HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



129 



tion I loiind it to consist of a transparent substance, 

 much resembling gelatine, and no larger (when out 

 of the water) than an ordinary-sized piu's-head ; 

 thus favouring the opinion of its expansion by the 

 absorbing of water during the development of the 

 germ. 



June 24. — Those hatched lay quietly at the bot- 

 tom of the water, rarely moving unless disturbed. 

 Two more developed, both occasionally moved, the 

 movement being a turning of the body half, or more 

 than half, round in the egg; it, however, was so 

 quick as to elude deflning. June 28.— All the eggs 

 now hatched. July 2. — All the young got fore-feet, 

 which were very pale and transparent, so much so, 

 indeed, as barely to be visible. The largest was 

 nearly half an inch long, the shortest three-eighths 

 ditto. July 5. — All the young nearly of the same 

 size. The head, legs, feet, and branchiie were all 

 covered with minute dark-coloured dots ; those on 

 the head brown, as were also the two streaks, 

 which, running, the whole length of the body, then 

 combined and continued in one to the end of the 

 tail. These were, as I afterwards found, composed 

 of a multitude of these minute dots. The head was 

 large, and branchiae more developed ; the legs 

 longer, and toes long in proportion, the middle 

 one (only three visible) being much the longest, 

 and almost equal in length to the rest of the leg ; 

 - the whole not exceeding 2-12ths of an inch. The 

 germs had the power of bending the body to either 

 side, and also of elevating the posterior part. When 

 they moved, they did so by quick, short starts for- 

 ward. July 11. — No observable change. July 18, 

 — A little larger, and tail-fin spotted, or rather 

 dotted. July 21. — The young were kept in a vessel 

 amongst decaying vegetable matter, which fostered 

 a growth of Conferva;, amongst which the tad- 

 poles became entangled. On disengaging them 

 they were still living, but died shortly after ; thus 

 bringing my interesting observations to a close. In 

 closing I may add, that during the whole period 

 from their discovery both eggs and tadpoles were 

 kept out of doors in the open air, 

 Newcastle-tipon-Tyiie. C. R. E. 



' NEW BOOKS.-- 



rpiiERE are few greater luxuries to a literary 

 -*- naturalist than that of cutting the leaves of 

 such a splendid volume as that which heads our list. 

 The paper-knife would fain linger long over its work, 

 and drops listlessly out of the hand when the last 

 page has been severed ! To a student this work is 



* " Corals and Coral Islands." By James D. Dana, LL.D. 

 London: Sampson I,ow & Co. 1872. 



" Botany for Beginners." By Maxwell T. Masters, M.D., 

 F.R.S. London : Bradbury, Evans, & Co. 1872. I 



"May Flowers." By the Rev. James Harris, M.A. ■ 

 London: Griffith & Farran. 1872. I 



indeed a treasure. On no subject in marine zoology 

 have more mistakes been made than in the natural 

 history of Corals, Eor years past some of the best 

 naturalists in all countries have been working on 

 them. Milne-Edwards, Haines, Darwin, Duncan 

 Dana, Agassiz, Pourtales, and others have contri- 

 buted memoirs. Our fossil corals have been better 

 illustrated than our recent, as witness the magnifi- 

 cent volumes of the Pakcontographical Society. 

 No other class of marine objects throws such light 

 over past history, over the temperature and olher 

 physical conditions of primeval seas, as corals. With 

 Darwin's wonderful generalizations before us, out 

 of the fossil corals of our Silurian and carboni- 

 ferous limestone hills it becomes tolerably easy to- 

 describe the physical geography of the seas m-. 

 which those limestones were deposited. And yet, 

 with all the importance attached to corals, and in- 

 spite of all that has been written about them, as 

 well as the erroneous notion abroad concern- 

 ing these interesting organisms, we have hac^ 

 hitherto no manual specially devoted to their con- 

 sideration. The student has been forced to wade 

 toilsomely through the scientific memoirs of his 

 own and other tongues, if haply he might find what 

 he sought after. Hence it is that we hail this 

 volume as a boon to the student ; as a splendid 

 manual on coral -zoology, finely illustrated, and 

 written by a man who perhaps knows more about 

 the practical natural history and literature of the 

 subject than any other philosopher. 



Professor Dana's work enters minutely into the 

 relations between the Hydroids, Bryozoans, &c., and 

 Corals — the uon-coral-making actinoid Polyps, as 

 well as the coral-making— that is, between the sea- 

 anemones which deposit no lime, and the coral 

 animals which do. The chapter on " Life and Death 

 in concurrent Progress in Coral Zoophytes " is 

 deeply interesting, and we should gladly transcribe 

 it for our readers, did space permit. Perhaps the 

 most interesting part of the work, however, is that 

 which treats on Reef-forming Corals, and the causes 

 which influence their growth and distribution in 

 latitude, depth, &c. The principal coral reefs and 

 islands throughout the globe are particularized, 

 the author having personally visited the most 

 important. The formation, rate of growth, and 

 origin of coral reefs, are elaborately treated on at con- 

 siderable length. We have said enough, however, 

 to indicate to the student a valuable work, one that 

 will help the zoologist nearly as much as the geolo- 

 gist. We proceed to quote a few paragraphs rela- 

 tive to the mode in which the genera of some of 

 the commonest compound corals grow to their 

 mature sizes. Speaking on this important subject. 

 Prof. Dana says :— " When the budding is not con- 

 fined to any particular polyp or cluster of polyps, 

 but takes place universally through the growing 

 mass, the coral formed is more or less nearly hemi- 



