July 1, 1898.1 



KNOWLEDGE. 



157 



interesting branch of natural knowledge. The volume 

 will be a most valuable work of reference for future inves- 

 tigators iu meteorology and physical geography, and we 

 congratulate the author upon his worthy contribution 

 to science. 



The Flora of Perthshire. By Francis Buchanan W. 

 White, M.D., F.L.S., F.E.s. Edited, with an Introduction 

 and Life of the Author, by James W. H. Trail, a.m., m.d., 

 F.R.S., Professor of Botany, Aberdeen University. (Edin- 

 burgh : W. Blackwood & Sons.) Dr. Buchanan White was 

 an enthusiastic investigator in the realm of natural history, 

 and most of his work as a botanist was done with a view 

 to the publication of a "Flora of Perthshire." It is, 

 therefore, a matter of congratulation that the materials 

 he collected during a number of years have been brought 

 together in the present volume. The book is a worthy 

 memorial of an esteemed naturalist, and its value is much 

 enhanced by the introduction and memoir from the pen of 

 Prof. Trail, whose expert knowled^'e of the subject and 

 personal regard for Dr. White have together given a wider 

 interest to this publication than is usually possessed by a 

 local tlora. 



A Student's Text-Book of Zoolof/i/. ]'ol. I. — Protozoa to 

 Chator/natha. By Adam Sedgwick, 5i..\., f.r.s. (London : 

 Swan, Bonnensehein, & Company, Limited. New York : 

 The Macmillan Company.) 18s. It is now generally 

 admitted that to successfully study zoology the studeut 

 should begin by making a thorough examination of the 

 structure of individual animals, learning the functions of 

 their several parts as well as their relation to the external 

 world and to one another. This constitutes what is known 

 as the " study by types," which method owes its popularity 

 in this country to the pioneer efforts of Huxley, who, 

 planning courses of instruction at the old Normal School 

 of Science, now called the Royal College of Science, 

 adopted this plan. In this way a basis for more extended 

 studies is secured, and it is to assist such extended studies 

 that Mr. Sedgwick has prepared this first volume of his 

 book, which will be completed by a second volume. But, 

 as the author says in his preface, the book should have an 

 additional use. It makes an admirable and handy book 

 of reference to others interested in natural history, who 

 wOl here find the general nature and habits of a large 

 number of animals described in a readable style. When 

 we add that the volume is provided with four hundred and 

 seventy-two illustrations, is liberally supplied with refer- 

 ences to original papers and other sources of information, 

 and has all matters in dispute printed in small type, it 

 will be seen that no efforts have been spared to make the 

 path of the young zoologist as easy and pleasant as 

 possible. Mr. Sedgwick tells us that he originally intended 

 to publish a new edition of Claus's Lehrbueh, but sub- 

 sequently departed from his intention. We think the 

 student of the subject in this country has hereby reason 

 to congratulate himself. The book is, beyond question, 

 one of the best volumes on zoology at present available. 



Theoretleal Mechanics. By A. E. H. Love, it.a., f.r.s. 

 (Cambridge University Press.) 12s. This recent addition to 

 the excellent series of mathematical treatises published by 

 the Cambridge University Press is intended for students 

 who have some acquaintance with the elements of the 

 differential and integral calculus and some knowledge of 

 plane co-ordinate geometry. The book is divided into 

 three parts : the first is preliminary in character, and is 

 intended to accustom the student to the idea of accelera- 

 tion, and to the fact that a precise description of any 

 motion can be given by a statement of the accelerations 

 involved ; the second part is devoted to an explanation of 



the principles of dynamics ; the last part is taken up with 

 exemplifications of the ways in which the general theory is 

 applied. The book is attractively printed, the subjects of 

 the paragraphs being boldly defined by Clarendon type and 

 the chief theorems by Italics. It is altogether an admir- 

 able treatise and will take a high place among modern 

 works on the subject. 



The First Philosophers of Greece. By Arthur Fairbanks. 

 (London : Kegan Paul, Trench, Ttiibuer, & Co.) 7s. 6d. 

 Mr. Fairbanks has, in this most interesting book, prepared 

 for the student a Greek text of the fragments of the early 

 philosophers which represents, as accurately as possible, 

 the results of recent scholarship ; he has also added such 

 critical notes as may be necessary to enable the scholar 

 to see on what basis the text rests. From this text Mr. 

 Fairbanks has prepared a translation of the fragments 

 into English, and along with this a translation of the 

 important passages bearing on these early thinkers in 

 Plato and Aristotle. The reader is thus enabled to see 

 exactly the views held by early Greek philosophers as to 

 natural objects and phenomena, and the book will be of 

 great value as a concise epitome of the early history of 

 scientific opinion. It is well known that many correct 

 ideas were held by these Greek philosophers. Thus, 

 Thales, the founder of the school (G40 b.c. — 548 b.c), 

 taught that the moon reflects the sun's light to us, and 

 that " eclipses of the sun take place when the moon passes 

 across it in direct line, since the moon is earthy in char- 

 acter ; and it seems to the eye to be laid on the disc of 

 the sun " (p. 7). Similarly, Empedokles (494 k.c. — 484 b.c.) 

 speaks of the moon as " a borrowed light, circular in form 

 — it revolves about the earth, as if following the track of a 

 chariot " ; and of night, " solitary, blind-eyed," as being the 

 result of the earth " coming in front of the lights " (p. 177). 

 Now that the idea of a gradual evolution of human thought, 

 as well as of organic forms, is universally recognized, such 

 a book as Mr. Fairbanks has compiled will prove of the 

 greatest value to all intellectual readers and workers, and 

 we are confident they will experience keen pleasure in 

 consulting it. 



SHORT NOTICES. 



The Miner s Arithmetic and Mensuration. By Henry Davies. 

 (Chapman & Hall.) is. net. Although the appearance of this book 

 is at first rather forbidding, a closer inspection will reveal to tbe 

 mining student who liappens to look into it what a Taluable treatise 

 it is. Arithmetic and mensuration are here subordinated to the 

 actual requirements of the practical miner — that is, examples are 

 given which apply to mining and mine engineering, such, for example, 

 as the calculation of the available coal in various seams. !N umerous 

 problems of tliis kind, with full solutions, form a conspicuous feature, 

 and the many examinations in connection with mines and public 

 bodies are represented bva large number of fully worked examination 

 papers. Many of the questions, Iiowever, on the steam engine and 

 other branches of mechanics and pliysics cannot be solved by the aid 

 here given, but the examples thus brought together will be usefid iu 

 classes where the several sciences required by mining students are 

 taught ; and that, presumably, is the intention of the author. 



The Process Year-Book for 1S9S. Edited by Wm. Gamble. 

 Price 3s. 6d. (London : Penrose & Co.) The editor is certainly to 

 be complimented on the general excellence of this book. He has 

 obtained a great niuuber of beautifid illustrations and a long list of 

 articles from eminent photographers, full of information. The whole 

 is a splendid residt of present-day skill in book illustration. 



French Self-Taught. By C. A. Thimm, F.R.a.s. (Marlborough & 

 Co.) Is. Mr. Thimm has compressed a great number of , 'phrases into 

 this little book, which will minimize the student's labour in acquiring 

 just sufficient knowledge of the language to enable one to get through 

 a tour in France with tolerable comfort as regards making inquiries, 

 shopping, the conversation at hotels, and so on, the useful and 

 necessary idiomatic expressions and phrases for this purpose con- 

 stituting a principal feature in the book. 



