4 MR. W. H. FLOWER ON THE [Jan. 14, 
such terrible wounds with the tail. I have seen one literally split 
the end of a person’s finger, and another wound the hand through 
a thick leather glove. I believe the Squills to be, as Cuvier sup- 
posed, carnivorous. I have carefully examined the stomachs of 
some, and have always found them to contain the remains of small 
crustaceans, but no vegetable matter. Their flesh is excellent; but 
the great strength of their integument renders it difficult to detach 
it. The most extraordinary circumstance in the distribution of the 
branches of the heart is that it has no apparent connexion with the 
antennz or the eyes. 
«This beautiful creature would be a great ornament to an aqua- 
rium; but, unfortunately, I have never been able to keep an adult 
specimen alive more than a few hours after it was caught, though 
using every precaution—placing it in a vessel as soon as it was taken 
from the sea, and renewing the water at short intervals. When 
young I have preserved them for days, and might, perhaps, have 
preserved them indefinitely had I persevered in the attempt. I have 
known them exist in full vitality for twelve or fifteen hours without 
water.” 
Mr. George Dawson Rowley, F.Z.S., exhibited, and read the fol- 
lowing remarks upon, a specimen of a rare Asiatic Thrush (Turdus 
atrogularis, Temminck) recently killed in this country, this being 
its first recorded appearance in the British islands :— 
“The specimen of Turdus atrogularis was shot near Lewes, 
Sussex, on December 23rd, 1868. It is a young male, as shown by 
its plumage; dissection also confirmed the fact. I saw the bird in 
the flesh, and took particular care to ascertain its history, because 
it belongs to the fauna of Central Asia, and is only an accidental 
visitor to Europe. To find such a species on the south coast of 
England appears to me a matter of considerable interest. It is now 
in the collection of T. J. Monk, Esq., of Mountfield House, near 
Lewes, who purchased it for a trifle of a working-man.”’ 
The following papers were read :-— 
1. On the Value of the Characters of the Base of the 
Cranium in the Classification of the Order Carnivora, 
and on the Systematic Position of Bassaris and other 
disputed Forms. By Witiiam Henry Fiower, F.R.S., 
F.Z.8., &c., Conservator of the Museum of the Royal 
College of Surgeons. 
The Order Carnivora has always been an attractive one to zoolo- 
gists; and consequently nearly all the important structural modifi- 
cations which occur among its members are so well known that it 
is surprising that there is not yet a more universal accord of opinion 
upon their arrangement and mutual affinities. 
