f ' ^
■ "'^:^N\
m^
^^^^^^^w
mnfinM
'^:^^mi
mkk
A^
'?mm
m.$^^^*^
^^'^^^mmk^^'m^
m^^rr^^:f:^€
5j%w&## >-^
'yW^^'!
''^NMiMfi
'^^O^AA'^.^^^r^A,
i^^'.
.^AA^^
\f^rAm^^^^^-^'''^
^;^ijA699Aj^^.<j<^A^,^
';S£««a&P'
'.f^^'
U\-: -^ '^ . ^ • /^:A
^mm,
/3.
THE
MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY
By EDWARD CH ARLESWORTH, F.G.S
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR
LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,
PATERNOSTER ROW.
1840.
CONTENTS.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS, With References to the Subjects of their respective Communications,
Page
Adams, Arthur, Esq.
On the Variation of Colour in Wild Plants 325
Bellingham, O'Bryen, M.D., &c., &c.
Description of a Specimen of the Orthogoriscus mola (Sun-Fish), caught off the Irish Coast in June, 1839, and preserved in the Museum of the Natural History Society of Dublin. ... 235 Catalogue of the Entozoa indigenous to Ireland 343
Birch, Samuel, Esq.
On the Monkeys known to the Chinese, from the Native Au- thorities. (Continued from vol. iii. p. 592.) 35
Bladon, Mr. J. B.
Remarks on the Theory of Spontaneous Generation 280, 339
Bladon, James.
Singular mode of extrication of the Imago from the Pupa-case
in a species of Crane-fly 101
Occurrence of the Argynnis Aphrodite in Britain 306
j^ Blyth, Edward, Esq.
^ Notice of some additional species of the genus Equtis to those
i^ currently admitted by Zoologists. ., 81
Bowerbank, James S., Esq., F.G.S.
On the London Clay Formation at Bracklesham Bay, Sussex. 23 On the mode of procuring the London Clay Fossils at the Isle of Sheppey 205
Bree, The Rev. W. T., M.A.
Notice of the capture of Argynnis Aphrodite in'Warwickshire. 131 Notice of a remarkable variety of Vanessa Urticce taken at Coventry 368
Bright, John.
Habits of the Toad, its change of skin, &c 103
Bromhead, Sir Edward Ff., Bt., F.R.S., Lond. and Ediub.
Remarks on the Botanical System of Professor Perleb 329
iv CONTENTS.
Page
Brown, John, Esq., F.G.S.
Notice of a Fluvio-marine Deposit containing Mammalian Remains, at Little Clacton, on the Essex coast 197
Charlesworth, Edward, F.G.S. , &c.
On the Siliceous Casts of the Echinites from the Chalk 38
Clarke, William Barnard, M.D., F.B.S. Ed.
On the Habits of the Water-Shrew 149
Sketch of the Flora of the neighbourhood of Ipswich ; inclu- ding the Phsenogamic Plants, the Filices, and Equisetacese. 124, 317
Cooper, Daniel.
Notice of the occurrence of the Alyssum Calydnum, near
London 104
Couch, Jonathan, Esq., F.L.S.
Remarks on some species of -^5^ma« found in Cornwall. ... 32
Denny, Henry.
Announcement of his work on the Anopleura, &c 249
Dickson, Joseph, Esq.
Notice of a few rare Plants, collected during 1839, in Jersey. 226
DoMBRAiN, Henry H.
On the establishment of a Natural History Society at DubUn. 247
Doubleday, Edward, Esq.
Remarks on the Lepidoptera of North America, with occasional descriptions of New Species 213, 268
Eyton, T. C, Esq., F.L.S., &c.
Remark on the Skeleton of the common tame Goose, the Chinese Goose, and the Hybrid between the two 90
Fitch, Robert, Esq., F.G.S.
Notice of the existence of a distinct Tube within the hollows of the Paramoudra 303
Hogg, John, M.A., F.R.S., L.S., C.P.S., &c.
On the Action of Light upon the Colour of the River Sponge. 259
Hope, The Rev. F. W., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c.
Remarks on the Species of Cicindela and Elaphrus, mentioned in Olivier 169
Jenkins, Thomas, Esq.
Observations on the Young of the Salmon, more particularly on the Samlet, or small Fish found in the Wye and other Rivers, in the autumn months, called, in Herefordshire, *' Lasprings, or Gravel- Lasprings." I6l
Lee, John Edward, Esq.
On a new species of Siphonia from the Yorkshire Chalk 46
Remarks on the Teeth of Reptiles, from the Tilgate Grit of Battle and St. Leonard's 87
CONTENTS. V
Page
McLauchlan, Henry, F.G.S.
