1896. ■ NOTES AND COMMENTS. 221 



with historical matter to justify the definition, and with biblio- 

 graphical references. Intended, as it is, not only to fix the very 

 unsettled usage of terms, but also to serve as an introduction to the 

 various philosophical departments, it will apparently treat its subject 

 with a liberal hand. There can be no doubt of the usefulness of such 

 a book if well executed, and certainly the publishers have secured a 

 goodly array of contributors, mentioned in the preliminary announce- 

 ment, who are an excellent guarantee of success. 



Natural Science at Cambridge. 



The thirtieth annual Report of the Museums and Lecture Rooms 

 Syndicate, Cambridge, for 1895 ^^^ been received. We have already 

 noticed some of the additions to the Museum of Zoology, and we may 

 now add a series of over three hundred unnamed specimens of Bryozoa 

 given by Miss E. C. Jelly, preparations of Mycetozoa presented by 

 Messrs. A. & J, J. Lister, and over one hundred sections of recent 

 and fossil plants from the collection of the late Professor W. C. 

 Williamson. The arrangement and naming of the general Herbarium 

 is progressing, with the assistance of numerous specialists, among 

 whom may be mentioned Mr. F. Crepin who has named 1,500 sheets 

 of roses, and published a paper upon them in the Journal of Botany. 

 The number of students attending lectures in botany appears to be 

 considerable if we may judge from the fact that 76 attended Mr. 

 Seward's lectures in the Michaelmas term, 1895, while 89 attended 

 those of Professor Ward in Lent term, 1896. Most of these are of 

 course elementary students, who, by the way, are so numerous that 

 accommodation cannot be found for them in the proper laboratory, 

 and they have to overflow into the museum. The elementary biology 

 class in the zoological laboratory reached the huge number of 174 

 during Easter term, 1895, but the advanced zoology class did not 

 exceed twelve. 



The most important addition to the physiological department 

 during the past year is the new animal house, in which animals can 

 be kept under proper conditions all the year round. It is satisfactory 

 to find that seven persons, in addition to the staff, have been doing 

 research work in the laboratory during the year. 



The number of students working at the geological museum has 

 been 1 25. The Professor of Geology reports : — " We are again indebted 

 ... for very valuable gifts to the University, namely, a collection of 

 Devonian Fossils, figured and described ... in the Monographs of the 

 Palaeontographical Society, and of a number of Brachiopods, figured 

 and described by Davidson in his Monograph on the group." No 

 doubt the donor has a very proper affection for his old university, 

 but considering that Davidson's collection has been bequeathed to the 

 British Museum, and that an attempt has been made to place together 

 there all the specimens figured in his Monograph it seems to us 



