Miscellanies. 353 



new and varied forms, and all of perfect organization, and much 

 higher in the scale of being than it was formerly supposed possible 

 that such ancient deposits could have contained. Mr. Murchison's 

 splendid work on this region is, we believe, already published in 

 England. 



^ toad in sandstone, was discovered at Park Gardens, Coventry, 

 during the making of excavations now in progress there ; " the ani- 

 mal was reinstated in his narrow bed by the engineer, but it sur- 

 vived only four days." 



Longevity of the yew tree. — Mr. Mackay produced a section of a 

 yew tree, which proved that it must have been more than five hun- 

 dred years old. Another person mentioned the well known stump 

 near Bangor, which was calculated to be more ancient than the 

 Christian era. 



Fixation of the spines of the echinus ; this is effected by immers- 

 ing the animal, for some time, in chloride of lime, dissolved in water, 

 when the spines become perfectly fixed ; whereas, when they are 

 dried in the common way, they usually fall off. 



Hydatids found in human muscles. — Dr. Shoe, of Canaan, stated 

 the remarkable fact, of a horse leech having entered the skin of a 

 young girl, near the ancle, and having lived for some time in the 

 cellular tissue of the limb, without exciting uneasiness ; but inflam- 

 mation and an abscess coming on. an incision was made in the thigh, 

 when the animal was discharged in high activity. 



The polarity and dip of the compass needle in different places, 

 were attributed by Captain Sabine, to the existence of two northern 

 and two southern magnetic poles of the earth ; numerous maps were 

 exhibited, by which the progress of the lines of no variation was 

 represented, from time to time, and a suggestion thrown out of the 

 necessity of an expedition to the South Seas, to discover the posi- 

 tion of the southern magnetic poles. In Halley's time, one of them 

 was near Van Dieman's Land, and the other in or near Terra del 

 Fuego. 



The line of no dip, (or lines of places where a well balanced nee- 

 dle would be horizontal,) is not a great terrestrial circle, but differs 

 most materially from it ; the curves of no variation have an easterly 

 motion in the northern, and a westerly motion in the southern hemi- 

 sphere. The Russian government engaged Prof. Hansteen to pro- 

 ceed to Siberia, to observe the magnetic dip, variation and intensity; 

 he returned two years since, and has fully established the fact of a 



Vol. XXIX.— No. 2, 45 



