NEW PUBLICATIONS. 31 
by the unfitness of forced sarcasm. And it must also be remembered 
that while the public may be amused they will not be convinced by 
such writing. 
The defects, too, in scientific knowledge are unpardonable in such a 
work. They especially abound in the chapter on “ The Geological 
Question.” the author would eliminate the sarcasm and the 
science, and treat the subject as a logician, his book would be of great 
value. It could not be set aside by Darwinians, as it will certainly in 
its present form, and it would take away the occasion, too good not to 
be eagerly seized by ‘ small’ reviewers, to show off their knowledge, by 
pointing out the errors, and so give them the power of ignoring the 
author’s powerful and conclusive arguments, or burying them under the 
cloud of trivial ridicule that they will certainly heap on the work. 
Even in its present shape it should prove of service, as we hope it 
may, in bringing men who have been letting their imaginations run 
wild back to their senses, and inducing them again to undertake the 
quieter and better work of interpreting nature by the observation of 
acts 
British Sea-Weeds : an Introduction to the Study of the Marine Alge 
of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. By Samuel 
Octavus Gray. London: Reeve and Co. 1867. Pp. 312; 
Pl 16. 8vo, 
It has been our duty more than once to expose, in these pages, the 
worthless compilations that are sometimes issued by enterprising pub- 
lishers as introductions to popular botanical studies. It is a pleasure 
British sea-weeds. He is evidently familiar with every form, and his 
characters, instead of being transcriptions or paraphrases of those of 
former writers, are original and life-like sketches of the objects of his 
favourite pursuit. We strongly recommend it to all who are interested 
in this much-admired family of plants. Its price and its size, as well 
as the characters which we have noticed, will make it the seaside com- 
panion of all algological students. We would suggest to the author 
in preparing a second edition, which we have little doubt will soon be 
