THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



rare Gcnliana Pneumonnnilic. In dry ground, but always near water, 

 Pulicaria dysenierica grows in extensive patches. 



Almost peculiar to the county of Norfolk are several species of that 

 singular genus Orobanche. The O. minor is found in most clover fields, 

 often giving parts of them from its abundance a rusty brown colour when 

 it begins to wither. The O. ccerulea, elatior, and ramasa, all very local 

 plants, are less common than the preceding, and the O. major I found in 

 only one locality parasitical on the broom. Verbena officinalis, now as- 

 certained not to be indigenous to Scotland, is abundant by the road-sides 

 and in chalk pits, and Acinos vulgaris, which appears to be more widely 

 distributed than was formerly supposed, grows in similar localities, as 

 well as in the corn fields, where may also be found Setaria viridis, Pa- 

 paver hybridum, Antirrhinum Orantium, Ipecularia hybrida, Silene noctiflora, 

 and conica, Calamintha Nepcta, and officinalis, together with that interest- 

 ing little plant the Adonis aulumnalis. 



In the lanes and margins of chalk pits are found growing in abundance 

 Beseda lutea, Poteniilla argentea, Melilotus officinalis. Salvia verbenaca, 

 Geranium rotundifolium, Pimpinella magna, Cichorium Intybus, Erigeron- 

 acris, Dipsacw Fullonum, and less frequently Lactuca Scariola and Sa- 

 ligna, which appear to be rare in the district. 



The different species of Verbascum have found in the neighbourhood 

 of Norwich an apparently congenial soil. Those I observed were V. 

 Tlmpsus, pulverulentum, Nigrum and Lychnitis. On the city walls An- 

 tirrhnium majus and Teucrium Scordium form frequent tufts, and the rare 

 Dianthus ccesius is said to grow near one of the gates. In the hedges 

 ihere is a profusion of Clematis vitalba, Convolvulus sepium, Bryonia 

 dioica, Galium erec/um and A'lollugo, and now and then near houses Sa- 

 ponaria officinalis has its habitat. About the town, and among rubbish, 

 are found Mcrcurialis annua, Borago officinalis, Atropa Belladonna, and 

 Datura Stramonium, but more abundantly than any the Solanum nigrum, 

 so rare in Scotland, if, indeed, truly indigenous to that country. 



Ophrys aranifera I found in only one locality, namely, Costessey Park, 

 along with the more common O. apifera, and on some cultivated plants 

 of Thymus Serpyllum, there was an abundance of Cuscuta Epithymum, 

 which also grows in the Calluna vulgaris on Household Heath. In a wood 

 opposite the cathedral, there were several plants of Rhamnus catharticus. 

 The above enumeration of species it is not expected is any thing like a 

 complete list, as my time for botanizing was limited, and only such plants 

 as I observed during my rambles in quest of other objects were noted 

 down from memory, after the lapse of many months, and many of the 

 above mentioned species, although interesting to the Scottish botanist, 

 are by no means esteemed by an English one. 



I shall new proceed with the Zoology, and begin with the Mammalia. 

 Although the number of quadrupeds found in the neighbourhood of 

 Norwich is not great, yet several of the species are possessed of consider- 

 able interest. 



Bats of several kinds are very plentiful, and several rare species have 

 been observed. The Noctule, or Great Bat, Vespertilio Noctula, the 

 largest found.in this country, and approaching somewhat in dimensions 

 to some of those found within the tropics, is rather frequent, and may 

 be seen on wing long before its congeners have come abroad. It usually 

 flies at a considerable elevation, and its flight is rapid, and not so versatile 

 as that of the other British Bats I have seen. It has altogether a singular 

 appearance, and may perhaps with some be associated with ideas of the 

 far-famed Vampire, so much does it look like a creature of evil omen. 

 The place where I observed it most plentiful was about the mill at Cos- 

 tessey, where two or three might be seen at once, affording an excellent 

 opportunity for procuring specimens, which I availed myself of. In the 

 shady lanes, and about pools and rivers, various other species may be 

 seen flitting about on leathern wing. I am unable to state witli precision 

 the different species, as I had no book on the subject to refer to at the 

 time, and the skulls 1 was preparing were unfortunately thrown away by 

 accident, but I am certain that I killed three or four besides the Noctule 

 and Plecotus auritus. I saw a specimen of the Vespertilio pygmceus in the 

 hands of a gentleman in Norwich, taken in a hollow tree in Costessey 

 Park. In a late number of a natural history periodical, mention is made 

 of a very rare Bat, V. Leisleri, found near Norwich, but it is disputed 

 ■whether or not they belong to the species just mentioned, as the matter is 

 still sub judice. 



In several ditches near Norwich, on a fine summer evening, besides 

 the Water Rat, I have seen dozens of the beautiful little Sore x remifer, or 

 Water Shrew, silently padling along, and when under the surface, appear- 

 ing like a mass of crystal, so much air bubbles does this tiny creature 

 carry along with it in its subaquatic perigrinations. 



