1870.] Proceedings of 'the Asiatic Society \ 67 



Many years ago, in the Society's Journal for 1853, Vol. XXII, p. 



462 and 522, 1 gave a summary of the Reptiles of Southern India. 



After the first part had been written, I was suddenly removed to 



a distant station, and was unable to take my type specimens with 



me, and they were unfortunately never again seen by me, having 



been lost or destroyed ; but, to complete the paper, I gave a very 



brief notice of the Ophidia and Batrachia, naming several new 



species of the former, and many of the latter order. Most of the 



Ophidians have been found again, but till recently hardly any of 



the Batrachians ; and it was a source of great satisfaction to me 



when Major B e d d o m e, who had previously chiefly confined his 



attentions to Ophidians, partly at my earnest solicitations, directed 



his researches to Lizards and Batrachians ; and he has re-discovered 



most of my supposed new species noticed in the Journal, and 



has also found very many new Saurians and a few Batrachians. 



Science owes him a large debt of gratitude for successfully working 



out the Reptile Fauna of Southern India ; and I, on my own part, 



beg him to accept my best thanks for giving me the opportunity of 



making known accurately the species collected by myself a quarter 



of a century ago. 



I propose in my work on the Reptiles of India to include those 

 of Assam, the Khasi hills, Cachar, Sylhet, Tipperah, and Chitta- 

 gong, stopping however at Arracan which, with the rest of the 

 Burmese provinces, has already been given by Mr. Theobald in 

 his Catalogue of Burmese Reptiles, and who, I am glad to say, is 

 making many additions to his former collections, and will, I hope, 

 duly publish the result in a separate form. I shall also include the 

 Reptiles of Ceylon, and this addition to the extent of my Indian 

 province will, I hope, make the work of much greater value. * 



In the present notice I shall take Dr. Grunther's " Reptiles of 

 British India" as the ground work of my observations. — 



I have hardly any new Chelonian Reptiles to add to the Indian 

 Fauna, but have to record three not hitherto known in our province 

 as just defined. — Manouria emys is not uncommon in the hills of 



* I propose, if my health will permit me, to give a second edition of the " Birds 

 and Mammals" of India, with the addition of species from the districts noted 

 above, making them of greater use to the Indian naturalist. 