Notice of the capture of a Hoopoe at Fishguard, Pembroke.. . . 250
Morris, John, Esq.
A Systematic Catalogue of the Fossil Plants of Great Britain. (Continued from vol. iii. p. 548.) 75, 179
Nangle, Edward.
On some observations in Mr. Newsman's ' Notes on Irish Na- tural History,'&c 247
Newman, Edward, Esq., F.L.S., &c.
Notes on Irish Natural History, more especially Ferns
16, 64, 112, 173 Notice of the capture of Calosoma sycophanta, at Brighton,
Ramsgate, and Hastings 150
Description of a few Longicorns, MS. names of which are
published in the Sale-Catalogue of Mr. Children's Insects. 194
A few Notes on British Ferns 241
Descriptions of eight new Cryptocephali, captured near St.
John's Bluif, East Florida, by E. Doubleday, Esq 249
Descriptions of some new species of Coleopterous Insects. ... 362
Prestwich, Joseph, Jun., Esq., F.G.S. , &c.
On the occurrence of Mammalian Remains in the Lower Eocene deposits of Epernay, Marne 187
Prideaux, Charles.
On the occurrence of the Little Bustard in Devonshire 47
Rylands, Peter, Esq.
Notes on Telephori 133
SowERBY, James De C.
Upon the ^s^rea from Bracklesham Bay 27
SowERBY, Mr. G. B., jun.
Descriptions of some new Chitons 287
Strickland, H. E., Esq., F.G.S.
Observations upon the Affinities and Analogies of Organized
Beings 219
On a Fossil Dragon-fly in the Lias at Warwickshire 301
Sweeting, R. H., Esq.
Dimensions and description of a supposed new species of Ba- IcBnoptera, stranded on Charmouth Beach, Feb. 5, 1840.... 341
Thompson, William, Esq.
On a new Genus of Fishes from India 184
Thompson, Robert, Esq.
On the fall of a Meteorolite at the Cape of Good Hope 201
Waterhouse, G. R., Esq.
Description of a new Marsupial Mammal, belonging to the genus Phascogale 299
VI CONTENTS.
Page Waterhouse, G. R., Esq.
Descriptions of some new species of Carabideous Insects, from the collection made by C. Darwin, Esq., in the southern parts of South America 354
Weissenborn, W., Ph. D.
On the Flora of Snow Formations, in reference to the Theory of Spontaneous Generation 28
Westwood, J. O., Esq., F.L.S., &c.
Observations upon the relationships existing amongst Natural Objects, resulting from more or less perfect resemblance, usually termed Affinity and Analogy 141
A few further Observations on Affinity and Analogy 305
Wilcox, Mr. W.
Notice of the Occurrence of a living Specimen of the Testudo Caretta on the Coast of Devonshire 136
Wood, S. V., Esq., F.G.S.
On the Fossil Shells of the Crag 230, 294
Young, John, Esq.
Notice relating to the recent Landslip on the Devonshire Coast 138
EXTRACTS.
D'Orbigny, M. Alcide.
On a recent species of Crinoidea or Encrinites, constituting the type of anew Genus; — Holopus 352
RUPPELL, M.
Habits of the different species of Sterna and Larus 47
Town, Joseph.
On the development of Birds in ovo 43
TRANSLATIONS.
Lund, Dr.
View of the Fauna of Brazil, previous to the last Geological Revolution 1, 49, 105, 154, 207, 251, 307
Rang, M.
On the Genus Argonauta..., 8, 57
CONTENTS. VU
REVIEWS.
Page
Beechey, Capt. R. N.
Notice of the appearance of the ' Zoology of Beechey's Voyage/ 145
Curtis, John, F.L.S., &c.
British Entomology : or Illustrations and Descriptions of the Genera of Insects found in Great Britain and Ireland 96
Erichson, G. F.
Genera et Species Staphylinorum ; Pars prior 98
Guerin-Meneville, F. E.
Revue Zoologique. Par la Society Cuvierienne ; public sous la direction de M. F. E. Guerin-Meneville 97
KoLLAR, Vincent.
A Treatise on the Insects injurious to Gardeners, Foresters, and Farmers «... 95
Laporte de Castelnau, Lucas, et Blanchard.
Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articules 97
Newman, Edward, F.L.S.
A History of the British Ferns 98
Stephens, James Francis, F.L.S.
A Manual of British Coleoptera or Beetles 92
Westwood, J. O., F.L.S., &c.
An Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects 98
IJST of the SUPPLEMENTvVRY PLATES, with references to the de- scriptive Letter-press in the body of the Magazine.
PLATE X.
Two views of a specimen of Argynnis Aphrodite, taken at Ufton Wood, * near Leamington, in the summer of 1838, by JamesWalhouse,Esq. Page 131 .
PLATE XL The figures illustrate a paper, shortly to appear, by John Morris, Esq., ' on the Vernation of the genera of Cycadece.
PLATE XIL One of the Plates from Mr. Bowerbank's work on the Fossil Fruits and Seeds of the Isle of Sheppey. The figures relate to three genera proposed by Mr. Bowerbank, namely, Hightea, Petrophilioides, and Cupressinites.
PLATES Xin. and XIV.
Fossil Shells from the Crag, described by Mr. S. V. Wood. Pages 294 ' and 230.
PLATE XV. Variety of Vanessa Urticce, described by the Rev. W. T. Bree. Page 368.
PLATE XVL New Species of Chiton, described by Mr. G. B. Sowerby, jun. Page 287.
PLATE XVIL Holopus Rangii, a new genus of existing Crinoidea. Page 352.
Fig. 1. Holopus Rangii in its natural position, having the arms contracted and applied closely together.
Fig. 2. Longitudinal section of the Holopus, showing the deep groove (a) which is prolonged throughout the whole length of the arms ; (6) vestibule between the arms and the mouth ; (c) interior of the foot with its large cavity, which no doubt contained the viscera.
Fig. 3. A profile view of one of the arms, having the internal ra- mules somewhat contracted.
Fig. 4. One of the ramules magnified.
Fig. 5. Part of one of the ramules, showing its articular portion.
Fig. 6. One of the pieces of which the arms are composed, on which the anterior convexity (a) is observable ; (b) the internal cavity or longitudinal groove ; (e) the part by which it is articulated to an ad- joining portion.
PLATE XVIIL British Limaces described by Mr. Nunnelley, in the Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Leeds, vol. i. part L
Fig. 1. Cochlea agresiis. Fig. 3. Limax variegatus. Fig. 2. nuda. Fig. 4. agrestis,
PLATE XIX. Two new Carabideous Insects from the collection made by C. Darwin, Esq., in South America. Page 354. Fig. 1. Odontoscelis Darwinii. Fig. 2. Cardeophthalmus longitarsis, slightly magnified.
(a) Labrum and mandibles. (d) Fore leg.
(b) Mentum and labial palpi. (e) Fore part of anterior fiJia.
(c) Maxilla and maxillary palpi.
THE MAGAZINE
OF
NATURAL HISTORY
JANUARY, 1840.
Art. I. — View of the Fauna of Brazil, previous to the last Geolo- gical Revolution.^ By Dr. Lund.*
Dr. Lund commences his account by explaining the circum- stances under which the fossil remains he is about to describe are found. " They are all found, " he says, " in the caves which occur in the calcareous rocks that traverse, in various directions the interior Highlands of Brazil. A mountain chain composed of this rock diverges from the principal chain of the central plateau (Serra do Espinha^o) in the neighbour- hood of the capital of the Province Minas, and extends to- wards the north west, dividing the waters of the rivers Rio das Velhas and Paraopeba. It is this chain which has hi- therto formed the richest field of my researches ; and indeed it is to the caves on its eastern declivity that I am indebted for all the relics of the inhabitants of a former world which I yet possess. Its western side presents fewer caves, and I have not been so fortunate as to find any trace of animal remains in them, any more than in the numerous caverns contained in the other small limestone chains connected \^dth the above principal range.
The rock of which these chains is composed is a dark grey, fine-grained, crystalline, transition limestone, disposed in ho- rizontal strata, which not unfrequently exhibit a very gentle
1 This is a nearly literal translation of Dr. Lund's own title, but it is by no means descriptive of this first paper, at least, which is merely introduc- tory, and might be better entitled, — "An Account of the Limestone Caves in the Interior Highlands of Brazil ; with a description of the Mammalia now occurring in that district." His second paper is entitled — "A Survey or Sketch of the extinct species of Mammalia which inhabited the High- lands of Tropical Brazil, previously to the last Geological Revolution." — Translator.
2 In a communication addressed to the Society of Sciences at Copenha- gen, and printed there in 1838. Translated from the Danish, and com- municated to the Mag. Nat, Hist., by the Rev. W. Bilton.
