376 THE ALBATROSS. 



gland, as those possessing it have also a lacrymal 

 gland in the usual situation. I could not ob- 

 serve at this time, either in the Albatross, or any 

 other oceanic or aquatic bird, any excretory duct. 

 Cuvier, in his Comparative Anatomy, (vol. ii. 

 p. 440,) thus alludes to it : '' Les oiseaux du 

 genre des canards, et d'autres oiseaux d'eaux et 

 de rivage, ont un corps glanduleux, dur, grenu, 

 qui occupe toute la partie superieure de I'orbite 

 et se contourne en arriere pour suivre la cour- 

 bure de I'ceil. Dans le morillon {Anas fuligula) 

 il est si large qu'il touche son correspondant par 

 dessus le crane. Ce corps paroit tenir lieu de la 

 glande lacrymale : je 7ien ai cependant pas encore 

 vu le canal excreteur.'' 



In July, 1832, during a passage to New South 

 Wales, a capture of an Albatross aftbrded me an 

 opportunity of again dissecting this gland, with 

 the view of ascertaining, if possible, whether an 

 excretory duct actually existed. I found the 

 gland of a hard granulated substance and pale 

 colour, consisting of numerous, distinct, minute 

 oval bodies, and on being cut it is found to be 

 abundantly nourished by blood-vessels ; the 

 nerves supplying it came from the minute fora- 

 mina seen on the floor of the cavity, and are 

 distributed in and about the substance of the 

 gland. These glandular bodies are placed in 



