Trees and Shrubs ; abridged from the
Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum. 8vo, 1842.
26. The Suburban Horticulturist. 8vo, 1842.
27. On Cemeteries. 1843.
He was also Editor of the ' Gardener's Gazette' in 1840 and 1841 ;
and contributed various articles to the * Encyclopaedia Britannica,'
and to Brande's * Dictionary of Science,'
James Macartney, Esq., M.D., F,R.S. 8(C., was born in Armagh in
March 1770, and was educated in the country. He was not origi-
nally destined for any profession ; but in 1 794 he apprenticed him-
self to Dr. Hartigan, then Professor of Anatomy to the Royal Col-
lege of Surgeons in Ireland. In 1798 he removed to London, where
he became Demonstrator of Anatomy in St. Bartholomew's Hospital;
and two years afterwards commenced lecturing on Comparative
Anatomy and Physiology. This course, of which he published a
Prospectus in 1806, was continued until 1810. In the following year
he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society ; and having returned
to Ireland was in 1813, on the death of his former teacher Dr. Har-
tigan, elected Professor of Anatomy and Surgery in Trinity College,
Dublin, which office he filled for four-and-twenty years. He died
of apoplexy on the 6th of March 1843.
Both as a comparative anatomist and an improver of the practice
of surgery. Dr. Macartney is entitled to honourable mention. The
more important of his contributions to Comparative Anatomy were
published in Rees's * Cyclopaedia,' in which the principal articles on
that subject were written by him. To the ' Philosophical Transac-
tions * he contributed some valuable " Observations upon Luminous
Animals," published in the volume for 1810, and "An Account of
an Appendix to the small Intestines of Birds," in that for 1811. A
memoir " On the Anatomy of the Brain of the Chimpanzee " ap-
peared soon after his death in the ' Transactions of the Royal Irish
Academy,' of which he had long been an active Member, and to
whose Transactions he had previously contributed an essay " On the
1 844.1 Linnean Society. 207
Curvatures of the Spine." He also made several minor commu-
nications to the British Association for the Advancement of Science,
and to the Academic de Medecine of Paris, of which he was a
Foreign Member. Of the Linnean Society he became a Fellow in
1814, but he has no paper in our Transactions. ^
As a lecturer it is stated of him, that " though his manner was un-
adorned by the arts of verbal eloquence, he became highly popular
from the ideas which he imparted, and the distinct and logical lan-
guage in which they were clothed : his classes were always very
large, and by his means the reputation of the Medical School of the
University of Dublin was materially elevated." His introductory
Lecture to the Anatomical Course of 1824 was published in 1826 ;
and the substance of his Lectures on Inflammation, the most import-
ant and original part of his Surgical Course, are given in his ' Trea-
tise on Inflammation,' published the year after he resigned his Pro-
fessorship. This volume contains an exposition of his views on the
proximate cause of inflammation, and of his mode of administering
steam fomentations and applying water dressings, now so universally
and beneficially adopted in surgical practice.
Charles Saville Onley, Esq.
Simon Stephenson, Esq.
George William Wood, Esq., was the eldest son of the Rev. Wil-
liam Wood of Leeds, an early Fellow of the Society, and the inti-
mate friend of our founder and first President. He was born in 1781,
and became connected at an early age with one of the largest esta-
blishments in Manchester, of which he continued to be a partner until
its dissolution, when he retired from business with a handsome for-
tune. At the general election for 1832 he was returned to Parlia-
ment for the Southern Division of the count}^ of Lancaster, and in
1837 for the borough of Kendal, which he continued to represent till
his death. Although endowed with an hereditary fondness for botany
and with a strong attachment to geology, the active pursuits of busi-
ness and the conscientious discharge of his public duties left him
little leisure for their cultivation ; but he was ever ready to promote
the views of those who were more actively engaged in the prosecu-
tion of science, and to render them such services as his position en-
abled him to perform. Of this disposition we have a striking proof
in the Bill introduced by him and carried through Parliament in the
course of the last Session, the eff"ect of which is to exempt scientific
societies from local taxation ; a bill for which we have ourselves
reason to feel grateful, as relieving our funds from a burthen of
some importance. The circumstances of his death may also be re-
208 Liunean Society. [May 24,
ferred to as connected with his attachnient to science ; it occurred
suddenly in the rooms of the Literary and Philosophical Society of
Manchester, of which he was one of the Vice-Presidents. While
engaged in an animated conversation on the progress of the Ordnance
Survey, his breathing was observed to become difficult, and the mo-
ment after he was found to be dead.
Among our Foreign Members we have to commemorate
Don Jose Pavon, a botanist of considerable merit, and the colleague
of Ruiz in the memorable botanical expedition dispatched to Peru
by the Spanish Government in the year 1777, from which were ob-
tained such important results both in collections and publications.
On the recommendation of Ortega, then Professor of Botany at
Madrid, the expedition was placed under the direction of Ruiz, who
was accompanied by Pavon and by two artists, Brunete and Galvez.
M. Dombey also, who had been dispatched from France on a similar
mission, was allowed to accompany them ; and during a residence of
ten years they visited many of the most interesting districts of Peru
and Chile. In 1788 Ruiz and Pavon returned to Europe, bringing
with them large collections of plants and an extensive series of bo-
tanical drawings, and leaving behind them two of their pupils, Tafalla
(afterwards Professor of Botany in the University of Lima), and
Pulgar (an artist of merit), to continue their investigations. The
collections thus made by themselves, and those which were subse-
quently transmitted to them, formed the basis of a series of works on
the botany of the Western Regions of South America, which, had
they been carried on to completion, would have been indeed a mag-
nificent contribution to science, and which even in their present in-
complete state are of high importance. The first of these publica-
tions appeared in 1794, under the title of * Florae Peruvianse et Chi-
lensis Prodromus,* and contains descriptive characters and illustrative
figures of their new genera. This was followed in 1798 by the first
volume of the * Flora Peruviana et Chilensis,' two other volumes of
which, extending as far as the class Octandria of the Linnean system,
were published in 1799 and 1802. The plates of a fourth volume,
as well as many others intended for subsequent publication, were also
prepared. In 1798 also was published the first volume of a smaller
work without figures, entitled * Systema Vegetabilium Florae Peru-
vianae et Chilensis,* containing characters of all their new genera
and of the species belonging to them, as well as of all the other spe-
cies described in the first volume of their ' Flora.*
Of the immense collections made by Ruiz and Pavon and other
1844.] Linnean Society. 209
botanists in the Spanish possessions in America, a large portion was
purchased by Mr. Lambert between the years 1817 and 1824. These
were dispersed at the sale of his herbarium in 1842 ; but a part of
them was then obtained for the British Museum, where they are
now deposited. Little is known of the latter years of Pavon ; his
correspondence with Mr. Lambert appears to have ceased in 1 824,
and even the exact date of his death has not been ascertained.
The President also announced that 19 Fellows, 2 Foreign Mem-
bers, and 1 Associate had been elected since the last Anniversary.
At the election which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop of
Norwich was re-elected President ; Edward Forster, Esq., Treasurer ;
John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary ; and Richard Taylor, Esq.,
Under-Secretary. The following five Fellows were elected into the
Council in the room of others going out : viz. Francis Boott, M.D. ;
Edward Forbes, Esq., Professor of Botany in King's College, Lon-
don ; the Rev. William Hincks ; Daniel Sharpe, Esq. ; and William
Spence, Esq.
June 4.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Sir Edward Ffrench Bromhead, Bart., Arthur Henfrey, Esq., and
Jephson Potter, Esq., M.D., were elected Fellows.
Read a continuation of Mr. Griffith's memoir, being the portion
relating to Sarcophyte.
Read also the conclusion of Mr.. Woods's " Attempt to arrange
the Varices of Middle Europe."
In this paper Mr. Woods passes in review the principal characters
by means of which the species of Carices may be arranged into
groups, and adopts with some modifications the system of Koch.
His arrangement is as follows : —
A. Spic& xinick simplici.
1 . Dioecae j stigmatibus 2.
I. C. dioica; 2. C. Davalliana.
2. MonoecoB ; stigmatibus 2.
3. C. pulicaris ; 4. C. decipiens] 5. C. capilata.— 6. C. Suterif which
210 Linnean Society. [June 4,
may belong to the following division, as the number of stigmas is
not indicated.
3. Moncecae ; stigmatibus 3.
7. C. microglochin ; 8. C. pauciflora ] 9. C. Pyrenaica\ 10. C. spicata,
11. C. rupestris.
B. Spicis capitatis involucratis.
12. C. cyperoides] 13. C. Balden sis.
C. Spicis compositis.
1. Stigmatibus 3.
14. C. curvula.
2. Stigmatibus 2 ; floribus sterilibus in spicarum apice.
15. C.fcetida] 16. C. stenophylla ; 17. C. lobata; 18. C. mcurva; 19.
Cschoenoides; 20. C.divisa; 21. Cchordorhiza-, 22. C.vulpina;
23. C. muricatu] 24. C. divulsa; 25. C. teretiuscula; 26. C. para-
doxa ; 27. C. paniculaia.
3. Stigmatibus 2 ; spicis aliis fertilibus aliis sterilibus, v. floribus sterilibus
in media spica, v. floribus sterilibus in aliis spiculis basalibus in aliis
apicalibus.
28. C.ludibunda; 29. C. intermedia; 30. C.modesta; 31. C.arenaria;
32. C. repens; 33. C. microstyla.
4. Stigmatibus 2 ; floribus sterilibus in spicarum basi.
34. C. brizoides; 35. C.Schreberi; 36. C. Ligerica, Gay; 37. C. stellu-
lafa; 38. C. grypos ; 39. C. ovalis ; 40. C axillaris; 41. C. Z?,, transversim dehiscentes. Glandulte nxxWee.
Ovaria 5 — 7, coalita; styli nulli ; stigmata 5 — 7, obliqua. Fructus nu-
dus, 5 — 7-locularis (in unica specie 1-locularis) ; dehiscentia septicida.
Semina indefinita, adscendentia; testa cellulosa, tenuissim^. Albumen
nullum. Plumula polyphylla, hilo subopposita.
Obs» Character ex Crypt, ciliata omnino excerptus.
Crypt, ciliata, foliis oblongo-laneeolatis, spathae limbo tubuloso-convoluto
apice dilatato oblongo-laiiceolato ciliato.
Crypt, cihata, Fisch. I. c.
Ambrosinia ciliata, Roxb. Corom. PL t. 262. Fl. Indica, iii. p. 491.
Hab. ad ripas limosas fluminis Hooghly festubus alternis fere omnino
submersa. Floret fructusque fert per totum fere annum.
After a detailed description of the plant, and an indication of the
errors into which Roxburgh and those who have followed him had
fallen with reference to it, Mr. Griffith proceeds to trace the more
remarkable anomalies from their origin through their various stages
of development, with the view of reducing them to the ordinary
type.
The anthers, he states, may from a very early period be compared
to two cups joined together by their contiguous margins, the wide
and open mouth which they present in their mature state being ori-
ginally clo! ed by an extremely fine membrane, which also lines the
cavity of the cup, in the interior of which the pollen is formed. As
the anther enlarges this membrane assumes the form of a gradually
lengthening cone, which at length becomes subulate and perforated
at the apex. But this opening appears to be insufficient for the
ei^cape of the grains of pollen, and the membrane finally separates
1845.] Linnean Society, 265
from the edges of cnp-shaped theca, leaving the grains of pollen free
and uncovered. The agency of insects appears, however, to be gene-
rally resorted to to ensure fecundation, the lower portion of the spa-
tha being found during impregnation to contain many small flies,
which have perished from inability to escape after the performance
of their imj^ortant duty.
Tlie ovula, at the earliest period of observation, are described as
oblong bodies, having, a little below their points, a slight constric-
tion, above which they are papilliform. At a somewhat later period
the base of the papilliform nucleus is surrounded by an annulus,
which Mr. Griffith describes as a growth from that part of the ovu-
lum situated below the constriction, and which is the rudiment of
the integument of the ovulum : it soon increases and forms a sort of
cup, beyond which the nucleus at first projects considerably, 'lliis
Mr. Griffith regards as a good example of the correctness of Mr.
Brown's opinion as to the comparatively late origin of the integu-
ments in the generality of ovula. As the development proceeds the
nucleus becomes entirely enclosed in the cup, the mouth of which is
gradually narrowed. After impregnation, the period of which is
marked by the withering of the spatha, the centre of the nucleus be-
comes more transparent, and is evidently excavated. The foramen
is still visible, but soon afterwards becomes indistinct. The cavity
of the nucleus gradually extends upwards to near the apex of that
body and downwards towards the hilum ; its lower portion is occu-
pied by cellular tissue, assuming the form of a sac, and quite free from
adhesion inferiorly ; while the upper third contains an oblong cel-
lular body with a conical apex, which constitutes the rudimentary
embryo. A little later, the conical, originally rectilinear apex of the
embryo has become somewhat oblique, and a depressed areola makes
its appearance on one side of the head of the embryo. In the next
stage the conical and rather oblique apex of the embryo protrudes
through the apex of the nucleus, and its base has become enlarged
and roundish. The conical apex and head of the embryo become
still further protruded, and from the margin of the depressed areola
are produced minute, oblong, obtuse, cellular bodies, which are the
rudiments of the outer processes of the plumula. These gradually
enlarge, and others are developed within them from the centre or
disc of the areola ; and at the same time the conical apex of the
embryo becomes more and more oblique. At this period the chief
bulk and enclosed part of the embryo occupies about the upper
two-thirds of the excavation of the nucleus, but does not as yet ex-
tend into its lower globular portion ; and the enclosed part is firmly
266 Linnean Society, [Nov. 4,
embraced by the neck of the nucleus, the tissue of which has become
more and more callous or indurated. Still later the testa becomes
more enlarged and cellular, and its foramen more indistinct; the
nucleus is denser and more cellular, and the embryo extends down-
wards into the globular portion of its cavity, displacing the sacci-
form cellular tissue with which it was previously filled. The ex-
serted portion of the embryo now ceases to elongate, but increases
greatly in a transverse direction ; the area on which the processes
of the plumula are developed is much enlarged, they become more
numerous and elongate rapidly, and, as the testa does not increase
with equal rapidity, their apices become recurved. The radicle in-
creases much less rapidly, but becomes gradually more and more ob-
lique, and is soon imbedded in the lax testa, which it finally perfo-
rates.
The fully- developed seed is oblong, somewhat compressed, de-
pressed on its inner, convex on its outer surface, and constricted
towards the hilum, where it is of a brownish tint and hard to the
touch. The testa closely embraces the plumula ; it is cellular to-
wards its base and where it surrounds the dense internal globular
body, membranous throughout the rest of its extent, and so thin
that the processes of the plumula are visible through it and give it a
greenish tint. The descending portion of the embryo, which con-
stitutes the cotyledon, is clavate and nearly enclosed within the dense
indurated nucleus, the enclosed part separating with the nucleus with
great readiness, and about the time of the dehiscence of the fruit
spontaneously. The exserted portion of the embryo consists, ex-
clusively of the base of the cotyledon, of a fleshy plano-convex body,
the plane surface of which is depressed towards the centre, where
the cotyledon is attached, and gives origin on one side to the conical
and acute radicle, which is always directed away from the placenta.
The circumference of the convex surface is entirely occupied by the
processes which constitute the plumula, and the outermost of which
are about an inch in length. These processes are furnished with
vessels, but their chief bulk is cellular, and they are (with the ex-
ception perhaps of the outermost) furnished with stomata. After
the spontaneous separation of the enclosed portion of the cotyledon,
the testa is frequently found ruptured, but Mr. Griffith does not con-
cur with Roxburgh in regarding this as the stage of germination,
which he thinks cannot be said to take place until the radicle has
elongated and the innermost of the plumulary processes become ex-
panded. The axis contains the rudiments of additional radicles,
which after germination become exserted,
1845.] Linnean Society. 267
Mr. Griffith thinks that the whole of the anomalies existing in the
structure of the erabrj'o may be referred to the density of the tex-
ture of the nucleus and to the shape of its cavity. The direction of
the radicle appears at first sight to be an exception to a very general
rule ; but this anomaly is proved to take place subsequently to the
earlier stages of development, during which the apex of the radicle
corresponds exactly with the apex of the nucleus and with the fora-
men. He adds in a note that he would limit the expression of the law
to " radicle pointing or corresponding to the apex of the nucleus,"
since there are exceptions to its correspondence with the foramen.
The perforation of the testa by the radicle is explained by the
anomalous direction of the radicle in the later period of its deve-
lopment ; and the separation of the chief part of the cotyledon by
the constriction exercised upon it by the indurated apex of the nu-
cleus. Mr. Griffith is inclined to believe from this and some other
instances that there is no absolute necessity for a cotyledon, but that
its presence may be supplied by a highly developed plumula ; the
enormous development of the plumula in the present case being evi-
dently adapted to correct what would otherwise be a destructive
anomaly.
Finally, the author adduces the examination of this plant as a
striking proof of the advantages to be derived from tracing anoma-
lous forms back to the earliest period of their development. Going
back to the period immediately before the conical apex of the radicle
projects through that of the nucleus, we arrive at a stage when the
form of the embryo closely resembles the usual form of the Aroideee,
since we have a superior radicle, a cotyledon, and a tendency to the
formation of a latersd slit, as indicated by the depressed areola.
November 18.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Dr. Lankester exhibited specimens of a Fucus sold in the London
shops under the name of " Australian Moss," of which he also fur-
nished a brief notice. On referring to Sir W. J. Hooker, Dr. Lan-
kester obtained for it the name of F. stiriatus, Turn. ; but a compa-
rison with a specimen in the Linnean Herbarium marked F. stiriatus
268 Linnean Society, [Nov. 18,
by Mv. Turner himself, and with Mr. Turner's description in the
' Historia Fucorum,' has induced Dr. Lankester to regard the Austra-
lian moss as distinct. He believes it to agree better with F. spino-
sus, L. It is brought from Swan River, where it grows on rocks
washed by the sea, and is composed principally of Lichenin, a form
of starch which also constitutes the bulk of such gelatinous plants
as Iceland Moss, Carrageen Moss, Ceylon Moss, and the Gelidium
used by tlie Hirundo esculenta in the formation of its nest. Its
dietetical and medicinal qualities strongly resemble those of the
Carrageen Moss {Chondrus cj-ispus, Lyngb.).
Read a paper " On the Natural History, Development, and Ana-
tomy of the Oil Beetle, Melo'e, more especially Melo'd cicatricosus.
Leach." By George Newport, Fellow of the Royal College of Sur-
geons, &c. Communicated by the Secretary.
Mr. Newport commences his paper with the remark, that although
the genus Melo'e includes some of the most common insects, scarcely
anything has yet been ascertained respecting their 'oeconomy, which,
hitherto, has remained one of the most difficult unsolved problems
in the natural history of the Articulata, Many naturalists, more
particularly Goedart, Frisch and DeGeer, have well described the
perfect insect, and have even given detailed observations on the ovi-
position of the female and the early stage cf the larva, but they have
invariably failed to carry their inquiries further, and have been quite
unacquainted with the adult larva and the nymph, "as well as with
the early stage of the imago. This deficiency in our knowledge of
the history of these common insects is attributed to two causes —
first, the anomalous habits of the insect in its earliest stages ;
and secondly, the little credit that has been given to the state-
ments of former observers, whose accounts Mr. Newport verifies in
almost every particular.
Mr. Newport commenced his observations on the habits of Meloe
about fifteen years ago ; but although he succeeded at that time in
rearing the larva from the egg, as had been done by Goedart and
DeGeer, and soon afterwards obtained the full-grown larva, the
nymph and the imago, before it left its cell, he has never been able
to obtain the larva in a stage intermediate between its earliest and
its full-grown condition; and on this account he has delayed to
publish a statement of what he already knew of the natural history
of these singular insects.
The species on which Mr. Newport has made his investigations
are Meloe violaceus, Meloe proscarabceus and Meloe cicatricosus, all
1845.] lAnnean Society, 269
which he has procured at Richborough near Sandwich in Kent. The
first two of these species come forth about the middle of March, and
the latter from ten days to a fortnight later in the season. They
feed chiefly on the buttercup (Ranunculus acris), and one species,
M. cicatricosus, also on the dandelion.
When the Meloes first appear they are feeble, and have the body
very small and contracted. In the course of a few days they become
more active and are increased in size. They expose themselves much
to the sun, and pair in the middle and warmest part of the day. On
the 8th of April 1 830, the author first observed a female preparing
to deposit her eggs, and he has since had numerous opportunities of
observing her thus occupied. She excavates a burrow, to the depth
of about two inches, beneath the roots of grass in a dry soil exposed
to the sun, usually at the side of a foot-path. Into this burrow she
passes her body backwards, and having deposited a large packet of
yellow-coloured cylindrical eggs, she closes up the burrow with
earth and begins again to feed. Each female depdsits eggs from
three to four times during the season, at intervals of from one to
two or three weeks. The greatest number are deposited at the first
laying, and fewer at each succeeding laying. In order to ascertain
the number deposited at the first laying by Melo'e proscarabams,
Mr. Newport removed the ovaries from a specimen that had recently
been impregnated, and having divided one ovary into pieces counted
the number of eggs in each under the microscope, and found that
one ovary contained 2109 eggs ready for deposition ; so that the two
ovaries contained the astonishing number of 4218 mature eggs, be-
sides an almost equal number in the course of formation.
The structure of the egg, the membranes of the shell and embryo,
the manner in which the embryo is liberated from the egg, the length
of time it has remained in the egg state, and the circumstances which
affect its development are then minutely detailed ; as well as the
changes produced in the instinct of the unimpregnated female.
The larva of Meloe, as it comes from the egg, is a yellow, slender,
active little hexapod, scarcely one-twelfth of an inch in length. It at-
taches itself with great readiness to bees and flies, and clings so se-
curely to them, that the insects are not able to remove it from their
bodies, as was noticed in several experiments. These facts confirm
the observations of Goedart and DeGeer, who first bred the larva
from eggs deposited by Melo'e.
The structure of the lar\'a is next described, and compared with
that of the Pediculus apis of Linnaeus, as found on Hymenopterous
insects, and the two are shown to be identical in every particular.
No. XXVIII. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
270 Linnean Society, [Nov. 18,
The Meloe larva is also compared with the Pediculus Melitta of Mr<
Kirby, with which also it agrees exactly in form and general struc-
ture, but differs in colour, that of the latter insect being always
black, while the larva of Meloe is yellow. From this circumstance
the author concludes that Mr. Kirby's insect is the larva of some
species of another genus of the same family.
The habits of the larva of Meloe are then investigated, and the
effects produced on it by exposure to light are minutely detailed.
When light was totally excluded the larvae remained perfectly quiet
for several days, but the instant light was admitted they were in
motion, travelling rapidly in a direction towards it. The experiments
were made by enclosing larvae in a phial, which was inverted and
turned in opposite directions. When the phial was placed perpen-
dicularly they invariably ascended to the top, and when placed in a
horizontal direction they always ran to that end which was nearest
the light, even when the stopper around which they had been lying
was removed to allow of their escape. This influence of light Mr.
Newport conceives may be that which induces them to ascend the
yellow flowers of the dandelion and buttercup preparatory to their
attaching themselves to bees that alight on the flowers to collect
pollen, and which then carry them into their nests. This seems to
be the object of their attacking the bees, to be carried to the nest
where they are to reside as parasites, and subsist on the food stored
up for the bee-larva, and not to prey on the bee itself.
The full-grown larva of Meloe cicatricosus is then described, and
also the nymph and the imago. The author has found the insect in
those stages in the nests of Anthophora retusa ; but he has not
hitherto succeeded in his attempts to rear the young larva of M.
violaceus and M. proscarabceus in the nests of that insect. He con-
cludes, ther-efore, that these species inhabit the nests of some other
bees. In the stage between the very young and the full-grown period
the larva is believed to be active and retain its six scaly feet, and
to feed on the food prepared for the young bee. In its full-grown
state the legs of the larva are reduced to six short tubercles. The
insect is then very fat, inanimate, and of an orange-yellow colour,
has ten pairs of spiracles, and greatly resembles the full-grown
Hymenopterous larva. It remains but a short time in this condition
before it changes to a nymph, and soon afterwards to an imago, in
which form it passes the winter in a state of hybernation and comes
forth in the spring.
In the course of this paper, while detailing the influence of light
on the larva of Meloe, Mr. Newport stated that he had been led by
1845.] Linnean Society, 271
these and other facts, which showed the great influence of light on
the instincts of the young animal, " to regard light as the primary
source of all vital and instinctive power, the degrees and variations
of which may, perhaps, be referred to modifications of this influence
on the special organization of each animal body." This view has
suggested itself to him in connexion with the discovery recently
made by Mr. Faraday of the analogy of light with magnetism and
electricity, and the close relation, previously shown by Matteucci to
exist between electricity and nervous power, on which not only all
the vital actions, but also the instinctive faculties seem to depend.
December 2.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Edwin Charles Charlton, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read a paper " On the Anatomy of Eriocaulonece." By the late
William Griffith, Esq., F.L.S. &c. Communicated by R. H. Solly.
Esq., F.R.S., L.S. &c.
The observations on which this memoir (written at Calcutta in
1835) was founded, were made at Mergui between the months of
July and October 1834. The species examined were natives of that
place, and six in number. They appear to be destitute of true spi-
ral vessels, the place of which is supplied by ducts occasionally, but
not freely, unreliable, aggregated in distinct fascicles and surrounded
by more or less elongated cells.
Mr. Griffith describes the leaves oiEriocaulon setaceum, L., as the
type of these organs in the genus, since they are in it reduced to
the simplest state. They are submerged in this species, and the pe-
duncles and their sheaths only rise above the surface of the water.
The leaves are subulate, somewhat flattened and colourless below,
green on their upper surface, and divided throughout their entire
length into two distinct collateral tubes, by means of the central and
only nerve which is attached both to the superior and inferior cutis
by cellular tissue. Numerous transverse septa of cellular tissue
divide each tube into chambers, which, however, have free commu-
nication with each other through fissures dependent on a partial
27 Linnean Society, [Dec. 2,
separation of the cells. The green parenchyma is almost entirely
confined to the upper half of each tube, and ceases abruptly with-
out any apparent cause. It consists of a single layer of colourless
oval or roundish sacs, arranged with the most beautiful regularity in
longitudinal lines extending from the base to the apex of the leaf,
and corresponding with the bodies of the cells forming the cutis and
not with the intervals between them, 'llie stomata are confined to
the under halves of the leaves, or to that portion of the tubes which
is destitute of parenchymatous tissue.
In the terrestrial species the structure of the leaves is essentially
the same, but the number of longitudinal tubes is increased, and va-
ries from six to twenty, the central ones only reaching the apex of
the leaf. The longitudinal di^dsions between these tubes are marked
externally by corresponding depressions, and each is furnished with
a vascular fascicle similar in structure and position to that of E. se-
taceum. The parenchymatous cells are arranged with less symme-
try than in that species, and are not so completely confined to the
upper surface ; and the lower surface abounds with stomata.
The sheaths which envelope the base of the peduncle have in all
the same organization, which is exactly that of the leaves of the ter-
restrial species. The peduncles are also composed of tubes, circu-
larly arranged ; they are marked externally with elevated whitish
lines, which (in the living plant) have a slightly spiral direction
from left to right, and correspond to the longitudinal septa. The
tubes meet in a cellular axis, around which the vascular fascicles are
arranged in corresponding number; and the septa form so many
spokes consisting of more or less elongated cellular tissue, which in
one species {E. Wallichianum) approaches in density to woody fibre.
The parenchyma within the tubes is disposed with less regularity
than in the leaves and sheaths, and their outer green parietes abound
with stomata. With one exception, the number of tubes in the
sheaths bears an exact relation to that in the peduncles of two to one.
The author describes the cavities existing in some Alismacea, Pon-
tederia, Cyperacea: and NelumbinecB, as originating in the same man-
ner as the chambers in the tubes of Eriocaulon, from the interposi-
tion of cellular septa perforated by fissures caused by the separation
of the cells and not by any interruption of the membrane. In Port-
tederia dilatata raphides are found in great abundance in cells at-
tached to the septa in such a manner as to project at right angles
beyond either surface, and to occupy the spaces left by the separa-
tion of the ordinary cells. The same disposition occurs in some
Aroidece.
1845.] Linnean Society, 273
The existence of stomata in the submerged leaves of E. setaceum
is mentioned as rather corroborating than weakening the general
rule laid down by M. Adolphe Brongniart, that submerged leaves are
destitute of cuticle. The stomata of Eriocaulonea are described at
length, and regarded as offering excellent examples of the correct-
ness of M. Brongniart's statements with regard to the nature of these
bodies. Their aperture communicates directly with the interior of
the leaves, and is invariably occupied by air ; the communication in
E. setaceum, and in two other species in which the parenchyma is
confined to the upper surface, being uninterrupted; while in the
leaves of those species in which the parenchyma is deposited on the
lower as well as the upper cuticle, there is invariably an open space
left in it, corresponding with each stoma, and this opening appears
always to be occupied by a bubble of air. The author states, how-
ever, that he is far from considering it proved, that such a free com-
munication through the stomata, although the same structure is ob-
vious in other plants belonging to differerit families, is universally
present.
As Xyridea present none of the peculiarities of organization above
mentioned, Mr. Griffith considers these peculiarities as corroborative
of the correctness of Richard's opinion, since adopted by Professor
Von Martins, that Eriocaulon is the type of a distinct family.
December 16.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
George Bowdler Buckton, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read a memoir ** On the causes of disjunctions of Vegetable Sub-
stance, especially those which are horizontal." By the Rev. William
Hincks, F.L.S. &c. &c.
After some preliminary observations on the subject of disruptions
in general, the author briefly notices certain cases of vertical disrup-
tion, and then proceeds to the more immediate object of his paper,
the horizontal separation of vegetable substance by natural means.
This, he observes, may take place in the axis itself, or in any of the
organs connected with it at their points of attachment, as in the fall
274 Linnean Society, [Dec. 16,
of the leaf, of sepals and petals, of entire flowers and fruits, and in
the separation of such buds as form caulinary bulbs ; or it may occur
at gome other part of the organ, a portion separating from the rest,
or the whole breaking up into pieces. Every such separation, he
argues, must depend on one of the three following causes : 1. on a
stoppage of the circulation from ligature ; 2. on unequal rapidity of
growth of the two parts ; or 3. on the confinement within coherent
envelopes (which do not admit of extension) of a portion of the axis
or of some growing part, so that the force of growth bursts the en-
velope, carrying off its upper portion. These general rules he then
proceeds to apply to the explanation of particular cases.
Of stems usually termed Articulate, some, such as those of Kleinia
articulata, have no tendency to disruption at the supposed joint,
which is merely the commencement of a new branch. In the misletoe,
on the other hand, the author believes that the tendency to divide at
the bases of the branchlets may be consequent on the dichotomous
structure, which causes a pressure equivalent to a ligature at the
point of division.
With respect to the fall of the leaf, he refers to the observations
of DeCandolle and Du Petit Thouars, which he does not think suffi-
cient to account for that phaenomenon in a multitude of cases, but
regrets that he can throw no additional light on the subject. He
attributes the separation of the sepals and petals when they are ca-
ducous, to the outward pressure occasioned by the more rapid deve-
lopment of the interior circles stopping the circulation of the fluids,
and conceives this to be strikingly exemplified in Papaveracea:, where
the growth of the petals within the bud is great and rapid. He no-
tices a specimen of Eschscholtzia in which the sepals cohering less
firmly than usual, the calyx, instead of being thrown off in the form
of a calyptra, remains after the opening of the flower partially adhe-
ring ; and observes that the ordinary disruption in this genus takes
effect, not at the base of the sepals, but at a point above this, where
the pressure occasioned by the enlargement of the petals is greatest.
He instances also the genus Eucalyptus, in which there is a strong
coherence of the sepals, and the lower portion of the calyx being
strengthened by the adherent torus, the growth of the interior or-
gans supplies the force which separates the part of the coherent se-
pals above the torus in a solid piece like the cover of a vessel. On
the cause of the horizontal separation of a portion of the anthers in
the form of valves, which occurs in a few instances, he is not pre-
pared to offer any opinion.
In the fruit, as in the calyx, the author believes that horizontal
18^15.] Linnean Society. 273
disruption arises from the force of cohesion of the parts of the circle,
the absence of any of the causes favourable to dehiscence along the
midrib of the carpellary leaf, and the operation of some force press-
ing either from without or from within on one particular line encir-
cling the fruit ; and he proceeds to offer explanations of those cases
with which he is most familiar. He takes first the circumscissile
capsule of Anagallis, in which he states that the central free recep-
tacle with the seeds upon it continuing to enlarge in both diameters
after the envelope has ceased to grow, and having occupied from the
first the entire cavity, it is naturally to be expected, since the chief
extension of the interior parts is uj)wards (the natural direction of
growth), while the enlargement of the seeds in the lower half tends
to press back the j)arts of the lower hemisphere, that uniform and
regular pressure will resolve a nearly spherical capsule into two
equal hemispheres. This remark he applies to Centunculus also, but
confesses himself at a loss to give any reason why the opening of
Trientalis, which depends on the same general causes, should be ir-
regular. For the separation of the lid of the capsule in Hyoscyamus
he accounts by the contraction and rigidity of the throat of the calyx
exercising a gradually increasing pressure around the upper part of
the capsule, and thus causing its separation by the first of the ge-
neral principles laid down.
The author then proceeds to the case of Lecythis, which he thinks
is to be explained by the third of his general principles. In illus-
tration of this principle he refers to a monstrosity of the common
Tulip, described and exhibited by himself some years ago at a meet-
ing of the British Association. In this monstrosity, the upper leaf,
being unusually developed, has cohered by its edges so firmly as to
imprison the flower, and this constraint occurring at a period when
the stalk was increasing in length, and previous to any consider-
able enlargement of the flower-bud, the force applied was chiefly
vertical, and has carried off the upper part of the leaf in the form of
a calyptra, leaving the lower part in the shape of a cup, from the
centre of which the stem appears to rise. The separation of the lid
of the capsule of Lecythis he believes to be effected in an analogous
manner ; the septa which form the two or four cells into which the
fruit is divided meet in a thickened axis, and the outer part of the
fruit becoming (partly from its natural texture and partly from the
adherence of the torus and calyx) hard, solid and fully grown, while
the axis continues slowly to extend, and thus to press upwards that
portion of the capsule which rests upon it, causes that portion first
276 Linnean Society. [Dec. 16,
to become slightly prominent, and finally by a strain upon the vessels
of that particular part to fall off in the shape of a lid. In Couroupita
the pressure is sufficient to mark the surface of the fruit with a pro-
minence, but from th» partitions giving way early, and from the
abundant juices produced in the interior, there has not been, he con-
ceives, sufficient pressure to occasion disruption. In all the species
of Lecythis, he observes, the extent of the loose cover corresponds
•with the extent of the axis, and what remains of the latter continues
attached to it.
As regards lomentaceous fruits in general, the author believes that
the intervals between the seeds being sufficient to admit of the sides
of the fruit cohering (which is promoted in particular instances by
special causes), the swelling of the seeds afterwards stretches the
parts over them in a degree which this coherence prevents from
being equally distributed, drags the tissue forcibly from the junc-
tures which are fixed points, and thus there being a strain in each
direction from the middle line of the juncture, the contraction of
drying during the ripening of the fruit effects the separation.
Finally the author refers to the horizontal separations in the cap-
sules of Mosses, and observes that the separation of the calyptra
affords a plain example of the operation of his third principle ; Jbut
with regard to the nature of the operculum, although he has an hy-
pothesis under consideration, his mind is not yet satisfied. He states
his object in the present paper to have been the investigation of the
immediate physical causes of certain known effects, but he has not
thought this the place even to touch upon their ultimate causes or
the ends to accomplish which they are apparently designed, and
which adapt them to the position and general structure of the parti-
cular plant.
Read also the conclusion of Dr. J. D. Hooker's "Enumeration of
the Plants of the Galapagos Islands, with descriptions of the new
species."
In a brief introduction Dr. Hooker offers his acknowledgements to
Mr. Darwin, by whom the collection on which this enumeration is
chiefly founded was made, and to Prof. Henslow, in whose charge
the collection had been placed, and who kindly relinquished his in-
tention of publishing the novelties contained in it in favour of the
author. He also notices the striking peculiarities which mark the flora
of the Galapagos group, the plants composing which not only differ
in a great degree from those of any other country, but are in many
1845.] Linnean Society, 277
cases peculiar to the separate islands, although in those instances
frequently representatives of others which are found on different
islands.
The number of species enumerated is two hundred and twenty-
eight. Of these upwards of a hundred are described as new, and
six new genera are established, the characters of which are given as
follows : —
Ord. BORAGINEiE.
