distinguished by a peculiar form of the semitendinosus, which is similar to that of mammals. The ostrich shows some of the greatest peculiarities in the form of the sternal and clavicular muscles in connexion with the modifications of the bones. There is no femoro-caudalis, tibialis posticus, nor peroneus brevis. The most remarkable peculiarity is in the existence of the second head of the vastus internus, which is like a gracilis muscle, which indeed it has been called. This is also the case in the Cassowary and Apteryx. In all other birds the gracilis is quite lost. The Gallinæ have the greatest number of muscles present among birds; the Podiceps (Natatores) the fewest, wanting the ambiens, femoro-caudal, semimembranosus, gluteus maximus, flexor arctic. prim. digit. secundi, peroneus brevis, digital tendon of peroneus longus, the femoral head of the semitendinosus, and the gastrocnemius medius. On the Formation and Structure of the Spermatozoa in Ascaris mystax. By Professor ALLEN THOMSON, M.D., F.R.S. This paper contained an account of observations instituted by the author, with the view of ascertaining the validity of the objections raised by Professor Bischoff of Munich to the views of Dr. Henry Nelson on the subject of the fecundation of the ova of Ascaris mystax, and which were communicated by the author to the Royal Society in 1851. Professor Bischoff considered the bodies described by Dr. Nelson as spermatozoa to be nothing more than peculiar epithelial particles belonging to the female passages; but Professor Thomson has succeeded in showing in full detail the whole progress of development of the peculiar flask-shaped spermatic bodies which Dr. Nelson found in the female Ascaris, from their earliest stages in the male, and has thus proved satisfactorily their spermatic nature. The following are the principal steps of the development of these spermatic bodies-1st. They arise by cell-germs in the uppermost cæcal extremities of the male testicular tubes; which cell-germs are probably not formed singly, but by endogenous increase within parent-cells. 2nd. In the next part of the tube, which is opake or granular, each of these cell-germs is surrounded by a mass of fine granular matter, so as to constitute each an aggregated cell, at first without any external wall, but afterwards this wall is formed by deposit or change round the granular mass. 3rd. The granular nucleated sperm-cell is divided into four, and the granular matter of each portion assumes a remarkable appearance of radiated lines. These remain united together for a time. 4th. The four cells next separate from each other, the radiated linear appearance returns to the granular state, and each of these cells is the source of a spermatic corpuscle. 5th. In general the spermatic cells do not advance beyond this stage, so long as they remain within the male organs; but in some cases the author perceived transitions to the forms that are found in the female passages, and was thus enabled to prove the identity of the two sets of bodies. The formation of the spermatozoon from the last-mentioned cells took place by the clearing up of one part of the outer or granular part, and the removal of the granules to the other side; while the spermatozoon itself was produced by the thickening of the wall of the nucleus in the shape of a dome or hemisphere on one side of the nucleus, the open side of the dome being occupied by the remains of the granular matter and the nucleolus. 6th. In the female passages, the higher these spermatic cells have ascended, the more advanced are they found in the changes of the nucleus into the spermatic body, until in the upper part of the oviduct, where they first encounter the ova, and, according to Dr. Nelson, effect fecundation, they have attained their full development, and have assumed the peculiar flask or test-tube shape. In the lower parts of the female passage, every stage of transition, from the forms observed in the lower part of the vas deferens of the male, through the dome, bell, flask, and test-tube forms, is to be found. The author pointed out the peculiarity of form and mode of development belonging to those spermatozoa which, as in the Ascaris, are acaudal and motionless. The highly refracting part of the spermatic cell, which assumes the dome or flask-shape, he regarded as corresponding with the body part of the spermatozoa in the higher animals; but in the Ascaris, this part, in its growth, by thickening from the nucleus, never closes completely over it, but leaves one side as it were open, occupied by the remains of the granular covering and by the nucleolus. The development, accordingly, never reaches that stage, in which, as shown by Kölliker's most recent observations in the higher animals, the caudal filament is formed by prolongation from the closed nucleus. The want of motion in the spermatozoa of the Ascaris, the author considered to be dependent on the absence of the caudal filament, which, when present, acts precisely in the manner of a vibratile cilium. The author entered into various details as to the particulars in which his observations agreed with or