Among the less common quadrupeds are the Harvest Mouse, Mus 

 messorius, and the Dormouse, Myoxus Avellanaria ; these I saw but sel- 

 dom. On one occasion I chanced to fall in with a Marten, Mustela 

 martes, but failed in procuring it. There are said to be still remaining a 

 few Otters, but it must be but seldom that the angler stumbles on one. 



Rabbits are exceedingly abundant in many situations, well adapted to 

 their wants by Nature' and art, and appear to thrive amazingly. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Preservation or Animal Substances — At a late meeting of the 

 Medical and Chirurgical Society, a letter from Mr George Smith was 

 read, which stated that he had obtained a patent for an improved process 

 of embalming and preserving objects for anatomical purposes, for which 

 M. Gannal, a French chemist, had also taken out one in Paris. Seve- 

 ral birds, a Dorking Fowl, a Pheasant, and a Pigeon, were shown, which 

 had been subjected to the process, and which, at the end of more than 

 two months, were found in an extraordinary state of preservation, tile 

 flesh being perfectly soft and elastic. The fellows were also invited to 

 view the body of a man who died on the 5th, and was embalmed on the 

 9th of November. It was stated that in about half an hour a great 

 change came over the body ; that parts which had been previously soft 

 and relaxed became firm and hard ; and that the whole body resembled 

 wax in appearance, and was nearly as firm. No perceptible change took 

 place in the following three days, excepting that some green marks on 

 the neck and abdomen gradually disappeared. Several of the members 

 who had seen it, and examined the birds, were of opinion that the dis- 

 covery deserved the immediate attention of the Faculty. 



" M. Gannal's Mode op Embalming.— In a late number of " The Lan- 

 cet," there is reported, from a meeting of a medical society in London, an 

 account of a process contrived by a M. Gannal, which, according to him, 

 entirely prevents the ordinary effects of putrefaction in animal bodies after 

 death. 



During a recent visit of M. Gannal to London, this plan of his was tested 

 in the presence of several witnesses belonging to the medical profession, 

 and the subject of experiment was the body of a man thirty-three years 

 of age, who had died of epilepsy four days before. His mode of proce- 

 dure was as follows :_Having exposed the common carotid artery of one 

 side, and secured its upper end by means of a ligature, he injected slowly 

 towards the heart four or five pints of fluid, and secured the vessel. In 

 about half an hour, the surface of the body became somewhat of the con- 

 sistence and colour of wax. On the 12th of November, three days after, 

 he proceeded to complete the process of embalming, by placing in contact 

 with the body, linen moistened with spirit of rosemary, then a layer of 

 oiled silk, and over all a coat of thin sheet lead, the whole completely 

 enveloped in bandages, about two hundred yards being used. Glass eyes 

 were introduced, and some lint soaked in oil of cloves placed in the nos- 

 trils, and the face and hands, which had been left exposed, were covered 

 with a thin coating of wax, applied with a brush. The body was then 

 soldered down in a leaden coffin, a small quantity of powdered quicklime 

 placed under the pillow, and two windows were left, corresponding to the 

 hands and face. The body is still to be seen at the Theatre of Anatomy 

 in Little Windmill Street, London ; and, although several months have 

 elapsed since this experiment was tried, no traces of change are visible 

 externally. 



The composition of the fluid used by M. Gannal is not stated ; it con- 

 tains, in all probability, some powerful antisceptic, such as creosote. 



Method or Preserving Fruits, &c — Dr Christison, the well known 

 Professor of Materia Medica in this University, has, for several years, 

 made use of a saturated solution of common salt for preserving the speci- 

 mens of fruits, as well as succulent and other plants in general, which 

 adorn his Museum. This cheap substitute for the more expensive spirits 

 of wine, is not so generally known as it ought to be, although he made it 

 the subject of a communication to the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, in 

 the course of last winter. In general it is preferable to spirits, though in 

 a few cases the latter are necessary. The top of the jar is secured m the 

 usual way by bladder and tinfoil, or sheet lead. 



Crab common to China and Europe — Among a collection of Chinese 

 Crustacea sent from Canton a few years ago, which came into the hands 

 of the writer, there are two specimens of a Crab, the Gonoplax bispinosa 

 of Leach, found also on the coast of England and France. It is a singular 

 fact, that this crustaceous animal should have so wide a range, and be 

 found in countries so dissimilar. Indeed, I was at first very sceptical on 

 the subject, and although the descriptions given by different authors or 

 the G. bispinosa agreed with my Chinese specimens, I was not satisfied 

 as to their identity until I had an opportunity of seeing authentic 

 specimens in the British Museum, collected, I presume, by Dr Leach 

 on the Devonshire coast. Although I am not aware of any British 

 Insects found in countries so far remote as China or Hindostan, yet it is 

 well known that several species of Birds are common to both Britain 

 and India, many specimens of which are preserved in the Edinburgh 

 Museum J. M. 



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