Gen. Galapagoa, Hook.JiL
Calyx 4-5-partitu8 ; laciniis linearibus. Corolla infundibuliformis ; tubo
lato ; limbo 5-fido patente ; fauce iiud^. Stamina 5, inclusa, imo co-
roUoB tubo inserta. Ovarium 4-loculare. Stylus terminalis, ad basin
usque bipartitus ; stigmata 2, obtusa. Semina pendula ; albumine parco,
caruoso; cotyledonibus planis ; radicula majuscule, supera. — 'Herbae
Insularum Galapagos^ hispido-pilosa;. Caules prostrati, ramosissimi.
Folia alterna, coriacea, versus apices ramulorum densissime conferta,
Flores parvif in axillis foliorum omnind sessiles, valde inconspicui.
Obs. Genus Ehretieariim inter Coldemam et Rhabdiam (secund. clariss.
Bentham) medium^ ob stylum bipartitum staminaque fundo coroilse inserta
singulare.
Ord.SOLANE^.
Gen. DicTYocALYx, Hook.jiL
Calyx cylindraceus, 5-fidUs ; lobis acutis ; tubo post antbesin subinflato,
membranaceo, reticulatim venoso. Corolla membranacea, subinfundi-
buliformis; tubo gracili gradatim supern^ ampliato ; limbo pHcato,
brevi, vix explanato. Staminum Jilamenta elongataj antheroe inclusae.
Ovarium disco carnoso insertum ; stigmate capitato. Capsula evalvis,
indehiscens, bisulcata, incomplete 4-locularis, calyce ventricoso inclusa.
Semina plurima, majuscula, tuberculata, dissepiment! medio prope
angiilum parietalem affixa ; testa nitida, obscure granulate. Entfryo
arcuatus. — Herbae Americanae, repentes, glanduloso 1-pubescenteSj cum
tribu Daturearum, suadente Clariss. Miers, conferendcB, Folia mem-
branacea, angulata v. sinuatOf subopposita v. bina. Floras axillares.
Ord. COMPOSITiE.
Gen. Desmocephalum, Hook,Jil,
Capitula in axillis foliorum densissime congesta, monoica, 6-ilora; floribus
SToemineis ligulatis, caeteris masculis tubulosis. Involucrum compres-
sum; foliolis 3-5 inaequalibus. ^ecej3
floHs : supenoribus sessilibiis approximatis simplicibus solitariis : infe-
rioribus remotis long^ pedunculatis decompositis geminalis vaginato-
bracteatis, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis trigono-ellipticis acuminatis long^
rostratis obliqu^ recurvis bidentatis nervosis superne plus minus sca-
briusculis ad margines servato-scaberrimis Hneolis purpureis notatis
squama ovata uninervi ferruginea mucronata longioribus.
Hab. in Ins. Java, Horsfield.
Obs. Affinis C. raphidocarpcB, Nees, quae perigynio glabro subciliato,
squam^ subulato-acuminata, foliis subtus margineque birtis, difFert. A C.
ramosd, Scbk., C.Jilicind, Nees, C. meiogynd, Nees, inflorescenti^ densiore
aliisque uotis differt.
7. C. PrescOttiana, spicis 6 elongatis cylindricis approximatis strami-
neis concoloribus : terminal] 1 v. 2 masculS, : reliquis fcemineis sessi-
libus nutantibus evaginatis inferioribus longe foliaceo-bracteatis basi
laxifloris, stigmatibus 2, perigyniis lato-ellipticis brevi-rostratis biden-
tatis compressis nervosis divergentibus stramineis squam^ bispido-
mucronat^ dorso trinervi pallida ad latera ferrugined latioribua longi-
oribusque.
Hab. in Napalia? Herb. Wallich., no. 3386. • ,
Vbs. Affinis C. crinitce, Lam.
8. C. JUNCEA, spicis 2 — 4 gracilibus erectis ferrugineo-purpureis : termi-
nali mascul^ filiformi : reliquis foemineis laxifloris subremotis infim&
pedunculata evaginata, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis triquetro-fusiformibus
ore integro apice scabris squama- ovata obtus^ longioribus vel lanceo-
latam mucronatam subaequantibus.
C. juncea, Willd. Enum. Suppl. p. 63 ; Kunth, Cyper. p. 468. '
C. miser, Buckley in Sillim. Journ. 45. p. 173.
C. Rugeliana, Kunze in Herb. Hooker (ex parte).
Hab. in Montibus Carolinae Septentrionalis, Buckley, Rugel.
Obs. Affinis C. brachystachys, Scbk. quae perigyniis foliis infimis vagi-
nisque glabris, &c. differt. ; ^
9. C. oLivACEA, spicis 6 — 8 elongatis cylindricis alternis remotis : mas-
culis ferrugineis 2 : foemineis 4 v. 5 rarius 6 apice masculis fusco-oliva-
ceis longissim^ bracteatis infima remota rariils incluse pedunculate,
stigmatibus 3, perigyniis ellipticis acuminato-rostratis bidentatis ven-
tricosis nervosis rugosis divaricatis squam^ lanceolata hispido-aristatS,
brevioribus latioribusque.
Hab. in Assam Indiae Orientalis, Major Jenkins (Herb. Hooker).
Obs. Habitus C. pendulte, Huds.
10. C. Griffithii, spicis 4 v. 5 purpureis : terminali mascula obovatd :
reliquis foemineis oblongo-cylindraceis inferioribus exserte pedunculatis
basi attenuatis erectis, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis ovalibus tenuissimis
abrupte brevi-cylindrico-rostratis ore integ|;o v. emarginato membra-
naceo enerviis margine supern^ scabriusculis purpureis basi albidis com-
1846.] Linnean Society. 28?
pressis squam& lanceolate aciiminaid longe cuspidatii purpurea nervo
albo angustioribus brevioribusque.
Hab. in Affgbanistan, Griffith, no. 78 {Herb. Hooker).
Obs. Affinis C. lucida, Boott.
11. C. SuLLivANTH, spicis 4 — 6 cylindricis gracilibus: mascul^ 1 : foemi-
neis 4 rariils 3 — 5 laxifloris erectis pedunculatis superioribus approxi-
matis infimtl remotA exsert^ pedunculate basi attenuata saepe compo-
site, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis ellipticis brevi-rostratis ore integro v.
emarginato viridibus pellucid^ punctatis pilosis enerviis squama ovate
ciliata hispido-mucronata albida nervo viridi paululim longioribus.
C. Sullivantii, B. Bot. Exc. to the Mount, of N. Carol. Gray in Sillim.
Journ. 42. p. 29.
Hab. in sylvaticis prope Columbiam Ohionis, Americae Septentrionalis,
W. S. Sullivant (1840).
Obs. Affinis C arctata, Boott, satis herbe pilose, spicis erectis, perigyniis
enerviis distincta.
12. C. AcuTATA, spicis 5 V. 6 erectis cylindraceis fuscis : mascuie 1 v. 2
sessilibus ; reliquis 4 foemineis saep^ apice subulato-acutatis masculis
densifloris sessilibus vel pedunculatis long^ foliaceo-bracteatis alter-
natim contiguis, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis elliptico-lanceolatis rostratis
bifurcatis subinflatis nervosis glabris nitidis squama purpureo-ferru-
ginee concolori v. apice hyalina ciliate hispido-aristaie longioribus.
C physocarpa, Nees (non Presl).
Hab. in Amerioe Meridionali ; in Ins. Chiloe, Cuming^ no. 43 ; in Monte
Pilylum Columbiae, ad alt. ped. 12,000, Jameson {Herb, Hooker).
Obs. Affinis C. paludosce, Gooden.
13. C. THECATA, spicis 4 — 6 erectis pallidis v. castaneis : terminali mas-
cuie cylindracee : reliquis foemineis oblongis remotis inferioribus ex-
sert^ pedunculatis longe bracteatis vaginalis, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis
(floriferis) ovatis bidentatis utrinque nervosis ad margines denticulatis
squama ovate acuminate v. cuspidata dorso nervosa brevioribus.
Hab. in arenosis Insulae Rottnest prope Prest, Preiss, 1 839 {Herb. Ward.)}
ad fl. Cygnorum, Drummond, no. 921 (Herb. Hooker).
Obs. Affinis C. alveaia, Boott ; differt perigyniis bidentatis margine den-
ticulatis.
14. C. TucKERMANi, spicis 5 v. 4 rarius 6 : masculis 2 rariiis 3 v. 1 : foe-
mineis 3 V. 2 oblongis cylindraceisque crassis subapproximatis pedun-
culatis longissime bracteatis infime saep^ demiini nutante, stigmatibus 3,
perigyniis tenuibus pellucidis oblongo-ovatis acuminatis long6 cylin-
drico-rostratis bifurcatis glabris turgid^ inflatis pallidis oblique adscen-
dentibus 10 — 14-nerviis squama ovate acute v. hispido-mucronata mul-
tum latioribus longioribusque.
C. buUata, Tuckerman, Enum. Method. Car. p. 20 {non Schkuhr).
Hab. in Americe Septentrionali, " nondum in Nova Anglie visa," Tucker-
man. .
288 Linnean Society. [March 3,
Ohs. Affinis C. bullata, Schk. Differt perigyniis tenuioribus pellucidis
majoribus obliqu^ adscendentibus, rostro glabro, squamis saepe mucronatis,
spicis foemineis pluribiis longioribus longius pedunculatis nutantibus, foliis
latioribus, culmo scabriori, pedunculis scabris.
15. C. spicuLATA, spicis 4 V. 5 cylindraceis pallidis erectis androgynis
apice masculis superioribus approximatis sessilibus infima subremotd
exserte pedunculata, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis triquetro-ellipticis cylin-
drico-rostratis bifidis stipitatis supern^ ad margines scabris nervosis
squama lanceolate acuminata v. hispido-euspidat& longioribus.
Hab, in Montibus Kbasiya Indiae Orientalis, Griffith (Herb, Lemann).
Obs. AiRnis C. setigera, Don (C. hymenolepis^ Nees), quae perigyniis
scabris, squamis testaceis, spicis supremis masculis differt.
16. C. MooRCROFTii, spicis 3 V. 4 ovalibus congestis : terminali masculd :
reliquis foemineis v. apice masculis infima pedunculata lanceolato-brac-
teata, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis ovali-globosis rostratis bifidis enerviis
nitidis glabris v. supern^ ad margines hispidulis pellucide punctulatis
stramineis rostro purpurascente longe stipitatis squared lanceolata acut^
fusco-pui-purei apice marginibusque albo-merabranacea brevioribus.
Hab. in India Orientali, ad ripas fl. Indi in planitie elata Tibetan^, " Tibet-
Grass of Moorcroft," Falconer in litt. ad Prof. Royle.
Obs. Affines C. verna, Schk., C. conglobata, Kit. Differt spicis congestis
nunc apice masculis evaginatis, bractea abbreviata, perigyniis enerviis bi-
fidis pellucide punctatis, foliis glauco-viridibus demum flavis.
17. C. TENuissiMA, spicis 2 V. 3 erectis pedunculatis : terminali mascula
cylindrica : reliquis foemineis oblongis laxe pauciflovis exserte pedun-
culatis vaginatis remotis, stigmatibus 3, perigyniis trigono-obovatis bre-
vissim^ conico-rostratis rostro recto ore emarginato leviter nervosis
squamam aequilatam mucronatam ferrugineam aequantibus.
C. panicea ? Bimge in Herb. Fielding.
Hab. in China Boreali, Bunge.
Obs. Affinis C. panicea, L., satis foliis filiformibus, squamis foemineis
mucronatis, perigynii rostro recto, distincta.
. March 3.
Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Read a paper " On the Aqueous Vapour, and on the dark colour
of the Wax, in Bee-hives." By George Newport, Esq., F.R.S. &c.
Communicated by the Secretary.
The author directs attention in this paper to the transpiration of
1846.] lAnnean Society. 289
vapour from the interior of bee-hives at certain seasons of the year,
an occurrence which, he remarks, has almost escaped the observation
of naturalists. He also recalls to the notice of the bee-keeper that
at the latter end of summer there is often a deposit of dark-coloured
matter on the foot-stool, or on the alighting-board at the entrance-
hole of the hive, extending a few inches from it. This deposit the
author at first believed to be occasioned by shattered pollen or by
rejected excrementa, but he was afterwards convinced that it does
not arise from either of these causes. He believes it is occasioned
by small quantities of wax, which, adhering to the feet of the bees
when they leave the combs, become deposited on the floor at the en-
trance as the bees leave the hive ; and the darkened colour which
this deposit acquires he thinks is due to the same cause as that
which changes the appearance of the combs in the interior. This,
he suggests, may depend on some chemical effect produced in the
wax by the respired air of the hive. Part of the carbonic acid which
necessarily results from the respiration of the bees on the combs may
become chemically combined with the wax, composed, as it actually
is, of nearly eight-tenths of its whole weight of carbon, and it may
thus acquire the darkened colour from the surcharge of its chief con-
stituent, the afiinity being promoted by the elevated temperature of
the hive.
In the autumn, when a hive is examined early in the morning,
after the bees have been in a state of activity during the preceding
day, and more especially when the temperature of the preceding
night has been low, there is often a quantity of fluid draining from
the entrance-hole. The amount of this is dependent on the greater
or less degree of activity of the bees, and consequently .of their respi-
ration and of the transpiration from their bodies.
Huber stated that the interior of the hive is ventilated by the
fanning of the bees with their wings. This observation the author
has confirmed ; and he suggests the probability, that it is to the meet-
ing of the two currents of intioduced and expelled air, occasioned by
this act of the bees, that the deposition of the vapour as fluid is due.
In order to ascertain the quantity of vapour condensed and ex-
pelled from a hive, he made experiments, which, as he remarks, al-
though not free from objection, yet afford some indication of the
amount. He cut off the bottom of a glass phial, and then accurately
fitted the phial to the entrance-hole of a box-hive, in such a manner
that both the expelled and the introduced air passed through it.
During one night of nearly twelve hours, at the commencement of
September, there was condensed within the phial nearly one drachm
290 Linnean Society, [March 17/
and a half of fluid. The temperature of the external atmosphere,
when the hive was examined at seven o'clock in the morning, was
59° F., and that of the hive, at some distance within the entrance,
69° F.
On another occasion, a few days afterwards, at about the same
time in the morning, when the temperature of the atmosphere was
61° F., that of the vapour within the phial as it issued from the hive,
but at nearly four inches' distance from it, was 71°*5 F., while the
interior of the upper part of the hive, as ascertained by a thermo-
meter inserted through the top and undisturbed for several days,
was only 69° F. The bees were then quiet at the top of the hive,
but were in activity at the lower part. The temperature of the hive
and the quantity of fluid thus seemed to depend on the amount of
respiration consequent on the greater or less activity of the bees, as
the author has shown respecting temperature in the ' Philosophical
Transactions' for 1837.
On another occasion, when the bees were quiet and the tempe-
rature of the external atmosphere was only 41° F., that of the top of
the hive was 54° F., but that of the vapour from the entrance-hole
was 59° F. The quantity of fluid then condensed in the phial, du-
ring a night of twelve hours, was scarcely three minims.
These experiments seemed to show that the vapour is in the
greatest quantity when the bees are most active, and in the least
quantity when they are inactive ; and the author believes that it is
the carbonic acid, the result of respiration, and held in solution in
this vapour, which occasions the darkened colour of the combs.
March 17.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair. ♦
Mr. Samuel Osborn was elected a Fellow.
Read a paper " On the Siliceous Armour of Equisetum hyemale, L,,
with an account of its hitherto undescribed Stomatic Apparatus.'*
By Golding Bird, Esq., A.M., M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Dr. Bird commences his paper by referring to the observations of
Mr. Sivright on the large amount of sihca contained in Equisetum
hyemale, and those of Dr. Brewster on the general arrangement of
1:846.3 JAnnean Society* 291
the siliceous masses on its surface and their action on polarized light.
He then proceeds to describe minutely the structure of this siliceous
armour. The fourteen longitudinal ridges on each joint of the stem
are each furnished with two parallel rows of siliceous tubercles,
having the lustre and general appearance of glass beads ; and along
the margins of each ridge are numerous longitudinal wavy lines,
which fill up the intervals between the lateral aspects of the ridges
ai)d the centres of the contiguous furrows. In the depressions of
these furrows is seen a double vertical series of oval projections,
arranged in pairs, each furnished with an oval fissure, having its
longer axis placed transversely ; these fissures lead to the complex
stomatic apparatus.
Dr. Bird details the manipulations, consisting of maceration in
water, boiling in strong nitric acid, careful scraping away of the
disorganized cellulo- vascular structure, washing, boiling again in
nitric acid, and again washing in water, which he considers neces-
sary for the perfect exhibition of the minute structure of the stomata.
After a portion of the stem has undergone these processes, the sili-
ceous structures previously observed become much more obvious and
distinctly marked. On reversing the preparation so as to obtain a
view of its inner surface, the portions corresponding to the rows of
tubercles are found to be nearly opake, owing to a compact series of
linear masses of siliceous matter combined with some still remaining
organic structure! Equidistant from these linear masses are seen the
posterior aspects of the stomatic apparatus, each presenting an ovate
nipple-like prominence having its longer axis corresponding with
that of the stem, and consequently opposed to that of the external
fissure, into the base of the conical eminence surrounding which
these ovate bodies are fitted.
Further manipulation is necessary to carry this investigation into
the more minute details ; and Dr. Bird has recourse to heat, applied
by holding the piece of Equisetum prepared as already described in
the flame of a spirit-lamp, in order to get rid of the mmute portion
of organic matter still remaining in the preparation. After acquiring
a red heat, the preparation finally assumes a snowy whiteness ; it is
then placed between two slips of glass, which reduce it by breaking
into fragments of a size sufficiently small to allow of careful exami-
nation by high powers of the microscope. The transverse fissure
leading externally to the stomatic apparatus is found to have been
widened and rendered irregular by the heat. On bringing this
fissure within the focus, it is seen to be replaced by one having its
longer axis in the opposite direction, which is derived from the oval
292 Linnean Socieii/. [April 7?
figure of the apparatus at its base. Among the fragments may be
seen numerous separated specimens of the stomatic apparatus. This
is described by Dr. Bird as oval in outline, nearly flat, and measuring
in its long diameter g-g-oth of an inch. It consists of a frame of silex
formed of two pieces, thick at their convexities, thin at their con-
cavities, nearly touching above and below, and grasping between
them two long and flat structures, fissured (apparently) in a pectinate
manner, and tapering from their middle towards either end. In most
specimens an opening exists between these structures ; in others
they are quite in contact. In some the thinner and laminated por-
tions of the frame are perforated by three well-defined apertures,
but this is by no means constant. The apparatus thus consists essen-
tially of four pieces, viz. two curved frames' with their laminae and
two linear pectinated structures ; and these are placed at the base of
a conical eminence opening by a transverse fissure. By what means
it is retained in its position Dr. Bird has hot been able satisfactorily
to ascertain.
April 7.
Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Thomas Henry Brain, Esq., LL.D., and Charles Caesar Corsellis,
Esq., M.D., were elected Fellows.
Read a " Note on the Generation of Aphides." By George New-
port, Esq., F.R.S., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, &c.
In this note the author states his object to have been the verifica-
tion by his own observations of those made by Leeuwenhoek, Bonnet,
Reaumur and others, preparatory to attempting hereafter to show
the accordance of those observations with some universal law of re-
production. The points to which his attention was more particularly
directed were, first, whether the Aphis is really viviparous at one
season and oviparous at another ; and secondly, whether the sup-
posed ova are true eggs, or, as some have imagined, merely capsules
designed for the protection of the already-formed embryos during the
winter season.
On the 30th of November Mr. Newport observed the deposition
of the egg by the female Aphis, and found it to be a true egg, similar
1846.] lAnnean Society. 293
to that of other insects, composed of an orange -coloured yolk, formed
of yellow nucleated cells, surrounded by a very small quantity of
transparent vitelline fluid, and containing a very large germinal
vesicle with a distinct macula or nucleus. On the 2nd of December
the females were again seen to produce living young, and Mr. New-
port describes the process of parturition which he then observed.
These observations confirm the statements of former naturalists on
both the points inquired into, and negative the presumption raised
with reference to the capsular character of the egg by proving it to
possess all the characters of a true ovum.
Read also a portion of Dr. Buchanan Hamilton*s *' Commentary
on the 8th book of the Hortus Malabaricus of Rheede.'*
April 21.
Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. Ward, F.L.S., exhibited specimens of the dried plant and fruit
of Uncaria procumbens, Burchell, from South Africa ; and also a por-
tion of the stipes of a fern from New Plymouth, New Zealand, pro-
bably belonging to Pteris esculenta, Sol., measuring several feet in
length. Mr. Carrington, from whom the latter specimen was ob-
tained, stated that the species of fern from which it was obtained
grows, in the neighbourhood of the coast, to the height of five feet,
in masses of from six to seven feet diameter, so strong and dense
as to be capable, if a cover were thrown over it, of sustaining the
weight of a man. On the margin of the bushland it attains a height
of twenty-one feet, and Mr. Carrington has observed it on the banks
of a river, when interlaced and matted together, to measure thirty
feet.
Read a paper ** On the Development of Starch and Chlorophylle.*'
By Edwin John Quekett, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Mr. Quekett commences by referring to the observations and opi-
nions of Miiller, Miinter and Nageli on the subject of the formation
of starch and chlorophylle in the cells of plants, and to his own ob-
servations, recorded in the ' Pharmaceutical Journal,' vol. iii. 1 843-44,
294 Linnean Society. [April 21,
on the growth of starch in the leaves of Vallisneria spiralis. Muller,
he states, has observed that in the cells of Chara crinita, the cyto-
blast becomes hollow, enlarges, and fills the cell-membrane in which
it is contained, and ultimately becomes the reservoir for granules of
starch ; while Nageli has observed that in Caulerpa proUfera,,B.t the
period of the formation of starch, the cells contain several smaller
cells, in each of which are developed generally from three to four
grains of starch. In order to observe the growth of starch and chlo-
rophylle, Mr. Quekett examined in several plants the organs in which
those substances are generally situated, and found that their forma-
tion took place, in the majority of instances, in the following manner.
In the very young stem of Circcea Lutetiana, or the young branch
of the Grape- Vine, the different appearances presented by the grains
of starch from their perfect state down to their first commencement
may be readily observed by making numerous sections from the
lowermost internode up to the terminal joint. The cells most re-
cently formed are so filled with mucilage and granules as to be opake ;
lower down the granules begin to disappear and the cytoblast is ap-
parent ; still lower the cytoblast appears to have lost its granular
character without having much increased in size, and has become a
minute cell with a distinct nucleus, instead of a congeries of gra-
nules with a larger central one. On the outside of this nucleated
cell, granules (varying in number from ten to twenty) make their
appearance, at first very minute and of a green hue, and afterwards
enlarging and becoming colourless ; and as they increase in size the
nucleated cell is absorbed and the granules become free. At a later
period a multiplication of the granules takes place by fission and
puliulation, certain grains exhibiting marks of subdivision, and
others having minute granules attached to them ; and generally
more grains of starch are found in a cell than the number of minute
granules seen developing on the nucleus.
Several of these stages are more readily seen in the tuber of the
Potato. If a slice be removed from its exterior so thin as only to
pass beneath the cuticle, and a very thin and perfectly transparent
slice be then taken and examined under the microscope, the cells in
the central portion are seen to contain only a few grains of starch,
while in approaching the sides of the section the grains become
smaller and pass gradually into the nature of chlorophylle. On di-
recting attention to those parts of the section, in which the cell-
contents pass gradually from the state of starch to that of chloro-
phylle, many cells are seen to contain a distinct nucleated cell, ap-
parently of a flattened or lenticular form, on the edge of which are;
1846.] lAnnean Society, 255.
arranged a number of minute granules ; in others the appearances
are more advanced, the granules gradually becoming larger and the
nucleated cell becoming obliterated. From the disturbance that
takes place in the position of the granules after detachment from the
nucleated cell, it is difficult to determine by what part they were
adherent to it ; but Mr. Quekett believes that this adherence takes
place at the end at which the point or hilum is observed. Subse-
quent to this period the grains of starch enlarge, become laminated,
and are multiplied in the manner already pointed out by various
observers.
Such are the results of Mr. Quekett's observations on Exogenous
plants ; in Endogenous plants he states that the same process does
not appear to be in all cases pursued, inasmuch as while the rhizoma
of Iris germanica affords a favourable example for the exhibition of
the process as above described, the young stem of Lilium hulbiferum
offers the following diiFerences. Sections taken from the base of a
young stem within the bulb have their cells full of starch-grains ; at
the height of an inch from the base of the stem, the cells are filled
with fluid only, and each cell contains a cytoblast with its contents
presenting a milky hue. Carrying on the sections from above down-
wards within these limits, the cells are first found to become more
transparent and to contain granules with well-defined outlines ; lower
down they exhibit minute granules mixed with the fluid of the cell,
leaving the cytoblast transparent, empty and angular ; while at the
base the granules have arrived at their perfect condition and the
cytoblast is no longer visible. Thus it appears, Mr. Quekett states*
that there are two modes of formation of starch connected with the
cytoblast ; in the one case the cytoblast becomes a nucleated cell
and the grains originate on its exterior ; in the other it does not be-
come a nucleated cell, but gives origin to the grains in its interior.
As regards the origin of chlorophylle, Mr. Quekett states that in
the plants which he has examined the same mode of development ap-
pears to obtain as described in the formation of starch, viz. the gra-
nules originating from a nucleated cell, and instances the cuticle of
the very young frond of Scolopendrium vulgare, L., as an example ;
but he adds that the first origin of chlorophylle is so mixed up with
the formation of the cell, that it is impossible to arrive by dissection
at the commencement of the process.
296
Linnean Society',
May 5.
[May 5,
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Read a letter " On the Migration of the Swallows/' addressed to
the Secretary. By Thomas Forster, Esq., M.D., F.L.S. &c., dated
3ruges, May 2nd. 1846.
The object of this note is to show, not only that the four British
species of Swallows migrate, but also that their migration is pro-
gressive through Europe to Asia and Africa. The first table is stated
to have been compiled from the recorded observations of naturalists
and others, copied on the spot during an extensive tour through
Europe in the years 1833, 1834, 1835 and 1836. Dr. Forster states
that he is satisfied that numerous flights of the several species an-
nually arrive at the end of February and beginning of March in Sicily,
Italy and the Islands of the Mediterranean, from Africa. Of these
a portion proceed after a few days' rest towards the north, leaving
colonies in different places as they advance, until they reach their
most northern destination in Europe. In autumn they retire in the
same manner, and their numbers appear prodigiously increased in
particular places where they halt and rest for days before the phalanx
again takes wing. This, Dr. Forster states, is also the case with
Quails, with the Mountain-Finch, and with many of the Warblers.
Particular places seem to be favourite resorts as resting-places to
particular species, as Pisa for example to the Swift, the Campagna
and Southern Italy to the Martin. When an early spring has oc-
curred in the S. of Europe, these birds have made their appearance
earlier, as if they had been capable of inferring an earlier season
northwards.
Table I.
Mean time
of Arrival.
Species.
Naples.
Rome.
Pisa.
Vienna.
Bruges.
London.
Hirundo rustica
11. urhica
H. riparia
H. jipus
Feb. 27
April 10
April 3
April 15
March 3
April 15
April 5
April 18
March 5
April 16
April 8
April 20
March 25
April 20
April 12
April 25
April 5
May 1
April 25
April 30
April 15
May ]
April 25
May 3
In their recession in autumn they observe nearly the same relative
times, with the exception that the Swifts migrate much earlier in
Flanders than they do in Kent and Sussex. They are often gone on
the 1st of August, and always about the 5th, whereas they remain
in England until about the 15th.
1846.]
Linnean Society*
297
The second Table is copied from the Journal kept in succession
by Dr. Forster's late father, T. F. Forster, Esq., F.L.S., and himself;
and records the period of arrival of the Swallow (Hirundo rustica, L.)
for nearly half a century. Dr. Forster hopes on a future occasion to
supply similar tables of the Martin, Swift, and other birds of passage.
Table II.
Showing the day of Arrival of the Swallow for forty -seven years.
1800, April 15
1812, April 15
1824, April 14
1836, April G
1801, — 5
1813, ~ 15
1825, — 19
1837, — 6
1802, — 15
1814, — 19
1826, — 14
1838, — 13
1803, — 15
1815, — 14
1827, — 22
1839, — 15
1804, — 17
1810, -- 21
1828, — 23
1840, — 15
1805, — 5
1817, — 10
1829, — 21
1841, — 5
1806, — 2
1818, — 17
1830, — 16
1842, — 5
1807, — 15
1819, — 15
1831, — 12
1813, — 21
1808, — 16
1820, — 16
1832, — 19
1844, — 16
1809, — 18
1821, ~ 18
1833, — 17
1845, — 8
1810, — 20
1822, — 17
1834, — 1
1846, — I
1811, — 18
1823, — 22
1835, — 7
Read also a note " On the Structure of Viola, in connection with
its Impregnation." By T. S. Ralph, Esq., A.L.S. &c.
Mr. Ralph regards the following circumstances as more or less
essential to the impregnation of the ovules of Viola : 1st, the pen-
dent position of the flower, which brings the stigma into a position
below the anthers ; 2ndly, the spurred petal, which by the secretion
of honey attracts insects, whose efforts to obtain a supply of nutri-
ment disturbs the whole band of coherent anthers through the move-
ments impressed on the two spurs of anthers which descend into the
nectary, and thus cause a free discharge of pollen ; 3rdly, the rostrate
termination of the stigma in some species, in which the pollen is
shed very freely and appears to have a ready access to the interior
of the stigma ; 4thly, the remarkable bend in the style in those spe-
cies which have a globose stigma, in which species Mr. Ralph has
also found a set of singular hairs seated on the claw of the fifth or
spurred petal, on which the pollen collects very abundantly, and
thence probably finds its way into the interior of the stigma ; the
stigmatic head being readily capable of being pushed into the groove
of the claw of the petal amid these hairs, a process which Mr. Ralph
thinks is performed by the assistance of insects. In some specied
there are also a set of hairs placed at the throat of the corolla on the
two middle petals, the use of which Mr. Ralph thinks to be to shut
out the ingress of the proboscis of the insect in that direction.
^9S Linnean Society. [May 24^
May 24.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
This day, the Anniversary of the birth of Linnaeus, and that ap-
pointed by the Charter for the election of Council and Officers, the
President opened the business of the Meeting and stated the num-
ber of Members whom the Society had lost during the past year, of
some of whom the Secretary read the following notices : —
James Hussey Abraham, Esq., for nearly half a century the con-
ductor of the most flourishing seminary in the town of Sheffield, was
well-skilled in various branches of Natural Philosophy, especially
Electricity and Magnetism, and possessed a large and valuable col-
lection of apparatus with which he illustrated his lectures on these
and allied branches of science. In the course of his magnetic expe-
riments, the idea suggested itself to him that the minute particles of
steel evolved in the dry grinding of forks, needles, &c., the inhala-
tion of which is so deleterious to the workmen engaged in those
trades, might be intercepted by means of a wire-gauze mask, or
caught by a chaplet of magnets worn about the mouth of the ope-
rator. For the ingenious contrivance by which he proposed to effect
this object, he received in 1821 the large gold medal of the Society
of Arts. Other ingenious modifications of the practical application
of the magnet were also devised by Mr. Abraham ; and he delivered
a lecture on this, his favourite topic, at an evening meeting of the
British Association, at their first meeting in the city of York in 1831.
In conjunction with his friend James Montgomery the poet, who
then edited one of the local newspapers, he was mainly instrumental
in originating the Literary and Philosophical Society of Sheffield, of
which in 1 834 he was elected President. He was also celebrated in
his neighbourhood for his skill in horticulture, and seldom failed to
carry off one or more prizes at the exhibitions of the Sheffield Hor-
ticultural Society, founded in 1830 by himself and some friends ; the
prize medals of which Society bear on their obverse an exquisitely
engraved head of Linnaeus. Mr. Abraham died on the 5th of Fe-
bruary in the present year, in the 69th year of his age. " He became
a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1825.
Henry Singer Chinnock, Esq.
Barron Field, Esq., was born on the 23rd of October 1780. He
was the second son of Mr. Henry Field, who was in extensive me-
dical practice in London, and for many years apothecary to Christ's
1846.] Linnean Society, 299
Hospital. Mr. Barron Field was lineally descended in the sixth de-
gree from Oliver Cromwell ; his grandfather, Mr. John Field, having
married Anne, the daughter of Thomas Cromwell, who was grandscm
of Henry Cromwell, Lord Deputy of Ireland, the younger son of the
Protector. Mr. Barron Field was educated for the profession of the
law, and called to the bar by the Honourable Society of the Inner
Temple. In 1811 he published an 'Analysis of Blackstone's Com-
mentaries,' which has become a standard work for the use and in-
struction of students. In 1816 he was appointed Judge of the Su-
preme Court of New South Wales, and continued to exercise the
duties of that oti5ce till 1824 ; when, on a change in the Charter of
Justice for that colony, he relinquished his appointment and returned
to England. Early in 1829 he received from Government the ap-
pointment of Chief Justice of Gibraltar, which he held until ill-health
obliged him to retire and return to his native country. In both
these distant appointments Mr. Barron Field applied himself to what
was always with him a favourite relaxation, the study of botany. In
New South Wales he availed himself of the talents of Mr. Lewin,
the distinguished painter of natural history, and formed a pleasing
collection of drawings of Botany Bay plants; and his garden at
Gibraltar, situate at nearly the most southern point of Europe, ex-
hibited fine specimens of geraniums, cacti and other beautiful plants,
flourishing in an almost natural state. Mr. Barron Field also dedicated
much of his leisure to the critical perusal of the early English dra-
matists and poets ; and latterly attached himself to the Shakspeare
Society, of which he was chosen one of the Council, and for which
he edited several old dramas. He died on the 11th of April 1846, in
his 60th year, at Torquay in South Devon, where he had resided for
the last two years.
During his residence in New South Wales he published a small
volume of poems, the first that had ever been printed in that colony,
which he subsequently included in a collection of ' Memoirs on New
South Wales,' containing, among several geographical papers of in-
terest, some notes by Allan Cunningham on the Botany of New Hol-
land. He became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1825.
The Rev. Thomas Gisborne, Prebendary of Durham, a name distin-
guished in the literature of our country, was attached from early life
to the pursuit of natural history, to which his * Rural Walks,' first
published in 1795, bear in many passages ample testimony. It is
not necessary to speak here, and indeed it would be out of place to
do so, of the value of his ethical and religious writings ; but he well
deserves mention as one of the most zealous collectors of rare Bri-
300 Linnean Society, [May 24,
tish birds, and for his great liberality to the Durham Museum, of
which he was one of the founders and principal patrons. The fine
collection of British birds, which forms the foundation of that Mu-
seum, was munificently purchased and presented to the Institution by
him, and he never missed an opportunity of adding to its value and
completeness by supplying its deficiencies in the rarer species. He
became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in the year 1799, and died
in the spring of the present year.
Robert Graham, M.D., Regius Professor of Botany in the Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, was the third son of Dr. Robert Graham, and was
born at Stirling on the 7th of December 1786. In the first part of
his career he practised medicine in Glasgow, and in 1818 he was ap-
pointed to the Professorship of Botany then first established by the
Crown as a distinct chair in the University of that city. In 1820 he
was transferred to the Botanical chair of the University of Edinburgh,
which he filled up to the time of his death. In the same year he be-
came a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in 1 82 1 of
the Linnean Society.
Dr. Graham devoted himself assiduously and successfully to the
duties of his office. By his energy and enthusiasm, as well as by his
affable and pleasing manners, he succeeded in implanting a taste for
his favourite science among the pupils of his class, many of whom
have since become able teachers, as well as zealous students and
collectors. In the promotion of this taste he derived much assistance
from the botanical excursions which he made in company with his
pupils, not merely in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, but in distant
parts of Scotland, and even in England and in Ireland, in the course
of which several additions were made to the Scottish flora. During
these excursions he also laid in a large store of materials for a Flora
of Britain, in the preparation of which he had been long engaged,
but which he did not live to complete. His published works consist
chiefly of descriptions of new or rare plants from the Edinburgh Bo-
tanic Garden, which owes much of its present excellence to his ex-
ertions. These descriptions, together with notices of his botanical
excursions, appeared in the ' Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal '
and in the ' Botanical Magazine.' In the * Companion ' to the latter
work, published by Sir Wm. J. Hooker, he also gave " an account
of the Camboge-tree of Ceylon." His favourite tribe was the Legu-
minosa, and he had undertaken to describe the plants of that exten-
sive family contained in Dr. Wallich's Indian herbarium, but subse-
quently relinquished the intention and transferred the plants to Mr.
