Miscellaneous. 237 Stroem (Nym. Saml. Danske, 1788, 295, n. Ill, f. 20) described a Lepas testd compressd 7-valvis stipite lamellosd, found on Gorgonia placomus in the North Sea, which is probably allied to this genu's. — Fro?n the Proceedings of the Zool. Soc.for March 14, 1848. Post-Office Regulations. The speedy and cheap transmission of intelligence is of the highest importance for the interests of science. The want of it has been a subject of general complaint, and the editors of scientific journals can but too well appreciate the inconvenience, discourage-ment and loss which it occasions. In the Advertisement prefixt to the eighth volume of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Council regret the difficulty and delay in receiving scientific information. " With other countries," they observe, " and for larger parcels, the communication is most unsatisfactory. The expenses and extra charges at the En-glish ports are equivalent to a negative upon direct intercourse, even where the freight is prepaid, and the duty trifling. The Post-office charges for pamphlets over-sea are the same as for letters. Until these matters are better regulated, a greater service can scarcely be rendered to scientific bodies than by facilitating the rapid transfer of international communications at a moderate cost." Our friend Mr. Thompson of Belfast, in communicating to us the letter from Dr. Gould of Boston, U.S., has also directed the atten-tion of our readers to the defective state of our means of communi-cation, at p. 366 of our last volume ; and we are glad to find that the hope which we there expressed has in some degree been realized, the subject having at length received attention from the authorities of the Post-office, by whom some important improvements have been introduced. With a view therefore to render these available, we subjoin the following particulars from the Post-office regulations of the most recent date. Periodicals published as pamphlets, and parliamentary proceed-ings, provided they are made up in the same manner as news-papers, in covers open at the sides, so as to admit of examina-tion, are forwarded to the countries mentioned below at the fol-lowing rates, which must be prepaid either in stamps or money. Beyond the weight of 16 ounces, they can only be forwarded at letter rates of postage. • We cannot see the reasonableness of the scale in one particular; where the charge for 3 ozs. is six times as much as for 2 ozs. — En.
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