i8 95 . SOME NEW BOOKS. 129 



The Russian Silurian, with its regular structure, is taken as a 

 type, and described in detail. A few comparisons are made with 

 that of Sweden ; but Englishmen, at least, will find it odd to have 

 the land of Murchison passed over with the merest mention. Neither 

 here, however, nor elsewhere does Dr. Koken confuse that which has 

 been important in the human history of discovery with that which 

 has a more abiding importance in the scheme of world-history. 



The Silurian strata of the rest of the earth are briefly discussed- 

 It is held that many North American species are identical with those 

 of Northern Europe. It is thought probable that S. America was 

 then joined to Africa and that no S. Atlantic then existed ; but the 

 evidence for this is obviously negative. 



Forty-four pages are then devoted to an account of the 

 Silurian fauna, an account both broad in view and remarkably read- 

 able. The arachnid affinities of the Eurypterida are somewhat scoffed 

 at, while Simroth's view that the ancestors of these and of Limulus 

 were evolved on dry land finds scant favour in Dr. Koken's eyes. 

 The presence of true cirripedes argues a long previous history of the 

 Crustacea in the sea. Considerable space is devoted to the 

 cephalopods, and worthily so, although many may think that the 

 hypothetical Microsiphonulas, Caecophoras, etc., of Hyatt are a 

 little over-prominent. Dr. Koken is so well known as an earnest 

 student of the gastropods that his account of their Silurian repre- 

 sentatives will be read with interest by every palaeontologist. The 

 bivalve shells of the period meet with a like capable treatment. 

 Neither here nor in other chapters is so much attention devoted to 

 the crinoids as their numbers and beauty might warrant ; there are, 

 however, some suggestive remarks on the cystids. The corals and 

 graptolites, too, are rather crowded out, and we could imagine a more 

 satisfactory treatment of the fish. Considerable attention is paid to 

 the arthropods of the land, and especially to the researches of S. H» 

 Scudder and Erich Haase. 



Space precludes our dealing with the interesting final chapter, in 

 which the author points the moral of his tale, and takes his stand on 

 a firm Uniformitarian basis. We could wish to translate the whole 

 of this suggestive summary, but instead we can only recommend ali 

 serious students to peruse the book for themselves. 



A word of praise is due to the illustrations, many of which are- 

 new and, like the text they adorn, well up to date. Could an English 

 translator and publisher be found, the book would make an admirable 

 complement to Professor Bonney's " Story of our Planet " (see- 

 Natural Science, vol. iv., p. 62). Till then we congratulate readers 

 of German, no less than Dr. Koken and his Leipzig publisher. 



F. A. B. 



In the Forests of Guiana. 



In the Guiana Forest : Studies of Nature in Relation to the Struggle: 

 for Life. By James Rodway, F.L.S., with an introduction by Grant Allen. 

 Pp. xxiii. and 242, with 16 plates. London: T. Fisher Unwin. Price 7s. 6d. 



In reminding Mr. Fisher Unwin of the old proverb that " Good wine 

 needs no bush," we do not mean to cast any slur upon Mr. Grant 

 Allen's preface, which is, as are indeed all his essays, crisp and 

 interesting. Mr. Rodway, however, though it may be that he is less 

 known to the public than many writers with half his abilities, can 

 stand upright without any adventitious props whatsoever. In this 

 volume we are presented with a series of essays upon tropical life as 



