RUSSIA.

Ledebour, C. F., Phil. Dr. Botan. Professor in Universitate Dorpatensi, Rossorum Imp. August. a Consiliis Status, Ordinis S. Annæ Secundæ Classis Eques: Icones Plantarum Novarum, vel imperfecte cognitarum, Floram Rossicam, imprimis Altaicam illustrantes. To be published in 10 Livrs. with 500 figs. 31. 10s. each, plain.

ITALY.

Zanon, Bartol.: Del nuovo Solfato di Soda et Magnesia, &c. Bellune, 1824. 8vo, pp. 21.

NORTH AMERICA.

Lea, Isaac, Esq., of Philadelphia, Member of various European Societies: Description of Six new Species of the Genus U'nio, embracing the Anatomy of the Oviduct of one of them, together with some Anatomical Observations on the Genus. Read before the American Philosophical Society, Nov. 2. 1827. Philadelphia. 4to, plates.

ART. III. Literary Notices.

REVISION des Graminées. Professor Kunth has announced a new contribution to botanical science, entitled Révision des Graminées, being an enlargement of what appeared in his Nova Génera et Spècies Plantarum Americana Septentrionalis. The introduction will contain some original views respecting the organisation of this most useful class of vegetables, establishing their relation with others, and discussing the opinions previously entertained on the subject. The author will then notice the generic characters, point out those which are best established, and add some new ones resulting from his own observations. This introduction will be followed by the complete genera. The work will be illustrated by 100 finely coloured engravings, and, with the descriptive text, will form a folio volume of the same size as the Nova Génera and the Mimòses. (For. Quart. Rev., Jan.)

Casual Botany, or an Elementary Treatise descriptive of the Changes of Plants, by D. Bishop, is publishing by subscription in 1 vol. 8vo. 7s. Subscriptions are received by Mr. Wright, agricultural bookseller, Haymarket. Petrificata Suecana Formationis Cretacea has lately been commenced by Professor S. Nilsson of Lund. Professor Nilsson is already advantageously known, both in his own country and abroad, as an eminent naturalist, and has added not a little to his fame by this work. A knowledge of the petrifactions is necessarily of great importance to the students of geological science; and the author has, in preference, chosen those of the cretaceous formation, as having been (though they constitute a number of about 200 species) least examined by previous authors. The plates are executed with great care, so as to give a clear idea of each species, and the descriptions are concise and accurate. The continuation of this work will be anxiously looked for by all the lovers of this interesting branch of science. (For. Quart. Rev.)

Bakewell's Geology is reprinting in the United States, under the direction of Professor Sillimar, of Yale College, who states it as his opinion, that it is "the most intelligible, attractive, and readable work on geology in the English language."-- S. T. Jan. 26. 1829.

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PART III.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

ART. I. Natural History in Foreign Countries.

ITALY.

CAVERN containing Fossil Bones. Professor Savi has discovered, near Cassana, in the mountains surrounding the Gulf of Spezia, a cavern containing bones of deer, bears, and other animals, very similar to those found in the bone caverns in England, Germany, and France. M. Savi infers that these bones belonged to animals previous to the deluge. (Nuovo Giorn. de Litterati, 23., p. 123.)

Should a few more of these bone caverns be discovered in Italy besides this solitary instance, we could better determine whether the antediluvian hypothesis, or that of Mr. Ranking who refers them to the animals killed in the Roman amphitheatres, is the most tenable. We perceive that another similar grotto has been discovered near Miremont, by M. J. Delanoue, who has given an account of it in the Annales des Mines, vii. p. 597.- J. R.

SPAIN.

State of Natural History in Spain. - The king of Spain, amongst the few acts of liberality which he has condescended to perform, instituted, in 1815, public courses of mineralogy, zoology, chemistry, botany, agriculture, and astronomy. The influx of students to these courses has been so great, that the halls cannot contain them. On the month of September last, above sixty presented themselves for examination, to obtain certificates for their proficiency in general botany, of which Don Vicente Soriano is professor. The king has instituted prizes for those who distinguish themselves.

A number of distinguished individuals attend Professor Sandalio Arias's course of agriculture; and, both in this and horticulture, great improvements have been introduced. The junta of Aranceles have received the king's commands to import 30 pair each of our long-wooled Southampton and our Leicester sheep, to be distributed, at the public expense, over the Peninsula. (Gaceta de Bayona, Oct. 1828.)

SWEDEN.

Temperature at Christiania and at Leith.-From the tables kept at Christiania by Professor Flansteen, it appears that the daily variation of temperature is there much greater than at Leith, especially in winter.

