86 Miscellaneous lnirll'iij, n<-< ■■. 



and 13 mm wide, and it had a parchment-like shell like that of 

 many reptiles, which was V"" thick. He inclines to the opinion 

 of Professor Gegenbaur (Morphologisches Jahrbuch, 1884), who 

 examined two adult females of Echidna sctosa, that the pouches 

 are periodically developed; and that "the pouch attains its 

 greatest development during the time it serves as incubator for 

 the egg, and that it consists of a pair of semi-lunar fossa? during 

 the period the mother suckles her- progeny, disappearing after- 

 wards altogether." 



In the examination in September of two male Echidna? he dis- 

 covered "the unmistakable homologue of the mammary gland of 

 the female." He found "in situations corresponding to those in 

 the female, similar tufts of short hair quite as plain as those in- 

 dicative of the mammary areola? in the female;" and, on skinning 

 the animals, the rudimentary mammary glands were without dif- 

 ficulty discovered. " In the largest of the two specimens the one 

 mammary gland forms a mass about 8 mm long by 4 mm wide, the 

 lobules being about 2 n,m long. The other gland is a little larger. 

 The glands are built after the same plan as the female glands, 

 and contain a considerable number of lobules." Dr. Haacke adds: 

 "In conclusion, I should not forget to mention that I am aware of 

 Mr. W. H. Caldwell's discovery of the oviparity of the Monotre- 

 mata, made about the same time as it seems at which my discov- 

 ery was made, and that the British Association at their Montreal 

 meeting received the information of Mr. Caldwell's discovery 

 about the same date at which my Echidna egg was exhibited at 

 a meeting of the Royal Society of South Australia. But this is 

 all I know at present about Mr. Caldwell's discovery." 



IV. Miscellaneous Scientific Intelligence. 



1. American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. — This 

 society, whose first meeting was held in the year* 1743, has pub- 

 lished in a volume of 876 pages, the early correspondence and the 

 minutes of the meetings, from the year 1744 to July, 1838, at 

 which time the publication of the " Proceedings " heretofore 

 printed, began. It is accompanied with copious indexes. The 

 first letter with regard to the establishment of the society pub- 

 lished in the volume is by Benjamin Franklin, bearing the date 

 April 5, 1744, and a lithographic fac-simile of it makes a frontis- 

 piece to the volume. It states that " the society, as far as relates 

 to Philadelphia, is actually formed, and has had several meetings to 

 mutual satisfaction." The members, as stated in it, were " Dr. 

 Thomas Bond, Mr. John Bart ram, Botanist, Mr. Thomas Godfrey, 

 Mathematician, Mr. Samuel Rhodes, Mechanician, Mr. Wm. Par- 

 sons, Geographer, Dr. Phineas Bond, General Natural Philosopher, 

 Mr. Thomas Hopkinson, President, Mr. Wm. Coleman, Treasurer 

 B. Franklin, Secretary," to whom others were later added. 

 The expression " as far as relates to Philadelphia" is shown after- 

 ward to have implied that the original scheme in view was the 



