by Mr. de Mosenthal, as Commissioner for the South-African Colonies, of an assortment of ostrich feathers from tame birds, and a model of an artificial incubator. Desirous of laying the details of this new and important industry before the public, he was fortunate in obtaining the cooperation of Mr. Harting, who combines the attainments of a scientific naturalist with a flowing and popular style; and as the occasion seemed a favourable one for giving a brief and readable monograph of the Ostrich family, the result has been that what was originally intended to be a mere pamphlet has swelled to the dimensions of a volume of nearly 250 pages-a "process of evolution" of which the reader will, we think, have no reason to complain. Of the two families, Struthionidæ and Apterygidæ, which make up the order Ratitæ, as at present existing, only the first furnishes members which have up to this time ministered in any important manner to the wants or luxury of man; and, looked at from the purely utilitarian point of view, only two of the five genera into which these families are subdivided have been of much service; for neither the Cassowaries nor the Emus have done more than provide meals and rude clothing for fast disappearing savages, whilst the Apteryx has hardly done even that. Mr. Harting has, indeed, slightly apologized for introducing them into the present work; but we think that under the circumstances he has not exceeded the privilege conceded to an author who is writing a popular treatise; and those who have never read the original accounts of the breeding and domestic economy of the Emu in confinement will doubtless take a lively interest in the present condensed reprint. To have left out the Apterygidæ would have marred the completeness of the monograph; and the space occupied is very brief; whilst it is undoubtedly an advantage to have an abstract of the latest information respecting the Casuarine in an accessible form, compiled from Mr. P. L. Sclater's papers in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' and illustrated with reproductions of the heads of the different species. 6 By far the most valuable portions of the work are undoubtedly those which relate to the Ostrich (Struthio camelus), respecting which a full and carefully compiled account is given; and the collation of the reports of various travellers, and the working-out of the geographical range of the species must have involved an immense amount of research on the part of Mr. Harting. We do not feel perfectly satisfied with the evidence adduced as to the occurrence of this species, either in a fossil or in a living state, in any part of India; nor do we consider that the identity of the North-African and Arabian ostrich with the South-African bird is definitely settled; for not only the difference in the plumage of the limited number of specimens available for examination, but also the constant distinctions in the character of the eggs, seem to point the other way. distinctness of the two species has been upheld by Mr. P. L. Sclater, Mr. A. D. Bartlett, Mr. Gurney, and by that eminent practical authority the late Mr. Andersson, the noted African traveller, who is even inclined to increase the number of species to three, whilst The on the other side are Drs. Finsch, Hartlaub, and Blasius junr.; so the matter must be left in abeyance until a larger series of specimens can be examined. An important step has lately been taken by Mr. de Mosenthal in shipping a pair of first-class Barbary birds to South Africa with the view of improving the breed of the Cape Ostrich; and comparison of the birds from the two extremities of the continent may tend to solve the question. The Swedish traveller, Sparrman, more than a century ago, mentioned the fact of tame ostriches being kept by some of the farmers at the Cape; and Capt. Lyon, in 1820, mentioned the similar fact with regard to North Africa; indeed, up to the present time, a large portion of the feathers from Kordofan are known to be the produce of tame birds, all, however, hatched by female ostriches, and without the aid of an artificial incubator. With the increased demand for feathers it became plain to all reflecting minds that there was a great risk of the extermination of the wild birds at no distant period; and in 1859 the Acclimatization Society of Paris offered premiums for the successful domestication of the species in Senegal and Algeria, and for breeding ostriches in Europe. Prince Démidoff was to some extent successful at Florence; and similar experiments, with satisfactory results, were made at Marseilles, Grenoble, and Madrid. It was, however, reserved for the colonists at the Cape to carry out the plan on a large scale; and of the rapid rise