distinct differences observed in various families of fish. [Instances were given of various modifications in form, and diagrams illustrative of the anterior, external, and posterior portions were exhibited.] The sacculus consists of one large sac, and the superior ootolite occupies this position. This was its ordinary position; but in two specimens of the Wolf Fish the speaker had found that the superior ootolite occupied different positions, and from this circumstance he judged that they might have the power of moving about from side to side. Amongst the Cyprinidæ (or Carp family) the ootolites occupy a different position. Here they are all placed in contact inferiorly, forming a chain of bones. From the lower sac two tubes pass through the base of the skull, and open through the anterior portion of the saccula. These saccula are the only true representatives of the ossicula auditûs in the Mammalia, according to the opinion of most writers upon the subject; but his own belief was, that no fish at all have any true representatives of it, but that this is only an excessive development of the ootochrones. The ootolites themselves are found to consist of carbonate and sulphate of lime, with a very small quantity of animal matter; but whether to call it a kind of condensed sarcode, or to consider it the same in composition as the foraminifera, or as that of the oyster-shell, the meeting of the doctors on the subject has not been satisfactory in determining. By comparison and examination of these objects he had in many instances been able to identify species, and in many other instances he could identify genera; and he thought that this was more than could be said of the fins or any parts of a fish. He might mention that, out of about 4,000 specimens which he had examined, only one instance had been found in which the species could not be identified, and this one was a common form which had from some cause become abnormal in shape and cartilaginous in structure. Specimens are occasionally found in which they are wanting on one side of the fish. He had not examined the true structure of the granulus, but in their original forms they present the appearance of rhombic crystals.

UNDER THE ROSE.-The first rose ever seen was said to have been given by the god of Love to Harpocrates, the god of Silence, to engage him not to divulge the amours of his mother Venus; and from hence the ancients made it a symbol of silence, and it became a custom to place a rose above their heads in their banqueting-rooms, in order to banish restraint, as nothing there said would be repeated elsewhere; and from this practice originated the saying "Under the Rose," when anything was to be kept secret.-Sylva Florifera.

IN

THE UNITY OF MANKIND.

N SCIENCE GOSSIP for May, a writer, under the signature of "F. A. A.," proposes to divide the human race according to colour; and I propose, with the Editor's permission, to make a few remarks upon his classification.

The gentleman in question tells us that the division according to colour is at once the simplest and the best. It gets rid of all the trouble entailed by the study of features, language, mental development, and religion. It relieves us from the dangers of embroiling our brains over the conflicting views of Prichard and Knox, Pickering and Lawrence. Such writers, to use "F. A. A.'s" own words, "perplex the student instead of aiding him."

The colours he divides into white, brown, and black; including under the white the Mongols, who I always thought belonged to the yellow races of men, the Moors and Arabs, some of whom, at any rate, are almost black, and the Laplanders, who are often almost as dark as the inhabitants of very hot climates. Among the brown races are comprised the Red Indians, and, I presume, as a natural sequence, the dirty-olive-coloured Californians, the olive-green hunters of San Francisco, the pale green Chanuas, and the dark sea-green people of the Marian Islands; the chocolate-hued Sauks, and the Flatheads, whose tint can only be compared to that of a red brick, or Armenian bole. Finally, among the black races, we find the Hindoos, who are stated by Heber, Mill, and others, to present a great variety of tints, many being nearly copper-coloured, and a black being as rare among them as a white pariah; if, indeed, the term black can be justly applied to what is really a very dark brown, like strong coffee.

The next step to which "F. A. A." calls our attention, is that of proving that brown nations are merely white people turning black, and this he demonstrates to be simple and easy in the highest degree. "To see the first stage, or the conversion of white into brown, we have only to inspect the hands and face of a countryman, or the complexion of an old Indian resident." Mr. Winwood Reade's assertion that the Gamma tribes inhabiting the interior of the Gaboon country have turned black within the memory of man, conclusively proves the second stage.

