1837.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 403 



Physical. 



G. Loch, Esq. C. S. forwarded for presentation to the museum a second 

 collection of the butterflies and insects of Silhet. 



Dr. T. Cantor presented some fragments of bones perfectly fossilized, 

 extracted from the superficial clay at Rungafulla below Diamond Harbour. 



In these bones the animal matter is entirely replaced by iron and carbonate 

 of lime, although they were imbedded in quite a modern alluvium. Their 

 discovery throws a new light either on the period requited for fossilization, or 

 on the age of the alluvium. 



Mr. W. T. Lewis of Malacca, presented the model of a Chinese double 

 bellows for the museum ; also some tin and gold ore. 



The Tapir sent up by Lieutenant Mackenzie had, with the Committee 

 of Papers' sanction been made over to the Secretary, it being out of the 

 Society's views to keep living animals. 



Mr. B. H. Hodgson forwarded some beautiful Zoological drawings for 

 inspection on their way to Europe ; also two bottles of the snakes peculiar 

 to Nipal. 



Lieutenant Hutton presented a notice of the Indian Boa Python Tigris. 



A letter from Professor S. Von dem Busch, of Bremen, proposed 

 exchanges of land and fresh-water shells and other objects. Referred to 

 the Curator. 



Dr. T. Cantor presented drawings and a notice of one of the fossils in 

 the Colvin collection which had been cleared from matrix for the purpose 

 of examination. 



It proves to be the skull of a gigantic fossil Batrachian, and by comparison of 

 the relative measurements of the common frog, it must have belonged to an 

 animal of 40 inches in length ! — a proportion between fossil and recent species 

 which has its parallel only in the neighbouring family of reptiles, the salamanders, 

 of which the specimen from the Oeningen schist known by the name of Homo 

 diluvii testis, measured three feet in length. 



The following notice of a curious natural phenomenon observed in the 

 Red Sea was communicated by Captain A. Burnes from Buhdwalpur. 



Extract of u letter from Lieutenant Welsted of the Indian Navy, dated 

 Mount Sinai, September 26th, 1836. 

 " You once expressed a wish to know something of the Djibbel Narkono or 

 sounding mountain, concerning which there has been so much doubt and discus- 

 sion in Europe. I visited it on my way here — it is situated on the sea shore 

 about eight miles from Tor. A solid slope of the finest drift sand extends 

 on the sea face from the base to the summit (about six hundred feet) at an angle 

 of about 40° with the horizon. This is encircled or rather semicircled, if the 

 term is allowable) by a ridge of sandstone rocks rising up in the pointed pinnacle, 

 and presenting little surface adapted for forming an echo. It is remarkable that 

 there are several other slopes similar to this, but the sounding or rumbling, as it 

 has been called, is confined to this alone. We dismounted from our camels, and 

 remained at the base while a Bedoin scrambled up. We did not hear the sound 

 until lie had attained a considerable height. The sound then began rolling down, 

 and it commenced in a strain resembling the first faint notes of an Eolian harp, or 

 the fingers wetted and drawn over glass — increasing in loudness as the sand reached 

 the base, when it was almost equal to thunder. It caused the rock on which we 

 were seated to vibrate and our frightened camels (animals you know not easily 



alarmed) to start off. I was perfectly astounded, as was Captain M and the 



rest of the party. I had visited it before in the winter month, but the sound 

 was then so faint as to be barely evident, but now the scorching Leat of the sun 

 had dried the sand and permitted it to roll dowu in large quantities. I cannot 

 now form the most remote conjecture as to the cause of it. We must not I find 

 now refer it to the sand falling into a hollow, that might produce a sound but 

 could never cause the prolonged vibrations, as it were of some huge harp string. 

 I shall not venture on any speculation, but, having carefully noted the facts, I 

 shall lay them, on my arrival in England, before some wiser head than my own, 

 and see if he can make any thing out of them." 



