140 Miscellaneous. 



p?-essa, described in Babington's 'Manual,' and could not speak with 

 certainty about its claims to be held a distinct species ; but the pub- 

 lished characters by which it was attempted to be distinguished from 

 the better known species were scarcely sufficient with these examples 

 before the Society. When a series of specimens of D. octopetala are 

 examined, it will be seen that the sepals are usually broader in those 

 ■which are more advanced in the fruiting stage, as compared with 

 others just opening into flower. Of the specimens before the Society, 

 the one having the broadest sepals was advanced in fruit. But it 

 Avas proper also to observe, that on this specimen a single sepal w^as 

 longer than the rest, and had apparently been white and petal- like 

 at its extremity ; it might therefore be considered an aberration 

 rather than a healthy variation from the normal form. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



NOTES IN NATURAL HISTORY*. 



" I HAVE been able to make scarcely any remark worthy of notice on 

 subjects connected with natural history since I left England. One 

 is of the growth of the " Chicoreef," as the shells I send you are 

 called, at Sechelles : they are found in the grassy weed which grows 

 on a somewhat muddy bottom, in which they bury themselves almost 

 entirely during the period in which the shell is tender. I send you 

 four, with the shells in progressive stages of development, which I 

 collected and j^acked with great care, and hope you will receive them 

 safe. 



" In coming from Sechelles hither we touched at Juan de Nova, 

 where I had an opportunity of seeing for the first time an island of 

 purely coral formation. It is of a horse-shoe shape, about twenty- 

 one miles long, and from half to three-quarters of a mile broad, with 

 extensive reefs around it abounding with turtle. Dogs of difl^erent 

 kinds have been left there from time to time, and finding abundance 

 of food in the turtle-eggs, young turtle, and sea-fowl, have multi- 

 plied prodigiously, so that there are now some thousands of them. 

 I can testify from personal observation that they drink salt water, 

 and they have entirely lost the faculty of barking. Some of them 

 which have been in captivity several months had not yet lost their 

 wild looks and habits, nor had they any inclination for the company 

 of other dogs, nor did they acquire their voice. You may perhaps 

 have heard of this before ; if so, my notice will confirm your know- 

 ledge ; if not, I hope the facts, as being of my own ocular demon- 

 stration, will prove interesting. On the island the dogs congregate 

 in vast packs, and catch sea-birds with as much address as foxes 

 could display. They dig up the turtle-eggs and frequently quarrel 

 over their booty. The greater part of them droop their tails like 



* Extract from a letter dated Port Louis, Mauritius, Oct. 2nd, 1844, from 

 G. Clarke, Esq. to Thomas Bell, Esq. 

 \ Murcx saxatilis. 



