72 PART IV. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. ART. I. Natural History in Foreign Countries. NATURAL History of Nubia.-M. Riffaud, of Marseilles, has lately returned to his native city from Egypt, bringing with him, 1. a vast collection of plants, collected during his travels in Nubia and Egypt; 2. drawings of the fishes, insects, and testaceous animals found in the Nile and its neighbourhood; 3. nearly 1000 drawings of manimalia, reptiles, birds, and insects, partly found in Nubia and partly in Libya and Egypt; 4. a series of drawings of remains of antiquity in Nubia and Egypt, and 160 hieroglyphical inscriptions collected among the ruins; 5. agricultural and chirurgical instruments, articles of dress and ornaments of the natives, topographical plans, meteorological observations. M. Riffaud has also kept a regular journal of his travels. He is now busy in arranging and classifying his numerous materials, preparatory to committing the important work which is to embrace them to the press. (For. Quart. Rev.) A Histoire Naturelle des Poissons has been announced by Baron Cuvier, containing more than 5000 species, described from nature, and arranged according to the connection of their structure, with observations on their anatomy, &c. The work will be in 15 or 20 vols. in 8vo, or 8 or 10 vols. in 4to, with a part of the plates along with each volume. The plates will be on vellum paper, and some will be coloured. (Ibid.) Cephalopodous Mollusca. - The Baron de Ferussac is preparing a complete monograph of cephalopodous (head-footed) animals, in folio, with numerous plates, taken chiefly from a very extensive series of specimens, in the possession of that distinguished naturalist. (Ibid.) Mineralogy. The Academy of Sciences, at its sittings of the 31st of December last, proceeded to the election of two corresponding members for the section of mineralogy. The section had presented two lists of candidates, one of mineralogists, properly so called, and the other of geologists, and expressed a wish that the readers should select one from each list. M. Mitscherlich, of Berlin, and Mr. Conybeare, of London, were the successful candidates. (Ibid.) Physiology. Among the competitors for the prize of physiology, founded by the late M. Monthyon, is M. Vimon, a physician at Caen, who comes forward with a collection of more than 2000 sculls of mammalia and birds, modelled in wax, and a numerous series of drawings and observations. This collection is the fruit of several years' research into the doctrines of Gall, relative to the seat of the moral and intellectual faculties of man and animals. We are informed that M. Vimon, after having attended Dr. Gall's course of lectures at Paris, left it with strong prepossessions against his doctrines, and on his return to Caen, prosecuted his researches with the express object of refuting them; but, after the fullest investigation, his enquiries have terminated in making him a thorough convert to the system. (Ibid.) A Crocodile, at Chantilly, in France, is so tame and well-disposed, that he is caressed with impunity by the keeper, who endeavours, though not always with success, to induce visitors to follow his example. (Newsp.) GERMANY. Berlin, March 9. A beautiful work is now publishing here, by the traveller Ehrenberg, giving a description of the plants and animals which he found in Egypt. The third volume of Linna a, a Journal of Botany, by Dr. Schlechtendal, is about to appear. Continual accessions are making to the plants in the royal botanic garden, and these are published as they come in flower, by Professor Link and Director Otto, two of the most zealous botanists in Germany.-N. S. A rich Collection of Minerals, which belonged to Lacarriere, a merchant of Leipsic, who died lately, has been bequeathed by him to the university of that city. (For. Quart. Rev., February.) Shells of Brazil. - The posthumous work of Dr. Spix on the shells of Brazil has just appeared, edited by Drs. Schrank and Martius. It forms one of the volumes of the interesting series of works on the natural history of Brazil, undertaken at the expense of the late King of Bavaria, by Drs. Spix and Martius, who travelled for several years over these magnificent regions. (Ibid.) SWITZERLAND. Flora Helvética. — An extremely valuable work of its class, the result of thirty years' labour, is the long-promised Flòra Helvética of M. T. Gaudin, professor and pastor at Nyon, which is now completed in manuscript, and will form six volumes; the first of which is published, and the remainder will shortly appear. An interesting preface gives an account of the author's excursions during this long period, among the valleys and mountains of Switzerland. The author has followed the Linnean system; he is an enemy to the multiplication of species, and even thinks he has hardly gone far enough in reducing their number. He says, "Fateor etiam nunc, in mea Flora non paucas superesse formas, quæ omnino varietatis potius quam speciei lege describi debuissent." "I confess, that in my Flor, even now, there remain not a few modifications which should be described as varieties rather than as species." A number of copper-plates, representing new species, are added to the work. (For. Quart. Rev., February.) The Helvetic Society for the Study of Natural History, will speedily publish the first volume of its Memoirs. (Ibid.) ITALY. Two Glass Jars of Olives and Olive Oil have been dug up at Pompeii. The olives are fresh, and both they and the oil are fit for use. The details of this remarkable discovery will be found in Jameson's Journal for April, and in the Scotsman, April 9. RUSSIA. Oural Mountains.