division of the tooth; each part is formed like a perfect | of modified ivory, perforated by a few vascular canals, simple tooth, having a body of dentine, a coat of enamel, and an outer investment of cement; a single digital process may be compared to the simple canine of a carnivore; a transverse row of these, therefore, when the work of mastication has commenced, presents, by virtue of the different densities of their constituent substances, a series of cylindrical ridges of enamel, with as many depressions of dentine, and deeper external valleys of cement; the more advanced and more abraded part of the crown is traversed by the transverse ridges of the enamel inclosing the depressed surface of the dentine, and separated by the deeper channels of the cement; the fore part of the tooth exhibits its least efficient condition for mastication, the inequalities of the grinding surface being reduced in proportion as the enamel and cement which invested the dentinal plate have been worn away; this part of the tooth is, however, fitted for the first coarse crushing of the branches of a tree; the transverse enamel ridges of the succeeding part of the tooth divide it into smaller fragments, and the posterior islands and tubercules of enamel pound it to the pulp fit for deglutition. The structure and progressive development of the tooth not only give the elephant's grinder the advantage of the uneven surface which adapts the millstone for its office, but at the same time secure the constant presence of the most efficient arrangement for the finer comminution of the food, at the part of the mouth which is nearest the fauces. With regard to the microscopic structure of the peculiar modification of dentine called "ivory," this is characterised partly by the minute size of the tubes, which, at their origin from the pulp cavity, do not exceed 13600th of an inch in diameter, in their close arrangement at intervals scarcely exceeding the breadth of a single tube, and above all, in their strong and almost angular gyrations, which are much greater than the secondary curvatures of the tubes of ordinary dentine. The dentinal tubes of ivory, as they radiate from the pulp cavity, incline obliquely towards the pointed end of the tusk, and describe two slight primary curves, the first convex towards that end, the second and shorter one concave; these curves, in narrow sections from near the open base of the tusk, are almost obscured by the strong angular parallel secondary gyrations. The tubes divide dichotomously, at acute angles, and gradually decrease in size as they approach the periphery of the tusk. The characteristic appearance of decussating curved striæ, with oblique rhomboidal spaces, so conspicuous on transverse sections or fractures of ivory, is due to the refraction of light caused by the parallel secondary gyrations of the tubes above described. The strong contour lines observed in longitudinal sections of ivory, parallel with the cone of the pulp-cavity, and which are smaller, circular, and concentric when viewed in transverse slices of the tusk, are commonly caused by strata of minute opaque cellules, which are unusually numerous in the interspaces of the tubes throughout the substance of the ivory, and are in very great abundance and of larger size in the peripheral layers of cement. The close-set lateral branches of the dentinal tubes unite with the tubuli of the cells. The decomposition of the fossil tusk into the superimposed conical layers takes place along the strata of the opaque cellules, and directly across the centre of the gyrating dentinal tubes. By the minuteness and close arrangement of the tubes, and especially by their strongly undulating secondary curves, a tougher and more elastic tissue is produced than results from their disposition in ordinary dentine; and the modification which distinguishes ivory," is doubtless essential to the due degree of coherence of so large a mass as the elephant's tusk, projecting so far from the supporting socket, and to be frequently applied in dealing hard blows and thrusts. The central part of the tusk, especially near the base of such as have reached their full size, is occupied by a slender cylindrical tract which is continued to the apex of the tusk. It is not uncommon to find processes of osteo-dentine, or imperfect bone-like ivory, projecting in a stalactitic form,* into the interior of the pulp cavity. The musket-balls and other foreign bodies which are occasionally found in ivory, are immediately surrounded by osteo-dentine in greater or less quantity. It has often been a matter of wonder how such bodies should become completely imbedded in the substance of the tusk, sometimes without any visible aperture, or how leaden bullets may have become lodged in the solid centre of a very large tusk, without having been flattened. The explanation is as follows: A musket ball aimed at the head of an elephant may penetrate the thin bony socket, and the thinner ivory parietes of the wide conical pulp-cavity occupying the inserted base of the tusk, as represented in the figure. The hole is soon healed and filled up, by ossification of the periosteum of the socket, and