Oci ii, 1888] 



NA TURE 



i<53 



ing accuracy and fullness of detail as to title, author, date, 

 size, and place of publication. A short note of explanation 

 or pertinent remark is in many cases added to the entries 

 of the rare and little-known publications. Mr. Sherborn 

 thus enumerates about 700 authors, with full title of book 

 or memoir, carefully systematic abbreviation of titles of 

 periodicals, and place of publication as given in the 

 originals. Notices and general reviews having original 

 information are included. Mr. Sherborn has examined 

 all the works he has catalogued, with very few exceptions, 

 and these are properly marked " not seen." The authors 

 most prolific of memoirs are Brady, Carpenter, Carter, 

 Dawson, De la Harpe, D'Orbigny, Ehrenberg, Folin, 

 Fornasini, Giimbel, Haeusler, Hantken, Karrer, Jones, 

 Munier-Chalmas, Neugeboren, Parker, Reuss, Robertson, 

 Schlumberger, Schultze, Seguenza, Soldani, Stache, Ter- 

 quem, Terrigi, Uhlig, Van den Broeck, Wallich, and 

 Williamson. Former lists have evidently been carefully 

 collated and corrected : and the life-dates (birth and 

 death) of deceased authors have been entered as far as 

 possible. 



Several of the older papers are now catalogued for the 

 first time, such as " Camerarius's papers, 1712 and 1717 ; 

 Klein's, 1754; Schroeter's, 1803 ; and Wulfen's, 1791 " ; 

 we also find " the correction of the hitherto inaccurate 

 references to Spengler's papers ; the original place of 

 publication of Modeer's letter to Soldani ; and Ricca's 

 ' Discorso,' with the engraved portrait of Soldani " ; and, 

 " among those of scientific importance, . . . the earlier issue 

 of Fichtel and Moll (which carries back their scientific 

 names five years) ; D'Orbigny's list of the Foraminifera 

 of the Vienna Basin, published by J. von Hauer seven 

 years before the full description appeared ; the note on 

 D'Orbigny's ' Planches inddites ' ; Boue's paper on the 

 Nummulites ; and Silvestri's rare and interesting paper 

 on Soldani's ' Testaceographia.' For the first time, too, 

 an endeavour has been made to enumerate the important 

 memoirs published by the Hungarian authors with some 

 approach to completeness." 



The whole work has been conscientiously done, with 

 scrupulous exactness ; and the industrious author has 

 made it a labour of love for several years, since he began 

 to study Foraminifera. Having so full a knowledge of 

 the subject, he might with advantage, we venture to 

 think, give further aid to students and others by publish- 

 ing an index and synonymy of all the recorded genera 

 and species of Foraminifera. 



In the preface to the bibliography, Mr. Sherborn fully 

 acknowledges the help he has received from his many 

 friends at home and abroad ; and he refers to such 

 analogous and collateral bibliographies as have been aids 

 in his research. This work will without doubt be fully 

 appreciated by biologist and palaeontologist ; and we 

 cordially agree with the author in his remark that " sincere 

 thanks are due to Mr. F. Justen (Dulau and Co.), to 

 whose generosity and scientific sympathies I owe the 

 publication of my manuscript." T. R. J. 



Earth Knowledge. Part II. By W. J. Harrison, F.G.S., 

 and H. R. Wakefield. (London : Blackie and Son, 

 1888.) 

 This book, in conjunction with the companion volume 

 issued a few months ago, is chiefly intended for the use of 

 students preparing for the Science and Art Department's 

 examinations in Physiography. The book is far toosmall for 

 its subject, and in consequence, only very bare outlines of 

 the different branches of the subject can be given, and 

 much is omitted which we should expect to find. It is 

 scarcely possible, for instance, to give an adequate 

 amount of information about the sun in half a dozen 

 small pages ; yet the authors have attempted to do this, 

 and the result is what might be expected — namely, a very 

 scanty chapter. No mention is made of the fact that 

 the corona is of variable form, and since only one draw- 



ing is given, a student would be likely to infer that its 

 form is constant. Again, the possibility of observing 

 prominences whenever the sun is visible, and the pecu- 

 liarities and variability of sun-spot spectra are not touched 

 upon at all. No chapter on the sun can be regarded 

 as complete which does not treat of the various solar 

 phenomena in relation to the sun-spot period. 



Again, the classification of stars according to their 

 spectra (p. 78) is not treated nearly so fully as its import- 

 ance demands. Notwithstanding the fact that there 

 are two distinct kinds of red stars, one giving indi- 

 cations of metallic fluting absorption, and the other of 

 carbon absorption, we are simply told that in the red 

 stars the lines are more numerous than in stars like 

 Arcturus (p. 79). 



On p. 126 we read: — "Although the sun's mass is so 

 very much greater than that of the moon — being nearly 

 sixty million times as great — yet the tide-producing force 

 of the sun is only about seven-sixteenths that of the 

 moon, because the sun is nearly 400 times farther off the 

 earth than the moon." Although this statement is quite true, 

 a little further explanation is necessary to make it consis- 

 tent with the arithmetical fact that sixty millions is greater 

 than the square of 400. It is only fair to say, however, 

 that the importance of considering the differential attrac- 

 tions of the sun and moon on opposite sides of the earth, 

 instead of the total attractions, is well brought out with 

 regard to the precession of the equinoxes. 



On the whole, the drawings are excellent, but that on 

 p. 29, showing the action of the spectroscope, is rather 

 misleading ; we would remind the authors that the slit is 

 usually placed in the principal focus of the collimating 

 lens, and that there is nothing to converge the rays of 

 light to a point inside the tube. 



Without the aid of a well-informed teacher, the book 

 is far from sufficient to fulfil the purpose for which it has 

 been written. 



An Introdtiction to the Science and Practice of Photo- 

 graphy. By Chapman Jones, F.I.C., F.C.S. (London : 

 Iliffe and Son, 1888.) 

 We have here quite a new departure from the ordinary 

 books on photography, the subject being treated not from 

 the mechanical but from the scientific point of view, and 

 the author has succeeded in placing before us a very 

 useful work. 



The volume is divided into three parts. The first con- 

 sists of fifteen chapters, the more important among them 

 treating of the transmission and intensity of light, reflec- 

 tion by plane and concave mirrors, refraction of light 

 and the forms and properties of lenses, &c, concluding 

 with a chapter on the spectroscope, colour-sensitiveness, 

 and the absorption of light. In Part II. are described 

 various forms of cameras, camera-stands, exposure- 

 shutters, followed by some very interesting chapters on 

 the history and special properties of the many and various 

 forms of lenses. Part III. consists of twenty-four chapters 

 extending over 100 pages, in which are described the 

 manufacture of collodion and gelatino-bromide plates, 

 and all the different modes of developing, printing, toning 

 &c, including carbon-printing, Woodburytype, and other 

 photo-mechanical processes. 



In the appendix are tables of English weights and 

 measures, and a comparison of them with the metrical 

 system, preceded by an explanation of the methods of 

 testing lenses. The volume is well illustrated, and the 

 varied information contained in it ought to give it a wide 

 circulation. 



Numerical Examples in Practical Mechanics and Machine 



Design. By Robert G. Blaine, M.E. (London : Cassel) 



and Co., Limited, 1888). 



In this volume there is an excellent collection of ex- 



a np'.es, the teaching power of which has already been 



