iqoo] Book Notices. 33 



we judge merely by pages and plates. In the ninety-six pages 

 forming Part I, the Madreporaria Perforata d^nd the A /cyonaria are 

 dealt with, the remaining sections of the Zoa?ttkaria be'in^ reserved 

 for the second part. The first part contains five plates and the 

 second will contain thirteen. This seems a small compass in which 

 to cover so much ground, but Mr. Lambe has succeeded admir- 

 ably, and if his monograph closes with a sufficiently full index it 

 will be invaluable as a point from which both to commence the 

 investigation of a species and to conclude it after the various 

 references have been examined. Mr. Lambe's revision, as usual, 

 has resulted in the discovering of many synonyms, and thus a 

 number of specific names become -obsolete, but many species 

 hitherto imperfectly recorded, both as to description and illustra- 

 tion, have been firmly established, and there has been a rectifica- 

 tion of the generic and specific nomenclature throughout. His 

 descriptions are precise and ample, and yet as briefly expressed as 

 one could wish, dealing especially with points of structure hitherto 

 overlooked, misunderstood, or, inadequately described. 



Mr. Lambe's ability as a palceontological draughtsman is well 

 known, and the illustrations are artistically what we would expect 

 from him, but they also give important evidence of his ability in 

 the selection of points to illustrate. Five octavo plates provide a 

 very small field for illustrating such a large subject, and yet we 

 think we may safely say that more satisfactory illustrations of 

 fossil corals are not often seen. Mr. Lambe has not, of course, 

 space in which to provide figures of the various species referred to 

 in his revision and is limited to the details of species which have 

 been imperfectly illustrated hitherto. In studying corals we find 

 that illustrations of the general appearance of specimens found in 

 a particulaj locality are frequently quite accurate but are neverthe- 

 less of little real service, but illustrations of details which may be 

 vital in studying genera and species are generally unsatisfactory, 

 and in this respect Mr. Lambe's work is admirable. 



Mr. Lambe has now made a special study of living spono-es 

 and of fossil corals. The writer ventures to suggest that he 

 should ^ake up the Stromatoporoids. His previous studies will 

 all be most valuable in this connection, and as Canada is so rich 

 jn these interesting and difficult forms, a monograph bringing be- 