Bentham, who has made considerable progress in their illustration.
1846.] Linnean Society » 301
The genus Grahamia jointly commemomtes the botanical merits
of Mrs. Graham, afterwards Lady Callcott, and those of Dr. Graham ;
and several species have also been named in honour of the latter. He
died on the 7 th of August last at the house of his brother at Coldoch
in Perthshire, after a long and painful illness, leaving behind him
the character of an able and enthusiastic teacher, a warm and zealous
friend, and a candid and honourable man.
In Joseph Janson, Esq., the Society has lost a very active and
zealous member. He was bom at Tottenham in Middlesex on the
12th of July 1789, and became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in
November 1831. Before his election into the Society, he contributed
towards the purchase of the Linnean collections, and it was owing
in a great degree to his exertions that the subscription was set on
foot which has enabled us to pay off so large a portion of our debt.
The Society has since been indebted to Mr. Janson for a valuable
set of cabinets for its herbarium, and for the cabinet which contains
the principal part of the collection of fruits which have been so care-
fully arranged by Mr. Kippist. To the library also he has presented
upwards of forty volumes of local European floras ; and he was always
ready to add to our collections, or to aid in giving interest to our
meetings by the exhibition of rare and curious specimens from his
garden at Stoke Newington, where, in addition to the more usual
garden plants, he was particularly successful in the cultivation of the
rarer and less determinately settled British species.
Mr. Janson was, as many now present can well bear testimony
a man of cultivated understanding, of a clear head and a warm heart.
He was ever ready to perceive and to acknowledge merit, and it was
one of his benevolent pleasures to bring forward young men of talent
and to put them in a way of making their abilities available. He was
a zealous friend of various establishments for the education of the
poor, to the promotion of the objects of which he devoted much time
and labour as well as rendering pecuniary assistance. He was never
married. He died on the 30th of April in the present year after a
long illness, which did not assume a dangerous appearance until
about a fortnight before his death. By his will he has bequeathed
to the Society a legacy of 100/.
Henry Gaily Knight, Esq., M.P., distinguished for his extensive
acquaintance with the architecture of the middle ages, on which he
published several highly beautiful and important works. He was
educated at Eton and afterwards at Trinity College, Cambridge,
where he formed an acquaintance with Byron, which he renewed
during a tour in the East in 1810-11, and which probably led to
302 Linnean Society. [May 24,
his attempting poetry in a series of new * Persian Tales.' Tliese,
however, met with little success, and he devoted himself during the
latter years of his life to the more congenial study of mediaeval
architecture. He was returned to parliament in 1834 for North
Nottinghamshire, for which he continued to sit till the time of his
death, which occurred on the 9th of February in the present year,
and in the 59th year of his age. He became a Fellow of the Lin-
nean Society in 1818.
Richard Latham, Esq., received the rudiments of his education at
Christ's Hospital, and in grateful recollection of the benefit, devoted
the first four hundred pounds which he saved by industry and fru-
gality to the uses of that noble institution. He became connected
with the extensive brewery of Sir Henry Meux and Co., of which
for more than a quarter of a century he was acting partner. In this
position he acquired considerable wealth ; while he amused his leisure
hours with the pursuits of chemistry, geology, botany and ornitho-
logy. He also contributed largely to the funds of many of the most
important charitable institutions of the metropolis. He became a
Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1821, and died at his residence at
Bayswater on the 24th of January in the present year, and in the
79th year of his age.
Thomas Knowlton, Esq,, the son of a father of the same names,
who was in the early part of his life gardener to Sherard, and after-
wards to the Earl of Burlington, and who is mentioned with honour
in Pulteney's * Sketches of the Progress of Botany in England ' as an
antiquary as well as a naturalist. Our deceased member inherited
his father's taste for natural history, and formed a valuable botanical
and zoological library, which was disposed of by auction on the death
of its proprietor in the spring of the present year. The elder Knowlton
died in 1784 at the advanced age of 90, and his son, who became a
Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1795, must also have reached a
good old age.
Charles Lush, Esq., M.D., was educated as a surgeon, and the first
bent of his mind towards natural history was given in a small society
of juniors to which several of our Fellows who have since distin-
guished themselves also belonged. He became the Botanical Lec-
turer at St. Thomas's Hospital in 1825, and in 1827 sailed for India
as an Assistant- Surgeon in the East India Company's service on the
Bombay establishment. Soon after his arrival he was appointed to
take charge of the Botanic Garden at Dapooree near Poona, which
appointment he retained until his return to England in 1837. In
1829 he was employed by the Bombay Government in travelUng in
1846.] Linnean Society. 303
the Southern Mahratta country, along the coast of Canara, and visit-
ing the Portuguese settlement of Goa, &c. in order to select a suit-
able spot for the establishment of an experimental cotton- farm. His
report of the results of this journey was published with the appro-
bation of the authorities, and circulated among all the magistrates
and other functionaries. From 1830 to 1833 he had the direction
of some experiments in the cultivation of silk and cotton carried on
in the Southern Provinces, and in 1833 made a report to the Govern-
ment respecting mulberries for the feeding of the silk- worms. In
1836 he visited the cotton districts in Guzerat, for the purpose of
inspecting the different farms, on the subject of which he furnished
a report ; and in the same year he communicated to the Medical
and Physical Society of Bombay, a paper published in December in
the * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,' entitled " Geological
Notes on the Northern Conkan, and a small portion of Guzerat and
Kattyw^r." In this paper he mentions the discovery by himself in
the Island of Perim, in the Gulf of Cambay, of a large deposit of
fossil bones, which has since been more fully investigated by Capt.
Fulljames and Dr. Falconer, and has been found to comprise some
of the most remarkable among the very extraordinary fossils for the
knowledge of which we have recently been indebted to the natu-
ralists of India.
In 1837 he returned to England overland, and in 1840 again pro-
ceeded to India, where he was appointed surgeon to the 14th Bom-
bay Native Infantry, and accompanied that regiment in 1844 to Kur-
rachee in Scinde, and in 1845 to Hydrabad, where he fell a victim
to spasmodic cholera on the 4th of July, in the 49th or 50th year of
his age.
In character Dr. Lush was well-known to many of our members
as warm-hearted, sincere, and of so sweet a disposition, that I am
assured by one of our Fellows who knew him best, that during a
close intimacy of many years he never saw him out of temper. He
was a constant peacemaker, and his simplicity was extraordinary.
His talents were excellent, and had his application been equal, there
is no doubt that he would have attained a high position in science. .
Peter Nouaille, Esq.
Of our Associates we have lost two during the past year.
Mr. James Main began life as a working gardener in the neigh-
bourhood of Edinburgh, and was afterwards employed by Mr. George
Hibbert, to whom we are indebted for the introduction of many va-
luable plants through the means of collectors whom he sent abroad.
304 Linnean Society, [May 24,
One of these was Mr. Main, whom he despatched to China, and who
continued in Mr. Hibbert's employ for some years after his return to
England, but afterwards took a farm in Scotland. Here he was
unsuccessful ; but having made himself well-acquainted with the re-
ceived theories and practice both of horticulture and of agriculture,
he turned his attention to the literature of those subjects, and from
this time forwards became a frequent and welcome contributor to
some of the principal periodicals devoted to their illustration. In the
year 1 830 he published * The Villa and Cottage Florist's Direc-
tory,' which reached a second edition in 1835 ; in 1833 ' Illustra-
tions of Vegetable Physiology, practically applied;' in 1835 'Po-
pular Botany;' and in 1839 'The Young Farmer's Manual,' and
' The Forest Planter's and Pruner's Assistant ;' and he also edited
new editions of Mawe's 'Every Man his own Gardener,' and of
several other works of a similar character.
Mr. Main was elected an Associate of the Linnean Society in
1829, and communicated to us in 1844 a paper entitled " Remarks
on Vegetable Physiology," in which he reproduced the leading ideas
on the growth of plants contained in his ' Illustrations of Vegetable
Physiology.' Of this paper an abstract is published in the ' Proceed-
ings ' of the Society. He died at Chelsea in the spring of the pre-
sent year at an advanced age.
Mr. George Samouelle was brought up to the business of a book-
seller, and was for several years an assistant in the establishment of
Messrs. Longman and Co. He early imbibed a taste for natural
history, and more especially for entomology, and became an assi-
duous collector of British insects. In 1819 he published a work en-
titled ' The Entomologist's Useful Compendium, or an Introduction
to the Knowledge of British Insects, comprising the best means of
obtaining and preserving them, and a description of the Apparatus
generally used ; together with the genera of Linne, and the modern
method of arranging the Classes Crustacea, Myriapoda, Spiders, Mites
and Insects, from their affinities and structure, according to the views
of Dr. Leach. Also, an explanation of the terms used in Entomo-
logy ; a Calendar of the times of appearance and usual situations of
near 3000 species of British Insects ; with instructions for collecting
and fitting up objects for the Microscope. Illustrated with twelve
plates,' 8vo, Lond. In this work, the multifarious nature of which
may be inferred from the title-page, Mr. Samouelle furnished the
British entomologist with a careful and valuable compilation, and
added moreover numerous original observations calculated to be
useful to the collector ; but the greater part of the work, as well as
1846.] Liwiean Societi/, ."505
the most important in a scientific point of view, was derived from
the MSS. of Dr. Leach, which were freely communicated to the
author. This work was followed by * General Directions for col-
lecting and preserving Exotic Insects and Crustacea,' 18mo, Lond.,
1826. Soon after the publication of his 'Compendium' Mr. Sa-
mouelle became an assistant in the Natural History Department of
the British Museum, and was chiefly employed for many years in the
care and arrangement of the entomological collections of that esta-
blishment. In 1832 he commenced the publication of an illustrated
periodical, entitled ' The Entomological Cabinet ; being a Natural
History of British Insects,' of which he completed two annual vo-
lumes. He afterwards issued two numbers of a second series of the
same work, but not meeting with sufficient encouragement he pro-
ceeded no farther. In 1836 he also published two numbers of a
second edition of his ' Entomologist's Useful Compendium,' but this
undertaking fell to the ground from the same cause. He was elected
an Associate of the Linnean Society in 1818, and died at Lambeth
in the spring of the present year.
His principal work was highly useful at the time of its appearance,
following as it did on the two introductory volumes of Messrs. Kirby
and Spence, and affording to the numerous students who were in-
cited by those volumes to take up entomological pursuits, a manual
of information for their guidance in collecting, preserving and ar-
ranging insects, which was then greatly wanted by British entomo-
logists.
The Secretary also announced that twelve Fellows had been
elected since the last Anniversary.
At the election, which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop
of Norwich was re-elected President ; Edward Forster, Esq., Trea-
surer ; John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary; and Richard Taylor,
Esq., Under-Secretary. The following five Fellows were elected
into the Council in the room of others going out : viz. Sir Henry
Thomas De la Beche ; Hugh Falconer, M.D. ; Joseph Dalton Hooker,
M.D. ; William Wilson Saunders, Esq., and William Yarrell, Esq.
No. XXX. PROCKKDIXaS OF THK LiNXKAX SoCIRTY.
306 Linnean Society, [June 2,
June 2.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P.. in the Chair.
Read some " Notes towards a Statistical Account of the Fauna of
New Zealand and the Auckland Islands, so far as regards Annulose
Animals." By Adam White, Esq., M.E.S., Assistant in the Zoolo-
gical Department of the British Museum. Communicated by the
Secretary.
In these notes, Mr. White remarks on the advantages offered by
an insular position, of comparatively limited extent and far removed
from any great continent, in the drawing up a local fauna or flora ;
and anticipates that in the course of time, when we shall have been
furnished with nearly perfect lists of the animals and vegetables in-
habiting New Zealand, we may arrive at tangible results regarding
them, free from the disturbing influences which result from the great
extent and varied nature of such a continent as New Holland, and
from the ready access afforded to wanderers of both kingdoms by the
proximity of such islands as our own to great and almost adjoining
continents. He limits his present observations to the Coleopterous
order of insects, and states the sources from which the various col-
lections examined by him have been derived. From the information
which he has been enabled to acquire from all these sources he
arrives at the following conclusions : — 1st, that Coleoptera do not
abound in species in New Zealand ; 2ndly, that the numbers of Cicin-
delidce, Carabida, CurculionidcB and Longicornes are strikingly cha-
racteristic of its Coleopterous fauna as compared with any part of
New Holland ; and 3rdly, that Cetoniadce, Buprestidce and Chryso-
melidcE, so abundant in nearly every part of the Australian continent,
are either wanting or very poorly represented in New Zealand. He
does not, however, venture in the present state of our knowledge to
propound these as axioms ; and instances the paucity of species of
various orders of insects, especially Hymenoptera and Neuroptera,
enumerated in the ' Fauna Boreali- Americana,' as compared with the
large number of species of those orders collected by Mr. Baraston in
a single locality within the limits of that territory, as a striking ex-
ample of the fallacy of the conclusions which might be drawn from
insufficient and uncertain data.
The author then proceeds to give an enumeration of the species of
each Coleopterous family hitherto detected in New Zealand ; and ob-
1846.] Linnean Society. SO?
serves in a note that tke ^shna liassina of Strickland, a Neuropte-
rous insect, of which a lower wing has been found in the lias of
Stonesfield, belongs (as Mr. Dale has conjectured) to a genus closely
allied to Petalura, which latter has hitherto only been detected living
in New Zealand and New Holland.
June 16.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
John Birkett, jun., Esq., and Thomas Lightfoot, Esq., M.D., were
elected Fellows.
Read a paper ** On the calcifying functions of the Cowry and the
Olive, two genera of Pectinibranchiate MoUusks." By Lovell Reeve,
Esq., A.L.S. &c. &c.
After referring to the numerous instances of very considerable
modifications in the form of shell, and mode of calcification which
occur among Mollusca, even in genera very nearly related to each
other, Mr. Reeve proceeds to describe more particularly the manner
in which the calcifying process is performed in the two genera which
form the subject of his paper. Each of these genera produces a
porcellanous shell of very analogous structure, consisting of a cy-
linder of several enlarging whorls, convoluted on a plane nearly ver-
tical to the spire, and composed of layers of vitrified enamel of dif-
ferent colours and design ; but there is a striking difference in the
calcifying organ as regards its structure and its function of secretion.
In the Cowry the office of calcification is performed by a lobate ex-
pansion of the mantle from either side of the aperture, sufficiently
large to cover the entire shell, and retracted only under the influence
of alarm. In the Olive, on the other hand, the mantle is limited to
the interior and the aperture of the shell ; and appears to be furled
over the edge of the lip, and retained in a state of tension by a cord
or filament passing from its posterior extremity into a narrow channel
which is excavated round the spire of the shell in place of the suture.
The result of this difference in the condition of the calcifying organ
is, that in the Cowry the testaceous secretion is deposited over the
whole shell from the outside in successive layers at different inter-
vals of time, while in the Olive the layers must be secreted simul-
taneously at the lip alone, and the porcellanous surface of the shell
308 Linnean Society. [Nov. 3,
is preserved (both in its course of retrovolution and after maturity)
by a reflection of the ventral disc somewhat analogous to the re-
flected mantle of the Cowry, but bearing no part in the formation of
the shell.
In support of this view and with the view of proving that this
distinction is borne out by the physical condition of the shells at
difl'erent periods of growth, the author takes for examples Cypraa
Tigris and Oliva Utriculus. The Tiger^Cowry in its first stage is of
a uniform light chestnut-bay ; the colour then breaks up, as it were,
into bands of close- set blotches of a richer hue ; a coating of white
is next superposed, and upon that is deposited a series of rather
distant zigzag flames ; these are partially concealed by a second layer
of white enamel thinner and more delicate than the preceding one,
on which a number of dark spots are subsequently deposited ; and a
third coating of white enamel, with a new layer of black and brown
spots intermingled, characterizes the maturity of the shell. Each
period in the life of the Cowry appears therefore to be distinguished
by a different design of colouring ; but this is not the case with the
Olive, the shell of which exhibits the same appearance at all stages
of its growth, and the diff^erent layers of its colouring matter must
be deposited simultaneously because the organ of calcification ex-
tends only to the lip, from which the shell gradually recedes in the
progress of its growth. The external coating of Oliva Utriculus
is of an obscure milky-blue, and the removal of this layer by means
of an acid reveals a dull ashy ground sprinkled with numerous tri-
angular opal-like dashes ; in Oliva Brasiliensis the removal of the
outer layer exhibits a longitudinally striped pattern, and other va-
rieties of design may be found in diff^erent species; but there is no
periodical change of colour in the entire shell to mark its advance-
ment in growth.
November 3.
R. Brown, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Arthur Grote, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read a " Description of the Asafoetida plant of Central Asia."
By Hugh Falconer, Esq., M.D., F.L.S. &c. &c.
Dr. Falconer describes the plant which yields the Asafoetida under
the following characters : —
1846.] Linnean Society. 309
Ord. UMBELLIFERiE.
Trib. Peucedanea.
Gen. Nartiiex, Falc.
Calycis margo obsoletus. Petala ? Stylopodium plicato-
urceolatum. StyVt filiformes demum reflexi. Fructus a dorso plano-
compressus, margine dilatato cinctus. Mericarpia jugis prlmariis 5,
3 intermediis filiformibus, 21ateralibus obsoletioribus margini contiguis
immersis. Vitta; in valleculis dorsalibus plerumque solitariae (valle-
culis lateralibus nunc sesqui- vel bi-vittatis) ; commissurales4 — 6 variae
inaequales, exteiioribus ssep^ reticulatim interruptis. Semen compla-
natum. Carpophorum\i\}^a.vi\i\xm. t/wiieZ/fP pedunculatae, compositae.
Involucrum utrumque nullum. — Genus inter Peucedaneas calycis mar-
gine edentato ; fructus vittis magnis, commissuralihus inaqualihus ; in-
volucroque utroque nullo distinctum. Narthex nuncupatum a vocabulo
vdp6r)^, apud Dioscoridem Ferulae attributo.
N. AsAFCETiDA, caule tereti simplici petiolis dilatatis aphyllis instructo,
foliis radicalibus fasciculatis ; petiolis trisectis ; segmentis bipinnati-
sectis : laciniis lineari-lanceolatis obtusis inaequilateralibus integris vel
varie sinuatis decurrentibus.
Asafoetida Disgunensis, Kcempf. Amoen. Exot. p. 535.
Ferula Asafoetida, Linn. Mat. Med. p. 79; Dec. Prodr. iv, 173 ; Lindl. Fl.
Med. p. 45.
Hah. in apricis inter saxa in valle " Astore " vel " Hussorah" dict& prope
Indum ultra Cashmeer ; indigenis Daradris " Sip " vel " Sup" dictum. Legi
fructigerum prope Boosthon die 21"** Septerabris 1838.
Dr. Falconer states that he has compared his materials with
Kaempfer's description and figures and with the original specimens
of that author in the collection of the British Museum, and found
them to agree, so far as a comparison could be instituted, in every
essential particular. Jubbar Khan, the Dardoh Rajah of the country
in which Dr. Falconer gathered his specimens, at once recognised
the plant as that which furnishes the Heeng or Asafoetida of com-
merce, and referred to the medicinal accounts given of it by the Per-
sian and Arabic authors ; but the Dardohs are a wild race and do
not collect the gum-resin for exportation. Some young roots were
carefully removed and introduced in the first instance into the Bo-
tanic Garden at Saharunpoor, but afterwards transferred to the sub-
sidiary hill garden at Mussooree. Of these some had succeeded
well, but had not flowered up to the time of Dr. Falconer's leaving
India ; and one of these furnished the leaves which were represented
in a figure accompanying the paper, together with a small quantity
of Asafoetida, differing in no respect from the ordinary condition of
that substance as it occurs in commerce. The species is found, as
310 Linnean Society. [Dec. 1,
it would appear, in the greatest abundance in the Persian provinces
of Khorassan and Laar ; and thence extends on the one hand into
the plains of Turkestan upon the Oxus, where it seems to have been
met with by Sir Alexander Burnes, and on the other stretches across
from Beloochistan, through Candahar and other provinces of Affgha-
nistan, to the eastern side of the valley of the Indus in Astore. Dr.
Falconer has not met with it in Cashmeer.
Besides the gum-resin, the fruits of the Narthex Asqfcetida are also
imported into India for medicinal use, and along with them the fruits
of another umbelliferous plant which Dr. Falconer found to belong
to a true Ferula, and which are sold under the name of Doogoo ; a
word evidently connected with the Greek lavKos. Of these fruits
he gives a description ; and he also mentions another umbelliferous
fruit in the collection of Dr. Royle, labelled as " the seed of the
Wild Asafcetida plant, collected and brought to England by Sir John
MacNeill from Persia," which differs widely from the fruit both of
Narthex and Ferula, and belongs to another tribe of the Order.
November 17.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Francis James Graham, Esq., B.A., and William White Williams,
Esq., M.D., were elected Fellows ; and Mr. William Hanson was
elected an Associate.
Read a portion of Dr. William Buchanan Hamilton's ** Commen-
tary on the Hortus Malabaricus of Van Rheede."
December 1.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
George Busk, Esq., David Barclay Chapman, Esq., William Robert
Fisher, Esq., and Adam White, Esq., were elected Fellows.
Read a paper " On the Structure and Movements of Bacillaria
1846.] Linnean Society, 311
paradoxa, Gmelin." By G. H. K. Thwaites, Esq. Communicated
by William Spence, Esq., F.R.S.. F.L.S. &c.
Mr. Thwaites commences his memoir by a description of the spe-
cies. The filaments are ribbon-shaped, curved, pale brown with a
paler mesial line, and consist each of from 4 or 5 to upwards of 100
linear frustules, lying contiguous and parallel to each other. The
front view of each frustule exhibits a slight tapering towards the
apices, and a minute dentation on the inner edge of the smooth
raised lateral margins, the intermediate space being smooth. In a
side view, the surface of mutual contact is seen to be linear-lanceolate
■with the apices rounded ; and the space between the smooth raised
lateral margins is marked with transverse raised striae. The length
of the frustule, and consequently the width of the filament, varies
from -^j^ to y^j of an inch ; and the width of the frustule from
ruirJlT *^ Jcfcu ^^ ^^ 'mcYi. The frustules are filled (with the ex-
ception of a lighter transverse central fascia) with a pale broWn en-
dochrome ; and the filaments increase in length from multiplication
of the frustules by fissiparous division.
Mr. Thwaites has found this (the original) species of Bacillaria
abundantly in ditches at the mouth of the Avon near Bristol, in water
probably slightly blackish, and also in small quantity in the river
Frome at Stapleton, encrusting various aquatic plants with a dark
brown coating, which under the microscope is resolved into a num-
ber of pale brown filaments that seem to adhere tolerably firmly to the
plant on which they are situated. When they have been for a few mo-
ments detached, a remarkable motion is seen to commence in them.
The first indication of this consists in a slight movement of a terminal
frustule, which begins to slide lengthwise over its contiguous frus-
tule, the second acts simultaneously in a similar manner with regard
to the third, and so on throughout the whole filament ; the same
action having been going on at the same time at both ends of the
filament, but in opposite directions. The central frustule thus ap-
pears to remain stationary or nearly so ; while each of the others has
moved with a rapidity increasing with its distance from the centre,
its own rate of movement having been increased by the addition of
that of the independent movement of each frustule between it and
the central one. This lateral elongation of the filament continues
until the point of contact between the contiguous frustules is re-
duced to a very small portion of their length, when the filament is
again contracted by the frustules sliding back again as it were over
each other ; and this changed direction of movement proceeding, the
filament is again drawn out until the frustules are again only slightly
312 l.innean Society, [D^c. 1,
in contact. The direction of the movement is then again reversed,
and continues to alternate in opposite directions, the time occupied
in passing from the elongation in one direction to the opposite being
generally about 45 seconds. In the course of this movement the
filaments seldom resume their original Fragilaria-like appearance ;
and there are occasional interruptions to its regularity, both the ter-
minal frustules in some cases moving in one and the same direction
instead of in a direction opposite to each other. This Mr. Thwaites
regards as resulting from a breach in the vital or dynamical con-
nexion of the filament, and as not improbably indicating the place
where spontaneous division of the filament is about to occur. If a
filament, while in motion, be forcibly divided, the uninjured frustules
of each portion continue to move as before, proving (as the author
believes) that the filament is a compound structure, notwithstanding
that its frustules move in unison. When the filament is elongated to
its utmost extent, it is still extremely rigid and requires some com-
paratively considerable force to bend it, the whole filament moving
out of the way of any obstacle rather than bending or separating at
the joints. A higher temperature increases the rapidity of the move-
ment.
The author hazards a conjecture that the action of cilia is the
proximate cause of the phaenomenon ; for, although he has been un-
able to discover cilia, he has little doubt of their presence from the
mode in which minute particles of indigo suspended in the water
were acted upon, when coming into contact with the frustules. He
regards the movement of each individual frustule, considered alone,
as closely resembling that which is seen in the detached frustules of
other species of Diatomaceae ; namely, a so to speak alternate back-
ward and forward movement at regular intervals. On the animal or
vegetable nature of the production he has no reparks to offer.
The paper was accompanied by magnified drawings of Bacillai'ia
paradoxa in various stages of elongation and retraction ; and by very
highly magnified representations of its mode of fissiparous increase,
and of the markings on both its surfaces.
Read also the commencement of a memoir " On the Vegetation of
the Galapagos Archipelago, as compared with that of some other
Tropical Islands and of the Continent of America.'* By Joseph Dal-
ton Hooker, Esq.. M.D., F.L.S. &c.
1846.] Linnean Society, 313
December 15.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P.. in the Chair.
Lovell Reeve, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Specimens of Juncus diffusus, Hoppe, collected by John Ansell,
Esq., at Darraan's Green near Hoddesdon, Herts, were exhibited
and presented.
Read the conclusion of Dr. Hooker's memoir " On the Vegetation
of the Galapagos Archipelago, as compared with that of some other
Tropical Islands and of the Continent of America."
The present paper offers the deductions which Dr. Hooker has
drawn with reference to Botanical Geography from his " Enumera-
tion of the Plants of the Galapagos Islands," read during the previous
session. He regards the relationship of the Flora to that of the ad-
jacent continent as double ; the peculiar or new species being for the
most part allied to plants of the cooler parts of America or of the
uplands of the tropical latitudes, while the non-peculiar are the
same as abound chiefly in the hotter and more humid regions, such
as the Islands of the West Indies and the shores of the Gulf of
Mexico ; and while on the other hand many of the species, and those
the most remarkable (as is likewise the case with regard to the
Fauna), are confined to a single islet of the group, and often repre-
sented in other islets by similar, but specifically very distinct, con-
geners.
The author commences his memoir with an account of the geo-
graphical position, and of some of the most important features of the
climate and soil of the Archipelago, chiefly derived from the journals
of Mr. Darwin and of some other voyagers, including the unpublished
journal of the late Mr. T. Edmonstone. This is followed by an
Enumeration of the Naturalists who have explored it in the order of
the dates of their respective visits, including Mr. Cuming, Mr. David
Douglas, Dr. Scouler, Mr. Macrae, Mr. Darwin, Admiral Du-Petit-
Thouars and Mr. Edmonstone. The total number of species brought
together from these various sources amounts to 244, of which 202
are flowering plants and 28 ferns. All of these, excepting perhaps 1 7,
natives of Charles Island (the only inhabited one), are truly indige-
nous, but it is probable that this is only an approximation to the true
No. XXXI. — Procbedings of the Linnean Society.
314 Linnean Society. [Dec. 15, 1846.
number. Under any circumstances, however, the Flora is extremely
poor when compared with that of other tropical islands of equal, or
even of smaller, extent ; the Cape de Verd Islands, scarcely so well
explored, yielding upwards of 300 species on a soil quite as sterile ;
and the Sandwich and Society groups being very much richer,
although further detached from any great continent.
Dr. Hooker next proceeds to review the Flora under three distinct
heads ; first with reference to the proportion borne by each of the prin-
cipal Natural Orders to the whole Flora, and its relations to the Flora
of the neighbouring continent and of other islands somewhat similarly
circumstanced. Secondly, he treats of the Flora of the Galapagos
as divisible into two types ; the West Indian (including Panama), to
which the plants common to other countries and some dubious spe-
cies almost universally belong; and the Mexican and temperate
American, or that under which the great majority of the peculiar
species rank. Thirdly, he notices the most singular feature in the
vegetation of the group, namely that the several islets are tenanted
for the most part by different species, many of which are, however,
represented by allied species in one or more of the other islets.
Under each of these heads Dr. Hooker enters into minute statistical
details, accompanied by extensive research and careful comparisons.
Read also a " Description of a new species of Cowry." By G. B.
Sowerby, Esq., F.L.S. &c. &c.
Cypr^a venusta, testa ovato-ventricosa utraque extremitate antica prae-
cipue subrostrata, dorso gibboso carnicolore maculis pallide castaneis
Motato, lateribus basalibus incrassatis carnicoloribus, extremitatibus
pallid^ castaneis roseo-tinctis, basi subplanulata albicante extremita-
tibus carnicoloribus, spir^ valida obtusa anfractibus duobus, apertura
elongata angusta rectiuscula intus rosea postice in canalem brevem
sinistralem exeunte antice subflexuosa, canali antica brevi rectiuscula
paululum deflexa, dentibus labii externi circa 25 magnis interstitiis
sequalibus rotundatis; labii interni paucis (circa 16) majoribus distan-
tibus anticis maxiniis medianis fere obsoletis, cavitate columellari parva
alba.
A very handsome Cowry, of which a single specimen has lately
been receivi\\ from Port Adelaide, South Australia.
Jan. 8, 18470 Linnean Society, 315
January 8, 1847.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich , President, in the Chair.
At a Special General Meeting convened by the Council in the
terms of the following circular : —
*' Linnean Society, 32 Soho Square,
December 28th, 1846.
•* Sir,
" You are requested to attend a Special General Meeting
of the Society, on Friday the 8th of January next, at two o'clock in
the afternoon precisely, to consider the subject of the following
Statement and Resolution of Council.
" The late Edward Rudge, Esq., F.L.S., who died on the 3rd of
September last, has in his will made the following bequest : —
* I give and bequeath to the President and Council for the time
being of the Linnean Society of London, the sum of Two Hundred
Pounds, in trust, to invest the same in the names of Trustees,
in the purchase of 3 per cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities, and
from time to time, as occasion may require, out of the Dividends
thereof, to purchase a Gold Medal, to be called ' The Linnean
Medal,' to be awarded by the President and Council of the said
Society, at their discretion, to the Fellow of the said Society
who shall write the best communication in each volume which
after my decease shall be published by the said Society, in either
of the four departments of Natural History, every such Gold
Medal to contain the Profile Bust of Linnaeus in his full dress,
encircled by his name and the dates of his birth and death on
the one side, and the engraved name of the Fellow of the said
Society to whom such Medal shall be awarded, encircled by a
wreath of the Linnaa borealis, on the obverse.'
" The Council has repeatedly had the subject and terms of this
bequest under its serious consideration, and has, after mucli patient
and anxious deliberation, unanimously come to the following reso-
lution : —
' Resolved, — That in the opinion of this Council, on a full
consideration of the terms of the bequest of the late Edward
Rudge, Esq., of the interest of a sum of £200, for the purpose
of establishing a Medal ' to be awarded by the President and
Council of the (Linnean) Society, at their discretion, to the
316 Linnean Society. [Jan. 8,
Fellow of the said Society who shall write the best communi-
cation in each volume which after his (the testator's) decease
shall be published by the said Society, in either of the four de-
partments of Natural History,' it is inexpedient to accede to the
liberal intentions of the testator under the conditions expressed
in his will.'
' That this Resolution be submitted to a Special Meeting of
the Society.*
" This Resolution, which has received the entire concurrence of the
President and of every Member of the Council, was chiefly founded
on the following considerations : —
** The great object of the Linnean Society, as of all other bodies
similarly constituted, is the production and publication of such essays
as tend to the advancement of that branch of science which it culti-
vates. The principal question therefore in reference to Mr. Rudge's
bequest, is the manner in which its acceptance would operate on the
Society's publications, and the Council has arrived at the conclusion
that its tendency would be prejudicial rather than favourable ; inas-
much as while the Medal would offer no inducement to some of those
Members who have hitherto been in the habit of communicating
papers which have had a place in the * Transactions,' they might,
on the contrary, be unwilling to submit their future communications
to this new ordeal ; and it does not appear probable that the Medal
would prove a stimulus to the production of more valuable Essays
from any other class of the Society. On the other hand, it is pro-
bable that dissatisfaction would arise in the minds of some of those
Members, who after contributing papers to more than one volume of
the * Transactions,' should fail in obtaining the award of a Medal.
** A second objection to the acceptance of the bequest arises from
the absence of any discretionary power of withholding the Medal,
which is necessarily to be awarded to the best paper in every volume,
and consequently to papers of very unequal value, thereby lowering
the character of the Medal, and consequently affecting the scientific
reputation of the Society itself.
'* Diflferences of opinion, and consequent dissatisfaction, would also
be not unlikely occasionally to arise in deciding upon the compara-
tive merits of papers in botany and zoology, the two branches of
natural history, of which, for many years past, the Transactions of
the Society have exclusively consisted.
'* Another point may still be noticed as decidedly unfavourable to
the acceptance of the bequest, namely, the not improbable award of
the Medal by the Council, in some cases to one of its own body, in
1847.] Linnean Society, 317
strict conformity with the conditions of the will ; conditions which
neither the Council itself, nor (as it appears from the tenor and pro-
visions of the will) any other party has the power to modify.
•' These objections have appeared to the Council so important as not
to admit of any other course but that of respectfully declining to
accept a bequest, the operation of which would in all probability be
injurious to the best interests of the Society, by lowering the cha-
racter of its publications, and endangering the continuance of that
harmony which has hitherto prevailed in all essential points. The
Council is at the same time deeply sensible of the kind and liberal
intentions of Mr. Rudge, and entertains a sincere regret that the
express terms of his will should have rendered the acceptance of his
bequest liable to such grave objections.
" I have the honour to be. Sir,
" Your most obedient humble servant,
*' John J. Bennett, Secretary.*'
It was moved, seconded and carried unanimously, that the Society
concur in the Resolution of Council, and that the thanks of the So-
ciety be given to the Council for the mode in which they have sub-
mitted the question to the consideration of the Society.
January 19.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. William Mitton was elected an Associate.
Mr. Ward, F.L.S., exhibited a fine series of specimens of Adiantum
Capillus Veneris, L., together with a specimen of Asplenium Tricho-
manes, L., collected in Italy by Mr. E. W. Cooke, the latter bearing
on several of its i)inn8e sori taking their origin from the upper as well
as from the lower surface of the frond ; and also a portion of a large
branch of a Scotch Fir hollowed out by hornets to form a nest, and
beautifully exhibiting in the dissected parts the origins of the smaller
branches.
Read a paper ** On the Natural History, Anatomy, and Develop-
ment of Melo'e (second memoir)." By George Newport, Esq., F.R.S.
&c. Communicated by the Secretary.
Mr. Newport states at the commencement of his paper, that his
318 Linnean Society. [Jan. 19,
present object is to compare the habits and anatomy of Meloe in its
larva state with those of the larvae of allied genera, and with the pa-
rasitic groups of insects the Strepsiptera and Anoplura, with a view
to show that habit and instinct in animals are always closely asso-
ciated with the functions of particular organs, and seem to be the
immediate result of structural peculiarities of organization.
Having in his former memoir described the habits of Meloe, and
traced the young from the egg to the imago state, he now entered
on an examination of the habits of the entire group of insects allied
to Meloe, and showed that the whole of them in their larva state bear
a general resemblance to the larva Meloe, not only in their organi-
zation but also in their habits ; and that the more closely the larvae of
different genera approach in structure, the more nearly also are they
allied in instinct and oeconomy. This accordance between structure
and instinct he regards as universal throughout nature, and as par-
ticularly marked in the Articulata, The author believes that, by
carefully comparing our observations on the natural history of ani-
mals with their peculiarities of structure, and these on the other
hand with their instincts, what might otherwise remain useless and
isolated facts may be rendered truly important to science, " as data
on which a correct knowledge of the laws of creation and life may
be established." In this way, he states, " natural history may be
made to occupy its proper position as an important branch of useful
knowledge, and mainly help to demonstrate the connexion which
subsists between structure and function, and function and the habits
of animals."
In pursuing this view, he shows that the organization and instinct
of the larva Meloe closely agree. At the moment of birth, when the
larva is destined to attach itself parasitically to the Hymenoptera which
alight on flowers to collect pollen, and which are to convey it to their
nests, its organs of vision are largely developed, and those of loco-
motion are elongated, powerful, and constructed like those of the pa-
rasitic Anoplura ; and it is extremely active and sensitive of light.
