Carr Lag is not now easy to identify, but the author thinks it was this Long-billed Goose, a bird that resided and bred in the Carrs along with the Grey Lag, and like that bird is no longer to be found in these districts, and is now one of our scarcest British birds, or almost a lost species. This bird is distinguished from the Bean Goose by its long bill, and its entirely different habits.

The following is a list of the species :

Anas albifrons, White-fronted Goose.-Face white, bill flesh-coloured (Gould, No. 349); an occasional winter visitor in this country in small groups.

Anas ferus, or Anser, Grey Lag Wild Goose. - Breeds sparingly in this country, and is not a migratory species. Bill pink, nail white.

Anas Segetum, Bean Goose, Short billed or Migratory Goose.- Bill short, strong, the depth at the base being nearly two-thirds that of the length, pale red in the middle, black at the extremities, but varies much in the proportions of these colours. Old birds as large and pale coloured as a Grey Lag Goose. Pink-footed Goose, smaller bird, less and darker; the young of the last.

Anas paludosus, Carr Lag, or Long-billed Goose.-Bill long and weak, being exactly twice the length of the depth at the base, being 2 in. long and 1 in. deep at the base. Bill strongly toothed, a groove running the length th of the lower mandible; colour same as last. Gould, plate 348, but not the description: not a migratory species.

On the Formation of the Cells of Bees. By W. B. TEGETMEIER. Having recently been engaged in making a series of experiments with a view to determine the typical form of the cells of bees, and having arrived at some interesting results, I am desirous of bringing them before the members of the British Association. My first experiment consisted in placing a flat parallel-sided block of wax in a hive containing a recent swarm. In this, cells were excavated by the bees at irregular distances. In every case where the excavation was isolated it was hemispherical, and the wax excavated was added at the margin so as to constitute a cylindrical cell. As other excavations were made in contact with those previously formed, the cells became flat-sided, but from the irregularity of their arrangement not necessarily hexagonal. When the block was coloured with vermilion, the employment of the excavated wax in the formation of the sides of the cells was rendered more evident. The experiment has been repeated with various modifications as to the size and form of the block of wax, but always with the same results, namely, that the excavations were in all cases hemispherical, that the wax excavated was always used to raise the walls of the cells, and that the cells themselves, before others were formed in contact with them, were always cylindrical. Mr. Charles Darwin, to whom I communicated these facts, has repeated the experiments with similar results. When these experiments are taken into consideration, in connexion with the facts that in the commencement of a comb the rudiments of the first-formed cells are always hemispherical, and that in a small extending comb the outer sides of the bases of the external cells are always circular, they appear to lead to the conclusion, that the typical form of a single cell is cylindrical, with a hemispherical base; but that, when the cells are raised up in contact with one another, they necessarily become polygonal, and if regularly built, hexagonal. On this supposition alone can those numerous cases be accounted for in which one side of a cell is cylindrical, the other polygonal. In all such cases it will be found that, in the cell adjacent to the cylindrical side, there is not room (owing to some irregularity of the comb) for a bee to work,-consequently the cylindrical development is not interfered with. The formation of the small cylindrical cells surrounding the queen cell appear to admit of no other explanation. The mode in which the circular bases, situated at the thin edge of a comb in the process of enlargement, become converted into polygonal cells as new bases are formed on their outer sides, has been beautifully shown by Mr. Darwin. In repeating, with many ingenious modifications, my original experiments, he coloured, with vermilion and wax, the circular edges of the bases of the external cells in a small comb. On replacing this in the hive, he found that the walls of the cells were not raised directly upon these circular bases, but that, as other cells were built external to them, the coloured wax was remasticated and worked up into the

polygonal sides of the cells; consequently the colour, instead of remaining as a narrow line, became diffused over a considerable portion of the sides of the cells. These observations have been much facilitated by the employment of a hive having each side formed of four parallel plates of glass, with thin strata of air between. As thus formed, the escape of heat is so effectually prevented that the bees work without the necessity of covering the hive with any opaque material, and thus they are always open to observation without being disturbed by the sudden admission of light into a hive previously dark. Crude and imperfect as these experiments may be, they appear to me to have an important bearing on the theory of the formation of cells, and my desire that they may be repeated and extended by other observers must plead my excuse for bringing them before the notice of the Association.