The yearly variation from February to July is also much greater at Christiania; probably on account of the mist from the sea and the unclear sky at Leith, tempering the cold of the night and of the winter, and absorbing the sun's rays in the day and in the summer.

Natural History in China. According to M. Abel Remusat, the celebrated French Orientalist, the hieroglyphic method of writing amongst the Chinese has led them to form a very tolerable classification of natural objects, in the form of families, such as cereal plants, ruminant and carnivorous animals, salts, metals, &c. According to this plan, they write rice-corn, dog-fox, &c. It was precisely this method, which has been known in China for four thousand years, that Linnæus followed in forming groups of natural objects. The Chinese classification, however, is in some respects exceedingly erroneous and imperfect, the Mollúsca, for example, as well as whales, being classed among fishes, and lead among the precious metals. Their best treatise on natural history consists of forty volumes, in which are coloured figures, very exact, as well as a regular nomenclature. With respect to economical details, anecdotes of instinct, &c., this is more copious than correct. (Revue Trimestrielle, iii. p. 351.)

Wild Poultry (Phasiànus Gállus).—In the forests through which we passed we saw several flocks of wild poultry. One of these, not far from a village, appeared so little shy, that we at first imagined it consisted of domestic fowls, and hesitated to fire. In the winter, or cold season, innumerable flocks of ducks and other water-fowl are described as visiting Cochin-China. These had not yet arrived, but we observed preparations making for ensnaring them. These consisted of a number of artificial birds, intended for decoys. (Crawford's Embassy to Siam and Cochin-China.)

Leaf Insects.-There are also the leaf insects, which assume the shape, size, and general appearance of the leaf on which they feed, so exactly, that it is only on examination one becomes aware of their real character. I saw several, but the most extraordinary was one which lived on a thorny plant, the body of which resembled a stick, and was covered with thorns. (Heber's Tour in Ceylon.) [Similar appearances are by no means uncom mon even among British insects, as in the caterpillars of Geómetra syrin gària and G. cratægària. J. R.]

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The Flying Leech is common in the jungles in the interior (Ceylon), and the native troops, on their march to Canely, suffered very severely from their bite, occasionally even to the loss of life or limb: their legs were covered with them, and streamed with blood. I saw one of these animals in a horse's leg. It is much smaller than the common leech, the largest, when at rest, being not more than half an inch long, and may be extended till it becomes a fine string; the smaller ones are very minute. They possess the power of springing, by means of a filament, to a considerable distance. (Heber's Narrative.)

Zoology and Botany of the Indian Archipelago. The manuscripts of Drs. Kuhl and Van Hasselt, who recently travelled over the islands of the Indian Archipelago, for the purpose of exploring their botany and zoology, and who died in the midst of their researches, have been transmitted to Europe; and the first part of their botanical_discoveries, forming the most

interesting portion of their labours, published by command of His Majesty, and edited by Professor von Brede, has recently appeared. The work will contain the genera and species of the Orchidea and Asclepiadec, and will be completed in eighteen livraisons, containing five plates each, (For. Quart. Rev., June, 1828.)

NORTH AMERICA

Niagara. The Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who lately visited the Falls of Niagara, thus describes the scene: "The roaring of the water directed our steps. We came suddenly upon the precipice, and beheld the immense mass of water rushing impetuously downwards, with a dreadful noise, to a fearful depth. It is impossible to describe the view; it is impossible to convey the mingled feeling of weakness and sublimity that arises in the human breast at the sight of this stupendous work of nature. We can only wonder, admire, and adore. The rocks on both sides are very steep; there are, however, covered wooden steps, by which we descended to the lower part of the stream; but the spray, caused by the foam of the fall, deprived us of the beautiful view we had anticipated. We, therefore, soon re-ascended, and enjoyed, from above, the contemplation of the majestic and the sublime." (Reise durch Nord America, 1825-6, vol. i. p. 732.)

Columba migratòria (the Wild Pigeon). On December 13., from about nine o'clock in the morning till two o'clock in the afternoon, immense flocks of pigeons, extending as far as the eye could reach, were seen passing over our village (Rochester) from the north. Their numbers, which were incalculably great, and the novelty of the circumstance, excited considerable attention. Some few of them were taken; and, what is very singular, they were found to be very fat. It is an interesting enquiry, where have they been, and what have they been doing? It is a very unusual season to see birds of passage on their journey. We would suggest to Mr. Symmes the possibility of drawing, from this singular fact, an argument in favour of pleasant weather at the North Pole. (Kochester, N. Y., Genesee Co. Reg. Dec. 1828.)