of the pulp next the thin wall of ivory which has been perforated. The ball sinks below the level of this cicatrix, and the presence of the foreign body exciting inflammation of the pulp, an irregular course of calcification ensues, which results in the deposition around the ball of a certain thickness of osteo-dentine. The pulp, then resuming its healthy character and functions, coats the surface of the ostecdentine inclosing the ball, together with the rest of the conical cavity into which that mass projects, with layers of normal ivory. By the continued progress of growth, the ball so enclosed is carried forwards, in the course indicated by the arrow in the figure, to the middle of the solidified part of the tusk. Should the ball have penetrated the base of the tusk of a young elephant, it may be carried forwards by the uninterrupted growth and wear of the tusk, until that base has become the apex, and be finally exposed and discharged by the continual abrasion to which the apex of the tusk is subjected. Yet none of these phenomena prove the absolute non-vascularity of the tusk, but only the low degree of its vascularity. Blood circulates slowly, no doubt, through the prolongations of the pulp in the minute vascular canals which are continued through the centre of the ivory to the very apex of the tooth. And it is from this source that the fine tubular structure of the ivory obtains the correspondingly minute villi carrying the plasmatic colourless fluid by which its low vitality is maintained. Development. The matrix of the tusk consists of a large conical pulp, which is renewed quicker than it is converted, and thus is not only preserved, but grows, up to a certain period of the animal's life. It is lodged in the cavity at the base of the tusk; this base is surrounded by the remains of the capsule-a soft vascular membrane of moderate thickness-which is confluent with the border of the base of the pulp, where it receives its principal vessels. I had the tusk and pulp of the great elephant at the Zoological-gardens longitudinally divided, soon after the death of that animal in 1847. Although the pulp could be easily detached from the inner surface of the pulp. cavity, it was not without a certain resistance, and when the edges of the co-adapted pulp and tooth were examined by a strong lens, the filamentary processes from the outer surface of the pulp could be seen stretching as they were withdrawn from the dentinal tubes before they broke. They are so minute that, to the naked eye, the detached surface of the pulp seems to be entire, and Cuvier was thus deceived in concluding that there was no organic connection between the pulp and the ivory. I regarded as equally valuable this rare opportunity of testing and confirming, by an examination of the recent internal deposits in the pulp-cavity of the elephant's tusk.— * Haller seems to have been the first to notice these irregular Elementa Physiologia, tom. viii., p. 519. +Cuvier, Annales du Museum, tom. viii., p. 115 (1806). Goodsir, Edin. Philos. Trans., 1841, p. 97. animal, the account of the processes of conversion of in which the process of the calcification has been arrested, those organs into the dental tissues, which I had pre-receives its vessels and nerves by the fissure continued viously given in my "Odontography."* from the basal expansion of the pulp cavity. Having occupied so much time with that which is the main subject chosen for this evening's discourse, I must compress the few remaining observations upon the other tusks that are of commercial value, into the smallest compass. In a few instances both tusks have been seen to project from the jaw. In the cranium of such a narwhal, figured by Alvers, the right tusk projects only six inches from the socket, is proportionately slender, and is smooth. With regard to the hippopotamus, the teeth, which With regard to the conjectured ulterior use of the conare most valuable, are those called "canines" in compara- cealed tusk, in the male, as a substitute in the event tive anatomy, but which, from their property of unin- of the loss of the large tusk b, a conjecture more terrupted growth, are here called canine tusks. They are than once repeated by writers, since first proposed by curved, consist chiefly of an extremely dense, compact Reisel, the solidity of the concealed tusk and its diskind of dentine, but are partially defended on their out-torted and generally closed basc, evince that the term of side by a thick layer of enamel-so hard as to strike fire its growth has expired. The substance of the narwhal's with steel. The partial application of this enamel is tusk is comparatively coarse, and of little value. such as to cause the opposing ends of the upper and In conclusion I must express my acknowledgments to lower tusks to wear away obliquely, the enamel acting Mr. Robert T. Fauntleroy, for the opportunity he has in this respect, like the harder layer of steel upon the kindly afforded me of examining the very extensive and chisel. The incisor teeth of the hippopotamus are also instructive series of the tusks of the elephants of Africa, tusks, by virtue of their uninterrupted growth. They