On Aquaria. By N. B. WARD, F.R.S.

The author proceeded to consider the application of those principles which had proved so successful with plants to the subjects of the animal kingdom. At the meeting of the British Association at Liverpool in 1838, he directed the attention of the members to the extension of his principle to animals. He felt quite certain that a great number of animals would live and thrive under the same treatment, and he could see no reason why, at the same time that our stoves were ornamented with Rafflesias, they might not be illuminated with Fulgoras and Candelarias. In the same year he addressed a letter to Sir W. Hooker, in which he expressed his belief that animals as well as plants might be imported in the case, and these views were stated by Prof. Faraday at the Royal Institution. In 1841 he established the first aquarium for fish and plants in his fern-house in Wellclose Square, his object being not to determine the counterbalancing influence of plants and animals in water,-that having been ascertained long before by Priestley; -but to determine whether the limited quantity of air in the fern-house would be sufficient for the well-being of the fish. This plan was shortly followed by Dr. Bowerbank in a large glass jar, which, when seen by Mr. Mitchell, occasioned the construction of the Vivaria in the Regent's Park.

Mr. Ward read a communication from Mr. Mummery, detailing his experiments on marine animals and plants during his residence at Dover, illustrated by some very beautiful representations of some of the animals which were living in his aquarium. Of the permanent inhabitants were the following:-Actinia crassicornis, A. gemmaria, A. anguicoma, A. Dianthus, A. miniata, A. bellis, A. nivea, A. mesembryanthemum, Sertularia pla planula, Bowerbankia densa, Pedicellina belgica, Tubularia indivisa (in various states), Aphrodite aculeata, Serpula contortuplicata, Pagurus Bernhardi, Portunus puber, Balanus balanoides, Buccinum undatum, Patella, Æolis lineata, Palemon. The three following could only be kept for a very few days: Lepas anatifer, Cydippe pileus, Lucernaria auricula.

Mr. Ward gave a glowing description of the coral reefs of Rottenset Island, Western Australia, by Dr. Harvey, of Dublin, and strongly advocated the importation from thence of some of the beautiful forms of vegetable life, such as Caulerpa, Bryopsis, &c.

The paper was illustrated by a collection of cultivable sea-weeds from the herbarium of Dr. Harvey, of Cork, and a series of coloured diagrams of animals inhabiting aquaria, by Mrs. Mummery.

On the Multiplication of Actiniæ in Aquaria. By R. WARINGTON, F.C.S.

The author described the several processes of reproduction occurring amongst these creatures: the first, in which a portion of the base or foot becoming separated from the Actinia, split up into three or four portions, each giving rise to a new Actinia; the second, in which the body of Actinia was fissured or divided into two distinct individuals; and the third, when the perfect young are developed from the mouth. The author called the attention of Naturalists to these points as being of use in classifying the species, and gave the names of the many varieties in each of these sections which had come under his notice since 1851.

PHYSIOLOGY.

On some Observations connected with the Anatomy and Functions of the third, sixth, and seventh pairs of Nerves and the Medulla oblongata. By Dr. ACHILLE FOULLE.

On the Sensational, Emotional, Intellectual, and Instinctive Capacities of the Lower Animals compared with those of Man. By RICHARD FOWLER, M.D., of Salisbury.

The author submitted that the Deity had formed all animals, both mentally and corporeally, on one type. All had like sensations. All vertebrated animals had like conceptions of persons and of places; the constituents of memory, like the re-transmissions from conceptions to adjusting muscles of the functions of actions, as might be observed by the barking of dogs and their efforts to run in their sleep. They had like memory of persons and things; like powers of comparing those with their con ceptions after long absence; and like volition for the gratification of their appetites. But they had not, as man had, such perception of objects and their relations as enabled them to form new combinations, and thus to be the source, by a sort of creative power, of new ideas. There was no instance of a physical force having been used instrumentally by any of the lower animals. No monkeys, however often they might have seen a fire lighted and been comforted by its warmth, had ever been known to light a fire. They appeared to have like conceptions of objects, but not of their qualities or relations to each other. The instinctive functions seemed to be actuated by the forces of mind and vitality, by appropriate and limited structures, with adjustible muscles analogous to the different organs of sense; and this instinctive apparatus, with like analogy to the organs of sense, had affinity for the objects.

