214 Bibliographical Notices. 



collapses throughout ; its outer surface is thrown into many irregular 

 folds, which give it an appearance as if composed of fibres ; and it is 

 frequently rolled up spirally. The folds generally radiate upon the 

 upper part of the e^g and become lost in its external covering." 



Still more interesting is the important physiological fact, observed 

 by Dr. Erdl, " that the nerves take their origin from the central 

 ganglions in the form of simple loops which are prolonged into the 

 rudimentary parts of the body, and that as they iDccome developed, 

 secondary loops proceed from these primary, and produce in their 

 turn tertiary loops, and in this manner the nerves are distributed 

 wherever they are met with. It is thus evident that their ultimate 

 termination must be looped also, and finally that each nerve pro- 

 ceeding from its centre to the periphery of the body returns without 

 any interruption in the reverse direction." 



In the last part of the treatise, which is devoted to a consideration 

 of the diflPerences in the progress of development in different crabs, 

 the author agrees with Rathke in regarding the lobster as lower in 

 the scale of creation than the cray-tish ; and then contrasting the 

 development of the Brachiura and Macroura with each other, he ob- 

 serves that the latter must rank as the inferior of the two, '* since in 

 them the peripheral parts of the body, such as the tail and claws, are 

 most extended and predominant, acquiring great dimensions over the 

 rest, while in all their movements they exhibit a certain clumsiness and 

 helplessness, and in the lobster a great stupidity of the senses. The 

 Brachiura, on the contrary, move rapidly both sideways as well as 

 backwards and forwards, are dextrous and strong in all their limbs, 

 and from their sharpness of sight, hearing and taste, are elevated 

 above all the other Crustacea. Even the mode in which they seek 

 their food places them before the Macroura. Thus I have observed 

 in many parts of the Mediterranean Sea, how the Cancer Mcenas pro- 

 vides itself with nourishment from some small Balani which often 

 project by thousands their calcareous valves above the surface of the 

 water. It gets slowly above them, sticks its sharp claws first into 

 this, then into that shell, drags out with them the animal, and con- 

 veys it thus to the mouth. It seems very often to play with small 

 round stones and empty snail-shells like a cat with a ball. I could 

 never observe anything similar either in the large or smaller species 

 of Macroura." 



The Botany of the Voyage of H. M.S. Sulphur ; edited by R. B. Hinds, 

 Esq. The Botanical descriptions by G. Bentham, Esq. 

 This is the first number of a work published under the authority 

 of the Lords of the Admiralty, and bids fair to be one for assisting in 

 the publication of which they will deserve the thanks of all botanists. 

 The voyage of the Sulphur extended through six years, during which 

 Mr. Hinds had the opportunity of examining a very considerable 

 portion of the west coast of America, more especially the northern 

 part ; several of the islands of the Indian seas ; a portion of the coast 

 of China, &c. He more especially turned his attention to the study 

 of the geographical distribution of plants, to his valuable treatise 



