4202 Quadrupeds, fyc. 



it came up, brought me letters from you, which contained the plea- 

 sant intelligence of the safe arrival of the Tapajos collection, which 

 had begun to cause me some uneasiness. The collection appears to 

 be considered one of the best, as I had expected. There are many 

 beautiful things still left with me, but only as unique at present, espe- 

 cially in Eurygonae, &c. The estimation bestowed on my miserable 

 specimens of Economic Botany is very encouraging, and I value Mr. 

 Hanbury's notice and politeness : as to the offer mentioned, I cannot 

 conscientiously say that the prices given are not liberal or sufficient, 

 at the same time, of course, the more encouragement I receive the 

 harder I work, and I have already a few specimens collected since the 

 receipt of the letter. I would rather say, that as my application to 

 this department is dependent on my future stay and further explora- 

 tion of the country, the present of a periodical, or literary and scien- 

 tific journal, to make me feel less an exile from intellectual society, 

 would be very acceptable. The journal need not be new, second- 

 hand will do. I would name the ' Art Journal,' or even the ' Illus- 

 trated News;' my brother already sends me the 6 Athenaeum.' When 

 you send me the next parcel of books, I hope the ' Zoologist ' will 

 not be forgotten ; send all the numbers. 



" Considering the value of the Tapajos collection, the non-arrival 

 of the steamer for the Upper Amazons, &c, I shall adopt your advice 

 and make another visit ; in fact, I am now preparing. I shall not 

 hire a canoe and hands, indeed the latter is impossible; even the two 

 mulattoes I engaged last time cannot now be had, as one has been in 

 prison for burglary, and the other is at Obydos. I shall make use of 

 some of my friends to give me a lift to Alter do Chao, as the first sta- 

 tion. All letters and parcels will reach me safely. 



" H. W. Bates." 



Occurrence of the Round-headed Porpoise (Phocama melas) near Ventnor. — A spe- 

 cimen of the round-headed porpoise, or caaing whale (Phoccena melas, Traill), is now 

 lying on the shore below Hoody Point, about a mile and a half from this place. It 

 was washed ashore on the night of Sunday, the 25th instant ; yesterday I proceeded 

 to the spot, and having made a rough sketch, readily identified it as the above species 

 on reference to Professor Bell's work. The following dimensions were obtained with 

 the aid of a walking-stick: — Length, 15 feet 6 inches; depth, 3 feet 8 inches; length 

 of pectoral fin, 3 feet ; dorsal ditto, 2 feet 8 inches ; width of caudal fin slightly ex- 

 ceeding 3 feet ; the circumference might exceed 8 feet. The white mark under the 

 throat was very small, not extending along the breast and belly as described; more- 

 over, the width of the flukes I made 1 inch more than the length of the pectorals, 



