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NATURE 



' [October i6, 1890 



the name of the class which has been generally adopted 

 in England, and which commemorates the remarkable 

 researches of an unobtrusive but most able and original 

 worker in the province of invertebrate zoology. We have 

 no intention of reviving the controversy on this subject, 

 in which indeed Miss Jelly takes no part, as she does 

 not state the grounds on which she bases her decision. 

 The consensus of Continental naturalists in favour of 

 Ehrenberg's name has no doubt had much weight with her, 

 but the appeal to numbers is hardly likely to satisfy those 

 who have tried the case on its merits, and arrived at a 

 different conclusion. Of course it would be satisfactory 

 to secure uniformity of nomenclature, if it were possible ; 

 but those who have a strong conviction that J. V. Thompson 

 was the earliest to appreciate ani define the distinctive 

 peculiarities of Polyzoan structure, and that his name was 

 intended to apply not merely to the zooids of a colony, 

 but to the type of organization which they represent, can 

 hardly consent to be parties to an absolute rejection of 

 his claim. 



The value of such works as the present depends en- 

 tirely on the care and minute accuracy with which they 

 are compiled. Miss Jelly's " Catalogue " affords abundant 

 proof that these qualities have not been wanting in her 

 case. That she possesses a thorough command of the 

 literature of her subject is shown by the fulness of the 

 synonymy, and (very strikingly) by the explanatory notes 

 appended to many of the species. The book supplies 

 ample evidence of intelligent and enthusiastic interest 

 in the subject, and patient industry in dealing with it. 



As to the synonymy itself, many difficult questions 

 arise in connection with it, which clearly cannot be dis- 

 cussed in a work which aims at being a guide to the 

 recorded species, and not a critical treatise. In not a 

 few cases of supposed synonymy we should feel compelled 

 to dissent from the conclusions arrived at, or adopted 

 from others. But on such points the student must satisfy 

 himself. 



We may add that the book is handsomely got up, and 

 printed in a type which, so far as clearness is concerned, 

 leaves nothing to be desired. 



Miss Jelly is to be congratulated on the completion of a 

 very onerous task, and on the valuable contribution which 

 she has made to the working apparatus of the student. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Zoologische Ergebnisse einer Reise in Niederlandsch 

 Ost-Indien. Von Dr. Max Weber. Erstes Heft. 

 (Leiden : Brill, 1890.) 

 The numerous books, memoirs, and pamphlets that have 

 been published during the century dealing with the 

 natural history of the Malay Archipelago have revealed 

 to the world of science a fauna which is perhaps un- 

 rivalled for richness, variety, and general interest. But 

 even now we are scarcely beyond the threshold of the 

 investigation. The travels of von Rosenberg, Wallace, 

 van Martens, Forbes, and others, and the painstaking 

 observations and collections of many of the Dutch 

 residents and controleurs, have given us a knowledge of 

 the principal features of the ornithology and entomology of 

 some of the more important islands, but there are still 

 many regions of undoubted interest that have scarcely been 

 explored at all, even by their nominal masters the Dutch. 

 During the journey undertaken by Prof. Weber and his 



NO. 1094, VOL. 42] 



wife in 1888 and 1889 some of these little-known regions 

 and islands were visited, and the results are now appear- 

 ing in a series of memoirs prepared by eminent Dutch 

 naturalists, under the editorship of the distinguished 

 Professor of Zoology at Amsterdam. 



Several interesting new forms are described in the first 

 part ; and no doubt many others will follow in the 

 memoirs that are now in course of preparation, from 

 Central Celebes, Flores, and the Saleyer Islands— regions 

 that have hitherto scarcely been visited by naturalists. 

 But the interest in Pror. Weber's results does not by any 

 means lie exclusively in the fauna of the remote corners 

 of the archipelago. By investigating the fresh-water 

 fauna and the inconspicuous forms of terrestrial inverte- 

 brates of all the districts visited, he has opened to us a 

 new chapter in the natural history of the archipelago. 

 The memoirs on Spongillidaeby the editor, on Apterygota 

 by Oudemans, and on the land Planaria by Loman, are 

 most valuable and interesting contributions to our know- 

 ledge of the tropical species of these groups. Of more 

 than special importance is the paper by the Professor and 

 Madame Weber, " On some New Cases of Symbiosis." 

 One of the most remarkable of those described is that 

 of an alga belonging to the family Trentepohliaceae 

 symbiotic with a fresh-water sponge. This paper is in 

 French, and contains an interesting discussion of the 

 problems presented and the literature of the subject. 



Two memoirs, in English, by Prof. Weber and by Dr. 

 Jentinck, deal with the mammalia collected during the 

 journey. It appears from these pages that the curious 

 animal the sapiutan, Anoa depressicornis, is not confined 

 to the northern peninsula of Celebes, as is usually stated 

 to be the case, but may be found in favourable localities 

 all over the island. In a long discussion on the habitat of 

 the rare monkey Macacus maurus, we are told that it 

 occurs on the Maros River and elsewhere in South Celebes,, 

 and that it should be considered to be " one more of the 

 remarkable animals peculiar only to that island, with a 

 continental character." 



Every naturalist who reads this first part of Prof. 

 Weber's results will look forward with interest to the 

 publication of the memoirs that are still in course of 

 preparation. Sydney J. Hickson. 



Inorganic Chemistry, Theoretical and Practical. By , 

 William Jago, F.C.S., F.T.C. (London : Longmans, 

 Green, and Co., 1890.) 



The number of classes established according to the 

 regulations of the Science and Art Department is now 

 so considerable that publishers and authors alike are 

 ready to specially cater for their needs. Messrs. Long- 

 mans, Green, and Co. have already an extensive series 

 of " science manuals" written to meet the requirements 

 of students taking the elementary stage of subjects as 

 given in the Directory of the Department ; and Mr. Jago's- 

 volume is one of a similar series that is in preparation to 

 include the matter prescribed in the advanced syllabus- 

 of each subject. After the preface we are nowhere 

 reminded of the particular aim of the book, or of the 

 limitations under which the author has done his work ; 

 and it is worthy of note that the papers set by the 

 Department examiners are not reprinted at the end. 

 Leaving the particular meaning attached to the words 

 elementary and advanced by the Science and Art 

 Department, we may describe the volume before us as 

 an elementary treatise on inorganic chemistry, of about 

 460 pages. It includes a consideration of the more 

 common metals and their compounds, three pages con- 

 cerning the periodic law, and six pages on the " causes 

 which modify chemical action." Fluorine takes its 

 natural place among the halogens as an isolated element, 

 and other of the recent advances are duly noticed Some 

 parts are very me;igre, as, for example, the paragraphs 



