3 oo SOME NEW BOOKS [octolkk 1899 



In a short paper contributed to the Mt. Ges. Bern for 1897, Dr. A. 

 Girtanner describes a fine piece of horn-cores of the European Ibex obtained 

 from the pile-village of Greny on the Martensee. It appears that in cavern 

 deposits, the farther we depart from the Alps the rarer become the remains of 

 the Ibex, and hitherto the horn-cores have only once been found in a Swiss 

 lake-village. From these facts it has been inferred that the animal was always 

 a mountain-dweller. In the present instances the author compares the ancient 

 horn-cores with modern horns, much to the disadvantage of the latter. 



Science for September 1 contains the following interesting note : — " The 

 American word ' scientist,' proposed by the late Dr. B. A. Gould, is apparently 

 becoming acclimatised in Great Britain. Though Nature has stated that the 

 word is excluded from its columns, it has occurred in the editorial notes. It 

 will also be found in the Academy and in the London Times. The latter, in the 

 issue of August 1 5, even uses the word retroactively, speaking of ' the great Ger- 

 man scientists of the past.' But the best testimony that the word must now be 

 regarded as correct and classical English, is the fact that it is to be found in Mr. 

 Thomas Hardy's ' Two on a Tower.' " 



The Photogram for July has a translation from Le Photo Gazette of an in- 

 teresting brief article by Fabre-Domergue on photographing aquaria by mag- 

 nesium flash-light. He experimented at the laboratory of marine zoology at 

 Concarneau, and got some good results, a specimen of which is given. The 

 magnesium light produces a lively effect on the fishes in the aquarium, but the 

 reflex movement is relatively slow, and the light is gone before it takes place. 



We have received the September number of The Westminster Review, which 

 contains two articles involving biological considerations — one against the Con- 

 tagious Diseases Acts, by Ellis Ethelmer, and another containing a suggestion 

 of a substitute for the marriage laws, by Herbert Flowerdew. The latter says : 

 " Let us suppose, then, that the legal marriage contract consists simply in an 

 agreement between man and woman to live together until such time as either 

 chooses to terminate the agreement, and to be jointly responsible for the main- 

 tenance of the children born during the arrangement and within nine months of 

 the termination, both parties agreeing to compensate the other for any loss in- 

 curred by his or her failure to make the arrangement permanent." 



The September number of Science Gossip contains, among other articles, one 

 by Major H. A. Cummins on Sikkim, " a veritable paradise for the naturalist, 

 be he botanist, zoologist, or geologist, but especially for the botanist " ; and a 

 continuation of papers on British freshwater mites, by C. D. Soar ; on the col- 

 lection and preparation of Foraminifera, by A. Earland ; on ticks and louping- 

 ill, by E. G. Wheeler ; on palaearctic butterflies, by H. C. Lang ; on chalk, by 

 E. A. Martin ; and on meteorites, by John T. Carrington. 



Prof. L. V. Pirsson of Yale succeeds the late Prof. Marsh as an editor of 

 the American Journal of Science and Arts. 



The journal of the Straits branch of the Royal Asiatic Society for June 1899, 

 which has been sent to us, contains some interesting papers. The list of birds 

 of the Larut hills, by Mr. A. L. Butler, has some interesting field notes. Bishop 

 Hose gives a list of the ferns of Borneo, and Mr. H. N. Ridley a list of the 

 scitamineae of the Malay Peninsula, A pleasant little journey into an unex- 

 plored corner of Pahang is graphically described by Mr. W. B. Roberts. The 

 most important paper, however, is one by Mr. Ridley on the habits of Malay 

 reptiles. It contains many valuable observations which it is to be hoped will 

 find their way into our books on natural history. The society may be heartily 

 congratulated on the production of this volume, which indicates a considerable 

 activity in biological work in the Straits Settlements. 