Vol. IV.— No. 37, n. s. b
2 VIEW OF THE FAUNA OF BRAZIL
dip to the east. It rests upon a vast mass of talc slate, which dips at an angle of 90° to the east, and forms the outermost member in connection with the higher central range : and farther from this principal chain, it alternates w^ith beds of siliceous and clay slates. It often contains veins of quartz, but I have never yet found in it any trace either of metals or of organic remains. These limestone hills form smooth, rounded ranges, which, however, have often a wild and pic- turesque character, from the extraordinary disruption of their masses, and the projection of their bare and steep walls of rock. They are also clothed with a peculiar vegetation ; and among the isolated outliers of this same formation, are nu- merous lakes. Another physical phenomenon peculiar to the limestone district, is the sudden disappearance of rivers (Su- midouro), which again emerge at greater or less distances. — This phenomenon arises from the number of fissures by which the limestone is traversed, both above and below the surface. Of the form of these fissures no universal description can be given. Sometimes they appear as perpendicular clefts, run- fiing in one direction ; sometimes they are intersected by a number of transverse fissures; sometimes they run in zigzags ; but often expand into passages, chambers, halls, and other similar forms, in which breadth predominates. It is more particularly this latter form of which I think it necessary to give a more detailed description.
The first thing that strikes the observer in these caves, is the rounded form presented by them. The roof is arched, and passes into the side walls by a regular curve. The floor can seldom be seen ; but when visible, it exhibits the same mode of junction with the sides ; and it is impossible to avoid remarking, that all the angles which project at the different divisions or bends of the passages, are in like manner rounded oif. If we examine the walls and roof more carefully, we perceive that the surface of the rock is full of protuberances and hollows, blending into each other with the gentlest curv^e. But especially do we observ^e numerous round holes, of all sizes, both in the sides and roof, which penetrate more or less deeply into the rock, and are closed at the bottom. Fre- quently, where the walls project beyond the regular line, these holes penetrate from one side to the other, and thus form pas- sages, usually narrow, but sometimes large enough to admit of our creeping through them, and presenting, on a smaller scale,, the same phenomena already described in speaking of the principal passages.
The surface of the stone is moreover smooth, often to such a degree as to reflect light : which circumstance, combined
PREVIOUS TO THE LAST GEOLOGICAL REVOLUTION. 3
with the rounded forms assumed, frequently gives the rocky masses the appearance of bronze statues.
The number of caves already visited by me in Brazil, amounts to eighty-eight, to the whole of which the charac- ters here described are more or less applicable ; and these characters are such as, in my opinion, leave no doubt as to the mode of formation of the caves. In traversing them, one appears to be walking by the rock-bound shore of ocean, and to see its naked cliffs as they are hollowed and smoothed by the waves. And doubtless, such is their origin ; doubtless, we must assign the formation of these caverns to those peri- ods when either this whole tract, that is now dry land, was covered with vast lakes ; or when it yet rested in the bosom of the sea. At any rate, it is certain that the filtration of wa- ter through the limestone, is quite insufficient to explain the phenomena we have been describing, and particularly the deep yet blind holes gnawed into the roof
All these caves are more or less filled with soil, which I will take the liberty of describing, by giving a short account of the newest formation that covers the surface in this part of Brazil : it is exactly the same as that which is found inside the caverns.
The plains, the valleys, and the lower hills are, without exception, overspread by a vast layer of loose soil, from which the higher ranges alone are free. This stratum, with a cer- tain degree of uniformity combines no inconsiderable variety, which is partly shown in its subordinate beds, and partly in the occasional appearance of these beds, without any such sequence, by the side of each other. The most common form assumed by these formations, is that of a stratum of coarse, red clay, from ten to thirty or more feet in thickness, in which there is no trace of stratification or other divisions. Occa- sionally we may follow this clay -bed over considerable tracts, without observing any remarkable extraneous substance ; but it usually contains, in a greater or less quantity, rolled stones of quartz, from the size of a pigeon's egg to that of a man's head. These boulders are sometimes strewed about without order ; sometimes they form more or less regular beds. In- termixed with these rolled quartz stones are found, but in far less quantity, similarly rolled fragments of the other kinds of rock belonging to this district ; and it is out of this same soil that the natives obtain gold and diamonds by washing. — Quartz is also found in this bed of clay, under another form still more common in the Province of Minas, namely, that of sharp angular fragments, grouped together so as to form regular beds, of from six to eighteen inches thick, and fre-
4 VIEW OF THE FAUNA OF BRAZIL
quently of considerable extent. This siliceous stratum has no uniform depth in the clay, but often approaches the sur- face, and then forms the ' Gruns Campos' so characteristic of that country, and so unfriendly to agriculture, though clothed with so peculiar a vegetation. Amongst this quartz occur, although sparingly, fragments of other rocks, particularly of ironstone. ' The colour of the clay occasionally passes from red into dull ochre-yellow : and this change in colour is usu- ally accompanied by a greater degree of fineness and unifor- mity of composition, with some slight trace of cleavage, or separation into cubical masses. I have hitherto had no op- portunity of observing these beds of clay alternating with beds of sand ; whereas this last formation appears on the surface over an extent of many degrees in length, in the broad vale watered by the St. Francisco river.
