120 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 



A Sketch of the Natural History of Australia, with Some 

 Notes on Sport. By F. G. Aflalo, F.R.G.S., F.L.S., &c. 

 July, 1896. (Macraillan's Colonial Library.) 3s. 6d. 



This little volume of about 330 pages, as its name implies, 

 gives an excellent outline sketch of those forms of animal life 

 which are peculiar to our island continent. Though without any 

 pretence to be a scientific handbook, it is well worthy of the 

 attention of workers in natural history, as giving such an 

 excellent grouping of the various creatures dealt with. Thus 

 Mammals are treated of in three parts— the Placentals, 

 Marsupials, and Monotremes. Birds, under Waterfowl, Wading 

 Birds, Perching Birds, Birds of Prey, and Scratchers. Reptiles, 

 under Snakes, Lizards, Crocodiles, Tortoises and Turtles, 

 Batrachians. Fishes, under which heading a chapter is devoted 

 to Angling, principally experiences around Sydney, as Freshwater 

 Fish and Sea Fish. Under Invertebrata we have chapters on 

 Molluscs, Insects, Spiders and Scorpions, Centipedes, Crustacea, 

 and the Ground Floor ; while the Glossary contains the meaning 

 of most of the scientific names in the volume. The reader is 

 constantly being directed to works of other authors, either in 

 support of the writer's remarks or to show the absurd characters 

 given to Australian forms of life by early writers. As brief notes 

 about, and the scientific names of most of the species mentioned, 

 are given, the volume is one which will be found of much service 

 to any visitor to our shores who is zoologically inclined. It also 

 contains some thirty illustrations, which have the merit of being 

 well executed. 

 An Introduction to the Study of Mineralogy for 



Australian Readers. By F. M. Krause, F.G.S. 1896. 



Geo. Robertson and Co., Melbourne. 8vo, cloth, 6s. 



This volume of some 350 pages has been designed primarily 

 for use as a text-book for students, but it will also be found 

 extremely useful to mineralogists as a work of reference. 

 It is divided into two parts — viz., Systematic and Descriptive 

 Mineralogy. The first part takes the reader through Crystal- 

 lography, Physical Properties, Optical Properties, Chemical 

 Properties, Distribution, and Classification. The second part 

 deals with 244 distinct minerals, as well as their more important 

 varieties, giving such particulars as structure, hardness, specific 

 gravity, colour, usual form of occurrence, chemical composition, 

 and distribution, under which is given, firstly, all the principal 

 Australian localities, then the chief occurrences in other parts of 

 the world ; and, finally, in the cases of economic minerals, notes 

 on their values and uses. The work includes a copious index of 

 all minerals, &c, mentioned. 



