1899] THE COLOURS OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS 243 



and the visual judgments in the "brain" of an insect are precisely similar to 

 those, not merely of a man, but of an educated man accustomed to observe 

 accurately and reason. A person really competent to theorise upon such 

 matters would have to be — as John Evelyn described Edward the Sixth — 

 " stupendously knowing." The real fact of the matter is, that Miss Newbigin 

 is perfectly right in pointing out that we do not yet know enough of the 

 plainest phenomena of animal coloration. "We cannot," she justly observes, 

 " end a book on colour more fitly than by an appeal for more facts." The 

 authoress herself deals with the main pigments and the physical causes of 

 colour in the animal world. The book is a valuable epitome of such facts, and 

 will doubtless be read by both students and the general public. F. E. B. 



A GEOLOGIST'S ALMANACK. 



Kalender fur Geologen, Palaontologen und Mineralogen. Herausgegeben 

 von Dr. K. Keilhack. Leipzig: Max Weg, 1899. Price 3 Marks. 



The second edition of this compact and useful pocket-book is an improve- 

 ment on its predecessor, and should prove a valuable companion to every active 

 or professional geologist. It contains the following sections : I. The Govern- 

 ment Geological Surveys of the world. Every country in Europe has a survey 

 except Greece, Turkey, Servia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Holland ; in Asia, 

 only India and Japan have one ; in Africa, only Egypt, Cape of Good Hope, 

 and the Transvaal ; in South America, only Brazil ; in Xorth America, Mexico 

 should have been mentioned, but is not ; in Australia, New Zealand is included, 

 but the active survey of Queensland is omitted. II. List of teachers of the 

 geological sciences in the colleges of the world. III. Geological, mineralogical, 

 and palaeontological societies. IV. Addresses of the geologists, mineralogists, 

 and palaeontologists of Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and 

 Hungary. There have also crept into the list a few people in other places, 

 such as London, La Plata, St. Petersburg, and Guatemala. V. The public and 

 private geological, mineralogical, and palaeontological collections of the same 

 countries. VI. Comparative lists of geological formations. This is very 

 incomplete, being confined to Europe, and dealing with that in a partial 

 manner. At least one would expect to find the classical divisions of the 

 British Silurian. VII. Synoptic table of igneous rocks. VIII. The chief 

 characters of the more common minerals. IX. Symbols for crystal faces, 

 according to Naumann, Weiss, and Miller. X. Atomic weights of the 

 elements. XL History of the names of the chief formations, by J. Walther. 

 XII. Rules for the application of proper names in systematic nomenclature, by 

 H. Potonie. We have no patience with a person who says that the genitive of 

 " Martius " should be " Martiusii." But in this branch of learning the best 

 way of avoiding puerilities is never to use personal names at all. XIII. Short 

 account of the annual gatherings of the German Geological Society, the 

 Oberrhein Geological Society, and the International Congress. XIV. A list, 

 very incomplete, of geologists, mineralogists, and palaeontologists dead since 

 October 1, 1897. XV. Chief measures of length reduced to the metric scale. 

 XVI. Chart of magnetic declination in Europe during 1899. XVII. List of 

 periodicals containing geological papers. XVIII. The geological, palaeonto- 

 logical, and mineralogical literature of 1898 down to the end of November. 

 This, though it contains over 900 titles, and is much to be grateful for, is by no 

 means complete. 



There are the usual diary, blank pages, and section paper, as well as a 

 portrait of the late C. W. von Guembel. Considering the great difficulty of 

 attaining accuracy in a work of this kind, we may well compliment the editor 

 and publisher on what they have done for us. B. 