India, Siam, and Ceylon, accumulated in the extensive are curved in the upper jaw, straight in the lower jaw, warehouses of the firm. There, also, I had the opporbut are smaller than the canine tusks, of less value, tunity of comparing large collections of the tusks of the and are seldom imported. hippopotamus, and specially those of the walrus and narwhal. In this collection Mr. Fauntleroy obligingly pointed out to me some singular instances of malformation-spiral tusks, for example, of the African elephant, and a lower canine tusk of the hippopotamus, which, from some accident to the opposing tusk, had proceeded in its growth until it described an entire circle. I have also to express my acknowledgments to Mr. Fauntleroy for very instructive remarks on the modifications of the ivory of tusks of elephants from different localities-localities which influence their applicability to the arts, and consequently their commercial value. In the walrus the tusks are limited to a single pair, growing from the upper jaw, and descending outside the lower jaw. Their substance is less dense and coarser than the dentine of the hippopotamus tusk, and is of proportionately less value in commerce. The tusks of the narwhal are reduced to a single tooth in the same animal; and this, moreover, is restricted to the male sex. It grows from the upper jaw, in a straight line, parallel with the long axis of the body. It is, however, one of a pair, viz., the left one, the right tusk being abortive, but always to be found. in a rudimentary state buried in the substance of the right maxillary bone. It is a very remarkable fact, that in the female there are originally a pair of these matrices or pulps, which form small rudimental tusks, that likewise remain concealed in the substance of the upper jaw, and are only detected by dissection. In the male the functional tusk, which would seem to be given to that sex as a weapon of combat or for defence, continues to grow until it acquires the length of 9 or 10 feet, with a basal diameter of 4 inches. This is that famous "horn" which figures on the forehead of the heraldic unicorn, and so long excited the curiosity and conjectures of the older naturalists, until Olaus Wormius made an end of the speculative and fabulous "monocerologies" by the discovery of the true nature of their subject, whilst Anderson,† in the year 1736, took advantage of the accident of the stranding of a narwhal at the mouth of the Elbe, to communicate to the zoological world an accurate figure of the animal, which bore the supposed single horn. Linnæus has embalmed the old idea of this weapon in the binomial Monodon monoceros, under which the narwhal is entered in the "Systema Naturæ." The exterior of the long tusk is marked by spiral ridges, which wind from within forwards, upwards, and to the left. About fourteen inches is implanted in the socket; it tapers gradually from the base to the apex. The pulp cavity, as shown in the longitudinal section of the tusk, is continued nearly to the extreme point, but is of variable width. At the base it forms a short and wide cone; it is then continued forwards, as a narrow canal, along the centre of the implanted part of the tooth, beyond which the cavity again expands to a width equalling half the diameter of the tooth, and finally, but gradually, contracts to a linear fissure near the apex. Thus the most solid and weighty part of the tooth is that which is implanted in the jaw, and nearest the centre of support, whilst the long projecting part is kept as light as is compatible with the use of the tusk as a weapon of attack and defence. The portion of pulp ⚫ Pp. 643-655. † Cited by Cuvier, Ossem. Foss. v. pl. 1, p. 319. DISCUSSION. account for the singular spiral curve in the horn of the Colonel SYKES inquired whether the Professor could narwhal. Professor OWEN said it was according to the form of the socket. The spiral curve always ran in the same direction. He had seen only one instance in which the right tusk of the narwhal had grown out, and in that case the spiral curve was in the opposite direction. The impressions on the surface, and the curves of a tooth, were due to modifications of the cavity in which it grew. The CHAIRMAN said he had the pleasure to announce that they were honoured this evening by the presence of Dr. Livingston, and he was sure the meeting would be delighted to hear from him the result of his lengthened experience in countries where this valuable article of commerce abounded. Dr. LIVINGSTON said he had attended that evening for instruction, and he was afraid that he could add very little indeed to what had already been said with regard to the tusks of elephants. He had, however, seen the animal alive in great numbers in its native wilds, and he might mention a fact which, perhaps, had not come under the observation of the learned Professor, viz., that by the Africans the elephant was regarded as one of the best tests of the courage of the hunter. If a man was able to kill an elephant, it was considered by the African that he could achieve almost anything in the way of hunting. It was not considered fair sport to hunt the elephant with dogs, as in such