That white people tan, and that even dark people may grow browner in a hot climate, or when exposed to the sun, no person in his senses would deny; but some very able observers, indeed, deny that this change is in any way lasting, or that it deepens with descent in any part of the world. They are even so unreasonable as to assert that climate has nothing to do with complexion, and that there is not a jot of evidence to show that a white race has ever been converted into a dark one. Sir W. Lawrence says,

"the theory which would refer the characteristic differences in colour in the varieties of the human, species, and particularly to the degree of solar heat, is entirely improved;" and Mr. Crawford says, "The Creole Spaniards, who have for as long a time (three centuries) been settled in tropical America, are as fair as the people of Arragon and Andalusia, with the same variety of colour in the hair and eye as their progenitors. The pure Dutch Creole colonists of the Cape of Good Hope, after dwelling two centuries among black Caffres and yellow Hottentots, do not differ in colour from the people of Holland." The latter fact was long ago communicated to me by the late Robert Knox.

The readers conversant with the subject will notice here that Mr. Reade has solved a problem which had long bothered observers like Lubbock, Prichard, Millers, and a host of others. They were puzzled to know how it happened that on monuments in Egypt, which cannot be set down as later than 2,400 years before Christ, the negro appears as he is seen in our day. They might have spared themselves all the patient research they devoted to the subject; and it would be just as unnecessary to assume an error in the established chronology, or revise the calculations of Usher and Petarius. One generation being enough to turn brown men black, there can be no difficulty now in understanding that the rest follows as a matter of course.

The writer in question says, "that white nations have become black, we know from history and the testimony of our senses." Such being the case, I hope "F. A. A.” will kindly give us the names of these historians, and say in what part of their works they state that races of men now known to be black were in their time white. I was under the impression that history, sacred or profane, is silent on the subject of colours, as it only too often is on the most interesting subjects; that it does not tell us whether the Jews of Cochin were or were not black, when, at the mandate of Nebuchadnezzar, they went forth from the land of the Euphrates to settle in Malabar, or whether, a thousand years ago, the Parsees were dark or fair; whether a Chinaman was always yellow, and a Hindoo of no certain tint. "F. A. A." then recommends to our notice the theory put forward by Mr. Winwood Reade about the nature of the blackness. He asserts that the distinctive blackness of the West African negro, as well as his other physical defects, are the result of disease. Now this sentence proves two things; first, that Mr. Reade knows grammar better than Lindley Murray, Walker, and others, and secondly, that he has at one move pierced deeper into the shadows of physiology, especially the physiology of the skin, than such men as Wilson, Müller, Sugol, and others, going on in the old stupid way of noting down facts for years without venturing to draw a conclusion, would be likely to

accomplish in a lifetime. Thanks to such teachers I had hitherto believed that the blackness of the negro was a normal product, and that, though it is very difficult to track even a single family, yet there was reason to conclude that a diseased race died out in about the fourth generation at the very latest. But I know better now.

"F. A. A." further tells us that the more intense the colour, the more degraded the mind, the more stunted and distorted the body, and the shorter the average duration of life become. Here, too, I was all wrong. I was of opinion that the negro race had produced specimens of mental development far superior to any ever seen in the red Indian or the Laplander; that Toussaint L'Ouverture, Freidig, the musician; Hannibal, the mathematician, who rose to be colonel in the Russian artillery; Lislet, the meteorologist, Capitein, who wrote the "Dissertatio de Servitude" which went through four editions, were men of a far higher stamp than any brave of the Rocky Indians or Hudson's Bay savage. In my innocence I believe that Lillywhite or Biasson would have thrashed any two Persians, and any half-dozen Hindoos. Indeed, I imagined that the negro was also long lived. Mais nous avons changé tout cela.

