NA TURE 



[Nov. 28, 1889 



comparative figures are : 37 species for Britain as a 

 whole, 33 for North Yorkshire, 21 for the Lakes, 21 for 

 Northumberland and Durham, and 16 for Derbyshire. 

 The total number of Derbyshire plants is 782 species out 

 of 1425 recorded for the whole of Britain. 



Mr. Painter's note (pp. 5-10) on the bibliography of 

 the botany of Derbyshire is full and satisfactory. Un- 

 fortunately, many of the early records contained in 

 Pilkington's "Derbyshire," and copied into the old 

 "Botanist's Guide," are evidently inaccurate. But a 

 great many trustworthy records, which stand on the per- 

 sonal authority of Mr. H. C. Watson and Mr. J. E. Bowman, 

 are contained in the " New Botanist's Guide," of which 

 Mr. Painter seldom takes notice. The curious Achillea 

 serrafa, a plant not known anywhere in a wild state, 

 which Sir J. E. Smith describes and figures, in " English 

 Botany," from the neighbourhood of [Matlock, he does 

 not mention at all. 



As Mr. Painter explains in his preface and indicates 

 in his title, his work is not put forward as a complete 

 record of the flora of the county. It is not likely that much 

 that is new will be found in the limestone tract and on the 

 gritstone moors, but the exploration of the coal tract and 

 level new red sandstone country is still very incom- 

 plete. A full and adequate flora of a county so inter- 

 esting would be a very acceptable contribution to the 

 literature of botanical geography. J. G. B. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Science of Evcry-day Life. By J. A. Bower, F.C.S. 

 (London: Cassell and Co., 18S9.) 



We have here another attempt to simplify the acquire- 

 ment of a knowledge of some of the elementary facts of 

 science, but though there is much to be commended, 

 some points certainly require revision. With reference 

 to the well-known experiment in which bits of straw, 

 wood, or cork come together when thrown into a basin of 

 water (p. 22), the author has fallen into the common error 

 of ascribing the effect to gravitation instead of to surface- 

 tension. If a few wax-lights or other things not wetted by 

 water be added, it will be found that a substance which is 

 not wetted is repelled by a substance which is, and that 

 only "birds of a feather flock together." Again, with 

 young students, loose or incomplete statements cannot be 

 too carefully guarded against ; the statement on p. 59 that 

 15 pounds or 30 inches of mercury is " equal to a square 

 inch column of air to whatever height it may extend " is 

 of this clas?. 



The book is apparently intended more especially for 

 the young people's section of the National Home-Reading 

 Union, but it is hardly likely that many of the branches 

 will be furnished with the necessary apparatus for the 

 experiments. The ground covered includes the pro- 

 perties of matter, and the physics and chemistry of air 

 and water. 



Eleirientary Physics. By M. R. Wright. (London : 

 Longmans, Green, and Co., J889.) 



In this book Mr. Wright has added to the more 

 elementary part of his work on sound, light, and heat, 

 the leading facts of other branches of physics, so as to 

 form a general introduction to physical science. The 

 subject is an essentially experimental one, and the author 

 having learned by experience that a study of facts is the 



first duty of beginners, very little space is given to- 

 theoretical considerations. There is very little that is 

 new, and indeed it is hardly to be expected. Most of the 

 experiments are clearly described and are capable of easy 

 performance, but one or two improvements may be 

 suggested. On p. 4 the student is told to "cut a hole in 

 an iron plate so that a flask filled with cold water just 

 passes," an operation beyond most students, and we see 

 no reason why a piece of card should not do equally well. 

 Again, on p. 6, the making of a thermometer is hardly 

 sufficiently detailed ; having made a bulb at one end of 

 the tube, the student is simply told to make one at the 

 other end, but he will certainly not see his way to do 

 this without further assistance. There are no less than 

 242 diagrams, but, needless to say, most of them have 

 done good service before. 



The book is excellently adapted for such a course of 

 instruction as that laid down in the syllabus of alternative 

 physics by the Science and Art Department. 



Teacher's Manual of Geography. By J. W. Redvva\'. 

 (Boston, U.S. : D. C. Heath and Co., 1889.) 



We have of late heard a good deal on the subject of how 

 geography should be taught, but now we find an author 

 who believes " that less energy devoted to improvement of 

 methods, and a little more to the quality of the material 

 taught, would not be amiss." The authoi's view of the 

 scope of geography is much broader than that generally 

 accepted, and, in this country at least, the title " physical 

 geography" would be regarded as more appropriate. 



The first part of the book consists of '' hints to teachers," 

 and very valuable hints they are. Oral instruction and 

 out-of-door lessons are strongly recommended, and the 

 author attempts to make the subject a practical one by 

 suggestions as to the use of the moulding board for 

 representing the variors features of a country. The free 

 use of pictures and instructive stories from authentic 

 books of travel, especially with piimary pupils, is also 

 recommended. 



In the second part, common errors, such as the 

 assertion that "lakes which have no outlet are salt," are 

 corrected. There is also an interesting chapter on the 

 history of geographical names. The book is quite unique, 

 and teachers will find much to interest as well as instruct 

 them. 



Notes on the Pinks oj Western Europe. By F. N. 

 Williams, F.L.S.j;;^_Pp. 47. (London: West, Newman, 

 and Co, 1889.) 



Last week we noticed Mr. Williams's classified enu- 

 meration of all the known species of Dianthus. In 

 the present pamphlet he gives Latin descriptions of, and 

 English notes upon, the species of Western Europe. 

 Out of a total of upwards of 200 species, there 

 are altogether 55 in Western Europe, which are dis- 

 tributed through the different countries as follows, viz. 

 43 in Spain, 33 in France, 13 in Portugal, 7 in 

 Germany, 5 each in Belgium and Holland, and 4 in 

 England. His descriptions seem to be clear and explicit,^ 

 and he has worked out carefully the geographical range of 

 each speci-~, but he does not give references either to 

 published 1 gures, or, with few exceptions, to the books 

 and papers in which the plants have been originally 

 described. As a rule, he admits species freely, but he 

 unites the common European Dianthus Segiiieri with the 

 Chinese and Japanese D. sinefisis, which is the parent of 

 many cultivated forms. This gives the species a range 

 from Portugal to Japan. Many of the West Europeaii 

 forms are so puzzling, and the descriptions are so widely 

 scattered, that it will be a boon both to botanists and 

 gardeners to have them all brought together and worked 

 out on one uniform plan. 



