226 NATURAL SCIENCE. ^4=": 



fancy bird. We hear nothing, too, of a breed of ducks which has 

 recently come into notice under the mysterious name of Indian 

 Runners, which are said to be gifted with extraordinary laying 

 powers. As to geese, attention is drawn to the fact that they main- 

 tain their productiveness for an unusually long period, up to even 

 twenty years ; and with turkeys it is noteworthy that much additional 

 vigour has been gained by an admixture of American blood, the 

 American breed having been largely crossed with the northern race, 

 Meleagris gallo-pavo, so that, supposing the domestic birds to have 

 arisen from the southern form, mexicana, we now have two sub- 

 species, at least, united in some of our tame turkeys. 



In the chapter on diseases, an interesting account, with an 

 illustration of the bacillus, is given of a disease which proved very 

 fatal on a poultry farm in Kent in 1888. The folly and impractica- 

 bility of these ventures is fully pointed out in the succeeding chapter, 

 but with this we have not at present to do. 



Far too little attention is usually paid by naturalists to the 

 progress of the domestication and breeding of various animals, and 

 deplorable as they are from the practical and aesthetic points of 

 view, there is no gainsaying that the too often monstrous productions 

 known as fancy breeds possess a genuine scientific interest. A debt 

 of gratitude is undoubtedly owing to Mr. Tegetmeier for having 

 so vividly detailed in this v/ork the results of the last 40 years' 

 breeding on the plastic organisation of Galliis hankiva. 



Frank Finn. 



The World-Wide Atlas of Modern Geography, Political and Physical, 

 containing 112 plates. With an Introduction by J. Scott Keltie. Edinburgh 

 and London : W. and A. K. Johnston, 1892. Price 7s. 6d. 



The "World-Wide Atlas," considering the exceedingly low price at 

 which it is published, is a remarkable production, containing in a 

 very small space as much information as can be obtained from many 

 larger and more expensive atlases. 



The introduction by Mr. Scott Keltie gives a concise epitome of 

 the present state of our knowledge of the geography of the different 

 regions of the globe, accompanied by notices of the history of the 

 gradual acquisition of this knowledge and the names of the chief 

 explorers. 



The maps, which measure io\ by 7^ inches, are, for clearness and 

 excellency of engraving, admirable examples of the chartographer's 

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 by distinctive colouring so that the general contour can be com- 

 prehended at a glance. While the larger countries have each a 

 separate map of their whole area, other maps on a larger scale illus- 

 trate in greater detail their provinces, and the Atlas can thus vie 

 with many of its larger rivals. 



While not too detailed for the young scholar, the " World-Wide 

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 of many who require the aid of good maps for their special studies. 



