94 M. Coste on the Formation of Cells. 
to which I would apply that term, as there are on the neck and 
wing-coverts of the European bird. 
Yarrell’s figure gives a very good general idea of the American 
Bittern, but in two impressions (1st and 2nd editions) examined, 
the back and wings Jook rather too dark, and I could hyperer - 
tically have wished the quills and tail shown of a uniform co- 
lour, in which respect they so obviously differ from the same parts 
in the common species, which are banded. But in figures of so 
small a size, characters like these can be but partially attended to. 
The first Ardea lentiginosa which occurred in Europe was (as is 
well known to ornithologists) described by Montagu under this 
name ; it was killed in Dorsetshire in the autumn of 1804: a se- 
cond was made known by Dr. E. Moore as shot near Plymouth 
on the 22nd of Dec. 1829: notice of a third obtained near Christ- 
church in 1836 was communicated to Mr. Yarrell, who has likewise 
been told of a bird, believed to be of this species, having been pro- 
cured in the Isle of Man—but the season or year is not mentioned. 
About the middle of October 1844, one of these birds—the only 
one obtained in Scotland—was killed on the property of Sir Wm. 
Jardine, Bart., in Dumfries-shire, and at a very appropriate time, 
when Mr. Gould, the well-known ornithologist, was on a visit at 
Jardine Hall :—where too, I lately had the pleasure of seeing the 
specimen. ‘These are all the examples known to have occurred 
in Great Britain. There is no record of this species having been 
met with on the continent of Europe in Temminck’s ‘ Manuel ’ 
&e. (vol. iv. 1840) ; Keyserling and Blasius’ ‘ Wirbelthiere Eu- 
ropas ’ (1840), or Schlegel’s ‘ Revue Critique des Oiseaux d’Ku- 
rope, (1844) :—a fact, which, like that of other American. species 
having been obtained in the British Islands, and not farther to 
the eastward, strengthens the circumstantial evidence in favour 
of such birds having really crossed the Atlantic. Three out of 
the four birds of this species, the date of whose occurrence in the 
British Islands is known to us, were met with about the migra- 
tory period when the species leaves the more northern for the 
southern parts of North America:—the fourth, which was ob- 
tained in December, may have arrived at that period, but have 
remained in the country unobserved until it was killed. 
XVI.—Researches on the Primary Modifications of Organic 
Matter, and on the Formation of Cells. By M. Costn*. (2nd 
Part.) 
[Continued from vol. xvi. p. 385. ] 
Tue most appropriate examples for supplying the neces 
means for resolving the difficult problem of the formation of cells 
* Translated from the Comptes Rendus, Dec. 22, 1845. 