differed from those of Reichert, Nelson, Bischoff, and Meissner, on the same subject. On the Brain of the Troglodytes niger. By Professor ALLEN THOMSON, M.D., F.R.S. As the brain of the Chimpanzee had been little investigated by anatomists, the author exhibited and described a dissection of it which he had recently had an opportunity of making. The specimen belonged to a female, which was probably of six or seven months old. The author called attention to the various points of resemblance and difference between the human brain and that of the Chimpanzee and other Simiæ. The communication was illustrated by photographic and other representations, and by dissections of the brains of various animals. Contributions to the History of Fecundation in different Animals. In this paper, the author first gave an account of a series of observations which he had made, confirmatory of Dr. Ransom's discovery of the micropyle aperture in the ovum of fishes, viz. in the salmon, trout, and stickleback, and the fact of the entrance of the spermatozoa within the membrane of the ovum. The author next gave a detailed description of the development of the ovum in Ascaris mystax; and in connexion with the mode of its fecundation, adverted particularly to the fact, which he had placed beyond doubt, that at the time when the peculiar motionless spermatic bodies first meet with the ova in their descent through the female passages, and effect fecundation by the peculiar penetration observed by Dr. Nelson, the ova are destitute of any membranous covering; and the spermatozoa come, therefore, into direct contact with the exposed surface of the yolk. Professor Thomson's observations were, therefore, in support of the views of Dr. Nelson on this subject, and in opposition to those of Meissner, who conceives that, in Ascaris as in Mermis, the spermatozoa are introduced through a micropyle aperture in a membranous covering; and to those of Bischoff, who denies the spermatic nature of the bodies referred to. Professor Thomson described an observation in which he had fully confirmed the statement originally made by Dr. Martin Barry, of the penetration of the spermatozoa into the mammiferous ovum, as has more recently also been observed by several continental physiologists. The author's observations were made on several ova taken from the Fallopian tube of a rabbit, about seventy hours after sexual intercourse, in all of which he detected very clearly a considerable number of spermatozoa within the zona, but without his being able to perceive any indication of an aperture or micropyle in that membrane. The author next passed in review the various observations of recent authors with regard to the micropyle structure, and the phænomena of fecundation related to it, or independent of it, in different animals; more particularly those of J. Muller, Newport, Meissner, Keber, Leuckart, Leydig and others, and deduced some general conclusions therefrom as to the manner of the fecundating process. From these it appeared that the micropyle aperture, first discovered by J. Muller in Holothuria, is of frequent occurrence in the ova of animals; that it is not invariable, however, but that when present it is always related to fecundation; that in some animals it exists from the earliest condition of the ovum, while in others it is of later formation; that future observations will probably bring it to light in many animals in which it is not yet known; but that in others it is most probably entirely absent; and yet, that spermatozoa penetrate the egg coverings, even though these are of considerable density, as in the case of mammalia; that it appears to exist principally in those ova of which the coverings have peculiar strength and density; that in a number of instances the spermatozoa meet with the ovum previous to the formation of any enclosing or vitelline membrane, and must thus act directly on the yolk or germ; and that in a few animals (as Trematode and Cestoid worms), the spermatozoa are mingled with the contents of the ovum, viz. germinal vesicle, and yolk substance, at the period of their being brought together in their formation, and are thus enclosed, along with the rest of the parts, by the membrane which is afterwards deposited externally. Thus, while many interesting and important additions have been recently made to our knowledge of the history of the phenomena of fecundation, further observations are still required to bring these phænomena, as observed in different classes of animals, under one general doctrine or law. GEOGRAPHY AND ETHNOLOGY. ETHNOLOGY. On some peculiar Circumstances connected with one of the Coins used on the West Coast of Africa. By the Rev. THOMAS C. Archer. Description of Timbuctoo, its Population, and Commerce. By Dr. BARTH. Communicated through the Foreign Office. Before reading the paper, Dr. Shaw informed the meeting that Dr. Barth had just arrived in London in safety. Dr. Barth, dating from Timbuctoo, on the 2nd of October, 1853, acquainted the Earl of Clarendon, the Foreign Minister, that on the 7th of the month previous he had reached Timbuctoo, and had met with a very satisfactory