407 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



The Determination of Fossils. 



In your November number, and under the head of " Pavingstone Palaeonto- 

 logy," you give your readers some excellent advice on the subject of the determi- 

 nation of fossils. You say that the description of new species should always be 

 handed over to trained zoological specialists, and no doubt this is highly desirable 

 and generally possible ; but when you add, " even the mere determination of fossils 

 has nowadays become, like the determination of recent animals and plants, a task 

 for the specialist in taxonomy, and the lists that we constantly see issued in connec- 

 tion with stratigraphical papers can be proved (as Natural Science has before now 

 proved some of them) to be lengthy aggregations of error," you make a very serious 

 indictment without indicating a practical remedy. 



I think I shall voice the feelings of most writers of such papers in saying that 

 they would only be too delighted to follow your advice and to get all their fossils 

 named for them by competent men. As you truly remark, " correct conclusions 

 cannot follow from inaccurate premises," and it is most important that fossils should 

 be accurately named ; but those who write such papers know that it is very difficult 

 to get this done : the author may obtain the friendly assistance of one or two 

 'specialists, but the greater number of his fossils he has to identify as best he can 

 for himself. 



Now, unfortunately, in your present issue, you confine yourself to saying that we 

 are very worthy and energetic people, but that not being universal geniuses we ought 

 not to attempt a task which is so much beyond our capacities. No doubt there is 

 much truth in this, and we anxiously await your next issue, in which we hope that you 

 will tell us where the specialists are to be found who are always ready to examine and 

 name the fossils collected by anyone who is working at stratigraphical problems. 

 The idea is magnificent, and an Editor is of course omniscient, so you are doubtless 

 prepared to inform us how your advice can be carried out in practice : in so doing 

 you will confer an immense obligation on more than one 



Stratigraphical Geologist. 



[We beg to refer the " more than one," who have written to similar efifect, to 

 our Article on page 361. — Ed. Nat. Sex.] 



Indexes of Periodicals. 



Surely some better method than the present one of indexing periodicals might 

 be found. Take Natural Science, for example. It has only been in existence since 

 March, 1892, and we already have eight volumes with eight separate indexes. To 

 look up anything in these indexes is already troublesome, and in a few years will be 

 a laborious business. Who can be expected to wade through the fifty-four indexes 

 of your contemporary. Nature ? If some means could be devised whereby each suc- 

 ceeding index could be incorporated with the pre-existing indexes, much trouble 

 would be saved. This might, perhaps, to a certain extent, be accomplished if each 

 index were printed on a series of cards of uniform size, each corresponding with a 

 letter of the alphabet ; then, when a new index appeared, all items beginning, say, 

 with the letter G, could be arranged together, although not further classified. The 

 index would then cease to be attached to each volume, and would become a key to 

 the whole series of volumes. Of course, the number of volume would have to be 

 printed on each card, and a uniform size of cards for all periodicals would be 

 desirable. Bernard Hobson. 



Owens College, Manchester. 



