236 BihJiographical Not ices. 



The three contributors to this work, Messrs. E. A. Smith, F. J. 

 Bell, nnd 11. Kirki)atrick, are all well known as first-rate authorities 

 on the subjeets with which they deal, and on the present occasion 

 they have fulfilled a very difficult task in a really able manner. 



The preparation of these (Juides undoubtedly represents a task of 

 quite exceptional difficulty, and not the least troublesome matter to 

 be decided must be the phin of the book itself. The present volume 

 may be described as a much condensed and elementary text-book on 

 the particular groups dealt with : and to those who use the galleries 

 wherein they are displayed, for the purpose of serious study, it will 

 ])rove invalual>le. To the collectors of " sea-weed," corals, sbells, 

 and other " pretty objects," this book will probably come as a 

 revelation; and to many will open up hitherto unsuspected wonders 

 and delights interwoven with the life-liistories of the animals whoso 

 dead remains they cherish. Thus will the mere " collector " be 

 converted into the serious student. The casual visitor will pro- 

 bably find this book too tecbnical; for him, however, the General 

 Guide will probably prove sufficient. 



The Fauna arid Gcograplnj of the 2faldii'e and Laccadire Archi- 

 pelagoes. Edited by J. Stanley Gardiner, M.A. Vol. I. part 1. 

 Plates 1-5 ; text-cuts 1-25. J. Clay & Sons : Cambridge Uni- 

 versity Press. 



The study of coral-reefs is one fraught w^ith many and great 

 difiiculties, and attended with no small element of danger, as a 

 perusal of these pages will show. In spite, however, of all 

 obstacles, Mr. Gardiner and his colleagues have managed to reap 

 a rich harvest, the first-fruits of which are here presented for the 

 benefit of zoologist and geologist alike. It is certain that if the 

 following parts maintain the same high standard of excellence 

 displayed by the first issue, the work will form one of the most 

 valuable treatises on the subject extant. 



The present number includes five reports. Of these, the first 

 two are by Mr. Gardiner, and contain the Introduction, an ex- 

 tremely interesting narrative of the expedition, and the description 

 of the Maldive and Laccadive Groups, with notes on other coral 

 formations in the Indian Ocean ; the third deals witli the Hymeno- 

 ptera, and is written by Mr. P. Cameron ; the fourth with the 

 Land Crustaceans, by Mr. L. A. Borradailo ; and the last with the 

 Nemcrteans, by Mr. R. C. Punnett. 



Mr. liorradaile has had an advantage over ^Messrs. Cameron and 

 Punnett, in that, owing to the nature of his subject, he has been 

 enabled to make his the more interesting reading of the last three 

 reports; but from a scientific point of view no preference is 

 possible — all are alike admirable, clear, concise, well planned, and, 

 where necessary, well illustrated. 