reception. He entered from the south side, having navigated a considerable channel of the river. He was escorted to the town from Kabara by Sidi Alawad, the brother of the absent Sheikh of Bakay, and welcomed by great part of the wealthier Arabs inhabiting the place; but was obliged to support before the people the character of a messenger of the Sultan of Stamboul, his real character being known only to his protector. When the Sheikh of Bakay himself arrived, he gave Dr. Barth the fullest assurance of his safety in the town, and his safe return home by way of Borno; he had done so before, and as far as his influence extended, had given"full security to any Englishman visiting this place." Dr. Barth then gives a brief description of the town:-"Timbuctoo is situated, according to an accurate computation of my route, 18° 3' 30" to 18° 4' 5" north latitude, and 1° 45′ west longitude, Greenwich; and is distant from the river itself further than has been supposed,-Kabara, its so-called port, being situated on a very small ditch, which, being inundated by the river, is made navigable for four, or, when the rains have been most plentiful, for five months in the year; whereas, during the eight remaining months, all the merchandise has to be transported on the backs of asses to a much greater distance than Kabara....... As for the town itself, it is not now environed by a wall, the former one having long ago fallen into decay; but like the small towns of the Tonray in general, its mud houses form a tolerably entire enclosure, pierced only by narrow entrances. Having been at least twice as large during the period when the Tonray empire was in its prime and glory, its circumference at present does not exceed two and a half miles. The whole town consists of houses built of mud, for the greater part only one story high, while the wealthier people have all their houses raised to two stories. There are at present only three mosques in the town. The market is well supplied with rich merchandise, much better than the market of Kano. But there is a great defect in the scarcity of current coin,-salt, a rather heavy, unmanageable sort of money, being the standard for all larger things much more than gold, while cowries are extremely scarce, and dollars are scarcely accepted in payment by anybody. The population of Timbuctoo, as well as its government, are considerably mixed. The original, and by far the most numerous part of the inhabitants, are the Tonray, who, after the supremacy of Morocco had ceased, regained once more the government of their town, and were not disturbed by the Bambara, who did not obtain possession of Timbuctoo, though on the south side of the river their empire extended as far as Hombori. Besides the Tonray, there are the Arabs, partly settled, and partly belonging to different tribes of the desert, and remaining only for several months or years. Certainly, the mixed population of this place for itself is not able to repulse any serious attack, as it was taken twenty-eight years ago (one year before the unfortunate attempt of Major Laing) by the Fullan of Mohammed Lebbo, almost without a struggle.' Referring to the Fullan of Hand Allahi, whom he was desirous of visiting, Dr. Barth says, "Their fanaticism would, if not endanger greatly my situation when among them, at least make it all but intolerable; for these Fullan, who call their brethren of Tokoto 'infidels,' and have threatened them with teaching them Islamism, think themselves the only true Moslems. Amongst other things, they have made smoking a capital crime; so that even in Timbuctoo, except near the house of El Bakay, a man smoking is in greater danger than in the streets of Berlin." On the different Centres of Civilization. By JOHN CRAWFURD. The Manual of Ethnological Inquiry and the Ethnology of Polynesia. By RICHARD ČULL, Fellow and Honorary Secretary of the Ethnological Society. The two editions of the Ethnological Manual' issued at the expense of the British Association have been circulated far and wide. The second edition, with which I have had more to do, has been sent to every missionary station in the world, to many of our naval and military stations, to men of science and known ability in various countries, and to travellers. It has been thought that the results have not been in proportion to the expenditure, pecuniary and otherwise, of our two 'Manuals,' and accordingly it has been proposed to discontinue further outlay in the distribution of the remaining copies of the second edition. The collection of informa tion, in accordance with special directions such as those contained in our Manual,' is necessarily slow. We can only request persons to observe and record their observations for the use of science. Still the Manual' has been of use in many ways. The late lamented Capt. Owen Stanley used it as his guide in his surveying expeditions, and I am informed by Mr. Brierly that it was constantly on the captain's table as a book of very frequent reference. Several officers both of the Royal Navy and of the Mercantile Marine have expressed themselves to me as deeply indebted to our little Manual' as a useful guide in observing man. 6 In the interval between the exhaustion of the first edition and the issue of the second, The Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry' was published. Dr. Prichard contributed to this Manual' the Section on Ethnology, and avowedly drew largely upon our little Manual,' adding new matter, improving and adapting it for the special service of the Royal Navy. 6 In editing the second edition of our little Manual,' the Committee naturally availed themselves of Dr. Prichard's improvements, and I think we improved it still further. 