Supposing it granted that climate tends to transform white races into brown, and then brown into black, it becomes a puzzle to understand how it acts so differently, not only upon different races, but upon different members of the same race. On the west coasts of Africa are found the Cabendas, whose skins are of a moderately dark yellow. Just south of them are the jet black Congo people, while immediately to the north are the Loungos who are equally black. In Ireland, which does not extend over four degrees of latitude, we see the dark-haired, dusky-skinned, oval-faced Milesian, and the red, or brown haired, grey-eyed Celt; while in the northwest of Europe, from the southern border of Saxony, south of the lowest point of Ireland, to North Cape, a distance of more than twenty degrees, climate has produced a perfectly uniform fair race-at least we are told so in books which, by a stretch of language, are constituted authorities. Again, whatever be the origin of the gipsies of England, the Welsh and the English, their residence here extends beyond historic times. Yet climate has as little assimilated them in complexion as it has in temper. The variety of colour in the Hindoos has already been spoken of, and it is to be remembered that this difference does not in any way depend upon exposure to light, for it is seen in the fishermen who are all naked alike. Close to the black Jews of Cochin we find a colony of white Jews who are said to have emigrated thither when Titus destroyed the temple. If so, they must have resided there eighteen centuries, yet they have undergone no change, and don't seem likely to undergo any.

Nor is this the only difficulty. We find not only

decidedly fair races in very hot climates, but it is in these parts that we find the most colourless variety of the human family, the Albinos. On the other hand, the Kamtschatkans and Aleutians have skins as swarthy, and hair as dark, as the natives of hot climates. Dr. Prichard has figured in his "Natural History of Man," one of each of these tribes with complexions equal in tint to a Malayan; and La Perouse and Krusenstein both relate, that the inhabitants of the Bay of Crillon, living in what ought to be a temperate, if not a cold region of the northeast coast of Africa, are nearly black!

A

J. L. MILTON.

A RAMBLE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

BY CAPT. G. E. BULGER, F.L.S. BROAD, steep, and rough path of two or three hundred yards in length, led us from the high ground where the regiment was encamped, down to the road which skirts the southern edge of the Buffalo River, and connects the ferry with the town of East London. This road runs close to the foot of the somewhat lofty cliffs that here form the right-hand boundary of the stream, and ends just above the ferry, where two large cables are stretched across from bank to bank for the purpose of warping the pont, or floating bridge, backwards and forwards. It is a good road so far as it goes, and a pleasant one, inasmuch as it affords two attractive views-one up and the other down the river. The first exhibits a charming reach of the broad and imposing stream, with its bold and picturesquely wooded banks; and the other the debouchement of its waters into the South Atlantic Ocean, where the huge rolling billows of that most stormy sea dash themselves on the dangerous bar with a crashing roar that is scarcely ever silent, even in the calmest weather.

East London—a straggling little town without a particle of beauty-is built upon the right bank of the river, and directly opposite is the more picturesque village of Panmure. The Buffalo, which flows between them, is here a noble stream, being at the ferry, between two and three hundred yards across. Its banks are a series of bold, roundish hills, which on the Panmure side are wooded more or less throughout, though in parts near the sea the trees are by no means plentiful, and the underbrush is thin and scarce enough. Above the ferry the forest is strikingly peculiar, being for some distance composed exclusively of the Giant Euphorbia (Euphorbia grandidens), which is here tall and large, and remarkably abundant. This most strangelooking tree, so common to many portions of the South African landscape, is singularly unattractive in its appearance, owing to the dull uniformity of its succulent and leafless stems, which, resembling

gigantic candelabra in shape, are rigid and unnatural-looking in the extreme-much more suggestive of death than life! The woods which it forms are of a dark and mournfully uniform hue. The gaunt weird-like stems stand up all around one like skeletons. There is no grace of general figure, no beauty of detail. There are no leaves dancing in the sunlight-none of those lovely and perpetually changing effects of light and shade, caused by the incessant vibration of the foliage in ordinary forests. All is dull; all is moveless; all is silent as the grave! Apparently utterly deserted, motion seems to be lost amidst these gloomy groves, and one involuntarily shudders at the unnatural solitude which is their constant characteristic. Nevertheless, when viewed in the distance, they are very picturesque, and their sombre colour and dense solid-looking masses contrast well with the swaying branches and lighter green of the other trees around.