The lower animals had one decided advantage over man in an uneducated statetheir comfort was not disturbed by false notions of religion. Man was the highest being to whom the thoughts of animals were directed, and their attachments to him appeared quite as strong as those of men to each other. Animals had equal attachments to home, and the nostalgia which a continued absence inflicts was perhaps as painful as any that men suffer.

Evils were common both to men and animals. The greater part of the evils inflicted on men proceeded from their own misconduct. But there were other evils evidently intended to impel us to cultivate our intellect and our talents by searching for the means to remove them. Thus the scurvy was an evil, and our search had removed it by lemon-juice; malaria was removeable by ventilation and drainage; distance of time and space science had removed by our railways and telegraphs; the dangers of navigation had been reduced by harbours of refuge, recent observation of currents, and the rotations of storm; small-pox had been antagonized by vaccination, pain by chloroform; famine, the herald of pestilence, had been prevented by agricultural improvements; might it not be hoped that the mind would be equally successful in diminishing the remainder of our evils? Ignorance was perhaps our greatest evil, the source of so many others; crime the greatest of all, by the misery which it inflicted. But how, as to the evils to which animals were liable, without the mental means of subverting them? To man this life might perhaps be considered as a school of conduct, in which evils were our schoolmasters to urge us to "seek that we may find;" to "knock that it may be opened unto us." Even our mental evils were lessons, when they were antagonized by thoughts and actions that tended to the comfort of others, or the progressive advancement of our own minds. Was not that a proof of the benevolence of the moral law by which we were governed? But animals had no such resource. Was not that an argument which should induce man to act towards them as the Governor of the Universe deals with man?

No animal inferior to man has ever been known to create a work of art, discover a law of nature, and comprehend or apply it when produced by man. But man creates works of art, discovers laws of nature, and applies them to advance his rank in the scale of being. It may be therefore true of animals, that nothing enters the intellect but the single objects which pass through their senses without perception of the relations which they bear to each other; but it is not true of man, who does create new phenomena.

Notes of Experiments on Digestion.

By G. HARLEY, M.D., F.C.S., F.R.C.P.E.

The communication was illustrated by numerous experiments showing the properties of the saliva, the gastric juice, the bile, and the pancreatic secretion.

The author stated that, contrary to an opinion lately published by Bernard, the distinguished French physiologist, he had found that the human saliva contains both sulphocyanide of potassium and iron. The latter substance, however, can only be detected after the organic matters contained in the secretion are destroyed by burning. He had ascertained that a person of nine stone secreted between one and two pounds of saliva in twenty-four hours. 100 parts of mixed saliva yielded on analysis,

The gastric juice, the author said, does not destroy the power possessed by the saliva of transforming starch into sugar; consequently the digestion of amylaceous food is continued in the stomach. The gastric juice has the property of changing cane- into grape-sugar. 100 parts of pure filtered gastric juice, obtained through a

fistulous opening in a dog's stomach, yielded on analysis,

}

inorganic mattor

2-247

.

Phosphate of lime

The author made some remarks upon the cause of the gastric juice not digesting the living stomach; and said that his experiments showed that it is not so much the epithelium lining the organ which prevented its being digested, as the layer of thick mucus which covered its walls. When the latter substance is absent, the gastric juice attacks the walls of the living stomach and digests them, causing perforation and death. As regards the bile, it seems that this secretion takes an active part in rendering the fatty matters of our food capable of being absorbed into the system. The most curious of all the digestive fluids, however, is the pancreatic secretion, for it appears to unite in itself the properties of all the others. It not only transforms starch and other such substances into sugar, but it emulsions fats, and even to a limited extent, as first pointed out by Pappenheim and Purkinje, digests proteine compounds.

The Spinal Chord a Sensational and Volitional Centre.
By G. H. LEWES.

