198 Scientific Intelligence* — Arts, 



during sleep, the throat is eonstantly shut though the mouth is 

 open." Now, on this passage, says Mr W. C. Hurry, I have to 

 observe, Jirst, that I have seen many crocodiles caught, but very 

 few that had not many leeches adhering to the inside of tlieir 

 mouths, and that these animals also infest the argeelah^ and other 

 animals which feed in the Ganges. Secondly, These leeches are not 

 the Hirudo medicinalis, which Mr Wilkinson is probably correct in 

 asserting not to be common in the Nile, as that species is usually 

 found in running streams. The leech in question probably belongs 

 to the genus Pontobdella, one species of which infests cod, skate, 

 and other fish on the coasts of England. I have no doubt these 

 creatures will be found as abundant in the Nile as they are in the 

 waters of Bengal. Thirdly^ Herodotus says, " the trochilus en- 

 tering the crocodile's mouth devours the leeches." The crocodile 

 is not said by Herodotus to be sleeping during the operation, as 

 Mr Wilkinson asserts, otherwise the observation " that, pleased 

 with the service, lie never injures the trochilus," would be absurd. 

 Fourthly, As to the polite understanding which Mr Wilkinson 

 presumes, I may remark, that I believe the common paddy bird of 

 Bengal to be the trochilus of Herodotus, or a bird of the same ge- 

 nus. Now, both Europeans and Bengalees agree in asserting, that 

 this bird is constantly seen standing on the head of the crocodile; 

 and though 1 never heard any one assert that he saw it in the act 

 of picking his teeth for him, I think it will be admitted that the 

 visit is not without an object. — W. C* Hurry, Journal of Asiatic 

 Society of Bengal for July 1839. 



ARTS. 



20. The Indian Mode of preparing the Perfumed Oils of Jasmine 



and Bela Dr Jackson of Ghazeepore, in a letter to the editors of 



the Asiatic Journal of Calcutta for June 1839, says : — In my last 

 communication on the subject of rose-water, I informed you that the 

 natives here were in the habit of extracting the scent from some of 

 the highly-smelling flowers, such as the jasmine, &c., and that I 

 would procure you a sample, and give you some account of the man- 

 ner in which it is obtained.* By the present steamer, I have dis- 

 patched two small phials, containing some of the oil procured from 

 the Jasmine and the Bela flower. For this purpose the natives never 

 make use of distillation, but extract the essence by causing it to 

 be absorbed by some of the purest oleaginous seeds, and then ex- 

 pressing these in a common mill, when the oil given out has all the 

 scent of the flower which has been made use of. The plan adopted 

 is to place on the ground a layer of the flower, about four inches 



* Vide Edin. New Phil. Joum. vol. xxviii. p. 326, for accoimt of culti- 

 vation of Roses, &c. 