On the East London side the remains of "bush" are but scanty, particularly near the mouth of the river; but higher up the axe has not been so destructive, and there is still enough of woodland left to render the scene exceedingly wild and beautiful. The river nobly foams and flows,

The charm of this enchanted ground,
And all its thousand turns disclose

Some fresher beauty varying round.

The ferry is about half a mile above the junction of the Buffalo with the sea, and the pont consists of a double boat, united under one strong deck, which is of sufficient size to receive two of the long waggons of the country, with spans of fourteen or sixteen oxen each, upon it.

Having crossed the river by means of the pont, we ascended a steepish slope to the village of Panmure, and then, turning to our right-hand, took what would be called in America a "bec-line," as nearly as possible in the direction of a rather prominent sand-hill, which forms a tolerably conspicuous landmark on the coast, a short distance beyond a rocky point where a noble barque, called the Medusa, was wrecked a few months ago. On our way we passed a small pond, or vlei, as it is called out here, prettily fringed with aquatic plants of various kinds, and adorned with a number of small islets of vegetation, amongst which we could discern some tiny water-fowl paddling about; but they were too quick in their motions, and too distant to enable us to glean much information concerning them. They probably belong to the species Ortygometra pusillus.

Having reached the coast, we quitted the uneven summit of the bank and scrambled down to the beach, then presenting a noble expanse of hard, firm sand, uncovered by the ebb tide. It was so beautifully smooth and compact, that one experienced a positive pleasure in moving over its level

surface, and for more than a mile we followed every bend and indentation of the coast-line.

On our left rose a range of abrupt and occasionally lofty sand-hills, varying much in height and form, but nevertheless uniting in a sort of chain from the high land at Panmure to the extent of our vision along the shore, excepting where a ravine, through which the "Blind River" flows slowly seaward, cuts deeply into the surface of the country. This river possesses a considerable stream of water; but its outlet, if it has one, is invisible-hence its name; and the dense, solid-looking beach offers a seemingly perpetual barrier between it and the wild, fierce sea without. Its banks are pretty, and picturesquely adorned with shrubs and other lesser plants, and the water is clear and bright-looking.

All the hills in this neighbourhood are apparently composed of white sea-sand, and covered with a peculiar succulent vegetation, amongst which the Hottentot fig (Mesembryanthemum edule) abounds, as well as another thick-leaved plant, at present crowded with bright red berries, which are strikingly handsome and conspicuous. Trees of any magnitude are few and far between, but the lesser forest is dense and luxuriant-indeed in some places almost impenetrable. The rock of the coast is of a most peculiar formation-sand and comminuted shells, which have been agglutinized by the action of the waves. It is exceedingly rough and honey-combed, and presents the most varied and singular appearances, here piled in long thin cones, like the smaller pinnacles of an ice-field; there offering a curious resemblance to the tall ruins of some castellated structure rising from the naked sand; and, again, displaying large rents and chasms, which may almost be called caverns from their size and formation. The surface throughout is rough, and profusely armed with sharp edges, which are most unpleasant to walk over, to say nothing of the limpets and other shells that cover it below tidemark in myriads. The greater portion of the rockthat is to say, all above high-water mark-is literally naked, not even a lichen being visible to break the uniformity of the brownish-grey hue, which pervades it throughout.

About a mile or so beyond the large sand-hill, we arrived at the object of our expedition, the Bats' Cave, which is, indeed, very curious and interesting. It is an enormous rent or opening in the rock, of between thirty and forty feet in length, by perhaps twenty in width, and rather less in height, with rough and jagged sides, and an irregularly arched roof, honey-combed and uneven in appearance, like all the rest of this peculiar coast formation. It does not run in its general direction, as we expected, at right angles to the shore-line, but rather parallel to it, and the entrance is on the landward side, very nearly facing the town of East London. In its immediate vicinity there are some immense masses