-M. Engelhardt, professor of the university, has just returned to that city from a visit to the Oural Mountains, which he performed at the expense of the university. He has presented a very interesting report of his journey, of which he intends publishing a detailed narrative. He has made a great number of valuable observations on the geology and mineralogy of these countries; and has been enabled to correct, in many important particulars, the maps of the several provinces which he visited. (For. Quart. Rev., February.) Altai Mountains. Another tour in Asia has been performed by Professor Ledebuhr, Dr. Meyer, and Dr. Bunge, to the Altai mountains, on the frontiers of the Chinese empire. This tour, the object of which was the almost unknown Flora of those remote regions, has proved eminently successful. The travellers have collected 1600 species of plants, of which nearly 500 are new; so that Professor Ledebuhr intends to publish a Flòra Altaica. Geography, statistics, zoology, and mineralogy were not neglected in the course of this excursion; the narrative of which is expected to be highly interesting, and will be published, as we are informed, first in English. (For. Quart. Rev., February.) Natural History of Siberia.-At the commencement of this month, Humboldt, the great naturalist and traveller, proposes to undertake a journey to Siberia, for the purposes of scientific research; to which object the Emperor Nicholas has contributed, by directing that every facility be afforded to the philosopher in his meritorious pursuits. (Athenæum.) SWEDEN. Three Species of Cat are described by Professor Thunberg, as inhabiting Scandinavia. These he names the Lynx Lùpus, L. Càtus, and L. Vulpes, that is, the Fèlis lupulìnus, boreàlis, and vulpinus of Linnæus. (Bull. des Sciences Naturelles, Fev.) NORTH AMERICA. Ornithology. A splendid work on this subject is publishing at Philadelphia, by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, in folio numbers. It is the continuation of an equally splendid work by the late zealous and indefatigable Wilson. The birds figured by Bonaparte have, for the most part, been obtained from the Rocky Mountains; and the first volume, which was completed in 1825, contains nine plates, on which 22 land birds are figured, and 106 pages of letter-press, in which they are described. The same author has published a very useful and necessary appendix to Wilson's work, entitled, Observations on the Nomenclature of Wilson's Ornithology. Taking these works, in connection with the surpassingly splendid Birds of America of Mr. Audubon, the riches of the new world, in this department, promise to be fully and favourably made known to the old. The Remains of a stupendous Crocodile were seen near New Orleans by Mr. Bullock. The animal must have been at least 150 ft. long, for Mr. Bullock measured the right side of the under jaw, and found it to be 21 ft. along the curve, and 4 ft. 6 in. wide. (Bullock's Travels.) ART. II. Natural History in London. THE British Museum was opened to the public in 1759, with the extensive collection of the celebrated Sir Hans Sloane. The additions it has since received by purchase and donation are numerous and extensive. The history of this institution is already sufficiently well known, and therefore we propose merely to notice from time to time such additions as may be made to the natural history department, or new regulations respecting the admission of the public to view or study the various collections of natural objects and the books treating of them. The library of the late Sir Joseph Banks is the last grand addition that was made to the natural history department, having been removed thither in November, 1827. Linnean Society. This Society was founded in 1788. At its opening a discourse, published in the first volume of the Society's Transactions, was read by the president, the late Sir J. E. Smith, on the rise and progress of natural history, in which the peculiar objects of this institution are pointed out. These may be summed up as attention to natural history in general, a particular regard to the productions of the British Isles, and a strict attention to the laws and principles of Linnæus, so far as they have been found to be good. The Society have just completed their 15th volume of Transactions, and the number of members now exceeds 600. March 4. A communication from the Rev. Leonard Jennyns, of Cambridge, M.A. F.L.S., was read, on two British species of Plecòtus Geoff., supposed to have been confounded under the name of long-eared bat. March 18. After the meeting had assembled, the afflicting tidings of the decease of Sir James Edward Smith, their eminent and much beloved President, which had arrived during the day, having been communicated, an adjournment immediately took place. April 1. Read, a commentary on the Hórtus Malabáricus, Part V., by Francis Hamilton, M.D. F.R.S. and L.S. April 15. Read, a letter, addressed to the Secretary, from Charles Lucien Buonaparte, Prince of Mesignano, F.M.L.S., dated on board the Delaware, near Gibraltar, March 20. 1828, containing some curious facts relative to the migratory habits of certain birds. He observes, "A few days ago, being 500 miles from the coasts of Portugal, 400 from those of Africa, &c., we were agreeably surprised by the appearance of a few swallows, Hirúndo úrbica and rústica. This, however extraordinary, might have been explained by an easterly gale, which might have cut off the swallows migrating from the main to Madeira, only 200 miles distant from us; but what was my surprise in observing several small warblers hopping about the deck and rigging! These poor little strangers, exhausted as they were, were soon caught and brought to me." These warblers consisted of Sylvia Trochilus, Erithacus, suécica, or a nearly related species; and a fourth, probably a nondescript, having the plumage of an A'rthus. Read, also, part of a valuable physiological paper, on the mammary organs of the Kangaroo, by John Morgan, Esq. F.L.S. Among the presents were two valuable additions to the Society's New Holland collection, namely, a stuffed specimen of that curious quadruped, the Diadelphis ursina (Linn. Tran., vol. ix. tab. 19.), vulgarly