The spinal chord, the author stated, was formerly believed to be nothing but a great nerve-trunk; and even now its functions have been limited to the transmission and reflexion of impressions. That it can conduct impressions to the sensorium and reflect them on the motor nerves, producing muscular contraction, is all that physio

logists are willing to allow. Doubts having long rested on his mind upon this point, the author had made a series of experiments, which, together with those of Pflüger, had led him to a clear conviction.

Before detailing the evidence for the sensorial functions of the chord, it will be necessary to fix on some broad and palpable signs, such as unequivocally indicate the presence of volition. We have such signs in spontaneity of actions and choice of actions. It will scarcely be disputed that an animal manifests volition-and its act is voluntary-when the act occurs spontaneously. By "spontaneously," I mean prompted by some inward impulse, and not excited by an outward stimulus. Spontaneity and choice are two palpable characteristics of sensation and volition, and it is these we must seek in our experiments. Those who for the first time perform, or witness, experiments on decapitated animals, find it very difficult to believe that these animals have no sensation; but their doubts are generally settled by a reference to the admitted hypothesis of the brain being the exclusive seat of consciousness. On the strength of this hypothesis, the striking facts recorded by Legallois, Prochaska, Volkmann, and others, have been explained as simple cases of the reflex action of the chord. Against this hypothesis of the brain being the exclusive seat of consciousness, I have for some years gathered increasing strength of conviction, preferring the hypothesis of the sensorium being co-extensive with the whole of the nervous centres. From the mass of evidence furnished by experiments, all bearing on the same point, the sensational function of the chord acquires in my mind the force almost of a demonstrated truth. From that mass a few cardinal cases may be selected. If they do not carry conviction, there can be little hope in any accumulation of such cases.

Place a child of two or three years old on his back, and tickle his right cheek with a feather, he will probably first move his head aside, and then, on the tickling being continued, he will raise his right hand, push away the feather, and rub the tickled spot. So long as his right hand remains free he will never use the left hand when the right cheek is tickled, or vice versa. But if you hold his right hand, he will rub with the left. The voluntary character of these actions is indisputable, in spite of their uniformity; they are prompted by sensation, and determined by volition.

Let us now contrast the actions of the sleeping child under similar circumstances, and we shall find them to be precisely similar. "Children," says Pflüger, "sleep more soundly than adults, and seem to be more sensitive in sleep. I tickled the right nostril of a three-year old boy. He at once raised his right hand to push me away, and then rubbed the place. When I tickled his left nostril he raised the left hand. I then softly drew both arms down, and laid them close to the body, imbedding the left arm in the clothes, and placing on it a pillow, by gentle pressure on which I could keep the arm down without awakening him. Having done this I tickled his left nostril. He at once began to move the imprisoned arm, but could not reach his face with it, because I held it firmly though gently down. He now drew his head aside, and I continued tickling, whereupon he raised the right hand, and with it rubbed the left nostril, an action he never performed when the left hand was free."

This simple and ingenious experiment of Pflüger establishes one important point, namely, that the so-called reflex actions in sleep are not unaccompanied by sensation and volition. The sleeping child behaves precisely as the waking child behaves, except that his actions are less energetic; and we are forced to assume the presence of dim cerebral consciousness to escape the conclusion that the spinal chord is also a seat of consciousness. The actions of the sleeping and the waking child are so similar, that both must be credited with sensation and volition (and if not both, then neither must be so credited); in like manner I shall show that the actions of animals before and after decapitation exhibit no more difference, as respects sensibility, than the actions of the waking and the sleeping child; so that here again, unless both actions are credited with sensation and võlition, neither of them can put in a claim. Experiment leads decisively to this alternative, namely, either animals are unconscious machines, or decapitated animals manifest sensibility and will. (Having detailed a series of experiments with a water newt, to show that the animal's actions were precisely the same before and after decapitation, and arguing that they displayed spontaneity of action-the paper proceeded.]-After allowing a quarter of an hour to elapse, in order to a more complete reinstatement of vigour, I touched the flank as before, with acetic acid. The movements at first were very disorderly.