478 Miscellaneous. 



the present century stuffed specimens in most museums were far 

 from resembling the living animals, and it is only somewhat 

 recently that care has been taken to copy nature as closely as 

 possible. 



"We are glad to see that Mr. Browne gives the late Mr. E. T. 

 Booth, of Brighton, the credit which is due to him of being the first 

 to start a museum in which the birds were mounted surrounded by 

 accessories closely cojjied from nature — an exami^le that has been 

 followed not only by the Natural History Museum at South Ken- 

 sington, but by many other provincial museums in England and 

 also abroad. 



A full list of nstruments he considers necessary is given, together 

 with illustrations ; but a first-class workman would, we think, be 

 able to dispense with several of those named, and, as far as skins of 

 birds are concerned, we have seen first-class specimens which have 

 been made with no tools beyond a pocket-knife and a pair of stout 

 nail-scissors. A useful chapter follows on preservatives, from which 

 we observe that he objects to arsenical paste, which, he contends, 

 does not protect the specimens from the larvge of moths or beetles ; 

 and he recommends in its place a non-poisonous preservative soap 

 consisting of chalk, soap, lime, and musk. Concise and careful 

 directions are given of how to prepare skins and to mount speci- 

 mens, and, as regards bird-skins, we have found Mr. Maynard's 

 plan of wrapping a freshly prepared skin in a layer of cotton 

 wadding to be the best mode, especially when the skins have to be 

 packed at once. Eull directions are also given for the modelling of 

 rocks, trees, &c. ; and respecting this we may say that we have 

 found light peat most useful in the rex^roduction of rock- work, and 

 have been able to make a very close copy of a natural piece of rock 

 with it. 



At the end of the book a carefully compiled bibliography of the 

 works on the subject is given, and we are glad to see that Mr. Browne 

 has made judicious use of most of them, especially those published 

 in the United States, in the body of the work. 



Mr. Browne is evidently a first-class taxidermist and well able 

 to write with authority on the subject ; and we can safely recom- 

 mend the work to any one interested in the preparation of specimens. 

 Some very good illustrations are scattered through the work, 

 twenty-two of which are printed separately and eleven are printed 

 in the text. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Tlie Evolution of Lithocystis Schneideri, a Parasite of Echinocardium 

 cordatum. By M. Louis Leger. 



1 HAD recently the opportunity of collecting, on the beach at 

 "VVimereux, a considerable number of Echinocardia, all of which 

 contained Lithocystis Schneideri. I availed myself of it to study 

 the evolution of this singular parasite, concerning which opinions 

 are so divided, some regarding it as a Myxomyccte, others as a pure 