and results of this new industry some idea may be formed when we read that, although only commenced in 1866, the number of tame ostriches at the census of 1875 amounted to no less than 32,247. Of these a considerable number have been hatched out by Douglas's incubator, by means of which Mr. John Noble succeeded in rearing in a single season from six ostriches (four hens and one cock) one hundred and thirty birds! This is a vast improvement upon the wholesale slaughter formerly necessary to provide plumes for the European market; for although the feathers of the wild birds have a crispness which no tame feathers" possess, yet the demand for the second class is sufficient to make ostrich-farming a very profitable business. Contrast the state of things in the Argentine provinces, where the unfortunate Rhea, or South-American Ostrich, seems in a fair way of extermination, nearly half a million having been slaughtered annually for some years, without any compensation in the way of artificial production. Respecting the habits, manner of hunting, and the characteristic distinctions of the two species found in the southern portions of the American continent, a long account is given; and it is somewhat amusing (as throwing light upon many "trade" names) to learn that the best feathers of the Rhea are known as Vautour plumes, whilst the white and half-white ones are termed gerbes indiennes, or Indian sheaves. It is much to be regretted that the unenterprising half-breeds who inhabit a large portion of the River-Plate States should never have made any attempt to protect and foster these handsome birds; for the experiment of M. Vavaseur in France, after an experience of fifteen years in Uruguay, shows that in a civilized country, and one not in a state of chronic revolutionary 66 disturbance, there is no difficulty in farming Rheas as well as Ostriches. For further details we must, however, refer our readers to the work itself, every page of which is replete with interest, as well as really novel and valuable information. On the Foraminifera of Barbadoes. (Etude sur les Foraminiferes de la Barbade, &c.) By M. ERNEST VANDEN BROECK, &c. 8vo. 98 pages, with 2 plates. Brussels, 1876. (From the Annales de la Soc. Belge de Microscopie.') THIS memoir on some recent Foraminifera collected by the late L. Agassiz at about 100 fathoms depth, near Barbadoes, in the West Indies, is of considerable interest on account of the careful treatment of the Microzoa under notice, the elegant and trustworthy illustrations, and the enlightened views of Foraminiferal classification and nomenclature which the author clearly and earnestly advances. The series of forms is not numerous, but very interesting as varieties and subvarieties of well-known types; and these serve as a groundwork for a thoughtful exposition of the principles of classification adopted by Von Reuss in Germany and by Carpenter and others in England. The Foraminifera described and figured are:— Lituola Soldani, P. & J., var. inter- Frondicularia alata, D'Orb., var. lanceolata, nov. media, nov. Dentalina obliqua, L., var. sulcata, D. nodosa, D'Orb. D. communis, D'Orb. D. communis, D'Orb., var. obliqua, D. communis, D'Orb., var. annula- D. pauperata, D'Orb. Cristellaria rotulata, Lm. (passing Frondicularia alata, D'Orb., var. F. complanata, Defr., var. concinna, nov. Globigerina bulloides, D'Orb., var. G. bulloides, D'Orb., var. rubra, Textularia trochus, D'Orb. Polymorphina lactea (W. & J.) and PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. June 7th, 1876.-Prof. P. Martin Duncan, M.B., F.R.S., "On the British Fossil Cretaceous Birds." By Harry Govier Seeley, Esq., F.L.S., F.G.S., Professor of Physical Geography in Bedford College, London. In this paper the author gave an account of the remains of birds which have been collected from the Cambridge Upper Greensand. Of the head, the only portion yet recognized is the part of the braincase behind the parieto-frontal suture. It indicates a skull as large as that of the red-throated Diver, which it resembles in details of structure. The vertebral column is represented by lower cervical vertebræ, which have the centrum small and compressed from side to side. The dorsal vertebræ are also small, are rounded on the underside as in the Gannet, and often have the articular ends biconcave, or have a concavity in the centre of the saddle. There were transverse processes as in modern birds; and the ribs had a similar double articulation. The sacrum was unusually large, and included many vertebræ. Its anterior end resembles that of a Gull's sacrum, in being flattened or concave. The vertebræ are rounded anteriorly, and distinguishable from each other; but posteriorly they are blended, and resemble