cases undue advantage was taken of the animal, owing to his attention being so much occupied by the harrassing of the dogs, assailant-the hunter. Sometimes he would kneel down, that he would pay no attention to his more formidable in an awkward endeavour to crush the dogs with his knees; at other times he would take hold of a large tree (perhaps twelve inches in diameter) and push it down in order to crush the dogs. The hunters in Ceylon, for the most part, approached within a short distance of the elephants, and killed them in the manner described by Professor Owen. In Africa the hunters generally approached to the side of the elephant within about thirty yards, and at that distance the animal was killed, on an average with about half-a-dozen balls; from a greater distance it might take 50 balls to despatch him. When residing at Kolobeng he took the trouble to put down the number of elephants that were annually killed in the country beyond. He found there hunters from England and from India-officers on furlough; there were also Boers, who considered themselves the bravest people on the face of the earth,-and native hunters and bastard Boers. The Boers and natives were exceedingly anxious to get hold of the ivory, owing to its high price. In observing the operations of these several classes of hunters and their results, he found that civilisation did not necessarily cause effeminacy: that, taking the four classes of hunters the English officers, the Boers, the bastard Boers, or Griquas, and the natives-the number of elephants killed by the first-named was about 20, by the Boers about 2, and by the bastard Boers and natives about a half. From this fact he repeated that it would seem that civilisation did not necessarily produce effeminacy. The reason why the English hunters killed more animals than the others was because they had the courage to go closer to the elephant before they fired, whilst the others made the attack at a greater distance, and if they happened to bring down an elephant it was an event of their lives. The number of elephants in existence at the present day on the vast continent of Africa had been stated, by the celebrated hunter, Mr. Gordon Cumming, to be very large. Such was the fact; but in going northwards he found the number increased wonderfully. On the Zambesi he found an immense number of elephants, which, however, were not of so large growth as the animals in the south. He had expected, as he went further north, with rich and abundant forest negetation, the animals would have been found much larger; but whilst the elephants of Limpopo were nearly 12 feet in length, those on the Zambesi were three feet less. The tusks, however, of the latter were much larger than those of the animals located in the southern regions. He had often attempted to account for the fact that the tusks of the smaller animal were so much larger than those belonging to the more bulky animal of the south, but he had only learned the explanation this evening from Professor Owen. The Professor had very reasonably remarked that, in those regions where the elephant had remained undisturbed by man, and passed a quiet existence, the tusks grew more regularly than in those parts where the animals were harassed, as was the case in the south, where fire-arms were in use. The elephants to the north of the Zambesi were so numerous that he could hardly imagine their ever becoming extinct. Difference of opinion prevailed with regard to the term of life of the elephant. Some persons fixed it as high as 200 years, which, he believed, had been based upon data obtained from India. Sometimes, in Africa, they saw a great number of young elephants of different sizes following the same dam, small calves, like the one now in the gardens of the Zoological Society, with others about half-grown. It would appear that the estimates of the age of the elephant, according to the data received from India, had been placed too high, but that question they might, perhaps, have an opportunity of settling by the calf now in London. Mr. DAVENPORT said he had listened with much pleasure and interest to the remarks of the learned lecturer with reference to the tusks of the walrus, but there might be dentists in the room to whom some further information with regard to the dentition of the walrus would be very valuable. Professor OWEN said-the subject of the paper being the teeth of commerce, and the tusks of the walrus being the least valuable, the time also being limited, he had said least upon that subject. With regard to the matters on which the last speaker had asked for information, he would refer him to a paper recorded in the proceedings of the Zoological Society of last year, in which there was as much information upon the law of dentition in the walrus, as could be obtained from observations made on a young walrus then existing in the gardens of the Society. In addition to that, the osteological collection of the Royal College of Surgeons of London furnished, perhaps, the best series of specimens extant of dental development in the walrus, derived from the various arctic expeditions, and the stages of dentition were recorded in the published