Journal of a Tour in the Years 1828-1829, through Styria, Carniola, and Italy, whilst Accompanying the Late Sir Humphry DavyTobin, J. J.
History
Journal of a Tour in the Years 1828-1829, through Styria, Carniola, and Italy, whilst Accompanying the Late Sir Humphry Davy
Tobin, J. J.
Davy, Humphry, Sir, 1778-1829; Europe -- Description and travel
[C] I was afterwards led to believe that this pond or small lake is not
the real source of the Wurzen-Save, as will be seen in the following
pages.
[D] A variety of the genus Salmo that inhabits the Danube and its
tributary streams. It sometimes reaches the enormous size of eighty
pounds. See a complete description in "Salmonia," second edition.
[E] Proteus Anguinus, Siren Anguina, sometimes called the Austrian
Siren. This rare little animal has as yet only been discovered in the
subterraneous caverns of Carniola, at Adelsberg, and Sittich, and
very lately in those of Heiligenstein, near Zirknitz; and is also
mentioned in a German journal as having been found in Sicily. In shape
it much resembles an eel, whence its specific name; but it has never
yet been found of more than fifteen or sixteen inches in length, and
about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. It is either of a pale
rose-colour or perfectly white, but after having been for some time
exposed to the light it becomes brown. Its skin is very smooth and
even, the head somewhat depressed, and with a lengthened obtuse snout;
the eyes are situated beneath the skin, and are exceedingly small; on
each side of the neck are three ramified bronchial gills, of a bright
blood-colour during the life of the animal. It is furnished with four
legs or rather appendages, for they appear to be of no use to it, which
are about three-fourths of an inch long, and the feet of the fore legs
have three toes, whilst the hind feet have only two. Its motion when
touched in the water is brisk and rapid, and is entirely produced by
the action of the tail, unaided by the legs, as I observed was the case
with one which I procured from a Professor at Laibach. It has very fine
and sharp teeth, which it seems scarcely to need, having been kept for
years together in fresh water apparently without any nourishment, but
it has never been known to bring forth young, nor is its origin or real
abode at all known. From the period of its discovery its nature has
been a subject of discussion amongst naturalists, some imagining it to
be the larva of a larger animal, whilst others maintain that it forms a
new genus; nor is the question yet determined.
[F] Stalagmites are inverted stalactites, whose base is fixed to the
ground, whilst the point is continually rising to a greater height by
the gradual dripping of the water from the roof.
[G] Transactions of the Royal Society for 1829.
Transcriber's note:
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Punctuation and type-setting errors have been corrected without note.
Variations in hyphenation and spelling have been retained as in the
original publication.
Corrections:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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