892 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Oct. 



ence in character having been drawn from the teeth of the young and adult of 

 the same species. I ought to remind you that this same gentleman was the 

 discoverer, in 1833, of the Indian Herculaneum or buried town near Behat, 

 north of Seharunpore, which he found seventeen feet below the surface of the 

 country when directing the excavation of the Doab Canal*. 



" But I ought more particularly to invite your attention to the joint paper by 

 Dr. Falconer and Captain Cautley on the Sivatherium, a new and extraordinary 

 species of mammalia, which they have minutely described and figured, offering at 

 tne same time many profound speculations on its probable anatomical relations. 

 The characters of this genus are drawn from a head almost complete, found at 

 first enveloped in a mass of hard stone, which had lain as a boulder in a water- 

 course, but after much labour the covering of stone was successfully removed, 

 and the huge head now stands out with its two horns in relief, the nasal bones 

 being projected in a free arch, and the molars on both sides of the jaw being 

 singularly perfect. This individual must have approached the elephant in size. 

 The genus Sivatherium, say the authors, is the more interesting, as helping to 

 fill up the important blank which has always intervened between the ruminant 

 and pachydermatous quadrupeds, for it combines the teeth and horns of a rumi- 

 nant, with the lip, face, and probably proboscis of a pachyderm. They also 

 observe, that the extinct mammiferous genera of Cuvier were all confined to the 

 Pachydermata, and no remarkable deviation from existing types had been noticed 

 by him among fossil ruminants, whereas the Sivatherium holds a perfectly isolat- 

 ed position, like the giraffe and the camels, being widely remote from any 

 other type." 



Resolved, that due acknowledgments be addressed to the Geological 

 Society for their courtesy in entrusting the Asiatic Society with the hono- 

 rary medals awarded to two of their associates, and that they be imme- 

 diately forwarded with appropriate congratulations to Seharanpur. 



The Right Honorable Lord Auckland, Patron, addressed to the Socie- 

 ty's attention the following communication just received from the Royal 

 Asiatic Society, confident that the Society would omit no means of giving 

 effect to the objects with which they had been forwarded. 



" The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 14, Grafton Street, 



Bond Street ; 



My Lord, London, llth of May, 1837. 



The Committee of Agriculture and Commerce of this Society, having had 

 before them certain specimens of Lichens used in dyeing, and being informed 

 that several species are now employed in India for that purpose, and that many 

 more would probably be elicited by a close investigation, and an accurate know- 

 ledge of the requirements of the trade, which has been much checked by the 

 short supply, and high price of the best sorts used, I am requested by the Com- 

 mittee to transmit to your Lordship the accompanying specimens of Lichens, 

 with bottles of the auimoniacal liquor used in extracting the color, and of the 

 extracted color ; and to enclose fifty copies of the first day's proceedings of the 

 Committee, which contain directions for ascertaining the most useful sorts of 

 Lichens, and for using the liquor as a test of their quality. I am also requested 

 to solicit that such measures may be adopted as may appear to your Lordship 

 to be expedient to diffuse amongst those to whom it is likely to be useful such 

 an aequaintancewith the subject as may tend to advance the views of the Com- 

 mittee. 



As the Committee are impressed with the conviction that their views of gene- 

 ral utility are fully shared by your Lordship, they feel it unnecessary to offer any 



* Journal of Asiatic Society, Nos. xxv. and xxix. 1834. Principles of Geology, 

 4th and subsequent editions. See Index, Behat. 



