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THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



rom the culm of which the Indians of Guiana prepare their famous 

 blow-pipes, and concerning which Baron Humboldt, in his " Personal 

 Narrative," regrets his inability to determine the plant from which they 

 are obtained. It was at a settlement of the Indians near the river 

 Emaruni that M. S. at last succeeded in obtaining positive informa- 

 tion of the locality of these reeds, which he was informed were found 

 on two lofty mountains, the one of which was pointed out to him at 

 the distance of twenty miles. The other, however, lying more directly 

 in his route, was visited by him in preference ; it is seated at a day's 

 journey from a Maiongcong settlement on the banks of the Cuyaca, 

 from whence the natives showed the beaten track. After having as- 

 cended the mountain to the height of about 3500 feet above the In- 

 dian village, the traveller followed the course of a small mountain 

 stream, on the banks of which the Curas or Curatas, as these reeds are 

 called by the Indians, grow in dense tufts. They form in general clusters 

 offrom40to 100 stems, which are pushed forth from a strong jointed 

 subterranean rootstock. The stem rises straight without knot or in- 

 terruption, and preserving an equal thickness throughout, frequently 

 to the height of 16 feet before the first branches are given off. The 

 joints that follow succeed each other at intervals of from 15 to 18 

 inches : and the whole plant attains a height of from 40 to 50 feet. The 

 stem when full grown is at the base about one inch and a half in diame- 

 ter, or nearly five inches in circumference ; but M. S. mentions having 

 seen young stems, which, at the height of 20 feet, and with a thickness 

 of scarcely one-fourth of an inch, afford no signs of articulation. The 

 branches are only formed when the stem begins to increase in diameter. 

 The full grown stem is of a bright green colour, perfectly smooth, and 

 hollow within. The branches are verticillate, generally from three to 

 four feet in length, and very slender. The leaves are linear-lanceolate, 

 of a bright green above and glaucescent below. The entire plant is from 

 40 to 50 feet in height ; but the weight of its innumerable branches 

 causes the slender stem to curve downwards, so that the upper part 

 generally describes an arch, which adds greatly to the gracefulness of its 

 appearance. He estimates the height at which it grew as 6000 feet 

 above the level of the sea ; and its growth appears to be limited to the 

 chain of sand-stone mountains which extends between the 2d and 4th 

 parallel, and forms the separation of waters between the rivers Pavima, 

 Merewari, and Orinoco. M. Schomburgk describes at length the process 

 by which the blow-pipes are prepared, together with the mode in which 

 other parts of the apparatus are supplied in order to render it available 

 for its important uses, and the various modifications in its construction 

 occurring among the different tribes. He adds also a particular description 

 of the arrows and quivers in use among several of the native tribes. 



Microscopical Society of London. — We are glad to perceive that 

 this Society is thriving, and doubt not it will throw much light on those 

 departments of Science it was designed to illustrate. It was formed on the 

 20th of December last, " for the Promotion of Microscopical Investiga- 

 tions, the Introduction and Improvement of the Microscope as a Scien- 

 tific Instrument, the Reading and Discussion of Papers on New and In- 

 teresting Subjects of Microscopical Inquiry, the Formation of a Collection 

 of Rare and Valuable Microscopical Objects, and a Library of Refer- 

 ence." The first meeting was held on Wednesday 20lh January in 21, 

 Regent Street. The President, Professor Owen, announced that since 

 the Provisional Meeting on the 20th December, for the purpose of form- 

 ingthe Society, the number of members had increased to 110; andafar- 

 ther addition of 29 names was announced in the course of the evening, 

 making a total of 139 original members of the Society. 



Mr Owen then read the first paper contributed to the Society, " On 

 the Application of Microscopic Examinations of the Structure of Teeth to 

 the determination of Fossil Remains," — and exemplified the utility of the 

 instrument in reference to the SaurocepJialus, Basilosaurus of Dr Harlan, 

 and the Megatherium of Cuvier. 



Royal Irish Academy On the 9th of December, Mr Lloyd exhibited 



a specimen of Vegetable Flannel brought by him from Berlin, the na_ 

 ture of which Professor Erenberg has done so much to illustrate. He 

 at the same time laid on the table of the Academy a specimen of a 

 very similar substance, which he had received from Sir John Herschell, 

 and which was found investing the rocks at the mouth of one of the rivers 

 of Southern Africa. It resembles the other very much in external ap- 

 pearance, except that the fibres are coarser, and more compactly matted 

 together. It appears to consist almost entirely of conferva:, but apparently 

 of a different species. 



ever enjoyed a wider or more merited reputation. In early life he visited 

 Britain, and used often in his prelections to make interesting allusions to the 

 men and things he here encountered. He was an ardent lover of science, 

 and especially that portion of it which bore on the Natural History of 

 Man. His work on Physiology has been translated, we believe, into 

 nearly all languages, and acquired for him a wide-spread reputation ; 

 whilst as a lecturer he was not more esteemed than beloved, and will 

 long be remembered by his countless pupils with the sincerest affection, 

 and regard. 



