April 14, 1910] 



NATURE 



187 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



1 he Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and 



Burma. Edited by Dr. A. E. Shipley, F.R.S. 



Deiinaptera (Earwigs). By Dr. Malcolm Burr. 



Pp. xviii+217; 10 plates. '(London: Taylor and 



Francis; Calcutta: Thacker, Spink and Co., Ltd., 



1910.) 

 This half-volume is the first addition to the " Fauna 

 (if India " published since the r^retted death of Col. 

 Bingham; and Dr. Shipley, the new editor, reviews 

 the arrangements made for forthcoming volumes in 

 progress. 



Dr. Burr, since the death of De Bormans, has made 

 himself the recognised authority on the small and 

 hitherto somewhat neglected order Dermaptera or 

 Euplexoptera, often treated as a family (Forficulidae) 

 of the Orthoptera, and is at present engaged on a 

 monograph of the earwigs of the world, of which 

 the present volume may be regarded as an excerpt. 



It is not many years since the total number of 

 Forficulidae described from all parts of the world was 

 less than a hundred. Earwigs are not insects that are 

 assiduously collected, or always easy to find, if not 

 specially searched for; but in the present work Dr. 

 Burr enumerates 135 species for British India alone, 

 divided into 51 genera, 14 subfamilies, and 5 families. 

 He treats the earwigs as a distinct order, under the 

 name Dermaptera. 



The author's preface relates chiefly to types, and 

 to the various sources supplying material for this 

 work. By an oversight, the British Museum, to 

 which Mr. Burr has always had free access, is not 

 alluded to in this connection, though in the table of 

 species at the end of the introduction a column is 

 devoted to indicating those in the national collection. 

 The main part of the introduction is devoted to struc- 

 ture and habits, and is of great value, and the biblio- 

 graphy is also tolerably full; but we notice one 

 extraordinary error under Westwood — " Rozel's Hima- 

 layas " for '"Royle's Himalayas." 



The technical part of the work is executed in the 

 usual manner of the " Fauna Indica." The appendices 

 offer us instructions for collecting and preserving ear- 

 wigs ; abbreviations of authors' names ; and a useful 

 glossary of terms. Of the ten plates, the tenth only 

 is in colour; and there are sixteen text-figures repre- 

 senting various structural details. 



Longmans' Wall Pictures. Flowers, Butterflies, and 

 Moths. By Archibald Thorburn. Ten plates, each 

 plate 25. 6d. ; set of ten plates in portfolio, il. los. 

 Descriptive Notes for Teachers, for use with Long- 

 mans' Natural History Wall Pictures. Notes on 

 Flowers. By C. J. Longman. Notes on Butterflies 

 and Moths. By W. S. Furneaux. Pp. 30. (London : 

 Longmans, Green and Co., 1910.) Price 6d. 

 The attractive set of wall pictures published under the 

 above title consist of ten coloured plates, reproduced 

 from water-colour drawings by Mr. A. Thorburn. On 

 each plate, measuring 18 inches by 14 inches — with 

 the cardboard mount, 25 inches by 20 inches — two 

 plants and two butterflies or moths are depicted. The 

 series follows a monthly sequence according to the 

 appearance of the butterflies and the flowering of the 

 plants ; one plate is allowed for April and May, and 

 AG plates for each month from June to September. 

 "^o far as the plants are concerned, an ecological 

 isis also exists; thus the April flowers, the primrose 

 id bluebell, are denizens of woodland, the poppy"and 

 'uebottle are agrarian, and the purple loosestrife and 

 ater-mint are typical marsh plants. The butterflies 

 presented are Fritillaries, Blues, Peacock, Red 

 • dmiral, and other common species. The pictures 

 re verv effective, as Mr. Thorburn has combined 



NO. 21 I I, VOL. 83] 



artistic rendering and setting with correct form and 

 colour of the plants; the reproduction, too, is fully 

 satisfactory, so that they form a most decorative 

 series, eminently suitable for display in class- or school- 

 room. 



The descriptive notes to accompany the plates are 

 useful, especially the descriptions supplied by Mr. 

 Furneaux of the caterpillars which are not illus- 

 trated. The botanical notes present the systematic 

 position of the plants, but do not sufficiently em- 

 phasise the ecological aspect ; there is also correction 

 required in the explanation of radical leaves and 

 flowers. 



Formation of Character. By Rev. J. B. S. Watson. 

 With a Preface by Rev. G. P. Merrick, and a Fore- 

 word on Industry by Andrew Whitlie. Pp. 115. 

 (London : H. R. Allenson, Ltd., 1908.) Second 

 edition. Price is. 6d. net. 

 This handy little volume consists of pithy and stimu- 

 lating addresses on such subjects as courage, tem- 

 perance, industry, revterence, and the like. The 

 author is chaplain of H.M. prison at Brixton, and 

 has had exceptional opportunity for observing the 

 disastrous result of lack of moral discipline and de- 

 liberate character-training in youth. He is stronglv 

 of opinion that between instruction in "religious 

 knowledge " and the usual branches of secular educa- 

 tion, instruction in manners and morals is apt to be 

 neglected. Mere stuffing with knowledge is not cul- 

 ture, and the "religious" knowledge is too often a 

 dead and dry acquaintance with almost meaningless 

 metaphysical formulae. There is much to be said for 

 the contentions of the Moral Instruction League. 

 Character is the important thing — not creed or dogma. 

 j The book is just the thing to put into the hands 

 of boys and youths, and will be interesting and helpful 

 to teachers also. It contains a short preface by the 

 Rev. G. P. Merrick (formerly Chaplain-Inspector of 

 H.M. Prisons), and a foreword on industry by Mr. 

 Andrew Whitlie, of the Commercial Bank of Scot- 

 land, London. A thousand free copies have been dis- 

 tributed to sailors by the chaplain of the Port of 

 London, thanks to the generosity of T.R.H. the 

 Prince and Princess of Wales and other subscribers. 



Simple Jewellery; a Practical Handbook dealing with 

 certain Elementary Methods of Design and Con- 

 struction, written for the use of Craftsmen, De- 

 signers, Students, and Teachers. By R. LI. B. 

 Rathbone. Pp. xiv+280. (London : Constable and 

 Co., Ltd., 1910.) Price 6s. net. 

 This is a useful manual which cannot fail to prove 

 of great service to amateurs. It is mainlv devoted to 

 describing the methods of designing and making 

 gold and silver ornaments from grains and wire, both 

 round and flattened, nearly a hundred illustrations of 

 such designs being given. Artistic questions chiefly 

 occupy the attention of the author, but we notice some 

 judicious remarks on the employment of acids in 

 "pickling," while the instructions in the methods of 

 using the blowpipe in "soldering" are very detailed 

 and practical, being based on scientific principles. 



Le Tremblements de Terre. By Dr. G. Eisenmenger. 

 Pp. 187. (Paris : F. Alcan, n.d.) Price 60 centimes. 

 Some recent earthquakes, such as those of San Fran- 

 cisco, Valparaiso, Messina, and Provence, are described 

 in vivid and popular language. The phenomena of 

 earthquakes, their classification, causes and distribu- 

 tion, and the possibility of predicting their occurrence, 

 are briefly considered. A book so cheap as this, if the 

 facts were accurately given, would be useful at a time 

 when the interest in earthquakes has become general. 