But the most peculiar character under which these newest formations present themselves in Brazil, is that called in this country " Tapanhoacanga," or negro-head. This formation is seen, like a stream of lava, spread over the plains, valleys, and hills, nay, even on the highest mountain-ridges of Brazil. It is most common in those districts where there are iron- stone rocks of the older formations. It consists of a ferrugi- nous conglomerate, composed of rolled and angular fragments of quartz, and other rocks of the country ; but chiefly of the iron formation itself, such as ferriferous mica slate &c., united by a ferruginous cement of red, yellow, or black colour. Oc- casionally, the fragments disappear, and the cementing sub- stance alone remains. It forms a mass almost as hard as stone, with a smooth and often shining surface ; inside, it is full of vescicular holes, which give it the appearance of a slag. It very often contains stone marrow, and in general the same minerals that form the constituent portions of the common red
* The origin of this quartz-ted was long a puzzle to me, until more care- ful examinations of the principal mountain range enlightened me on the subject. One of the most important members in the composition of that range is a vast mass of talc slate, with numerous veins and subordinate beds of quartz. This talc slate, in most places, and to considerable depths, is in such a state of decomposition, as to crumble between the fingers, and the quartz separates with the touch into larger or smaller angular frag- ments. If we examine the beds of diluvium at the foot of this mountain chain, we there see the red homogeneous clay replaced by a mass of nothing but fragments of talc slate, lying in all directions, but containing also the same siliceous layers disposed with more regularity, so as often to look like connected quartz beds. That this talc slate is in a secondary position, is evident from its irregular stratification ; and if we follow its development from the foot of the mountain, it is easy to convince ourselves of its gradual passage and change into the common red clay, with its usual siliceous bed.
PREVIOUS TO THE LAST GEOLOGICAL REVOLUTION. D
clay, particularly gold, vrhich is often in sufficient quantity to be worked. The same conglomerate is likewise found in the caves, and contains the same animal remains as the red clay ; so that there can be no doubt of the contemporaneousness of their formation. These most recent formations are found in the caves, under all the conditions I have thus attempted to describe, and in about the same relative proportions as to quantity ; the red clay soil being by far the most common, ei- ther in a piu-e state, or mixed with siliceous boulders or gravel. But all these kinds of soil have undergone changed since their deposition in the caves, of which changes I will now proceed to give an account.
The first change arises from the infiltration of water charged with lime. The lime derived from the evaporation of the wa- ter, and its contact with the surrounding hard bodies, unites the loose particles of the soil, and changes the whole into a mass as hard as stone. Indeed, the looser the soil was pre- viously to this infiltration, the harder does it afterwards be- come, fi:om the greater quantity of calcareous particles which it allows to penetrate. For this reason the fine yellow clay never becomes so hard as the coarse red, the loose composi- tion of which even permits the calcareous incrustation to col- lect in connected masses, which are sometimes solid, at other times contain holes lined with beautiful small crystals of cal- careous spar. Lastly, the beds of boulders and gravel, which outside the caves are loose and unconnected, are metamor- phosed into perfect pudding-stone inside. Another character which distinguishes the soil within the caves from that with- out, is the much greater quantity of fragments of limestone contained in it. These fragments have their angles partly sharp, and partly broken off and rounded ; and are from the most trifling size up to that of immense blocks. In those caves the opening of which is to the north, and which are closed at the end, these fragments are found in extraordinary abundance, especially in the inner part, towards the bottom : while in those which open to the south, or have two opposite entrances, the fragments are either entirely wanting, or occur in trifling quantities. This result is based upon the exami- nation of so many caverns, that it cannot be looked upon as an accidental circumstance : and the natural explanation ap- pears to be, that the inundation which deposited the soil in these caves, must have moved from north to south, and with sufficient force to carry along with it the blocks of all sizes which we see scattered inside and outside of the caves.
