November 17, 1892J 



NATURE 



53 



of the names of nine varieties of the Sweet Violet ( Viola 

 odorata). Again, at p. 309, Vdtiver,or Cus Cus, is rightly 

 described as the root of Andropogon muricatus, after 

 which follow the names of five synonyms. In reference to 

 this Mr. Sawer says, referring to the " Asiatic Researches," 

 that "there is a verse in the Sanskrit language composed 

 of nine words, arranged in two lines, purporting to be the 

 nine names under which the plant was known ; doubtless 

 they were poetical names, as they are not found in the 

 extensive list of local names recently enumerated by 

 Watt." This would show that Dr. Watt, who in his 

 " Dictionary of the Economic Products of India" does 

 not err on the score of brevity in the adoption of 

 synonyms, considered that there was a line to be drawn 

 somewhere. We may perhaps also be allowed to draw 

 attention to a paragraph on page 19, where the 

 musk tree of Jamaica and the muskwood of Australia 

 have got confused. The paragraph in question runs 

 thus : " The Eurybia argophylla or Guarea Swartzei, the 

 silver-leaved musk tree of Jamaica, New South Wales, 

 and Tasmania, is a meliaceous tree, attaining a height of 

 twenty-five feet." Eurybia, or more properly Olearia 

 argophylla is the muskwood of New South Wales and 

 Tasmania, and belongs to the natural order Compositae, 

 while Guarea Swartzii is a meliaceous tree of Jamaica, 

 where it is known as musk tree. Another muskwood, not 

 mentioned by Mr. Sawer, is that of Moschoxylum 

 Swartzii, a highly fragrant resinous tree, closely allied 

 to Guarea, and a native also of Jamaica and Trinidad. 

 We refer to these matters in no captious spirit, but simply 

 with the hope that Mr. Sawer may see his way to over- 

 haul and modify this part of his useful book in a future 

 edition, so as to make it even more useful and trust- 

 worthy. We are glad to note that he " is still engaged 

 upon studies in this department, and hopes to pubhsh 

 another volume in due course." 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Catalogue of Eastern and Australian Lepidoptera 

 Hettrocera in the Collection of the Oxford University 

 Museum. By Colonel C. Swinhoe. Part I. Sphinges 

 and Bombyces. (Clarendon Press, 1892.) 



This volume is the first part of a Catalogue of the 

 moths from the Oriental and Austrahan regions in the 

 collection of the late Mr. W. W. Saunders, which was 

 acquired by the Oxford Museum some fifteen years ago, 

 and consists chiefly of specimens collected by Wallace 

 during his famous voyage to the Malay Archipelago, 

 and described by the late Francis Walker in his British 

 Museum Catalogue. Since Walker's arrangement of 

 the collection it has remained untouched and mostly 

 neglected by lepidopterists, so that a rearrangement and 

 comparison of the types had become highly necessary, 

 which useful work has been undertaken and very ably 

 carried out by Colonel Swinhoe. All the types have been 

 brought to the British Museum, their synonomy caiefully 

 worked out and the species placed in their proper families 

 and genera, many of them being figured in the eight 

 coloured plates, and it is to be hoped the other parts will 

 soon follow, and also that a list of the types which should 

 be in the Museum and are missing will be added. There 

 is one statement in the preface which requires correction ; 

 the only types of Walker's species described in his Cata- 

 logue which are in the Oxford Museum are those which 



NO. 1203, VOL. 47I 



are expressly stated to be in " Coll. Saunders," all the 

 others are in the British Museum, including those for 

 which a locality is given before the list of British Museum 

 specimens. 



Charles Darwin : His Life Told in an Autobiographical 

 Chapter and in a Selected Series of his published 

 Letters. Edited by his son, Francis Darwin. (London : 

 John Murray, 1892.) 

 Prof. Darwin describes this volume as practically an 

 abbreviation of the well-known " Life and Letters." The 

 task of compression has been accomplished admirably, and 

 there can be little doubt that the work will be cordially 

 appreciated by a large number of readers. Of course it 

 has been necessary to omit many details which are of 

 interest to men of science ; but everything is included 

 which is really essential to a proper comprehension of 

 Darwin's fine personal character, and a sufficiently full 

 and clear idea is given even of his scientific labours. No 

 one will read this fascinating book without feeling anew 

 how much reason England has to rank Darwin among 

 the greatest and noblest of her sons. The volume is 

 enriched with a reproduction of an exquisite photograph 

 of Darwin by the late Mrs. Cameron. 



Strange Survivals : Sofne Chapters in the History of Man. 



Bv S. Baring-Gould. (London: Methuen and Co., 



1892.) 

 Every one who has given any attention to anthropology 

 is aware that many remarkable customs and beliefs, 

 which are still to be found among the uneducated classes 

 even in highly civilized communities, are relics of ancient 

 superstitions. In the present volume Mr. Baring-Gould 

 examines various groups of these curious survivals, and 

 traces them back to their origin in the ideas of past ages. 

 He knows his subject well, and, being interested in it 

 himself, is able to present it in a way which is likely to 

 make it interesting to others. The value of the text is 

 considerably increased by some well-selected illustra- 

 tions. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- 

 pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 

 to return, or to correspond with the writers oj, rejected 

 manuscripts intended for this or any other part 0/ Nature. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications. ] 



Botanical Nomenclature. 



In Nature for October 6 (p. 549) there is a note " on the 

 progress of the negotiations concerning the nomenclature of 

 genera, started by a committee of botanists at Berlin to supple- 

 ment the decisi ms of the International Botanical Congress held 

 at Paris in 1867." It is stated that "the botanical authorities 

 of the British Museum favour the suggestions ; those at Kew are 

 ayainst them." 



Now this requires a little correction. It may be remarked to 

 begin wiih that many botanists are exercised at the present 

 time not merely about the nomenclature of genera, but also 

 about that of species. Kew has, however, never given its 

 adhesion to the attempts that have been made to bring about an 

 international agreement on these matters. It has always felt 

 that so many considera'ions must determine the course taken by 

 the systemaiist in any particular case, that there is no advantage, 

 but positive inconvenience, in being subjected to a hard and last 

 rule. It is therefore with no disrespect to, or want of sympathy 

 with, the able school of Berlin b itanists, who have recently for- 

 mulated some new proposals with regard to n menclature, that 

 Kew has officially refrained from expressing any opinion upon 

 those proposals. It has neither expressed approval nor dis- 

 approval. 



In America Harvard has long occupied the leading place in 

 the botanical world, and the principles adopted there have been 

 substantially in accord with those adopted at Kew. Hitherto, 



