152 Botanical Suciety of Edinburgh. 



The tamed Bisons carried from Bialowieza to Grodno have just 

 made by land a journey of 140 versts (20 German leagues). The 

 pair destined for St. Petersburgh was shut up in an oblong cage, 

 covered with straw, divided into two compartments, so that the 

 Bisons could lie down without turning away from one another. This 

 new prison and the jolting of the carriage had a painful effect on the 

 spirit of the Bisons, and although tranquil and resigned, they took 

 no food, and would not lie down for the first twenty- four hours ; but 

 the second day they became calm and returned to their old habits. 

 The journey lasted three days. 



The male and female destined for London travelled in a much 

 more spacious and uncovered cage. The male was very restless 

 during the whole journey, struggled incessantly, made a roaring 

 similar to the bellowing of the bull, and wounded himself in the eye 

 in attempting to leap over the bar of the cage, two toises high. Of 

 the age now of 15 months, the male is 4 feet 1 inch in height and 5 

 feet 6 inches long ; the female is 4 feet high, and 5 feet 3 inches 

 long. 



At Grodno the Bisons are placed in a spacious stable, and each 

 pair is separated from the other. At first, on attempting to put them 

 together, they fell to fighting desperately, so much so that they even 

 knocked down the solid partition which separated them ; they began 

 by all attacking one another, and then, which is a singular fact, the 

 three male Bisons fell ujion the only female within their reach, and 

 would infallibly have killed her, if the keepers had not defended 

 her. Subsequently they became accustomed to one another, and 

 the combats ceased. 



It would be necessary, in my opinion, to keep the Bisons in a 

 spacious park, where they would be able to live at their ease ; and 

 as they detest brilliant colours, and red especially enrages them, their 

 keepers ought to wear clothes of a dark colour. I should also men- 

 tion that they dislike dogs, and grow furious when pursued by them, 



DiMITRI DE DOLMATOFF, 



Master of the Forests of the Government of Grodno. 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 



Jan. 11, 1849. — Professor Balfour, President, in the Chair. 



The following communications were read : — 



1. "A short Notice of Berwickshire Plants," by James Hardy, 

 Esq. In this communication Mr. Hardy first alluded to the vegeta- 

 tion of the coast between Cockburnspath and the mouth of the Pease- 

 burn ; the chief plants of importance being Glaucium luteum, Astra- 

 galus glycyphyllos, Blysmus rufus, Carex extensa and Ligusticum sco- 

 ticum. The oyster-plant {Steenhammera [or Stenhammaria as it 

 ought to be spelt] marilima) used to grow on that shore, but it has 

 now disappeared, although it still grows abundantly two miles east 

 from the Pease Dean. 



This Dean has little to recommend it botanically, but its scenery 

 is very interesting. One of the best botanical localities in the district 



