,85,3. SOME NEW BOOKS. 791 



Marine Shells of South Africa. By G. B. Sowerby, F.L.S., F.Z.S. Pp. 89, 

 pis. V. London : Published by the Author, 1892. Price 12s. nett. 



This work is, as its title denotes, a list of the Mollusca inhabiting 

 South Africa ; it contains, however, diagnoses of a few new species, 

 and is illustrated by numerous plates which place the book on a 

 somewhat higher level than that of the simple catalogue. In looking 

 over a work of this kind one develops a feeling of gratitude to those 

 hard-working persons who are good enough to do for us this necessary 

 but decidedly not entertaining labour ; for, to'our mind, there could 

 be no more depressing pursuit in the whole field of natural history 

 than the description of recent shells, excepting, perhaps, the descrip- 

 tion of fossil shells. The least exhilarating work of this kind that we 

 know of is a vast series of tomes entirely devoted to the almost 

 endless description and arrangement of the species of a single genus 

 of bivalves, the genus Unio. The devotion of a lifetime to the study 

 •of antimony, in which something new could be discovered every 

 day, is nothing to this. It is, nevertheless, a pity that those who 

 spend their days in the examination of shells do not also take into 

 consideration the contents of the shells. They do sometimes, it is true, 

 speak depreciatingly of the " animal " in giving a description of a new 

 species ; but among the students of no group is there a more distinct 

 separation between the anatomist and the systematist than in the 

 case of the Mollusca. 



Mr. Sowerby enumerates 740 species from South African seas, 

 and estimates that more than 300 of these are confined to the region 

 of which he treats. We fear, however, that the list cannot be com- 

 plete, for we fail to find the new univalves, described by the Rev. 

 Boog Watson in his " Challenger" report, andj^if that great work be 

 overlooked it is not unlikely that some smaller contributions may also 

 have escaped notice. 



The work is beautifully printed, with useful illustrations, and 

 ■deserves a place in every reference-library of Conchology. 



Mountaineering. By C. T. Dent and others. Pp. xx., 439. With 13 plates and 

 94 other illustrations. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1892. Price los. 6d. 



The "Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes," edited by the 

 Duke of Beaufort and Mr. A. E. T. Watson, already comprises 14 

 volumes, some of which, on Hunting, Fishing, and Shooting, deal 

 with subjects of interest to the Field Naturalist. 



The volume before us on Mountaineering, however, appeals more 

 directly to students of Natural Science. It is pleasantly written, and 

 admirably illustrated with pictures that are both humorous and instruc- 

 tive, while the information will be valuable alike to those who ascend 

 mountains as a pastime, and to those who pursue Science at the same 

 time. 



The short introduction is written by Mr. Justice Wills, one of the 

 pioneers of modern mountaineering, who made the ascent of the 

 Wetterhorn, from Grindelvvald, in 1854. He remarks that "few- 

 sports, perhaps few pursuits, afford keener or more lasting enjoyment, 

 or contribute more to the acquisition of self-reliance, patience, and 

 self-restraint " ; at the same time, he and other contributors to this 

 volume adopt as their key-note, words of warning rather than of 

 .encouragement, and " teach the Immorality, as well as the folly, of 

 running into useless danger and risking valuable lives." 



