338 Miscellanea u.^. 



Mr. Meehan thought that though we could not say we had yet 

 reached an unchallengeable solution of the cause of autumn colour 

 in American foliage, considerations like these brought us nearer to 

 the end. — Proc. Acad. Nat. ^ci. Philad., Nov. 1, 1881, 



Centrolophus pompilus. 

 To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 



Gentlemen, — In your issue for this month Dr. Giinther, when 

 alluding to the capture of a Elackfish {Centrolophus pompilus) at the 

 mouth of the Colne, observes that, so far as he is aware, "this is the 

 first instance known of the fish having wandered so far eastwards." 



In 3 841, one 14 inches in length was taken at Lossiemouth; in 

 1850 Mr. Alder remarked on one ca])tured at Cullercoats, in 

 Northumberland; while in the 'Zoologist,' 1852 (p. 3504), Mr. 

 Rudd mentions one obtained at Redcar, in Yorkshire. 



Yours truly, 



Francis Day. 



P.S. The same example was recorded by Mr. Laver in the 

 ' Zoologist,' 1882, p. 75. 



Cheltenham, March 4, 1882. 



On a Foetal Kangaroo and its Membranes. 

 By Henry C. Chapman, M.D. 



Since the publication, nearly fifty years ago, of Prof. Owen's 

 invaluable paper* *' On the Generation of the Marsupial Animals," 

 in -which the foetal Kangaroo and membranes were first described, 

 no further contribution has been made to our knowledge of this 

 very important subject. Indeed some naturalists at the present 

 day seem indisposed to accept Prof. Owen's statement that there 

 is no connexion in the Kangaroo between the foetal membrane and 

 the uterus, or, in other words, that no placenta is developed, and 

 therefore doubt that the division of the Mammalia into non-placental 

 and placental is not a valid one. Even though the present communi- 

 cation should not contain an} thing particularly new, I trust, how- 

 ever, that it will not be received without interest, if for no other 

 reason than that it confirms essentially Prof. Owen's descriptions. 



One would have naturally supposed that, during the past half 

 century, among all the Kangaroos killed in Australia and opened 

 in various zoological gardens, at least one foetal Kangaroo would 

 have been found. As a matter of fact, however, this docs not 

 appear to have been the case ; or, at least, if such was found, no 

 record was made of it. Impressed with this fact, I never failed to 

 examine the generative apparatus in the female Kangaroos which 

 died from time to time in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden, with 

 the hope that I might obtain an embryo. In September 1879 I 

 was successful, finding the specimen which forms the subject of the 

 * Phil. Trans. 1834. 



