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NEW BOOKS, WITH SHORT NOTICES. 
The Micrographic Dictionary . A Guide to the Examination and 
Investigation of the Structure and Nature of Microscopic Objects. By 
J. W. Griffith, M.D., and Arthur Henfrey, F.R.S. Third Edition. 
Edited by J. W. Griffith, M.D., Professor Martin Duncan, M.B., 
F.R.S. ; assisted by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A., F.R.S. , and T. 
Rupert Jones, F.R.S., F.G.S. Parts XV., XVI., XVII., XVIII., 
XIX., XX., and XXI. Illustrated by forty-eight plates and eight 
hundred and twelve woodcuts. London : Van Voorst, 1875. 
The microscopical world may well congratulate the author and 
with him the several editors who have been engaged upon it, on the 
completion of the third edition of the Micrographic Dictionary.* It 
has been so many years going through the necessary metamorphosis, 
that we may almost be excused the supposition which we once held, 
that its completion was not to be witnessed in our days. However, Dr. 
Griffith has made an apology — that of ill-health — to the subscribers 
for the prolonged delay, and of course we are bound to accept it ; the 
more so as having intended supervising the completion of the work 
himself alone, he has relinquished that intention, and has called in to 
his aid the assistance of Dr. Martin Duncan, F.R.S., who has regularly 
edited the monthly parts, till in December he issued a double portion, 
and thus concluded the volume. It will not be amiss if we quote a few of 
Dr. Griffith’s remarks from the preface to this the last edition. He says : 
“ In regard to the alterations made in this Third Edition, it will be noted 
that nearly one hundred pages of new matter have been added. The 
original articles have been revised according to modern researches and 
views, so as to represent, as far as space would permit, the present 
state of knowledge. When I state that the articles upon the Fungi 
were entrusted to the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, and those upon the 
Foraminifera to Professor Rupert Jones, the reader will surely feel 
confident that they have been carefully and faithfully elaborated. 
For some valuable notes on the Lichens I have to thank the Rev. W. 
A. Leighton The plates have all been newly engraved upon 
copper, thus rendering the figures of the objects more sharply defined. 
Three new plates have been added, and several of the original plates 
have been rearranged and improved.” This is the opinion of one 
who may in great measure be regarded as the only living author of 
the work. Still the view that will be held by the majority of readers 
will, we fear, be much less favourable to the book. We think that 
the opinion held by many will be something of this sort: “If a 
new edition were required, surely there was room for infinitely more 
change than has been made ; if not, why impose so expensive a work 
upon those who already possess the second edition ? ” And we fear 
that the answer will not be quite satisfactory. Still we are far 
from agreeing with some of the reviewers of this work, and we 
consider that the new edition was justifiable, and that if the author 
had called in two or three other writers beside Dr. Duncan to aid 
him in his labours he would have succeeded perfectly in the result. 
