120 PHILOSOFHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1771. 



mer. In giving an account of the hunting, which was the emperor's amusement in 

 this journey, he describes, among others, that of le nyl-ghau; but without saying 

 more of the animal, than that the emperor sometimes kills them in such num- 

 bers, as to distribute quarters of them to all his omrachs ; which shows that they 

 were there wild, and in plenty, and esteemed good or delicious food. This agrees 

 with the rarity of these animals at Bengal, Madras, and Bombay: for Cachemire 

 is the most northern province of the empire ; and it was on the march from Delhi 

 to that place that Bernier saw the emperor hunt them. 



The word nyl-ghau, for these are the component letters corresponding to the 

 Persian, though pronounced as if it were written neel-gaw, signifies a blue cow, 

 or rather a bull, gaw being masculine ; and the male animal of that name has a 

 good title to the appellation, as well from the likeness he bears in some parts to 

 that species of cattle; as from the bluish tinct which is very discernible in the 

 colour of his body; but this is by no means the case with the female, which has 

 a near resemblance, as well in colour as in form, to our red deer. The nyl-ghaus 

 which have been brought to England have been most, if not all, of them re- 

 ceived from Surat or Bombay ; and they seem to be less uncommon in that part 

 of India than in Bengal; which gives room for a conjecture that they may be 

 indigenous perhaps in the province of Guzarat, one of the most western and 

 most considerable of the Indoostan empire, lying to the northward of Surat, and 

 stretching away to the Indian ocean. 



XXII. Observations on the yiphides of Linnceus. By Dr. Wm. Richardson, of 



Ripon, Yorkshire, p. 182. 



The learned Linnaeus, by his unwearied application, having reduced the vari- 

 ous productions of nature into one regular system, and clearly distinguished the 

 numerous tribe of insects into their distinct classes and subdivisions, seems to 

 have laid a more solid foundation for the natural history of these minute animals, 

 than any other writer who has gone before him. Difficult however as it is to 

 lay so firm a foundation, the superstructure must still be esteemed a more ardu- 

 ous undertaking ; as it is easier to distinguish the outer form, even of the minutest 

 insects, than to discover their internal nature and disposition. This is a know- 

 ledge not to be attained by any single person, be his genius and diligence ever so 

 great ; but to bring it to any degree of perfection, will require the joint endea- 

 vours of the curious in all ages, and in all the different parts of the world. From 

 which considerations. Dr. R. is induced to throw in his mite towards promoting 

 so useful an undertaking ; by reducing his observations on this surprizing kind 

 of insect, into a more concise and regular form. 



Though the aphides are distinguished by Linnaeus into more than 30 species ; 

 still Dr. R. is satisfied, from his own observation, that the distinct species are 