But the most important substance which has enriched the soil since its deposition, is, without doubt, saltpetre, which is
6 VIEW OF THE FAUNA OF BRAZIL
found in sufficient quantity to become an article of industry and export to the neighbouring population. The origin of this salt was for a long time obscure to me ; but at length numerous observations and experiments have convinced me that it is neither formed in the soil where it lies, nor contain- ed in the limestone in which the caves occur, but that it owes its origin to the bed of mould which lies above the caves. — The rain water that filters through this mould becomes charg- ed with decomposed vegetable particles, and by contact with the limestone in its passage through the fissures, the salt is produced.
Most frequently this bed of soil is covered with a coating of stalagmite. In my foi-mer communication, describing the cave of Maquine, I have drawn attention to the difference in the manner and period of formation of this stalagmitic crust, and of those columnar and leaf-shaped productions, which, either as stalactites, hang from the wall or clothe the roof in a thousand fantastic and indescribably beautiful forms, or, as stalagmites, rise like enormous pillars or cones from the floor. By far the greatest quantity of this stalactitic mass belongs to ages an- tecedent to the introduction of the soil, which is seen resting on it as a base, just as the soil outside rests on the base of the older rocks. A much smaller portion has formed since, and indeed it continues daily to increase, even under the eye of the observer. On the other hand, the stalagmitic coating which covers the surface of the soil, must have been a later production, to which many causes have contributed ; these causes it is important to distinguish, in order that we maybe enabled to decide upon the age of the organic remains found under the stalagmite. In the communication already referred to, I have proved that the formation of the columnar and leaf- shaped stalactite is effected by a very slow process. If the dripping of the water proceeds too rapidly, its dissipating pow- er prevents its setting, and the stalagmitic mass below is hol- lowed out, instead of being increased. The calcareous water which runs down the sides of the stalagmitic blocks, collects in the first hollow it finds near their base. There, and on its passage thither, it gradually deposits its lime, and thus there is gradually spread round the stalagmite mass, and in the de- pressions nearest to it, a calcareous coat, which the water continually enlarges, until by the filling up of the first hollow it is compelled to flow onward to the next, and so on. The splash of each drop that falls upon the stalagmitic mass also contributes to form a similar incrustation around it ; as may easily be seen fi-om the innumerable small inequalities of the surface, which, with the faces of their crystals, often give an
PREVIOUS TO THE LAST GEOLOGICAL REVOLUTION. 7
appearance of crystallized sugar to the substances covered by them.
Whoever visits these caverns to admire the beauty of their fantastic draperies, will dwell with most pleasure on the for- mations of this class : while for the zoologist they possess less interest, since the substances they enclose are most com- monly of very recent origin. Under the stalagmitic mass, and forming, as it were, the nucleus of these " confetti," I have often found recent bones of existing animals, shells, nay, even a piece of charcoal, probably left by savages. Not unfre- quently do we detect nature in the very act of forming these incrustations, where, in a heap of bones lying on the floor, some are already entirely enveloped in stalagmite, others stick half out of it, while others again lie perfectly untouched, and awaiting the incrustation that will veil them from our view, and preserve them perhaps for the investigations of a future generation. Forasmuch as this formation depends on agen- cies which are in daily operation on the surface of the earth, that it to say, on the infiltration of rain water through the fis- sures and pores of limestone, there can be no reason for sup- posing that it should not also have been going on at a period before the introduction of the soil into the caves : and expe- rience has convinced me that this is really the case. I have frequently had occasion to observe, under the stratum of soil, a similar stalagmitic incrustation, with those beautiful basin- shaped crystallizations known hereby the name of "Pias," or baptismal fonts.
Besides these originating causes, there is scarcely a cave in which we may not see, at least in time of rain, the water drop from the roof, and form basins of a larger or smaller size. — At the bottom and round the edge of these basins, the same phenomena already described occur, and occasion incrusta- tions and depressions in the floor. These two modes of for- mation of the stalagmitic flooring of many caves are indubi- table ; and where passages are narrow, and the quantity of stalactite on the roof and walls considerable, they are sufli- cient to account for the phenomenon : but at the same time they are evidently insufficient, in many respects, to serve as an universal explanation, as for instance, in the case of those wide and spacious halls into which the caverns often expand, where a coating of stalagmite covers the stratum of soil, like ice on the smface of the lake, and yet where no dripping from the roof betrays the actual presence of incrusting water, — no stalagmitic crust on the walls or roof attests its agency in time past.
