96 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



(Stirling), Grampians (Walter), Gerangamete (M'Cann), 

 Anderson's Greek (Coghill), Cootamundra (Fitzgerald), Kent's 

 Group (Gabriel). 



P. turfosa is extremely close in affinity to the preceding 

 species. Height to ii feet. The end of the labellum is 

 dilated. Flowers in September. Figured in G. Reichenbach's 

 "Xenia," on plate 187. 



P. mulica reaches the Peel-River (Musson) and Fowler's Bay 

 (Mrs. Richards), flowering there in July. P. cycnocephala is a 

 mere variety. P. rvfa occurs also on the Hume-River (Ch. 

 French, jun.), on the Campaspe-River (Berthoud). 



P. longifolia may exceptionally become one-flowered, which can 

 be said also of the following species. Hume-River (Jephcott), 

 Loddon (G. Johnson), York's Peninsula (Beythieu), Hunter's 

 Island (Atkinson). 



P. vittata flowers here in June. Mr. Smeaton refers to this 

 well marked plant in the transactions of the R.S. of S.A. vi, 100 

 (1881). His Honour Sir Lambert Dobson found it on Deal- 

 Island of Kent's Group, Miss Elizabeth Parkinson near the 

 Lower Wimmera. See also Wing's "Southern Science Record," i., 

 120 (1881). The flowering time also of many South-west 

 Australian orchids was recorded by Preiss already about 50 years 

 ago in Lehmann's " Plantse Preissianae," according to the various 

 regions in which they grow. Supplemental notes on indigenous 

 orchids of other genera will be offered on some early occasion. 



Dr. Louis Robinson read a paper at the recent meeting of 

 the British Association on " The Prehensile Power of Infants." 

 Long-continued experiments had proved that the muscles of the 

 hands and arms of a newly-born infant are far stronger in pro- 

 portion to weight than those of most healthy adults. In many 

 cases a newly-born child would hang and support its weight with 

 ease for a minute. Several infants, less than a week old, hung for 

 over a minute and a half; a few others, a fortnight old, for nearly 

 two minutes. If the child were in a good temper to begin with, 

 it would hang quite placidly until its fingers began to slip, 

 when it at once evinced distress, and screamed lustily, as if from 

 a fear of the consequences of falling. An examination of the foot 

 of an infant showed that it was much more hand-like than that of 

 the adult. The author thought that these features were vestiges 

 of an arboreal state of existence. He believed that they were due 

 to the habit of the young clinging to the body of a parent who 

 would require to use all her limbs for climbing. — Nature. 



