OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 325 



V. trachelifolia of the same author is not to be distinguished, and a 

 new species from the island of Kauai, V. Kaiiensis, wliich has the 

 habit of V. sarmentosa of Oregon, and nearly the structure of the 

 Australian V. hederacea." 



Dr. Gray also communicated the characters of a new genus 

 of A7io7iacecB from the Feejee Islands, dedicated to Mr. Rich, 

 the official botanist of the Exploring Expedition, viz, : — 



" RICHELLA, Nov. Gen. 



" Calyx subtrilobus, persistens. Corolla e petalis 6 ovatis, internis 

 dimidio brevioribus. Torus acetabuliformis. Stamina indefinita Guat- 

 terioe. Ovaria plura, libera, 2-ovulata: styli intus longitudinaliter stig- 

 matosi. Ovula suturae ventrali juxta basim inserta, adscendentia, super- 

 posita. Fructus e carpellis paucis, obovoideis, subcarnosis (siccate 

 coriaceis), indehiscentibus, breviter stipitatis, monospermis. Semen 

 magnum, samaroideo-nuciforme ; nempe, testa coriacea marginibus 

 alato-productis. Albumen, embryo, etc. ordinis. — Arbor Uvarise facie. 



" RicHELLA MONOSPERMA. Ovolau, Feejee Islands. — According to 

 Blume's arrangement of the order, this genus would stand next to 

 Polyalthia, from which it is distinguished, as from all the others, by its 

 winged seed." 



At the suggestion of Professor Lovering, the Academy re- 

 ferred to the Committee on Publications an account by Mr. 

 John Farrar, formerly Professor at Cambridge, of his observa- 

 tions of the solar eclipse of September 17, 1811. As these ob- 

 servations do not appear to have been published, the committee 

 have made the following extracts for the Proceedings : — 



" The place of observation is about five hundred feet southwest of 

 Harvard Hall in Cambridge. Several gentlemen assisted me in ob- 

 serving the eclipse, and the following are the times, — in mean solar 

 time, — with the instrument used in the observation in each case : — 



Achromatic telescope of 2 feet focus, magni- 

 fying 20 times, 



Achromatic telescope of 3 feet focus, magni- 

 fying 28 times, 



Achromatic telescope of 4 feet focus, magni- 

 fying 40 times, 



Gregorian reflector of 1 foot focus, magni- 

 fying 55 times, 



Gregorian reflector of 4 feet focus, magni- 

 fying 260 times, 



