368 NATURAL SCIENCE {December 
While this book will, as we have said, be an important aid to 
students of the European fossil brachiopods, it by no means fills the 
gap that has long yawned before them. A corresponding European 
work is greatly to be desired. fF. Béclard began something of the 
kind, but death has stopped his energetic research. In England we 
hardly take our fair share in the production of these useful biblio- 
eraphic lists of recent or fossil organisms ; and yet their publication 
would prevent many of the descriptions of supposed new species 
that are constantly being thrust upon us. Once upon a time there 
was a great flourish of trumpets over a new edition: of Morris’ 
“Catalogue of British Fossils” as a memorial to that geologist, but 
though the talkers were many the labourers were few. Surely the 
scheme might be undertaken by half a dozen really serious workers, 
and brought up to the end of the century. 
To return to Mr Schuchert. We can do no more than thank 
him for the result of his labours: he has given us a key to the 
writings of the last two decades, he has simplified our researches, 
and has taken a heavy load off our minds. We congratulate him 
on the completion of his task, and are glad to place another solid 
contribution to zoological literature on our bookshelves. 
WASPS AND WEATHER 
ON two previous occasions (Natural Science, Vol. iii., pp. 273-275, 
and vi., pp. 178-179) Mr Oswald H. Latter has called attention in 
these pages to an apparent connection between abundance or scarcity 
of wasps and certain meteorological phenomena. Briefly, his con- 
clusion then was—(1) that wasps were favoured by dry springs and 
early summer, while if these seasons were wet wasps were scarce 
in the later summer and autumn; (2) that low temperature during 
the winter and early spring had little or no effect. He now favours 
us with a supplementary communication, pointing out how his obser- 
vations and enquiries during the present year confirm his earlier 
conclusions. ‘ A complete survey,” he remarks, “ must begin with 
September 1896: this was the wettest September known for many 
years, the rainfall at Godalming amounting to 7°12 inches; from 
that month up to the end of May of the present year the rainfall 
for every month, except November, was considerably in excess of 
the average, while that of March amounted to 5°01 inches. The 
total rainfall for the nine months, September 1896 to May 1897, 
amounted to 30°38 inches, which is rather more than 2} inches in 
excess of the annual rainfall. Thus the period of hibernation and 
nest-founding among wasps was extremely rainy. The temperature 
of these months, notably that of February and March, was decidedly 
