Mr. J. Miers on the Bignoniaceae. 255 



of stones and mud (as much as 6 lbs. at a time) from the sea- 

 bottom at great depths ; and that he says (vol. i. p. 251), on one 

 occasion " Soundings were obtained correctly in 1000 fathoms, 

 consisting of soft mud, in which there were worms; and en- 

 tangled on the sounding-line, at the depth of 800 fathoms, was 

 found a beautiful Caput -Medusa." This specimen was described 

 by the late Dr. Leach, in the Appendix to Sir John Ross's work, 

 under the name of Gorgonocephalus arcticus, and it is still to be 

 seen in the British Museum. It appears to have measured no 

 less than 2 feet in length when fully expanded. In the same 

 work Sir John Ross also says (vol. ii. p. 5), " When the line 

 came up, a small Star-fish was found attached to it, below the 

 point marking 800 fathoms." The sea was then a dead calm, 

 and the line became perfectly perpendicular. Animals of a 

 higher degree of organization (such as Mollusca and Crustacea) 

 were also procured by Sir John Ross, during the same expedi- 

 tion, at rather less depths, in Baffin's Bay. Dr. Wallich was, of 

 course, not aware of his supposed discovery having been thus 

 anticipated more than forty years ago. Sir James Ross's ac- 

 count of his antarctic voyage of discovery should also be con- 

 sulted by those who take an interest in this subject with respect 

 to the results of his deep-sea dredging. 



I remain. Gentlemen, 



Your faithful Servant, 

 25 Devonshire Place, Portland Place. J. GwYN Jeffreys. 



March 12, 1861. 



XXX. — Observations on the Bignoniaceae. 

 By John Miers, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c. 



[Continued from p. 168.] 



The group of the Crescentiacece merits observation in this in- 

 quiry : it was considered by Jussieu, Endlicher, and DeCandolle 

 to be a tribe of the Bignoniacece. Gardner first proposed it as a 

 distinct family, which view was adopted by Prof. Lindley ; and 

 lately Dr. Seemann has supported this opinion. DeCandolle 

 divided it into two sections — the Tanaeciea, possessing a bilocular 

 ovary, and the Crescentiece, a 1 -celled ovary — all being distin- 

 guished from the Bignoniece by their indehiscent fruit and 

 apterous seeds. Dr. Seemann, in maintaining its claims to rank 

 as a distinct family, also separates it into two sections under the 

 same names*; but he simply distinguishes the Tanaeciece by a 

 persistent, and the Crescentiece by a deciduous calyx; and he 

 affirms, contrary to the statements of preceding botanists, that 



* Bot. Herald, 181 ; Proc. Linn. Soc. ii. 269. 