But when, at the period of full growth, it is found in the cell of
Anthophora, it is a fattened, yellow-coloured, almost motionless larva,
with its legs atrophied and reduced to mere pedal tubercles previous
to a further change in their structure when the larva passes to the
state of nymph.
In the course of these observations Mr. Newport proved, by actual
comparison, the identity of many yellow-coloured larvae which had
been taken by Mr. Smith on some of the Nomadce (themselves
parasitic insects) with the larvae of Meloct which he had himself
1847.] Linnean Society. S19
reared from the eggs, thus establishing the fact of the parasitic
attachment of Melot to perfect Hymenoptera. The genera allied to
Melo'e {Mylahris, Lytta, Tetraonyx, Sitaris and Apalus), and those of
allied families, Horia, Cipiter, Rhipiphorus, Symbius and others, were
all shown to bear a more or less close relation to Melo'e in the habits
or the structure of their larvae. Sitaris was especially referred to, on
the observations of Audouin and Pecchioli, as affording close simi-
larity to Melo'e both in structure and habit, this species having
already been found by the former naturalist in the nests of Antho-
phora.
Mr. Newport then traced the history of the Slrepsiptera as now
ascertained by the labours of Siebold, most of whose observations he
has confirmed, and he showed some remarkable coincidences between
the structure and habits of the extremely minute larvae of these in-
sects and those of Melo'e. The chief of these are their parasitism on
the Hymenoptera, and the atrophy of their limbs after they are located
in the nests of their victims. So extremely minute are the young
Stylops shortly after their birth, that on measuring several, while
living, on a micrometer plate, Mr. Newport found that each indivi-
dual does not exceed twenty-two thousandths of an inch in length :
yet internally this minute object is as fully organized as other in-
sects. He then showed that what had been regarded by Dr. Siebold
as a csecal termination to the alimentary canal is in fact a reduplica-
tion of part of that organ, which after folding twice on itself is con-
tinued to the anal segment as in other insects. He also described
the imago of this species of Stylops, which, as well as its larvae, had
been obtained from the bee, Andrena Trimmerana, and pointing out
in what it seems to differ from Stylops melitta, he proposed to de-
scribe it as Stylops aterrimus.
Comparing the male Stylops with the female, Mr. Newport re-
marked especially on the peculiar organization of the former, as fitted
for special instincts, perfection of vision and celerity of flight, con-
jecturing that the object of this in Stylops may be the detection on
the wing of those Hymenoptera which carry about with them through
the air the apodal female that awaits impregnation; and showed
that all we yet know of the habits of Stylops is conformable to this
view.
Returning then to the consideration of Melo'e, the author showed
that notwithstanding the structures w^ith which it left the t^^ are fiiUy
developed, they are so on an inferior type of organization, like Sty-
lops and hke the Anoplura. The eye, although large and highly
sensitive to light, is still but a single ocellus, fitted only for near vi-
320 Linnean Society, [Feb. 2,
sion. The limbs although strong are unguiculated, like those of the
Anoplura, and fitted for clinging rather than for regular progression ;
and its mandibles, retaining the jointed, pediform structure of the
corresponding organs in the carnivorous Chilopoda, are fitted for
piercing soft structures, rather than for triturating or for incising
their food. This fact, overlooked by the author in his former memoir,
now induced him to believe that the young Meloe pierces and preys
on the bee larva rather than that it subsists on its food. This he
believes also may hereafter prove to be the true habit of the larva
of most of the allied genera.
Specimens of the larva and imago Stylops, and of the larva, nymph
and imago Meloe, vvrere on the table for inspection.
February 2.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
George Stacy Gibson, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read an " Account of Gamoplexis , an undescribed genus of Or-
chideous Plants." By Hugh Falconer, M.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c. &c.
Trib. Gastrodie^, R. Br.
Gen. Gamoplexis, Falc.
Perianthium monophyllum, tubulosum, basi ventricosum ; limbi breviter
6-lobi segmenta rotundata, antrorsum (torsione) subsecunda, exteriora
jequalia, interiorum posticum (labellum) pedicelli torsione anticum
lateralibus paulo majus, cseteroquin consimile. Columna elongata,
erecta, semiteres, marginato-dilatata, apice tridentata cava, basi antice
incrassata stigraatifera. Anther a terminalis, mobilis, decidua, carnosa,
bilocularis ; loculis parallelis contiguis. Masses pollinis in quovis loculo
solitariae, e lobulis majusculis granulatis laxe cohserentibus conflatae.
Glandula ant caudicula nulla. — Herha parasitica {^) aphylla, vaginata,
rufescens, habitu Orobanchen quamdam omnino referens, Rhizoma
hypogceum, tuberosum, annulatum, spongiosum. Racemus elongatus,
mulliJloruSf pritno nutans, demum erectus. Flores mediocres, erecti,
pallide str amine o-vir ides vel ochroleuci.
Gamoplexis orobanchoides, Falc. MSS. cit. in Royle, Illustr. p. 364, et
in Lindl. Gen. Sf Spec. Orchid. PL p. 384, absque charactere aut dejinitione.
Hab. in umbrosis humidis inter Montes Emodenses ad alt. circiter ped.
7000 ; Dhunoultee, Tyne-Teeba, Simla, &c. Floret Julio et Augusto.
After a detailed description of the plant, Dr. Falconer proceeds to
1847.] Linnean Society* 321
point out its affinity both in habit and structure to Gastrodia, R. Br.,
and to Epiphanes Javanica, Bl., from both which, however, it is suf-
ficiently distinct in the cohesion of the labellar segment with the
tube of the perianthium. It is the only example, so far as Dr. Fal-
coner is aware, hitherto ascertained in the order, of the union of
all the divisions of both whorls of the floral envelope into a mono-
phyllous perianthium. Its parasitism is of a peculiar kind ; the tu-
berous rhizoma emits no root-fibres by which to attach itself to other
plants, but is itself matted over by their slender rootlets which ra-
mify upon it in every direction slightly imbedded in its surface, to
which they adhere with great tenacity, and especially to the scarious
margins of the abortive sheath annuli. This peculiarity was ob-
served in numerous instances, but other cases occurred in which the
surface of the tubers presented no such appearance.
February 16.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
William Baird, Esq., M.D., and George Newport, Esq., were
elected Fellows.
Read an extract from a letter addressed by Captain Sir E. Home,
Bart., R.N., to R. Brown, Esq., V.P.L.S., giving an account of the
measurement of some of the largest of the New Zealand and Norfolk
Island Pines. With reference to the former Sir E. Home quotes from
the Journal of Mr. Saddler, Master R.N., who was sent to New Zea-
land in 1833-4 in command of the Buffalo Store-ship to procure spars
for the Na\y. The tree which he describes was in a forest near
Wangaroa, some miles north of the Bay of Islands. Mr. Saddler
says, " On 16th (May 1834) I went to examine a Kauri tree IDam'
mora australis, Lamb.] which Mr. Betts the purveyor in his search
through the forest had discovered a few days previous ; it is situated
about two miles from the river on the steep bank of a ravine. It
appeared perfectly sound and healthy, and measured forty-three feet
nine inches in circumference, and sixty feet high without a branch.
Its head then spread out into forty-one principal branches, some of
which were four feet through. It is more than double the size of
any tree I have before seen in this country." Sir E. Home adds.
No. XXXII. — Proceedings of the Liknean Society.
322 Linnean Society, [Feb. 16,
that the largest tree of this species that he saw was only eighteen
feet eight inches in circumference ; but that in Norfolk Island he had
measured the largest tree [of Araucaria excelsa, Sol.] known to be
upon the island and had found it to be 187 feet high, the girth at four
feet from the ground fifty- four feet, and at twenty feet from the
ground fifty-one feet. This tree is hollow for sixteen feet above the
ground, but is in good health.
Read also a memoir " On the Structure and Comparative Phy-
siology of Chiton and Chitonellus." By Lovell Reeve, Esq., F.L.S.
&c. &c.
Mr. Reeve commences his paper by remarking on the paucity of
species of Chitonidce known to Lamarck so lately as 1819, and the
very large number (amounting to between two and three hundred)
now known to inhabit the western coast of South America,4;he shores
of New Holland and New Zealand, and other localities explored by
recent voyagers ; and states that he is enabled by the kindness of
Mr. Cuming and Capt. Sir Edward Belcher to offer a few observa-
tions on the structure of Chiton and such remarks on Chitonellus as,
in his opinion, will leave no doubt of their claim to generic distinc-
tion. He notices the successive additions made to these genera by
Mr. Frembly, by Mr. Cuming, by M. Quoy, by Capt. Belcher in the
voyages of the Blossom, the Sulphur and the Samarang (and espe-
cially in the latter in company with Mr. Arthur Adams), by the Rev,
Mr. Hennah, by Dr. Dieffenbach, by Mr. Earl, by Mr. Ronald Gunn,
by Mr. Ince, by Dr. Gould, by Mr. Courthony, and by Prof. Edward
Forbes and Mr. M' Andrew ; and then enters into an examination of
the views of authors with reference to their affinity, adopting that
first promulgated by Adanson and now generally adopted, that they
are immediately related to Patella. A description of the animal is
then given, and the differences between it and the animal of Patella
pointed out, as well as the modifications to which it is subject in
different species. The distinctions between the shells and animals
of Chiton and Chitonellus are more particularly insisted on ; and the
author proceeds to point out a marked difference in the habits of the
two genera. He states, on the authority of Mr. Cuming, that while
the Chitons live attached to stones and fragments of shells in deep
water, or more frequently under masses of stone and on exposed
rocks about low- water mark, the Chitonelli dwell in holes and cavi-
ties, either of natural formation or bored by other Mollusca, into
which they thrust themselves by attenuating their bodies in a sur-
prising manner, sometimes turning completely at right angles and at
1847.] Linheau Sociehj. 323
angles again. Those which were only partially imbedded were found
to have entered holes too small to contain them, and the posterior
part of their bodies remained suspended externally, fat and swollen,
and constantly separating from the anterior half when any attempt
was made to draw them forcibly from their retreats. These remarks
apply to Chitonellus fasciatus, collected by Mr. Cuming in the Phi-
lippine Islands in great abundance and of extraordinary dimensions,
extending frequently to a foot or more in length. Capt. Sir E. Bel-
cher and Mr. Adams collected the same species in the Korean Archi-
pelago, where they were found in company with Chitons and noticed
to be of locomotive habits ; the Chitonellus seeking retirement in a
hole or cavity, but crawling away from its attachment on being dis-
turbed, at about the pace of the common garden snail.
For these reasons, although Mr. Reeve does not regard the other
subdivisions proposed in the genus Chiton as of greater value than
sectional, he considers Chitonellus as entitled to rank equally with
Chiton in its most extended form, being in his opinion clearly di-
stinguished both in structure (as regards the condition of the mantle
and its system of calcification) and in habit.
March 2.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
William Thomas Collings, Esq., and Thomas Vernon Wollaston,
Esq., were elected Fellows.
Read ** Notes on the seals of Linnaeus." By the Baron d'Hom-
bres Firmas. Communicated by the Secretary.
In these notes, intended to form part of the preliminary matter
prefixed to the correspondence of Linnaeus with his uncle, Boissier de
Sauvages, which the Baron is about to print for private distribution,
an account is given of the seals employed by Linnaeus in that cor-
respondence, and of some others with which M. d'Hombres Firmas
has become acquainted from other sources. Of all of these he gives
figures, adding the armorial bearings of Linnaeus as designed by
himself, and as altered to suit the rules of heraldry by the Chancellor
De Fitas, the seal of the Linnean Society, and the reverse of a medal
324 Linnean Society, [March 2,
struck in 1758, in honour of Linnaeus, by order of Count Tessin,
Marshal of the Diet.
Read also a paper " On the Impregnation of Dischidia" By the
late William Griffith. Esq., F.L.S. &c. &c. Communicated by
Robert Brown, Esq., V.P.L.S.
In this paper, flated " Mergui, March 7, 1835," Mr. Griffith de-
tails a series of observations made in January of that year on Dis-
chidia Rafflesiana, Wall., and confirmed (with the exception of those
relating to the development of the ovule) by the examination of an-
other species, apparently allied to D. Bengalensis, Colebr.
Mr. Griffith commences by a description of the progress of the
ovula from their first appearance as mere rounded elevations on the
placenta. The first change consists in a narrowing towards the base,
which afterwards puts on the appearance of a funiculus, and at the
same time a rounded rather shallow cavity appears on the upper
edge of the ovulum close to the funiculus. The further changes take
place rapidly ; the rounded cavity assumes the appearance of a deep
fissure with raised margins extending from the base of the ovulum,
close to the funiculus, along the upper margin of the ovulum for
about one-fourth of its length. This fissure gradually lengthens ;
its lips become more expanded, and a small indistinct grumous-look-
ing mass becomes visible in the central line and towards the apex of
the ovulum, which is the first rudiment of the nucleus, or of the ca-
vity within which the future embryo is to be developed, and which
becomes subsequently more distinct, and frequently assumes a
rounded form. In the perfect ovule the fissure is very large, extend-
ing longitudinally from the base of the funiculus for about one- third
of the length of the convex upper margin of the ovule ; its lips are
gaping,'and it is of considerable depth, gradually narrowing towards
its fundus. The grumous mass is now very distinct and the first
indications of an excavation around it are appreciable. When no
impregnation has taken place, in flowers that have passed their me-
ridian, the excavation is enlarged, the grumous mass is more irre-
gular, and it frequently appears to be broken up, the component
parts being irregularly grouped together.
The partial closing of the corolla of Dischidia by the connivence
of its divisions, and the short hairs with which those divisions are
furnished internally in D. Rafflesiana, induced Mr. Griffith to regard
foreign agency as inapplicable in determining the escape of the pol-
linia from their anthers, and to believe that impregnation in any
given flower is in this genus the result of the action of its own pol-
184?.] Linnean Society, 325
linia. The poUinia are erect, have no diaphanous margin, and de-
hisce along that margin which is internal with regard to the cell of
the anther, and which presents no appreciable difference of structure,
but corresponds with the margin of dehiscence of the pendulous pol-
linia first noticed by Mr. Brown. The base of the stigma is slightly-
papillose in D. Rajfesiana, and more evidently so in the other spe-
cies ; and the fissures of communication are open in the former, but
closely approximated in the latter. In neither has Mr. Griffith seen
the pollinia engaged in these fissures, but they are either caught
by the processes of the corona or fall to the fundus of the corolla ;
and in whatever situation they emit their boyaux, the cord formed
by the aggregation of the latter always engages itself in the
nearest fissure where it becomes more opake and grumous. The
cord then passes upwards to the base of the stigma, along which it
is reflected until it reaches the union of the stigma with the styles, at
which place it dips into one of them, or rarely both, and proceeds
downwards to the placenta, causing a slight discoloration of the ad-
joining tissue. The boyaux then separate and proceed in every di-
rection among the ovula, to which they become firmly attached.
They contain much granular matter which has a strong tendency to
accumulate towards their termination. Mr. Griffith states that he
has observed an oscillatory motion, but no motion of ascent or de-
scent, of the contained granules. The tubes are simple and one ap-
pears to be allotted to each ovulum, to which it remains applied for
some time, invariably passing in at the centre of the fissure and ad-
hering so firmly that they break across rather than separate. Mr.
Griffith was unable to demonstrate their termination internally by
actual dissection, but in one instance he observed the boyau to ter-
minate about the fundus of the fissure in a cul-de-sac, which was
crowded with granules. Whatever the function of these granules may
be, similar bodies exist in the cellular tissue of the ovula both before
and after the application of the tubes, and the majority certainly dis-
appear before the tubes reach the ovula.
No immediate change appears to be produced in the ovula by the
application of the tubes ; but some time afterwards the excavation
appears to enlarge and extend towards the point of insertion of the
tube ; and this action is continued until the whole of the granular
mass disappears and the chief part of the ovulum is occupied by the
now empty excavation. No further appreciable change, except in
size, takes place for some time, and the rudiments of the coma are
even visible before any part of the embryo appears to be formed.
32(j Linnean Society, [March 16,
March 16.
' The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Mr. Ward, F.L.S., exhibited specimens of several Ferns collected
in Ireland, including Trichomanes speciosum (referred to Tr. radicans,
Hedw. fil.) found in a new station on the Toomies mountain, Kil-
larney ; Hymenophyllum Tunbridgefise, of more than double the size of
any specimens to be found at Tunbridge Wells ; and a monstrous
and singularly divided variety of Asplenium Filix Foemina, found
about twenty years ago in Connemara, and sent to the Botanic Gar-
den at Dublin, where it maintains its character when grown from the
sporules, which are freely produced.
Read a '* Note on Samara lata, L." By G. A. Walker Arnott,
Esq., LL.D., F.L.S., Regius Professor of Botany in the University of
Glasgow.
In this note Dr. Arnott gives a minute account of the history of
the genus Samara, and of the errors of various authors in regard to
it, originating partly in Linnseus's own misquotation as a synonym of
Burm. Thes. Zeyl. t. 31, which represents a species of Memecylon ;
partly in Jussieu's reference of the genus to Rhamneae, afterwards
corrected by himself, but which correction seems to have escaped
observation ; and partly in the assumption that the Samara lata of
Swartz, referred to in his ' Flora Indise Occidentalis,' must therefore
be a plant of the West Indies. With regard to the affinities of the
genus, he notices Mr. Brown's reference to Myrsine of the three spe-
cies added by Swartz, Solander and Willdenow, and also Jussieu's
suggestion that Samara is related to Myrsine, both published in 1810.
A detailed examination of the three specimens of Samara lata pre-
served in the Linnean Herbarium, and of three specimens from
China referred to that species in the Banksian Herbarium, follows ;
and he concludes from this examination that Samara, L., is identical
with Choripetalum, A. DeC, which is scarcely distinguishable from
Embelia, L., except in the quaternary instead of quinary division of
the flower, although perhaps the aestivation may also slightly differ.
The following are the characters which Dr. Arnott gives of the spe-
cies hitherto known to him : —
184?.] Linnean Society. 52?
1. S, lata, floribus corymbosis, bracteis pedicello dupld brevioribus, pe-
talis intus glabris, f'oiiis membranaceis planis.
Samara laeta, L», Sw. Sfc.
Hah. in Chin&.
2. S, undulata, floribus racemosis, bracteis pedicello mult6 brevioribus)
petalis intiis glabris, foliis membranaceis undulatis.
Myrsine ? undulata, Wall, in Roxb. Fl. Ind. i. p. 299.
Choripetalum undulatum, Alph, DeC. in Linn. Trans, xvii. p. 131.
Hab. in Nepaliil.
3. S, viridijlora, floribus racemosis, bracteis pedicello dupld brevioribua,
petalis subacutis intus subvelutinis, foliis subcoriaceis.
Cboripetalum viridiflorum, Alph. DeC. Prodr. viii. p. 88.
Hab. in Jav^.
4. S. atirantiaca, floribus spicato-racemosis, bracteis pedicellum fer6 supe-
rantibus, petalis intus velutinis, foliis coriaceis.
Myrsine ? aurantiaca, Wall, in Roxb. Fl. Ind. i. p. 300.
Choripetalum aurantiacum, Alph. DeC. in Linn. Trans, xvii. p. 131.
Hab. in Peninsula Indiae Orientalis, ad Quilon.
5. S. atropunctata, floribus racemosis, bracteolis pedicello florigero duplo
longioribus, petalis obtusis intus glabris, foliis coriaceis.
Hab. in Peninsula Indise Orientalis, ad Quilon.
Of the stability of this latter species, however, although apparently
distinct from S. aurantiaca in the characters given, Dr. Arnott en-
tertains some doubts.
April 6.
R. Brown, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Robert M'Andrew, Esq., and James Forbes Young, Esq., M.D.,
were elected Fellows.
Read a " Note on Cryptophagus cellaris, Payk." By George New-
port, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
The author states that in his first memoir on Meloe he described a
larva, of which he had found three specimens in the cell of Antho-
phora retusa, and which, although they were of small size, he then
thought might ultimately prove to be the young of Meloe, at a pe-
riod of growth between that in which it is now known to come from
328 Linnean Society, [April 20,
the egg, and that in which he has found it, immediately before it
changes to a nymph. He did not however describe them as actually
the young of Melo'e, and he now finds that they belong to another
family, the Engida.
The author then describes these larvae more minutely, and states
that having kept them in a glass vessel partly filled with dry clay
and a cell of Anthophora retusa which contained a nymph, he found
that the larvae constantly sheltered themselves beneath it, although
they did not attempt to prey on it, but fed on the rejectamenta
voided before it underwent its change. The larvae continued in this
state till the beginning of January, when each specimen quitted the
cell of the bee, and excavated for itself a burrow in the clay in which
it assumed the nymph state. The nymph closely resembled that of
Diaperis Boleti in its general appearance.
At the end of February each specimen assumed the imago state,
but continued feeble, and remained in its bun'ow until the eighth of
March, when it came forth and proved to be Cryptophagus cellaris,
Payk.
April 20.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
David Thomas Ansted, Esq., M.A., was elected a Fellow.
Read a paper ** On a new genus of Plants of the family Burman-
niaceaer By John Miers, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c. &c.
Ophiomeris.
Perianthium superum, tubulosum, gibbosum, caducum ; fauce laterali
annulo semiclausa; limbo 6-partito, laciniis 3 exterioribus brevibus
ovatis, 3 interioribus longissimis subulatis. Stamina 6, libera, infra
perianthii faucem inserta et ejus laciniis opposita, indusa, versus tubum
retroflexa ; filamentis petaloideis, margine appendiculatis ; antheris ad-
natis in sinu filamentorum terminalibus, 2-locularibus, loculis longitu-
dinaliter dehiscentibus. Ovarium inferum, 1-loculare ; placentis 3 pa-
rietalibus, medio ovuligeris ; ovulis indefinitis, anatropis. Stylus brevis.
Stigmata^. Fructus turbinatus, truncatus, apice operculatim dehiscens,
1-locularis. Semina plurima, scobiformia. Embryo ignotus. — Plantae
Brasilienses, hyaline, super lignum cariosum parasitiece ; rhizomate
tuheroso, fihrillis numerosis ; caule simplici, erecto, subjlexuoso, angu-
1847.] Linnean Society, 329
latOffere aphyllo ; flore solitario, terminali, 2 — i-bracteato ; bracteolis
hrevihus vel sub Jtore vel in caule medio, erectis ; perianthii tubo sub-
hyalinoy laciniis interioribus roseis, exterioribiu flaviSf corond luted
margine aurantiacd ; fructu hyalino.
1. O. Macauensis, caule nudo, bracteolis 2 v. 3 florem solitarium termi-
nalem suffulcientibus.
Hab. ad Macahe, in Prov. Rio de Janeiro.
Planta 2 — 3-pollicaris.
2. O. Iguassuensis, caule subnudo medio bracteolis 3 v. 4 in verticillum
dispositis instructo.
llab. ad Iguassu, in Prov. Rio de Janeiro.
Planta vix poUicaris.
Mr. Miers compares this Brazilian genus with Thismia, GriflF.
(characterized at p. 221), of which he has seen specimens in the her-
barium of Sir William Hooker, as well as a specimen probably of the
same species collected by Capt. Champion in the island of Ceylon.
He regards Thismia and Ophiomeris as constituting a distinct section
of the family Burmanniacece, which he proposes to subdivide as fol-
lows : —
BURMANNIACE^.
I. BuRMANNiE^. Perianthium tripterum. Stamina 3. Ovarium 3-loculare.
Placenta centralis.
Cap«M/a longitudinaliter dehiscens 1. Burmannia, L.
transverse fenestrata 2. Gonyantkes, Blum.
n. Apterie^. Perianthium simplex. Stamina 3. Ovarium 1-loculare.
Placentce 3, parietales.
Caj5c 7. Thismia, Griff,
delpha )
gibbus. Stamina libera ... 8. Ophiomeris, Miers.
The paper concludes with some observations on the affinities of
these plants, and of Triuris, Miers, and Peltophylium, Gardn. ; and
was illustrated with detailed drawings of Ophiomeris Macahensis, and
of the flower of Thismia Brunonis, Griff., for comparison.
No. XXXIII. — Proceedings of tuk Linni-an Society.
330 Linnean Society, [May 4,
May 4.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
. Henry Cadogan Rothery, Esq., M.A., was elected a Fellow.
Read a paper " On Jansonia, a new genus of Leguminosce, from
Western Australia." By Richard Kippist, Libr. L.S.
Jansonia.
Char. Gen. Calyx ebracteatus, bilabiatus ; labio superiore fere ad basin
bifido ; inferiore 4-pld longiore, 3-])artito ; segmentis omnibus acutis.
Corolla papilionacecB petala longe stipitata ; vexHlum ovato-Ianceo-
latum, reflexum, alls oblongo-ellipticis multo brevius ; carince cotn-
pressse (alls tertilt parte longioris) petala oblonga, basi auriculata,
dorso connata. Stamina 10, libera, vel ima basi cohaerentia, inseqni-
longa, persistentia. Ovarium villosissimum, substipitatum, stipitulo
bosi vaginul^ cincto, pauci- (4 — 6) ovulatum, suturis non inflexis.
Stylus filiformis, eloiigatus, apice incurvus, glaber. Stigma parvnm.
Legumen — Suffrutex Novas Hollandiae Austro-Occidentalis,
Brachysemati, R. Br. proximus ; ramis erectis vel adscendentihus ; foliis
opposiiis, ohlongo-ovat'iSy emarginatis, mucronatis, utrinque reticulatis^
rrmrgine revolutis, suhundulatis, minute denticulatis ; stipulis lanceolato-
subulatis, demum deciduis ; floribus sessilibus, congestis in capitula cer-
nua, A flora, bracteis 4 ovatis decussatis, coriaceiSffuscisj extus sericeis
suffulta, r amnios breves axillares terminantia.
Jansonia Formosa.
Hob. in Novae Hollandiae Ord Austro-Occidentali, ad " Scott's River "
(1842), Gilbert {v. s.).
Obs. Specimen habitu debiliore, et foliis ramulisque pubescentibus paulo
diversum a D. Jac. Drummond ad " Swan River " lectum {v. s. in Herb,
D. Lemann).
The nearest affinity of Jansonia is with Brachysema, R. Br., with
which genus Mr. Kippist states that it agrees in its unguiculate
petals, in the form and unusual length of the keel, in the extreme
shortness of the standard, in its elongated filiform style, and in its
shortly stalked villous germen, surrounded at the base by a minute
fleshy ring ; but it is abundantly distinguished by its capitate inflo-
rescence, by the remarkable inequality of its calycine segments, by
the much greater length of the claws of its petals, and by the pau-
city of its ovules, which do not appear to exceed six in number.
Mr. Kippist also compares it with Leptosema, Benth., which is clearly
distinguished by its bibracteolate calyx, composed of two nearly equal
1847.] Linnean Society, 331
lips, the uppermost of which is very slightly bifid ; its scarcely un-
guiculate vexillum ; its wings about equal in length to the keel ; the
distinct inflexion of its carinal suture ; as well as by its inflorescence,
that of Leptosema being a densely crowded raceme, while in Jansonia
the flowers are perfectly sessile and arranged in a verticillate manner
round a common axis, which is slightly prolonged beyond the point
from whence the flowers spring in the form of a short mucro.
The genus is dedicated to the memory of the late Joseph Janson,
Esq., F.L.S. ; and the paper was accompanied with a drawing of the
plant, comprising details of its parts of fructification.
Anniversary Meeting.
May 24.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
This day, the Anniversary of the birth of Linnaeus, and that ap-
pointed by the Charter for the election of Council and Oflicers, the
President opened the business of the Meeting, and stated the num-
ber of Members whom the Society had lost during the past year, of
some of whom the Secretary read the following notices : —
Mr. William Anderson was the son of an humble but respectable
man, who was, just previous to the rising of 1745, forester and gar-
dener to a Jacobite Laird in the Western Highlands, and who had
some share in favouring the escape of Prince Charles Edward from
his pursuers. He afterwards rented a garden at Easter Warriston
near Edinburgh, and subsequently removed to Cannon Mills, where
his son William, then a sturdy lad, distinguished himself as a leader
against the incursions of the more aristocratic youths of the New
Town, which were frequently directed upon the village. About
1790 he entered the garden of Messrs. Anderson and Leslie of the
Broughton Nurseries ; and after being employed for some time in
the neighbourhood of Edinburgh he made his way to London, where
he worked for some time in a nursery. About 1798 he became
gardener to Mr. James Vere of Kensington Gore, a wealthy silk-
merchant, who possessed a large collection of rare and valuable
plants. Here Mr. Anderson remained until 1815, and had ample
332 Linnean Society. [May 24,
opportunities of enlarging his knowledge of plants, as well as of
studying the best and most improved methods of cultivation. In
1815, on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks and Sir James
Edward Smith, he was appointed by the Society of Apothecaries to
the Curatorship of their Botanic Garden at Chelsea, then vacant by
the death of Mr. Fairbairn ; and their choice was amply justified by
the result. He speedily retrieved the garden from the state of neg-
lect and dilapidation into which it had fallen, and placed it in a
thriving and respectable condition, in which he continued to main-
tain it (as far as the small amount of funds allotted for its support
would admit) until his decease. He was elected an Associate of the
Linnean Society in 1798, and became a Fellow in 1815, always
taking a warm interest in its prosperity, and attending its meetings
with the utmost regularity. He died on the 6th of October 1846, at
an age approaching 80, having been for nearly thirty-two years
Curator of the Botanic Garden at Chelsea, and having borne through
life the character of a strictly honourable, upright and independent
man, which qualities he combined with a warm heart and a charit-
able disposition.
The following are the titles of his communications to the * Gar-
dener's Magazine ' and other horticultural publications : —
** On packing and preserving Seeds (of Corypha Taliera)." — Gard.
Mag. vol. i. p. 210.
" On Budding the Peach and Nectarine on Almond Stocks." —
Ibid. vol. i. p. 384.
" On a durable Earthenware Number Tally." — Ibid. vol. v. p. 263.
" On Breaking Stones in Gravel Walks." — Ibid. vol. v. p. 459.
" On the advantage of building the Furnaces of Greenhouses, &c.
within the house." — Ibid. vol. xi. p. 247.
" On protecting the Crocus, when in blossom, from Sparrows." —
Ibid. vol. xiii. p. 172.
"A mode of destroying the White Bug in Hot-houses." — Ibid.
vol. xvi. p. 110.
" On the Hautboy Strawberry." — Ibid. vol. xvii. p. 266.
*• On the introduction and cultivation of a variety of Azalea indica."
— Hort. Trans, vol. ii. p. 259.
Extract of a letter from Mr. Anderson to M. Otto, Director of
the Berlin Botanic Garden, containing observations on some weep-
ing varieties of the Hawthorn, Elm, Ash, &c., and on their repro-
duction by seed. — Verhandlungen des Vereins zur Beforderung des
Gartenbaues, &c., Berlin, vol. v. p. 280.
Thomas Bevan, Esq., M.D.
1847.] Linnean Society, 333
John Bostock, M.D., was the son of a physician in Liverpool, in
which town he was bom in the year 1774. He lost his father in
early infancy, and received his rudimentary education at the New
College at Hackney, where the Lectures of Dr. Priestley contributed to
imbue his mind with an ardent love of science, which determined him
to embrace his father's profession. With this view he completed
his studies at the University of Edinburgh, where he took his degree
in 1798; and he soon afterwards entered into practice as a physician in
Liverpool and continued to reside therefor nearly twenty years. During
this period, notwithstanding that he was actively engaged in his pro-
fessional pursuits, he distinguished himself by numerous contributions
to various Medical and Scientific Journals and to Brewster's ' Ency-
clopaedia,* as well as by the prominent part which he took in the esta-
blishment and support of the scientific and charitable institutions
of the town. Among these the Fever Hospital and the Botanic Gar-
den were greatly indebted to his exertions ; and he delivered, as Pro-
fessor of Physiology, the first course of Lectures given in the Philo-
sophical and Literary Institution.
In 1817, Dr. Bostock quitted the practice of his profession, and
fixed himself in London, where he soon became an active member of
most of the leading Scientific and Medical Societies. His election
into the Royal Society took place in 1818, and in 1832 he was one
of its Vice-Presidents. In 1819 he became a Fellow of the Linnean
Society ; and he was for some time one of the Secretaries, and
afterwards President of the Geological Society. He became an active
member of the Zoological Society soon after its institution, and the
Medical and Chirurgical Society elected him their Treasurer ; and
he gave Lectures on Chemistry for several years at the Medical School
of Guy's Hospital.
His contributions to Medical and Scientific Journals, to Cyclo-
paedias and to the Transactions of Societies, are stated to amount to
sixty-nine ; of which twenty were published in Nicholson's * Journal,*
or in the ' Annals of Philosophy,' eighteen in the * Medico- Chirur-
gical Transactions,' and twelve in the ' Cyclopaedia of Practical Me-
dicine ' and the * Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology.' Some
of the more important of these papers were afterwards republished
by him in a separate form. Such are his * Account of the History
and Present State of Galvanism,' and his ' History of Medicine.* But
his most important work is his ' Elementary System of Physiology,'
in three vols. 8vo, Lond. 1824 — 1827, of which a second and a third
edition have since appeared, the last comprised in one very thick 8vo
volume. This is justly regarded as the best text-book of Physiology,
334 Linnean Society, [May 24,
being a most elaborate compilation of all that had been previously-
published, both as regards facts and theories, in this highly import-
ant and extensive field of inquiry, together with exact and scrupu-
lous references to the original authorities for every statement and to
the sources from which more detailed information may be derived.
He subsequently projected a new translation of Pliny's * Natural
History,' of which he printed the first and thirty-third books as a
specimen for private distribution, in 1828, and in which he had made
considerable progress at the time of his decease. For two or three
years before his death his health had been gradually declining, and
he finally sank under an attack of cholera on the 6th of August
1846.
William Bridgman, Esq., F.R,S. 8fC., became F.L.S. in 1799, and
died on the 6th of January 1847.
Mr. Lionel Dietrichsen.
Sir Thomas Grey, Kt., M.D., F.R.S., was a native of the county
of Selkirk, and. became a surgeon in the Royal Navy in 1794. He
was knighted for his professional services, first by the Lord Lieute-
nant of Ireland, and afterwards by the Prince Regent in 1819. He
became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1814, was for many years
a magistrate of the county of Kent, and died at St. Lawrence in the
Isle of Thanet on the 17th of July 1846.
Charles Hatchett, Esq., was eminently distinguished for his know-
ledge of chemistry, as well as for his amiable disposition and liberal
spirit. A detailed account of his life and writings will probably be
given elsewhere, but it is right that he should be mentioned here as
the founder (in conjunction with the late Sir Everard Home) of the
Animal Chemistry Society, consisting of a very few members of the
Royal Society, who met at distant intervals under a regulation that
the papers read at their meetings should be afterwards communicated
to the parent body. Many valuable papers (and among them several
by Mr. Hatchett himself) communicated by this Society are printed
in the ' Philosophical Transactions.'
Mr. Hatchett became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1 795,
and of the Royal Society in 1797. He contributed to the eighth
volume of our ' Transactions' a paper entitled '* Some Account of the
Pitch Lake in the Island of Trinidad, in two Letters : the first from
Samuel Span, Esq., to James Tobin, Esq., F.L.S. ; and the other
from Mr. Tobin to Charles Hatchett, Esq., F.R.S. and L.S. ; with
observations by Mr. Hatchett." His death took place in February
of the present year, at an advanced age.
George Loddiges, Esq., was born on the 12th of March 1784, at
184?.] Linnean Society, 335
Hackney, where his father Conrad Loddiges, a German by birth, had
esta])lished a Nursery and Botanical Garden, which under his able
superintendence, and since his death under that of his two sons, has
attained the highest reputation both at home and abroad. Among
its most remarkable features are the collection of Orchidea, of which
a catalogue, extending to upwards of 1900 species and varieties, was
published in 1845; and the noble series of 280 Palms, which can
scarcely be rivalled in variety and beauty of growth. The house in
which the latter are contained was designed without the intervention
of an architect, and entirely erected with the assistance only of the
workmen employed in the garden.
At an early period Mr. George Loddiges became a Fellow of the
Horticultural Society, of which he was for some years one of the
Vice-Presidents; and in 1821 he was elected into the Linnean Society,
and has several times been placed upon its Council. He commenced
in 1818, in conjunction with his brother, the publication of a work of
plates illustrative of the plants cultivated in the nursery at Hackney,
under the title of the ' Botanical Cabinet,' and continued it until the
number of figures amounted to 2000, of which a large proportion
were drawn by himself. His taste for art had induced him to form
an extensive collection of impressions of gems from the antique, and
he had brought together about 1000 specimens of woods, cut and
polished for the better exhibition of their characters. He was also
much attached to microscopical investigation, anxious to possess
the best and most recent improvements in the instrument, an accu-
rate ol)server and a skilful manipulator. But in nothing were his
attachment to natural history, and his skill and taste in the prepa-
ration and arrangement of his subjects, more strongly manifested
than in his unrivalled collection of Humming- Birds, which extends
to more than 200 species, in various states of age and plumage, to
the collection and mounting of which he had devoted during twenty-
years a large portion of his time. It had long been his intention to
publish a work illustrative of this beautiful tribe of birds ; but
although he had collected much valuable information respecting
them, he appears not to have made any advance towards putting it
in a state for publication. He died on the 5th of June 1846, at the.
age of 60, leaving behind him the character of a man of great
amiability of disposition, extensive information and liberal spirit.
