214 NATURAL SCIENCE. sept. 1895. 



and the third and fourth, on fruits and seeds and classification respec- 

 tively, for the still more advanced Standard V. 



The figures will be found useful as copies for blackboard elucida- 

 tion of various structural points. 



The Distribution of Plants. 



Manuel de Geographie Botanique. Par le Dr. Oscar Drude traduit par Georges 

 Poirault et revu et augmente par I'auteur. Livraisons 4-5. Pp. 129-224. 

 Paris: Klincksieck. 



The date 1893 o" the cover of the issue refers to the year in which 

 the first part of this work appeared. It is a matter for regret that 

 the succeeding parts, which were promised in rapid succession, should 

 be so long delayed, as at the present rate the earlier pages will be 

 antiquated ere livraison 12 or 13 reaches us. The work is a valuable 

 one, and much needed, and it is to the interests of both translator and 

 publisher to hasten its completion. 



The 96 pages now in question are occupied with the completion 

 of Part II. on plant areas, the whole of Part III. on the distribution 

 of the chief plant groups in the various floral regions, with a note on 

 distributional maps (pp. 140-197), and the commencement of Part IV. 

 on the association of plant forms to give a botanical facies. 



The Index to Periodicals. 



Index to the Periodicals of 1S94. By Miss E. Hetherington. Vol. v. 410. 

 Pp. X., 1S2. London : Review of Reviews Office, 1895. Printed by Mackay, 

 Chatham. Price 5s. nett. 



We have nothing but praise for this new volume. In the first place, 

 because it is as good as the last, and in the second, because it is much 

 better, and shows the steady improvement that finally ends in 

 perfection. Now we possess our yearly index it is somewhat 

 singular that we managed to do so long without it. It is pleasing to 

 gather from Mr. Stead's opening sentence that the work is not a 

 failure from the public point of view ; but the sale needs to be very 

 large to repay the outlay. 



It is well to insist at once that this is not a mere reprint of the 

 monthly lists issued with the Review of Revieu's, nor is it in any way 

 compiled from those lists, but is an entirely separate publication, 

 separately compiled under Miss Hetherington's direction. This 

 year new journals are included, and practically everything that is of 

 any use to anybody is catalogued. The value of such a list as this is 

 extraordinary. The public can find by a mere reference the latest 

 views on the most diverse subjects, as, for instance, geology (160 

 entries), Egyptology, marriage, lunacy, scorpions, wills, savings 

 banks, bacteriology, and bagpipes. A rigid line is drawn at news- 

 papers, and one not quite so rigid at publications of learned societies. 

 These two sections are, however, so perfectly distinct from periodicals 

 that the rejection is a wise one. The guide to the periodical 

 literature of the world, which appeared in vol. iv., has been omitted, 

 as it would have been a pity to occupy space with a mere reprint, 

 and the headings have been printed in black type, a great improve- 

 ment on previous issues. No library can possibly afford to do 

 without this patiently and industriously compiled volume, and the 

 individual who has once bought a copy will purchase all the rest. 

 To compile such a list of literature and issue it only six months after 

 date is a feat of which anyone might be proud, and we congratulate 

 jMiss Hetherington on her judgment and success. 



