British Association, ^ 387 



a withy, frequently of the thickness of a man's body, and growing 

 round and to the top of trees, which it frequently destroys and pulls 

 to the ground. 



Hermaiphrodite Lucanus. — The Rev. Mr. Hope exhibited an 

 Hermaphrodite Lucanus, which called forth some discussion. 



On Certain Notions of Antiquity derived from, the Ancients. 

 Mr. Hope then read an interesting paper on this subject. In the 

 course of it, he said, that from the waters of the Nile spring into life 

 myriads of insects, and with annual fertility the Egyptians were 

 plagued with flies. It was curious that five out of the ten plagues 

 of Egypt were from insects, viz., the plague of the waters of the 

 Nile being turned into blood, which might have arisen from the 

 insects contained in it, of lice, (fpom the soil,) of froes and of fiies, 

 probably generated from the heaps of putrid frogs. Cleanliness not 

 being much esteemed in Egypt, flies multiplied exceedingly, which 

 led the people to erect and worship gods, who might be able to rid 

 them of their tormentors. It was the general opinion in ancient 

 times, that spontaneous generation was caused by fire, earth, and 

 water ; this opinion was prevalent so late as the 16th century, and 

 was still held in Africa and Asia, and also by one class of naturalists 

 in Europe. He should say thaL reasoning from analogy, there was 

 no such thing as spontaneous generation. Mr. Hope also referred 

 to the transmigration of souls ; the belief in this he thought originated 

 from the changes in the animal kingdom, which he concluded by 

 describing. 



Wednesday 24th August. — Fruits of the Deccan. — Colonel 

 Sykes said, that his duty, as statistical reporter in Deccan, had led 

 him over the whole of that country, and he had, therefore, oppor- 

 tunities of observing, as, indeed, it was his duty to do, the products 

 of the country, whether mineral or agricultural. The drawings 

 which he would present to the notice of the meeting were executed 

 with great care by a draughtsman in his service, who, having failed 

 in that capacity in England, had enlisted in the Company's Artillery, 

 and, on his landing in India, he fortunately was able to engage him, 

 He w^ould also remark, that these drawings were made from actual 

 measurement of the plant, and as they were accompanied by a scale, 

 it was only necessary to use a pair of compasses, and the real dimen- 

 sions of any part of a flower or plant might be ascertained. The 

 account of the subject which he intended giving, was derived from 

 the sacred books of the Hindoos, five of which were in his possession, 

 and the contents were extremely curious, the language used being 

 Sanscrit ; they were very ancient, and, in short, were a complete 

 materia medica, and complete encyclopsedia of agriculture, &c. The 

 Colonel then read an elaborate and complete list of the wild and 

 cultivated plants of the Deccan, stating their form, size, use, 

 medicinal, and other properties, &c., and illustrating them with the 

 drawings which are before mentioned. 



He noticed the Golden Plantain, which is a tree of great 

 luxuriance, and was remarkable for its bearing fruit but once, and 

 becoming quite useless and exhausted, immediately after doing so. 

 It had given rise to some adages among the natives, such as the 



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