293 I'l'of. G. Gulliver on Raphides and other Crystals, the panicles of the Bi/blus-rus/i, in order to record this interesting fact in connexion with so important an African plant as the Papyrus or Byhlus, I should jirefer to call this new Antelope Tragelaphus hyhlo'phagus instead of " T. Spekii,'' the name sug-gested by Dr. P. L. Sclater. Another character of this animal is very worthy of note — namely, the extreme length of the toes or fore parts of the hoofs, so that "it could hardly walk on the dry ground/^ but of course most useful for traversing the mud and marshy shores of the lakes. This provision of nature re-minds me of the long tpes of the Water-rail, Gallinule, and other kinds of the family Macrodactyli of Cuvier, which he character-izes as having "les doigts des pieds fort longs et propres a marcher sur les herbes des marais;^^ and in like manner, it adapts that Antelope to walking over, and being supported upon, the long stems of the Byblus-rush and other lluviatile " plants so densely interwoven in the waters^'' — or, in the exact words of the philo-sopher Seneca (Nat. Qusest. lib. vi. cap. 8), "ita implicitse aquis hcrbss " — not only of the Upper Nile itself, but also of the reservoir-lakes which feed that mighty and sacred river. Feb. 19, 1864. XXIX. — Observations on Bajjhides and other Crystals. By George Gulliver, F.R.S. [Continueil from p. 215.] Smilacets. — The following officinal drugs were obtained from the authentic dispensary of the Society of Apothecaries, through the courtesy of its worthy treasurer, Mr. Ward : — Red Jamaica Sarza, Honduras Sarza, Guatemala Sarza, and solid extract of Sarza, All the three roots abounded in raphides, generally seen within oblong cells, which, in the Guatemala specimen, often appeared as beautiful chains along the liber. This sample was remarkable for the scantiness of its starch, scarcely a trace of which could be detected ; while the Red Jamaica and Honduras abounded in starch-granules and their cells. In the extract no raphides could be found ; but it contained numerous quadratic octahedrons, about •o-rru-oth of an inch in diameter, and exactly resembling those microscopic crystals which have been usually-regarded as composed of oxalate of lime. These crystals are most easily found by diluting the extract with water, and then letting them subside to the bottom for collection. The examina-tion of the officinal American sort will be found noted under Araliacese. Dioscoreacea, — In all the few species yet examined we have
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