258 



KNOWLEDGE 



[November 1, 1895. 



a great portion of the time they spent on Kolgnev with the 

 Samoyeds, the inhabitants of the island, and collected a 

 great deal of valuable and interesting information as to 

 their customs, habits, and language. The information is 

 rather scattered, and mixed with the events of the day, 

 but this is remedied by a good index and several valuable 

 appendices. Mr. Battye has made no startling discovery, 

 but he has explored a hitherto little known island, and has 

 studied it and its inhabitants, and after all it is this sort 

 of steady work which has real scientific value. We can 

 thoroughly recommend " Ice-Bound on Kolguev " to the 

 general reader. It ia bright and interesting, even exciting 

 in parts, but it can only be fully appreciated by the 

 ornithologist. 



0/iJect Lessons in Ilotan;/. By Edward Snelgrove, B.A. 

 (Jarrold and Sons.) It is a matter of satisfaction to those 

 who are interested in scientific education that the cardinal 

 principle underlying the growth of all true natural 

 knowledge is becoming more and more recognized every 

 day. Cramming is still rampant in our schools and 

 colleges (to the discredit of various examining bodies, be 

 it said, for they are at the bottom of it), but there is a 

 healthy feeling growing that the only scientific instruction 

 worth the name is that which brings the student into 

 personal contact with nature. The book before us carries 

 this idea into practice. It consists of one hundred object 

 lessons suited for standards III. to V. of elementary 

 schools, a volume suitable to standards I. and II. having 

 previously appeared. The book has been carefully planned 

 by an experienced teacher, and will do good work in 

 creating and fostering a love for botanical science. 



The Story of the Plants. By Grant Allen. (George 

 Newnes.) Mr. Grant Allen's powers of exposition are 

 very well known, and they have earned for him a high 

 place among British writers, but we are of the opinion 

 that this volume will not add to his reputation as a 

 botanist. What there is in the book is readable enough, 

 but the ground covered is so limited (nearly three parts of 

 tbecontents being devoted to fertdization and reproduction), 

 and there is such a want of information on many points, 

 that the book can scarcely be regarded as a desirable 

 addition to the literature of even popular science. 



The Strtict^tre and Life of Birds. By F. W. Headley, 

 M.A., F.Z.S. Illustrated. (Macmillan.) Mr. Headley 

 has chosen a wide field. He treats of the evolution, 

 structure, flight, and life of birds, in a brief and concise 

 manner. At the same time, enough is said on each 

 subject to make the book very valuable to the amateur 

 ornithologist both for reference and study. In the opening 

 chapters the author seeks to show, as so many have done 

 before him, that birds and reptiles have sprung from the 

 same stock ; but in our judgment he certainly has not 

 proved his case. The structure of birds, and the functions 

 of their various organs, are well and clearly dealt with. 

 Mr. Headley has a way of making the study of bones and 

 muscles interesting, and his descriptions are greatly aided 

 by a number of excellent illustrations. But, to use the 

 book properly, the student should, in the words of the 

 author, '• get dead specimens and dissect them ; see the 

 enormous size of the great pectoral muscles ; inflate the 

 airsacks .... and see how the head is almost a 

 feather's weight, and how the gizzard has taken the place 

 of the grinders that would have burdened it ... . 

 These, and hundreds of things besides, can only be realized 

 by the aid of dissection." The chapter on flight is a valuable 

 addition to our knowledge of this subject, and the whole 

 book has evidently been well thought out, and is one that 

 should be greatly valued by the lover of birds; 



Philips' Handy -Volume Atlas of the World and Philips' 

 Systematic Atlas. By E. G. Ravenstein, F.R.G.S. (Philip 

 and Son.) These are two reliable atlases. The first 

 should prove a boon to the traveller. Beyond seventy- 

 two maps and a full index, a page of useful notes 

 accompanies each map. The second has been specially 

 designed for the use of higher schools and private students. 

 The index contains over twelve thousand names, and is 

 clearly set out. The plates adjoining the maps are 

 instructive, showing the languages, geology, vegetation, 

 density of population, etc., of the countries. These plates, 

 together with the fathom lines showing the depths of the 

 seas, should make this atlas of more than ordinary value. 



The Knylish Lakes. By Hugh Robert Mill, D.Sc, 

 F.R.S.E. Maps and illustrations. (Philip and Son.) 

 Dr. Mill has done wisely in bringing out in book form his 

 paper " On the Bathymetrical Survey of the English 

 Lakes," read before the Royal Geographical Society last 

 year. It forms a very interesting and highly instructive 

 little book, and is well illustrated with excellent photo- 

 graphs of the district, and diagrams. There are, too, a 

 number of maps showing clearly the depths of the lakes 

 and the heights of the surrounding country. The book 

 should be in the hands of everyone interested in 

 " Lakeland." 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Elements of Modern Chemistry . By Charles Adolphe Wurtz. 

 Fiftli Edition. Eerised and Enlarged by Wm. H. Greene and H rry 

 F. Keller. (Liiipincott Co.) Illustrated. 



An Introduction to the Study of Seaweeds. By Greo. Murray. 

 (.Vlaeiuillan.) Illustrated. 7s. 6d. 



Dynamics. By P. G. Tait, M.A. (A. & C. Black.) 7s. 6d. 



Momment. By E. J. Marley. Translated from the French by 

 Eric I'ritchard, M.A. (Heinemann.) Illustrated. 7s. 6d. 



The Scientific Foundations of Analytical Chemistry. By Wilhelm 

 Ostwald, Ph.D. Translated by G-eo. M'Gowan, Ph.D. (Macmillan.) 



A Popular Handbook to the Microscope. By Lewis Wright. 

 (R.T.S.) Illustrate I. 2s. 6d. 



A ffandhooJc to the Birds of Great Britain. Vol. II. By B. 

 Bowdler Sharpe, LL D. (Allen & Co.) Illustrated. 6s. 



London University Guide for 1S95-6. (Clive) 



Practical Proofs of Chemical Laws. By Vaughan Cornish. 

 (Longmans.) 2s. 



Popular History of Animals for Young People. By Henry 

 Scherren. (Cassell & Co.) Illustrated. 



Old Farm Fairies. By Henry Christopher McCook. (Hodder & 

 Stoughton.) Illustrated 5s. 



Turning Points in Successful Careers. By W. M. Thayer. 

 (Hodder & Stoughton.) Sa. 6d. 



Simple Me'hods for Dttectiny Food Adulteration. By John A. 

 Bower. (S.P.C.K.) Illustrated. 



The Splash of a Drop. By Professor A. M. Worthington, F.R.S. 

 (S.P.C.K.) Illustrated. Is. 6d. 



An Introduction to the Study of Rocks. British Museum 

 (Mineral Department.) 



Weather and Disease. By Alex. B. MacDowall, M.A. (Grapho- 

 tone Co.) Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 



The titorii of the Heavnis. By Sir Robert Stawell Ball, LL.D., 

 F.B.S,, &c. ' Part I. (CasseU & Co.) Illustrated. 6d. 



The History of Mankind. By Prof. F. Ratzel. Part I. 

 (Macmil an.) Illustrated. Is. 



Fair Children of t/ie Air : Fxcursions in the World of Butterflies. 

 By iS. H. Souildcr. (New York : Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) illus- 

 trated. %\. 50. 



Illustrated Catalogue of Astronomical Instruments, Observatories, 

 S(c. Manufactured by isir Howard Grubb, F.R.6., F.R.A.S., &c. 

 (Astronomical Instrument Works, Rathmines, Dublin.) 



