324 On the Affinities of the Falconidce. 



mediate in length between the sixth and seventh ; inner web 

 of the first, second, third, and fourth, truncated ; outer web 

 of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, also emarginated. Tail 

 rather long and rounded. Legs feathered down as far as 

 the upper third of the tarsus anteriorly. Tarsus strong, and 

 rather lengthened, scutellated anteriorly. Toes scutellated, 

 slender, and very long, middle one surpassing the others by 

 nearly a joint, external toe longer than the internal one, 

 hind toe very short. Claws long, much curved, pointed, and 

 grooved below, hind one much the largest, internal much 

 larger than the external. Types — Falco palumbarius, trivir- 

 gatus, albus, &c. Edinburgh Royal Museum. 



By the above characters we are led into the next group, 

 which differs only in the tarsus being more lengthened and 

 slender, in the bill being devoid of a festoon, which however 

 is not always wanting, many species being furnished with it, 

 in the wings being proportionally shorter, and in the propor- 

 tional length of the primary quills. — To this group the term 

 Accipiter has been applied by some authors, Fringillarius by 

 others. 



[To be continued.] 

 Umballa Political Agency, 

 May 30th, 1840. 



On the Structure of the Delta of the Ganges, as exhibited 

 by the Boring Operations in Fort William, a.d. 1836 — 40. 

 By Lieut. R. Baird Smith, Bengal Engineers. 



The increasing interest attached to the preservation of 

 detailed records of subterranean operations, and their ac- 

 knowledged importance as materials of economic and scien- 

 tific reference, have induced me to embody in the following 

 pages the information relative to the geological structure of 

 the Gangetic Delta, elicited by the boring operations re- 

 cently in progress at this place. It is not my design to enter 

 upon the mechanical details of these operations, as the Re- 



