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KNOWLEDGE 



[November 1, 1897. 



Volcanoes of North America. By Israel C. Russell. 

 (Macmillan & Co.) Illustrated. 16s. net. We have here 

 a book forming a popular reading lesson on the very 

 interesting subject of volcanoes, the views advanced being 

 in great part the result of direct observation, while the 

 compiled portion is backed up by useful references to 

 authoritative sources. One of the great problems of the 

 geologist has been, in the past, and wUl continue to be in 

 the future, the divination of the action of volcanoes. 

 What is the process which results in the ejection of masses 

 of lava competent to bury a great city like ancient Pompeii, 

 and the simultaneous issue of enormous quantities of 

 mixed gases sufficient to envelop a country ? Some great 

 internal force must be at work, but what that force is the 

 leading theorists are not, as yet, entirely at one in 

 determining. The volcanoes of the American continent 

 form the subject matter for the greater portion of this 

 book, although the Old World is not forgotten. Such a 

 work will appeal to European readers, as much light is 

 thrown on the origin and characteristics of the volcanoes 

 of North America. A very instructive and picturesque 

 chapter on " The Life History of a Volcano " is given at 

 the end of the book, in which the author very lucidly 

 conveys an idea of the building up of a volcano from its 

 infancy, and its subsequent decline to its original state. 

 Excellent examples of the solidified lava in the volcanic 

 chimneys are figured — the central cones which have 

 resisted waste and decay much more effectually than the 

 softer beds of shale and sandstone with which they were 

 surrounded, and now remain as conspicuous landmarks 

 after the general surface has been disintegrated and swept 

 away by natural forces. In a chapter on " Theoretical 

 Considerations," Prof. Russell brings together practically 

 all that is known about the anatomy, so to speak, of 

 volcanoes, together with much that is purely speculative. 

 While, however, the author's literary style is clear and 

 his observational power keen, it seems to us that in the 

 domain of suggestion he does not attain a very high level. 

 When one considers the prominence of volcanoes as a 

 feature of American scenery, the work before us does not 

 by any means represent an exhaustive treatise on the 

 subject ; and one is inclined to think that some luxury in 

 printing might have been sacrificed for the more than 

 compensating equivalent of fuller information on a subject 

 of such absorbing interest. 



A History and Description of the Modern Por/s of Great 

 Britain and Treland. Tlie Terriers. By Rawdon B. Lee. 

 Illustrated. (Horace Cox.) 10s. 6d. This is a book 

 which should be known and consulted by every owner of a 

 good terrier. The author is the kennel editor of the 

 Field, and he describes our favourite terriers with know- 

 ledge that has come from experience. The general 

 characteristics, the working capacities, and the show 

 points, are all clearly particularized ; while biographical 

 details of practically every important pedigree terrier are 

 described with the zest that comes from close familiarity 

 with the facts. Of all the terriers, the fox terrier has, 

 undoubtedly, had the most admirers. It began to be 

 popular about thirty years ago. For ten years or so the 

 popularity of the breed was phenomenal, and, though the 

 dog has partly gone out of favour, it is still held in high 

 estimation by many dog lovers. And rightly is this so, 

 for a good fox terrier is a pretty dog, as well as an efficient 

 and intelligent one. Next to this breed we place the 

 Irish terrier, which has made much progress in public 

 opinion during the past fifteen or sixteen years. No 

 Irish terrier has, however, ever reached the prices paid 



for the best fox terriers. Mr. Lee mentions an instance 

 of two hundred and twenty pounds being offered for a 

 couple of Irish terriers, but four hundred and seventy 

 pounds has certainly been paid for a first-class fox terrier, 

 and probably a higher figure has been reached in private 

 dealings. In addition to these two breeds of terriers, 

 thirteen other varieties are fully described. Every really 

 good terrier seems to be mentioned ; and every dog owner 

 who possesses a terrier having prize points, or coming 

 from a good stock, can refer to the book with confidence. 

 The illustrations, drawn by Mr. Arthur Wardle, are 

 among the best pictures of terriers that have ever come 

 under our notice. Since 1894, when the first edition of 

 the work appeared, the Kennel Club have passed the rule 

 that dogs with their ears cropped cannot take prizes at 

 shows held under their regulations. The ears of bull 

 terriers, English white terriers, black and tan terriers, and 

 toy terriers, are, therefore, shown in their natural state 

 instead of cut in the manner represented in the original 

 sketches. 



Astronomical Tables. Tables of Vernal Equinoxes and 

 Xeiv Moons for 3555 Years. By H. Grattan Guinness, 

 D.D., F.R.A.S. (Hodder & Stoughton.) Dr. Grattan 

 Guinness was led to have these tables computed in order 

 to serve as an appendix to a theological work which he 

 was preparing. But the value of the tables is not in the 

 least restricted to their bearing upon the companion 

 volume. The astronomer, historian, and chronologist, and 

 all who are interested in chronological inquiries, will find 

 these tables of the very highest utility. Practically they 

 form a series of nearly complete almanacks from the year 

 1G22 B.C. to 1934 a.d. The time of every new moon is 

 given — expressed in civil time for the meridian of 

 .Jerusalem — and the date of every vernal equinox, and from 

 the tables of Dominical letters supplied it is easy at once 

 to supply the day of the week of any event. The accuracy 

 of Dr. Guinness's work is amply guaranteed by a com- 

 parison with such tables as those of Oppolzer's " Canon of 

 Eclipses," and by the opinion of such high authorities as 

 Dr. Downing of the Nautical Almanac: Dr. Marth, the 

 great computer, whose recent death is so great a loss to 

 astronomy ; and Dr. Dreyer, Director of the Armagh 

 Observatory. The latter, after testing the tables by means 

 of a number of rigorously computed eclipses, concludes 

 that " these tables are therefore somewhat more accurate 

 than those of Largeteau " — the tables usually employed by 

 chronologists for calculating historical new moons — " and of 

 course vastly more convenient, as they do not entail any cal- 

 culation. . . Particularly to students of Oriental history 

 they will be invaluable, as the moon is the clock-hand 

 of Eastern nations." The tables are based on the luni-solar 

 cycles of two thousand three hundred and one thousand and 

 forty years respectively, discovered by the Swiss astronomer 

 De Cheseaux about one hundred and fifty years ago. 

 An addition of considerable value has been made to the 

 tables by the indication after the year 1208 b.c. of the 

 dates of all the lunar eclipses ; and the only criticism that 

 we have to make on this most laborious and valuable work 

 is that it is a pity that those new moons which were 

 coincident with partial, annular, or total solar eclipses were 

 not indicated as such. The addition to the labour and 

 cost of the work would have been trivial — the addition to 

 its value great. Nevertheless, the debt which students 

 owe to Dr. Guinness for the immense labour undertaken in 

 the preparation of these tables, and for the great clearness 

 with which they have been arranged and printed, is most 

 considerable. 



