Miscellaneous. 275 



fragments of dark rich, brown standing out slightly above the 

 general mass of the calculus. These fragments, in size and appear- 

 ance, bore a close resemblance to the crystals in a coarse-grained 

 porphyritic rock. 



The common monkey-bezoars vary much in colour and shape, 

 I have seen them of the size of large filberts, curiously convoluted 

 and cordate in shape, with a smooth, shining surface of a pale 

 olive-green hue. Mr. A. R. Houghton once showed me one which 

 was an inch and a half long, and shaped like an Indian club. It w^ as 

 of a dirty greenish colour, perfectly smooth and cylindrical ; and it 

 had become aggregated around a portion of a sumpitan dart, which 

 appears to have penetrated the animal's stomach, and, being broken 

 off short, subsecjuently served as the nucleus for the formation of 

 a calculus. The same gentleman had in his possession two Landak 

 stones, one of which bore a close resemblance to a block in shape, 

 and was of a bright green colour ; and the second was of a rich 

 chocolate-brown, and could best be likened in form to a constable's 

 staff. One porcupine-stone, which was opened, was found to be a 

 mere shell full of small brown shavings like shred tobacco. 



The part of the island which produces these stones in greatest 

 abundance seems to be, by a coincidence of native reports, the dis- 

 trict about the upper waters of theEaluiigan (Batang Kayan). The 

 story is, that the head waters of this river are cut off from its low^er 

 course by an extensive tract of hills beneath which the river disap- 

 pears, a report by no means unlikely if the country be, as is pro- 

 bable, limestone. The people of the district have no communica- 

 tion with the lower course of the river, and are thus without any 

 supply of salt. In lieu of this necessary they make use of the 

 waters of certain springs, which must be saline mineral springs, 

 and which the Kayans call " Sungan." These springs are also fre- 

 quented by troops of the red monkeys before mentioned ; and the 

 Eezoars are most constantly formed in the stomachs of these animals, 

 " through their drinking the saline water." The hunters lie in 

 wait about such springs ; and, so runs the report, on the animals 

 coming down to drink, they are able to guess with tolerable cer- 

 tainty, from external signs, which of the monkej's will afford the 

 Guliga ; and they forthwith shoot such with their sumpitans. I have 

 this account, curious in more ways than one, from several quite inde- 

 pendent sources. 



In concluding these brief notes, I may remark that the wide- 

 spread idea of the medicinal virtue of these concretions would lead 

 us to suppose that there is some foundation for their reputation. — 

 Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Societt/, 1880, 

 p. 56. 



On the Histology of the Pedicellarice and of the Muscles o/ Echinus 

 spha3ra, Forbes. By MM. P. Geddes and F. E. Beddard. 



Although our knowledge of the general form and of the calcareous 

 parts of the pedicellariae of the Sea-XJrchins is now nearly com- 



