292 
artists,” says Hume (whose joint work with Marshall 
on the “Game Birds of India” is dedicated to Hodgson), 
“to paint birds with extreme accuracy from a scientific 
point of view; and under his careful supervision admir- 
able large scale pictures were produced, not only of all 
~ these new species, but also of several hundred others, and 
in many cases of their nests and eggs also. These were 
continually accompanied by exact, life-size, pencil draw- 
ings of the bills, nasal orifices, legs, feet, and claws (the 
scutellation of the torso and toes being reproduced with 
photographic accuracy and minuteness), and of the 
arrangement of the feathers in crest, wing, and tails.” 
Unrivalled as a collector, Hodgson’s generosity with his 
specimens and drawings was equally unrivalled, and 
practically the whole of them were given to public 
libraries or scientific societies. : 
We would not have the appreciation which his bio- 
activity diminished by a single word. It is only strange 
that the marked absence of anything of the kind in other 
civilians should not have seemed to Sir William Hunter 
to call for any limitation of that exuberant optimism with 
which he regards the ways and works of every official 
(except Lord Ellenborough) that he has to mention. No 
doubt the results of the system of Indian government 
have been, from a-material point of view, encouraging. 
The members of the Service have developed administra- 
tive qualities of a high order. But is there nothing at all 
that is lacking? Is not intellectual alertness sometimes 
smothered undera mass of detail, and any really scholarly 
or scientific knowledge tabooed or discouraged as waste 
of time? And is not the best executive ability apt to 
strike cold when it wants the charm of intellectual sym- 
pathy? Nothing is more evident in this book than the 
way in which Brian Houghton Hodgson’s wide know- 
ledge and intellectual sympathy helped him in his official 
work, unless indeed it be the degree in which, in those 
qualities, he stood alone. We need not wonder that he 
received from the Indian Government none of those 
titular honours that were bestowed on many of his 
contemporaries, now forgotten. 
The biography is delightfully and lucidly written, and 
enriched by contributions from specialists in the various 
subjects dealt With in Hodgson’s works. The Charm of 
the narrative is such that the reader will probably find it 
only too short, And a word of acknowledgment must 
be given to the beauty of the illustrations, especially of 
the striking picture taken by Mrs. Hedgson, to whom the 
work is dedicated. 
OUR BOOK SHELF. 
Manual of Determinative Mineralogy, with an Intro- 
duction on Blowpipe Analysis. By G. J. Brush. 
Revised and enlarged by S. L. Penfield. Pp. vi + 208. 
(New York; Wiley. London: Chapman and Hall, 
Ltd., 1896.) 
THE manual of the veteran mineralogist, and present 
Director of the Sheffield Scientific School at New Haven, 
has been in constant use since 1874, and has passed 
through thirteen editions. The present volume is the 
beginning of a new and revised edition which has been 
NO. 1422, VOL. 55] 
NABORE 
& Se 
| actio 
[ JANuARY 28, 1897 
undertaken by Prof. Penfield. The determinative tables, 
originally based upon von Kobell’s “ Tafeln zur Bestim- 
mung der Mineralien,” remain as they were in the 
thirteenth edition, but they are now preceded by four 
chapters on the qualitative analysis of minerals, which 
have been in great part re-written by Prof. Penfield. 
These chapters are, as might be expected from this able 
mineralogist, entirely excellent. The description of the 
apparatus and methods employed is most simple and 
clear, and is rendered attractive by numerous good illus- 
trations, which are in large part new. 
The book abounds in practical hints of the greatest 
value to a beginner. The course consists of a series of 
simple experiments so arranged as to illustrate the re- 
of the various elements, and many of these are 
designed to illustrate the dficu/ties which attend their 
use, and the risk of drawing erroneous conclusions, ¢.g. 
“The mistake is sometimes made of testing carbonates 
with acids which are too concentrated, as illustrated by 
the following experiment,” &c. ; or again, “In order to 
grapher has lavished upon his many-sided intellectual | S2OW that there is sometimes danger of overlooking a 
| small quantity of a carbonate, test as follows.’ 
The rarer elements are treated, as well as those which 
the student is more likely to encounter, and due regard 
is paid to newly-discovered reactions. Thus mention is 
made of the method of testing recommended by Haamel, 
in which the material is heated in the oxidising flame 
after being moistened with hydriodic acid, or tincture of 
iodine, as suggested by Wheeler and Luedeking ; and it 
is recommended that a plaster of Paris tablet should be 
used to collect the coloured sublimates produced. It is 
perhaps unfortunate that this method does not find a place 
in the summary of blowpipe and chemical reactions, 
which constitutes Chapter iv. 
The fundamental principles of qualitative analysis (e.g. 
the nature of the flame, and the action of charcoal) are 
more fully explained than in the preceding editions ; and 
for these and other reasons, the volume is a more satis- 
factory handbook for an elementary student than any 
with which we are acquainted. 
The new edition is to be completed by the revision of 
the determinative tables, and Prof. Penfield promises to 
add ‘to these a chapter on crystallography and the physical 
properties of minerals. It is, we think, to be regretted 
that the publishers have brought out the new edition in 
an incomplete state. 
Grundriss der Entwicklungsgeschichte des Menschen 
und der Séugethiere. By Dr. Oscar Schultze. Erste 
Halfte. Pp. 177. (Leipzig: Engelmann, 1896.) 
THIS work, which is a revision of Prof. Koelliker’s book, 
is intended especially for students and_ practitioners. 
Although Dr. Schultze writes his descriptions of the 
various developmental processes in a concise manner, 
avoiding controverted and purely theoretical points as 
far as possible, still he has introduced into his book all 
the more recent important observations on mammalian 
embryology. The work appears to be throughout in all 
points quite up to date.. The well-chosen figures, which 
are numerous and nicely reproduced, are all taken from 
mammalian embryos, and it will doubtless be a satisfac- 
tion to a student of human embryology to find such 
illustrations instead of the oft-repeated figures of fowl, 
reptile, and even invertebrate embryos common in text- 
books on human development. Our present knowledge 
of the early stages of mammalian embryos quite justifies 
the omission of such figures in an account of mammalian 
development. Dr. Schultze has succeeded in making 
his history of the embryology of man and mammals hang 
well together. As the work is sure to be extensively 
used, it is to be hoped that an English translation will 
shortly be forthcoming. The second part is promised at 
the end of this year. 
