Miscellaneous, 213 



short time since also, among a number of pieces of amber (not copal), 

 he found some containing insects, in which distinct spiders' webs 

 could be seen (thus fossil spiders' webs ! !) ; in some, the webs and 

 also the insects hanging in them were evident. — Leonhard and 

 Bronn's Jahrbuchfiir Geologie. 



COUNTY OF DOWN FOSSIL INFUSORIA. 



To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. 



Belfast, August 9, 1845. 

 Gentlemen, — As Dr. Mantell, in a communication published in 

 the last Number of the * Annals,' p. 86, briefly notices some Fossil 

 Infusoria from the county of Down, without any allusion to their 

 having been previously described, it is perhaps desirable for the in- 

 formation of persons interested in the subject to state, that a paper 

 on the subject of these same Infusoria, accompanied by some figures, 

 appeared in 1839 in Charlesworth's ' Magazine of Natural History,' 

 vol. iii. Wm. Thompson. 



CAPTURE of ACIPENSER HUSO. 



Cork, July 31, 1845. 



A fine specimen of the Isinglass Sturgeon (^Acipenser Huso), 8 feet 

 4 inches long, and weighing 1^ cwt., was taken within a mile of this 

 city on Tuesday July 1st. 



I examined it carefully, and compared it with the plate of A. Huso 

 in Shaw's * Zoology,' with which it exactly agreed. 



As this is, I believe, the first instance of that fish having been cap- 

 tured on the coast of this county, or, as far as I am aware, on any 

 part of the coast of Ireland, I feel a pleasure in sending information 

 on the subject to the * Annals of Natural History.' The common 

 sturgeon (A. Stmio) has been taken more than once in the river 

 Lee, near Cork. 



John Humphreys, Librarian R C. Institution. 



ON THE CYSTIDE^. BY VON BUCH. 



In a letter to Prof. Bronn, M. Buch states that his monograph of 

 the Cystidece is now printing. Troschel's drawings to it are very 

 beautiful, and he hopes that the copper-plates will turn out well. 

 A lucky incident has rendered this work more perfect than he had 

 anticipated. The Echino-encrinus (a barbarous term, and one 

 founded upon an entirely erroneous analogy !), described by Meyer 

 and Schlotheim, — this extinct form has been collected and brought 

 here in several pieces, by the industry of M. Krantz. Hence he had 

 an opportunity of studying all its peculiarities, its affinity, the points 

 in which it differs from other Cystidece, and the laws of its develop- 

 ment. He clearly saw that M. VoUborth in his first paper (Bullet, 

 de Petersb. 10. no. 19. pi. 1 and 2) had figured it well and accurately, 

 with a commentary which did not seek for laws but curiosities ! In 

 Bullet. 1844, 3. 2 ^, he imagines that this form possesses two rows 