We have never before witnessed such multitudes of wild pigeons as have appeared amongst us (Montrose) at the present season. Flocks, extending miles in length, have many days been seen passing over the hills, and presenting a novel and interesting appearance. But what is most extraordinary, and causes us now to notice them, is their encampment, about ten miles from this place, in a south-west direction, where they have built their nests and are raising their young. This encampment is upwards of nine miles in length and four in breadth, the lines regular and straight, within which there is scarcely a tree, large or small, that is not covered with nests. They cause such a constant roaring, by the flapping of their wings, that persons, on going into the encampment, have great difficulty in hearing each other speak. Every thing throughout their camp appears to be conducted in the most perfect order. They take their turns regularly in sitting and in feeding their young; and when any of them are killed upon their nests by the sportsmen, others immediately supply their places. We are inclined to believe that they have, in part, adopted Mr. Owen's " community system," as the the whole appears to be a common-stock business." The squabs (as the young are called) are now sufficiently large to be considered, by epicures, better for a rich dish than the old ones;] and they are caught and carried off by waggon-loads. (Susquehanna County Register, May, 1829.)

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The late De Witt Clinton of New York shows, that Mr. Wilson's opinion, respecting the American wild pigeon laying only one egg at a time, is wrong. These birds often lay two eggs for the same sitting; one pair produced seven, and another eight, times in one year. In twenty-three days from the laying of the egg, the young ones could fly. In eight days from their being hatched, they are completely feathered, and fly from the nest.

(New York Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. ii. p. 210.) — J. M. Philadelphia, May 13. 1829.

A Den of Rattlesnakes. An emigrant family inadvertently fixed their cabin on the shelving declivity of a ledge, that proved a den of rattlesnakes. Warmed by the first fire on the hearth of the cabin, the terrible reptiles issued in numbers, and, of course, in rage, by night, into the room where the whole family slept. As happens in those cases, some slept on the floor, and some in beds. The reptiles spread in every part of the room, and mounted on every bed. Children were stung in the arms of their parents, and in each other's arms. Imagination dares not dwell on the horrors of such a scene. Most of the family were bitten to death; and those who escaped, finding the whole cabin occupied by these horrid tenants, hissing, and shaking their rattles, fled from the house by beating off the covering of the roof, and escaping in that direction. (Flint's Geography and History of the United States, vol. i. p. 115.)

The Mammoth Cave, in Warren County, Kentucky, is a cavern in limestone, which has been explored by gentlemen of science for the astonishing distance of ten miles, without finding the end. (Amer. Quart. Rev., March, 1829.)

SOUTH AMERICA.

The Birds of Demerara are surpassed by those of no country in the world. Almost every one of those singular and elegant birds, described by Buffon as belonging to Cayenne, are here to be met with, but only by an indefatigable naturalist. (Waterton.)

Migration of Butterflies. On the coast of Brazil, for many days in March, a great number of white and yellow butterflies take their flight from the north-west to the south-east. They are never observed to alight in their course, and are not impeded by forts or other extensive buildings crossing their path. As the sea is in the direction towards which they fly, it is probable they perish there. (Lindley's Brazil.)

The Electric Eel.-That most singular animal, the electric eel (Gymnòtus eléctricus), abounds in the river Orinoco in South America, and is caught, as we are informed by recent travellers, by driving a number of wild horses into the pools which they frequent. They exert their benumbing powers on the horses till exhausted, when they may be taken without danger. (Bulletin des Sciences Nat.)

Coal fields in Peru. M. Mariano de Rivero, director-general of the mines belonging to the Republic of Peru, is employed in drawing up a memoir on the coal fields of his district, which promises to be of considerable interest. Near to Cerro, he informs us, from four to ten leagues, there are numerous beds of fossil charcoal, of which the chief deposits near Raucas are of very good quality, and are situated on the slope of a hilly ridge several leagues in extent. The principal bed lies north and south between strata of fine sandstone. He has found in these coal fields a considerable quantity of yellow amber, but he could not discover any impressions of the organic remains of plants and animals. The coal is used for heating steam-engines, &c. (Annales des Scien. Nat. for March.)

The Cordilleras.-The great mountain chain of the Andes is divided, between the 14° and 20° of south latitude, into two longitudinal ranges, called by the Creoles Cordilleras. These ranges are separated by an inter-alpine longitudinal valley, the lowest part of which is about 12,000 or 13,000 ft. English above the level of the Pacific. At the northern extremity of this valley is situated the celebrated Lake Titicaca, upon whose banks the empire of the Incas originated. The western Cordillera lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Valley of Desaguadero, appropriately named the Tartary of the New World; and here are situated many volcanoes in a stated