British Association. 307 
animals had gone on simultaneously all over one region, so as to exclude 
the idea of animals or insects first appearing in some particular centre 
under certain circumstances, and thence gradually extending themselves 
wherever the situation was best adapted to their habitation. His idea 
was, that they could trace through the whole of the Palearctic region, 
from Iceland to Japan, some predominant forms, varying in greater or 
less degrees, and that whilst the variations were generally longitudinal, 
the identical forms were preserved latitudinally, Amongst the instances 
he quoted were the grey wagtail, tie yellow wagtail, the green wood- 
pecker, and the azure-winged magpie. The universality of some species 
did not, he thought, tell much against his theory, because those which did 
occur universally, or almost universally, as the snipe and osprey, had 
such powers of locomotion that they could from one centre disperse them- 
selves in all directions. In regard to land shells, the same rule appeared 
to apply. Of course, in shells it was very difficult to ascertain the whole 
of the species to be discovered in the Caucasian and North Persian district, 
because it had not been much worked; but taking the western region, 
there was not a single shell in Ireland which was not to be found in 
England, and not one in England that was not, with some few excep- 
tions, to be found in Germany; but the number of species in England 
more than doubled the number in Ireland, and the number in Germany 
more than doubled the number in England. Thus they found the species 
largely increasing as they went towards the Hast, wherever there was 
sufficient lime for the creatures to form their shell; and while very few 
of our English species were lost, new ones were continually found. What 
he wished to submit was, that the variation of species, taking the instances 
of some of our most familiar birds, the general geography of zoology 
pointed out, that in the Palearctic region, Central Asia was the centre 
from which they had passed eastward and westward. 
‘* Description of a New Plant-house.” By Mr James Bewtey. 
“ A Brief Account of the Vegetation of the Cliffs of Mohir, County 
Clare.” By Mr N. B. Warp. 
“* On the Occurrence of the Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) at 
Wick.” By Mr Cuarues W. Peracu. 
*¢ Notice of a Monstrosity in a Whiting.’ By Mr C. W. Rosz.—The 
whiting had three eyes, two in their natural position and one between 
the two. 
“‘ On the Physical Geography of the Malay Archipelago.” By Mr A. R. 
Watuace.—lIt first becomes necessary to define accurately the limits of 
the Archipelago, pointing out exactly what islands we include within it ; 
for, though ‘“‘all the islands between south-eastern Asia and Australia” 
seem pretty definite, yet to the eastward this region blends insensibly 
into the vast extent of the Pacific Islands. According to my views, the 
Malay—or, as I should prefer to. name it, the Indo-Australian—Archi- 
pelago extends from the Nicobar Islands on the north-west to St Chris- 
toval, one of the Solomon Islands, on the south-east, and from Luzon on 
the north to Rotti, near Timor, on the south. The eastern boundary is 
drawn at this particular point for reasons which will be explained further 
on. Though not geographically correct to include any part of a con- 
tinent in an archipelago, it is necessary for our purpose to consider the 
Malay peninsula as not only almost but quite an island, since it cannot 
be physically separated from the region of which we are now treating. 
Thus limited, the Archipelago is of a somewhat triangular form, with an 
extreme length of about 5000, and breadth of rather more than 2000 
