I903- Fosl^KR.— Weights of Birds' Eggs. 297 



HERRING Gui,!, {Larus argentatus). 



{a) clutch. (3) clutch {\ hatched). 



Inch. Inch. Grains. Inch. Inch. Grains. 



272 X 1-93 - 1311^ 2-85 X 1-82 - 1152^ 



2-58 X 1*9 - 12711 2-9 X 1-78 - 1114^ 



Hillsborough, Co. Down. 



REVIEW. 



A NEW MOSS BOOK. 



Mosses with hand-lens and microscope, a non-technlcal 

 handbook of the more common Mosses of the North- 

 eastern United States. By A. J. Grout, Ph.D. 4to. Pp. 86, 

 ID plates. Brooklyn. Part I., June, 1903. Price % i.oo. 



Dr. Grout published a few years ago a useful little work, " Mosses 

 with a hand-lens," as a help to a knowledge of the common Mosses. The 

 present work is an extension and improvement of the former. 



It is essential for a practical knowledge of these plants, especially in 

 the field, that the hand-lens should be constantly used, and the com- 

 pound microscope resorted to onl}' when the former method fails. 



Rare and critical species are not included, but only some 200 of the 

 commoner ones, most of which grow in this country. It should, there- 

 fore, prove almost as useful here as in America. 



The illustration is the strong point of Dr. Grout's work. Descriptions 

 of things unfamiliar sometimes do not convey much. The plates and 

 other illustrations in the text, copied from the " Bryologia Europaea " and 

 Sullivant's "Icones" for American species, with due acknowledgment, are 

 really beautiful, and cannot fail to be a great help to the student. The 

 large size of the plates enables the whole plant, not only a small portion, 

 as is so often the case, to be exhibited. 



In Part I. directions are given for the collection, mounting, and 

 microscopic examination of Mosses. There is also a chapter on Life- 

 history and Structure, rather technical we fear for the beginner ; for 

 example, the discussion of the origin of the peristome, but instructive to 

 those who have made some progress. , There is also an illustrated glossary. 

 The main body of the work is taken up with an account of the general 

 and leading characters of all the commoner species. Each family and 

 the larger genera at least are beautifully illustrated. 



A distinct want is here supplied. It was difl&cult for beginners to 

 make a commencement with only the help of one of the present 

 manuals. As an introduction to Dixon's " Handbook " or Braithwaite's 

 " Moss Flora " it will be invaluable. 



C. H. WADDEt-Iy. 



Saintfield. 



