I here witnessed an extraordinary ceremony performed by one of the young princes, who was about undergoing the Mahometan rite of circumcision. He was dressed in the manner shewn in figure 1, plate 4; and accompanied by a host of musicians and young men, visited several towns for the purpose of levying contributions on the provisions and purses of the inhabitants, either by stealth (and for which he could not be punished, not being amenable to the laws for that period) or during his exhibitions in public, by seizing on some of the spectators, whom he held fast and pretended to goad with the horn attached to the wooden figure on his head, until he received some offering which was never withheld, and which, together with the intercession of his attendants, who fanned him with boughs of trees, appeased his wrath, and induced him to sit down. In this position he remained for some minutes, and in an apparent paroxysm of rage recommenced his antics, which generally continued for two or three hours during the heat of the day, leaving the person so exhausted from his exertions and the weight of his dress, that he did not again make his appearance until the following day. In this manner I was told he continued acting for a _moon_. DESCRIPTION AND SKETCHES ON BOTANICAL SUBJECTS. Among the party who accompanied Major Peddie in the mission into the interior of Africa, was Mr. Kummer, who was charged to make collections in every department of natural history, with drawings and descriptions of whatever was most interesting in that line, as well as to keep a regular journal of general observations and events. Many sketches of animals and plants, and several notes were made; but these are of such a nature as to require an examination of the specimens from which they were taken, before they can be valuable to a naturalist who is not previously acquainted with the subjects themselves. Unfortunately the individual articles were lost. From the drawings, however, and descriptions, such as they are, we have selected four of the most perfect, which relate to as many plants, and which do not appear to us to have been noticed by former naturalists. In doing this however, we cannot help regretting the extremely imperfect state of the materials. Had all the collections of Mr. Kummer been saved, they might have formed a most important addition to our present unsatisfactory acquaintance with the natural history of Western Africa. The plants alluded to were found between Cape Verga, at the mouth of Rio Nunez, and the establishment called Tingalinta. It is with much pleasure I take this opportunity of acknowledging my obligations to Dr. Hooker, Professor of Botany, at the Glasgow University, for the following plates and their descriptions. TAB. A. ARUM APHYLLUM. CLASS AND ORDER—MONŒCIA POLYANDRIA. _Natural Order—Aroideæ._