of rock scattered about, just as if some giant hand had thrown them there at random, and one of these stands nearly across the opening, at the distance of about twenty yards. It resembles in a slight degree a rough, irregular gateway, with the aperture corresponding so nearly in shape to the mouth of the cave as to give one the idea that it had at one time been the true entrance, and that some convulsion of nature had removed a large piece of the rock forming the roof and outward side, and thus disconnected the two parts. The flooring, if I may so use the term, of the cavern consists of a series of little rocky basins, full of the most pellucid sea-water, green and brilliant as emerald, in which are growing most luxuriantly several kinds of beautiful seaweeds, as well as splendid Actiniæ and elegant Sertularie of various species. Round the edges of these little tidal pools, the projecting rock afforded comparatively dry but slippery footing to those who wished to explore the mysteries of the interior, and one of our party availed himself of the opportunity. Instead of disturbing multitudes of bats, as we expected, however, some dozen or so of red-winged Spreeuws (Lamprotornis morio) came flitting out of the darkness, apparently exceedingly astonished at our intrusion amongst their wild domains, and exclaiming loudly at our presence, an employment in which they were ably assisted by a number of Giant Kingfishers (Alcedo gigantea), and two or three of the smaller and commoner kind, the lovely Halcyon capensis, whose splendid plumage flashed in the sunlight like burnished metal. A few Sanderlings (Calidris arenaria) were running about and feeding close to the edges of the waves, and here and there, flitting from rock to rock, fearless and confiding as ever, were some of the little wagtails of the country (Motacilla capensis).

By the time we had finished our explorations, the tide was beginning to return, and the surf was breaking within a few yards of where we stood. The noise of the waves as they crashed upon the rocks and hard sandy beach, added to the wildness of a scene at all times striking from its peculiar loneliness, and the screams of a couple of startled curlew (Numenius arquata) seemed not unfitting accompaniments to the roar of the seething ocean.

DOG LIFE.-It is a curious thing that dogs, which cannot only learn of man, but show such natural cunning, should yet never seem to teach one another. Probably they accept an accomplishment as an instinct. They don't know that they learn, do not notice their progress. Did you ever consider what an isolated life a dog leads? He is occupied mainly with the passing moment; he rarely meditates or looks forward; he seldom listens except when spoken to. No wonder, poor fellow, that he delights to bark and bite; his life would be otherwise dull enough.-Jones's Holiday Papers.

ВЕ

MONMOUTH DEPOSIT.

EFORE proceeding with the description of the diatoms detected in this deposit, I would observe that no truly accurate description can be given of forms occurring in fossil deposits unless they have been previously studied in the living state. Dr. Lewis, in the proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, January, 1865, quotes some remarks of Professor H. L. Smith, who has long studied the habits of the living Diatomaceæ. He says, "When I find Navicula amphirhynchus conjugating and producing Navicula firma, Stauroneis gracilis producing Stauroneis Phoenicenteron, Surirella splendida producing Surirella nobilis, quite different in form and striation, I cannot but doubt the propriety of making new species out of every different shape and marking."

In addition to the forms already indicated (pp. 133), I have met with the following:-Navicula firma (Kutzing), "valve large, turgid, oblong, lanceolate, with obtuse cuneate apices, thickened borders, large median nodule, striæ wanting or obscure." The median nodule of Kutzig is rather a large blank space, accompanied by a slight thickening of silex, than a nodule; the striæ are transverse, delicate, and about 40 in 100.

blank space, striæ distinct. This is undoubtedly the finest of all the varieties of Navicula firma. Fig. 153, valve. Fig. 153 a, b, ideal sections of valve and frustule; a represents a central transverse section, showing thickening of the silex forming the blank median space; b, transverse section of frustule beyond the median space, and intended to illustrate the contour of the frustule: it will be seen that one portion of the valve inclines downwards towards the median line, and the other, or marginal part, forms a broad curve towards the connecting zone.

Fig. 154. Navicula Fig. 155. Navicula Fig. 156. Navicula bacillum x 400. serians. serians, var. B, × 800.

Navicula bacillum (Ehr.), Valves linear, with truncate rounded apices, terminal and central nodules distinct, striæ parallel, delicate, about 50 in 100, not reaching the median line (fig. 154). Navicula bacillaris of Dr. Gregory was supposed to be identical with this species; but a careful examination shows them to be distinct. It is rare in the lighter parts of this deposit.