Osteological Catalogue. The CHAIRMAN then proposed a vote of thanks to Professor Owen for the very clear and lucid information he had given upon this interesting subject-information which he ventured to say the veriest tyro in zoological science might understand, and the most learned might profit by. The thanks of the meeting were then passed to Professor Owen. The thanks of the Society are due to Messrs. Fauntleroy, for the loan of an extensive collection of tusks and teeth; to Mr. Tomes, Messrs. Ashe, Messrs. Smale, and Mr. Hambleton, for interesting and valuable specimens contributed by them; and to Miss Holtzapffell, for specimens of ivory and teeth, and of turned ivory. In the Reading-room were exhibited specimens of wood-carving, by Mr. Perry; a model showing a means of converting a reciprocating into a rotary motion without the use of the crank, by Mr. Hitts; and a new chemical balance by Mr. J. Castle. The Secretary announced that the next Ordinary Meeting of the Society would take place on the 14th of January, when a paper "On the Natural Resources of Honduras," by the Hon. R. Temple, Chief Justice, would be read. The Secretary has received the following letters since the meeting : SIR,-In illustration of the valuable paper furnished by Professor Owen, I can add the official statistics of the trade for some years past, and a few notes which may, perhaps, come in by way of elucidation of the subject. My brother-in-law, Mr. R. B. Walker, who has only returned a few days ago from the West Coast of Africa, where he has been engaged with his brothers in trade for several years past, has given me access to his notes and documents, by which I have been able to glean some data as to prices and supply, which may be useful. "Of late years the supply has been rather increasing than decreasing. "In 1827 we imported upwards of 3,000 cwt.; in 1842, 5,000 cwt.; in 1850, 8,000 cwt.; nearly all of which was taken for home consumption; and the average import of the last three years has been 9,354 cwt. Whether the supply will keep up, is a question for future determination, for certainly such hunters as the late Major Rogers, of Ceylon, who killed his 2,000 elephants, and Mr. Gordon Cumming, are fast thinning out the race of those animals. "The African elephant yields the largest tusks. Mr. Gordon Cumming has one weighing 173lbs. Mr. Cawood, of Graham's Town, had a pair in his possession, weighing 330lbs. A tusk was recently shipped from Camaroon to Liverpool, weighing about 164lbs.; and, two or three years since, one to Bristol, weighing about 1471bs. "The teeth proper of the elephant are worthless, and on the West Coast of Africa are never purchased. "At the Great Exhibition in 1851 some tusks of the African elephant were shown, which weighed 162 lbs. &c., so much. The French merchants are the principal cause of this enormous advance in price, though an allowance must of course be made for the dearness of many articles of our trade, caused by the late war, as powder, guns, rum, &c. "My last shipment of nearly 9 tons averages about 16tbs., and that is a large one, as I purchased but few scrivelloes. In fact, I think, for West African ivory, 15lbs. would be a very fair average. IVORY SHIPPED PER "COQUETTE," 1856. Weighing. Average. 20,953 16 ..4,882 ... 1,238 ... 3,330 ... 10,388 9,299 75 sea-horse (hippopotamus) teeth 78 IVORY SHIPPED PER 66 1855............3,974 "The imports from India and the East, according to a parliamentary paper, have averaged about 3,3414 cwt. in the last seven years, namely: 3,123 556 elephants' tusks....... 3,166 15 sea-horse teeth 2,599 "The estimated value of this ivory in 1854 was £80,733, and in 1855, £68,874. From Ceylon the quantity exported has not averaged during the last five years £200 in value. The quality of the African ivory varies considerably. That best adapted for the English market comes from the Camaroon coast, and the most esteemed runs from 50 lbs. weight upwards, the next in value 35 lbs. to 50 lbs., then from 18 lbs. to 35 lbs. All below 18 lbs. are called scrivelloes, and are of the least value, except such as are adapted to cutting billiard balls, which, in proportion to their size and cost, are the most valuable of all. Tusks are valuable in proportion to their size; those that weigh 1 cwt. or more, are the most valuable, and fetch from £40 to £50 the cwt.; the second class comprehends such as require two teeth to make a cwt. or more; the third class, three or more to the cwt. "The highest price I have ever known ivory to bring was £55 per cwt., which has just been given. Some sold at Liverpool last year fetched £50, part of which was shipped by Mr. Walker, having boen purchased by him in the neighbourhood of Camaroons, Gaboon, &c. This price,' he adds, I am assured by my owners, was never attained before, during the period they have been in the trade, though since then it has risen still higher, and I confidently expect that what I have now on the way home will realise even more.' "The sea-horse teeth (so called) are the tusks of the hippopotamus. Liberia, since it was first colonised by the American free negroes, has not, I am nearly certain, exported such a