142 REVIEWS. 



The Birds of Oxfordshire. B)' O. V. Aplin. 8vo, pp. 

 vii. — 217. (Oxford and London : The Clarendon Press. 1889.) 



We have before us the result of many years' labour of the author, who 

 gives in this volume a considerable amount of information relating to the 

 birds of the county. The first 22 pages are devoted to a general description of 

 the county. A coloured plate, representing the Alpine Chough, forms the 

 frontispiece to the volume. There is also a good map of Oxfordshire. The 

 work will prove to be a valuable addition to our local histories of British birds. 



The Bala Volcanic Series of Caernarvonshire and Asso- 

 ciated Rocks. By Alfred Harker, M.A., F.G.S., Fellow of St. John's 

 College, Cambridge. (Cambridge: University Press. 1889.) Price 7s. 6d. 



Mr. Harker, having gained the Sedgwick Prize for 1888, has entirely 

 rewritten the essay, and has published it in the present form. It is not attrac- 

 tive reading for any but serious geologists, but such as these will find it a very 

 useful guide to the study of an interesting locality. It is well illustrated with 

 geological sketch-maps of the various localities visited by the author, and a 

 good deal of original work is described. 



Cosmic Evolution. By E. A. Ridsdale. Foolscap 8vo, pp. 

 130. (London : H. K. Lewis, 136 Gower Street.) Price 3s. 



This is from the pen of a firm believer in evolution, and he treats the 

 subject from its chemical and from its organic aspect. There is nothing 

 strikingly new in the book, but there is a very clear and full statement and 

 elucidation of the theory of evolution. 



The Animal World : An Advocate of Humanity, Vol. XX. 



(London : S. W. Partridge and Co. 1889.) 



This most entertaining work is issued by the Society for the Prevention of 

 Cruelty to Animals. It is our firm belief that if those who keep animals 

 would read this book there would be no further need for the Society by 

 which it is issued. It is freely illustrated and the illustrations are good. 



Summer Suns in the Far West. By W. G. Blaikie. D.D., 

 LL.D. Crown 8vo, pp. 160. (London and Edinburgh : Thomas Nelson and 

 Sons 1890.) Price 2s. 



Dr. Blaikie gives the reader an interesting account of his most enjoyable 

 holiday trip to the Pacific Slope. In the course of his tour the author visited 

 Baltimore, Chicago, the Colorado Rockies, the Salt Lake City and the 

 Mormons, the Yosemite Valley, British Columbia, the great Canadian High- 

 lands, Niagara, etc. The reader will wish he had accompanied him. 



Idylls of the Field. By Francis A. Knight. Crown 8vo, 

 pp. vi.— 182. (London: Elliot Stock. 1890.) 



Every lover of nature will read this little book with delight. It is written 

 by the author of " Leafy Ways," and of the 24 chapters into which the book is 

 divided it will be difficult to say which is the most interesting. There are also 

 15 illustrations. 



The Ocean of Air : Meteorology for Beginners. By Agnes 

 Giberne. Crown 8vo, pp. xii. — 340. (London : Seeley and Co. 1890.) 

 Price 5s. 



This is a most interesting and instructive book on a subject concerning 

 which there is much ignorance. The uses, movements, forces, organisms, and 

 composition of the air are all explained in a most simple and yet accurate and 