called the Botany Bay Devil (fig. 42.), and a remarkable new species of Fálco, with a crest; both presented by Mr. B. Leadbeater, F.L.S. 42 Feet 2 Captain Ross, R.N. F.L.S., presented a small collection of dried plants, formed by himself in the late arctic expedition under Captain Parry. Geological Society. — The anniversary of this institution, established, as its charter states, " to investigate the mineral structure of the earth," was held on the 15th of February. An address on the occasion was delivered from the chair, by W. H. Fitton, M.D. F.R.S. &c., the president, which will be found at length in the Philosophical Magazine for April. The leading feature of the address is the state of geology in Britain, though notice is also taken of the progress of the science in other countries. Reference is made to the printed Proceedings of the Society, and their Transactions, as the best records of the Society's contributions to geological science during the year. The Society are congratulated on the progress which has been made in the trigonometrical survey of Ireland, because the greatest benefit is derived to geology from good maps. The effective establishment of a Zoological Society is another source of gratification, because to the geologist it is of great importance to have ready access to cabinets, and to living specimens, in order to elucidate fossil remains of animals and plants. The fossil remains of the vegetable kingdom do not occupy, the President thinks, a just share of the attention of the botanists of England. "The distribution of plants upon the former surfaces of the globe, its relation to the epochs of geological deposition, the variations it may have undergone from change of climate, either by alteration of internal temperature, or of elevation above the sea the former existence of vegetation in the more complex forms, in tracts where scarcely any traces of it exist at present, are subjects which give rise to some of the most important general questions connected with the history of the globe, and that require for their due consideration such an acquaintance with the characters of fossil vegetable remains, as none but the most skilful and experienced botanists can be expected to possess." Notice is taken of several valuable papers on the geology of foreign countries, of the donation of various specimens to the museum, and of some valuable publications to the library. "In the speculative department of geology, nothing has been of late more remarkable, with reference to its history in this country, than the universal adoption of a modified volcanic theory, and the complete subsidence or almost oblivion of the Wernerian and Neptunean hypothesis, so that what, but a few years since, it was by some considered as hardihood to propose in the form of conjecture, seems now to be established nearly with the evidence of fact. It is no longer denied, that volcanic power has been active during all the revolutions which the surface of the globe has undergone, and has probably been itself the cause of many of them; and that our continents have not merely been shaken by some mighty subterraneous force, but that strata, originally horizontal, have thus been raised, shattered, contorted, and traversed, perhaps repeatedly, by veins of fluid matter; operations which have produced phenomena, so nearly resembling those of recent volcanic agency, that to have so long disputed the identity of their cause, is one of the most remarkable proofs in the annals of philosophic history, of the power of hypothesis in distorting or concealing truth. Whatever, therefore, be the fate of the Huttonian theory in general, it must be admitted, that many of its leading propositions have been confirmed in a manner which the inventor could not have foreseen. The most striking modern support of these correcter views, is due to Von Buch and Humboldt, and to the facts and inferences derived by Dr. Macculloch from the country which gave birth to Hutton, and to his illustrator Mr. Playfair, and in which were made the experiments of Sir James Hall. More recently, a series of facts observed by Professor Henslow, in the Isle of Anglesea, has proved, in the most satisfactory manner, the connection of veins of trap with very high temperature; since the change produced upon the strata, through which the substances now occupying the veins were injected, has approached so nearly to fluidity, as to admit of their crystallisation, in forms different from any which the components of the rocks, if they had not been thus acted on, would have afforded. Sir Humphrey Davy's experiments on the fluids contained within cavities in crystals, are another striking and unexpected confirmation of Hutton's views and our own Transactions, besides various incidental pieces of evidence derived from this country, supply the testimony of an unprejudiced witness to an earthquake on the coast of Chili, which brings almost before the eyes of the reader, the movement and permanent elevation of the land." The good effects produced at both our universities by the geological instructions delivered there, have "given to the subject an impulse perhaps without example in the history of those institutions, and gone far to render natural science a permanent department of general education." Among the more recent causes which have accelerated the progress of geology in England, is stated to be the publication of the Outlines of England and Wales by Mr. Conybeare and Mr. Phillips, which is said to have "had an effect, to which nothing, since the institution of this Society, and the diffusion of the geological maps of England, can be compared. Regarding the Outlines of England and Wales, as the first general sketch of a country so complex as our own, it may be said, without fear of contradiction, that no equal portion of the earth's surface has ever been more ably illustrated;;-nor any geological work produced, which bears more strongly |