382 Miscellaneous. 



found in the Philippine Isles by Mr. Cuming (an indefatigable Fellow 

 of this Society), and one, but a very small and badly-preserved one, 

 was obtained on the voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, in Nangasaki Bay 

 in the Eastern Seas. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



GALLINAGO BREHMI. 



Two specimens of G. brehmi have been shot at Jardine Hall on the 

 9th and 10th of October, being the first time that this species has 

 been noticed as visiting our islands. We have no doubt that it has 

 hitherto been overlooked, but one distinction is very easily noticed. 

 On comparing the tail with that of the common snipe, it will be seen 

 that the outline of the latter is rounded, while in G. brehmi the outer 

 feather exceeds the length of the second. At this season of winter 

 migration we would invite sportsmen to attend to the finding of this 

 bird.— W. J. 



Jardine Hall, Oct. 11, 1849. 



MR. WILLIAM MACCALLA. 



It is too often our painful duty to record the loss of some natu- 

 ralist who has shown himself well qualified to advance science, had 

 he been spared to us, but who is called away in the prime of life. 

 Such is now our position, since we have to announce the death of 

 Mr. W. MacCalla, the well-known young Irish naturalist. We had 

 the pleasure of forming an acquaintance with him many years since 

 in his native district of Conamara in the county of Galway, and then 

 recorded his promise of distinction in the journals of the day. At 

 that time he had only commenced his career by making himself ac- 

 quainted with the zoology and botany of that wild country, and we 

 believe that his first discovery of note was the heath afterwards 

 named, at the desire of Sir W. J. Hooker, Erica Mackaiana, in com- 

 pliment to our distinguished friend Dr. J. T. Mackay, who was, we 

 believe, poor MacCalla's first master in botany, and who had kindly 

 encouraged him in his early and otherwise unassisted course of 

 study. 



We cannot do better than by adopting the language concerning 

 him of Dr. W. H. Harvey, who speaks of him as follows in his beau- 

 tiful 'Phycologia Britannica ' (cclxiii.) when describing an Alga 

 {Enteromorpha Hopkirkii, MacCalla) named by him. His words 

 are — 



" In now adopting Mr. MacCalla's specific name I wish to record 

 the regret I feel, in common with all naturalists acquainted with his 

 merits, that death should so soon have closed a career which opened 

 with so much promise of future fame. The readers of the ' Phyco- 

 logia ' must be well acquainted with the name of Mr. William Mac- 

 Calla, in connection with the habitats of many of our rarest Algae. 

 It is therefore almost superfluous to say that he was well acquainted 

 with the species, and had a most acute eye to detect a minute spe- 



