.,^,. SOME NEW BOOKS. 311 



detail/ and notes the fossils, observing in one case, "This was an 

 unfailing sign that the chalk-formation had in former times been sea, 

 as well as that the chalk is a child of later times, unless these 

 so-called mussel-shells are Insus natures.'''' He observes, in particular, 

 a coarse sand near Ivinghoe " which was not such as our most 

 common sand in Sweden, viz., of quartz, but it consisted of bare 

 flint, such as is found everywhere about here, which had been reduced 

 to a coarser or finer sand." 



It is interesting to learn that in the suburbs of London the fences 

 around meadows and market gardens were frequently made of banks 

 of earth interstratified with " a multitude of the quicks or inner parts of 

 Ox-horns," often with part of the skull attached. There were some- 

 times as many as six layers of these fragmentary horns. The fact is 

 of importance in connection with the abundant bovine remains that 

 are sometimes dug up in the district mentioned ; and we hear that in 

 one instance Kalm's remarks have quite recently explained what 

 might have been regarded as a curious geological discovery. 



There are many notes on the trees and hedgerows, and on various 

 plants met with. Kalm states that one day " we amused ourselves 

 by seeking out and describing the plants which occurred in a hay- 

 stack at Hudnall.'' He gives a list of 28 species, but of some only 

 single examples were found. The translator tells us that the 

 verification of the names of the plants would have been a hopeless 

 task, but for the existence in the British Museum of two volumes of 

 Kalm's work with MS. notes, from the library of Sir Joseph Banks. 



The date of Kalm's visit was five years prior to the foundation of 

 the British Museum. The collection of Sir Hans Sloane formed the 

 first portion of the Natural History objects that were then brought 

 together. Kalm records his introduction to Sir Hans, then reported 

 to be in his 94th year, and to his collections " in all three Natural 

 Kingdoms, Antiquities, Anatomy, and many Curiosities.''' Some account 

 is also given of the " Chelsea Physick Garden," and Kalm notes that 

 in a room up in the Orangery there was preserved as a great rarity 

 the collection of plants formed by John Ray. This collection had 

 been given by Ray to Samuel Dale, who presented it to the Physick 

 Garden: but it is remarked : "In some places the plants had been 

 cut out, for Dr. Sherard had borrowed this collection from Mr. Dale, 

 and when he had found any plant, which was either rare, or he 

 thought much of, it was said that he had either clipped or cut it out, 

 so that the books had been sufficiently mutilated." Ray's herbarium 

 is now in the British Museum. 



The value of this work is of course to a large extent antiquarian, 

 but, as we have noted, there are many facts that will interest both 

 Geologists and Botanists. Furthermore, there is a good General index 

 and a separate Botanical index. 



H. B. W. 



The Zoological Record for 1890 was issued in March by the 

 Zoological Society. The volume is arranged as usual, and edited by 

 Mr. F. E. Beddard, who now retires from the work. The next 

 volume, in progress, is under the editorial direction of Dr. 

 D. Sharp, F.R.S. 



1 Records of two sections, communicated by Mr. Lucas, were published in Mr. 

 Whitaker's " Geology of London," vol. i., 1889, pp. 174, 175. 



