TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 93 



4. The Mantchubian Subeegion. 



Of this district, which embraces the country lying south of the Amoor and the 

 "•reater part of Northern China, down perhaps to the great river Yang-tsze, we have, 

 besides the Russian works lastly spoken otj two principal sources of information. 

 The first of these consists in the researches of Mr. Kobert Svdnhoe, of H.M. Chinese 

 Consular Service, one of the most industrious and successful exploring naturalists 

 that have ever lived, who is well known to many of my brother Members here pre- 

 sent. Mr. Swinhoe's memoirs and papers on Chinese zoolog)' are very numerous ; 

 but his last revised list of the Birds of China (99) Avill be found in the Zoological 

 Society's ' Proceedings ' for 1871. Pere Armand David, a worthy rival of our 

 Consul, has likewise contributed in no small degree to our knowledge of the fauna 

 of Northern China. His journals, containing numerous remarks full of interest, have 

 lately been published in the ' Nouvelles Archives du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle 

 de Paris' (100) ; and M. Alphouse Milne-Edwards's recently completed 'Recherches 

 sur les Manimiferes ' (101) contains a section specially devoted to the Mammals of 

 Northern China, which is mainly based on Pere David's researches. I shall, how- 

 ever, have again occasion to mention the discoveries of both Mr. Swinhoe and M. 

 David in a subsequent portion of this address. 



5, The Japanese Subregion. 



Temminck and Schlegel's ' Faima Japonica ' (102) has long been our standard 

 authority upon thezoology of Japan ; and not much has been done of late years to 

 perfect it, except as regards the Birds. On this branch of our subject some very 

 good articles have been published in 'The Ibis ' by Capt. Blakiston (103, 104), based 

 upon his researches in Hakodadi ; by Mr. Whitely (105), who was for some time 

 resident along with Capt. Blakiston at the same port ; and by Mr. Swinhoe (106). 

 Reference should also be made to the second volume of Commodore Perry's * Nar- 

 rative of the U.S. Expedition to Japan in 1852-54 ' (107), wherein will be found 

 articles on the Birds collected, by Cassin, and on the Fishes, by Brevoort. 



6. The Tartabian SubbegiojS'. 



Into the great desert-region of Central Asia, hitherto almost zoologically unknown, 

 exceptfrom Eversmann's ' Reise nach Buchara ' (108), which contains a short natural- 

 history appendix, excursions have recently been made from two opposite quarters. 

 The advancing tide of Russian conquest from the north, accompanied, as usual, by 

 its scientific corps, has ah-eady made us well acquainted with the zoology of 

 Turkestan. IMi-. SevertzofF has vmfortunately yielded to the unphilosophical spirit 

 of nationality whicli has of late years attained such a monstrous development, and 

 published his ' Turkestanskie Jevotnie,' or review of the distribution of animal life 

 m Turkestan (109), in his native Russian. But a translation and reproduction of 

 the portion relating to the Birds has ah-eady appeared in German (110) ; and an 

 abstract of it in English is now being given to the world by Mr. Dresser in ' The 

 Ibis' (111). 



From the south the peacefid embassies of this country to Yarkand have led 

 naturalists into the fringe of the same zoological district. Of the first of these 

 expeditions we have an excellent account as regards the birds by Mr. A. O. 

 Hume, forming the second part of Henderson's ' Lahore to Yarkand (112). Sir 

 D. Forsyth's second expedition to Yarkand and Kashgar was accompanied by 

 Dr. Ferdinand Stoliczka, one of the most accomplished and energetic members of 

 the stafl' of the Indian Geological Sm-vey, whose life was miserably sacrificed 

 to the hardships encountered on the return. Of this last expedition we have as 

 yet only incomplete accounts *, but may, I trust, look forward to the publica- 

 tion of an equally interesting volume on the zoological results. The Ichthyological 

 part of the collections has, I believe, been intrusted to Dr. F. Day to work out 

 in this country. 



* See Hume, 'Stray Feathers,' ii. p. 513 (113), and iii. p. 215 (114). 



