106 Zoological Society : — 



inrlivUmtlittj in plnnts, and tlic advocacy of the claim of the bud to 

 tlie dii^nity of the 'vegetable iiidi\idiial.' So far as iiujuiries of this 

 sort tend to direct attention to the physiolojiieai laws rnling the 

 growth antl nudtijilieation of plants, they are henetieial ; hnt as re- 

 gards the main qnestion it appears to us only a metaphysical puzzle, 

 calculated to afford mueh annisenient to those whose taste lies that 

 way, hut having no j)raetieal bearing. The meaning of the word 

 'individual' must alwavs depend oii foregone eonelusions. It seems 

 to us that the author is not elear in distinguishing potentiality from 

 uctunlity. When a botanist speaks of the annual layers of wood of 

 the stems of Dicotyledons as 'roots,' the term can oidy he admitted 

 in a figurative sense. A bud mfiy be capal/le of produeing a distinct 

 tree, but if it be not detached, it becomes an individual branch, not 

 an individual tree. Our author does not appear to be aware, either, 

 that roots as well a.s stems originate in definitely organized 'buds,' 

 formed in the cambium region. The work is agreeably written, and 

 its perusal may serve as a pleasant intellectual exercise, but it must 

 not be accepted by any means as a full exposition of the question. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



July 10, 18;)."), — John Govdd, Esq., F.R.S,, in the Chair. 

 On tuk Gkographical DisTRrnurioN of the Mammalia 



AND IJmnS OF THK HIMALAYA, 



By B, H. Hodgson, Esq.* 



"The Himalayan mountains extend from the great bend of the 

 Indus to the great bend of the Brahmaputra, or from Gilgit to 

 Brahma Kiind, between whieh their length is IHOO miles. Their 

 mean breadth is about 90 miles; the maximum about 110, and the 

 minimum 70 miles. The mean breadth of 90 miles may be most 

 conveniently divided into three equal portions, each of which will 

 therefore have 30 miles of extent. These transverse climatic divi- 

 sions must be, of course, more or less arl)itrary, and a microscopic 

 vision would be disposed to increase them considerably beyojid three, 

 with reference to geological, to botanical, or to zoological plwcnomena. 

 But, upon comparing Captain Herbert's distribution of geological 

 phenomena with mv own of zoological, and Dr. Hooker's of botanical, 

 I am satisfied that three are enough. These regions I have deno- 

 minated the lower, the middle, and the upper. They extend from 

 the external margin of the Tarai to the ghat line of the snows. The 

 lower region may be conveniently divided into — I. The sandstone 

 range, with its contained Dhiins or Maris ; II. The Bhaver or 

 Saul forest; III, The Tarai. T-he other two regions require no 



* Extractfd from a memoir liy the same aiitlior, entitled, " On the I'liysical 

 Gcugraphv of the (liiiialaya," and printed in (he Journal As, Soc. Jicngal for 1849, 

 l>v Frederic Moore. 



