210 NATURAL SCIENCE [September 
contours of Newcastle district of the Mourne Mountains. There is 
scarcely need to mention the photographic reproductions of Mr Welch, 
every reader of Natural Science must be familiar with them; but it 
“may be as well to note that the original photographs naturally far 
surpass these reproductions. For these alone it will repay every 
geologist to invest his shilling. 
The other book is of quite similar class to the first, which, as we 
said above, it complements. Here the Geology is dealt with by Pro- 
fessor Cole, the Botany by Mr Praeger, Fishing byJ. 8. Hamill, Antiqui- 
ties by W. Gray, and Sketching localities by Miss Sydney Thompson. 
An excellent and liberal selection of Mr Welch’s views are also drawn 
upon, and many other pictures of interest. We note the exterior and 
interior of the homestead of Francis M‘Kinley, whose descendant is 
now President of the United States. Like the above book, this is of 
especial interest to geologists by reason of its pictures, and we strongly 
recommend it to any one who has seen or is interested in the district 
of Larne to the Giant’s Causeway. 
VITALISM 
DurinG the recent academical year Prof. Léo Errera, of the Uni- 
versité Libre of Brussels, lectured on the question—‘ Js there such 
a Thing as a Vital Force?” He has been good enough to send us 
a syllabus of his lectures, which contains a very useful bibliography 
of the subject. He comes to the conclusion that there has not yet 
been demonstrated in living beings any source of energy independent 
of external energies, although the resultant of these various energies, 
as exhibited in the structure of an organised being, may conveniently 
be spoken of as ‘vital.’ To abstract what is itself an abstract is 
hardly possible for us; but those who are interested in the subject 
might do worse than write to the Libraire Lamertin, Rue Marché-au- 
Bois, Bruxelles, for a copy, which costs 75 centimes. 
THE zoological results of Dr Arthur Willey’s travels in New Britain, 
New Guinea, the Loyalty Islands, and other islands of the South 
Pacific, during 1895-97, are to be published by the Cambridge 
University Press in a series of monographs. The writers, besides 
Dr Willey himself, include Dr Paul Mayer, Mr R. I. Pocock, Dr D. 
Sharp, Prof. 8. J. Hickson, Mr A. E. Shipley, and Mr Jeffrey Bell. 
The work is expected to be completed in five or six parts, of which 
two will be issued during the autumn. 
WE have received from Messrs Blackie & Son a small manual, 
entitled “Elementary Chemistry, Practical and Theoretical, First 
Year’s Course,” by T. A. Cheetham. Since this is outside our scope 
we can only say that Mr Cheetham appears to have combined the 
practical and theoretical divisions of his subject in an intimate and 
successful manner. The descriptions of the experiments are clear and 
should enable them to be carried out easily by the student. 
SCRAPS FROM SERIALS 
To the paper of Mr Jukes-Browne, which appears in its English form 
in the present number, a reply by Mr G. Dollfus, entitled “ Role de la 