6 The Admiralty Manual' has been published more than six years, but beyond the most interesting information collected by Capt. Collinson of the Western Esquimaux, I am unaware of any results from the Ethnological section of it. When we consider the great difficulty of observation, we ought not to feel disappointed at the seemingly inadequate results, and we ought to have patience in waiting for results, as I am about to show. I hold in my hand a copy of 'The Samoan Reporter,' a periodical published half-yearly in the island of Samoa, consisting of one sheet filled with chiefly secular matter contributed by missionaries, each number containing a chapter on the Ethnology of the Pacific Islands. The missionaries of these islands were supplied with the first edition of our Manual,' and some of them at once appreciated its value as a guide to enable them to study the ethnology of the people they are labouring to convert to Christianity. It is now nearly ten years ago since the first article appeared on the Ethnology of these islanders printed on one of the islands. The ordinary work of the mission so fully employs the printing press of the station, that it is not found practicable to print the journal oftener than half-yearly. It was only in April of this year that I became aware of the existence of this periodical through the kindness of the Rev. E. Prout, the Home Secretary of the London Missionary Society. I have brought this to the notice of the Association through this Section as one gratifying result of the usefulness of our Manual.' The frequent reference to our little Manual' by travellers and others ought to satisfy us that our labour has not been in vain. If the results of researches suggested and directed by that Manual' have not been published to the world through this Association, let us not indulge in selfish regrets, but rather rejoice that in any way it has contributed to the advancement of Ethnological science. On some Water-colour Portraits of Natives of Van Diemen's Land. Mr. Cull exhibited a number of authentic portraits of natives of Van Diemen's Land, and remarked that the value of these portraits was enhanced by the circumstance that they could not be replaced, for not one of the aborigines was now alive, or, at any rate, not more than one. The chief object of the paper was to show that the aborigines of Van Diemen's Land were not black, as was popularly supposed, but of a brown complexion. On the Complexion and Hair of the Ancient Egyptians. On the Forms of the Crania of the Ancient Romans. By JOSEPH BARNARD DAVIS, M.R.C.S. Engl., F.S.A. A numerous series of ancient Roman skulls, derived from three different sources in Italy and from Roman cemeteries at Eburacum, Londinium, Lindum and Glevum, has fallen into the hands of the author. As the basis of these observations, he selects the cranium of THEODORIANUS, a Roman of consequence, who died at Eburacum in his, 35th year, and whose inscribed stone sarcophagus was discovered many years ago. The venerable antiquary of Roman York, the Rev. Charles Wellbeloved, has referred him to a Roman family of Nomentum, a town of the Sabini in Italy. His skull is an elegant example of the capacious Roman cranium. It is marked by the squareness of face common to the typical form of the Roman head, the fine prominent nasal bones of aquiline profile, their position being more expressed from the broad nasal processes of the superior maxilla—the expanded and capacious forehead, of somewhat low elevation, terminating below in a prominence of the supra-nasal region, which distinguishes it from the regular skull of Grecian type. It may be regarded as belonging to the typical section of ancient Roman crania, although not presenting the typical character in so decided a forin as others exhibited. It will come under the division of what may be called platy-cephalic crania, those distinguished by a horizontal expansion of the vertical region. The diacritical marks which distinguish the crania of the ancient Britons from those of the ancient Romans may be expressed as follows: after remarking that those of the Romans were decidedly the larger, he adds:The face of the former was rather shorter, more irregular, deeply marked by muscular impressions, with a frowning supra-nasal and supra-orbital prominence; short but abruptly eminent nasal bones, rising suddenly out of the depression at the root of the nose; the forehead narrower, yet rising at about the same angle to nearly an equal elevation. The face of the ancient Roman was slightly longer, fully as wide in |