In the communication already cited, I have drawn atten-
8 M. SANDER RANG
tion to the proofs derived from the condition and preservation of the bones found in, and immediately under, this calcareous tegument, which compel us to conclude that its formation dates from the time immediately subsequent to the introduc- tion of the soil ; and that it owes its origin to the extraordi- nary condition into which the surface of our globe passed, as a consequence of the equally extraordinary catastrophe that occasioned the destruction of the whole race of animals pre- viously existing, and the introduction of their remains into the caves. This stalagmitic crust, which, with so few ex- ceptions, covers the surface of the soil in all the Brazilian caverns, is never found beneath it ; which circumstance con- trasts so strongly with the abundance of the stalagmitic blocks produced during the remote period that preceded the intro- duction of the soil, as to be sufficient, in connection with the adduced proofs, to confirm their distinct origin.
I fear that I must have wearied the Society by dwelling so long on this point; I trust however that its practical impor- tance will plead my excuse. Future visitors to these caverns may perhaps find here a hint to guide them in their search after the treasures contained in them, and in the determina- tion of the age of those treasures. The same remark will hold good with respect to the observations I shall next pro- ceed to offer on the conditions under which the bones are foimd in the caverns.
(To he continued).
Art. II. — On the Genus Argonauta. By M. Rang.
( Continued from Vol, iW. page 532.^
Thus the intention of the membraniferous arms with which certain species of poulps are provided is now known. These organs envelope the argonaut-shell as the lobes of the mantle in some other kinds oimollusca envelope their shells. But for what purpose are they so disposed ? Some naturalists have thought, and there are those among the number whose learn- ing and talent are incontestible, that the poulp secreted the shell by means of its airholes ; would then an opinion be more unreasonable which should attribute this secretion to the membranes themselves ? The slender form, the fragile
ON THE ARGONAUT. V
and diaphanous nature of the shell, its sides, which so well indicate the different applications of the anterior margin of the membrane, its tubercles along the keel, constant in all the species ; the coloration of the bases of the arms, correspond- ing so well with the colouring of the keel towards the spire ; — are not these characters, which, more thoroughly investi- gated than they have yet been, would tend to support the fact of the membranous arms being the organs of secretion ? We shall be told that it is not by the aid of their mantle that the Mollusca secrete their shells, but by the collar which unites them to the opening ; and without doubt this is an opinion very justly adopted, and we have proved by more than one circumstance, and even in the preceding note, that we have for a long time ranged ourselves on the side of this opinion ; but the argument does not, for that reason, appear to us the less feeble, for admitting it to be proved that it is by the collar that the Mollusca secrete their shells, it is also proved that there are exceptions to this nile. The mollusc of the Nautilus, for example, the shell of which is very solid and strong, and must have required two or three kinds of se- cretion, has no collar, as a skilful English naturalist teaches us by the anatomical examination which he has lately made, and in which we find no mention of these organs. — Now if the mollusc of the nautilus, without the aid of a col- lar, has constructed a shell so strong, so heavy, and so emi- nently calcareous, surely we may believe that the mollusc of the argonaut, likewise a cephalopod, is equally capable of constructing a shell without such aid. Such a supposition, according to our view, is so much the more admissible, be- cause the argonaut, by nature delicate, flexible, and submem- branous, would seem to favour such a theory much more readily than the nautilus. Would it then be very strange that the lobes of the large arms should possess the property of secreting this slender shell, and that it is but a mere mem- branous pellicle in its early stage ? Do not the lobes of the mantle of the Mollusca which form the cowries and the olives, secrete calcareous layers, which change, in such a remarka- ble manner, the original aspect of these shells, and ultimately add largely to their thickness ?
M. de Blainville, who rejects with all the weight of his authority this line of argument, has, from the very first, sought to re-consign the use of these membraniferous arms, with which we have made him acquainted, to the wants of the poulp of the argonaut, and, having so done, has pressed it into the service of parasitism. Indeed this philosopher points out to us, that since the poulp, as is now perfectly
Vol. IV.— No. 37, n. s. c
10 M. SANDER RANG
known, does not adhere to its shell by a muscle, or even a collar, it is therefore very necessary that it should have some organ to hold it by ; and, if we do not deceive ourselves, there lay perhaps one of the difficulties which most clogged this naturalist in developing his whole ideas upon the para- sitism of the mollusc in question, for it was impossible, with the knowledge which he has of the organization of this ani- mal, that he should believe, like some naturalists, that the poulp made use of its suckers as a means by which to adhere to its shell. M. de Blainville sees then, in this abnormal or- ganization of the large arms of the poulp, an arrangement necessary for its maintaining its position in the shell that it inhabits, and, without which, it would be every moment ex- posed to the loss of it. This is a fact incontestably demon- strated, and which cannot fail to be adopted indifferently by the partisans of non-parasitism, and those of parasitism.
