June 7, 1888] 



NATURE 



125 



fore his generalized statement, even when raised into a 

 law and dignified with a name, is not an explanation of 

 the phenomena. Darwin has convinced men of evolution 

 where Lamarck failed and where certainly Dr. Eimer 

 would fail, not because he discovered any law, but 

 because he discovered an intelligible mechanism, an 

 obvious sequence of cause and effect, which could, and 

 probably did, act. P. C. M. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



The Birds of Dorsetshire : A Contribution to the 

 Natural History of the County. By J. C. Mansel- 

 Pleydell, B.A., F.L.S., &c. 8vo. pp. i-xvi., 1-179. 

 (London and Dorchester: R. H. Porter, 1888.) 



Notes on the Birds of Herefordshire, contributed by 

 Members of the Woolhope Club. Collected and Ar- 

 ranged by the late Henry Graves Bull, M.D., &c. 

 pp. i-xxxii., 1-274. (London and Hereford : Jakeman 

 and Carver, 1888.) 



County lists of birds are still the order of the day. 

 First we have Mr. Mansel-Pleydell's book on the 

 Ornithology of Dorsetshire, a very neat little volume, 

 compiled evidently with the greatest care. The author's 

 long acquaintance with the country and his well-known 

 love of natural history have rendered him the most 

 competent authority on the subject, and he has been 

 aided by many well-known naturalists in supplying him 

 with instances of the capture of rare birds, so that the 

 list is a very complete one. The inevitable Great Black 

 Woodpecker (Picus martius) of course appears, on 

 Pulteney's authority, but no recent specimen is extant, nor 

 is likely to be. The Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus 

 podiceps), which was first recorded by ourselves as a 

 British bird, is placed between brackets, and considered 

 to be " extremely doubtful " by the author. All we can 

 say is that we should not have been godfather to the 

 specimen, to add one more doubtful species to the already 

 overburdened British list, unless we had felt tolerably 

 certain of its authenticity, while the fact of the specimen 

 being immature renders its occurrence as a chance 

 wanderer much more probable than if it had been an 

 adult bird in breeding-plumage. The bird has ten times 

 more claim to a place amongst our stragglers than such 

 species as Picus medius, Pycnonotus barbalus, and 

 dozens of others. A most interesting history is given of 

 the celebrated swannery at Abbotsbury, with a photo- 

 graphic plate, in which the birds are well depicted, 

 but the keeper's face lacks expression ! Some pretty 

 woodcuts by Mr. Lodge are interspersed in the text. The 

 author informs us that Puffinus obscurus (p. 113) should 

 be P. griseus. 



Dr. Bull's " Birds of Herefordshire '■ is one of the most 

 useful of the county lists ; for it contains a complete list 

 of British birds, with special notes on the Herefordshire 

 species. A great deal of care has evidently been taken 

 over this book, which is rendered more interesting by the 

 poetical researches of the author. Mr. Phil. Robinson, 

 when he issues a new edition of his "Poets' Birds" 

 will certainly have to consult this work of Dr. Bull, which 

 contains many quotations we have not seen elsewhere. 



R. BOWDLER SHARPE. 



Geology for All. By J. Logan Lobley, F.G.S., &c. 

 (London : Roper and Drowley, if 



The object of this little book is to give an account of the 

 important facts and deductions in geology, without 

 " unnecessary scientific terminology." That there is room 

 for such a work will not be questioned, and doubtless 

 many who have paid no heed to the subject would 



begin to study it if only their lessons were made easy 

 and attractive. This was accomplished in old times 

 by Hugh Miller, and more recently by Canon Kingsley in 

 his charming " Town Geology " ; and Mr. Lobley, in his 

 enthusiastic preface, raises the hope that he will follow 

 a similar course, and provide "all intelligent readers" 

 with a simple record of the earth's history. In this 

 respect, however, we are disappointed. The work is a 

 condensed account of the leading geological facts and 

 deductions, arranged much after the fashion of an 

 ordinary text-book. Of its general accuracy and clear- 

 ness we can speak with confidence ; and indeed, through 

 his long connection with the Geologists' Association, the 

 author has had ample opportunities of qualifying himself 

 for his task. The work, however, is more adapted for the 

 young student who wishes to pursue the subject, than for 

 the general reader. We fear the patience of the latter 

 will be tried when he reads the explanations — and not 

 always happy explanations — of outcrops, anticlinals, un- 

 conformities, and outliers, for there are no diagrams to 

 give pictorial aid. Nor is the chapter on the composition 

 of rocks likely to prove more readable ; for surely the 

 accounts of the physical characters of minerals, and the 

 chemical formulae, introduce "unnecessary scientific 

 terminology." Again, when we read of the acidic and 

 basic rocks, of the seismic focus and the meizoseismic 

 curve, of the " homocircle (sic) or equal-lobed tailed 

 fishes," and of those that present a " heterocircle-tailed 

 character," we feel that the author has not sufficiently 

 carried out his good intentions. In the chapter on meta- 

 morphic rocks a popular account might have been given 

 of recent researches in the Highlands, and then perhaps 

 the author would not have remarked that " rarely a 

 reversed-fault is seen." H. B. W. 



Sound, Light, and Heat. By Thomas D unman. 

 Electricity and Magnetism. By the same Author. 

 (London: Ward, Lock, and Co., 1888.) 



These two books are revised reprints of the articles on 

 the subjects which have already appeared in Messrs. 

 Ward, Lock, and Co.'s well known "Universal Instruc- 

 tor." They have been published in their present form for 

 the convenience of students. The work of revision and 

 expansion has been undertaken by Mr. Chapman Jones, 

 the death of the original author having rendered it neces- 

 sary for other hands to perform this part of the work. 



As might be expected, the books are of a popular cha- 

 racter, but their value to students of elementary physics 

 does not in the least suffer on this account. The almost 

 entire absence of mathematical statements makes them 

 suitable for the most elementary students. 



The method of treatment is that of the orthodox text- 

 book, and there is very little that calls for special remark. 

 They differ mainly from other elementary text-books 

 inasmuch as they are brought quite up to date, especially 

 in electrical matters. The 300 diagrams which are dis- 

 tributed throughout the text, though not of a high order 

 of excellence, will do much towards enlightening the 

 minds of those who read the books. 



Though not designed to suit the syllabus of any 

 examining body, they are well adapted for students 

 preparing for the Science and Art Department examin- 

 ations. 



Sea-side and Way-side. By Tulia ' McNair Wright. 



(Boston : D. C. Heath and Co., 1888.) 

 This little volume is the first of a series of " Nature 

 Readers," intended for the use of beginners in reading. 

 As a rule, the authors of reading-books take little trouble 

 to excite the interest of children. Their object is to bring 

 together a number of simple sentences, and they seem to 

 be indifferent whether the sentences express sense or non- 

 sense. In the present series an attempt will be made to 



