Aucust 6, 1914] 
NATURE 
585 
‘““tz1 Sept. Dans le jus de resins rien de vivant, le 
mouvement de circulation de mesme que le Io€.”’ 
Have such phenomena been observed by other micro- 
scopists? Any suggestions about their precise cause 
would be very welcome. 
The manuscript will be published in the next volume 
of Huygens’s ‘** GEuvres,’’ which is in an advanced state 
of preparation. 
Amsterdam. D. J. KorTEwEGc. 
NATURAL HISTORY AND THE OCEAN.! 
(1) HIS is a new work on birds by the distin- 
guished ornithologist, Dr. Anton 
Reichenow, of Berlin, which when completed will 
consist of two volumes. This, the first, contains a 
general review of the class Aves, followed by a 
systematic account of the Ratite, Natatores, 
Grallatores, Cutinares (Deserticole, Crypturi, 
Rasores, Gyrantes), Raptatores, and Fibulatores. 
Excellent line sketches illustrating special diag- 
nostic characters are imbedded pleasantly in the 
text. Each family, with the genera included in 
it, is concisely characterised and its geographical 
distribution indicated, while of the species the 
more important are enumerated often with remarks 
on those of special interest. When finished “ Die 
Vogel” will form, if not a “handbook,” at least a 
compact and useful synopsis of systematic ornitho- 
logy. Unfortunately, like so many German publi- 
cations it can scarcely be said to be “bound,” for 
with very little provocation it collapses into an 
inchoate mass of sheets. 
_ (2) This will prove an invaluable book of refer- 
ence for all who may have to study the avifauna 
of not only Australia, but of the southern hemi- 
sphere, notwithstanding that many of Mr. 
Mathews’s co-workers will probably disagree with 
him in the distinctness of the numerous, and, as 
we think, too numerous subspecies he describes. 
The introduction provides us with a very interest- 
ing ornithological history of Australia, and an 
important discussion of the faunal regions into 
which the continent appears to be divided from the 
point of view of its birds. We observe that he 
recognises, as we believe rightly, the existence in 
Australia of an element derived from, or once 
forming, part of an ancient antarctic continent, 
then possessing a climate very different from that 
now existing. The nomenclature adopted by the 
author follows the several rules of strict priority 
formulated by the different international zoological 
congresses of recent years, and of necessity, there- 
fore, sweeps away many names which we cling 
1 (1) ‘Die Végel.” Handbuch der Systematischen Ornithologie. By 
Apton Reichenow. Zwei Rande. Erster Band. Pp. viiit529. (Stuttgart: 
Ferdinand Enke. 1913.) Price 15 marks. : 
(2) ‘A List of the Birds of Australia.” By G. M. Mathews. Pp. xxvii+ 
4£3- (London: Witherby and Co., 1913.) Price ros. net. 
(3) ‘“‘ The Wonders of Bird-life.” By W. Percival Westell. Pp. 128. 
(Manchester : Milner and Co., n.d.) Price rs. net. 
(4) ‘‘ The Snakes of Europe.” By Dr. G. A. Boulenger. Pp. xi-+269+ 
plates. (London: Methuen and Co., 1913.) Price 6s. 
(5) ‘‘ The Life of the Mollusca.” By B. B. Woodward. Pp. xi+158+ 
plates. (London: Methuen and Co., 1913.) Price 6s. 
(6) ‘‘ The Peregrine Falconat the Fyrie.” By F. Heatherley. Pp. x+78. 
(London: Country Life, 1913.) Price ss. net. 
(7) ‘‘ The Holiday Nature-book.” By S. N. Sedgwick. Pp. 355+plates. 
(London: C. H. Kelly, n.d.) Price 3s. 6d. 
(8) ‘* The Ocean: A General Account of the Science of the Sea.” By Sir 
John Murray. Pp. 256+xii plates. (London: Williams and Norgate, n.d.) 
Price 1s. Home University Library. 
NO. 2336, VOL. 93]| 
to from being familiar to us for more than half a 
century, and which we relinquish, if relinquish 
them we must, with the deepest reluctance. 
Mr. Mathews’s “List” represents an amazing 
amount of the hardest and driest kind of work 
(to all appearance done once for all), which only 
those who have some experience in threading the 
mazes of synonymy can appreciate, and for this 
ornithological literature must be grateful to him 
in saecula saeculorum. 
(3) This is a very disappointing book, full of 
loose and unqualified dogmatic assertions, such, 
for example, as: ‘“‘ Many [sea-birds] have for so 
long a time resorted to rocks . . . that though 
they may be active enough as swimmers and divers 
when upon or in the water, they are strangely 
laborious upon the wing. .’ How about 
gannets, pelicans, many cormorants, terns, guille- 
mots? The illustrations are very rough repro- 
ductions of pen-and-ink drawings. 
(4) Dr. G. A. Boulenger is too well known an 
authority on the reptilia for anyone to be in doubt 
as to the value of this volume. ‘‘ There is no work 
in the English language,” the author informs us 
in the preface, “dealing with the reptiles of 
Europe. I have, therefore, endeavoured to supply 
this desideratum so far as the snakes are con- 
cerned.” His account of the species found in 
Europe is preceded by a concise and very excellent 
introduction, summarising what is known of 
snakes generally, dealing with their external 
characters, their anatomy, reproduction, habits, 
distribution—of which one remarkable fact stated 
is that the zoogeographical regions into which 
the world is usually divided do not lend themselves 
any better than the ordinary divisions of physicai 
geography to the study of the distribution ot 
snakes—and finally, their relation to man. The 
systematic account is illustrated by a_ beautiful 
figure of each species, drawn by Prof. Sordelli, of 
Milan, for his own and Prof. Ian’s “ Iconographie 
Générale des Ophidiens,” and reproduced in this 
volume with his permission. 
(5) Mr. B. B. Woodward’s “Life of the Mol- 
lusca”’ is another addition to the same excellent 
series being issued by Messrs. Methuen, to which 
Dr. Boulenger’s belongs. The work gives 
a succinct account of the history, relationships, 
and everyday life, with general notes on the 
anatomy, classification, and distribution of this 
group of the animal kingdom. The classification 
here given is based mainly on conchological 
characters; but in the Mollusca this is never felt 
to stand on quite the same certain basis as 
that in other zoological groups, inasmuch as 
so many of the species are determined upon 
the house they inhabit, and not on the in- 
habitants themselves. A very remarkable 
instance of such a discrepancy was recently dis- 
cussed in a paper before the Zoological Society, 
in which the conchological relationships of a new 
species of Papuina from New Guinea disagreed 
with those indicated by its anatomical characters. 
The volume is well illustrated by more than thirty 
| plates, most of the figures of which originally 
