1881.] Dr. Hoernle — On Early Muhammadan Coins of Bengal. 53 



mens. He hoped to be able to draw up a paper from the MS. on the new coins 

 of the Pathan kings which had been found since Mr. Thomas' book was pub- 

 lished. He might mention two very curious ones: (1) a gold of king No 9, 

 Nasir-ud-din Mahmiid, and (2) a gold of king No. 17, Nasir-ud-din Khushan. 

 The former shows Thomas' remark on page 134 that Ghiaz-ud-din Balban was 

 the first king that struck gold coins is incorrect. This gold coin is now in 

 the Imperial Academy at Berlin. Mr. Gibbs having exchanged it for some 

 rare Moghul coins with the late Col. Guthrie some years ago, before he 

 collected the Pathan series. With regard to the latter king only one silver 

 coin is known. It is in this Society's collection, but the gold one which he 

 obtained through a Marwari in Bombay is of much finer execution than the 

 silver coin. 



Mr. Gibbs's experience leads him to the opinion that gold and silver 

 coins will be found of all the Pathan kings ; it was the custom to coin such 

 for distribution when the monarch was first placed on the throne, and it 

 will be found that even now not more than 12 out of the first 30 Pathan 

 kings are without specimens of either large gold or silver coins, often of 

 both. Mr. Gibbs also further noticed that the series of coins of the smaller 

 Muhammadan kingdoms set up after Muhammad bin Tughlaq were curious 

 and worth collecting. He had had the good fortune during the famine in 

 Bombay to get a good many specimens of the Bahmani, Malwah and Muham- 

 madan coins, and as regard the first he had acquired the only 3 gold coins 

 known. A paper with plates of this series will appear in a future No. of the 

 Numismatic Chronicle for which Mr. Gibbs left instructions before he left 

 England. 



Mr. Gibbs stated that he had been engaged with Dr. Hoernle in 

 arranging the Society's collection, and he hoped that before long a complete 

 catalogue might be ready which will be of great service to other Museums 

 and collectors in showing what coins were actually extant. 



6. Some Observations on the Standing of Animals, the Perching of Birds 

 and ihe Walking Pace of Man. — By J. C. Douglas. 



I. — The Standing of Mammals and Birds. 

 A Bird standing on one leg appears so strikingly unstable an object, 

 that most observant persons feel the want of an explanation of first, why the 

 bird chooses to stand on one leg rather than on both ; and second, why this 

 position is assumed as one of rest. It is obvious that the raised leg is rested, 

 but it is equally obvious that the other leg has to do the work of both, and 

 there is a decided reduction in stability, when using only one leg ; but, 

 from the bird resting in this position, there must be physiologically some 

 economy, which renders the less stable position also less exhausting. This 

 resting the limbs alternately is particularly frequent in natatorial birds 