Hugh Percy, Duke of Northumberland, was bom on. the 20th of*
April 1785. He was educated at Eton and afterwards at St. John's
College, Cambridge, and took his degree of A.M. in 1805, and that
of LL.D. in 1809. In 1812 he was called to the House of Peers by
336 Linnean Society, [May 24,
the title of Baron Percy, and in 1817 he succeeded his father in the
Dukedom. He had previously sat for several years in the House of
Commons, and he afterwards filled several dignified and important
oflices in the State, being selected to represent the King of England
at the Coronation of Charles X. of France, and afterwards to fill the
office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, under the Administration of the
Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel.
His leisure hours were much employed in the study of botany,
astronomy and mechanics. To the University of Cambridge (which
had elected him its Chancellor) he presented a large telescope with
an object-glass of 12 inches diameter, and one of the latest acts of
his life was to give to the University of Durham a similar telescope,
with a portable observatory, so adjusted that it might be erected in
the most eligible situation for taking observations.
On his garden at Syon (a garden known to botanical science for
nearly three centuries, and from whence Dr. Turner, the author of
the first English Herbal, dates the preface of his book) his Grace
annually expended large sums. The garden was greatly improved
by the erection of an elegant, extensive and lofty range of conserva-
tories ; and considerable success was attained in the]efFort to cultivate
various tropical fruit-trees, with a view to the ripening of their fruit.
In this object the Duke followed up the example of his father-in-law,
the late Lord Powis, whose collection of tropical fruit-trees had been
transferred to Syon at his decease. At various times collectors were
also sent out by the Duke, either entirely at his own expense, or in
conjunction with others, with the view of introducing horticultural
novelties, and many rare and interesting plants which flowered or
fruited for the first time at Syon were the result of these expeditions.
His Grace died at Alnwick Castle on the 1 1 th of February in the
present year. His Fellowship of the Linnean Society dates from the
year 1833 ; and he had been for several years a Trustee of the British
Museum on the nomination of the Queen.
John Parkinson, Esq., FM.S. 8(C., was the son of a gentleman who
became possessed by the chances of the Lottery of the noble museum
/. ' formed by Sir Ashton Leveri at an expense of upwards of 50,000/.
'^j This was the means of introducing our late Fellow to Dr. Shaw of
the British Museum, with whom he became closely intimate, and to
many other eminent naturalists, from whose conversation he imbibed
a considerable taste for the pursuits in which they were engaged.
From an early period of his life he was employed in the service of
the Government, first as Paymaster of French Refugees, and after-
wards as British Consul successively at Koenigsberg, Pillau, Memel,
1847.] Linnean Society, 337
Pemambuco, Bahia and Mexico. In these various localities, espe-
cially in the latter, his position and his taste enabled him to render
considerable services to botany by the introduction of new and va-
luable plants, for many of which our conservatories are indebted to
his active exertions.
He retired from public service a few years ago, and has since been
a frequent attendant at our meetings, taking a lively interest in the
proceedings of the Society, of which he had been for nearly fifty-two
years a Fellow. He died at Paris oh the 3rd of April in the present
year.
Edward Rudge, Esq., was descended from a merchant and alder-
man of London of the same names, who in 1664 purchased of Mr.
William Courten (whose collections in natural history formed the
foundation of the Sloanean Museum) a large portion of the Abbey
estate at Evesham, to which estate our late member succeeded, and
to which he also made considerable additions. He was born on the
27th of June 1763, and derived his taste for botany, which he early
cultivated by the collection of British plants, from an uncle, who
commenced the formation of an herbarium, which was followed up
and greatly added to by the nephew. The acquisition of a fine
series of the plants of Guiana collected by M. Martin, a French
collector of great skill and judgment, who lost by the fortune of war
two successive and valuable collections of plants, induced him to
turn his attention more particularly towards the flora of that coun-
try, and he published in 1807 a folio volume of selections, carefully
made, under the title of ' Plantarum Guianse Rariorum Icones et
Descriptiones.' The illustrations to this volume, in the preparation
of which he derived some assistance from Mr. R. A. Salisbury, were
from the pencil of the first Mrs. Rudge.
Mr. Rudge became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1802, and
communicated several papers to its * Transactions ' in the course of
the ten following years. These are severally entitled —
" Descriptions of some species of Carex from North America,"
vol. vii. p. 96.
" Descriptions of seven new species of Plants from New Holland,"
vol. viii. p. 291.
" Description of a new species of Dimorpha," vol. ix. p. 197.
" A description of several species of Plants from New Holland,"
vol. X. p. 283.
" A description of several new species of Plants from New HoU
land," vol. ii. p. 296.
In the eighth volume of our * Transactions ' Mr. R. A- Salisbury
338 Linnean Society, [May 24,
paid him the merited compliment of dedicating to him a genus of
plants under the name of Rudgea, described and figured from speci-
mens of two species in Martin's Guiana collection, which (as far as
I am aware) have not yet been met with by any other collector.
In 1805 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society ; and he subse-
quently connected himself with most of the leading Societies of the
metropolis, taking an active interest in their pursuits and being fre-
quently placed upon their Councils. At an early period he became
a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and as an antiquary he has
considerable merit. At intervals between 1811 and 1834 he care-
fully excavated those portions of the ancient Abbey of Evesham
which were under his control, and the results were communicated
to the Society of Antiquaries, who not only inserted his memoirs in
the ' Archaeologia,' but also made the ruins and relics brought to
light by these excavations the subject of a series of large plates in
their ' Vetusta Monumenta.' An octagonal tower of stone erected
by him in 1842 on the battle-field of Evesham, commemorative of
Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, further marks the bent of his
mind towards antiquarian studies.
Mr. Rudge died at the Abbey Manor House, Evesham, on the
3rd of September last, at the age of 83. In his will he gave a proof
of his attachment to the Linnean Society, of which he had so long
been a member, by bequeathing to it the interest of a sum of 200/.
for the purpose of establishing a medal, the particulars of which, and
the reasons which actuated the Society in relinquishing the bequest,
are given in detail at p. 315.
Lord Saye and Sele was from his earliest days fond of ornithology,
and had studied and understood the birds of the British Islands, of
which he formed a very fine collection, at present arranged at his
family residence of Belvidere, and in an excellent state of preserva-
tion. Excepting a small aviary of exotic birds at his residence in
Grosvenor Street, his lordship confined his collection to our native
birds, but he was a very liberal supporter of publications on all
branches of Natural History. He also took considerable interest in
and contributed rather largely to the OrnithologicEj Society in St.
James's Park, where at one time he was a constant and almost daily
visitor. He was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1822,
and died in the spring of the present year.
Richard Simmons, Esq., M.D., was the only son of Dr. Samuel
Foart Simmons, a medical practitioner of great skill, especially in
the treatment of lunacy, and took his degree at Oxford in 1809, He
was a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and enjoyed a pen-
1847.] Linnean Society. 339
sion from the Crown in consideration of his own and his father's
services during the mental illness of King George the Third. He
became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1802, and died on the
18th of September last at St. Leonard's on the Sea, bequeathing a
collection of fourteen pictures to the National Gallery, and a collec-
tion of minerals to the University of Oxford, to which he had also
presented numerous very valuable specimens through the present
Dean of Westminster in 1832.
Samuel Solly, Esq.
Daniel Stuart, Esq., well-known for more than half a century as
a political writer, and as a proprietor of various leading newspapers,
became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1806, and died at his house
in Upper Harley Street, on the 25th of August last, at the age of 80.
William Nicholas Wickham, Esq., was one of our oldest Fellows,
having entered the Society in 1794. He married a daughter of Dr.
Latham the ornithologist, and died at Winchester in the course of
the last year.
In our Foreign list we have lost since the last Anniversary two
distinguished members.
The Baron Benjamin Delessert, eminent alike for his private worth
and for his enlightened patronage of natural history, was bom at
Geneva in the year 1763, of a family whose attachment to botanical
pursuits is manifested by the * Lettres Elementaires sur la Botanique '
of Rousseau, which were addressed to Madame Delessert, the mother
of our late member, for the instruction of his sister, then a child.
His elder brother Etienne was also fond of natural history, and in
his company Benjamin in early life travelled through Switzerland,
France, England and Scotland, and made considerable collections of
the plants of those countries, which were afterwards incorporated in
his herbarium. At the commencement of the revolution he served
as an Artillery officer ; but after the 10th of August he quitted the
service, and from that time forwards applied himself to commercial
pursuits, in which he was eminently successful, and became one of
the most wealthy bankers in Paris. He was also at one time the
most considerable manufacturer of beet- root sugar in France ; but
this speculation, in which he appears to have embarked chiefly from
motives of patriotism, was not attended with much success. For
nearly thirty years he sat in the Chamber of Deputies as one of the
members for the Department of the Seine, and took a lively interest
and an active part in all measures for improving the condition and
340 Linnean Society, [May 24,
the morals of the poorer classes. Thus he is regarded as the founder
of Savings' Banks in France ; and his efforts were always strenuously-
directed to the amelioration of prisons and of prison discipline, and
the abolition of the punishment of death. As a politician he sat in
the Chamber constantly in the left centre, of which he was one of
the most influential members, although he rarely, took a prominent
part in the debates.
M. Benjamin Delessert was a distinguished patron of the arts, of
literature and of science, the professors of which owe much to his
zeal and liberality. His herbarium has long been regarded as one
of the richest in the world ; and a recent publication by M. Las^gue,
entitled * Musee Botanique de M. Benjamin Delessert,' Paris, 8vo,
1845, gives an interesting account of the numerous collections of
wliich it is composed. There are few systematic botanists who have
published extensively in recent times who have not derived advan-
tage from consulting its stores, which were always opened with the
utmost liberality to the use of students and men of science. His bo-
tanical library too, consisting of upwards of 4000 volumes, formed an
admirable and indispensable appendage to his collections. In 1820
M. Delessert commenced the publication of a series of figures chiefly
from specimens in his own herbarium, illustrative of DeCandoUe's
great work, and issued at intervals five volumes, each of 100 plates,
under the title of * Icones Selectae Plantarum quas in Systemate
Universali ex Herbariis Parisiensibus prsesertim ex Lessertiano de-
scripsit Aug. Pyr. DeCandolle, ex archetypis speciminibus a P. J.
F. Turpin delineatae.' The ' Florae Senegambiae Tentamen,' edited
by MM. Guillemin, Perrottet and A. Richard, was also published at
his expense.
M. Benjamin Delessert had early commenced the formation of a
collection of Shells, but these were until within the last few years of
comparatively little importance. The purchase, however, of Du-
fresne's collection, of Teissier's, and more particularly of that of
Lamarck, to which great additions had been made while in the pos-
session of Prince Mass^na, rendered M . Delessert's cabinet of Shells
one of the finest and most valuable that exists. As in the case of his
herbarium, he was careful to render it useful to science, and he has
within the last few years published several parts of a magnificent
work entitled ' Recueil de Coquilles decrites par Lamarck dans son
Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans Vert^bres et non encore figu-
r6es,' Paris, 1841, &c., fol. This has since been followed up by a
still more splendid contribution to science, entitled ' Illustrations
1847.] Linnean Society, S41
Conchyliologiques, ou Descriptions et Figures de toutes les Coquilles
connues vivantes et fossiles,' edited by M. Ch^nu, the Conservator of
the Collection, of which upwards of sixty numbers, containing more
than 300 plates, are already published.
M. Delessert died at Paris on the 1st of March in the present
year. He had long been a Member of the Academy of Sciences of
the Institute of France, and had received various honorary distinc-
tions from his Government. His election as a Foreign Member of
the Linnean Society dates from 1835. It should not be omitted that
he has provided in his will for the maintenance of his museum and
his library, and for rendering them useful to science by their con-
tinued accessibility.
Of the events of the life of Henri Dutrochet, M.D.^ I have been
able to procure but little information. He commenced his career in
1806, by the publication of an inaugural dissertation entitled ' Essai
d'une Nouvelle Theorie delaVoix;' and subsequently distinguished
himself as an able physiologist, chiefly by the application of the
principles of physics to the explanation of various phaenomena of or-
ganization. In 1837 he collected together the most important of his
numerous contributions to Anatomy and Physiology in two 8vo vo-
lumes, under the title of * Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire Anato-
mique et Physiologique des Vegetaux et des Animaux.' Many of
the memoirs contained in these volumes are entirely rewritten, and
as he declares in his preface that he considers all that he had pre-
viously written on the subjects treated of and not reproduced in them
as non-existent, they must be regarded as containing the latest and
most matured expression of his views. His memoirs relate to a
great variety of subjects, but those which have exercised the most
important influence on science, and on which his fame will princi-
pally rest, are devoted to the exposition of the phsenomenon to which
he has given the name of endosmose. By means of this simple phy-
sical law which regulates and controls the motions of fluids of differ-
ent degrees of density separated from each other by permeable mem-
branes he has himself explained, and furnished to others a most im-
portant element in the explanation of, many obscure and previously
unintelligible processes in the economy both of animals and plants.
He was a Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of
France, and became a Foreign Member of the Unncan Society in
1839. He died on the 4th of February in the present year.
Among our Associates we have to record the death of
Charles Sutton, D.D., who was born at Norwich on the 6th of
No. XXXIV. — Proceedings of the Linnean Society.
342 Linnean Society. [May 24,
March 1756, and died in the parish of St. George at Tombland, of
which he had been for more than fifty years Perpetual Curate, on
the 2Sth of May 1846, and consequently in the ninety-first year of
his age. Dr. Sutton was educated at the Grammar- School at Nor-
wich, whence he proceeded to St. John's College, Cambridge, and
took honours as the tenth wrangler of his year. He became a Fel-
low of the College, and was successively presented to the incumben-
cies of St. George at Tombland, Alburgh and Thornham cum Holme
juxta mare, at which latter place, situated on the north coast of the
county of Norfolk, our distinguished Fellow the Rev. Mr. Kirby,
whose sister he had married, occasionally passed a part of the sum- ■
mer with him. It was here and in his company that Mr. Kirby
discovered. the new and highly beautiful species of Apion, which he
has described and figured in the 9th volume of our ' Transactions '
under the name of Apion Limonii.
Dr. Sutton was exceedingly zealous in the discharge of his cl.erical
duties, and warmly promoted the interests of many charitable and
educational institutions with which he became intimately connected.
He was one of the oldest members of the Christian Knowledge So-
ciety ; for many years Secretary of the Norwich National Society,
and Treasurer of the Norfolk Society for the Relief of Clergymen's
Widows and Orphans ; and for a long period took an active part in
the management of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. For some
years past his great age had of course precluded him from continuing
this active course of life, but he retained his mental faculties and
bodily strength to a very late period of his life.
He became early attached to botanical pursuits and to the study
of natural history in general as well as to antiquarian researches.
His first and friendly instructor in botany was Mr. Pitchford, a sur-
geon in Norwich, whose botanical merits are commemorated by our
first President in a memoir on Norwich Botanists in the 7th volume
of our * Transactions.'
In 1791 he was elected an Associate of the Linnean Society, and
in 1797 he contributed to the 4th volume of our ' Transactions ' a
paper entitled " A description of five British species of Orobanche,"
in which he distinguished two new species, viz. Orob. elatior and
Orob, minor, and made some useful observations on the economy of
the genus as well as some rectifications of the synonymy of its
species.
The Secretary also announced that twenty Fellows had been
elected since the last Anniversary.
184?.] Linnean Society, 343
At the election, which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop
of Norwich was re-elected President; Edward Forster, Esq., Trea-
surer; John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary ; and Richard Taylor,
Esq., Under-Secretary. The following five Fellows were elected
into the Council in the room of others going out : viz. James Scott
Bowerbank, Esq. ; William John Burchell, Esq., D.C.L. ; Frederic
Halsey Janson, Esq. ; Daniel Sharpe, Esq., and Nathaniel Wallich,
Esq., M.D.
June 1.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Sudlow Roots, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read a "Description oi Athalamia, a new genus of Marchantiea."
By Hugh Falconer, M.D., F.L.S. &c.
Athalamia.
Char. Gen. Flores masculil Capituli fceminei receptaculum nullum;
floribus immediate peduiiculo insertis, erectis. Involucrum nullum.
Involucella tubulosa, vertice bivalvia, basi inter se connata. Calyptra
persistens, sub-bifido-lacerata. Sporangium in lacinias 4 v. 5 demiim
revolutas dehiscens; pedicello elongate sub-exsevto.— Frons simplex,
V. radiatim 3-loba, crasse carnosa, subtus margine squamis foUaceis
pluri-seriatis instructa ; lobis oblongis, concavis, margine attenuatis ;
pedunculo pedicellisque crassis, succulentis, teretibus.
Athalamia pinguis, Falc.
Hab.
The absence, of a common receptacle and the erect flowers appear
to be the most characteristic marks of the genus Athalamia, which
is most nearly allied to Lunularia, Micheli, in the dehiscence of the
sporangium and elongation of the pedicel.
Read also a further portion of Dr. Buchanan Hamilton's Commen-
tary on the 8th part of Van Rheede's Hortus Malaharicus.
344 Linnean Society, [June 15,
June 15.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Edward Phillips, Esq., M.D., and the Rev. William Smith were
elected Fellows.
Read " Some Account of an undescribed Fossil Fruit." By R.
Brown, Esq., D.C.L., V.P.L.S. &c. &c.
This singularly beautiful and instructive fossil, which had for
many years formed part of the collection of Baron Roget in Paris,
was brought to London in 1843, and purchased jojntly by the British
Museum, the Marquis of Northampton and Mr. Brown. Nothing is
known of its origin, but from its obvious analogy in structure and
mineral condition with Lepidostrobus, Mr. Brown conjectures it to
belong to the same geological formation.
The specimen is evidently the upper half of a strobilus very gra-
dually tapering towards the top. As brought to England it was not
quite two inches in length, but a transverse slice, probably of no
great thickness, had been removed from it in Paris ; and the trans-
verse diameter of the lower slices somewhat exceeded the length of
the specimen. Its surface, which was evidently water- worn, is
marked with closely approximated unequal- sided hexagons, which
are the terminations of bractese, and become smaller and less distinct
towards the top.
From transverse and vertical sections it appears that the strobilus
is formed of a central axis of small diameter, compared with the parts
proceeding from it, which consist :
1 . Of bracteae, densely approximated and much-imbricated, having
their lower halves at right angles to the axis, while the imbricating
portion, of equal length with the lower and forming an obtuse angle
with it, is gradually thickened upwards. These form the spokes
and external rhomboidal arese seen in the transverse section.
2. Of an equal number of oblong bodies, of a lighter colour and
more transparent, each of which is adnate to and connected by cel-
lular tissue with the upper surface of the corresponding bractea.
These bodies are sections of sporangia, filled with innumerable mi-
croscopic sporules, originally connected in threes, very rarely in
fours, but ultimately separating. From this triple composition or
union of sporules y which differs from the constantly quadruple
union in tribes of existing plants, namely OphioglossecB and Lyco-
1847-] Linnean Society, 346
podiacetE, which from other points of structure may be supposed to
be most nearly related to the fossil, Mr. Brown has named it
Triplosporite .
The structure of the axis, which is well-preserved, distinctly
shows, in the arrangement of its vascular bundles, a preparation for
the supply of an equal number of bractese. These vascular fasciculi
are nearly equidistant in a tissue of moderately elongated cells.
The vessels are exclusively scalariform, very closely resembling those
of the recent Ferjis and Lycopodiacea, and among fossils, those of
Psarolites, Lepidodendron and its supposed fruit Lepidostrobus, as
well as several other fossil genera, namely Sigillaria, Ulodcndron and
Diploxylon.
Mr. Brown does not propose to enter fully into the question of
the affinities of Triplosporite \ but contents himself with remark-
ing that in its scalariform vessels it agrees with all the fossil genera
supposed to be Acotyledonous ; and that in the structure of its spo-
rangia and sporules it approaches most nearly, among recent tribes,
to Ophioglossece and Lycopodiacece, and among fossils to Lepidostro-
bus, and consequently to Lepidodendron. The stem-structure oi Le-
pidodendron, known only in Lepidodendron Harcourtii, offers no ob-
jection to this view, the vascular arrangement of the axis of its stem
bearing a considerable resemblance to that of Triplosporite. To this
argument, derived from the agreement between axis of stem and
axis of strobilus, Mr. Brown attaches considerable importance, as
an equal agreement exists both in recent and fossil Conifera,
Mr. Brown adds, that Dr. J. D. Hooker has very recently de-
tected, in the sporangia of a species referred to Lepidostrobus ^ spo-
rules united in threes ; there still however remain, in the form and
arrangement of the sporangia of that species, characters sufficient to
distinguish it generically from the fossil here described.
The paper was illustrated by drawings, both of the natural size
and microscopic.
Read also a note " On the occurrence of the Potatoe Disease
independent of the Attacks of Insects." By J. O. Westwood, Esq.,
F.L.S., Secretary of the Entomological Society, &c. &c.
This note, in which the author maintained that the disease which
has of late years been so destructive to the potatoe is wholly inde-
pendent of the agency of insects, was illustrated by numerous recent
specimens of the potatoe-plant, in which the disease had made con-
siderable progress in the tuber, while the haulm appeared perfectly
healthy ; and on which the ravages of insects, and in particular of
346 Linnean Society^ [Nov. 2,
the Aphis to which the devastation has been so confidently attri-
buted, were nowhere to be traced.
November 2.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
James Hewitson Wilson, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Mr. Westwood exhibited the following cases of insect monstrosi-
ties : —
1. Chiasognathus Grantii, with the left antenna deformed, furcate
at the base of the serrated portion ; one branch very short and appa-
rently composed of four clavate joints, the other branch shorter than
in the normal antenna and irregularly and shortly serrated ; the lower
division of the left mandible also shorter than that of the right side.
From Mr. Westwood's collection.
2. A new species of Elateridce from Ceylon, in Mr. Templeton's
collection. The middle foot on the right side deformed ; the coxa
and trochanter normal, but with three femora conjoined at their bases,
and emitting three perfect tibiae, and two perfect and one imperfect
tarsus.
3. An Indian Copris allied to C. lunaris, from Col. Hearsey's col-
lection, in which the upper portion of the front of the head is want-
ing, exposing the parts of the mouth.
Read a paper " On the Natural History, Anatomy, and Develop-
ment of Meloe (Third Memoir — the Anatomy)." By George New-
port, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Mr. Newport commenced this memoir by stating that having
traced the Natural History oi Meloe in the preceding memoirs, he
now proposed to examine its Anatomy "with reference to those
principles which regulate the formation of animal bodies, and which
seem to be the links of connexion that associate peculiarities of in-
stinct with the evolution and with the functions of special struc-
tures."
The portion read was the first section of the third memoir, the
tegument of the young larva. This structure was shown to be the
primary and essential foundation-tissue of the organized being, having
18470 Linnean Society. 34?
its origin in the blastoderma, and being composed entirely of cells,
like the young tissue of plants. The form of the body of the em-
bryo entirely depends on the changes which take place in this struc-
ture, and the principles which regulate these changes regulate also
those of the whole life of the insect.
The growth of the tegument of the young larva Mr. Newport
showed to depend on the division of the nuclei of its cells ; that
the subsequent consolidation of the tegument in the formation of
the hardened dermo-skeleton of the insect is the result of the secre-
tion of earthy materials by the nuclei of the tegumentary cells, in a
manner similar to that in which bone is formed in the Vertebrata, by
the calcification of the cells in layers of the surface of the peri-
osteum, as shown by Hunter, Flourens, Goodsir, Sharpey, 'lomes
and others ; and that this is analogous to the mode in which the
woody fibre of exogenous trees is formed on the inner surface of
their bark. The earthy constituents of the dermo-skeleton were
stated, from the chemical analyses of Odier, Lassaigne and Mr. Chil-
dren, to consist chiefly of phosphate of lime, with carbonates of potass
and lime, and a little phosphate of iron, and in some species with
traces of silica, magnesia and manganese ; materials which, ten years
ago, led Mr. Newport to describe the dermo-skeleton of insects as
" an imperfectly-developed condition of bony matter," a view which
has recently been much supported by the discovery by Platner of
star-shaped corpuscles in the tegument of the silkworm, closely re-
sembling those of true bone in the Vertebrata.
The tegument of insects is thus regarded as analogous in its mode
of development, as in its function, to that of the skeleton of the Che-
Ionian Reptiles. This structure in the very young Melo'e was then
fully described, and the nature of its appendages and functions exa-
mined. The spines and hairs were shown to originate from the centre
of tegumentary cells, and were regarded as excessive developments
of the nuclei as single bodies. The growth and development of the
tegument was shown to be effected by means of the enlargement and
fissiparous division of the nuclei of the cells, and the subsequent ex-
pansion of these into cells,, the nuclei of which undergo similar
changes. This was pointed out as being strongly confirmatory of
the theory of Schwann with reference to the tissues generally, and
as being in full accordance with the observations of Kolliker on the
yolk cells, and with original observations which Mr. Newport has
himself made on other structures.
The formation of the external respiratory organs was then exa-
348 Linnean Society, [Nov. 16,
mined. These were shown to commence in the tegument in spaces
between the cells, which open into follicles connected with sinuses
in the granular tissue of the body, and that the orifices (the spiracles)
at first very closely resemble the stomata of plants. The parietes of
these follicles in Meloe are formed by aggregations of exceedingly
minute, nucleated embryo-cells of rounded shape, and about one five-
or one six- thousandth of an inch in diameter.
The tegument of the head, and more especially that of the eye of
the young Meloe was then examined, and the cornea, which in this
stage of the insect's existence is a single structure, fitted only for
near vision, was shown to be composed of numerous transparent der-
mal cells, continuous with those which form the surface of the head,
while the centre of the cornea, the axis of vision, is occupied by a
single cell, more projecting and twice the size of those which sur-
round it.
The changes which take place in the relative development of dif-
ferent parts of the tegument of the young Meloe, which lead to its
entire alteration of form, were then pointed out, and shown to occur
chiefly in the rapid growth of the dorsal region, which from being
originally the smallest, as it is the last-formed part of the body, be-
comes the most voluminous, and occasions a complete alteration in
the position and size of the limbs and in the entire form of the in-
sect.
The stages of this process and the formation of the dermo- skele-
ton, the author proposed to be considered in the next section of this
memoir.
November 16.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Samuel Brownlow Grey, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
E. Doubleday, Esq., F.L.S., read a paper " On the Pterology of
the Diurnal Lepidoptera, especially upon that of some genera of the
Heliconidce.''
After expressing his regret at the little attention bestowed in this
country upon the anatomy of the Annulosa, the writer proceeded to
remark that he was not aware that any author had recorded the fact
of a sexual variation in the neuration of the wings of Lepidoptera, a
1847.] Linnean Society » 349
fact extremely interesting from the light it throws on the homologies
of the nervures and nervules.
The variation takes place in the genera Ithomia, Mechanitis and
Sais, all remarkable also for the great sexual variation in the struc-
ture of the anterior legs, those of the males being the least de-
veloped, those of the females the most developed, of any butterflies
with suspended pupae.
The state of atrophy of the anterior feet of the males is not, he
states, the consequence of excessive development of the other pairs
of feet, or of any other organs, nor does it appear to depend on any
peculiar habits of the insect ; neither can the greater development
of these feet in the females be accounted for by any difl^erence of
habits. For the more developed anterior feet of some male Coleo-
ptera, for the powerful jaws of the leaf-cutting or timber-boring bees,
there are obvious uses ; but a greater development in the one sex of
organs almost atrophied in the other, which still leaves them unfitted
for the functions they perform in a normal state, and apparently does
not render them useful for any other function, can only be explained
by conceiving it in some way to depend on the position of the ani-
mal in the system of Nature.
- The system of neuration of the posterior wings in the Diurnal
Lepidoptera, which may be considered normal as regards this group,
is abnormal as it respects the whole order ; and it would seem
as though Nature, by a partial return to a normal structure in a
few genera, wished to indicate to us the real homologies of these
parts.
In general the posterior wings of the Diurnal Lepidoptera have the
discoidal nervure, which in these wings never branches, so placed as
to seem to be a third subcostal nervule ; but in some genera, although
its basal is always wanting, its real character is very evident, and it
is united to the subcostal nervure or one of its nervules, and also to
the median nervure or one of its nervules, by distinct upper and
lower disco -cellular nervules. In the Heliconida we find this struc-
ture, almost normal as it respects the order, in the genus Ituna, and
also in Ithomia. It is found in some female Ithomice, of which the
males have a different structure, giving indications of that change of
position which in the next genus might lead us to mistake the discoi-
dal nervure for a fourth median nervule, the disco-cellular nervules
being placed more obliquely, the cell becoming thereby more elon-
gated, and the lower disco-cellular nervule appearing almost to form
a continuation of the median nervure. In Mechanitis both sexes have
350 Linnean Society. [Nov. 16,
this character further carried out, and the wing appears to have a
subcostal nervure dividing into two nervules, and a median dividing
into four, so completely has the discoidal nervure assumed the po-
sition of a branch of the latter nervure. The females of the genus
Sais have also this character, but in the males we find a still further
change of structure. In these the second subcostal nervule assumes
the position of a fifth median nervule, and the subcostal nervure con-
sequently appears simple.
Thus, leaving the genera Heliconia, Lycorea and their immediate
allies, which have the structure which is normal as regards the Di-
urnal Lepidoptera, though abnormal as regards the order, we find in
Ituna and some female Ithomice a structure nearly normal as regards
the whole order, but the males of the latter become abnormal in an
opposite manner to the prevalent character of the group ; next in
Mechanitis we find this structure common to both sexes ; and then
in Sais, the females retaining the same structure as in Mechanitis,
but the males varying still further from the type.
This gradual change in the position of the discoidal nervure
actually occurring first in the two sexes of the same species, and
then becoming common to both sexes, is, in the opinion of the
writer, confirmatory in the highest degree of the theory laid down
by him in a former paper, as to the structure of the anterior wings
of the Diurnal Lepidoptera, and leaves, he thinks, no room to doubt
the correctness of the explanation there given of the apparent ano-
maly of those wings in the Papilionida.
In the sexual variations detailed above, it is the male insect which
varies most from the type, but the females of some species of Me-
chanitis present a remarkable structure in the anterior portion of the
wing, the costal nervure being united to the subcostal for the greater
part of its course.
An additional interest attaches to these peculiarities of the wings,
from their being combined with the great peculiarities above referred
to in the structure of the anterior feet.
The writer then proceeded to point out some analogies in the struc-
ture of the wings of the Ithomia and some Hymenoptera, especially
as regards the inner margin of the anterior wings and the anterior
margin of the posterior wings, and also with reference to a fringe of
hairs on the latter, analogous to the hooks occupying the same po-
sition in the Bees and other Hymenoptera.
1847.] Linnean Society, 351
December 7.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Lieut.-Colonel John Bennett Hearsey was elected a Fellow.
Read a '* Description of a new genus of Lentibularia, with remarks
on some Indian species of Utricularia." By M. Pakenham Edge-
worth, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
Gen, Nov, Diurospermum.
Calyx bilabiatus, labio superiore 2- (rariiis 3-) dentate. Corolla bilabi-
ata, tubo brevi, labio superiore brevissimo truncato, inferiore 3-dentato.
Stamina inclusa. Stylus brevis, stigmata dilatato. Capsula ovata,
oligosperma ; placenta central! libera conica in apicem producta. Se*
mina pauca (prope 6), ovata, testa laxa striato-rugosa, utrinque pilis
paucis longis caudata. Nucula compressa, submarginata. Emhryot
— Herba pusilla, acaulis, foliis radicalibus, radicibus utriculiferis.
Diurospermum album.
Hab. super rupes madidos, in Vishnugangetis valle, Himala ; alt. 8000
ped.
This little plant, the author thinks, forms a link connecting Len-
tibularice with Cyrtandracece, to which order its tailed seeds show an
approximation. Unfortunately he has not been able to separate the
embryo so as to be satisfied with its nature and direction. In habit
it resembles slightly some of the section Oligocista of Utricularia,
Utricllaria (subgenus Oligocista) foveolata, radicibus fibrosis brevi-
bus, scapo simplici aphyllo 2 — 6 floro racemoso sinistrorsum volubili,
bracteis solitariis ovatis acutis basi-fixis pedicello vel longioribus vel
multo brevioribus, lobis calycinis pedicello longioribus ovatis acutis
corollam subaequantibus in fructu cum pedicello defracto valde auctis,
corollae labio inferiore vix concavo margine 3-lobo superiore bifido : cal-
care conico labii inferioris longitudine, capsula cernu& calyce aucto
obtect^, seminibus majusculis compresso-trapezoideis rugoso-foveolatis
foveolis nitidis punctatis.
Hah. in Bengalia, uliginosis, Januario.
An U. uliginosa, DC, no. 66. vol. viii. p. 15 ? Flos purpureus, scapus ru-
bescens.
Utricularia polygaloides, radicibus fibrosis, scapo aphyllo erecto plus
minus ramoso 2- v. multi-floro, squamis adpressis ovatis acutis, bracteis
ternis exterioribus ovatis acutis interioribus subulatis pedicello com-
352 Linnean Society. [Dec. *],
presso sequalibus vel longioribus, lobis calycinis ovatis acuminatis sub-
aequalibusi, corollge azureae calycem aequaiitis labio inferiore majore
margine externe revoluto : palato convexo intus barbato : calcare conico
albido labium aequante in lobo calycis inferiore nidulante ; labio supe-
riore rotundato 4-crenato, capsule, cordata compressa lobis calycinis
vaide acutis arete obtect^, seminibus rugoso-striatis.
Hah. in Bengalia, prope Bardwan, uliginosis, Januario.
An U. reticulata, DC, no. 90. p. 19? differt tantum (secus descriptio-
nem) pedicellis bracteis brevioribus, labii superioris margine non revolutll.
Planta 2 — 10 pollicaris, stricta. Semina oblonga, test^ laxiuscula rugoso-
striata, inter nervulos prominulos minutius striata. Labium inferius 2 lin.
long. Calycis lobi per anthesin 2, in fructu 4 lin. longi. Staminum fila-
menta arcuata; antheris approximatis medio constrictis. Stigma sessile
infundibuliforme. Folia nulla?
Utuicularia rosea, radicibus fibrosis, scapo filiformi subesquamato de-
miim subvolubili apice racemosim 3 — 10 floro, bracteis ternis exteriore
medio fixa utrinque acut^ lateralibus ovatis acutis pedicello nitido sub-
sequalibus, lobis calycinis rotundatis suborbiculatis corolla, brevioribus,
corollae roseae labio inferiore 3-lobo (lobo medio breviore) crenulato
intus fornicato palato luteo intus papilloso : calcare obtuso labium
aequante ; labio superiore rotundato, filamentis arcuatis apice valde
dilatatis j antheris ovatis medio paulo constrictis, capsula subglobosa
calycem vix auctum subagquante uno latere valvula sursum basi recur-
vata dehiscente, placenta centrali globosa foveolata, seminibus (pluri-
mis abortivis) ovatis punctis prominulis subechinatis rugoso-striatis.
Hah. in Bengalia, prope Bardwan, uliginosis.
An U. nivea, DC, no. 98, at floribus roseo-purpurascentibus, capsula ca-
lycem Eequante nee minore, nee longiore ut in U. racemosd, squamis quo-
que minimis, an potius omnes in unam speciem reducendae ? Scapi calyces-
que rubescentes.
Utricularia pterosperma, radicibus fibrosis parce utriculiferis, utriculis
1-setosis, scapo aphyllo purpurascente 2- (an pluri-?) floro ad axillam
squama ovata obtusa basifixa bracteato, pedicellis teretibus superiore
bracteolato, lobis calycinis obovatis cucuUatis obtusis corolla dimidio
brevioribus nee in fructu auctis, corollae luteae labio superiore suberecto
concavo integro ; inferiore integro marginibus revolutis : palato magno
aurantio-striato utrinque glabro faucem obtegente : calcare sursum cur-
vato conico acutiusculo labio sublongiore, staminum filamentis eras-
sis arcuatis supra antheram 1-locularem nee constrictam productis,
polline orbiculari rugosulo, stigmate bilamellato, capsula latere com-
pressiuscula subglobosa stylo apiculata, placenta globosa alveolata, se-
minibus paucis late alatis ala irregulariter dentata reticulatim venosa ;
testa irregulariter rugosa; nucula globosa; radicula et plumuU distinct^
ceterum pingui.
