6o NATURAL SCIENCE. January. 



volume concludes with a good bibliography and index of the whole 

 subject. 



Thus, as will be seen by this synopsis of its contents, the book is 

 a thoroughly useful, and we may add a reliable, work of reference to 

 the literature on the cell-nucleus in the vegetable kingdom. 



J. B. F. 

 The Booth Birds. 



Catalogue of the Cases of Birds in the Dyke Road Museum, Brighton. 

 By E. T. Booth. Second edition (by A. F. Griffith). 8vo. pp. 217, with 16 

 full-page illustrations. Brighton : King, Thorne & Stace, 1896. 



This is a Museum guide-book, not only admirable for the ordinary 

 intelligent public, but containing much of special interest to the 

 field-ornithologist. It is an illustrated reprint of the late Mr. Booth's 

 " Catalogue" of his collection published twenty years ago, and now 

 that this collection has become the property of the Brighton 

 Corporation, the work appears as an official handbook. Apart from a 

 brief history of the bequest there are very few additions to the 

 letterpress, which is based almost entirely on Mr. Booth's personal 

 observations ; but the exquisite photographs of the cases with which 

 it is illustrated add greatly to its value, while the portrait of the author 

 and the view of his exhibition room are interesting. The observations 

 on the birds are desultory and make no pretence to systematic 

 treatment, but we think the utility of the volume would be much 

 enhanced if the scientific name of each species were placed after the 

 popular name which is always employed. 



Baran. 



In common with the Times, Ally Sloper, and the Jam-i-jamshed we have 

 received from Balmokand, cloth-seller of Rawalpindi, a book pub- 

 lished at Lahore, entitled " The Priceless Gem," pp. 242, price 

 (including postage) one rupee, of Mr. Balmokand. " The Priceless 

 Gem " sets forth the advantage and necessity of " Baran," the 

 disregard of which in India's degenerate days has " vitiated its 

 [India's] original form and has occasioned the disappearance of those 

 Excellencies [sic) and the prevalence of these evils and vices." 



" Baran " seems to signify the Eastern equivalent of the Western 

 Temperament, and the four different Barans are set forth at length on 

 pp. 36-38. The work attempts to prove the advantages of marriages 

 between those of similar Baran. Mr. Balmokand is evidently a great 

 reader both of his own and of English literature ; and the volume will 

 no doubt be of considerable interest to those who are interested in 

 Indian customs or who make a special study of temperaments. It is 

 translated from Urdu by J. W. Rockwell. 



Varia. 



L'Annnaire Geologique Univevsel for 1895 ^^^ made its appearance, and 

 this time is confined to the geology of France and her colonies in 

 Northern Africa. It is a great matter for regret that a universal 

 record could not be kept up, for the old volumes were most valuable, 

 but we still have cause to be thankful for the energy of Dr. Carez and 

 his publisher, which gives us so useful a record of the geology of 

 France. 



The Winter Number of The Artist has been dedicated to a con- 

 sideration of the art of Frederick Sandys. The public has now 

 an opportunity of seeing the work of this exquisite draughtsman 



