Dr. J. E. Gray on Charadella. 151' 



Lamarck both published the genus in the year 1812 under two dif- 

 ferent names, the first calUng it Amathia and the second Serialia. 

 The same thing occurs with many other genera estabhshed in the 

 same works. 



There can be no doubt that these authors studied their subject, 

 and found out what they considered natural groups, and named them, 

 independently. Lamouroux presented his memoir on the subject to 

 the Institute in 1810, and Lainarck was named one of the Commis- 

 sioners to report on his paper ; so that he had the opportunity of 

 knowing what Lamouroux had done two years before the publication 

 of his own work ; and this has given rise to Lamarck being charged 

 with pirating the labours of Lamouroux. 



But I think any one who has known anything of the character of 

 Lamarck must consider such a charge as groundless ; and I merely 

 cite this as an instance of the very unpleasant position in which a 

 naturalist is placed by being called upon to examine and adjudicate 

 on an unpublished paper of another author engaged on the same 

 branch of study ; — and an opinion by one not so engaged is generally 

 worse than useless. I consider this one of the great objections to 

 the system of reference which is so commonly adopted in this 

 country, France, and America, 



In France and America they do their best to obviate the evil by 

 making the names of the referees public, and requiring them to send 

 in a written report, while here the referee is often only known to 

 the officers of the society. Neither system obviates the evil which 

 laid Lamarck open to the unpleasant, and, I believe, ungrounded 

 charge which has been brought against him, and which may be made 

 against any scientific man who is called upon to read the MS. com- 

 munication of another labourer in the same field of study. 



Lamouroux named one of the species of Amathia, cornuta, 

 because the end of the stem beyond the cluster of cells is produced 

 into two setaceous filaments or tags. If these tags are examined, it 

 will be found that the cells are gradually developed upon them, and 

 they are only the commencements of the next articulations which are 

 to bear the cells. They are to be observed, more or less developed, 

 on all the species I have examined ; and when the stem is simple, as 

 in A. lendigera, there is a single tag ; and when the coral is repeatedlv 

 forked, then there are two tags at the end of the last cell-bearing ai 

 ticulation, as is also the case in A. lendigera, where a branch is 

 going to be formed. In the genus now noticed, as the branches 

 arise in three, it has three such tags. 



Charadella. 



Polypidom tree-like, branched ; stem formed of numerous tubes, 

 constituting at the base an expanc'ed mass of tubes ; branches many, 

 pinnate or bipinuate, formed of numerous articulations, each articu- 

 lation throwing ofP, at its point of junction, two opposite branches 

 formed of a single joint, each joint furnished on its upper edge with 

 a series of small subequal tubular polype-cells. 