Hab. in Bengalia, Bardwan, uliginosis, Januario.
1847.] Linnean Society, 353
Ab U. diantha qu&cum maxime affinis differt pedicellis teretibus nee mar-
ginatis, calcare ascendente labio lungiore nee descendente, lubis ealycinis
in fructu non auctis antherisque non constrietis. An semina U. diantha
alata?
Utricularia fasciculala, vide DC, no. 8. p. 18. no. 18, adde : — Placentd
globosa spongiosa, seminibus compressis marginatis nigosulis uno la-
tere foveolato altero prominulo.
A further communication, from a letter written by Mr. Edge-
worth, dated Banda, 30th August, 1847, was made to the meeting,
respecting a remarkable effect produced by the leaves of Gymnema
sylvestris, R. Br., upon the sense of taste, in reference to diminish-
ing the perception of saccharine flavours.
Read also a paper " On the Formation and Use of the Air-Sacs
and Dilated Tracheae in Insects." By G. Newport, Esq., F.R.S.,
F.L.S. &c. &c.
The paper was coifimenced with the remark, that the presence of
air-sacs in insects is knowTi to every comparative anatomist. These
sacs are largest and most numerous in the Hymenoptera, Lepidopiera
and Diptera. They are numerous and capacious in the Dragon-fixes
among the Neuroptera, but are smaller and fewer in the Ephemera,
the Sialidce and the Scorpion- flies. In the Coleoptera they exist only
in the volant species ; and even in the same tribe, as in the Cara-
bidce, they are found in the winged, but not in the apterous species.
In all insects in which they occur they are largest and most nume-
rous in the swiftest and most powerful individuals. They are found
in the Orthoptera only in the migratory families ; while in those
which are truly saltatorial insects the tracheae are enlarged in some
parts of their course, but are not to be regarded as properly saccu-
lated, and sacs are never found in the larva state of any species of
insect. The sacs are formed by the dilatation of tracheae during the
metamorphoses of the insects, which commences at the close of the
larva state, when the insect has ceased to feed. This dilatation goes
on for the first few days only in those species which hybernate, and
is resumed again in the spring, but it continues uninterruptedly to
the development of the perfect insect in those which change to that
state in the summer.
The author showed that the longitudinal tracheae of the third and
fourth segments of the larva of winged insects give off a small branch
at the sides of each segment, which, divided into two portions, passes
outwards and " is involved in a fold of the new tegument that is
354 Linnean Society. [Dec. 7, 1847.
formed beneath the old skin of the larva some days before its change.
These folds of tegument supplied each with their tracheae closely re-
semble in appearance the external abdominal branchiae of the aqua-
tic larvae oi Neuroptera," and afterwards become the most important
organs of the insect in its perfect state — the wings. The expansion
of these organs at the change is mainly effected by their tracheae,
which instead of becoming dilated, like those within the body, are
elongated, and thus induce a rush of blood into these portions of the
tegument which promotes their expansion into wings. This elon-
gation, as well as the dilatation of the tracheae within the body, is
the result of powerful respiratory eiforts of the insect. The author
remarked, that although able to show the mode in which these
changes are effected, it is less easy to give a satisfactory explanation of
the real use of the vesicles. He adopts, however, a view entertained
by John Hunter, that the vesicles are mainly to enable the insect to
alter the specific gravity of its body at pleasure during flight> and
thus diminish the muscular exertion required during these move-
ments. To support this opinion, the author reviewed the different
classes of Vertebrata, and showed that although a vesicular form of
the respiratory organs exists in the whole, yet that Birds approach
much more closely to Insects in this respect, as well as in the more
extensive distribution of the organs themselves, than any other of
the Vertebrata ; and he referred to the fact that in apterous insects,
as in birds that are unaccustomed to flight, the respiratory organs
are less capacious or less extensively distributed. This fact, he
stated, is not confined to insects of which both sexes are apterous,
but that when one sex is winged and active in flight, and the other
apterous, he has always found the body of the former with vesicular
tracheae, while in the other, the apterous sex, the tracheae are sim-
ply arborescent, as he has found in the sexes of the glow-worm, and
in the common winter-moth, Geometra trumaria. These facts, in-
ferential with regard to the use of the vesicles, the author supported
with an account of an experimental observation on the mode in which
the common dung-beetle prepares itself for flight, by rapidly in-
creasing its respiration and distending its body the instant before
it unfolds its wings and attempts to raise itself upon them.
Jan. 18, 1848.] Linnean Society, 355
December 21.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Joseph Rix, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read a further portion of Dr. Buchanan Hamilton's Commentary
on the 8th part of Van Rheede's Hortus Malaharicus.
January 18, 1848.
N. Wallich, Esq., M.D., in the Chair.
Arthur Adams, Esq., J. V. G. Gutch, Esq., Robert Hudson, Esq.,
George Ransome, Esq., and John Ellerton Stocks, Esq., M.D., were
elected Fellows.
Read a paper ** On the genus Atamisquea." By John Miers, Esq.,
F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.
Of this Capparideous genus, named by Mr. Miers in his * Travels
in Chile,' vol. ii. p. 529, and subsequently characterized by Sir W.
J. Hooker in his ' Botanical Miscellany,' Mr. Miers gives the follow-
ing more complete character, derived from the living plant.
Atamisquea, Miers.
Char. Gen. Sepala 2, ovoidea, concava, aestivatione marginibus subim-
bricatis, in torum carnosum, cyathiformem persistentem demum iiidu-
ratum dentibus erectis notatum coalita, decidua. Petala 6, e margine
tori orta, inaequalia, lineari-spathulata, reflexa; 2 superiora erectiora,
aestivatione subimbricata ; 2 lateralia breviora, exteriora. Stamina 9,
quorum 6 fertilia longiora; filamenta aestivatione replicata, demiim
recta, reclinata, glabra, basi glandulosa, lepidota ; antliera oblongae,
2-loculare3, basifixae, erectae, demum curvatae. Thecaphorum decli-
natum ; basi glabrum, disco staminifero cinctum, hinc geniculaium ;
ind^ gracile, elongatum, et cum ovario lepidotum. Ovarium ovatum ;
sttjliis brevissimus; stigma obtuse 2-lobum. Bacca ovoidea, subcar-
nosa, dense lepidota. Semina 2 (vel abortu 1), exalbuminosa, cuchleato-
reniforaiia, funiculo libero erecto bifurcato ex imo loculo orto laterali-
ter appensa ; testa coriacea, loculo altero incompleto hilo opposite.
356 Linnean Society, [Jan. 18,
Embryo campylotropus ; cotyledones magiiae, foliacese, incumbentes,
invicem plicato-convolutse ; radiaula teres, infera, loculo incompleto
velata, et ob embryonis curvaturam hilum superne spectans. — Frutex
durus, ramosusy Americae nieridionalis extratropicae ; ramis abbrevia-
tis, junioribus lepidotis, nonmmquam spinescentibus ; foliis e rarnulis
junioribus orta, parva, alterna, brevisshne petiolata, canalieulata, cBsti-
vatione conduplicata, sublils lepidota, costd carinatd. Pedunculus axil-
laris, soli far ius, \-Jlorus.
Atamisquea emarginata, foliis lineari-oblongis basi apiceque einarginatia
supra viridi-nitentibus subtus hirsutis incanis squamis'que lepidotis
tectis.
Hab. in campis patentibus, aridis, salinis, Travesia dictis, Provinciae Men-
dozae Chilensis.
Mr. Miers states that he offers the above view of the floral enve-
lopes (which he regards as consisting of 2 sepals and 6 petals) with
much deference, especially as that which Sir W. J. Hooker has taken
of them is in conformity with the usual arrangement of the family.
It appears to him, however, to be warranted by the fact that the
two broad external leaflets (which he considers as the calyx) form
one entire whorl, being continuous at their origin with the margin
of the cup of the torus, while the insertion of the six narrower seg-
ments (petals) is also upon one line, within the margin of the same
cup ; the cicatrix of the calyx being marked by a clean line on the
margin of the cup, while the remains of the claws of the petals are
distinctly seen within the same margin forming so many projecting
indurated teeth. This (as regards the calyx) is analogous with what
occurs in Busbeckia, Endl., Steriphoma, Spr., and Morisonia, Plum.,
in all of which only 2 sepals exist, or an entire envelope bursting
into two valves. To reconcile the apparent anomaly, the author
would consider the floral envelope oi Atamisquea either as formed of
three series, each consisting of two normal parts, the innermost series
appearing double in consequence of the division of its lobes to their
point of insertion ; (and this view is supported by the cohesion of
the upper and lower pairs of petals at their base when pulled away
from the torus, while a distinct interval is manifest between each of
these pairs and the shorter lateral petals ;) or he would (still taking
the same view with regard to the composition of the upper and lower
pairs of petals) regard them as forming with the two lateral petals a
whorl of four parts, and suppose the outer series also (the sepals) to
be normally four in number, united by adhesion into two. This
last view he considers to be rendered somewhat the more probable
by its approximating more nearly to the usual structure, and by the
1848.] Linnean Society, 357
fact that each of the sepals when dried readily splits down the middle
by a clean line into two distinct segments.
The paper was illustrated by detailed illustrations of the structure
of the plant.
February 1.
Robert Brown, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
The Rev. James Hamilton and Henry George Harrington, Esq ,
were elected Fellows.
J. O.Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. &c., exhibited specimens of the silk
spun by the caterpillars of the new Indian silk moth, Bombyx Hut-
toni, Westw. (figured in the 'Cabinet of Oriental Entomology,' pi. 12.
fig. 4), communicated to him by Capt. T. Hutton. After stating the
importance of the discovery of a new and valuable product of this
nature in our foreign territories, and that the 'Transactions of the
Linnean Society' contained a valuable paper on East Indian silk
insects by Gen. Hardwicke, Mr. Westwood observed that the insect
discovered by Capt. Hutton was congeneric with the real silk insect,
Bombyx Mori, a native of China, whereas those described in the
Transactions of the Society belonged to another genus, Saturnia,
and that consequently the silk spun by the new species was likely
to approximate nearer to that of B. Mori in its qualities than that
of the large Indian Saturnice. The new species had been disco-
vered to be a native of the hills about Mussooree, on the south-
ern side of the Himalaya, 6500 feet above the level of the sea,
and its caterpillar (like that of B. Mori) feeds on the leaves of the
wild mulberry, which is another reason why the qualities of the
silk should resemble that spun by the true silkworm. The perfect
moth is about the size of B. Mori, but has darker- coloured wings,
with a large, blackish lunate spot near the tips of the hooked fore-
wings.
Specimens of the natural fibre of the silk, and some with the
threads severally composed of three, six, nine and twelve fibres were
exhibited, those with nine and twelve fibres having been pronounced
by the Delhi silk-workers to be worth 25 rupees per seer, that is,
about 25 shillings per pound, at 2 shillings per rupee.
358 Linnean Society, [Feb. 1,
Read a paper entitled " Descriptions of some new species of At hy-
reus, MacL., a genus of Lamellicom Beetles." By J. O. Westwood,
Esq., F.L.S. &c.
After tracing the history of the genus and its affinities, and no-
ticing in detail its most remarkable peculiarities, dwelling par-
ticularly on those characters which are externally indicative of di-
stinction of sex, Mr. Westwood proceeds to describe the following
species :
1. Athyreus gigas, Hope] castaneus, elytris magis rufis,- capite glabro
antice 3-cornuto, mandibulis magnis externe acute dentatis, pronoto
utrinque excavatione profunda discoque cornubus duobus crassis acutis
divergentibus, elytris tenuissime striato-punctatis. — Long. corp. unc. 1
(mandibulis inclusis).
Hah. in Brasilia. In Mus. D. Hope.
2. Athyreus armatus, Hope ; piceo-niger, lateribus prothoracis mandi-
bulis pedibusque rufescentibus, mandibulis magnis singula extus 2-
dentata dente antico magno, pronoto utrinque carina deflexa medio-
que cornu suberecto, elytris elevato-striatis. — Long. corp. lin. 9.
Hah. in America meridionali. In Mus. D. Hope.
3. Athyreus subarmatus, $ ; supra obscums nigricans, labro mandi-
bulis prothoracis lateribus pedibusque piceo-rufis, tenuissime granu-
losus, clypeo margine antico pariim reflexo postice carina elevata in
medio tuberculo instructo, antennis luteis, pronoto carinis duabus bre-
vibus mediis in spatio medio ovali line^ elevatd circumcincto instructp.
— Long. corp. lin. S\.
Hah. in America meridionali. In Mus. D. Hope, sub nomine A. arma-
tus, ? .
4. Athyreus tuberculatus, Hope ; obscure piceus, sub lente tenuis-
sime granulosus et setosus, antennis luteis, clypeo conico antice cornu
parum elevato terminato, pronoto tuberculis duobus contiguis ante
medium disci positis, elytris sublineatis, tibiis anticis 5-6-dentatis. —
Long. corp. lin. 8i.
Hah. in Brasilia. In Mus. D. Hope.
5. Athyreus rotundus, Hope ; supra obscurus piceo-rufus, sub lente
undique tuberculis minimis obsitus, clypeo margine antico truncate
et parum elevato margine postico carina tuberculis tribus acutis in-
structo, pronoto tuberculis duobus contiguis ante medium elytrisque
Iseviter striatis. — Long. corp. lin. 10.
Hah. in Brasilia. In Mus. D. Hope.
This insect Mr. Westwood thinks to be probably the female of
A. tuberculatus.
6. Athyreus bellator; piceo-niger, capite .et pronoto (marginibus ex-
1848.] Linnean Society. 359
ceptis) sublaevibua hujus marginibus lateralibus pedibusque rufis vel
fulvis, clypeo in dentem acutum elongate, pronoto dente elevato bifido
pone medium armato. — Long. corp. lin. 10^.
Athyreus bifurcatus, Laporte, An. Art. iii. p. 102. pi. 7. f. 3. (nee A. bi-
furcatus, King, nee A. bifurcatus, MacL.)
Athyreus furcifer, Dej. Cat. et Laporte, An. Art. 1. c. {teste Mus. Gory.)
Hah. in Brasilia et CayennL In Mus. D. Hope.
The present species stands in Mr. Hope's collection as the male
oi A. Bilberyii.
7. Athyreus Bilbergii, Gray in Griffith An. Kingd. ; piceo-niger, tu-
berculis minutis scaber, clypei margine antico recto postico carinato
et 3-tuberculato tuberculo intermedio magis elevato, angulis laterali-
bus capitis ante oculos acutis, pronoto margine antico parum elevato ;
disco tuberculis duobus Isevibus lineisque duabus curvatis elevatis. —
Long. corp. lin. 10.
Athyreus furcicollis, Dej. {teste Mus, Gory, nunc Hope.)
Hah. in Demerara et Cayenne. In Mus. D. Hope.
8. Athyreus Pholas, Buquet MS.; piceo-castaneus, lateribus protho-
racis et elytromm pedibusque rufescentibus, scabriusculus, clypeo an-
tice angustato margine antico bituberculato, vertice concavo, protho-
racis lateribus dilatatis disco excavatione subquadrata spin& erectft
antica lateribusque acute tuberculatis. — Long, corp. lin. 6.
Athyreus trituberculatus. Gory in Mus.
Hah. in Colombia, Santa F^ de Bogota. In Mus. Hope.
Obs. Athyreus recticornis, Guerin, Iconogr. du Kegne An. Ins. p. 83,
from Swan River (Mus. Gory)=zBolboceras hastifer, Bainbridge.
The insect placed in M. Gory's collection, with the label of
Athyreus porcatus, De Laporte, Anim. Artie, t. ii. p. 103. no. 6,
Athyreus Senegalensis, Dejean, is a new species of BolboceraSf from
Senegal.
9. Athyreus purpureipennis; cyaneo-rriger subtus fulvo-testaceus, ely-
tris laete purpureis, pronoto linea longitudinali impress^ utrinque spa-
tio convexo laevissimo nigro versus angulos anticos furcato.. — Long,
corp. lin. 6.
Hah. in America meridionali. In Musaeo Britannico.
10. Athyreus centralis; testaceo-fulvus, capitis vertice anticS 3-
dentato, pronoto carin& abbreviate centrali lineis duabus parum ele-
vatis obliquis alteraque utrinque prope angulos posticos, elytris im-
presso-striatis striis longe ante apicem evanescentibus. — Long. corp.
lin. 6^.
Hah. in Nov& Grenada, Rio Magdalena, Ibaque. In Musaeo Britannico.
11. Athyreus Tweedyanus ; testaceus, pronoto maximo lateribus obtuse
angulatis et sinuatis medio disci depresso laevi et line& obliquft parum
360 Linnean Society, [Feb. 15,
curvatd e lateribus separate linc&qtie alter^ abbreviata utrinque ver-
sus angulos posticos. — Long. corp. lin. 5^.
Hab. in Insula Hayti, Indiae occidentalis. DD. Tweedy et Hearne. In
Muss. Soc. Ent. Londin. et Hope.
February 15.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Charles Cogswill, Esq., M.D., was elected a Fellow.
Read a memoir " On the early stages of the Development of Le-
maneafluviatilis, Agardh." By G. H. K. Thwaites, Esq. Commu-
nicated by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, F.L.S.
Mr. Thwaites attributes the neglect of the early condition of this
conferva to its having been confounded in this stage with Trente-
pohlia pulchella ^. chalyhea, Harv., with which it is frequently found
growing intermingled. He states that it may be observed in great
abundance towards the end of November, covering the surface of
stones with a uniform, dark olive, somewhat villous coating, and
adhering with great pertinacity by means of its minute roots. The
structure of the plant at this early stage is found to consist of nu-
merous conferva-like filaments, of about a line in length and spa-
ringly branched. Each filament is about xrVo*^ °^ ^^ ^"^^^ ^^ ^^^"
meter, and consists of a single row of cells, which are from 4 to 6
times longer than wide, and have a blue-green endochrome arranged
in a spiral manner, except in the terminal cells, where it is more
abundant and gives them a darker colour. This stage Mr. Thwaites
regards as analogous to the confervoid filaments which form the pri-
mordia of a moss, or to the mycelium of a fungus ; and he adds that
Kiitzing has described and figured the early condition of Lemanea
torulosa, Agardh, as very similar.
From a cell near the base of this conferva-like structure a branch is
given oiF, which at first differs apparently from the ordinary branches
only in its cells being much shorter. This little branch increases
rapidly in length and thickness from the multiplication of its cells
by fissiparous division ; and to enable it to acquire a firmer support,
a number of roots are given oflf from its base (in the same manner
as in the phyton of a moss), and it is thus enabled to attach itself
and maintain an independent existence. From this period it gra-
1848.] Linnean Society. 361
dually puts on the well-known characters of the full-grown Le-
manea.
Mr. Thwaites believes that the study of the early development of
the Alga would well repay the careful observer. He thinks it highly
probable that very many of the structures now classed with the Pal-
mella are merely immature states of more complicated species ; but
he recommends great caution in such investigations, as without a
good microscope and a practised eye, very essential characters readily
escape detection.
Read also a portion of Dr. Buchanan Hamilton's Commentary on
the 9th Part of Van Rheede's Hortus Malaharicus.
March 7.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
Joseph Dorrington, Esq., M.A., was elected a Fellow.
Read a memoir " On MelianthecB, a new natural order of plants,
proposed and defined by J. E. Planchon, docteur-^s-sciences.'* Com-
municated by the Secretary.
After an introductory critical sketch, the author proceeds to com-
pare together Melianthus, Diplerisma (a new genus founded upon
Melianthus minor, L., and Mel. comosus, Vahl), Natalia and Ber-
sama ; that is to say, the four genera which he proposes to unite
under the common name of Melianthea. This comparison includes
chiefly descriptive details, of the results of which the following
synoptical table will aflford a summary view : — {See the Table on
pp. 362-3.)
A glance at the characters suffices to show that those among
them which are common to all the genera are also of undoubted
primary importance in most natural tribes. So, for instance, the
structure of the seeds, the relative position and numerical propor-
tion of the floral parts, the position and even the shape of the disc,
the pinnate leaves and the constant presence of stipules, are so many
points by which the connection of these plants is established. Ad-
mitting then the homogeneity of the order, the author proceeds to
point out its more general afl[inities.
362
Linnean Society.
[March 7,
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364 Linnean Society, [March 7?
Melianthus being usually considered as an anomalous form of Zy-
gophylle(B, the question presents itself, to what natural class this last
order is to be referred ? Is it also to be admitted simply as a tribe
of Rutacece (as defined by the Jussieus), or shall we follow Mr. Ro-
bert Brown in considering it as an independent order ? The author
not only declares in favour of the latter opinion, but expresses his
belief that while, on the one hand, Diosmece (including RutecB, Dios-
mecE proper, Zanthoxylece and Aurantiacea) , together with Simarubea
and Meliacece, constitute a natural class, so, on the other hand, Zygo-
phyllea, Oxalidece, Connaracea, Leguminosce and Moringeae are closely
connected into one group, not only by their general structure and
fades, but by the common tendency of their compound leaves to
periodical sleep, or occasionally to movement under an irritating in-
fluence, a physiological phscnomenon connected with the structural
fact of the articulation of the foliole with the petiole on which it
moves.
Neither of the two natural classes just mentioned admits, in the
opinion of the author, the new order of MeliantheiE,
The pinnate leaves, irregular flowers, excentric and incomplete
disc placed outside of the stamens, the quaternary proportion * of
these organs in contrast with the quinary division of the calyx, the
occasional cohesion of two of the sepals, the close analogy of the
follicular capsule of Diplerisma with that of Cardiospermum, and of
the coriaceous fruit and arillate seeds of Bersamece with the corre-
sponding parts mPaullinia, and the fact of a species of Natalia being
justly named PauUinioides, are the points by which the close afiinity
of Melianthea with Sapindacece are traced out. Thus by the know-
ledge of very recent materials (Bersama and Natalia being both but
lately discovered) are confirmed the views which Adanson expressed
upon the affinities of Melianthus, when, in his otherwise rather hete-
rogeneous family of Gerania, he placed that singular genus between
Cardiospermum and Geranium.
After some other general considerations, the author concludes with
a review of the geographical distribution of Melianthece, the most
striking fact mentioned being the occurrence of Melianthus Hima-
layanus. Wall., in the mountains of northern India, while its only
congener, the w^W-knovfn Melianthus, major, L., does not exceed the
limits of the flora of the Cape of Good Hope.
* Bersama must here be excepted, because of its five stamens.
1848.] Linnean Society, 365
March 21.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Read a Memoir " On the Australian species of the Coleoj)terous
genus Bolboceras, Kirby." By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
In this paper, which contains the characters and descriptions of
l&ve new species of Bolboceras from Australia, Mr. Westwood passes
in review the various writers on the subject, and enters into some
critical detail on the characters which they have assigned to the
genus. The following are the characters of the new species pro-
posed;—
1. IJ. (Elephastomus) KiRBii; castaneo-fulvus, capitis cornu antico por-
recto brevi truncato piano subtus in spinam bifidam baud product©,
vertice carina brevi transversa, protboracis lateribus valde punctatis
utrinqiie fossulatis; disco postice canali abbreviato longitudinali in-
structo. — Long. corp. lin. 9.
B. (Elephastomus) Kirbii, Hope MSS.
Hah. in Terra Van Diemen. In Mus. Hope.
This appears to be the insect given by Mr. MacLeay as the female
of Elephastomus proboscideus . It is however a male, and is given by
Dr, Klug as a variety of the male of that species. The insect above
described appears sufficiently distinct as a species from the former.
2. B. Reichii; castaneus nitidus, capita cornu valde elongate ere cto,
prothorace antice valde deflexo et subconcavo cornubus duobus crassis
longitudine capitis porrectis lateralibus armato : singulo versus basin
dente obtuso erecto instruct©; prothoracis lateribus rude punctatis
spaticque triangulari impresso et punctato ante scutellum ; margin©
postico par^m elevato, elytris striis gracillirais punctatis, tibiis anticis
extus 5-dentatis. (J. — Long. corp. h"n. 11 ; lat. protboracis Hn. 7.
Hub, Port Essington. In Muss. Hope et Reich.
S Bolboceras Reichii, Guerin, Voyage de la Favorite, et Iconogr. du
Regne An. Ins. p. 84.
Bolboceras Kirbii cJ , Hope in Proc. of Ent. Soc, Nov. 1841, p. 43.
$ Bolboceras Kirbii, Bainbridge in Trans. Ent. Soc.
DifFert capite minori, vertice in tuberculum conicum apice bifidura elevato,
clypeo et vertice carina tenui angulai^ separati'', pronoto antic^ spatio
subbexagono piano polito, in puncta duo profunda antic^ lateraliter
desinente ; disco pone medium valde punctato, versus marginem posti-
cum elevato laevi, spatio ovali mediano punctato et impresso relicto. —
Long. corp. lin. 11.
Hab. ad Melville Island. Mus. Hope (etiam in Mus. Gory, nunc Hope
cum nomine B. Reichii inscripto).
No. XXXV. — Phocekdinqs of the Linnean Society.
366 Linnean Society, [Mar. 21,
Obs. The name given to the male of this species is here retained
in preference to that of the female, in accordance with the usual
custom in such cases.
3. B. Tauuus ; castaneus nitidus, capitis vevtice utiinquelarninis duabus
auriculatis erectis instructo cornubusque duobus elongatis curvatis nigris
ante oculos armato, pronoto in medio versus marginem anticum pariim
reflexo sen tuberculis duobus trail sversis subelevatis instructo; lateri-
bus punctatis. — Long. corp. lin. 8.
Hah. ad Swan River. In Mus. Hope (olim Gory, sub nomine manu-
scripto supra indicato ; etiam in Mus. Saunders).
4. B. Capreolus; castaneus nitidus, capite postice nigricante; vertice
cornu lato furcato 6-dentato erecto armato, pronoto antice retuso glabro,
dorso carinli transversa pone medium instructo, mandibulis magnis
extus denticulatis. $ . — Long. corp. lin. 9.
Hah. in Nova Hollandia, Swan River. In Mus. Hope (olim Mus. Gory,
cum nomine supra inscripto designatum).
5. B. Bainbridgh ; piceus, capitis clypeo antice tridentato, dente inter-
medio minori ; vertice inermi, pronoto antice valde declivi dente erecto
versus marginem anticum; parte declivi supra carina curvata mar-
ginata. — Long. corp. lin. 7.
Hah. in Nova Hollandia, Swan River. In Mus. D. Hope.
Of these species, as well as of B. (Elephastomus)Justralasice, Kirby,
B. serricollis, Bainbridge, B. hastifer, Bainb., B, S- tuber culatus,
Bainb., B. 7 -tuber culatus, Bainb., B. coronatus, Klug, B. quadricornis ,
King, B. neglectus, Hope, B. rotundatus, Hope, and B. rubescens,
Hope, Mr. Westwood adds figures, either of the whole insect or of
the more distinctive parts. He also figures and describes a new sub-
genus with the following characters : —
Subgenus Stenaspidius.
Corpus magis elongatum quam in Bolhoceratis veris ; scutello elongate
(nee triangulari) ; elytris striis 5 tantum inter humeros et suturam ;
mesosterno porrecto. Differt etiam colore antennarura.
^ Bolboceras (Stenaspidius) nigricornis; ovalis niger nitidus sparsim
punctatus, capite tuberculo conico inter oculos, pronoto canali punctato
medio aliisque duobus abbreviatis pone oculos, elytris striato-punctatis.
— Long. corp. lin. 3^.
Hah. in Nova Hollandia. IirMus. D. Hope (olim Gory, cum nomine
sapr& indicato inscripto).
1848.] Linnean Society. 3C7
April 4.
E. Forster. Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Thomas Worthington Barlow, Esq., was elected a Fellow.
Read some " Notes on the Vegetation of Scinde," extracteil from
a Letter addressed by John Ellerton Stocks, Esq., M.U., to J. F.
Royle, Esq., M.D., F.K.S., F.L.S. &c., dated Bombay, November
25. 1847.
The extracts consisted, first, of a sketch of the physical geogra-
phy, soil and climate of the neighbourhood of Kurrachee, of the road
from Kurrachee to Hydrabad, and of that between Hydrabad and
Roree; secondly, of lists of the more remarkable plants arranged
according to the stations in which they were found ; thirdly, of com-
parative estimates of the prevalent proportions of the principal Na-
tural Orders as compared with the Flora of India generally ; fourthly,
of lists of the characteristic plants of Scinde, and of those which
predominate in the number of individuals to such an extent as to
give a peculiar character to the face of the country ; and lastly, of
an indication of those species by which the Flora of Scinde is con-
nected severally with those of Cabool, of Arabia, of Egypt, and of
the Punjaub and Delhi.
In a postscript to his letter, which was accompanied by a packet
of specimens, Dr. Stocks refers to Captain Vicary's paper on the
Plants of Scinde, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta
for November 1847, which he had received subsequently to writing
the letter, and to his own remarks printed by Sir William J. Hooker,
from a letter addressed to him in the Supplement to the Botanical
Magazine for September. He desires that Captain Vicary's pub-
lished names of various species may be substituted for his own
MS. names ; and remarks that Captain Vicary's JSgialltis is a true
Statice ; his Breweria evolvuloides is Seddera latifoUa, Hochst. and
Steud. ; his Calligonmn polygonoides is certainly a new genus, for
which Dr. Stocks had in his MSS. proposed the name of Gibsonia;
his Morisonia Asiatica is M. Lawiana, Stocks, in Calcutta Journal,
1846 ; his Zygophyllum obtusum is Z. simplex, L. ; his Cor chorus de-
pressus is C. humilis, Munro ; his frutescent Crambe is a species of
Didesmus, D. panduriformis. Stocks ; and his Cadaba Indica is a fine
Capparis, probably new, and found also in Arabia. Dr. Stocks pro-
poses the name of Vicarya for a new genus of Malvacea which he
368 Linnean Society, [April 1 8,
purposes describing, along with Gibsonia and Sericostoma, a new
genus of Boraginea, in the. next number of the Bombay Asiatic
Journal.
April 18.
T. Horsfield, M.D., V.P., in the Chair.
Read a continuation of Mr. Newport's Third Memoir " On the
Anatomy and Development of Meloe."
The author remarked that every normal change in structure de-
pends on definite laws, and that when the proper operation of these
is impeded, or when change is effected by violence, the function of
structure is impaired.
After mentioning that Malpighi, in his anatomy of the Silk- worm,
glanced at, and Dr. Willis, in this country, at the end of the seven-
teenth century, more particularly announced, the view that changes
in structure in all animals are regulated by those general principles
which have since been so admirably worked out by GeofFroy Saint-
Hilaire, Mr. Newport stated that his object in the present memoir
is to further exemplify these principles in the Anatomy oiMeloe, and
to endeavour to apply them to the explanation of function as de-
pendent on structure.
Although the object of variations in structure cannot always be
at once traced in the details, it is invariably evident in the general
design of i)arts, and it is found to be so likewise in their peculiarities
in proportion as we become more fully acquainted with the habits of
animals, as is shown in the details of structure in the young Meloe
and Stylops at particular periods of their growth. Changes in the
structure of parts during growth in the young animal were shown to
commence in the cells of the tegument, and that it is by means of
these that the form of the body is gradually altered. These changes
are not to be confounded with other secondary ones which give form
to the adult animal, and which we are familiar with as the meta-
morphoses.
The dermal appendages, spines, hairs and scales, were shown to
be similar in their mode of origin in the tegument to the appendages
of segments, and their growth and removal to be regulated by the
same principles. Mr. Newport showed that the appendages originate
by an extension outwards of the whole of the layers of a portion of
tegument, whilst spines, hairs and scales originate in the nuclei of
1848.] Linnean Society, 369
cells of separate layers. He stated also that he had detected these
modes of origin in the embryo before it leaves the ovum, and com-
bated the view of M. Lavalle that spines are originally an extension
outwards of the whole of the dermal tissue, as they are often found
to be in Crustacea at advanced periods of growth, showing that they
only become so in them, and in the larvae of other Articulata, during
their growth and enlargement, by involving contiguous portions of
the tissue. These views were illustrated by examination of the te-
gument of MelUe, and by reference to the changes in the tegument of
Lepidoptera at the period of transformation.
The author then passed to a consideration of the secondary causes
of development — the metamorphoses — and pointed out, from an ex-
amination of the cast skin of the larva of Mcloe, which always
remains attached to the body of the inactive full-grown larva in its
cell, what are its previous habits and form, drawing attention to
the fact, that the cast skin of an insect, when relaxed and unfolded,
enables the anatomist of the Invertebrata to indicate the form and
general habits of a species as precisely as the fossil bone enables the
comparative anatomist of the Vertehrata to indicate those of the in-
habitant of a former world.
The changes which Meloe undergoes were then described ; and
the mode of formation of the head in the Articulata explained as
composed of a definite number of originally distinct segments.
Mr. Newport referred to his former discovery of these segments in
the embryo of Geophilus, and stated, in answer to the recent denial
of some parts of his views by Professor Erichson, regarding the
organs of manducation in Myriapoda, that he has satisfied himself of
their correctness, having not only confirmed them in that class, but
also in the embryos of other Articulata. These views he then ap-
plied to illustrate the anatomy of the head and organs of manducation
in MelOet showing the mode in which the changes in the structure
of the mandibles are effected, and pointing out corresponding changes
in the function of the parts ; noticing also that change in structure
during the growth of an animal usually precedes change in the
function of an organ, — a circumstance which leads to the inference
that function is closely dependent on special structure.
The secondary changes during the development of Articulata, the
metamorphoses, are effected, not by the tegument itself, but by the
agency of structures connected with the tegument — the muscles. The
author stated that we are entirely ignorant of the secret cause which
first excites the muscles, at a definite period of growth, into action
in effecting these changes ; but suggested that it is in the expansive
370 Linnean Society. [May 2,
and contractile forms of growth in the tissues themselves. All that
is known with certainty is, that it is through the direct agency of
the muscles that the form of body of the insect is rapidly altered at
the period of the metamorphoses, and that the operation of these is
accelerated or retarded by physical influences. The mode in which
the muscles operate in effecting the changes was then pointed out,
and the altered proportions of different parts of the body after the
change was shown to depend on the greater or less extent to which
the contraction of the muscles of different segments is carried.
The result of these altered proportions in the tegument of an in-
sect that is changing to the form of pupa or nymph, as in Meloe, is
a rapid re-induction of the forces of growth in the appendages, the
future wings and legs, which become greatly elongated, at and im-
mediately after the change. These alterations of form are accom-
panied as a last result by changes in the intimate structure of the
tegument, a consolidation of a large portion of it, and the formation
of the dermo-skeleton of the imago.
May 2.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
M.J. Decaisne was elected a Foreign Member, and John Fraser,
Esq., an Associate.
The Society passed a Resolution expressive of its deep regret at
receiving, at the moment when about to ballot on the Certificate of
Prof. J. G. Zuccarini as a Foreign Member, the intelligence of his
lamented death.
Read a memoir ** On the Anatomy and affinities of Pteronarcys
regalis, Newm." By George Newport, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.&c.
Mr. Newport commenced by stating that the existence of a
winged insect with branchial organs for respiration is so anomalous
a condition of life, that himself as well as others at first regarded
the specimen he had obtained rather as an accidental instance of
incomplete development than a normal condition. He found how-
ever, one omparinghis specimen, preserved in spirit, with other dried
specimens in the cabinets of the British Musuem, that this was not
the case, as evidences of branchiae are to be found in the whole of
the dried specimens of the genus in that collection.
Having waited some years since obtaining this specimen, in hopes
1848.] Linnean Society, 371
of receiving others for the purpose of dissection, the author has now
made a careful examination of the insect. He described the forms
of branchiae in different genera of Neuroptera, and pointed out that
the peculiarity of Pteronarcys consists in its possessing in its winged
state, both branchiae for aquatic respiration and spiracles for the
direct respiration of air.
He then described the branchiae, their connexion with the respi-
ratory organs, and the mode in which the blood circulates through
them, as he has seen in a neighbouring family. Sialism and reviewed
what is yet known of the habits of the insect in connexion with
these remarkable structures.
The author regards Pteronarcys, from the circumstance of ^ts pos-
sessing in its winged state the means of both aquatic ancj aerial
respiration, as an Insect Proteus, the representative of the Proteus of
Vertebrata, both in structure and habits. y^
The anatomy of some parts of the dermo-skeleton, of the spiracles,
and of the distribution of its internal respiratory organs, as compared
with that of neighbouring genera, is then described, as well as of the
digestive organs, and nervous and reproductive system. These are
minutely examined and the structures delineated on an accompanying
plate.
Anniversary Meeting.
