128 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



kevitch, probably the same person who I see announced in the papers as 

 Russian Consul-general, under the name of Gorkwitch, who accompanied 

 the Russian admiral, Pontiatine, as naturalist , in his visit to Japan, when 

 the treaty with that kingdom was entered into. M. Gaskevitch was 

 wrecked in the Russian frigate Diana, in consequence of a terrible earth- 

 quake, and kindly treated by the Japanese, who subsisted the shipwrecked 

 crew. Thereafter, in an attempt to rejoin the Admiral in a Russian 

 ship, he was captured by the British, and his scientific career in these 

 seas closed for the time by his having been sent home to be adjudged upon 

 in this country ; where he no sooner arrived than- he was at once ordered 

 to be set at liberty. He does not seem to have liked his captivity at all T 

 and I am sure men of science in this country will like it as little. How 

 any captain could have conceived it consistent with his duty to arrest a 

 scientific man in his career of usefulness, under any circumstances, seems 

 difficult to understand ; but there are always two sides to a story — and 

 audi alteram 'partem is a rule never deviated from without subsequent 

 unpleasant reflections. If he has now returned to fill the important part 

 of Consul-general, we may expect to reap a good harvest of Coleoptera 

 through his friend Count Motschoulsky. 



From the loss of his collections, sustained by M. Gaskevitch, the report 

 and descriptions of the Japan and Amoor species are very meagre, chiefly 

 Lepidoptera. Of the Coleoptera brought by him, M. Motschoulsky re- 

 marks that they offered little resemblance to our European species, and 

 that there were only found three which appear identical with those of 

 the west — Anomala oblonga, Anobium paniceum, and Coccinella im~ 

 pustulata. All the rest belonged to the type of China and the Philippine 

 Isles. 



If we have drawn little from the north of these seas of late years, the 

 more southern portion has amply atoned for it ; Mr Wallace having sent 

 from Celebs, Aru, &c, a great variety of most beautiful and striking new 

 species. These, for the most part, yet remain to be described ; only a few 

 of their favourite group, the Longicornes, having been described by Mr 

 Pascoe in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London ; 

 and by Mr Adam White, in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of 

 London. I hope we shall have many more of these species described by 

 these gentlemen. 



There has been an intermission to the rapidity with which the entomo- 

 logy of Australia and New Zealand was becoming known. Dr Baly's 

 monograph of the genus Australica (the equivalent of our Chrysomelidce) 

 is, 1 think, the last connected description of species from that quarter. 

 There is, however, a great mass of unappropriated material collected, and 

 it is to be hoped that ere long some labourer may arise willing to cultivate 

 the fields now lying vacant. 



Passing on to South America, there is no work of any moment to record. 

 Little groups of species, and some isolated descriptions, are all that I 

 have to notice. One of the most interesting of these is the Agrium 

 fallaciosuvi of Chev. (also described by M. Motschoulsky, under the 

 name of Pinochile ceenosd). It is found at the Straits of Magellan, 

 comes next to the Manticora of the Cajte, and forms the transition 

 between them and the Omus of the Rocky Mountains. It thus possesses- 

 a similar interest to the Eucrania of the deserts north of Patagonia, 

 which represent the Ateuchi of Afriea. Mr Bates, a most successful and 

 scientific collector, has sent home from the Amazon an immense quantity 

 of interesting and lovely novelties, some of which have been from time 

 to time described by Dr Baly, Mr Thomson, &c, but the great mass are 

 still undescribed. A curious genus, possessing the unique character of 

 being viviparous, has been described by M. Schiodte as found in Brazil ; 