quantity of ivory as is usually asserted, though possibly at the present time it might reach 20,000 to 25,000 dols. annually, that is to say, the produce of the territories of the republic and the country immediately behind it. "Gaboon, Loango, Congo, and Ambriz, are next to the Camaroons in quality, but much greater in quantity; Gaboon and its immediate neighbourhood, being that part of the coast which is made their head quarters by the Liverpool and Bristol traders, export an enormous quantity of ivory annually, I should say to all parts, but principally to England, France, and the United States of America-not less than 80 tons. My brother Henry, between the months of May, 1851, and November, 1852, both inclusive, shipped more than 26 tons, and there were many other traders purchasing at the same time. I, myself, have, during my stay of about 20 months, at least six of which I was without goods, purchased and shipped about 14 tons. At present ivory on this part of the coast is much dearer than it was formerly, in 1851 and 1852; in fact, the price has doubled, and in some instances more than doubled, although the Bristol traders do not frequent the Gaboon, "This makes the average for elephants' teeth a little over 17lbs. "The Gold Coast ivory, and that brought down for shipment to Sierra Leone and Cape Coast Castle, ranks next, and is tolerably good. The tusks from Gambia are usually very bad, always broken, very crooked, cracked in the hollows, and more or less damaged. "Fine ivory is known by having no cracks or flaws, either in the solid or in the hollow. Cracks in the ivory are a serious detriment, and must be always particularly noticed. The elephant's tusks that are only rather tapering in shape are most liked; very crooked teeth must be guarded against, as they cut up to great disadvantage. Broken-pointed tusks, or those with deep flaws, or otherwise damaged about the point, must be avoided. with large hollows are not at all liked, as there must inevitably be a great waste in cutting them up; in short, a fine tusk is known by being of a neat tapering shape, having a small hollow, free from cracks, with a fine, thin, clear coat, free from flaws; it is also transparent, which may be discovered by holding the point to the Three kinds of teeth, viz., those of the hippopotamus, walrus, and whale, are employed by dentists in the construction of artificial teeth, mineral or natural (that is human) teeth being generally fixed into the former in the anterior portions of the mouth. "The above organic substances are unfortunately acted upon by the fluids of the mouth, in some instances so rapidly that it is necessary to have them renewed every two or three years. This great drawback to their general application has led to the introduction of gold and platinum, bodies with difficulty oxidised, as bases upon which mineral teeth may be fixed spending there upwards of two years and a-half, and have crossed and recrossed the continents eight times, from sea Many such experiments have been instituted, and, as the result, a variety of substances have, from time to time, been submitted to the notice of dentists, all, how-to sea, and followed the crests of the Cordilleras during a ever, falling short of the required conditions. "I am far from considering the subject exhausted, and believe it would well repay the attention of any chemist who would make a series of experiments with the view of producing an artificial ivory, even if at a cost of 20s. or 40s. per lb.; a body capable of becoming soft at a temperature 300 Fahrenheit, or forming a hard hydrate with water, would be of greater value. "That our necessities will one day demand such a substance, I believe, notwithstanding the remark of Dr. Livingston, that in Africa the supply of elephants appears almost inexhaustible, for it seems reasonable to suppose that, as civilisation advances, and the demand for dentine increases, seas, rivers, and plains will become exhausted of their ivory-producing inhabitants. As the coal-field has supplied the deficiencies of the forest, and as the pump will probably some day supply the deficiencies of the coal cellar, so doubtless artificial dentine will supply the place of natural, and a great benefactor will he be to the toothless community who first produces it. "On other points in the learned professor's paper I will refrain from making any observations, only hoping the subject, and especially that portion of it which relates to the development of the dental tissues, will receive more general attention when the Odontological Society is in full operation. "I am, &c., “A. COLEMAN. "Spring-lodge, Wandsworth, Dec. 18, 1856." continuous period of upwards of thirty days. Yet I have suffered more, in a single week, from mosquitos in New York, and from fleas in Switzerland and Italy, than from either of these pests during my whole stay in Central America. In fact, during that period, with the exception of occasional annoyances from these insects, I found nothing to complain of on this score. I got a nigua (chigoe, or jigger) in my foot at San Juan de Nicaragua, and at Grenada was stung by a scorpion, which had ensconced itself in my