326 The Irish Naturalist. December, 



White-fronted Goose. 



Ill the Zoologist for September there appears a long article entitled 

 '• On the specific validit}' of Anser Gambcli^ and its position as a British 

 bird," by F. Coburn, who has had a large number of White-fronted Geese 

 sent to him from Mayo and Galway during the last few winters. He 

 points out some very great differences that he has noticed in the specimens 

 sent to him, and has come to the conclusion that some are American 

 White-fronted Geese which come south with our common W^hite-fronted 

 Goose from the Arctic regions. The chief differences noticed by Mr. 

 Coburn are that Anser Gambeli has greater length, longer wing, bill, and 

 tarsus, and much darker coloration of breast in breeding plumage. 



REVIEWS. 



THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE S HANDBOOK. 



Ireland : Industrial and Ag^rlcultural. [Second Edition]. Pp. 

 16 + 532. Many illustrations. Browne & Nolan, Ld. 1902. 



We welcome the issue of an enlarged and improved edition of the 

 Department's useful handbook. With its wealth of information, 

 statistical and descriptive, and its 137 illustrations of all kinds, from 

 Mysis relicta to Carrickmacross lace and Guinuess's brewery, it provides 

 interesting reading for everyone, and is a veritable storehouse of fact 

 regarding the economic condition of our country. Turning to the 

 portion of the book with which we are most concerned, we find Prof. 

 Cole's well-illustrated article on the topography and geology of Ireland 

 reprinted as it appeared in the first edition. In the zoological chapter, 

 Mr. Carpenter has introduced several improvements, chiefly in the 

 addition of illustrations. In the present issue the botanical chapter has 

 been extended from a page and a half to seven pages, but it still lags far 

 behind the kindred sciences. No attempt is made to pick out and describe 

 the remarkable features of the flora of the country, or to collate them with 

 its physical features ; this is especially noticeable in the single page that 

 is devoted to the Phanerogamia. The definitions appended to the recently 

 proposed " Irish Types of distribution," are quite erroneous. The absence 

 of illustrations, which form so attractive a feature of the geological and 

 zoological articles; is also noticeable. The volume is excellently printed 

 and handsomely bound. 



R. Li., p. 



