Notices by Dr. T. Forster. 235 



serves, of the power possessed by Asiatics, through their tran- 

 quil familiarity, of taming the most formidable quadrupeds. 

 That the rhinoceros will submit to the domesticating influence 

 of man we have seen more than one instance, nor would the 

 tractability of this herbivorous animal seem in any way a matter 

 of surprise, — when we know that the fiercest of the carnivorous 

 tribe have become the attached companions of their master, — 

 if the rhinoceros had not been held up by writers of every 

 age and country as a standard of brutal and untameable fury. 

 India exhibits numerous proofs of false conclusions by histo- 

 rians regarding the habits and temper of animals, and affords 

 a field of interesting inquiry respecting their instinct, as con- 

 tradistinguished to what might be called their educateable facul- 

 ties. This subject has hitherto, we believe, only been treated 

 by the naturalists of Europe, who have relied, in many cases, 

 upon very vague or insufficient narratives, but never by any 

 person residing in the native country of the animals whose hi- 

 story has been recorded. 



[The preceding four articles are notices of papers read before 

 the Asiatic Society of Bengal, from the Calcutta Government 

 Gazette.] 



NOTICES BY DR. T. FORSTER. 



The Ladybirds which on the 25th, 26th, and 27th of July 

 swarmed at Brighton, like a pestilence, were of the species 

 Coccinetla septemjmnctata, or large orange-coloured kind. 



The Phyteuma spicatum has been found in great abundance 

 in the parishes of Mayfield, Maresfield, and Uckfield in Sus- 

 sex, this summer, so as completely to establish the habitat. 



Notwithstanding the heat and dry weather of this present 

 summer, the Aster c7iine?isis, and several other oriental syn- 

 genesious plants have flowered a month later than ordinary. 

 Nearly a quarter of an acre of ground has been covered with 

 Mimulus luteus, which has flowered for several years past on 

 a piece of boggy waste ground, near Maresfield, Sussex; but 

 it has been discovered at length, by Dr. Forster, that a quan- 

 tity of garden mould containing the haulm and probably the 

 seeds of this plant was thrown out into the aforesaid place 

 by a nursery-man several years ago. 



Dr. Forster has observed that the number of meteors winch 

 are seen in August, are to those seen in September as 3 to 2; 

 and that they exceed by more than three times the number 

 seen in any other month of the year. 



A correspondent will be obliged by a particular account 

 of the great meteor seen last month at Glasgow, in Scotland, 

 of which some imperfect descriptions have appeared in the 

 papers. 



2 G 2 list 



