403 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London : [April 



New method of Boring. — An economical and easy method of sinking 

 Artesian Wells and boring for coal, &c. has recently been practised 

 near Saarbriick, by M. Sellow. Instead of the tardy and costly process 

 of boring with a number of iron rods screwed to each other, one heavy 

 bar of cast-iron about six feet long and four inches in diameter, armed 

 at its lower end with a cutting chisel, and surrounded by a hollow 

 chamber, to receive through valves, and bring up the detritus of the 

 perforated stratum, is suspended from the end of a strong rope, which 

 passes over a wheel or pulley fixed above the spot in which the 

 hole is made. As this rope is raised up and down over the wheel, its 

 tortion gives to the bar of iron a circular motion, sufficient to vary the 

 place of the cutting chisel at each descent. 



When the chamber is full, the whole apparatus is raised quickly to 

 the surface to be unloaded, and is again let down by the action of the 

 same wheel. This process has long been practised in China, from 

 whence the report of its use has been brought to Europe. The Chinese 

 are said to have bored in this manner to the depth of 1000 feet. M. 

 Sellow has with this instrument lately made perforations 18 inches in 

 diameter, and several hundred feet deep, for the purpose of ventilating 

 coal mines at Saarbriick. The general substitution of this method for 

 the costly process of boring with rods of iron, may be of much public 

 importance, especially where water can only be obtained from great; 

 depths.— Ibid. -p. 568. 



Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. — Indian Antelope. 

 —Mr. Bennett directed the attention of the Meeting to an interesting 

 series of the Indian Antelope, Antelope Cervicapra, Pall., now at the 

 Society's Gardens. It consists of four individuals : an adult and aged 

 male, brought by Col. Sykes from Bombay, and presented by him to 

 the Society nearly five years ago ; a younger, yet adult, male, which 

 was presented, in an immature condition, about two years since ; an 

 immature male, lately arrived in the Menagerie, and in about the same 

 state of development as that in which the last-mentioned individual was 

 when it was originally presented; and an emasculated individual of full 

 growth. In the older of these Antelopes the rich deep coluur of the 

 body generally is so intense as almost to approach to black, and the 

 horns are strong and fully developed : the possession of horns and the 

 depth of colouring, which are peculiar to the male sex, are exhibited 

 in it at their maximum. The second individual approximates nearly to 

 it in the degree in which these secondary sexual characters are deve- 

 loped. In the third, the youngest of the series, there exist the horns 



