456 Miscellaneous. 



Mertensia longissimu, Kze. ; Lycopodmm spectabile, Bl. ; L. tri- 

 chiatum, Borg. We also meet still with Phacellanthus multi/lorus, 

 a Carex, Pohjc/onum corymbosu7n, and Imperata arnmlinacea. A 

 species of Antennaria and Anaphalis, among Composites ; and cer- 

 tain Ericaceae appear ; also Leontopodiuin ; Elsholtzia elata ; Wahl- 

 enhergia lavandulcsfolia, DC. ; Ophelia javanica ; O. ccei'idescens, 

 ZoU. ; Melastoma setigerum, Bl., the cells of which are said by M. Zol- 

 linger to contain crystals of pure sulphur ; Medinilla javensis, Bl. ; 

 Rubus lineatus, Reinw. ; besides other genera and species. 



3. Exterior region, — This region gradually loses itself in the ordi- 

 nary forest vegetation. Some rare Mosses, Ferns, and Orchids ap- 

 pear at the outer portion of the region. Among other plants may 

 be noticed Synoecia (Ficus) diversifolia, Mig. ; Rhododendi'on java- 

 nieum, Reinw. ; Agapetes elliptica, Don, &c. Amongst the common 

 arborescent plants may be mentioned Agapetes varingicefolia, Don, 

 and Myrsine avenis, Bl. The beautiful Albizzia montana, Bth., a 

 social plant ; Casuarina montana, Lesch., and C. Junghuhniana, Mig., 

 are on the outer part of the region. We find also here an arborescent 

 Boehmeria and a dwnriEpi/obiufn. Some twining plants form transi- 

 tion species, such as Nepenthes gymnamphora, Bl., and some varieties 

 oi Polygonmn curymbosum. The order Ericaceae is the predominant 

 one. The genus Rubus is well represented. The Orchid that ap- 

 proaches nearest the craters is Thelymitr a javanica, Bl. 



III. The Lotus or Sacred Bean of India. — Dr. Buist gives some 

 notes on the Lotus or Sacred Bean of India in the Transactions of 

 the Bombay Geographical Society. Dr. Lindley is mistaken in say- 

 ing that the wicks used on sacred occasions bv the Hindoos are made 

 of the spiral vessels of the leaves of the Lotus. They are formed, he 

 says, of the dried flower or leaf-stalk. Dr. Buist does not believe that 

 all the spirals of all the Lotuses in India, from the Himalayas to the 

 Line, would make a lump of wick a yard long the thickness of the 

 finger. Individually, the spirals are finer than gossamer ; the leaf 

 is 14 to 16 inches in diameter; the stalks about 6 to 8 feet long, 

 and seldom rise higher than 2 or 2^ feet above the surface of the 

 water. The leaf is buoyant enough to support a crow, and is fre- 

 quently made use of by that bird as a fishing station, from which 

 flies, snails, or water-lizards are preyed upon. The flower has some- 

 thing of the smell of the Tonquin bean, or the blossom of the bean. 

 The upper surface of the leaf is a deep green. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Prof. Owen's Lectures on Paleontology. 



The ninth Lecture, on Oolitic Crocodiles, delivered on the 29th 

 April, concluded as follows : — 



Since the publication of the remarks on the cranial structure of the 

 Whitby Teleosaur in my ' Report on British Fossil Reptiles,' of 

 1841, I have had many opportunities of studying the osteology of 



