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Read a letter from Mr. D. Ross, offering for the acceptance of the Society an old

mineral glass case.

Read letter from the Honorary Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, of

the 4th December 1841, conveying thanks of the Royal Society for five numbers (109 to 113) of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Read the following letter from J. H. BATTEN, Esq., of 8th February, 1842:

MY DEAR TORRENS,

Almorah, February 8, 1842. Having returned to Almorah, I lost no time in sending off an instalment of the Herbert MSS. to the Asiatic Society, and accordingly on 6th instant I despatched by dâk to your address, a packet containing two neatly written vols. which can at once be printed off. These vols. contain a Journal of Herbert's visit to the lower ranges of Sirmoor, and the low country and hills about Bark and Roopur, below the Soobathoo mountains, to the Terrai east of the Jumna, belonging to the Suharunpore Zillah, to the Dehra Doon, and thence crossing the Ganges along the edge of the Bijnore, and Moradabad and Pilibheet Terrai, to that of Kumaon, and to Bhamouree Pass, and thence by the Bheemtal route to Almorah. Captain Herbert stayed at Almorah a whole summer, and recorded observations. Thence his Journal shews his tour in a NNE. direction towards the Juwakee Pass, (Oonta Dhoora,) and the Snowy range from which flows the Goree river, one of the main feeders of the Goggra river. Before reaching Melum, Herbert fell ill, and his Journal ends.

I have three other vols. of Manuscript. These are all badly written, and parts of them are very obscure. One of the vols. is written topsy-turvily, i. e. one set of observations are recorded on one side of a page, and another set on the other, and large lacunæ intervene. Luckily this volume relates to Kumaon, and British Gurhwal, tracts with which I am intimately acquainted, and my local knowledge enables me to decypher the names of places, and connect the threads of the narrative. I assure you that nobody at Calcutta can possibly interpret the volume in question. I therefore, propose to edit it myself, only asking time, say, to the close of the rains, for the work. James Prinsep, gave up the task in despair, and I would not keep the vol. in question for a day, if I thought that his successor in Calcutta could really make any thing out of the MS. This vol. also contains Captain Manson's continuation and completion of the Journal which Herbert discontinued from illness, and the tale is thus carried on from where Herbert stopped, to Melum and Oonta Dhoora Pass, (a highly interesting tract which I have myself visited,) and back over the hills to Almorah. This part can be separately transcribed by me now, (i. e. before the rains,) and sent to the Society. In its present state I defy any one, who has not been at every spot named, to decypher the words, and to fill up the gaps caused by moths and white ants.

The 2nd vol. contains a Journal by Capt. Manson, (Herbert's then Assistant, now Commissioner with Bajee Rao,) of a tour from Almorah to the outposts at Petorah Gurh and Lohooghat, and thence through the hills nearest the plains, to Bheemtal. The writing in this vol. has become very obscure from time and the ravages of insects, but I hope, with the aid of my map and local knowledge, to decypher the whole of this little narrative. In this vol. as in the others, there are double sets of numbers for the

2274

rock specimens, thus: No. 160-Greenish white quartzose rock, &c. &c.

No. 2275

161. Greyish rock approaching to porphyritic.

The 3rd vol. is, I believe, first in order of time, but the dates of months are for the most part given, and not those of years. Priasep's note makes the year of this Journal to be 1826, and this would appear to be correct. It begins with Chilkeea, the mart for hill productions between the Kumaon Terrai and Casheepoor; thence the Journal describes Herbert's tour up the Kosilla river into the Kumaon Hills viâ Dhikkolee and Chokoom as far as Okuldoonga, where he left the river and ascended to Tarket. It then shews his return to Chilkeea, and passage through the Terrai to Haldooa and Casheepoor, and thence along the edge of the forest in a westerly direction to Juspoor" Burrapoora, Kadirkote, and Nujeebabad to Nagul, where he crosses the Ganges, and marches by Bhogpoor to Hurdwar, and thence through the lower hills and Doon to Dhera. At Hurdwar, Capt. Herbert makes the following note: "I begin here to number my second thousand with the printed Nos. from 1," but in all this vol. there are double numbers, thus :

77.4

78.5

79.6
80.7

rolled specimens, chiefly hornblendic sent to Dehea.

The larger numbers representing, it would seem, the general series; the smaller, the series obtained at any particular spot. From Dehra, Herbert made excursions to Sunsur-Dhara, the celebrated dripping rock, and Col. Young's house on the hills, called "the Potatoe Garden," now a part of the great station of Mussooree. His geological observations here are very full, as are those in the range near Hurd war. At Dehra he examined Mr. Shore's well, and describes its strata to the depth of 221} feet. He afterwards describes his march through the Doon and across the Jumna to Kalsee, where he regularly enters the hills. He thence marches through Jounsar, Joobul, &c. by a circuitous route to the Burin or Brooang Pass, (the Borendo of the Simla folk,) thence down the Pabur river to the Tonse, and Jumna countries, and to Dehra Doon by the Aglar valley and over Mussooree range. From Dehra Doon to Suharunpoor, Meeruth, Moradabad, Ganges Ghat, and down the river to Calcutta, and on his way down he narrowly escaped drowning at Colgong. In this vol. there are mention of 379 specimens, and Herbert in a note written in July 1827, (at Almorah I believe,) says, that these specimens were left at Moradabad, and had by an accident, become very much damaged in their envelopes. He records the shape of the labels and he notes the doubtful, loose and

in this series (viz. the 2nd 1000) as remaining numbers.

