368 I^atural History in Foreign Countries. 



The yearly variation from February to July is also much greater at Chris- 

 tiania; probably on account of the mist from the sea and the unclear sky at 

 Leith, tempering the cold of the night and of the winter, and absorbing 

 the sun*s rays in the day and in the summer. 



Christiania. Leith, 



Mean of February 16° 224 40° 621 



Mean of July " 61° 690 60° 361 



Difference 45"" 466 19° 740 



ASIA. 



iBrcwster''s Journal.) 



Katural History in China. — According to M. Abel Rerausat, the cele- 

 brated French Orientalist, the hieroglyphic method of writing amongst the 

 Chinese has led them to form a very tolerable classification of natural ob- 

 jects, in the form of families, such as cereal plants, ruminant and carnivorous 

 animals, salts, metals, &c. According'' to this plan, they write rice-corn, 

 dog-fox, &c. It was precisely this method, which has been known in 

 China for four thousand years, that Linnaeus followed in forming groups 

 of natural objects. The Chinese classification, however, is in some respects 

 exceedingly erroneous and imperfect, the Mollusca, for example, as well as 

 whales, being classed among fishes, and lead among the precious metals. 

 Their best treatise on natural history consists of forty volumes, in which are 

 coloured figures, very exact, as well as a regular nomenclature. With respect 

 to economical details, anecdotes of instinct, &c., this is more copious than 

 correct. (Revue Trimestriel/e, iii. p. 351.) 



WildPoidtr?/ {Y'hasidnus Gdllus). — In the forests through which we passed 

 we saw several flocks of wild poultry. One of these, not far from a village, 

 appeared so little shy, that we at first imagined it consisted of domestic 

 fowls, and hesitated to fire. In the winter, or cold season, innumerable 

 flocks of ducks and other water-fowl are described as visiting Cochin-China. 

 These had not yet arrived, but we observed preparations making for en- 

 snaring them. These consisted of a number of artificial birds, intended for 

 decoys. {Crawford* s Embassy to Siam and Cochin-China.) 



Leaf Insects. — There are also the leaf insects, which assume the shape, 

 size, and general appearance of the leaf on which they feed, so exactly, 

 that it is only on examination one becomes aware of their real character. 

 I saw several, but the most extraordinary was one which lived on a thorny 

 plant, the body of which resembled a stick, and was covered with thorns. 

 (Heber*s Tour in Ceylon.) [Similar appearances are by no means uncom- 

 mon even among British insects, as in the caterpillars of Geometra ^yrin- 

 garia and G. cratsegaria. — J. R.] 



The Flying Leech is common in the jungles in the interior (Ceylon), and 

 the native troops, on their march to Canely, suffered very severely from 

 their bite, occasionally even to the loss of life or limb ; their legs were 

 covered with them, and streamed with blood. I saw one of these animals 

 in a horse's leg. It is much smaller than the common leech, the largest, when 

 at rest, being not more than half an inch long, and may be extended till it 

 becomes a fine string ; the smaller ones are very minute. They possess the 

 power of springing, by means of a filament, to a considerable distance. 

 {Heber's Narrative.) 



Zoology and Botany of the Indian Archipelago. — The manuscripts of 

 Drs. Kuhl and Van Hasselt, who recently travelled over the islands of the 

 Indian Archipelago, for the purpose of exploring their botany and zoology, 

 and who died in the midst of their researches, have been transmitted to 

 Europe ; and the first part of their botanical discoveries, forming the most 