boot, where it was exemplarily crushed. A little concentrated aqua ammonia rubbed over the puncture, and a trifle of strong brandy taken inwardly, prevented any perceptible consequences, beyond the original smart, which my negro servant "Ben compared to that of being stung "by a whole hive of bees at once, and in the same spot!" As regards snakes, I think I may affirm that, beyond a certain belt, bordering the Atlantic, and varying in width as the mountains approach the coast or recede from it, there is, perhaps, no country in the world (Ireland always excepted) so free from snakes as Central America, or at least those parts visited by me. In the vicinity of San Juan, which has a moist, hot climate, and where the country is almost covered with jungle, venomous serpents are numerous, and deaths from their bite not uncommon. The day of my arrival there, in May, 1849, was marked by a death from this cause. In ascending the river, I saw several serpents twining amongst the vines and broad-leaved plants, which lined the banks with a brilliant mosaic of leaves and flowers. Amongst them was the deadly corral, looking like a necklace of alternating coral and jet. In the interior, on the comparatively low and relatively wooded plains of Nicaragua, I saw one or two corrals, as many rattlesnakes (cascabellas), and several harmless boas, one of which Ben carefully sacked, and brought home with him as a pet. SITE OF NEW NATIONAL GALLERY. In the Gazette of Tuesday the 13th inst., it is notified that the Queen has been pleased to direct letters patent to be passed under the Great Seal, constituting and appointing the Right Hon. Lord Broughton; the very Rev. Henry Hart Milman, D.D.; Richard Ford, Esq.; Michael Faraday, Esq., D.C.L.; Charles Robert Cockerell, Esq.; During the year and a-half that I resided at Nicaand George Richmond, Esq., to be her Majesty's Com-ragua, I was much engaged in exploring unfrequented missioners to determine the site of the New National places for ruins, and in investigating the ancient moGallery, and to report on the desirableness of combining numents of the country-precisely where, it would be with it the Fine Art and Archæological Collections of supposed, I should have encountered serpents. But, the British Museum, in accordance with the recommenda- during all of these explorations, so far as I can now tion of the Select Committee on the National Gallery remember, I found but one-a rattlesnake-a splendid in 1853, fellow, with fourteen rattles in his tail! Home Correspondence. My last expedition, running over fourteen months, was chiefly spent, at the head of a large party, in making the explorations and surveys for the proposed Honduras inter-oceanic railway. Our explorations were carried on, not only from the Gulf of Fonseca, on the SNAKES AND THE SUPPOSED REMEDIES FOR Pacific, to Puerto Caballos, on the Atlantic, but em SNAKE-BITES. braced two of the departments of Nicaragua, and all of those of Honduras and San Salvador. Yet, so far as I can SIR,-Apropos of the experiments recently made at the learn, not more than half-a-dozen snakes were seen by rooms of the Society of Arts, which I had the satisfaction my party during the entire period of our stay. I am of witnessing, but more especially in reference to the able to speak with emphasis upon this point, from the letters of Dr. Chambers and Judge Temple, on snake circumstance that we had a naturalist attached to our poison and its remedies-the whole subject is one alike expedition, well provided with what the members of the of scientific and popular interest, and it is possible that I party irreverently called a "pickling apparatus," for may be able to add a fact or two to the stock of informa-preserving specimens of all kinds of "beast, and bird, tion bearing upon it. In the first place, however, allow and creeping thing," which we might encounter. This me to observe, that what are called the tropics are not gentleman (Dr. S. W. Woodhouse), moreover, had a so generally infested by troublesome insects and poison- special interest in snakes, inasmuch as he had been bitten ous reptiles as is commonly supposed. The number of by a rattlesnake, while attached to the United States them, in fact, their very existence there, as well as every-expedition for the survey of New Mexico and the valley where else, depends upon a variety of circumstances. In of the Colorado river, under the command of Captain some districts they are often numerous, troublesome, and Sitgreaves, and had recovered, to give practical force to dangerous, while in others they are almost wholly un- what we are told was predicted of the seed of the woknown. But everywhere they are, if not less numerous, man. One of the standing rules for the observance of certainly less dangerous than is generally supposed. my corps was, that all "varmints" should be religiously given over to the Doctor; and there was a general rivalry to see who should contribute most largely to his collection. Yet his crop of snakes barely numbered I have travelled pretty extensively in Central America in all directions, throughout the length and breadth of the States of Nicaragua, San Salvador, and Honduras, |