Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, Volume 1The Society, 1858 - Natural history |
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Acaleph acuminate angulis posticis angustatus animal antennæ apex apice appearance basal base body bone broad broader brown capsule Catops characters Choleva chrysomeloides Clava clypeus colour convex corallum Cydippe densely punctate depression described distinct ectoderm Edinburgh elongate elytra elytron endoderm Erichs Erichson female ferrugineis ferruginous finely punctate fovea fumatus fuscus genus grandicollis head and thorax Hydractinia impunctate inches insect interstices Kraatz labrum larvæ last joint latiore legs length longitudinal male mandibles Maxillæ mentum middle mihi mouth nearly niger nigrita observed obtuse palpi papillæ piceous picipes polypary polyps posterior angles posterior margin Professor prosternum pubescence punctures reproductive rotundicollis rounded scarcely scutellum seen sericeus shells shining shorter side sinuate slender slightly Society species specimens Spence Stett stria striæ Sturm suture tarsi tentacles testaceous thorax thread-cells tibiæ tooth transverse tristis truncate upper variety vertebræ yellow Zeit zoophyte
Popular passages
Page 347 - Sea, and for the finding some Trade for Furs, Minerals, and other considerable Commodities, and by such their Undertaking, have already made such Discoveries as do encourage them to proceed further in Pursuance of their said Design, by means whereof there may probably arise very great Advantage to Us and Our Kingdom.
Page 355 - ... which per se are not of much consequence, but which, taken along with other differences, are of some weight. Another most important point is, that the North American species has never been domesticated; but this involves a question much too long and too important to be fully discussed in the present communication. My own view of it is, that those social animals which are capable of being thoroughly domesticated are invariably found domesticated, and that the fact of an animal not being domesticated...
Page 50 - Nereis and its allies, which the fish snaps across the body with its long beak, and swallows at its leisure. The earliest notice of its occurrence in Scotland seemed to be that of Pennant, who mentions that great numbers of these fish were thrown ashore at Leith after a storm in November 1768 ; and the Rev. Mr Low, in his
Page 421 - In my former paper on this subject, I think I distinctly showed the existence of a cocoon found in the egg of the leaf insect ; and combining these particulars, we have the following chain of facts : — 1. The grub in the egg. 2. A cocoon in the egg, containing the unwinged, imperfectly-developed insect. 3. The unwinged, imperfectly-developed insect in the egg, free from the cocoon, and ready to emerge.
Page 20 - ... description which he had recommended were being established in different parts of the country. Twelve parish schools in Annandale were furnished with them by Mr Bryson, for his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, and the results, according to Mr Stewart, Hillside, Lockerby, have been satisfactory. In conclusion, he remarked that trust-worthy observations would not be secured, for generalizations respecting the distribution of rain, until some simple, easily constructed, and inexpensive but accurate...
Page 10 - Mactra, though they may be picked up in some places by basketfuls, are less abundant. It is probable, however, that both species will be less common on our coasts than heretofore, for years to come ; and their wholesale destruction by a frost a few degrees more intense than is common in our climate, strikingly shows how simply, by slight changes of climate induced by physical causes, whole races of animals may become extinct. It exemplifies, too, how destruction may fall upon insulated species, while...
Page 23 - W. PEACH, Esq., Wick, Corresponding Member of the Royal Geographical Society of Cornwall. (The Fossils were exhibited.) The author, after stating that the limestone beds of West Sutherlandshire had been referred by Mr Hugh Miller to the old red sandstone formation, although the absence of fossils had prevented his asserting this positively, stated that he had been fortunate enough to detect in the limestone of Durness distinct traces of spiral shells, probably Gonatites or Clymenije, which exist,...
Page 57 - I would propose for it the name Uigite. It occurs in small nests in the amygdaloid, which is here very vesicular, is not distinctly crystallized, being in radiated sheafy plates, somewhat resembling the structure of a plumose mica, but in general appearance intermediate between Faroelite and gryolite ; colour white, slightly yellowish ; lustre tremulous and pearly : hardness, 5-5, brittle ; specific gravity, 2-284: ; before the blow-pipe fuses readily and quietly, with strong re-action of soda, to...
Page 367 - ... and it is to be observed, that there is a want of transition between the two characters of hair which certainly is opposed to a common mode of development. If it were the same, we ought to find hairs exhibiting all the gradations of passage between the two extremes, which we do not. Furthermore, they appeared to be designed for different purposes. Speaking in a general way, the horny or bristly hair is characteristic either of carnivorous animals, who have a greater supply of caloric than vegetable...
Page 238 - Tricho-cysts — a entire — b ruptured, and discharging spicules. 1. Old shells taken from the sea are frequently found studded with small tubes, composed of mud and sand, cemented together by slime. These tubes are the habitation of the Annelid Spio seticornis. When they are placed in water, we presently see a pair of long glassy tentacles protruded from each opening, which are tossed about with such an incessant and violent motion that we are tempted to believe their concealed owners have taken...