278 



KNOWLEDGE 



[NOVEMBEK 1, 1897. 



Wild yonmif. By Abel Chapman. (Arnold.) Illustrated. 

 IGs. Mr. Chapman's books always contain a great deal of 

 information of birds and beasts obtained at first hand, and 

 this makes them of exceptional value to the naturalist. 

 To the sportsman they must always prove interesting, 

 while to the general reader they are too bright and too 

 varied to be anything but good reading. The volume 

 before us is quite equal to those that have preceded it. 

 The author tells us in the preface that this is the last of 

 the series, and we can but regret it. The chapters on 

 reindeer stalking and elk hunting are amongst the best 

 sporting stories we have read. Although the author does 

 not count himself a first- class shot, his bag of six fine 

 reindeer in half a minute, even under the lucky conditions 

 described, was a remarkably good performance. A con- 

 siderable part of the book is devoted to salmon and trout 

 fishing, which will be of great interest and considerable value 

 to those who have fished or intend to fish in Norway. The 

 book contains several 

 chapters — notably those 

 entitled " Salt-Marshes 

 of West Jutland " and 

 "Impressions of Den- 

 mark " — which are well 

 worth the attention of 

 ornithologists. There 

 is also an interesting 

 chapter on bird and 

 insect migration ob- 

 served on the North 

 Sea. The illustrations, 

 by the author, assisted 

 by Chas. Whymper and 

 P. Ch. Trench, are good 

 on the whole, but some 

 of the figures are de- 

 cidedly stiff and 

 " wooden." 



bridge. This is a new departui'e, susceptible of further 

 development. For instance, the author might well have 

 directed attention to the admirable instructional series of 

 specimens and models in the botanical department of the 

 Natural History Museum at South Kensington. The 

 introduction is followed by chapters on the outlines of the 

 general morphology and natural history of flowering plants 

 and ferns ; on variation, evolution, and classification ; on 

 forms of vegetation and the geographical distribution of 

 plants ; and on economic botany. Naturally, in so small 

 a space, many of the subjects are only superficially treated. 

 The very condensed sketch of botanical geography is one 

 of the least satisfactory parts of the work, and reminds us 

 of the great want of an up-to-date treatise on this subject 

 in the English language. This, we may add, should not 

 be a translation of any of the existing foreign books, but 

 the work of one of our most accomplished specialists. Mr. 

 Willis finishes with a glossarial index to the English 



names, technical terms, 

 etc., and he also gives 

 a useful though limited 

 bibliography. 



A Manual and Vic- 

 tiiinanj of tlir Floweriny 

 PUintg and Ferns. By 

 J. C. WUlis, M.A. Two 

 vols. (Cambridge Uni- 

 versity Press.) 10s. Gd. 

 This work forms one of 

 the Cambridge natural 

 science manuals of the 

 biological series, and consists of two small volumes of two 

 hundred and twenty-four and four hundred and thirty pages 

 respectively. It is well printed on excellent thin paper, and 

 might have been conveniently put into one volume, and 

 then not have exceeded pocket size. We may say at once 

 that this is a useful and, generally speaking, reliable 

 work, especially the second part or volume, which is the 

 " dictionary " proper, and which we can unreservedly 

 recommend to the young student. Part I., as the author 

 informs us, was written as a supplement to Part II. It is 

 unequal in value in its difi'erent parts, and, as must happen 

 in a work covering so wide a field, much has admittedly been 

 borrowed, sometimes from sources not judiciously selected, 

 or the matter not well digested. Still, on the whole, it is 

 an advance on most previous elementary works on botany. 

 The author starts on an evolutionary basis, and he strongly, 

 and, as we think, wisely, insists on the study of the external 

 morphology of plants, preliminary to anatomy and physio- 

 logy. An introductory chapter consists of suggestions to 

 students as to the method of using his book in connection 

 with the botanic gardens and museums of Kew and Cam- 



The Sentinel. (Reindeer.) From " Wild Norway." 



TIte True Grassis.-^y 

 Edward Hackel. Trans- 

 lated from ' ' Die Natiir- 

 lichen Pflanzenfami- 

 lien "by F. Lawson- 

 Scribner and Efiie A. 

 Southworth. Illustrated, 

 (Constable.) 10s. Od. 

 This little book will be 

 found useful by persons 

 who are desirous of 

 studying grasses, but 

 unable to read either 

 German or Latin ; and 

 also by persons who 

 cannot afl:brd the more 

 expensive works. Prof. 

 Hackel is a recognized 

 authority on the classi- 

 fication of grasses, and 

 he has done some ex- 

 cellent work ; but it is 

 necessary to state that 

 the present synopsis 

 does not embody the re- 

 sults of his later researches, to say nothing of the work of 

 other botanists. In the first instance it was largely compiled 

 from Bentham and Hooker's "Genera Plantarum" (1883), 

 and originally published in German in 1887, and translated 

 and published in America in 1890. Since the latest of 

 these dates, some important contributions have been made 

 to the literature on grasses — notably Sir Joseph Hooker's 

 elaboration of the Indian genera and species. Briefly, 

 then, this English edition is merely a re-issue of the 

 American edition, which appeared six years ago, and it 

 deals only with genera — not with species. 



FAcmenta of Clienmtrij. By Rufus P. ^^'illiams. (Ginn 

 & Co., Boston and London.) Illustrated. Ss. ^^'e are 

 informed that this book is the outcome of the author's 

 wide experience with students of chemical science. He 

 endeavours to treat the subject in an interesting manner, 

 and really makes the study of chemistry a pleasure, and at 

 the same time a mental exercise. The volume is profusely 

 illustrated by excellent outline figures, showing arrange- 

 ments of apparatus and correct modes of manipulation. 



