456 Miscellaneous, 



Mertensia longissima, Kze. ; Lycopodium spectabile, Bl. ; L. tri- 

 chiatuniy Borg. We also meet still with Phacellanthus multiflorus, 

 a CareXy Polygonum corymbosuniy and Imperata arundinacea. A 

 species of Antennaria and Anaphalisy among Composites ; and cer- 

 tain Ericaceae appear ; also Leontopodium ; Elsholtzia elata ; Wahl- 

 enbergia lavandulcefoliuy DC. ; Ophelia javanica ; O. ccerulescenSy 

 Zoll. ; Melastoma setigeruin, BL, the cells of which are said by M. Zol- 

 linger to contain crystals of pure sulphur ; Medinilla javensis, Bl. ; 

 Rubus lineatuSy Reinw. ; besides other genera and species. 



3. Exterior region. — This region gradually loses itself in the ordi- 

 nary forest vegetation. Some rare Mosses, Ferns, and Orchids ap- 

 pear at the outer portion of the region. Among other plants may 

 be noticed Synoecia (Ficus) diversifoHay Mig. ; Rhododendron java- 

 nicuniy Reinw^. ; Agapetes ellipticay Don, &c. Amongst the common 

 arborescent plants may be mentioned Agapetes varingicefoliay Don, 

 and Myrsine avenis, Bl. The beautiful Albizzia montanay Bth., a 

 social plant ; Casuarina montana, Lesch., and C. JunghuhnianUy Mig., 

 are on the outer part of the region. We find also here an arborescent 

 Bcehmeria and a Avi^xi Epilobium. Some twining plants form transi- 

 tion species, such as Nepenthes gymnamphoray Bl., and some varieties 

 of Polygonum corymbosum. The order Ericaceae is the predominant 

 one. The genus Rubus is well represented. The Orchid that ap- 

 proaches nearest the craters is Thelymitra javanicay Bl. 



III. 71ie Lotus or Sacred Bean of India. — Dr. Buist gives some 

 notes on the Lotus or Sacred Bean of India in the Transactions of 

 the Bombay Geographical Society. Dr. Lindley is mistaken in say- 

 ing that the wicks used on sacred occasions by the Hindoos are made 

 of the spiral vessels of the leaves of the Lotus. They are formed, he 

 says, of the dried flower or leaf-stalk. Dr. Buist does not believe that 

 all the spirals of all the Lotuses in India, from the Himalayas to the 

 Line, would make a lump of wick a yard long the thickness of the 

 finger. Individually, the spirals are finer than gossamer ; the leaf 

 is 14 to 16 inches in diameter; the stalks about 6 to 8 feet long, 

 and seldom rise higher than 2 or 2\ feet above the surface of the 

 water. The leaf is buoyant enough to support a crow, and is fre- 

 quently made use of by that bird as a fishing station, from which 

 flies, snails, or water-lizards are preyed upon. The flower has some- 

 thing of the smell of the Tonquin bean, or the blossom of the bean. 

 The upper surface of the leaf is a deep green. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Prof. Owen's Lectures on Palaeontology. 



The ninth Lecture, on OoHtic Crocodiles, delivered on the 29th 

 April, concluded as follows : — 



Since the publication of the remarks on the cranial structure of the 

 Whitby Teleosaur in my ' Report on British Fossil Reptiles,' of 

 1841, I have had many opportunities of studying the osteology of 



