Jan. 2, 1890] 



NATURE 



195 



made to plant wattles on a large scale. It is doubtful, 

 however, whether, except in South Australia, such planta- 

 tions will be ultimately successful. Gum arabic, of good 

 quality, is yielded by various species of Acacia, but owing 

 " to the great cost of unskilled labour in Australia, and 

 the impossibility of utilizing the services of the aborigi- 

 nals, it will never find its way into the world's market to 

 any very great extent." Australian indigenous edible fruits, 

 roots and leaves and stems, are apparently wisely left 

 to the appreciation of " school-boys and aboriginals." 

 Almost more important than food in a dry country is a 

 constant supply of water. The aboriginal method of 

 obtaining water from the fleshy roots of certain trees 

 such as Hakea Icucoptera, and from the stem of Vitis 

 hypoglauca, is similar to that adopted in other countries, 

 but Mr. Maiden has wisely given prominence to the fact, 

 as the knowledge of it may be the means of saving the 

 lives of many lost in the bush. Very few native Aus- 

 tralian plants yield valuable fibres. The aboriginals 

 appear to prepare their fishing-nets by chewing fibrous 

 plants, and " this practice causes their teeth to be worn 

 down to a dead level." In the same manner, we may 

 add, the natives of Formosa prepare certain fibres for 

 making clothes. 



The best fodder grass of Australia is said to be An- 

 thistiria ciliatay known as the " common kangaroo grass." 

 There are several poison bushes (species of Gastrolo- 

 bium, Swainsonia, and Sarcostei7tma) dangerous to stock 

 so widely distributed as to render extensive tracts of 

 country unoccupiable. These of late years have been 

 reinforced by noxious weeds from other countries. 



It is not to be supposed, however, that our knowledge 

 of the economic uses of Austrahan plants is yet com- 

 plete, and we are glad to learn that the author is actively 

 engaged in observations that no doubt will be incor- 

 porated in a later edition. In the meantime, however, 

 we cannot do better than commend this work as a most 

 trustworthy guide in a handy form to the useful plants 

 of Australia. D. M. 



MOUNT VESUVIUS. 

 Mount Vesuvius. A Descriptive, Historical, and Geologi- 

 cal Account of the Volcano and its Surroundings. By 

 J. Logan Lobley, F.G.S., &c. (London: Roper and 

 Drowley, 1889.) 

 TV /T ANY people have been puzzled by the fact that 

 ■i-*J- there are so few EngUsh books on Vesuvius, 

 especially of the descriptive type. The appearance of 

 this work was looked forward to with ardent expecta- 

 tions, but it is doubtful whether it will fulfil them. 

 Prof. Phillip's work was a remarkable one considering 

 the short stay he made in Naples, but possessed 

 those defects that all books must have which are written 

 from little experience. Prof. Phillips wrote immediately 

 after his visit. The first book of Prof. Lobley was pre- 

 pared under similar circumstances, but apparently he has 

 not re-examined the district for twenty years. Nearly 

 every geologist on his visit to the type volcano of the 

 world is attacked by a fever to write something about it 

 —witness the 1300 or more books and articles in all 

 languages referring to it— but a few months bring him 

 safely through his complaint, and leave him satisfied that 



years of careful study on the spot will hardly qualify him ' 

 to produce even a short description. This leads us to 

 the main defects of the work, which spring from the 

 author's want of personal observation, and the necessity 

 of his obtaining information second-hand. Many recent 

 authorities do not seem to have been consulted by Prof. 

 Lobley. In consequence, he constantly makes statements 

 that are incorrect or only partially accurate. Another 

 fault to be found is the very incorrect and old-fashioned 

 illustrations which would much bother a new-comer to 

 the district with this work as a guide. Many of the 

 crystal forms are incorrectly drawn, and in Plate xiv. 

 dykes should not be represented as pipes branching out 

 from the main chimney, but principally as radial sheets. 



The accounts of the Phlegrean Fields, so far as they go, 

 are very attractive, but lack that accuracy that a recent 

 visit would have conferred. In describing Vesuvius, 

 he mentions the library of vulcanology collected in the 

 Naples section of the Italian Alpine Club, stating that 

 25,000 volumes are there preserved, which is more than 

 three times the number. Neither will most people have 

 had such a favourable experience of Vesuvian guides as 

 Prof. Lobley. Yet altogether, the chapters on Vesuvius 

 are the best part of the work, and are quite as much as a 

 visitor with a couple of days to give to the mountain can 

 comfortably absorb. The chapter on the geology of the 

 volcano is clear and well written. 



Unfortunately the book is spoiled — more perhaps than 

 by anything else — by the author's views as to the causes 

 of volcanic action. In the first place, the class of readers 

 to whom the rest of the book appeals are not likely to 

 possess sufficient physical and geological knowledge to 

 be able to enter into the question, and to them chapter 

 viii. is likely to prove a bore, and should they begin to 

 peruse the book at this point, the effect will probably be 

 that they will read no more. Even if it be supposed that 

 the questions regarding the mechanics of the extrusion of 

 igneous matter on the earth's surface are an easy matter 

 of comprehension, the method of putting the subject into 

 numbered paragraphs is much to be deprecated when the 

 reader is not a specialist. 



In the same way it is doubtful whether a description of 

 rocks not occurring in the district is likely to be of use. 

 Why mention the rare local rocks, " analcimite," "haiiy- 

 nophyre,"' " tholeite," &c., while " gabbro," " diorite,' 

 " syenite," are neglected 1 



The chapter on the minerals of Vesuvius is little more 

 than a catalogue of every one that can possibly be raised 

 to a species ; some being obtained by dissolving saline 

 crust in water, and allowing the solution to crystallize — a 

 method that is hardly justifiable. Of far greater interest 

 would have been a chapter on the general mode of occur- 

 rence, origin, &c., of the principal species, their characters 

 being left to the systematic treatises on mineralogy. 



The book is neatly got up and well-divided into separate 

 chapters, so that the traveller, who will make most use of 

 it, can easily turn up to a short account of any particular 

 locality or subject. The language is clear, and not over- 

 burdened by petrological or other ver>' learned words. 

 Altogether, putting aside the above-mentioned blemishes, 

 the work is likely to be of much use in leading travellers to 

 observe for themselves one of the most interesting of 

 geological phenomena. 



