. Botany — Zoology. 185 



ing the year 1825, is deferred till the early part of the spring of 182t>. 

 This delay is rendered almost imperative by the great number of ma- 

 terials which the author has received from various quarters of the globe, 

 which could not possibly be arranged in time for description during the 

 period originally named, and which are too valuable to be omitted. 

 The work, therefore, will be considerably benefited by such a postpone- 

 ment ; and, indeed, were it not to attain such a result, this deviation 

 from the first plan could not be justified. 



Dr. Hooker is desirous of expressing his obligations to his publishers, 

 Messrs. Harding and Mavor, for the readiness with which they, regard- 

 less of every thing save the improvement of the book, have acceded to 

 the present arrangement. 



•to. Hooker and Taylor's Muscologia Britannica. — For a similar reason, 

 the long-promised second edition of the Muscologia Britannica, by 

 Hooker and Taylor, is yet delayed. There is a degree of botanical 

 ardour now existing, in this as well as in other countries, which 

 promises to extend very considerably the present boundary of our 

 knowledge in this delightful branch of science. In Scotland alone, the 

 number of discoveries recently made has been truly extraordinary ; 

 and perhaps in the course of a few years time, no country will have been 

 more successfully investigated in a botanical point of view. 



ZOOLOGV. 



41. Discovery of a Fossil Bat. — About the middle of last October, the 

 workmen employed in the quarries of Montmartre discovered the fossil re- 

 mains of a Bat. This most interesting specimen was almost immediate- 

 ly presented to Baron Cuvier by the gentleman into whose possession it 

 had come. Permission to examine this hitherto unique production was 

 very readily granted to the author of this notice who was then in Paris. 



The portion of stone in which the fossil remains are imbedded, had 

 been subdivided during the operation of quarrying, as to leave the exact 

 impression of the animal equally well marked on each surface : the spe- 

 cimen altogether seemed to be so exceedingly perfect, and to resemble in 

 size, proportion of the pectoral members, head, &c. the ordinary species 

 of bats now existing. Nothing positive, however, can be said as to any 

 exact resemblance between the antediluvian bat and those of the present 

 day, until the anatomy of the head and teeth be made out, by removing 

 from them the incrustation of solid stone at present entirely concealing 

 the structure of these parts. 



The discovery of a fossil bat must be considered as a sort of era in 

 the history of the organic remains of a former world ; hitherto, so far 

 as we know, no animal so highly organized has ever been unequivocally 

 shown to exist in a fosiil state. Between the Bat and Man, naturalists 

 have interposed but a single species, the Quail rumana : may we not hope 

 that future research may at last add to the list of antediluvian remains, 



the so much sought for Anthropolite ? (K.) 



1 



