124 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1891. 



BOMBAY GRASSES. 



Dr. J. C. Lisboa read the third part of his paper on Bombay grasses, illustrating 

 his remarks with dried specimens from his herbarium, together with numerous fresh 

 grasses collected by him for the occasion. Dr. Lisboa stated that he had named one 

 of the grasses, which was new, Arunclinella campbelliana, in honour of Mr. J, M. 

 Campbell, C.S., CLE. , the Compiler of the Bombay Gazetteer, who had rendered the 

 greatest assistance in the collection of grasses through Forest officers in Gujerat, the 

 Deccan, the Konkan, aud in other districts of the Bombay Presidency. 

 MARKHOR SHOOTING IN EAST AFGHANISTAN. 



The Honorary Secretary read a paper received from Mr. John E. Penton, District 

 Superintendent of Police, Jacobabad, describing his experiences while shooting 

 markhor, the straight-horned variety, in East Afghanistan, whose habitat Kinloch 

 gives as Yasufzaie, the Khaibar, ani other parts of Northern Afghanistan. 

 A WOUNDED BEAR CHARGING UP A TREE. 



Mr. J. D. Inverarity then gave a graphic account of an adventure which hapjjenod 



to him in the Central Provinces on 17th May, 1890, when a bear, which he had 



wounded iu two places, charged him while he was seaLed in a tree 13 feet from the 



ground. The claw marks on the tree showed that the boar had reached to within a 



few inches of the sportsman's feet before he could reload and fire. A lithographed 



plate, from a photograph taken on the spot, illustrating this uncommon incident, 



was exhibited. 



THE BENGAL WATER-COCK. 



Mr. H. Littledale, of Baroda, recorded, for the first time in Gujerat, the Bengal 

 Water-cock (Gallicrex cristatus), a specimen having been shot near Baroda in his 

 presence on 25th September, 1890, by Lieutenant Percy Bell. 



RED ANTS' NEST. 



Mr. E. H. Aitken sent an interesting account, which was read at the Meeting, on 



the manner in which the red ants {Ecovilla, smaragdina) construct their nests in 



trees 



PITHECOLOBIUM UNGUIS. 



Mr. G. Carstensen, the Superintendent of the Municipal Gardens: — The flowers 

 and fruit from this tree (exhibited on the table) are of so highly ornamental a charac- 

 ter that the tree in question seems to deserve general cultivation in Bombay gardens. 

 The plant now in flower and fruit in the Victoria Gardens was raised from seed 

 received from the well-known seedsmen, Audronze & Co., of Paris, in 1588. Of about 

 ten seeds only one germinated, which remained in the seed pan for about a year, 

 when it was planted out in the ground in 1889 among other trees of the same order 

 (Leguminosce). It has now attained a height of about 8 feet, and seems to grow into 

 a much branched tree. Of the other representatives of the same form genus 

 Pithecolobium dulce (Inga dulcis) is a well-known tree in all Indian gardens. The 

 present kind is distinguished by broad -r leaflets, considerably larger and almost showy 

 flower heads, narrower and longer, less fleshy, bright red, curiously twisted pod, 

 which when bursting show the black seeds, imbedded iu a scarlet seed-coat (arillus). 

 Both the feathery greenish -yellow flower heads and the coral -like graceful pods give 

 a peculiar attractive appearance to the tree. The typical kind is an extremely 

 common tree in the West Indies, and owes its name to its paw-like thorns. The 

 variety is, however, unarmed and is stated to have been found in Guadeloupe only. 



