62 NATURAL SCIENCE. 



Jan. 



the most valuable sections of the book : they are well up-to-date, 

 especially in the treatment of coral reefs and deep-sea deposits. It 

 is interesting to note that Professor Walther pronounces in favour of 

 Darwin's theory of the formation of oceanic atolls. 



The third part of the volume considers the bases upon which 

 such a science of comparative lithology as the author desires must 

 rest. But this part of the work is brief and general in its treatment. 

 It shows that much has still to be done in the application of the 

 methods advocated by the author, which many other geologists are 

 also trying to use in their particular spheres of work. To have such 

 prominent attention called to them as has been done in this work 

 will, no doubt, lead to their yet wider consideration. The book is 

 throughout a sign of the need of a knowledge of biology to the 

 geologist, and of physical geography to the zoologist and 

 palaeontologist. 



United States Geological Survey. 



A large parcel of Bulletins of the United States Geological Survey 

 reached this country at the end of October. Among some twenty 

 volumes on different subjects it may be useful to draw attention to 

 the following : — No. 115, "A Geographic [sic] Dictionary of Rhode 

 Island," by H. Gannett; no. 116, "A Geographic Dictionary of 

 Massachusetts," by H. Gannett; no. 117, "A Geographic Dictionary 

 of Connecticut," by H. Gannett, all dated 1894. These three 

 valuable gazetteers are " designed to aid in finding any geographic 

 features upon the atlas sheets " of those States, published by the 

 Geological (why not Geologic ?) Survey. They contain all the names 

 given upon those sheets, and no other — and this, we think, is a pity, 

 because the Geological Survey of the United States, like the 

 Geological Surveys of other countries, does not give the whole of the 

 names used in a tract of country, because of the overcrowding it 

 would compel. It is to be hoped that Mr. Gannett will continue this 

 valuable series of reference books. 



Bulletin no. 102 (1893) is "A Catalogue and Bibliography of 

 North American Mesozoic Invertebrata," by C. B. Boyle, a work of 

 immense importance to geologists and zoologists in every country. 

 The catalogue is arranged under genera, the species following in 

 alphabetical order ; n. g. or n. sp., for " new genus " or " new 

 species," is placed after each entry when the genus- or species-name 

 stands as originally described by its author. When the species-name 

 has become attached to another genus-name the original author's 

 name is put into brackets, but, unfortunately, the compiler has not 

 indicated the original genus in which the species was placed. This is 

 a mistake, for the tracing of the original genus-name often causes 

 much labour. The formation and locality (or, as our American 

 friend pleases to call it, the location) are also given. A reference in 

 the preface to the similar lists drawn up by Samuel George Morton 

 would have been gracious, for Morton's works were of considerable 

 value in the early days of geology. 



Bulletin no. 100 consists of " Bibliography and Index of the 

 Publications of the Geological Survey, with the laws governing their 

 printing and distribution," by P. C. Warman, 1893. This runs to 

 496 pages, and will be of great value to bibliographers as well as to 

 geologists. Each publication is chronicled in the most complete manner, 

 e.g., general title, special title, collation, contents, number printed, 

 method of binding, and price. We learn from the Preface that no 



