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read it as soon as possible. " West Yorkshire ; an 



Account of its Geology, Physical Geography, Clima- 

 tology, and Botany," by Messrs. James W. Davies 

 and F. Arnold Lees (London : L. Reeve & Co. ). This 

 book contains much valuable work. Few counties 

 are more interesting geologically than Yorkshire, and 

 many books and papers have been written upon it. 

 All of these have here been duly arranged chrono- 

 logically, and the authors always refer to such of their 

 literary predecessors as have furnished them with 

 material. The geological portion is written by Mr. 

 James W. Davies, the hon. sec. of, the Yorkshire 

 Geological Society, and all geologists will acknow- 

 ledge that he has done his work conscientiously and 

 well. The second part, devoted to physical geo- 

 graphy and botanical topography, is the joint work 

 of Messrs. Davies and Lees. The arrangement of 

 the material is most excellent, and so clear and sug- 

 gestive that the reader is enlightened instead of being 

 perplexed by its abundance. Numerous maps and 

 engraved sections assist the text, and these are of 

 excellent execution. The geological structure of York- 

 shire is treated of in detail, from the Lower Silurian 

 beds to the Glacial series. The physical geography 

 and topographical botany then follow in order, and 

 one sees almost at a glance the relation between plant 

 distribution and the physical geography of the valleys 

 in which they occur, or the geological structure of the 

 underlying rocks. A handsomely got-up volume of 

 upwards of 400 pages thus represents a most creditable 

 scientific industry on the part of the authors. 



The new term of Physiography (as Physical Geo- 

 graphy is now called) has called forth a series of 

 "manuals" devoted to its exposition. How import- 

 ant is even an outline knowledge of nature has been 

 shown by the success of Huxley's little book on this 

 subject. There is always the danger of causing 

 shallow-minded students to imagine they have nothing 

 more to learn when they have acquired a well-defined 

 idea of natural phenomena as a whole ; and on that 

 account we object to ' ' physiography." But if books 

 have to be written on this subject, they may as well 

 be in good hands ; and we are therefore pleased to 

 notice " The Physical System of the Universe," by 

 S.J. Skertchley, F.G.S. (London: Daldy, Isbister, 

 & Co.), which is intended as a manual of physio- 

 graphy. It is a book, however, which will delight 

 those who do not intend "going in for examination" 

 more than those who do, for it is a well-written and 

 very clear outline of the universe as a whole, and of 

 the unity of natural forces. We know of few recent 

 books which comprehend so much in so limited a 

 space. All the recent discoveries in physical, natural, 

 and geological science are included in Mr. Skertchley's 

 book. It is a work which we hope will be read with the 

 same pleasure that we have ourselves derived from it. 



"A Science Primer," by the Rev. Dr. Macvicar 

 (London : W. Blackwood & Sons), although a 

 small book in comparison with those above men- 



tioned, is a remarkable one in many respects. It 

 professes to deal with "the nature of things." Its 

 author is a man possessed of great ability, extensive 

 reading, and a brilliant power of speculating. There 

 are many subjects briefly discussed, especially those 

 relating to molecular physics, which strongly impress 

 us by the undoubted ability and originality of view 

 with which they have been treated. Our readers will 

 not always agree with the author, but few will come 

 away from this suggestive little book unimpressed 

 with new ideas. 



" The History of Glanville's Wootton," by C. W. 

 Dale (London : Hatchard, Piccadilly), is a detailed 

 account of the archaeology, zoology, and botany 

 of a district in Dorset, after the manner of White's 

 " Selborne," only arranged in chapters, instead of 

 being given to the world in the form of letters. The 

 book is very well got up, with capital paper and in 

 clear type, and the few photographs which illustrate 

 it are excellent. As for the rest, the work consists of 

 lists of animals, vertebrate and invertebrate, and of 

 plants, phanerogamous and cryptogamous, which have 

 been found in the district of Glanville's Wootton. 

 Mr. Dale has devoted much time and careful labour 

 to his task, and as a consequence has given a very 

 valuable little monograph to the world. 



" A Handbook for England and Wales " (London : 

 John Murray), which should give, alphabetically ar- 

 ranged, a short and trustworthy account of every town, 

 village, and place of importance, with all relating 

 to them of archaeological, geological, botanical, or 

 geographical interest, was a happy idea. A handier 

 book of reference could hardly have been prepared 

 than has been now compiled. All depended, how- 

 ever, upon the author and his ability to select just 

 such material as would be valuable to the traveller, 

 tourist, or student. We are happy to say that this 

 has been done in the present work, and that, having 

 tested, from personal knowledge of numerous places 

 referred to, the pains taken by the author to insure 

 accuracy, we believe it to be one of the best books of 

 its kind which the well-known publishers have issued. 



"Holmes's Botanical Note Book," by E. M. 

 Holmes, F.L.S. (London : Christy & Co.), may be 

 utilized by the student as a means of acquiring a 

 practical knowledge of botany. It contains diagram s 

 showing the parts of flowering plants, directions for 

 examining plants, the microscopical examination of 

 plants, directions for describing plants in schedules, 

 and a glossary. The schedules, however, form the 

 principal part of the work, and these may be obtained 

 separately of the publishers. The printed head-lines 

 oblige the student to note down every feature of a 

 plant, and in this way he will soon learn to look out 

 for particulars which are too frequently shunned, 

 because deemed troublesome to detail. We are 

 much pleased with Mr. Holmes's note-book, and 

 heartily recommend it to students. 



"A First Catechism of Botany," by John Gibbs 



