coral. The Greeks, in the time of Aristotle, must have admired it when they gave to it the name of KOPA'AION, from xópn, a young virgin, and aλòs, of the sea: the maiden daughter of the sea.

The specimens exhibited to-night are three in number. They belong to the Liverpool Museum, and are the finest I have anywhere seen. One of them is still affixed to the matrix, and is in its natural condition, in which the surface is regularly striated. The bark is thin and very fugacious, but may be seen on some portions of the specimen. It is, I believe, the true Corallium rubrum of Linnæus from the Mediterranean. The other two have, I think, been polished, but it is possible they may belong to another species of the genus Corallium. They were brought to Liverpool from Japan. The larger of the two was in a casket, the interior of which was shaped to fit the specimen, and lined with silk.

The Rev. H. H. HIGGINS also contributed the following description of a Fungus recently found at New Brighton :

Agaricus (Clitocybe) crenatus, n.s. ?

Pileus somewhat fleshy, one inch broad; umbilicate, pale flesh-coloured, clothed with purple-brown raised fibrillæ, in streaks; margin involute, regularly crenate, purple black; gills, pale flesh-coloured, emarginate; stem, three inches long, tough, compressed; spores, variable in form, pale, but not quite colourless.

This singularly beautiful Agaric, which occurred in perfect condition, differs from all the forms of A. Laccatus I have seen, in the contrast between the purple raised scales of the pileus, and the pale rose-colour of the surface below; in the gills, which are more crowded, and in the black crenate margin. It was growing on a sandy dune, in company with Geaster Bryantii and Tulostoma mammosum.

Mr. T. J. MOORE exhibited the following objects, recently added to the Free Public Museum :

A fine adult male specimen of the Himalayan Langur (Presbytis schistaceus, Hodgson), a monkey closely related to the Entellus, from an elevation of about eight thousand feet in the pine and birch woods of Kashmir; collected and presented, with other Mammals and Birds from Kashmir, Ladakh, and Baltistan, by Mr. St. George Littledale.

Specimen of Nectarinide and other Birds, chiefly from the Amaswazi and Bamangwato countries, South Africa; collected and presented by Mr. R. M. Brooke, Norton Priory.

A Skin of the Kiang, or Wild Ass (Equus hemionus? Pallas), shot in Ladakh, and presented by Mr. O. Heywood Jones.

A stuffed specimen of the rare marine Lizard, Amblyrhynchus cristatus, from the Galapagos Islands; collected and presented by Capt. Thomas Strick, barque Arica.

A young Apteryx in the egg, and other specimens from New Zealand; collected and presented by Col. Trimble.

A living specimen of the Amphiuma, or Congo Snake (Amphiuma means), from New Orleans, presented by Capt. J. A. Perry, Associate.

Specimens of Fish, Shells, Sponges, &c., from the Red Sea, Burmah, &c., collected and presented by Capt. Sibthorpe, s.s. European.

Dr. NEVINS next read a short paper on Ostrich Farming, and was followed by Mr. GUTHRIE, who described the manufacture of Ostrich Plumes.

Mr. ARTHUR NEVINS, Associate, gave an account of his recent visit to the Keeling or Cocos Islands, now largely

resorted to for water-supplies by vessels trading with horses from Australia to India. During his brief stay for such a purpose, Mr. Nevins made a small collection of Shells; these had been presented by him to the Free Public Museum, and determined by Mr. Marrat, from whom the following communication was read:

NOTE ON SHELLS FROM THE KEELING OR COCOS ISLANDS, INDIAN OCEAN.

By F. P. MARRAT.

Keeling's Islands, or Cocos Islands as they were formerly named, were a few years since selected by the late Mr. Keen and myself as one of the most likely spots in the whole ocean range to contain vast numbers, and consequently a great variety, of shells. Mr. Keen obtained the name of the owner, Mr. Ross, to whom he wrote requesting him to gather any of the small shells, easily obtainable on the shore. The result of this communication was a prompt reply, and a small box containing a very large number of species, such as to rather whet our appetites than lull our cravings for more. The following shells were selected from the lot :-Cypræaovula adamsonii, Gray, bleached; Trivia insecta, Migh. ; pellucidula, Gask.; Oryza, Sam.; scabriuscula, Gray, and another very like the rare T. producta, Gask., but in bad condition. Some of the elongated and cancellated Pleurotomoid forms were among the most graceful it is possible to conceive, even vying with their brethren in the Mitroid group.

Although the sixteen genera and species brought by Mr. Nevins are of the commonest description, they are large shells, and, taking them in connection with the small species previously mentioned, I should say that the Molluscan fauna is a very rich one, and probably little inferior to that of the celebrated Philippines, immortalised (speaking conchologically) by the late Hugh Cuming.

The following communication was then read :

NOTE ON SHELLS FROM THE MALDIVE ISLANDS, BROUGHT BY CAPTAIN SLACK, ASSOCIATE OF THE SOCIETY.

By F. P. MARRAT.

Capt. Slack, Associate of this Society, presented to our Free Public Museum, some time since, about twenty species of shells, purchased by himself at Ceylon, and which he ascertained, by direct evidence, to come from the Maldive Islands, in the Indian Ocean. These shells, together with others obtained from the neighbouring Laccadive Islands, were all belonging to Philippine species, thus extending the geographical range in which these shells are said to have been found. It would be interesting if we could ascertain the centres of radiation of these and similar groups, and determine the causes of deviation to which they are at present, or were formerly, subject. The oceanic currents must be the principal means by which they are transported, hence the apparent deviations that seem to exist. In the present instance, these currents pass from the Philippines round the island of Ceylon, stretch out, and absolutely enclose the Maldives; another branching current rushes along the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal, and shells of

a like character are also found here, off the Andaman Islands.

Most of the writers on shells, such as Reeve, Sowerby, and Adams, in this country; Carpenter, Binney, Gould, and Dahl, in America; Kiener, Dunker, and Krauss, in Germany; Chenu, Crosse, Lamarck, in France, are silent on this important subject; and nearly all the authors now living lay considerable stress in their specific descriptions on the localities in which the shells they describe are found.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, November 4th, 1878.

JOHN J. DRYSDALE, M.D., M.R.C.S., PRESIDENT, in the Chair.

Mr. W. Slater and Dr. Howie were elected Ordinary Members.

The Rev. H. H. HIGGINS read a paper on the question, "Is Nature Cruel ?" which occupied the whole of the evening.

See page 75.