May 24.
The ^d Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair.
e^^l
Tbj^'^y, the Anniversary of the birth of Linnseus, and that ap-
BD^t^ by the Charter for the election of Council and Officers, the
T^sldent opened the business of the Meeting, and stated
^er of Members whom the Society had leist during the past'
and the Secretary read the following notices of those Fellows
whose decease the Society had bej^e acquainted since tl:
Anniversary.
Mr. Arthur Biggs was for SQ/(6e time gardener to Isaac Swainson
Esq., and afterwards Curaton« the Cambridge Botanic Garden. He
was elected an Associate of the Linnean Society in 1815, soon after
his appointment to the i^tter office ; and in December of the same
year he became a Felfew of the. Society. While in the service of
/
372 Linnean Society. [May 24,
Mr. Swainson he contributed to the first volume of the ' Transactions
of the Horticultural Society,' a paper entitled " An Account of some
new Apples which, with many others that have been cultivated, were
exhibited before the Horticultural Society on the 2nd of December
last [1806]." He died in the early part of the present year.
John Dunston, Esq., of Castle House, Sidbury, near Honiton,
Devon, became a Fellow of the Society in 1818, and died on the
nth of August 1847, at the age of 68.
John Ellis, Esq., became a Fellow of the Society in 1797, and of
the Royal Society in 1801.
William Finch, Esq., M.D., of Bellevue, near Salisbury, became a
Fellow of the Society in 1837, and died on the 7th of January 1848.
George Townshend Fox, Esq., was a gentleman of property in the
county of Durham, and warmly attached to the study of natural
history, and especially of British ornithology. He published in
1827 a " Synopsis of the Newcastle Museum, late the Allan, formerly
the Tunstall, or WycliiFe Museum : to which are prefixed Memoirs
of Mr. Tunstall, the Founder, and of Mr. Allan, the late Proprietor,
of the Collection, with occasional Remarks on the Species, by those
Gentlemen and the Editor," Newcastle, 8vo. This volume is chiefly
remarkable, in a natural-history point of view, for the notes on the
capture of the rarer species of British birds, and on the distinctions
of the more doubtful, which evince considerable research and know-
ledge of the subject. Mr. Fox was himself a large contributor to
the museum he described, and in which he continued to take great
interest up to the time of his death, in April of the present year.
He became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1825.
The Rev. John Hailstone, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S. SfC, was born in
the neighbourhood of London, in the y^ar 1759, and at a very early
age was placed under the care of a maternal uncle at York, and after-
wards sent to Beverley School in the East Riding of that county.
At the usual period he was entered at Catherine Hall, in the
University of Cambridge ; his talents, however, attracted the notice
of his friends, and he removed by their advice to a larger place of
competition and honour. Trinity College, where he took his degree
of B.A. in 1782, and was the second Wrangler of his year, in
company with Dr. Wood the late Master of St. John (who was
Senior Wrangler), Dr. Raine (late Master of the Charter House),
Professor Porson and many other distinguished men. He was soon
afterwards elected Fellow of his College, and in 1788 became Wood-
wardian Professor of Geology in the University, which office he
held uptil 1818, when he relinquished it and his Fellowship, upon
1848.] Linnean Society. 373
his marriage, and took the living of Trumpington, in the gift of the
College, where he resided until his death.
His course during nearly forty years* residence within the walls
of Trinity College was marked as well by eminence in the scien-
tific world, as by unwearied exertions to raise the College to high
repute and usefulness as a place of sound learning and religious
education. The science of geology was at that time in its infancy,
and Professor Hailstone was among the foremost in placing its grand
deductions upon that satisfactory basis which is received and re-
cognized by geologists at the present day. His labours in collecting
facts and specimens during the various journeys which he took for
the purpose through the British Isles, as well as on the continent
of Europe, are abundantly testified by the important and extensive
additions which he made to the Woodwardian Museum. His zeal
also, exercised among many influential friends of the University,
contributed to excite an interest in the improvement of the collec-
tion, which has since made such rapid progress under the very able
auspices of his successor Professor Sedgwick.
He became a Fellow of this Society in 1800, of the Royal Society
in 1801, and a Member of the Geological Society on its first forma-
tion. Although geology was his favourite pursuit, he was not un-
acquainted with other branches of science, such as the kindred ones
of chemistry and mineralogy, and other departments of natural
history, and has left behind him a daily register of Meterological
Phaenomena which he kept for a great number of years. He was
the intimate friend of Drs. Wollaston, Clarke, and many other sci-
entific men, in communication with them, and enjoyed their corre-
spondence.
His modest and unobtrusive character found a genial sphere in
the quiet duties of a parish priest : the last twenty-five years of his
long and useful life were spent in doing good among those who resided
around him at Trumpington ; the rich valued his calm and sound
judgement, and the poor looked up' to him with reverence and affection
for the continual interest he took in their welfare, and for his liberality
and benevolence towards them. The parochial schools and residence
for a master, mainly erected at his own expense, and most liberally
endowed by his will, stand in his village a substantial and fitting me-
morial of his high and amiable character. He died at Trumpington,
June 9, 1847, after a short illness, in the 88th year of his age.
Edward Holme, Esq.y M.D., was one of those '* who are men-
tioned with reverence rather for the possession than the exertion of
uncommon abilities." Whether from a severely fastidious taste.
374 Limiean Society. [May 24,
which he was unable to satisfy, from painfully laborious habits of
composition, or from his mental tendencies impelling him rather
to accumulate knowledge than to extend its boundaries, he has left
to the world no measure of his intellectual stature. His only
printed essay, besides his Inaugural Thesis, is a brief note on the
correct reading of a partly effaced Roman inscription. It was in
social intercourse, and in animated discussions, that his extensive
knowledge and remarkable mental powers were exclusively mani-
fested ; and, as far as it may be safe to judge from such unwritten
demonstrations of great talents, he would appear to have been one,
who in the impressive words of Playfair " might have enjoyed more
of the fame, had he been less satisfied with the possession, of
know^ledge."
Dr. Holme was born February 17, 1770, at Kendal in Lancashire.
No notices have been preserved of his early studies ; but in January
1787 he was admitted a student in the Academy that .had been
recently established in Manchester. From thence he was removed
in the summer of 1790 to the University of Gottingen, where he
laid the foundations of his vast and accurate scholarship, and where
he enjoyed the inestimable privilege of sitting at the feet of Heyne.
He passed the winters of 1791-2 and 1792-3 in attending the
Medical Classes and the Chemical Lectures of Dr. Blake in Edin-
burgh. In December 1793 he received the degree of M.D. from the
University of Leyden. His Thesis ' De Structura et Usu Vasorum
Absorbentium ' is a faithful and masterly exposition of what was then
known of the anatomical structure and functions of that system of
vessels. In April 1794 he was elected one of the Physicians to the
Manchester Infirmary, an appointment which he held till the year
1828. He also became in 1794 a member of the Literary and Philo-
sophical Society of Manchester, and filled in succession all its offices
of honour, having been raised to the Presidency in 1844 on the
death of Dalton. During this long period he communicated nume-
rous papers, all of which he withheld from publication. One of them,
•' On the History of Sculpture from the earliest period to the time of
Phidias," was found among his MSS., and is now about to be pub-
lished in the forthcoming volume of the Manchester Memoirs.
Beyond the pale of his profession his pursuits were chiefly lite-
rary. His exact and critical knowledge of the ancient languages,
and his familiarity with the writings of the leading scholars and
philologists from the revival of letters to the time of Bentley, had
secured for him the warm friendship and respect of Parr. He was
profoundly read in history, and especially conversant with local
1848.] Linnean Society, 375
antiquities, genealogy and heraldry, particularly those of the counties
of Lancaster and Chester.
In science his tastes had early directed him to the sciences of
classification, and with marked predilection to botany, entomology,
and ornithology. He became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in
1799; and was one of the founders and the first President of the
Natural History Society of Manchester. He was zealously active
in enriching the museum of the latter Society with rare specimens,
and in promoting the erection of suitable apartments for their pre-
servation and display. His library was adorned with the most costly
illustrated works in natural history. Indeed his dominant passion,
the love of books, might be traced in his infinitely greater familiarity
with the literature of the natural sciences than with actual objects
and specimens. Among the essays which he read before the Philo-
sophical Society of Manchester were some on questions of natural
history, as
1797. On the jColour of Negroes, with illustrations of the Law of
Habit.
1798. On the Distribution and Physiology of the Nerves of the
- Heart.
1801. An Entomological Fragment.
1803. On the Existence of the Unicorn.
None of these have been discovered in his repositories. He de-
clined permitting any of them to appear in the Manchester Memoirs,
rather destining them to furnish the subject of an evening's discussion,
than regarding them as valuable additions to the then state of know-
ledge. His attainments in zoology are pronounced by good judges to
have been accurate and comprehensive ; but it does not appear that
there was any si)ecial province .which he had cultivated with strong
preference and prominent success. Nature had endowed him with a
memory no less remarkable for the tenaciousness of its grasp than
for the readiness of its responses, when invoked. What he had once
read or heard remained with him through life, as if engraven on
tablets of brass or marble. This faculty rendered him distinguished
service in the studies of natural history ; but there is nothing to
show that his power of observation was at all of commensurate
vigour or activity. It is impossible to claim for him rank as an
original cultivator of any branch of natural history. Perhaps the
full occupation of his time in tlie engrossing exercise of his profession
might be pleaded as a valid apology. But from tracing the same
indisposition to original mental eflforts, at least in the form of per-
manent written fruits, throughout his entire intellectual career, pro-
376 Linnean Society, [May 24,
fessional, literary and scientific, his able biographer Dr. William
Charles Henry is inclined to refer it to inherent mental qualities. He
died in November 1847, and bequeathed the residue of his property,
amounting to £25,000, to the Medical Department of University
College, London.
James Kendrick, Esq., M.D,, of Warrington, for many years
Senior Physician to the Dispensary and Infirmary of that town,
where he had established an extensive practice, became a Fellow of
the Linnean Society in 1802, and died in the spring of the present
year.
He published in 1832 a little pamphlet entitled "Cursory Re-
marks on the present Epidemic [Cholera] ."
William Oliver Locke, Esq., M.D., of Norwich, was elected F.L.S.
in 1824, and died in the month of February 1846.
John Morgan, Esq., was born at Stamford Hill, on the 20th of
January 1797. His father, William Morgan, was the late well-
known and distinguished Actuary of the Equitable Assurance Office,
an institution which owed its unprecedented success in great measure
to his talents and firmness. Having received his general education
at home, Mr. Morgan commenced his professional studies as an
articled pupil of the late Sir Astley Cooper. He became a Member
of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1819, and in 1824, at the early
age of 27, he was elected Surgeon to Gu)-'s Hospital, at the school
of which institution he filled the Chair of Surgery for many years ;
and to his influence is mainly due the establishment of the Eye
Infirmary in connexion with the Hospital. He was also a Member
of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, which appointment
he received in 1843.
Of his reputation as a Hospital Surgeon, as an Operator, and as
a Surgical Physician, if the term may be allowed, it is not necessary
on this occasion to speak at large. The voice of the profession has
however established his character as among the highest in all these
departments of professional practice. It is more to our present pur-
pose to refer to his scientific attainments and tastes, and particu-
larly to his pursuit of zoology and comparative anatomy. His
knowledge of British ornithology was accurate and extensive ; and
he formed one of the most complete and beautiful collections of
British birds in existence, which is now in the museum of the Cam-
bridge Philosophical Society. He devoted at one period much of
his attention to the subject of comparative anatomy, and the volumes
of the ' Linnean Transactions ' contain some papers on this depart-
ment of science, which show the acumen with which he always seized
1848.] Linnean Society, 377
on important facts, and the clearness with which he elucidated their
bearing upon the functions to which they appertained. His descrip-
tion of the mammary organs of the Kangaroo, and that of the struc-
ture of the pharynx in the Capybara, both contained in the 16th vol.
of our 'Transactions,' may be regarded as models of monographs
of single organs.
The most striking characteristic of Mr. Morgan's mind was simple
truthfuhiess. There scarcely lived a man more utterly free from all
guile, or of more childlike simplicity. His whole heart was open as
the day to those whom he loved, and as close and dark as midnight
to those whom he held at a distance. This arose not from any
misanthropic feeling on his part, but rather was the natural result
of the intensity and concentration of his affections. Of his bene-
volence the world knew but little in comparison with its actual ex-
tent. The same character distinguished his scientific pursuits. As he
would have scorned to assume to himself the credit due to another,
so he insisted on retaining the credit which belonged to himself, and
this too from the same truthfulness which marked all his conduct.
His conversation was dehghtful when alone with those '* few familiar
friends '* with whom he had no reserve, but an habitual reserve ari-
sing from natural and educational timidity prevented him from opeU'
ing to the multitude, and hence he was not generally appreciated.
To use the words of one who knew him well, " In public life ad-
mired and respected, in private beloved, Mr. Morgan sank beneath a
gradual and almost painless malady, the surely fatal termination of
which it was his melancholy advantage from the first to foresee."
He died on the 4th of October last, in the 51st year of his age. His
election as a Fellow of the Linnean Society dates from 1826.
William Peete, Esq., one of our oldest Fellows, having been
elected into the Society in 1794, was born on the 27th of June
1771, obtained his diploma in surgery in 1799, and became resident
in or about the year 1795 at Dartford in Kent, where he entered
into partnership with Mr., afterwards Dr. John Latham, the distin-
guished ornithologist. When Dr. Latham quitted Dartford in 1796
Mr. Peete succeeded to his practice, and in the year 1833, after
having lived at Dartford for about eight-and-thirty years, he retired
to Keston and subsequently to Bromley, in the same comity, where
he died on the 4th of February in the present year, in the 77th year
of his age. Mr. Peete was well acquainted with British plants, to
the study of which he particularly attached himself, especially of the
rarer species of the neighbourhood in which he lived, and his opinion
on all questions regarding them was deservedly treated with great
respect.
378 Linnean Society. [May 24,
Edwin John Quekett, Esq., was born at Langport in the county of
Somerset in September 180S. He received his elementary educa-
tion as a Surgeon in that town, and in 1828 commenced his attend-
ance on the Medical Classes at University College, London, where he
gained several honorary distinctions. He subsequently entered into
practice in Wellclose Square, and became Surgeon to the Tower
Hamlets Dispensary. In 1 835 he became Lecturer on Botany in the
Medical School of the London Hospital, and in the following year
was elected into the Linnean Society. He took an active part in
the formation of the Microscopical Society, which was founded in
1840, and contributed the first paper to its ' Transactions.' In 1843
he became joint- editor with Dr. Goodfellow of the ' London Physio-
logical Journal,* a monthly periodical devoted especially to micro-
scopical investigations, but of which five numbers only were pub-
lished. Mr. Quekett had the reputation of a well-informed and
sound practitioner, and was greatly esteemed for his kindness of
disposition and indefatigable attention to his patients. He died on
the 28th of last June, of a singularly anomalous and distressing
complaint, first affecting the pharynx and subsequently the lungs,
and for a long time rendering deglutition impossible.
As a microscopical observer Mr. Quekett is deserving of great
credit. A skilful manipulator and possessed of considerable tact in
the preparation of his subjects, he combined much mechanical inge-
nuity with an accurate theoretical as well as practical knowledge of
the capabilities of his instrument ; and his observations were conse-
quently entitled to a high degree of confidence. The more import-
ant of his contributions to science are contained in our ' Transac-
tions,' in those of the Microscopical Society and in the ' Physiolo-
gical Journal.' A few also appeared in the ' London Medical Gazette,'
and in the ' Pharmaceutical Journal.'
The following are the titles of Mr. Quekett's papers in the * Trans-
actions ' of the Linnean and Microscopical Societies : —
** Observations on the Ergot of Rye, and some other Grasses,"
Linn. Trans, xviii. p. 453.
" Some further Observations on the Nature of the Ergot of
Grasses," ibid. xix. p. 137.
** On the Development of the Vascular Tissue of Plants," Trans.
Micr. Soc. i. p. 1.
** On the Structure of some Tissues possessing hygrometric pro-
peties," ibid. p. 23.
" On the Nature of Vessels possessing longitudinal as well as spi-
ral fibres, found in certain Plants," ibid. p. 157.
" On an instance of Monstrosity in a Moss," ibid. p. 160.
1848.] Linnean Society. 379
" On the Structure of the Ligament connecting the Valves of
Conchiferous Mollusks," Linn. Trans, ii. p. 1.
" Remarks relating to the examination of Guano by the Micro-
scope," ibid. p. 29.
George Roddam, Esq., M.D., a naval physician of much skill
and eminence, was attached to natural history, and made collec-
tions in several of its departments, e3i)ecially entomology. He
entered the Navy in 1797 as Surgeon of H.M.S. Thorn, on the
Leeward Island Station, and continued to serve in various ships of
war until 1812, when he was appointed Surgeon of the Royal
Charlotte yacht. From this time his services were confined to the
Royal yachts, and he finally retired from active service in 1831. He
was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1813, and died on
tKe 11th of October 1838.
Thomas Taylor, Esq., M.D., the coadjutor of Sir W.J. Hooker in
the 1st and 2nd editions of ' Muscologia Britannica,' was possessed
of a moderate independent income, which obviated the necessity of
his devoting himself to the practice of his profession, and was thus
enabled to follow the bent of his inclination, and to make botany,
and especially cryptogamic botany, the business of his life. He re-
sided chiefly in the South of Ireland, and during the existence of
the Royal Cork Scientific Institution, occupied the chair of Botany
and Natural History in that establishment ; but afterwards retired to
Dunkerron, Kenmare, in the immediate neighbourhood of the lakes
of Killarney, where the latter years of his life were passed in studious
retirement. The Musci, Hepatic^ and Lichenes formed the principal
subjects of his study. His intimate knowledge of the first was tes-
tified by his contributions to the ' Muscologia Britannica ;' an im-
portant memoir on the Marchantiem, published in the 1 7th volume
of our ' Transactions,' evidences his profound acquaintance with the
Hepatica; and several contributions to SirW. J. Hooker's various
periodical publications, show that he had paid great attention to the
very difficult family of Lichens. He also contributed largely to the
Cryptogamic portion of Dr. J. D. Hooker's ' Flora Antarctica ;* of the
Hepaticce and Lichenes of which work a Synopsis was given in the
3rd volume of Hooker's * London Journal of Botany,' together with
a Supplement to the Hepatica in vol. iv.
Dr. Taylor is described by those who were most familiarly ac-
quainted with him, as possessing a mind well-stored in various
branches of science and literature, while his gentle and amiable
manner rendered him a great favourite with all who had the happi-
ness of his acquaintance. He became a Fellow of the Linnean So-
380 Linnean Society. [May 24,
ciety in 1814, and died at Dunkerron in the month of February of
the present year.
The following are the titles of some of his papers which are not
more particularly mentioned in the preceding sketch : —
*' On a new British Jungermannia (J. microscopica) ," Hooker's
Journ. of Bot. iv. p. 97.
" On six species of Jungermannia new to Britain," Hooker's
Lond. Journ. of Bot. iv. p. 276.
'*The distinctive characters of some new species of Musci, col-
lected by Professor William Jameson in the vicinity of Quito, and by
Mr. James Drummond at Swan River," ibid. v. p. 41.
" New HepaticcB (chiefly from Sir W. J. Hooker's Herbarium),"
ibid. V. pp. 258 and 365.
" New Lichens, principally from the Herbarium of Sir W. J.
Hooker," ibid. vi. p. 148.
" Descriptions of new Musci and Hepaticce, collected by Professor
"William Jameson on Pichincha, near Quito," ibid. vi. p. 328.
And Sir W. J. Hooker announces the publication of several others
which will appear in the ' London Journal of Botany ' as posthumous
memoirs.
Richard Weekes, Esq., was educated to the medical profession,
and was associated for some years with his father in an extensive
and successful country practice at his native place. Hurst Pierpoint,
in the county of Sussex, where he continued to reside till the time
of his death. Soon after his father's death he retired from practice.
He inherited from his father a taste for natural history, as well as
for antiquarian pursuits ; and became a Fellow of the Linnean
Society in 1806. He died on the 24th of December last, in the
64th year of his age.
Thomas Wheeler, Esq., was bom in the city of London in the year
1754. He received his elementary education under Mr. Garrow, the
father of the late Sir William Garrow, and was subsequently a scholar
at St. Paul's School. In the course of his medical studies, he at-
tended the Anatomical Lectures of Mr. Hewson, and the Chemical
and Medical Lectures of Dr. George Fordyce. From this distin-
guished man he received many marks of kindness during his attend-
ance on the clinical practice of St. Thomas's Hospital ; nor did these
cease except with the life of the teacher.
At an early period Mr. Wheeler exhibited a great fondness for
the study of botany ; this was much encouraged by his teacher
William Hudson, author of the * Flora Anglica,' at that time the Pro-
fessor of Botany to the Society of Apothecaries in London. When
1848.] Linnean Society, 381
this o^ce became vacant by the resignation of William Curtis, author
of the ' Flora Londinensis,' Mr. Wheeler became his successor, and
continued to discharge its duties with great pleasure to himself and
advantage to his pupils for the long period of forty years.
In the year 1 800 he was elected to be the Apothecary of Christ's
Hospital, and six years afterwards he received the same appoint-
ment at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in which office he continued
fourteen years. In manners and habits Mr. Wheeler was distin-
guished by childlike simplicity, and he was remarkable for not having
partaken of fermented liquors for nearly eighty years. He died in
August 1847, having entered upon his 94th year. His Fellowship of
the Linnean Society dates from 1799.
Sir John Eardley Wiltnot, Bart., was the grandson of Sir Eardley
Wilmot, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the early part of the
reign of George the Third. He was educated at Harr(5w, and was
called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1801. He went the Midland
Circuit for several years, but soon ceased to practise as a Barrister,
and took up his residence at his seat in Warwickshire, in which
county he became Chairman of the Quarter Sessions, and afterwards
one of the Members for its Northern Division. In 1821 he was
created a Baronet, and in 1843 he was appointed Lieutenant-governor
of Van Diemen's Land, where he died on the 3rd of February 1847,
in the 64th year of his age.
He was D.C.L., F.R.S., and F.S.A., and was 'twice married, first
to the sister of Capt. Sir Edward Parry, R.N., and secondly to a
daughter of Sir Robert Chester, Knt., Master of the Ceremonies, by
both of whom he has left a numerous family.
The Secretary also announced that seventeen Fellows, one Asso-
ciate and one Foreign Member had been elected since the last An-
niversary.
At the election which subsequently took place, the Lord Bishop of
Norwich was re-elected President ; Edward Forster, Esq., Treasurer ;
John Joseph Bennett, Esq., Secretary ; and Richard Taylor, Esq.,
Under-Secretary. The following five Fellows were elected into the
Council in the room of others going out: viz. Beriah Botfield, Esq.,
F.R.S. ; William John Broderip, Esq., F.R.S. ; the Very Rev. Wil-
liam Buckland, D.D., Dean of Westminster ; Arthur Henfrey, Esq.;
and George Newport, Esq., F.R.S.
No. XXXVI. PaOCEKDINGS OF THE LiNNEAN SoCIKTY.
382 Linnean Society. [June 6,
June 6.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
Arthur Edward Knox, Esq., M.A., was elected a Fellow.
Read a " Notice of some Peloria varieties of Viola canina, L.'* By
Edward Forbes, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., Professor of Botany in King's
College, London.
These monstrosities were collected by Prof. Forbes in the Isle of
Portland in the month of April. The plants in which they occurred
were infested by the parasitic fungus figured in Sowerby's ' English
Fungi * under the name of Granularia Viola, and afforded not only
many distortions of the foliaceous organs evidently due to the pre-
sence of the fungus, but also various monstrosities of the flower,
of which the author gives a particular description illustrated by
drawings.
These were found chiefly in the small variety of Viola canina,
figured in the ' Supplement to English Botany ' as Viola fiavicornis.
One of these plants had two two- spurred flowers exactly similar and
deviating from the ordinary structure in the following particulars : —
There were four sepals, all enlarged and diseased, the superior being
smaller than the others, the two lateral equal but abnormally large,
and the anterior largest and not quite regular. The petals were
also four in number, the two uppermost being regular and the two
lowermost spurred. Each of the former had the little tufts of hairs
seen on the lateral petals in the normal flower, and were similarly
pale at the base and lineated with purple, while the two spurred
petals were smooth and lineated. Of the four stamens the three
uppermost were normal, the fourth much enlarged ; there were no
antherine appendages, but at the bottom of each petal- spur there was
a strong ridge not usually present and as if representing these ap-
pendages. From these appearances the author infers that in these
instances the two superior petals were abortive, the tufts of hairs on
the two remaining superior petals showing that they correspond
with the two lateral petals of the ordinary flower ; and that the two
spurred petals were developed in the place of the ordinary single an-
terior petal. He regards the enlarged anterior stamen as consisting
of two, each making an unsuccessful effbrt to develope an appen-
1848.] Linnean Society, 383
dage ; and the enlarged anterior sepal also as made up of the union
of the two ordinary lower sepals.
In the former case the floral envelopes were regulated by the num-
ber 4 : Prof. Forbes proceeds to describe a still more remarkable
case of Peloria, in which they were regulated by the number 3.
ITie three sepals are of normal and equal dimensions and the three
petals all spurred, and nearly but not quite equal, the odd one, which
is inferior, having a larger spur than either of the other two. There
is no tuft of hairs on any of the petals, but they are all lineated. The
stamina are five, all furnished with appendages, the two lowermost
of which, fully developed, penetrate the spur of the anterior petal,
while the spur of the left upper petal receives the fully-developed
appendage of one of the stamina, and that of the right also one fully-
developed appendage, the appendage of the fifth stamen (small and
only partially developed) bending back after proceeding only a little
way. A little below the flower, between it and the true bractea;,
which present their usual appearance, there is a whorl of five bract-
like sepals, between two of which, and directly beneath the largest-
spurred petal of the monstrous flower, is a single petal partially de-
veloped and exhibiting an abortive spur. " In this case," the author
proceeds, " we have the outer whorl of floral envelopes developed,
and an eflTort made towards the development of the second in the
aborted basal petal ; then the axis elongating and terminating in a
flower in which two of the sepals are aborted and four of the petals,
viz. the two laterals and two superior ones, for the absence of tufts
of hairs prevents our regarding two of the three as the former, and
the presence of lineated bases shows that they are not the latter.
They are repetitions of the basal petal, which in this instance is
multiplied by three, as in the cases before described it was multi-
plied by two." In this plant no traces of the fungus were observed.
Prof. Forbes cites the instances of Peloria among Violets recorded
by Leers and DeCandolle, and refers to the view adopted by the
latter and by M. Moquin-Tandon, viz. that the Peloria is caused by
the tendency of all the petals to assume a spurred condition in con-
sequence of a general efibrt as it were on the part of an irregular
flower to become regular. He states that DeCandolle's figures are
not suflScient to enable him to judge if such was the case in the in-
stances depicted by him, but maintains that the Peloria Violets which
form the subject of the present communication " owe their monstrous
regularity to a very different phaenomenon, viz. the effort of an irre-
gular flower to become regular hy the multipUpation and symmetri-
calization of ita irregular parts."
384 Linnean Society, [June 6,
Read also " Descriptions of some new or imperfectly known spe-
cies of Bolboceras." By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. &c.
In this paper Mr. Westwood proceeds, in continuation of his
former communication (see p. 365), containing a Synopsis of the
Australian species of Bolboceras, to give descriptions of others of the
genus from various parts of the world, and especially from the East
Indies. The descriptions were accompanied as before with illustra-
tive drawings.
1. Bolboceras Cyclops, Fahr. (Ent. Syst. i. p. 15 ; Oliv. Ent. i. 3. t. 15.
f. 140); ferrugineus; clypeo antice caring transversa tuberculisque
duobus acutis instructo, vertice line& tenui pariam elevate inter oculos,
pronoto utrinque excavatione profunda subrotunda antice cornu acuto
alteroque minori versus medium armato : spatio inter cornua inter-
media piano punctato antic^ line^ semicirculari parurn elevald cincto
canali vix distincto longitudinali ante scutellum terminato, elytris punc-
tato-striatis striis teuuibus, tibiis anticis 8-dentatis. i — Long. corp.
lin. 9.
Variat mas magnitudiue dentium capitis et pronoti necnon profunditate
excavationum hujus lateralium.
Hab. in Jav£l, Assam, et Indid centrali. Mus. Hope (olim Lee) et nostr.
{Hearsey),
2. Bolboceras grandis, Hope MSS. ; rufo-castaneus, capite dentibusque
tibiarum anticarum nigricantibus, clypeo carind tenui semicirculari,
vertice carina transversa inter oculorum partem anticam, pronoto con-
vexo carina semicirculari tuberculisque duobus versus marginem an-
ticam line^que tenui longitudinali impress^ medi4 in parte postica. —
Long. corp. lin. 9.
/^a6. in Indi^ orientali ? In Mus. D. Hope.
3. Bolboceras fuucicollis, De Laporte (An. Art. Coleopt. vol. ii. p. 104.
no. 3) ; castaneo-rufus, sub lente granulosus, clypeo maris quadrato
piano antice bisinuato angulis lateralibus anticis in cornua duo por-
rectis, pronoto postice elevato disco in medio cornubus duobus erectis
distantibus recurvis alterisque duobus intus concavis versus angulos
posticos canali laevi mediano versus marginem posticam, elytris punc-
tato-striatis, tibiis anticis extus 6-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 10.
B. Lecontei, Dej. Catal. Coleopt.
Hub. in America boreali (teste De Laporte et Mus. Hope et Gory), an
recte ?
4. Bolboceras ferrugineus, De Laporte (Hist. Nat. An. Art. Col.
vol. ii. p. 104. no. 4); castaneo-fulvus sub lente granulosus, capite an-
tice carina sinuata antica tuberculoque subbifido tertio inter oculos,
pronoto ante medium spatiis duobus parum elevatis laevibus linea tenui
impressa punctata (fere ad marginem posticum extensa) divisis utrinque
1848.] Linnean Society, 385
etiam versus angulos posticos impressione obli(ju& supra caring laevi
marginatA, elytris punctato-striatis, tibiis anticis G-dentatis. — Long.
Corp. lin. 9 J.
Hab. in India orientali ? In Mus. Gory, nunc Hope.
5. BoLBocBRAs CARENicoLLis, De Loporte (Hist. Nat. An. Art. Coleopt.
vol. ii. p. 104. no. 2) ; B.ferrugineo affinis sed magis castaneus, sub lente
granulosus, capite carina tenui marginali curvat^ verticeque tuberculis
duobus parvis conicis inter oculos carinll connexis^ pronoto obscuro in
medio carind transversa abbreviate instruct© niacul&que nigr& utrinque
versus angulos posticos, elytris striatis striis punctis minutis, tibiis an-
ticis o-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 10.
Hah, in Indift orientali. In Mus. Gory (nunc Hope).
6. BoLBocERAS Calanus, Hope MSS. ; fulvus vel rufo-castaneus, clypeo
postic^ bicornuto, prothorace cornubus 4 versus marginem anticam
duobus intermediis contiguis et a reliquis cavitate rotundat^ utrinque
separatis. — Long. corp. lin. 7-8^.
Hah. in Indi4 orientali, Bombay. In Mus. Melly et Hope.
7. Bolboceras LiEvicoLLis, Westw. ; fulvo-castaneus, vertice ante me-
dium bidentato, protborace glabro tuberculis 4 versus marginem anti-
cam aequidistantibus duobus intermediis cax'mk tenui curv& conjunctis.
— Long. corp. lin. 9^.
Hab. in India orientali. In Mus. Hope.
8. Bolboceras lateralis, Westw. ; castaneus, capite pedibusque nigri-
cantibus, capite inermi, protborace fere laevi, excavationibus duabus
lateralibus rotundatis singula supra tuberculo acuto armatft. — Long,
corp. lin. 6.
Hab. in Indi^ orientali, Gogo. In Mus. Hope.
9. Bolboceras nigricans, Westw. ; piceo-niger nitidus, clypeo tuberculo
conico antice armato, verticis marginlbus lateralibus utrinque bituber-
culatis discoque carinfi. elevata inter oculos instructo, protborace glabro
nitido antice retuso 4-dentato dentibus subaequidistantibus. — Long,
corp. lin. 6.
10. Bolboceras politus, Westw. ; nitidus fulvus, capite et pronoto magis
castaneis, capite antic^ tricorni cornu antico majori erecto, prothorace
excavatione maxim& dorsali postice trisinuata, elytris punctato-striatis,
tibiis anticia 5-dentatis dentibus anticis magnis acutis. — Long. corp.
lin. 6i
Hab. in Senegalia. In Mus. Hope (olim Gory) nomine Athyrew por-
catus, Lap., Senegalensis, Dej., baud rect^ inscriptus.
11. Bolboceras Coryphaeus, Fabr. (Ent. Syst. i. p. 9 ; Oliv. Ent. i. 3.
tab. 16. f. 150) ; rufo-fulvus, capite supra piano, clypeo antic^ bicorni
cornubus recurvis apice nigris posticeque mucrone elevato brevissimo
nigro, pronoto antice retuso cornubus diiobus brevibus approximates
antic^ porrectis apice nigris in medio disco positis postic^ gibbere ob-
386 Linnean Society. [June 6,
tiiso in excavatione parilm profunda instructo, elytris piinctato-striatis,
tibiis anticis 5-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 8.
Hah. ad Caput Bona? Spei (teste Fabricio). In Mus. Hope (olim Lee).
12. BoLBocERAS scABUicoLLis, Ckevrol. MSS. ; ferrugineus, capite etpro-
noto magis pieeis punctis minutis plus minusve confluentibus sca-
briusculis, capite in medio carina brevi transversa sub 3-lobata, pronoto
impressionibus tribus longitudinalibus fere obliteratis. — Long. corp.
lin. 8.
Hah. apud Caput Bonae Spei. In Mus. D. Chevrolat.
13. BoLBocERAs Capitatus, Westw.] obscur^ castaneus subnitidus, capite
et pronoto minutissim^ punctatis hoc utrinque excavatione maxiniJi
cornubus duobus compositis magnis separata, tibiis anticis obtuse 6-
dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 10^.
Hob. in Assam, Indiae orientalis. Mus. Melly et Saunders.
14. BoLBOcERAs iN^QUALis, Westw. ; rufo-castaneus, antennarum clava
fulva, capite suprgi concavo carina transversa in parte postica, pronoto
antice valde retuso supra quadridentato fossulaque media profunda, ely-
tris striato-punctatis, tibiis anticis 6-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. Q\.
Hah. in India orientali. Col. J. B. Hearsey ; in Mus. nostr.
15. BoLBocERAs bicarinatcs, Wcstw. ; castaneo-fulvus, capite inter oculos
et ad basin clypei carinis duabus transversis nigris, pronoto tuberculis
duobus parvis parum elevatis ante medium, tibiis anticis 7-dentatis. —
Long. corp. lin. 8|.
Hah. in India orientali. Mus. Melly.
16. Bolboceras dorsalis, Westw.; rufo-castaneus, capitis vertice et
pronoto medio nigris punctatis, capite in medio verticis tuberculis
tribus conjunctis instructo, pronoto punctatissimo fere regulari, tibiis
anticis 8-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 7^.
Hah. in India orientali. Mus. W. W. Saunders.
17. Bolboceras NiGRicEPs, ^es. ; obscure castaneus, punctatus, capite
nigricanti carina arcuaa tad baSin clypei tuberculisque tribus vertica-
libus, pronoto linea longitudiuali impressa utrinque cum tuberculo
pardm elevato, tibiis anticis 7-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 7^.
AflBnis praecedenti et forsitan fcemina speciei diversae.
18. Bolboceras transversalis, Westw. ; fulvo-castaneus, capite lato
carina recta transversa elevata inter oculos, pronoto linea longitudiuali
antice diktat^ impresso. — Long. corp. lin. 4 J.
Hah, in Indi^ orientali. Mus. Melly.
19. Bolboceras Indicus, Hope M-Siy.; fulvo-rufus, capite antice tuberculis
duobus conicis erectis armato, pronoto lagvissimo antice excavatione
semicirculari parum profunda notato, calcari pedum anticorum elon-
gato obtuso, tibiis anticis 9-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 4.
Hah. in India orientali centrali. In Mus. Saunders et Hope.
1848.] Linnean Society, 38?
20. BoLBOcERAS LiNEATus, Melly MSS.; fulvus nitidus, capite nigro
punctato inter oculos tuberculo apice subbifido armato, pronoto sim-
plici macule discoidali nigrfi^ elytris convexis 8utui& striisque longitu-
dinalibus elevatis nigris, tibiis anticis S-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 3|.
Hab. in insult Ceylon. In Mus. Melly.
Subgenus Eucanthus, Westw.