Professor Richerand The well known Richerand has also lately 



departed this life. He long maintained a distinguished place among the 

 eminent physicians of Paris, and was author of the " Nouveaux Elemens 

 de Physiologie," familiar in its English translation to classes of readers 

 far more numerous than are embraced by the circles of the profession. 



Mr Da7ies Gilbert We have also on the present occasion to re- 

 cord the demise of that much respected individual Mr D. Gilbert, lately, 

 for three years, President of the Royal Society, and an honorary and effi- 

 cient member of many others. His labours for the promotion of science 

 were unremitting. He was the founder of several societies ; was the dis- 

 coverer and early patron of the talents of Davy, and while in Parliament 

 laboured assiduously in the advancement of all public works. Regret for 

 such a man, exerting the power of his mind so advantageously and through 

 so many years, must always be strong and sincere ; but having attained 

 the ordinary limit of human life, he sunk into the grave amidst the respect 

 and esteem of all who knew him, and has left a name which will ever 

 bear a prominent place amidst those whose lives and talents have been de- 

 voted to great and noble purposes. 



MISCELLANIES. 



OBITUARIES. 



Professor Blumeneacii — This venerable philosopher has at length 

 paid the debt of nature, having died at the advanced age of eighty-eight 

 years, at Gbttingen, on the 22d of January last. Few individuals have 



Notice of Mr Gould in South Australia Letters, says the Athe- 

 naeum of February 1st, received last week from Mr Gould the Ornitho- 

 logist, announce his safe arrival at Sidney on the 3d of September. He 

 is about to proceed into the interior. The result of Mr Gould's excur- 

 sion to South Australia is a large collection of specimens, including 500 

 birds, and a considerable number of quadrupeds and insects, the product 

 of three months' labour. During this time, which was in the depth of 

 the Australian winter, our interesting Naturalist spent five weeks in the 

 bush, without seeing a civilized being except his attendant ; sleeping 

 mostly in the open air, occasionally in a tent, or under a cart, but more 

 commonly on the bare ground, with only a kangaroo skin for a covering : 

 still he never had a cold, or the slightest indisposition of any kind : and 

 he expresses himself especially thankful for the good health of all his 

 party. *' I have been enabled," he says, " to penetrate far into the inte- 

 rior of South Australia, through the kindness of Colonel Gawler and 

 Captain Strut. My gratification on arriving at the belts of the Murray 

 was almost unbounded, on finding not only numerous new species, but 

 even new forms of birds : the botany of this part of Australia surpassing 

 every thing I have seen :" and he concludes by saying — " If I am spared 

 to return, I shall, I believe, be enabled to produce such a work as has 

 never before been offered to the public." Mr G. has sent home his 

 spolia opima, and the government have liberally allowed the cases to pass 

 the custom-house unopened, an advantage important to the security of 

 their contents. 



Proposed Erection of an Observatory at Manchester We are 



happy to understand that a committee has been formed at Manchester, 

 for the purpose of erecting an Observatory at Higher Broughton, near 

 that town. It is obvious that, for the advancement of the sciences of 

 astronomy and meteorology, by actual observation, there is required an 

 apparatus by far too bulky for a private residence, and too costly for a 

 private individual ; such an object, therefore, can best be attained by 

 co-operation and subscription: and it is proposed to raise the sum re- 

 quired for carrying the undertaking into effect by donations, and to sup- 

 port the institution by annual subscriptions. The estimated cost of the 

 buildingis L.3000, and of the instruments L.2000, and there is to be a re- 

 sident astronomer, with an assistant, whose duty it will be to observe and 

 record the various phenomena of the heavens and the atmosphere, to keep 

 up a correspondence with similar institutions, and to prepare for publica- 

 tion all such information and observations as, from time to time, it may 

 be thought advisable to give to the world. The plans, we understand, have 

 been submitted to, and approved by, Sir John Herschell, Professor Airy, 

 and other distinguished men of science. 



Edinburgh: Published for the Proprietor, at the Office, No. 13, Hill Street. 

 London : Smith, Elder, and Co., 65, Cornhill. Glasgow, and the West of 

 Scotland: John Smith and Son; and John Macleod. Dublin: George 

 , Young. Paris : J. B. Balliere, Rue de l'Ecole de Medeciue, No. 13, bis. 



THE EDINBURGH PRINTING COMPANY. 



