LITERARY NOTICES. 



421 



CULLKTIN OF THE UNITED STATES FiSH COM- 

 MISSION. Vol. I, for 1881, pp. 466; 

 Vol. II, for 1882, pp. 467. Washington : 

 Government Printing-OfHce. 



The " Bulletin " is now published by 

 the authority of an act of Congi-ess, in two 

 forms, a part of the edition being distrib- 

 uted signature by signature as the matter is 

 collected and put in type, while the other 

 part is bound up at the end of the year in 

 an annual volume. Two classes of readers 

 are thus accommodated — those who wish to 

 get the matter as fast as it appears, as news, 

 and those who prefer to have it in permanent 

 form, in bound volumes. The two volumes 

 now before us, being the first published 

 under the new system, contain numerous 

 articles on a variety of subjects relating 

 to the description, propagation, catching, 

 habits, and care of fish, the value of which 

 is both scientific and practical ; of American 

 and of foreign origin ; and original, relating 

 to the home observations of the agents or 

 direct correspondents of the commission, or 

 selected from an extensive range of living 

 ichthyological literature, and the reports of 

 other countries. We regret the absence of 

 an adequate classified index to the volumes. 

 A copious general alphabetical index is 

 given, and an index by authors, and they 

 should not be dispensed with ; but, in a 

 work marked by the fullness of matter that 

 characterizes these volumes, another index 

 seems to be needed, giving the titles of ar- 

 ticles. 



Animal Life: Being the NAxuHAt His- 

 tory OF Animals. By E. Perceval 

 Wright, M. D. London, Paris, and New 

 York : Cassel, Petter, Galpin & Co. Pp. 

 618. $2.50. 



The author of this attractive work is 

 Professor of Botany in the University of 

 Dublin. lie has prepared his book espe- 

 cially in view of " that class of readers who, 

 while they take an intelligent interest in 

 the study of natural history, have but little 

 taste for the technical details which would 

 naturally form the bulk of a scientific man- 

 ual on the subject. With this view, nearly 

 two thirds of the contents have been devoted 

 to the mammals and birds. Nevertheless, the 

 other classes have not been neglected, but 

 a f.air degree of consideration is given to 

 the reptiles, fishes, insects, moUusks, and 



the lower divisions of the animal kingdom. 

 The book has grown to its present form out 

 of the series of lectures on zoology which 

 Dr. Wright delivered several years ago to 

 the natural history classes of his univer- 

 sity, and the matter of it, enriched with 

 copious citations from travelers distin- 

 guished for their researches in natural his- 

 tory, has been systematized and reduced to 

 its present comprehensive and connected 

 form, under advantages which only long- 

 maturing thought can confer, and which a 

 book prepared to meet a present demand 

 can not so well enjoy. The systematic 

 method is faithfully followed, and the ani- 

 mals are described by classes, orders, fami- 

 lies, and the other related groups, in regular 

 order, with the scientific distinctions care- 

 fully noted, so that a clear view is given of 

 all that comes within the scope of the work. 

 The adaptation of the style to the mind not 

 familiar with technical language, the beauty 

 of the broad pages with their clean paper, 

 sharp type, and the profusion of appropri- 

 ate and excellently executed illustrations, 

 make the work eminently pleasant and suit- 

 able to the family and to general readers, 

 and one which should attract all the young, 

 who have any taste in that direction, to the 

 study of natural history. 



Mineral Resources of the United States. 

 By Albert Williams, Jr. Washing- 

 ton: Government Printing-OfBce. Pp. 

 813. 



This volume represents one of the di- 

 visions of the United States Geological Sur- 

 vey under the direction of the Hon. J. W. 

 Powell. It is intended to furnish an ac- 

 count of every mineral, whether a metallic 

 ore, a useful salt, a building material, or a 

 fertilizer, that is economically mined in the 

 United States, with notes of the localities 

 where they are found, and estimates of the 

 production and trade value of the stuff. 



Ueber das galvanische Verhalten der 

 Amalgame des Zinkes und des Cad- 

 miums (On the Galvanic Behavior of the 

 Amalgams of Zinc and of Cadmium). 

 By William L. Robb, A. B. Berlin : 

 Gustav Schade. Pp. 30. 

 This is the inaugural dissertation by the 

 author, an American student, on receiving 

 at the University of Berlin, in August last, 

 the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 