Corpus minus depressum qu^m in reliquis ; pronoto anticd baud retuso.
Tibice anticae dentibus duobus apicalibus magnis aliisque minutis ex-
ternis versus basin armato. Elytra punctato-striata ; singulo striis
5 tantum inter humeros et suturam, punctis profundis.
21. BoLBocERAS (EucANTHus) Meliboeus, Fabrtcius (Ent. Syst. i. p. 20) ;
rufo- vel piceo-niger, clypeo carinft transversa plus miniisve elevate
(quasi e tuberculis duobus conjunctis formata) verticeque cornu bre-
vissimo truncato (parum emarginato) instructis, pronoto subdepresso
inaequali, canali punctata longitudinali in medio (marginem anticam
baud attingente) impressionibusque lateralibus curvatis punctatis tuber-
culoque utrinque instructis, elytris glaberrirais punctato-striatis. — Long.
Corp. lin. 4-5 J.
Bolboceras concinnus, Dejean, Cat. Coleopt.
Hab. in America boreali. In Mus. D. Hope.
Mr.Westwood concludes with some observations on Bolb. Lazarus,
Fabr., which he regards as closely allied to, if not identical with,
Bolb. Meliboeus of the same author.
June 20.
E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair.
John Shaw, Esq., M.D., was elected a Fellow.
Read a Postscript to Mr. Newport's paper on Pteronarcys regalis.
The author referred to the paper already read to show that the
genus Pteronarcys ought to be arranged after Perla, and before
Capnia and Nemoura, which it most nearly approaches in the struc-
ture of its alimentary canal ; while Perla has affinities with the
Orthoptera through the Blattida. The Perla arenosa of Pictet was
regarded as making the nearest approach to the latter family, and
this species was shown to be the Perla abnormis of Newman. The
larva and pupa of this species were described from specimens taken
388 Linnean Society. [June 20,
by Mr. Barnston in Canada, and now in the British Museum, and the
habits of the species were detailed as observed by that gentleman.
The generic characters of Pteronarcys were proposed to be revised
as follows : —
Pteronarcys, Newm.
Char. Gen. Segmenta thoracica etiam in Imagine branchiis externis
praedita. AIcb magnaj, reticulatae. Palpi maxillares labialibus multo
longiores, 5-articulati ; articulis 2 basalibus brevibus, veliquis elongatis,
extei-ne dilatatis. MandihulcB parvae, obtusae. tegmentum ahdominale
octavum in mari processu longo ventrali munitum, in fcemina paulo
evolutum vel bifidura.
Mr, Newport added the following new species : —
Pteronarcys Californicus $ ; capite thoraceque saturate brunneis,
fronte clypeo labroque rufis, oculis ocellisque nigris, segmentis thora-
cicls linea longitndinali interrupta flava, abdomine aurantiaco lateribus
brunneis, stylis caudalibus basi flavis, antennis pedibusque totis atris,
alis obscuris nigro-nervosis sed absque macule stigmali.
Hah. in California (Z). Hartweg).
The following apparently new species of Canadian Perlida were
described, with remarks on the habits of each as observed by Mr.
Barnston.
1. Perla ciTRONELLA {Bamston MSS.) ; saturate fiava, antennarum
articulis 33-35, oculis ocellisque brunneis, alis hyalinis pallide luteis
margine costali flavis, abdominis dorso brunneo. — Long. lin. 3-3^.
Ilab. in Canada, ad Albany River, latit. 54°.
2. Perla minima (Barnston MSS.) ; nigra nitida, antennarum articulis
circa 26 submoniliformibus pilosis, fronte paululiim excavato, palpis
subclavatis, tborace angusto subquadrato, stylis caudalibus 13-articu-
latis, alis obscuris nigro-nervosis in mari brevibus obtusis abdomen
semicooperientibus in foemina amplis corpore longioribus. — Long,
lin. H-2.
Hab. in Canada, ad Albany River.
3. Capnia vernalis, Newp. ; nigra nitida pilosa, tborace postice rotun-
dato, antennarum articulis 30-33 pubescentibus, alis obscuris pilosius-
culis nervis magnis nigris, stylis caudalibus subulatis 21-23-articulatis.
— Long. lin. 2|.
Perla vernalis, Barnston MSS.
Hab. in Canadsl, ad Albany River.
The fourth species, distinguished from most other Nemource by the
short anterior wings of the male, the author proposed to join with
Nemoura trifasciata, Pictet, which is similarly formed, in a subgenus
for which he proposed the name Brachyptera.^
1848.] Linnean Society, 389
4. Nemoura {Brachyptera) olacialis {Barnston MSS.). Mas saturate
brunneus fer^ niger, choracis marglne anteriore recto, alis ante-
rioribus triangularibus rudimentalibus segmentum abdominale pri-
mum tantiim attingentibus ; posterioribus albidis longissimis acutis
emarcidis decussatis, antennia elongatis pubescentibus 53-56-articu-
latis, pedibus longis compressis cursoriis; paris poslremi longissimis,
abdominis segmento terminali lato piano pubesccnte.
Fcemina miilt6 major, in reliquis tamen similis, capite paululiim excavato,
alis amplis obscur^ brunneis nigro-nervosis. — Long. unc. ^.
Hah, in Canada, ad Albany River.
No. XXXVII.— Pkoceedings of the Linnkan Society.
INDEX.
Page
Abutilou hcnedictum 109
Acacia Catechu IG
modesta 15
Acanthocercus muricatus 197
Acanthodium spicatum 63, 64
Aca;ithus ilicifoliiis 64
mollis 64
Accia lucida 200
Achyranthes paludosa 109
Acronema tenerum 252
Adiantum Capillus Veneris 317
Adoxa inodora 17
Moscbatellina 17
j^lshna liassina 307
Agama cornuta 57
Agaricus atramentarius 20
comatus 20
crinitus 230
cylindricus 20
timetarius 20
Manse 32
ovatus 20
porcellaneus 20
' serrulatus 32
Agelena 41
Agraulis 234
Alhagi Maurorum 15,91
Alphitobius ? punctatus 201
Ambrosinia ciliata .^... 263
retrospiralis 264
spiralis 264
unilocularis 264
Ammodytes 152
Ampbidetus Mediterraneus 185
Amphiura Cbiajii 176
florifera 175
— — neglecta 176
Anagallis arvensis 119
Anas acuta 46
Boschas 46
Andrena Triraraerana 319
Anemone pratensis 101
Anoplophora Stanleyana 43
Anotia coccinea 84
Anthophora rctusa 270, 327, 328
Apbis 292
Apocopis Royleanus 94
Apodytes 87
Apteria setacea 60
Pago
Araucaria excclsa 322
Ardca Nycticorax 116
Argonauta Argo 236
Argynnis .'. 229
Argynnis Aceste 234
Alcandra 234
Egesta 235
lole 234
Lucida 234
Metea 234
Thais 234
Argyroneta aquatica 132
Arundinaria Schomburgkii 51
verticillata 51
Asafcetida Disgunensis 309
Asipbonia 189
Asipbonia piperiformis 218
Aspidium Baromez 58
Asplenium Filix Fcemina 326
Harovii 159
Petrarcbae 159, 160
-;; — Tricbomanes 159, 317
viride 159
Atamisquea emarginata 356
Atbalamia pinguis ;.. 343
Atblia rustica 199
Atbyreus arraatus 358
bellator 358
bifurcatus 359
Bilbergii 359
centralis 359
furcicolUs 359
furcifer 359
gigas 358
Pholas 359
porcatus 359, 386
purpureipennis 359
recticornis 359
rotundus 358
Senegalensis 359, 385
subarmatus 358
tuberculatus 358
Tweedyanus 359
Attus coronatus 132
Aucklandia Costus 81
Avicennia 171, 223, 224, 225
Azalea 118
Bacillaria paradoxa 310, 313
Balanopbora affinis / 220
392
INDEX.
Page
Balanophora alveolata 220
Burmannica 219
picta 220
(Polypletia) polyandra 220
Balsamodendroii Myrrha 182
Opobalsamum 182
Bambusa latifolia 50
Barkhausia setosa 179
taraxacifolyi 98,99
Barleria noctiflora 64
Bassia butyracea 215
latifolia 215
longifolia 215
PParkii 215
Batrachosperraum plumosum 165
Batratheruin micans 93
Belone vulgaris 28
Bersama 361, 362
Biatora anomala 32
Krockiana 32
Bignonia venusta 110
Bixa Orellana 13
Blechum Brownii , 64
Boa Constrictor 52
Bolboceras (Elephastomus) Austra-
lasias 366
Bainhridgii 366
bicarinatus 386
Calanus 385
capitatus 386
Capreolus 366
carenicoUis 385
concinnus,.. 387
coronatus 366
Coryphaeus 38&
Cyclops 384
dorsalis 386
ferrugineus 384
furcicoUis 384
grandis 384
hastifer 359,366
inaequalis 386
Indicus 386
Kirbii 365
laevicollis 385
lateralis 385
Lazarus 387
Lecontei 384
lineatus 387
Meliboeus 387
neglectus 366
——nigricans 385
nigriceps 386
nigricornis 366
politus 385
quadricomis 366
Reichii 365
rotundatus 366
rubescens 366
scabricoUis , 386
7-tuberculatus 366
Page
Bolboceras serricollis 366 ,
Taurus 366
transversalis 386
3-tuberculatus 366
Bombvx Huttoni 357
Mori ; 357
Brachygaster castaneus 198
Brachyptera 388
Bragantia 218
Breweria evolvuloides 367
Briza maxima 81
Butea frondosa 15
Butoraus umbellatus 15
Cadaba Indica 367
Caelebogyne 41
Caladium ovatura 264
Calamintha 179
Calathea zebrina 68
Callichloris perelegans 198
Callichroma Cantori 43
Griffithii 43
Calligonum polygonoides 367
Callipeltis 90
Calotropis Hamiltpnii 15
Camelina sativa 162
Campelepis viminea 130
Caniptorhina atricapilla 199
Capnia vernalis 388
Capparis aphylla 16
Carapa Guianensis 214
Touloucouna 214
Carex abbreviata 260
acuminata 211
acuta 210
acutata 287
yEthiopica 260
alba 211
alopecurus 212
alpestris 259
alta 254
alveata 287
ampullacea 212
aquatilis 210
arctata 287
arenaria 210
Arnottiana 260
atenima 210
atrata 210, 256, 257
axillaris 210
badia 212
r Baenningbausiana 210
— Baldensis 210
Banksii 257
Bastardiana 212
bicolor 210
binervis 211
bispicata 259
— Bongardi 260
-^— Boryana 258
— — brachystachys 286
—4 — brevicollis 211
INDEX.
3d3
Page
Carex brevifolia 211
brizoides 210
bullata 287, 288
Buxbautnii 210
cajspitosa 210
Camschatcense 259
capillaris 211
capitata 209
chordorhiza 210
cinnamonea 257
clandestina 211
claviformis 211
coacta 285
Columbiana 256
» comosa 258
conglobata 288
coriophora 256, 257
costata 212
crinalis 256
crinita 286
curta ....210
curvula 210
cyperoides 210
Darwinii ". 261
Davalliana 209
decidua 255
decipiens 209
depauperata 211
digitata 211
diluta 260
dioica 209
■ distans 211, 260
divisa 210
divulsa 210
dura ...." 255
elongata 210
ericetorum 211
• Esenbeckii 285
evoluta 212
extensa 211
ferruginea 211
filicina 286
filiformis 212
fimbriata 211
firma 211
flava 211
foetida 210
frigida 211
fuligiaosa 211
fulva 211
furcata 212, 258
fusca 212
Gebleri 261
geminata 254
geniculata 211
Genuensis 211
Geyeri 285
glauca 211
glaucesceus 255
globosa 259
glomcrata 285
Page
Carex Goodenovii 210,255
Grahami 180
Griffithii .. 286
Grioletti 211
grypos 210
Gunniana 258
gynobasis 210, 259
heleonastes 210
hirsuta 256
hirta 212, 259
hispida 211
hordeiformis 212
Hornschuchiana 211
Horsfieldii 257
Hostiana w 211
Houghtonii 259
hymenolepis 288
incurva 210
intermedia... 210
irrigua 211
Jackiana .". 260
Jamesoni 258
Japonica 259
juncea 286
juncoides 212
laevigata 211, 258
lagopina 210
lanceolata 211
Langsdorffii 259
lasiochlaena 211
laxiflora 258
Leraanniana 256
leucantha 257
Ligerica 210
limosa 211
Linkii 210
lobata 210
loliacea 210
longiaristata 211
longirostrata 259
lucida 287
ludibunda 210
macrolepis 210
Magellanica 257
Mairii 211
manostachys 212
meiogyna 286
Mertensii 256
Michelii... 211
microcarpa 211
microglochin 210
microstachya 210
microstyla 210
miser 286
modesta 210
Moenchiana 210
mollis 211
montana.... 211
Moorcroftii 288
mucronata 210
muricata 210
394
INDEIX.
Page
Carex Neesiana 260
nesliaca 212
nigra 210
nitida 211
nivalis 256
nutans 212
(Ederi 211
olivacea 286
orbicularis 254
ornithopoda 211
ovalis 210
paleata 259
pallescens 211
paludosa 212, 260, 287
panicea 211, 288
paniculata 210
paradoxa 210
pauciflora 210
pendula 211, 286
phyllostachys 285
physocarpa 181, 287
Pichinchensis 255, 256
pilosa 211
•^ pilulifera 21 1
platystachya 210, 257, 285
polytrichoides 284
praecox , 211
Prescottiana 286
pruinosa 255
pseudo-cyperus 211, 258
pubescens 260
pulicaris 209
pulla 181, 254
pulla ft. fusca 181
punctata 211
Pyrenaica 210
Rafflesiana 285
ramosa 286
raphidocarpa 286
rara 284
rariflora 211
reflexa 211
refracta 211
remota 210, 254
repens 210
rigida 181, 210
riparia 212
rotundata 261
Rugeliana 286
rupestris 210
sanguinea 285
Sarda 210
saxatilis 180, 181, 210, 254
schoenoides 210
Schreberi 210
secalina .. 212
sempervirens 211
setigera 288
Sinai 260
socia 254
Soleirolii 212
Page
Carex spadicea *.... 211
spicata 210
spiculata 288
stellulata 210
stenophylla 210
striata 261
strigosa 211
subdola 255
SuUivantii 287
supina 210
Suteri 209
— — sylvatica 211
tenuis 211
tenuissima 288
teretiuscula , 210
thecata 287
tomentosa 2.11
trichocarpa 260
trinervis 210, 285
triquetra 259
Tuckermani 287
Tweediana 259
umbrosa 211
ustulata 211
vaginata 211
Vahlii 210
valida 257
verna 288
vesicaria 212, 261
vulpina 210,285
Walkeri 257
Careya arborea 280
herbacea 280
Carum Bulbocastanum 51
Cassia obovata 16
obtusa 16
Catophractes Alexandri 4
Caulerpa prolifera 294
Cedrela Toona 178
Cenchrea dorsalis 85
Centaurea moschata 118
Cerapterus Brasiliensis 75, 113
Horsfieldii 75, 113
latipes 113
MacLeaii 113
piceus 75,113
^ 4-niaculatus 113
quadrinotatus 75
Sinithii 113
Westennanni 75,113
Ceratoderus bifasciatus 113
Cereus gi-andiflorus 8
speciosissiuius 68
tetragonus 7
Cethosia 234
Chffitophora 165
Chara crinita 294
Chartergus Morio 189
Cheirotonus MacLeayii 78
Chiasognathus Grantii 346
Chiton 322, 323
INDEX.
31^5
Page
Chitonellus , 322, 323
Chitonellus fasciatus 323
Chondrus crispus 2G8, 283
Choripetalum aurantiacum 327
undulatutn (. 327
viridifloram 327
Chrysaius Javanicus 236
soccatus .......,». .W...V 236
Surnatrensis 236
Chrysochroa Edwardsii 128
Chrysocyathus 17
Chrysophyllum monopyrenum 99
Cibotium Baromez 57
Cidaris Hystrix 186
papillaris 186
Cinifloferox 132
Cinnamomum Zeylanicum 215
Circaea Lutetiana 294
Cistuda Carolina 116
Clagia 234
Clangula Barrovii 21
Clidemia biserrata 110
deflexa 108
glabrata 108
'• longibarbis 110
urceolata 110
Cliococca 90
Clothilda 235
Clubiona 41
acceutuata 132
atrox .,. 66
epimelas 132
erratica 132
saxatilis 66
Cocos nucifera 215
Collops 4-maculatus 112
Colobothea rubricoUis 128
Colporhina l)ifoveolata 200
Conferva fluviatilis 65
Confervae 163
Coniferae 53, 54
Coniothecium amentaceum 32
Conjugata 164
Convallaria multiflora 119
Copris lunaris 346
punctatissima 197
semisquamosa 197
Corchorus depressus 367
humilis 367
Corylus Avellana 18,89
Corysadenia 281
Cremanium cordifolium 109
Crepis biennis 98, 99
Crotalaria Bushia 15
Cruckshanksia graminea 122
Cryptocoryne ciliata 264
Cryptolepis 114, 115
Cryptolepis Buchanani 114
reticulata 114
Cryptophagus cellaris 327,328
Cupressus torulosa ....» 18
Cuscuta epillnum 44
halophyta 44
Cuterebra fontanella 100
Cycadeae 53, 54
Cycas circinalia 84,56
glauea 54, 56
revoluta 54,55,56
speciosa 54, 56
Cymbocarpa refracta 62
Cynoinorium ; 219
Cypraea Tigris^ 308
venusta' 314
Cytinus 190
Cytinus dioicus 217
Cyttaria Berteroi 97
Darwinii 97
Dammara australis 321
Decatoma 233
Dendrobium normale 14
Depazea pyricola 32
Derbe costalis 83
elongata 84
faseiolata 84
fritillaris 84
haeroorrhoidalis 82
nervosa 82,84
niv6a 83
pallida 83
punctum 83
semistriata 83
sinuosa 84
squamigera 83
stellulata 84
strigipennis 83
testacea 83
Desmocephalum 277
Desraochaeta sordida 109
Dianthus Caryophyllus imbricatus... 119
Diaperus Boleti 328
Diatoma fasciculatum 82
truncatum 82
Dictyocalyx •. ,.. 277
Dictyostega costata 61
orobancboides 61,63
Schomburgkii 61
umbellata 61
Didesmus panduriformis 367
Dielocerus 186
Dielocerus EUisii 187
Diospyros edulis 134
Diplerisma 361,362
Dipteracanthus erectus 64
Dischidia Bengalensis 324
Rafflesiana 279, 324, 325
Disporum calcaratutn 45
fulvum 45
Hamiltonianum 45
- Horsfieldii 45
Leschenaultianum 45
parvillorum 45
Pitsutum 45
396
INDEX.
Page
Disporum Wallichii 45
iJiurospennum album 351
Dodonsea Burmanniana 16
Dolomedes fimbriatus 132
Dorcas dellaani 127
rufifemoralis 200
Westcrmanni 127
Dothidea chaetomium 32
Draparnaldia tenuis 165
Drassus %. ; 41
Drassus ater 131
exiguus " 66
sericeus 131
viridissimus 66
Dysdera erythrina 133
Ilombergii 133
rubicunda 133
Echinocyamus pusillus 185
Echinus decoratus ,. 186
esculeutus 185
lividus 185
miliaris 186
monilis 185
pulchellus 186
Ectosperraa clavata 226
Ectospora clavata 8
Edgworthia buxifolia 129
Elaeis Guineensis 215
Elephastomus proboscideus 365
Elymus sabulosus 4, 161
Eraalodera multipunctata 200
Encephalartos horridus 9,54
pungens '• 52
spiralis 54
Enhalus 219
Enteromorpba intestinalis ... 152,153
Epe'ira agelena 133
antriada 133
bicornis 133
fusca 133
scalaris 133
umbratica 133
Ephedi-a 90
Epicauta conspersa 202
Epilasium rotundatum 201
Epiraedium bydaspidis 18
Epipedonota marginiplicata ..: 201
Epiphanes Javanica 321
Epipone Lecheguana 188
nidulans 188
Epitragus reneo-brunneus 201
semicastaneus 201
Equisetum Druramondii 222
hyemale 74,290
Ergalis latens 132
Ergotjctia abortans 7
abortifaciens 52
Eriocaulon setaceura 271-273
Wallichianum 272
Eriocaulonea; ». 271
Erythrochiton Wallichianum 282
Page
Eucalyptus globulus 177
manuifera 178
robusta 178
Eucanthus 387
Euoplia polyspila 42
Euryale ferox 17
Eurytoma 233
Euterpe oleracea 215
Eutropis 15
Exilaria fasciculata 82
Ferula Asafoetida 309
Fibularia angulosa 185
Ovulum 185
Tarentina 185
Fothergilla involucrata 18
Fraxinus floribunda 15
Fritillaria imperialis 18
Meleagris 134
Fuchsia fulgens 118
Fucus spinosus 268
stiriatus 267
Galapagoa 277
Galium Vaillantii 222
Gamoplexis 14
Gamoplexis orobanchoides 320
Gentiana campestris 119
Geometra trumaria 354
Geotrupidaj 197
Geryonia proboscidalis 223
Gibsonia 367,368
Gloxinia speciosa 68
Gonyanthes Candida 60
Granularia Violse 382
Grislea tomentosa 16
Gymneraa sylvestris 353
Gymnosiphon aphyllura 60
Hastingsia coccinea 16
Hectocotyle Argonautse 237, 238
Octopodis 237
Treraoctopodis 237
Heliamphora nutans 53
Heliconia 350
Heliconidae 348, 349
Ilelosciadium ? tenerum. 252
Hemiramphus 151
Henslowia 281
Heracleum giganteum 284
Hexarthrius Farryi 127
Hircea cinerea 109
llirundo Apus 296
esculenta 268
riparia 296
■ rustica 297
urbica 296
Hister eastaueus 196
furcatus 196
Mathewsii 196
Holostemma 16
Hopea glandulosa 282
Hovenia dulcis 16
Hvdnora 189
INDEX.
397
Page
Ilydnora Africana 217
Hydrodictyon 165
Ilydrophilidae 197
Hydrophilus chalybeatus 197
ochripes .' 197
Hylotoma formosa 187
Hylotorus bucephalus 112
Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense 326
Illigera 281
Iris germanica 295
kamaonensis 8
longifolia .. 8
Moorcroftiana 8
sambucina 46
versicolor 46
Isoetes capsularis 121,122
lacustris 24
Isosoma 233
Itbomia 349,350
Ituna 349,350
Jacaranda mimosifolia 68
Jansonia formosa 330
Juncus bufonius ^ 9
concinnus 10
diffusus 313
glaueus 9
indicus 10
leucanthus 10
leucomelas 10
membranaceus 10
Juniperus virginiana 58
Kleinia articulata 274
Lagurus ovatus 49,81
Lamia Horsfieldii 42
nigricornis 79
Swainsoni 79
Lasiandra calyptrata 108
fissinervia 110
Fontanesiana 110
proteaeformis 110
Lastrea rigida 52
Lathonia 235
Laurus nobilis „ 215
Lebioderus Goryi 112
Lecanora elatina 32
Lecidea raiscella 32
nitidiila 32
Leersia oryzoides 222
Lemania 165
Lemania fluviatilis 360
torulosa 360
Lentinus crinitus 230
Leveillei 231
nigripes 231
Schomburgkii 230
Swartzii 230
tener 230
Lepidagatbis 64
Lepidodendron Harcourtii 345
Lepidosiren annecteus 32
paradoxa 27,28
Page
Lepidosperma elatior 4
Leptatherium Royleanum 93
Leptynoderus tuberculatus 200
Lepurandra saccidora 73
Leretia 87
Leucothyreus ? antennatus 198
spurius 198
Lilium bulbiferum 295
Linnaea borealis 315
Linyphia 41
Linyphia pallida 133
Lithobiidae 231
Lodoicea Seychellarum 153 l^lm.
Loranthus bicolor 169, 170
globosus 169,170
Lucanidae 200
Lueanus astacoides 78
Brabminus 127
Buddha 127
bulbosus 78
curvidens 78
Forsteri 77
foveatus 78
Nepaleusis 78
omissus 78
punctiger 78
Rafflesii 77
serricollis 78
Spencei 78
Lupinus nitidissimus 109
Luzula spicata 9
Lycorea 350
Lycosa 41
Lyco^a agretyca 132
allodroma 132
andrenivora ;... 132
leucopbaea 132
lugubris 132
pallida 132
picta 132
piratica 132
Lydda elongata 84
Macraea 278
Macrodactylus marmoratus 200
Madia sativa 77
Mahonia Nepalensis 18
Malacbius 112
Manduculus vernalis 133
Marchantia polymorpha 240
Matricaria 119
Mechanitis 349,350
Medusa proboscidalis 222
Melanocenchris Rothiana 95
• Royleana 95
Meliantheae 361, 362
Melianthus comosus 361
Hiraalayanus 364
major 364
minor 361
Melilotus arborea 77
leucantha 77
398
INDEX.
Page
Melitsea 235
Meloe ... 317, 318, 319, 346, 347, 348,
368, 369, 370
Meloe cicatricosus 268-2 70
proscarabaeus 268-270
violaceus 268-270
Meloseira 165
Meloseira varians 1^6
Mentha crispa i i 81
Menyanthes trifoliata 17
Microcaecia 278
Microgaster alvearia 228
Miraela Passerinii 128
Mitragenjus araneiformis 201
Modeccopsis 171
Monochamus beryllinus 79
ruber 43
sulphurifer 128
Mordella argentipunctata 202
-■ Tachyporiformis 202
Morisonia Asiatica 367
-- — LaTviana 367
Motella glauca 151
Mougeotia 164
Musa Cavendishii 157
Musca canicularis 4. 52
Myraptera brunnea 188, 189
elegans , 188,189
scutellaris 189
Myrioblastus 264
Myristica moschata 215
Myrsine ? aurantiaca 327
undulata 327
M\'sidia 84
Mysidia albipennis 83
lactiflora 83
subfasciata 83
Mystropetalon 190
Mystropetalon Thomii 219
Nacerdes ? alternans 202
Narthex Asafoetida 309
NataUa 361, 362
Nemoura trifasciata 388
Neottia aestivalis 80
gemmipara 162, 189
Nepenthes distillatoria 91, 92, 217
Neriene 41
Neriene graminicolens 133
trilineata 132, 133
Nerium reticulatum 114
Neurocarpum angustifolium 110
resupinatum 110
Nuytsia floribunda 123
Nyctelia Bremii 201
caudata 200
? corrugata 201
• Fitzroyi 201
granulata 201
undatipennis ." 201
Nycterinus rugiceps 201
Odontolabis Baladena 127
Page
Odontolabis Cuvera 127
(Edipodium Griffithianum 33
Oinoearpus distichus 215
CEstrus Bovis 100
Clarkii *. 100
Equi 100
ericetorum 100'
hemorrhoidalis 100
Libycus 100
lineatus 100
nasalis 100
Pecorum 100
pictus 100
Tarandi 100, 179
Trompe 100, 179
veterinus 100
Olax acuminata 89
macrophylla 89
nana 88
pauciflora 89
Olea Laitoona 130
Oliva Brasiliensis 308
Utriculus 308
Oonops pulcher 133
Opegrapha signata .'. 32
Ophioderma lacertosa «..,..,*... 1 75
Ophiomeris Iguassuensis 329
Macahensis 329
Ophiomyxa lubrica 175
Ophiopsila Aranea 175
Ophiothrix Rosula 176
Ophiura abyssicola 168
albida 168
filifourais 176
lacertosa 175
neglecta 176
texturata 168
Oplirydeae 10
Oplocephala quadrituberculata 201
Oplophora SoUyi 43
Oreocorae elata 253
filicifolia 253
Orobanche 219
Orthoraphium Roylei 94
Oryctomorphus pictus 197
Osyris Nepalensis 169, 223
Pacuvia castanea 199
Panopaea Aldrovandi 160
Papaver bracteatum 158, 159
orientale 158, 159
orientale bracteatum 158, 159
praecox 158
serotinum 158
— — somniferum 159
Papaveraceae 219
Papilio Hector 131
Papilionidae 350
Paris polyphylla 15
Paspalura exile 157, 167
Patara albida 85
guttata 85
INDEX.
399
Page
Paussus atHuis 112
armatus 112
bifasciatus 113
Burnieisteri Ill
cochleariils HI
— — cognatus 112, 133
cornutus 112
curvicornis 112
excavatus Ill
Fichtelii Ill
fulvus Ill
Hardvvickii 112
Hearseyanus 133
— ^ — JousseUnii Ill
Klugii HI
lineatus 112
Liima^i HI
microcephalus Ill
pilicornis HI
ruber Ill, 115
ruficollis 112
rufitarsis Ill
Saundersii 112
Shuckardi 112
-' sphaerocercus Ill
Stevensianus 116
thoracicus HI
" tibialis Ill
Turcicus Ill
Pectinura vestita 167
Pediculus Apis 269
Melittae 270
Peganutn Harmala 15
Peltophyllum luteum 176
Pentadesma butyracea 214
Pentaplatartbrus paussoides 112
Periploca calophylla 115
Hydaspidis 115
Perla abnormis 387
arenosa i 387
citronella 388
minima 388
vernalis 388
Petrosciadium ciespitosum 252
Peziza Ledi 32
Peucedanura Wallicbianum 253
Phaeocordylis areolatus 220
Phalanta 234
Phaylopsis glutinosa 64
Phenice 84
Phenice fasciolata 84
fritillaris 84
stellulata 84
Philodromus cespiticolens 132
dispar 132
oblongus 132
Pholeus phalangioides 133
Phrynosoma cornutum 57
Phytocrenc gigantea 240
Pilularia globulifera 21
Pinus Mughus 89
Page
Pinus Puuiilio....* 89
sylvestris 89
Plagiolytrum calycinum 95
filiforme 95
unidentatum 95
Platyrhopalus acutidens 112
angustus 112
aplustrifer 112, 116
denticornis 112, 115
.' dentifrons 112
.' lajvifrons 112
Melleii 112
unicolor 112
Westwoodii 112
Pleuropetalum 278.
Pleurospermura cicutariuna 253
Plumatella 8
Podophyllum Emodi 15
Pogopetalum acuminatum 88
orbiculatum 88
Polistes Actaeon » 188
Africana 188
Gallica 188
nidulans 188
Polypodium Baromez 57
Polysperma 165
PomereuUa monoica 95
Pontederia dilatata 272
Poreia 233
Prangos pabularia 17,18
Procellaria pelagica 2
Wilsoni m, 2
Procris laevicosta 200
Prolifera 165
Prosartes lanuginosa 48
Menziesii 48
Prostenus? hirsutus 201
Protopterus 27
Pteris esculenta 293
Pteromalus Acrotatus 261
Aglaus 263
Arayntor 263
Anaxenor 262
Antbo 262
Antorides 262
AoUius 262
Bubaris 261
Cercides 262
Ection 262
Learchus 262
Naubolus 263
Nectocles 261
Odites 261
Orinus 263
Saravus ^ 262
Sunides 261
Tedanius 262
Urgo 263
Xanthe • 262
Pteronarcys Californicus 388
regaiis 180, 370, 387
400
INDEX.
Page
Purpuricenus rubripeimis 128
Rafflesiaceae 216
Ranunculus acris 269
pimpinelloides 17
Rhizantheae 216
Ribes Grossularia 17
• Hinialense? 17
Rottlera tinctoria 16
Rubus longifolius 109
Ruellia formosa 64
littoralis 64
secunda 64
Sagra Carbunculus 128
Sais 349, 350
Salisburia adiantifolia 73
Saloiuonia apbylla 221
Salticus coronatus 132
cupreus 132
gracilis 132
Samara atropunctata 327
aurantiaca 327
laeta 326, 327
undulata 327
viridiflora 327
Santalum album 169, 223
Sapium aquifolium 41
Sapria 179
Sapria Himalayana 217
Sarcocordylis 220
Sarcophyte 209
Sarcostigma Roxburghii 282
Sarracenia purpurea 92
Saturnia Pavonia minor 228
Satyrium pallidum 11
Schaphespermum trilobum 253
Scbizocercus nasicornis 188
ochrostigma 188
Scbultesia pallens 110
Scladerma Lalage 263
Sclerotium roseum 32
Scolopendrium officinale 119, 295
Scotobius bullatus 200
Scrophularia nodosa 47
Secale cornutum '. 159
Seddera latifolia 367
Sedum Telepbium 89
Selinum Candollii 253
Semnopithecus cristatus 235, 236
halonifer 235, 236
Maurus 235
Sericostoma 368
Serioides atricapillus 199
Reichii 199
Seseli Libanotis 51
Sison? tener 252
Sisyrincbium collinum 123
filiforme 123
flexuosura 122,123
Narcissoides : 122
odoratissimum 122
Solanum graveolens 110
Page
Solanum reptans .^ 110
Solenomelus Chilensis 122
punctatus 122
Sonneratia acida 166
Sparassus smaragdulus 132
Sparganium carinatum 18
Spatangus cordatus 185
meridionalis 1?4
purpureus 184
Spergula stricta 222
Sphaeria alnea 32
arbuticola 32
Depazea 32
mesiota 32
Ostrutbii 32
rhytismoides 32
scoriadea 32
Spbaeroplea crispa 165
Sphaerosomus muricatus 197
Spirantbes cernua .* 190
gemmipara 189
Spondylus varius 134
Spongilla fluviatilis 8,36,226
Staphylea Emodi 17
Stemonitis pulcbella 32
Stemoptera lilacina 62
Stenaspidius 366
Stereocaulon denudatum 32
pascbale 32
Stibara tetraspilota 79
trilineata 79
Stictis licbenicola 32
Stictopbyllum 253
Stilbospora raacrosperma 32
Stilbum aurantiacum 32
Stillingia sebifera 214
Streptocaulon calopbyllum 115
Streptolirion volubile 254
Streptopus amplexifolius 48
lanuginosus ' 47
roseus 47, 48
simplex 48
Strobilantbus lupulina 64
Stylops 368
Stylops aterrimus 319
melittae 319
Swintonia floribunda 283
Sympbyosteraon 123
Sympbyostemon flexuosura ....;.... 122
odoratissimum 122
SynedraUlna 82
Systole 233
Syzygitis megalocarpus 32
Tavgionia bypophylla 240
Tegenaria domestica , 132
Tetrantbera sebifera 215
Tetraonyx cinctus 202
7-guttatus 202
Tetrapteris acutifolia 110
mutabilis 109
Thelephora ferruginea 32
INDEX.
401
Page
Thelephora lactea 32
laevis 32
Theobroiria Cacao 214
Theridion benignum 66
denticulatura ^ 132
reticulatum 132
signatum 132
^ vernale 133
Theridium 41
Theridium pallidum , 133
Thcsium 170
Thismia Brunonis 221, 329
Thoinisus bifasciatus 132
brevipes 132
citreus 132
Thottea 180,218
Thracia javanica 84
nervosa 84
■ sinuosa 84
Thysanochilus 14
Tremoctopus violaceus 236, 237
Trentepohlia pulcliella (3. chalybea . 360
Trewia nudiflora 218
Tribostethes castaneus 1 98
Tricbocephalus acetabularis 237
Trichomanes radicans 326
speciosura 179,326
Trifolium repens,... 119
resupinatum 80
Tripladenia Cunninghamii 46
Triplosporite , 345
Triuris 176
Triuris hyalina 96
Trochoideus Americanus 110, 111
cruciatus 110
Dalmanni 110
Desjardinsii 110
Hopei 110
Tropaeolum majus 124
TroxbuUatus 197
lachryraosus 197
trisulcatus 197
Tvndaridea 164
Page
Typba angustifolia 42
Uncaria procumbens 293
Una lacrymans 21
Troile 21
Utricularia diantha 353
fasciculata 353
foveolata 351
nivea 352
polygaloides 351
ptcrosperma 352
racemosa 352
reticulata 352
rosea 352
uliginosa 351
Uvularia amplexifolia 47
calcarata 45
Harailtoniana 45
Leschenaultiana 45
Vallisneria spiralis 294
Vateria Indica 214
Vaucheria 164
Veronica agrestis 225
arvensis 225
Cymbalaria 225
hedercefolia 225
Verrucaria margacea 32
Vesiculifcra composita 166
Vicarya 367
Villarsia Nymphoides 18
Viola 297
Viola canina 382
flavicomis 382
sebifera 215
Walckenaera 41
Xenodochus carbonarius 32
Zamia furfuracea 54, 55
pumila 54, 55
Zeugma vittata 84
Zonopterus flavitarsis 128
Zygnema 164
Zygophyllum obtusum 367
simplex 367
END OF VOLUME I.
PTilxNTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR,
RED LTON COURT, FLEET STREET.
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