Miscellaneous. 73 



Brodcrip concludes his volume. How happy are we that we live in 

 days when these monsters are doomed to lie petrified in oolitic 

 rocks or extended, carved curiously " hy art and man's device," out 

 of the solid stone, and gazed at, in and through glass cases, in the 

 National Museum ! The work of Mr. Broderip is very readable, and 

 it would prove instructive to many a scientific man, as well as amuse 

 his leisure hour. We have no doubt that this work will " cherish," 

 as well as " awaken, a love for natural history." — A.W. 



An Experimental Inquiry into the Cause of the Ascent and Descent of 

 the Sap, 8tc. By G. Rainey, M.R.C.S.E. 



Whatever may be the value of these inquiries, it is certain that 

 they have led the author to some conclusions which will appear rather 

 curious to most botanical anatomists. For instance, he endeavours 

 to show that the crude sap ascends in the substance of the cell-walls 

 and intercellular matter without passing through the cavities of the 

 cells or vessels, and his reasons are founded upon the experiment of 

 causing plants to imbibe certain solutions and then decomposing these 

 in sections placed beneath the microscope, when the solid walls alone 

 exhibit the coloured product (!). If we were to strain a solution of 

 bichloride of mercury through a piece of gauze, and then to decom- 

 pose this by hydrosulphate of ammonia and to examine the gauze 

 by a magnifier, it is probable that we should find the substance alone 

 coloured, but we should hardly deduce from this that no bichloride 

 of mercury had passed through the interstices. 



The author's way of accounting for the formation of vessels is 

 equally original ; he shows that " the wall of a vessel is formed by 

 the union of the external thickened wall of the surrounding cells." 



The various experiments and details respecting the movement of 

 the sap and the growth of plants offer nothing of value which is not 

 already well known. 



In these days it is absolutely necessary that students of a science 

 should make themselves clearly acquainted with the results of the 

 labours of their predecessors : had the author of the present little 

 volume done so, he would have saved much valuable time and ap- 

 plication. — A.H. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Extracts from a Letter to Thomas Bell, Esq., F.R.S., from 

 George Clark, Esq., of Mauritius. 



Port Louis, June 5th, 1S47. 

 * * * " I venture to lay before you the following description of 

 some bullocks, brought hither from the island of Lombach, near 

 Java. One cargo only has been imported, and it does not appear 

 likely that any more will be brought. Their characteristics are so 

 novel to me that I determined to describe them to you. 



