74, THe MicRoscopr. 
was described and named in honor of a fellow-paleeontologist, 
and the specific name was “ broadheadit.” 
A third, and, unfortunately, too common class of scientific 
humour proceeds from the fact that people are given to dealing 
with that which is beyond them. They attempt that which they 
are not qualified to perform, and the result is lamentable and 
frequently laughable. Most of these mistakes excite only a feel- 
ing of contempt, but occasionally an example is found in which 
the blunders are so enormous that the true scholar loses all 
other feelings than that of the ridiculous. Although these in- 
stances are far from rare, it but seldom occurs that one can find 
so many wonderful mistakes combined in one volume as occur 
in a little work which has recently fallen into my hands. It is 
a duodecimo volume of three hundred and twenty-five pages 
and bears the pretentious title, “* Dictionary of Scientific Terms, 
by P. Austin Nuttall, LL.-D.,” and was published in London 
about fifteen years ago. It seems not to be generally known in 
America, and a few of thé wonderful statements and definitions 
it contains will doubtless be appreciated by all. 
The work begins with a “ preface” outlining the growth of 
science and scientific ideas and the corresponding increase in 
our vocabularies. A few instances are here given of the new 
words which have thus been called forth and from them we se- 
lect “‘Strongylus” (a parasitical action of the respiratory organs 
of pigs and calves).” The need is thus shown of a work which 
will “render the language of science intelligible, not only to the 
student, but to the general reader.” 
It would appear that the “general reader” (or it may be 
the student) is supposed to have but a vague conception of the 
limits, bearings, and methods of the various sciences, for the 
preface is followed by an “ Introduction to the Classification and 
Study of the Sciences,” which, when we remember that the work 
is dated “1869,” is seen to embrace, space for space, a larger 
number of enormous blunders than any other article in the Eng- 
lish language. ‘“ Naturalists class animal life by commencing 
from the highly-organized animals (such as those which walk, 
fly, and have nerves) to such as have very little structure.” 
This extremely lucid statement is exemplified in many in- 
stances. Birds “are furnished for the most part with wings,” 
