Miscellaneous. 235 Mr. M'Nab exhibited several sections of oak-stems found in the course of excavations made at Tanfield, Canonmills, and read the fol-lowing notice supplied by Mr. M'Caul, who had superintended the operations : — " In the course of excavating a pit for a new gasometer nine years ago, a number of oak-stems, the largest 2 feet in diameter, were found. In the pit now excavating, and from 80 to 90 feet from the one alluded to, two fine trees were found. The position they occupied was about 10 feet below the original surface, beneath the lowest bed of gravel, and immediately over the boulder clay, their direction being nearly east and west. Three of the pieces were lying horizontally, and two of them had a rise towards the east at an angle of 10°. At the western or lower part of these stems, roots in con-nection with them could be traced ; but they mouldered away to the touch." A specimen of yellow-flowered Hibiscus, raised by Mr. Isaac An-derson from seeds sent from China by Colonel Eyre, was exhibited. The plant was about 2 feet high and had a woody stem. The leaves are hairy, the petals sulphur-yellow, the flower when expanded being 3 to 4 inches across. The epicalyx consists of eight to ten linear sepals, while the calyx consists of two sepals united and thrown to one side. A specimen of Hyoscyamus raised from seeds communicated to Mr. Moore of the Chelsea Botanic Garden by Major Madden, was exhi-bited. The plant grows in the Himalaya, and resembles H. albus in some respects. In the open border it attains the height of 2 feet. It has ovate leaves and terminal cymes. The flowers are of a clingy yellow, and the calyx is covered with glandular pubescence. Dr. Douglas Maclagan tried the effect of the plant on the eye. A single drop of the fresh juice caused dilatation of the pupil in twenty minutes, and the dilatation with slight double vision continued for twenty-four hours. MISCELLANEOUS. HOLOSTOMUM CUTICOLA. PI. V. figS. 3 & 4. Norwich, June 10th, 1851. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Gentlemen, — Should you consider the following notice worthy of insertion in the ■ Annals,' you will oblige me by its publication. I remain, Gentlemen, your very obedient servant, Robert Wigham. Specimens of the Bream and Roach have long been observed in the rivers of this part of the country to be frequently covered with black spots, and have been generally considered, when in this condi-tion, to be in a diseased state. I have lately examined these spots with the microscope, and find them to consist of a collection of minute black granules of a branched radiating structure and of a confervoid appearance, and which form the outer coat of cysts con-taining a transparent membranous cyst in which I found an ani-
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