Should it be objected, (for it is necessary as much as possible to anticipate objections), that the poulp can have no need to cling so strongly to its shell, because the effort that it makes to expel the w ater from its branchial cavity, when swimming, far from tending to separate the two, only on the contrary brings them closer together ; — it would be easy for us to re- ply, that the movement does not consist merely of remo^^al : and, that without speaking of shocks, of the agitation of the waves, &c., it is very natural to suppose that when the mol- lusc crawls along, carrying its shell with the opening turned downwards, the shell could not fail to escape, and mount to the surface of the water, on account of the air which it indu- bitably contains, if the poulp did not retain it by some means as constant and as powerful as those which it possesses.
The position of the large arms with their membranes over the shell, and the service which they render to the poulp, being once made known and adopted, let us see what are the inferences which may yet be drawn from this fact to throw light upon the question, and simplify it from the chaos of ar- guments presented on all sides, and generally derived from facts wrongly interpreted, or from pure imagination.
Those naturalists who have turned their attention to the argonaut, have been very little agreed as to the relative posi- tion of the poulp to its shell ; and from this there has re- sulted— first, the inconvenience of not being able sooner to explain the use of the membraniferous arms; — and, secondly, a supply of weapons to the partisans of parasitism ; for these latter have skilfully seized uj)on this disagreement to draw from it this certainly rather rational argument, that, since the mollusc adheres sometimes in one manner, and sometimes in
ON THE ARGONAUT. 11
another, it is a proof that the shell has not been made for it, and does not belong to it : this part of the question being one of the most important, we shall pause here a little.
Poli, who, from what he says, must have thoroughly in- spected this animal in a living state, places its great arms in front, that is to say, at the anterior edge of the opening. — Ferussac, who has reproduced the beautiful, but too fabulous sketch of Poli, has, like that naturalist, placed it the wrong way, at the same time sketching other figures in a proper manner, which, on the part of one of the most ardent parti- sans of non-parasitism was a serious fault; but, at least, proved his candour in the discussion. However, in 1836, upon some information which we gave him from Algiers, and, we believe also, in consequence of some observations of M. Delle Chiaje, or Yerany, he resolved to make a new copy of the plate borrowed from Poli, in order to turn the animal the opposite way, which is in fact the true one. It has been wrongly thought that he made this change only that he might not leave such weapons in the hands of his adversaries ; — on the contrary, it was the result of conviction in his mind.
It is very clear, as to the rest, that Ferussac had adopted the idea that the palmated arms were to be found on the side of the spiral line of the shell ; since, from 1825, as may be seen by the memoir which he read to the Academy, he sup- posed that the palmated portions of the gresii tentacula folded themselves into a globular mass in the spiral cavity of the shell, which he would not have been able to point out if he had thought that these arms were in the anterior part.
M. Delle Chiaje, whose observations will always be of great weight in all questions of malacological organization, has not been happy in this circumstance. In fact, he also reverses the animal in such a manner as to put its membra- niferous arms at the anterior part of the shell ; and manages, as he can, to explain how the animal holds its shell by the aid of suckers, which is difficult enough to conceive, since he says at the same time, that the arms are spread out upon the surface of the water. After these come Mr. Broderip, who affirms^ that in a specimen which he had in his posses- sion, the palmated arms were on the side of the back of the shell; and Mr. James Sowerby, who nevertheless acknow- ledges that in Cranch's specimen it was the contrary.
M. de Blainville has also had well-preserved specimens in his hands, and he has seen them turned in the manner we have described ; nevertheless, he draws from the divergence of opinions, another argument in favour of parasitism. This argument ought now to fail him, and indeed the inference
12 M. SANDER RANG
which he himself draws from it decides this question ; for it is very certain, that since the function of the membranes of the large arms consists in seizing the shell, by enveloping it from the re-entering part of the keel, to its further extremity, the animal must be constantly turned, so that this arrange- ment can take place, that is to say, it must have its dorsal part towards the spire.
The partisans of parasitism place great stress upon an an- ecdote, which in fact would be very fit to decide the question, if it constituted an accurately made and precise observation, or even one worthy of confidence. We refer to the mollusc of which Rafinesque has made the genus Ocythoe. We know not if we are right, but it appears to us, that natural- ists, who have in some instances very just pretensions to having based their opinion upon scientific principles, de- ceive themselves in this instance, and take hold of a fact of no value, as we are about to show. The history of the genus Ocythoe is as follows. —
A traveller, studying natural history in the Sicilian seas, found among other curious things, a cephalopod, of which