762 report— 1884. 



5. Report of the Committee for preparing a Bibliography of certain Groups 

 of Invertebrata. — See Reports, p. 270. 



6. Report on the Migration of Birds. — See Reports, p. 266. 



7. On the Characteristic Features of North American Vegetation. 

 By Professor Asa Gray. — See Reports, p. 555. 



8. On the Identity of the Animals and Plants of India which are mentioned 

 by early Greek Authors. By V. Ball, M.A., F.R.S. 



When engaged in inquiries with reference to the identification of the mineral 

 productions of India which are mentioned by early Greek writers, I noticed that 

 many of the animals and plants alluded to by Herodotus, Megasthenes, Ktesias, 

 Arrian, yElian, and Strabo are susceptible of exact identification when discussed 

 from the point of view of our present knowledge of the natural productions of 

 India, and the peculiar views held by the natives regarding some of them. 



The result has been to remove from the category of myths many stories which 

 have been hitherto regarded as unworthy of credence, and to remove from some of 

 the writers the charges of mendacity which have freely been cast upon them by 

 commentators who were unacquainted with the local circumstances from which the 

 peculiarities of the stories took their rise. 



In the very latest editions of some of the Greek authors are to be found com- 

 ments derived proximately from Lassen, but ultimately from Hitter, and others 

 before him. These comments, some of them upwards of half a century old, have 

 been repeated without the slightest reference being made to the more exact infor- 

 mation regarding India which is now available. 



In a paper shortly to be published in the ' Proceedings of the Royal Irish 

 Academy ' I have given a list of about thirty animals and twenty plants, the 

 majority of the identifications having never before been suggested. The following 

 are among the more important of these. 



Animals. 

 The Martikhora . . . = Tiger. 



Krokottas ' 

 Kartazonon 

 Skole.v 



Eleltfron 

 Kelas 

 Kerkion 

 Dikairon 



■■ Spotted Hyena (H. Crocutu). 



■■ Rhinoceros. 



• Crocodile or Gharial. 



Oil of the Skole.v . . = Petroleum. 



= Shell lac. 



= Adjutant (Leptoptilos). 



= Maina (Eulabes). 



= Dung Beetle (Sca?-ab(eus). 



Plants. 



The Cala?nus Indicus . . = Fan Palm (BorassnsJIabelliformis). 



„ Parebon = Ficux reliyiosa. 



v;.*~i !,„..„ f = Bassia latifolia. 



" r \_ = bchleichera trijiiga. 

 „ Purple flowers yielding dye = Grislea tomentosa. 



The paper referred to will contain a fidl discussion of all these identifications. 



1 As is mentioned by our authors, this is an Ethiopian animal. Hitherto it has 

 been mistaken for the jackal. 