the postarticular part of the sacrum of the Diver. Some small vertebræ were thought to be caudal, and considered to be probably elements of the ploughshare. No trace of any bone of the anterior limb has been detected; while of the hinder limb, the femur, tibia, fibula, and tarso-metatarsus are all known. The femur and tarso-metatarsus are the bones most like those of the Diver. The fibula is unusually large. The tibia has a moderate patelloid process, and shows resemblances to several water birds. The bones are so fragmentary that the size of the animal can only be given roughly as similar to that of the Diver, but with a shorter neck. The affinities of the animal are strongest with Colymbus. It also closely resembles Prof. Marsh's Cretaceous genus Hesperornis, and, like that genus, may be supposed to have had teeth. The species were described as Enaliornis Barretti and E. Sedgwicki. Some bones were also described thought to indicate birds in which the extremities of the bones remained unossified throughout life. "On two Chimæroid Jaws from the Lower Greensand of New Zealand." By E. T. Newton, Esq., F.G.S., of H. M. Geological Survey. The two jaws which were the subject of this communication form part of the collection of fossils from the Lower Greensand of New Zealand deposited in the British Museum by Dr. Hector. One of the specimens, a right mandible, was referred by the author to Ischyodus brevirostris, Ag., a species from the Gault of Folkestone, hitherto known only by name, no description or figure of it having been as yet published. Through the kindness of the Earl of Enniskillen, the original type specimen of this species was exhibited to the Society. The author then described a perfect mandible from the Cambridge phosphatic deposits, and stated that the examination of a large series of specimens showed a considerable variation in the form of the teeth in different individuals. The New-Zealand mandible was then compared with these British specimens, and was said to differ less from some of them than they did among themselves. The second specimen, a small right maxilla, possessing but one tooth, and this of a peculiar form, was compared with the corresponding bone in Ischyodus, Edaphodon, Elasmodus, Ganodus, Chimæra, and Callorhynchus. The form of the tooth appeared to agree better with that of the last-named genus than with any of the others; and the author therefore proposed to call it, in allusion to the form of the tooth, Callorhynchus Hectori. "On a Bone-bed in the Lower Coal-measures, with an enumeration of the Fish-remains of which it is principally composed." By J. W. Davis, Esq., F.L.S., F.G.S. In this paper the author described a thin bed composed chiefly of remains of fishes, which rests immediately upon the "Better-bed Coal" of the Lower Coal-measures in Yorkshire. The bed varies from a quarter to five eighths of an inch in thickness, and is overlain by a thick bed of blue argillaceous shale, containing remains of plants. The author described the order of the deposits both above and below the " Bone-bed," and gave a list of the organisms of which remains are found in the latter, including species of Gyracanthus, Ctenacanthus, Lepracanthus, Acanthodes, Pleuracanthus, Orthacanthus, Diplodus, Pleurodus, Helodus, Cladodus, Poecilodus, Petalodus, Harpacodus, Ctenoptychius, Megalichthys, Holoptychius, Strepsodus, Acrolepis, Platysomus, Acanthodopsis, Amphicentrum, Rhizodopsis, Cycloptychius, Gyrolepis, Palæoniscus, Coelacanthus, and Ctenodus. The author also described spines which he regarded as indicating two new genera of Elasmobranchs-one probably allied to Pleuracanthus, and the other (Hoplonchus) allied to Onchus and Homacanthus. Bones belonging to the Labyrinthodont genus Loxomma are met with rarely in the deposit. "Note on a Species of Foraminifera from the Carboniferous formation of Sumatra." By M. Jules Huguenin. The author described some globular Foraminifera, belonging or allied to Fusulina, from a Carboniferous deposit containing Producti and Phillipsia, which occurs N.E. of Padang and S. of the Lake of Singkarak in Sumatra. The author described the structure of these fossils, which he compared with Fusulina cylindrica and F. depressa, and arrived at the conclusion that they belong to a new genus, to which perhaps the North-American Fusulina robusta also belongs. June 21, 1876.-Prof. P. Martin Duncan, M.B., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. "On the Discovery of Plants in the Lower Old Red Sandstone of the Neighbourhood of Callander." By R. L. Jack, Esq., F.G.S., and R. Etheridge, Jun., Esq., F.G.S. The authors give an abstract of the various previous references to the existence of remains of land-plants in deposits of Old-Red |