H.8- A MONOGRAPH OF THE MYCETOZOA. 



Montgomery. Only "Gwern Dhee," then, is left as a possible 

 Montgomeryshire habitat for the plant. This, if only oue mile 

 from Montgomery, must be withia the county limits. But the 

 place cannot be identified at present. "Gorondu" and "Gorondu 

 Mill" are marked on the ordnance map, but these are 2i- miles 

 distant from the town. I hope that Miss Jones will soon be able 

 to find the exact locality intended, and perhaps rediscover the 

 pUmt there. At present no Montgomeryshire record can be con- 

 sidered satisfactory. — William Whitwell. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



A Monograph of the Mycetozoa, being a descriptive Catalogue of the 

 Species in the Herbarium of the British Museum. By Arthur 

 Lister, F.L.S. 8vo, pp. 218; 78 plates, 51 woodcuts. 

 Price 15s. 



The group of organisms forming the subject of this admirable 

 memoir has almost universal distribution, and the interest attaching 

 to their study is as wide as the civilized world. Insignificant as they 

 are in size, useless as from any economic standpoint they may seem 

 to be, slime-moulds are nevertheless to-day among tlie most curious 

 and wonderful objects that fall to the hands of botanist or biologist. 

 "Whether we consider the intrinsic beauty of the tiny objects 

 themselves, whether their most peculiar habit and life-history, or 

 whether we reflect upon the doubtful position they must occupy in 

 any scheme of classification we are likely to devise, from any and 

 every purely scientific standpoint the '■ Myxos" possess a fascination 

 all their own. 



The slime-moulds are microscopic objects, and ever since the 

 microscope attained anything like present efliciency they have been 

 the subject of more or less exact research. Eostafinski's elegant 

 Monograph, which appeared iu 1875, was the most notable study, 

 and has been a classic ever since. Written, uufortuuately, in 

 Polish, Eostafinski's work has been less useful for English students. 

 Until recently Cooke's abridgement of Eostafinski has been almost 

 the only text-book. It is therefore a matter of no small con- 

 gratulation when the largest collections of material and the latest 

 appliances in apparatus and art are brought to the exposition of 

 this wonderful group. Mr. Lister's work, although, as indicated 

 in the title, based upon the large collections of the British Museum, 

 has nevertheless not been without the advantage of wider com- 

 parison. All the larger collections of Europe have lent their service, 

 so that he has been able to study and compare in almost every case 

 the original type. To his work Mr. Lister has also brought the 

 skill and experience of many years' study in this his special field. 

 As a result we have the most careful, exact, and painstaking review 

 that the slime-moulds have yet received ; while at the same time 

 the thorough digestion of the subject, the ample generic keys, with 