The country described in this volume has been subsequently examined by numerous travellers, as it is that chiefly visited from Simla and Mussooree, and I do not think that anything very novel will be brought to light by the Journal:- but, if it can give a clue to the labels and specimens at Calcutta, you will think it valuable, and I therefore propose to despatch this vol. to-morrow to your address. Allusions in it are frequent, I see, to places in Kumaon, as Powree; at Sreenuggur Dheeanneekot near Almorah; Jilmilputteen near Kedarnath; Punnae on the Aluknunda, noted for its

curious greywacke and also metalliferous talcose rocks; Dheen poor, the site of some large copper mines in this province, &c. This fact shews that Herbert had visited the Province, before the period of the Journal which I propose to edit. Yet, I have never seen any record of his tour to Sreenuggur, Kedarnath, &c., that is of his first visit to Kumaon, and that part of Gurhwal which is attached to this province, and I should like much to discover some Journal of the tour in question. Mr. Piddington will find the volume of MS. which I propose to send to-morrow, less kakographic and more easy to decypher than the volume which I retain, (there being no breaks to, and no great admixture of other matter with the narrative,) moreover, numbers of people, and among them my friend Pratt, know the country described. It is a great pity that Dr. McClelland confined (no fault of his though) his observations in Kumaon to the immediate neighbourhood of Lohooghat and Petora. Had he examined the country South-West and North of Almorah, he would have been able to edit Herbert's Kumaon volume, and to elucidate Manson's mysterious pothooks. As it is, you must kindly beg the Asiatic Society to be thankful for the MSS. already sent, and the MS. promised by to-morrow's dâk, and to await with patience (for I have not much leisure,) my edition of Herbert and Manson's Kumaon Journal, which I will endeavour to make as luminous as possible.

Believe me to remain,

My dear Torrens,
Yours very sincerely,
J. H. BATTEN.

The letter having been read, it was proposed by the Lord Bishop, seconded by the President,-That the thanks of the Society be voted to Mr. BATTEN for the valuable services rendered by him in the recovery and transmission of the late Captain HERBERT'S manuscripts, and that the acknowledgments of the Society be tendered to Mr. BATTEN for his offer of editing the late Captain HERBERT's and Major MANSON'S Journal in Kumaoon.

Read the following report submitted by the Curator of the Museum :

SIR,

Since my last Report to the Society, the following donations of Zoological specimens have been received for the Museum.

From Dr. Wallich, a very fine specimen of the true Zibet of Buffon, or Viverra Zibetha of Linnæus, being a species of rare occurrence in European Museums, indeed I only know of one specimen which is in the British Museum, for the Tanggalung of the Malays, regarded as Buffon's Zibet by the brothers Cuvier, is quite a different animal, which has since been termed V. tanggalunga by Mr. Gray: the present species is the V. melanura of Mr. Hodgson, and an interesting notice of its habits, with a very recognisable figure, occurs in Williamson's 'Oriental Scenery'; there is also a figure and notice of this species in the 1st No. of Dr. McClelland's Journal of Natural History.'

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Likewise a female specimen of Parodoxurus typus, which has been added to the collection of stuffed mammalia.

In the class of Birds, I have the pleasure to record the donation, from Government, of a beautiful recent specimen of Tragopan satyrus, which has been mounted.

This Report should have been published with the "Proceedings of the Asiatic Society," at p. 274, and have preceded the Report given at p. 441 et seq.-Cur. As. Soc.

From W. Masters, Esq. a recent Chinese Lory (Lorius Sinensis).

From R. W. G. Frith, Esq. through Mr. Hampton, mounted specimens of the following species of Birds.

Athene Brodiei: Noctua Brodiei, Burton, P. Z. S., 1835, 152, seu N. tubiger, Hodgson, As. Res. XIX, 175, bearing date 1836.

Garrula leucogenys, Nobis: being the eighteenth species of this genus with This generic title holds precedence which I am now acquainted from Northern India. of Crateropus, Swainson, and Ianthocincla, Gould, applied to the same group, certain species of which have been referred to Cinclosoma by Mr. Vigors, and others by Mr. Hodgson. I have elsewhere endeavoured to reduce the synonyms of the various members of this genus, and have prepared descriptions of the present and another new species, for which vide p. 180, ante.*

Francolinus vulgaris.

Fr. Pondicerianus: Tetrao Pondicerianus, Gmelin; Perdix orientalis, Latham, but not of Horsfield. A figure and interesting notice of the habits of this species have been published in the 'Bengal Sporting Magazine,' for October, 1840.

Fr. gularis: Perdix gularis, Tem: figured as the Chicore, in the 'Bengal Sporting Magazine' for September, 1839, but which must not be confounded with the true Chicore (Perdix Chukar) of the Himalaya.

