Natural History. — Spontaneous Organization. 507 



Natural History of Ncwaja Semlija and Caucasia. — The 

 report of the Russian minister of public instruction contains 

 an interesting chapter on the results obtained by the latest 

 travels of Russian Academicians and Professors. Those ob- 

 tained by M.M. de Baer and Nordman are particularly inte- 

 resting to the friends of Natural History. The number of 

 objects brought by the former from Nowaja Semlija is so con- 

 siderable, that the Natural History of those islands is now as 

 well known as that of other arctic countries which have been 

 frequently visited by scientific travellers. Prof. Nordmann 

 has been as successful a collector in the countries situated 

 near the eastern coast of the Black Sea. He has brought 

 with him 20 species of quadrupeds, 232 of birds, 89 of rep- 

 tiles, or amphibious animals, 492 of fishes, 340 of molluscous 

 animals, 3600 of insects, and about 13210 specimens of plants 

 comprising 950 species. 



SHORT COMMUNICATIONS. 



The Doctrine of Spontaneous Organization. — The following 

 fact, stated in the new edition of Dr. Pilchard 1 s l Researches 

 into the Physical History of Mankind,' (vol. i., pp. 40, 41), 

 may be quoted in reference to Dr. Weissenborn's paper on 

 Equivocal Generation. 



After mentioning several instances of plants appearing in 

 newly turned up soil, the author narrates, that — " Another 

 fact of similar kind, which I likewise owe to Dr. Graham, 

 would serve to indicate, if there were any doubt on the sub- 

 ject, what is the true explanation of the preceding. To the 

 westward of Stirling there is a large peat-bog, a great part of 

 which has been flooded away by raising water from the river 

 Teith and discharging it into the Forth, the under soil of clay 

 being then cultivated. The clergyman of the parish standing 

 by while the workmen were forming a ditch in this clay, saw 

 some seeds in the clay which was thrown out of the ditch : 

 he took some of them up and sowed them j they germinated, 

 and produced a crop of Chrysanthemum segetum. What a 

 period of years must have elapsed while the seeds were get- 

 ting their covering of clay, and while this clay became buried 

 under fourteen feet of peat-earth ! " 



In Dr. Weissenborn's paper adverted to, there is no allu- 

 sion to the circumstance of plants, in the instances which he 

 enumerates, being developed in the ordinary manner : where- 



