REVIEWS 163 



years. It is plentifully supplied with good illustrations, which still further illumine 



the already lucid text. The author has adopted the praiseworthy plan of adding 



at the end of each chapter a short bibliography, which, with the copious index, 



increase the utility of the book considerably. The whole subject-matter is treated 



from the point of view of a palaeontologist, and therein lies its chief value, for its 



author is not merely an authority on this subject but also wields a facile pen. 



During the past few years several books have appeared on the fossil history of 



certain groups of vertebrates, mostly by American authors, but this is the first 



giving a survey of modern knowledge derived from palaeontology and applied to 



the whole animal kingdom. The author is undoubtedly to be congratulated on 



the production of a book that will instruct and delight a wide circle of readers, 



including all interested in general biology. 



C. H. O'D. 



A Tear of Costa Rican Natural History. By A. S. Calvert and P. P. 

 Calvert. [Pp. xix + 577, with 142 illustrations and a large map.] (New 

 York : The Macmillan Company, 191 7. Price $3.) 



Professor and Mrs. Calvert spent a year in 1909-10 in Costa Rica, mainly with 

 the object of collecting and studying the dragonflies of the region. This they 

 did with very considerable success, and were able to add a number of new species 

 and an amount of knowledge about the distribution and mode of life of a large 

 number of others. The country is apparently rich in Odonata, and the authors 

 made the most of their opportunities. That they did not confine themselves to 

 these insects alone, but observed the general flora and fauna of the district, is 

 evident from reading these pages. Perhaps the group that was treated least was 

 the vertebrates, and the references to them are few. A brief account of the 

 topography and means of communication makes the various journeys undertaken 

 easy to follow. The book on the whole is written in a clear manner and interest 

 is maintained throughout, and many points of topography or species of animals 

 and plants are brought home vividly by an excellent series of photographs. 



A number of appendices give the itinerary, the weather conditions at Cartago 

 which was made the headquarters of the trip, a list of papers based in whole or in 

 part on the material collected by the authors, and a selected literature list of the 

 works dealing with the natural history of Costa Rica. These, together with an 

 excellent index, render the book useful for reference, and indeed it should prove 

 indispensable to any naturalists subsequently collecting or travelling in the 

 country. 



The book does not pretend to make any large contribution to theoretical 

 biology, although such matters as distribution, mimicry, the colonial ants, etc., are 

 bound to be introduced. It is, however, a straightforward and quite readable 

 account of the observations made by two very skilled naturalists during their 

 year's stay in a country rich in animal and plant life, and its contents are admirably 

 expressed by the title, A Year of Costa Rican Natural History. The year passed 

 tranquilly in collecting and journeying, but the exit was dramatic enough for a 

 tragedy, for the authors got back to Cartago a day or so before the terrible 

 earthquake that devastated that city in 1910. They were actually there at the 

 time, and give a graphic account of their experiences. Fortunately for the reader 

 as well as themselves they and their collections were unharmed, and they left the 

 city when the earthquake was passing away. 



C. H. O'D. 