Ortygis, allied to Hemipodius atrogularis, Eyton, P. Z. S., 1839,107, and scarcely less so to O. pugnax and O. taigoor, all these species having a black throat and fore-neck in the mature male, and which is broader in the present species than in the two latter from these it is readily enough distinguished by the predominance of black on the upper parts, the more strongly marked large oval spots of this colour on the wing-coverts, and the hue of the belly which is merely tinged with rufous; size intermediate. On some future occasion, I hope to do something towards elucidating the Quails, dwarf Partridges, and Ortyges of India, which at present are a most perplexing group, notwithstanding the exertions of Col. Sykes, and of subsequent investigators, who as yet have but very partially analysed the numerous species.†

Of the foregoing six species of birds presented by Mr. Frith to the Society, four are new to their Museum; viz. the tiny Owl, the Crateropus, the Wood Partridge, and the Ortygis.

Numerous specimens of birds have also been added to our collection, procured in the bazaar, among which it will be sufficient to notice a few of the more interesting. Caprimulgus macrourus, Horsfield, Lin. Trans. XIII, 142. A very handsome male. We before possessed specimens of what appear to me to be the female of this speces, and which, if so, are remarkable for the pale colour predominating much more than in the other sex.‡

Tringa platyrhyncha, Temminck. A male in winter plumage; one in summer garb, from the old China collection, having been already in the Museum. The only additional species of this genus, which I have hitherto met with, are-Tr. subarquata which is not rare, and Tr. minuta, which is exceedingly abundant.

I have since become acquainted with several additional species, which I shall describe in a more elaborate monagraph of the genus.-Cur. As. Soc.

+ I have since prepared the analysis above mentioned, which will appear in a subsequent Report the bird above noticed is Mr. Eyton's atrogularis.-Ibid.

This appears to be common in Nepâl.-Ibid.

Recurvirostra Avocetta: fine specimens.

Botaurus stellaris. The European Bittern, a handsome female.

Pluvianus cinereus, Nobis; being the sixth Indian species of this genus with which I am acquainted: length of a female 14 inches, by 24 feet in extent; wing from bend 9 inches, and tail 4 inches; bill to forehead 1 inch, and bare part of tibia the same; tarse 3 inches. Irides dilute red, with a cast of brown; orbital skin, small frontal lobes, basal three-fifths of the bill, and the legs, bright yellow; the rest of the bill black, as are also the claws. General colour of the upper parts pale greyish-brown, the head, neck, and breast, pure light grey, passing into black on the lower part of the breast, which terminates abruptly, contrasting with the white belly; primaries, their coverts, and the winglet, black; the secondaries and their coverts chiefly white, and the tertiaries concolorous with the back: upper tail-coverts white, slightly tinged with brownish; and tail pure white, having a black subterminal band, broad on its medial feathers, nearly obsolete on the penultimate, and quite so on the outermost. This species is new to the Museum, and I have seen but this one specimen. Rallus gularis, Horsfield. Beautiful specimens.

Phalacrocorax pygmæus, Auct.

Rhynchea picta. I merely notice this handsome species, a fine series of which has been put up, to remark that an affinity which I long ago detected and commented upon, between this genus and the American Heliornis, is strikingly manifested by the living Rhynchea. The style of colouring and markings correspond, and the American genus is styled Heliornis (or Sun Bird), from its habit of spreading out the wings and tail, upon surprise, and so forming with them a sort of radiated disk, whereon the elegant markings are beautifully displayed. The same habit is observable in Rhynchea, which thus shews off its spotted markings to the admiration of the beholder, menacing the while with a hissing sound and neck contracted, when suddenly, seizing a favourable opportunity, it darts away upon the wing. Mr. Gray (in P. Z. S., 1831, 62,) has attempted to define two alleged species of Indian Rhynchea by the names Picta and Capensis, the former only of which he had himself seen from Africa as well as from India and China; but he refers to Savigny's figure of Rh. Capensis, in the Oiseaux d'Egypte, as furnishing a faithful representation of the other. Should they be different, however, the attempted definitions need to be rendered more intelligible, as neither comparison of them with specimens, nor of the latter with Savigny's figure, has enabled me to decide to which the Bengal bird should be referred, and certainly the considerable number which I have seen and examined of this latter were all of the same species. Among a number of African and Indian specimens of birds identical in species which were exhibited by Col. Sykes before the Zoological Society, as noticed in P. Z. S. 1835, 62, were examples of a Rhynchea styled Capensis, Stephens. In the class of Reptiles, a specimen of the Python Tigris, fifteen feet in length, has been purchased alive and been killed; its skin has been mounted, a number of preparations made of its viscera, and the skeleton is now in process of being cleaned. A considerable number of other skeletons, chiefly of birds, have also been laid by to be set up as opportunity will permit of it.

Mr. Frith's donation comprised, in addition to the birds which have been mentioned, a few specimens of insects, together with some pupa-envelopes constructed of bits of plant-stems, though by what species I am unacquainted.

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