63 



geon of H.M.S. Blossom, who accompanied Captain Beechey in 

 his voyage to Behring's Straits; notes which will shortly be pub- 

 lished in illustration of the natural history of that expedition. " The 

 pouch beneath the throat of this bird," says Mr. Collie, "is of a 

 yellowish red colour, and when distended, the feathers on its upper 

 and posterior surface are separated to some distance from each 

 other, and exhibit very distinctly the quincuncial order in which 

 they are implanted. On first looking at this pouch, I was a little 

 surprised at finding that it did not communicate with the mouth or 

 fauces in any way that I could perceive. I succeeded in inflating 

 it only by long and forcibly blowing into the trachea. I desired the 

 man who had the skinning of the specimens brought on board to 

 inflate the pouch before commencing the skinning, and to let me 

 know when he had advanced to the shoulders. He however dis- 

 located the shoulder-joint first, when the distended pouch imme- 

 diately collapsed. The trachea had been tied. As soon as I was 

 informed of this, I had little doubt that the pouch had been in- 

 flated from the lungs ; and on observing two wide openings, one 

 anterior to the humeral articulating face of the scapula, the other 

 the usual opening of the joint, I hesitated not to infer that it was 

 through the first of these the air had passed in, and that the dislo- 

 cating of the joint, by which its capsular ligament was torn, had 

 allowed the air to escape at the opening which corresponds to that 

 on the head of the humerus, and which immediately leads, as well 

 as the other just mentioned, into the centre of the scapula. I now- 

 opened the trachea immediately before the sternum, and again 

 attempted inflation from that part, but in vain. I tried it also, but 

 with no better success, from the larynx. I next examined with the 

 blowpipe near the opening of the scapula, in the cellular substance 

 under the skin, and soon detected a small opening that conducted 

 the air to the pouch, which was readily inflated by blowing through 

 the opening, and so long as it was shut the pouch continued dis- 

 tended. That this opening was not artificial, — the effect of the 

 rupture of the fine membrane lining the air-bladder, — was evident 

 from its not opening directly into it, but only after a passage of 

 some length, gradually enlarging. That this was the sole opening 

 into the pouch appears proved from the fact that after detaching 

 the sac from all the parts beneath, i. e. from all the parts excepting 

 the skin, it did not permit the gas to escape except by this open- 

 ing, and that it continued to be capable of inflation from it, I was 

 satisfied in discovering it on one side ; and of course inferred 

 that it was similar on the other, the opening of the scapula being 

 similar." 



At the request of the Chairman, Mr. Martin read the following 

 notes of the dissection of a female Testudo Grceca, L., which died 

 in the possession of Oct. Morgan, Esq. The animal was of the 

 usual size, its dimensions being as follows : the carapace in length 

 13 inches ; the plastron 9h inches in length ; and the circumference 

 of the shell, 18 inches. 



