28 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
strongly recommending that the curious object should be con- 
signed to the Zoological Cabinet of the Roman University, it was 
wrapped in paper and forthwith despatched to the Director of 
the Cabinet, Professor Jasco, who upon first sight thereof nearly 
smothered the messenger in a frantic embrace, explaining his 
enthusiasm by the information that the object presented him 
was a true rarity yet wanting to the Cabinet, namely, an egg of 
the Torpedo or Electric Ray, vulgo Crampfish, of the Linnean 
genus raive. It seems that the Torpedo, once the egg is 
matured, drops it into the depths of the sea, where it is trans- 
formed into a fish ; however, it occasionally happens that in its 
fall it is swallowed by some large fish—in fact, an immense 
palomoho or dogfish, a great Roman delicacy, had been washed 
in that very kettle, which must have ejected the egg now pre- 
served in alcohol asa rare treasure for the zoological students 
of the Sapienza, and for the dilettanti in that science.”—-From 
Letter of Roman Correspondent of the London Tablet, dated 
August 4th, 1883. [The Torpedo is well known to be vivipar- 
ous.—ED. | 
ON GLOSSOGYNE (?) HENNEDYI, R. BROWN, CANTERBURY. 
—Mr. Brown’s account of this plant in the last volume of the 
Trans. N. Z. I.* induced me to visit the locality in which he dis- 
covered it at the close of June last, when, notwithstanding its 
being midwinter, I had no great difficulty in finding flowering 
specimens between Taylor’s Mistake and Godley Head. I was 
informed that it occurred in other places in the vicinity, but heavy 
rain and the approach of evening prevented me from making 
further search. Mr. Brown states that the plant differs from 
Glossogyne in the short peduncles, and the structure of the fruit. 
The first of these characters is of no importance. His descrip- 
tion of the fruit, however, shows that the plant is not a Glosso- 
gyne, but a Calotis, and examination of recent speciments proves 
it to be Colatis lappulacea, Benth. At Godley Head the plant is 
rather less than a foot in height, excessively branched, the 
branches interlacing so as to form a somewhat compact mass ; 
the flower-heads terminating the branches are produced in great 
profusion, and as they stand clear of the foliage present a showy 
appearance, which to some extent neutralises the effect of the 
inelegant habit. The achenes are arranged in spherical heads. 
There is, however, not the slightest ground for supposing the 
plant to be indigenous ; in fact, the occurrence of either Glosso- 
gyneor Colatisinany part of New Zealand is extremely improbable. 
At Godley Head our Colatis is directly associated with two other 
Australian plants, P/axtago oaria Br. and Lagenophora emphy- 
sopus Hook. f. Within half-a-mile of the spot I found dead 
culms with imperfect flowers of a third species, probably Szzpa 
setacea Br. but the material is insufficient to allow of positive 
identification, although quite sufficient to show that it does not 
belong to any indigenous plant. Further search under more 
* Trans. N. Z, I. vol. x., p. 259, 
