9 



February 11,1834.. 



Joseph Sabine, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair. 



Extracts were read from a letter addressed to the Secretary by 

 B. H. Hodgson, Esq., Corr. Memb. Z.S., and dated Nepal, July 13, 

 1833. It conveyed the thanks of the writer for the present to him 

 on the part of the Society of an illustrative series of skins oi^ Birds; 

 and, referring to the mortality among the living Birds and Qua- 

 drupeds forwarded by him for the Society's Menagerie, it expressed 

 a hope that a subsequent attempt would be more successful. 



Portions were exhibited of the viscera of a Capybara, Hydrocha- 

 rus Capybara, Erxl., taken from an individual which recently died 

 in the Society's Menagerie, They consisted of the stomach, the 

 enormous cacum, and ihejauces. In calling the attention of the 

 Meeting to the latter parts, Mr. Owen availed himself of the oppor- 

 tunity to demonstrate the structure first observed in them by Mr. 

 Morgan, by whom it has been described and figured in the lately 

 published Part of the 'Linnean Transactions'. The constriction of 

 the hinder part of the soft palate, which prevents any but minutely 

 divided substances from passing into the pharynx, and which was 

 first observed in the Capybara, is found in many other Rodents, but 

 does not obtain in the whole of the animals of that order. 



Various preparations were exhibited of the Rhea, Rhea Ameri- 

 cana, Vieill., and of the Cassowary, Casuarius Emeu, Lath. They 

 were brought under the notice of the Society by Mr. Martin, who, 

 at the request of the Chairman, read his notes of the dissections of 

 these birds. They agreed generally with the descriptions published 

 by Sir Everard Home in the ' Philosophical Transactions.' 



Mr. Martin also exhibited a preparation of aneurism of the aorta, 

 obtained from a brovin Coati, Nasuafusca, F. Cuv., sent to the So- 

 ciety for post mortem examination by J. H. Lance, Esq. He stated 

 that this disease appeared to be rare among Quadrupeds, no previ- 

 ous instance of it having occurred to him among more than a hun- 

 dred individuals of various orders which he had dissected within 

 the last few years. 



A preparation was exhibited of a young cojMWon Macaque Monkey, 

 Macacus cynomolgus, LaCep., which was born at the Gardens on 

 the morning of the 25th January, but was dead when first noticed by 

 the keeper. It is the first instance that has occurred in the Society's 

 Menagerie of the birth of any Monkey of the Old Continent. 



The reading was concluded of a Paper entitled "A few Remarks 

 No. XIV. Proceedings of the Zoological Society. 



