Dec. 20, 1888] 



NATURE 



177 



to him, though he was not visible to me. I have often 

 very much regretted that I have not been brought into 

 closer relations with this large body of earnest men and 

 students. Still, among those whom I have known I have 

 found many esteemed friends. I do not think it desirable 

 for me to make further remarks, beyond expressing to 

 Mr. Collier my appreciation of his success in making 

 what is not an ugly portrait out of such an ugly face as 

 mine. 



The proceedings then terminated. 



In the evening Dr. Williamson was entertained at 

 dinner at the Freemasons' Tavern by a goodly number 

 ■of his friends and old pupils. Sir Henry Roscoe presided. 

 After the toast of the Queen hal been given and duly 

 honoured, Mr. Carteighe", one of the honorary secretaries, 

 announced that a considerable number of letters from 

 subset ibers had been received, expressing their regret at 

 not being able to be present. The one from Prof. Michael 

 Foster, F.R.S., referred humorously to Dr. Williamson 

 as the " Ether Meister." 



Sir Henry Roscoe, in proposing the toast of the even- 

 ing, " Our Guest " (Dr. Williamson), alluded in kindly 

 and affectionate terms to his early association with him, 

 to his enthusiasm as a teacher, and to the respect in 

 which he was held by men of science all over the world. 



Dr. Williamson, in replying, expressed the crratiti- 

 cation which their hospitality and kindness had afforded 

 him, and referred with pride and satisfaction to the 

 great honour which had been conferred upon him in 

 the presentation of his portrait to University College. In 

 conclusion, he invited any of his old pupils, present and 

 absent, when in the neighourhood of Hindhead to call 

 and see him in his " nest." 



Mr. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., proposed " University 

 College and its President," and Mr. J. Eric Erichsen, 

 F.R.S., the President, replied. 



Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S., submitted " The Professors 

 of University College." Prof. Henry Morley responded 

 for the Arts Faculty, and Prof. G. C. Foster for that of 

 Science. 



Prof. Ramsay, F.R.S., proposed " The Chairman," and 

 Sir Henry Roscoe, M.P., responded. 



Prof. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., proposed " The Committee 

 of the Williamson Testimonial," to which Mr. Michael 

 Carteighe, President of the Pharmaceutical Society, and 

 Dr. H. Forster Morley, the honorary secretaries, replied. 



THE MORPHOLOGY OF BIRDS} 

 II. 

 'T'HE second part of vol. ii. is taxonomic and systematic. 

 -■■ The author criticizes and tests the taxonomic value 

 of the numerous characters of all the organic systems ; 

 each paragraph forms therefore a condensed resume of 

 our present knowledge of the various organs, with especial 

 reference to those parts which proved to be of more 

 than ordinary taxonomic importance. The question if 

 an organ is of taxonomic value at all does not depend 

 upon the presence or absence of the organ itself, but upon 

 what it is like. Hence the weakness of those systems 

 which have been based upon positive and negative charac- 

 ters only ; even Garrod failed, since he took for his 

 guidance not quality, but merely quantity. Those organic 

 characters are preferable which exhibit a certain amount 

 of differentiation, but which at the same time do not 

 vary much within the limits of smaller groups of birds. 

 Through combination of a considerable number of such 

 characters, to be taken from organs between which there 



■ " UiUersuchungen zur Morphologic und Systematik der Voegel. zugleich 

 ein Beitrag zur Anatomie der Stuetz- und Bewegungsorgane." Von Max I 

 Fuerbringer, Professor der Anatomie. und Direktor des anatomischen I 

 Institutes und des Museum Vrolik der Universitaet zu Amsterdam. Mit 

 ,0 Tafelii. (Amsterdam : T. van Holkisma, 1888.) Continued from p 152. . 



can be but little correlation, we have the best chance of 

 arriving at a sound system. But of such characters there 

 are, unfortunately, few. 



However, on pp. 1580-91, Fuerbringer has selected 

 forty-eight characters, not all, of course, of equal value, 

 and has arranged them in tabular form, together with 

 the ninety families into which he divides the birds. 

 Especial attention may be drawn to the second column, 

 which contains the first known occurrence of fossil mem- 

 bers of each of the families. This column, together with 

 the remarks on pp. 1 107-10, and the discussions under 

 the heading of each family in the special systematic part 

 of the book, contains the only complete and critical essay 

 on fossil birds that has yet been published. 



But it is impossible to give here anything besides 

 occasional hints about the vast amount of thought which 

 the author has bestowed upon nearly all the organic 

 systems, always on the look out for characters which 

 might perhaps prove constant enough to act as guides 

 amongst the chaos of the natural affinities of birds, 

 always awake where great adaptiveness or convergence of 

 forms might easily lead us astray. 



Bill and feet proved to be of comparatively little value, 

 in spite of their historical significance ; the same applies to 

 the oil-gland; whilst pterylosis is never to be neglected, 

 especially that of the embryo. 



Oology. — The size of the eggs depends upon the terres- 

 trial, aquatic, or aerial life of the birds. Those which 

 make their nests in high trees lay, as a rule, smaller egg% 

 and are " altrices '' ; whilst those which lay the eggs on the 

 ground, and are " precoces,'' have more and larger eggs. 

 Thickness of the shell, or the weight of the &gg, often 

 depends upon the smaller or greater liability of the eggs 

 to external injury. The colour of the eggs stands, like 

 that of the female bird, in correlation with the configura- 

 tion of the nest, and affords good characters for classifica- 

 tion. The best character, however, is formed by the finer 

 structure or texture of the shell, since this remains un- 

 changed in the species, and can also successfully be used 

 for the recognition of wider relationship. 



Skeletal System. — The importance of relative measure- 

 ments has induced the author to look for a unit applicable 

 to all birds. This he finds ingeniously in the average 

 length of the dorsal vertebrae, because of the constancy 

 of these parts. The numerous tables, which contain 

 (pp. 794-800) an enormous number of measurements, 

 have shown, however, that their taxonomic value is but 

 very limited. The total number of vertebrae is incon- 

 stant even in the individual, and varies in larger groups 

 to such an extent (Limicolae 43-50, Anseres 50-63) that it 

 can hardly be used in determining the systematic position 

 of a given bird. Better results are yielded by the numbers 

 of the cervical, thoracic, and sacral vertebrae alone, and 

 their proportionate quantity, cf. Table xxii. pp. 778-79. 



In the configuration of the sternum, the anterior margin, 

 with its spine, is the most noteworthy point. 



Of greater value is the configuration of the maxillo- 

 palatine apparatus, as was first pointed out by Nitzsch, 

 J. Mueller, and especially by Cornay in 1847. Huxley's 

 classification, based upon these characters, in 1867, marked 

 an epoch in the systematics of birds ; but it is artificial, 

 not natural, as the numerous exceptions and intermediate 

 stages show, which have been discovered by later anatom- 

 ists. The basipterygoid processes likewise afford gradual 

 differences only. The whole maxillo-palatine apparatus 

 is far too adaptive to permit of its use as a safe guide in 

 classification. 



The hyoid bones afford a rather good generic, and 

 occasionally even a family character. 



The size of the coraco-scapular angle depends in 

 inversed ratio upon the development of the shoulder- 

 muscles. This, with the various dimensions of the 

 scapula, the processes and foramina of the coracoid, &c., 

 receive special attention in the tabular lists, pp. 738-57, 



