220 



NA TURE 



[January 4, 1894 



occasionally omitted ; no mention is made, for example, 

 of the ordinary methods of obtaining melting-points. 



It is noteworthy also that processes relating to the 

 purification of substances for physical study are not 

 touched upon. Accounts of the best systems of fraction- 

 ation, either by distillation or crystallisation, or of dis- 

 tillation under reduced pressure, &c., have, it seems to 

 us, a better right to a place in a book of this kind than, 

 say, the chapter on glass-blowing. Again, no particular 

 notice is taken of methods which have to be used when 

 only a small quantity of material is available. It fre- 

 quently happens that a substance can only be obtained 

 sufficiency pure in but small quantity, and if methods of 

 obtainmg boiling-point, density, refractive index, &c. 

 in such cases were more widely known, physical constants 

 would no doubt be more generally estimated in the course 

 of ordinary chemical investigations. 



It is needless to state that the book is full of useful 

 hints both on methods and apparatus, and will be indis- 

 pensable to those for whom it is specially designed. It 

 is also worthy of special recognition as being yet another 

 effort on the part of Prof. Ostwald to place physical che- 

 mistry on a level with other departments of experimental 

 investigation. J. W. Rodger. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Handbook of British Hepatica. By M. C. Cooke, M.A., 

 LL.D. I vol. 8vo. 310 pp. 7 plates. 200 woodcuts. 

 (London : W. H. Allen and Co., 1894.) 



Probably no group in the British flora has received 

 so little attention as the HepaticcE. This is due partly 

 to the ordinary botanical text-books describing merely 

 the life history of the ubiquitous Ma?-cha7itia polymorpha, 

 and ignoring or passing over with but scanty reference 

 the foliaceous group. But chiefly is it due to the want of 

 a handbook by which beginners could identify their 

 plants and obtain references to the literature of the sub- 

 ject. Sir W. J. Hooker's magnificent monograph, which 

 appeared in 1816, contained plates with copious descrip- 

 tions of all the British species then known ; but it is now 

 scarce, costly, and having all the species described under 

 one generic ndime, Jiiuge?vna?inia, it becomes necessary, 

 after identifying a plant by it, to refer to some other 

 source to ascertain the now accepted name. Hooker's 

 " English Flora," vol. v., in dealing with the same group, 

 divides the frondose group into several genera, but re- 

 tains the generic name oi Jiaigermannia for the whole of 

 the foliaceous group. 



In 1865 Dr. M. C. Cooke published, as a supplement 

 to Science Gossip, a catalogue with outline figures of 

 all the British species. This is now out of print. Since 

 then notes scattered through various journals have formed 

 the whole of the British literature upon the subject, 

 except the commencement of a monograph by the late 

 Dr. B. Carrington. 



Dr. M. C. Cooke has now filled up the gap by produc- 

 ing a " Handbook of the British Hepaticae," containing 

 full descriptions of all the species, about two hundred in 

 number, known to inhabit the British Islands. The 

 volume opens with an introduction of 20 pp., describing 

 the position, structure, reproduction, and subdivisions of 

 the group. This is followed by a detailed account of the 

 spacies, each arranged upon the same plan. First come 

 the diagnostic characters, followed by copious synonymy, 

 then the habitat, and finally a full description. Each 

 species is also represented by an outline figure, either in 

 the text or in one of the seven plates at the end of the 



oiO. 1 262, VOL. 49] 



volume. A bibliography and index complete the work. 

 The size and clearness of the type will be appreciated by 

 those who use the book, as it should be, in conjunction 

 with microscopical examination of specimens. Altogether 

 a very useful work has been produced, which ought to fill 



a gap already too long vacant. 



C. H. W. 



Edited by Richard 

 (London : Frederick 



The Royal Natural History. 

 Lydekker. Parts i and 2. 

 Warne and Co., 1893.) 



Yet another "Natural History." There is certainly a 

 demand for such, and without doubt there is a supply. 

 The work" is to be in six volumes, and the parts, pub- 

 lished monthly, will complete the series in three years. 

 The paper and typography leave nothing to be desired. 

 The illustrations are in almost every instance, so far as 

 our knowledge of the published paits goes, excellent ; 

 many of them are as artistic as they are accurate ; and 

 when we add that the editor of the series is an able and 

 well-known zoologist, there can be no doubt but that the 

 reader or purchaser will get full value for their expenditure 

 of time or money. 



In noticing a work of this nature, when the facts are 

 as above stated, there is but little room for criticism, 

 and despite the shock which the first blazing sound of 

 its advent conveyed to our senses, despite the fact that 

 "it is not compiled or translated from foreign sources," 

 and that " the co-operation of the Bibliographic Institutes 

 of Leipsic and Vienna" has been secured so as to obtain 

 " all that is best and newest among the productions of 

 the greatest natural history publishers of Europe," we 

 yet most heartily recommend the work to all our readers,, 

 and we anticipate that most of those who take any 

 interest in zoology will place it on their book shelves. 



Of the six volumes, as was to be expected in a 

 work of this kind, the larger number (five) is to 

 be devoted to the backboned animals, and but 

 one to the boneless crew ; and of the first five 

 volumes, two and a half will relate to the mammals, 

 one and a half to the birds, and but one to the reptiles,, 

 amphibians, and fish. It is not at all a fair division, but 

 then the mammals are thought to be the most generally 

 interesting class, and we are promised a lot of informa- 

 tion about " the larger game." The first two parts are 

 devoted to the monkeys, and we have an account of 

 nearly all the known species, accompanied with an im- 

 mense number of illustrations. One suggestion occurred 

 to us while reading over the account of the habits of the 

 baboons ; that when plants are referred to they should,, 

 when their scientific names are used, be quoted speci- 

 fically as well as generically ; thus a " very remarkable 

 kind of West African plant" is mentioned as the " wel- 

 witschia," but the editor would never think of quoting 

 the Anubis baboon as the " cynocephalus." We hope 

 it will be a long time before WclivitscJiia niirabilis will 

 be exterminated by the baboons. From a natural history 

 stand-point there is really no such plant as an "/avVz," 

 but there are several species of the genus Ixia, upon the 

 bulbous stems of which it would appear these baboons 

 feed. 



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 of, rejected 

 manuscripts intended for this or any other part <7/Naturk. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications.^ 



The Origin of Lake Basins. 



I WELCOME the criticism of my article on the glacial origin 

 of a certain class of lakes by an experienced geologist like Mr. 

 Oldham, because it probably embodies the strongest argument 

 that can be adduced on the other side— at all events as regards 



