December 14, 1905] 



NA TURK 



149 



at home, young willow wrens, ring dove or wood 

 pigeon, young cuckoo and sedge warblers, hedgehog, 

 voung long-eared owls, gannet or solan goose, peewit 

 or lapwing, sparrowhawk adding sticks to her nest, 

 and the great tit or oxeye. 



These handsome pictures provide the best possible 

 tribute to the patient power of silent watching which 

 the Brothers Kearton have developed during the last 

 thirteen years in order to take advantage of oppor- 

 tunities of photographing animals in their natural 

 surroundings. 



Metcorologic und Klimatologie. By Prof. Dr. Wil- 

 helm Trabert. Pp. 127; with 37 figures in the text. 

 (Leipzig: Deuticke, 1905.) Price 5 marks. 

 In this little book, which forms part xiii. of Prof. 

 Klar's " Die Erdkunde," the author attempts to out- 

 line the general principles of meteorology and their 

 application to the study of climate in a single work. 

 The meteorological elements, and the making and 

 reducing of observations are first dealt with ; next 

 comes a section on atmospheric physics, the distribu- 

 tion of temperature and its variations, the circulation 

 of the atmosphere, evaporation and condensation; 

 and, finally, a section on weather and climate, which 

 includes chapters on weather forecasting, the chief 

 types of climate, and the climatic characteristics of 

 the main land divisions of the globe. 



Where so much is attempted in so small compass, 

 there is, of course, constant risk of the treatment of 

 parts of the subject becoming hopelessly inadequate, 

 but Prof. Trabert has succeeded in avoiding this; the 

 essential points are selected with extraordinary skill 

 and presented with great clearness and conciseness. 

 The omission of details of construction of instrument-, 

 in part i. is especially satisfactory — most books on 

 meteorology are overburdened with matter which is 

 only wanted by practical observers — although in some 

 cases more modern types of instrument might have 

 been selected for illustration. The most successful 

 section of the book is, in our opinion, that on atmo- 

 spheric physics, in which the vertical distribution of 

 temperature and the forms of isobaric surfaces are 

 given the prominence they deserve, but do not always 



Prof. Trabert's book is an excellent introduction to 

 such classics as Hann's " Lehrbuch " and " Klimat- 

 ologie," on which it is to a certain extent modelled, 

 and we strongly commend it to elementary students 

 and teachers. 



.1 Popular Introduction to Astronomy. By the Rev. 



Alex. C. Henderson. Pp. 114. (Lerwick: T. and 



J. Manson, 1905.) Price 2S. 6d. net. 

 In this book there are three chapters, occupying sixty- 

 three pages, and a series of thirteen " notes " which 

 take up the remainder of the text. In chapter i. we 

 find a very general, yet simple and instructive, descrip- 

 tion of the solar system, its probable origin, and the 

 nature, appearance, dimensions, and distances of its 

 various individual components. The explanations 

 given are brief, but they are lucid, and the verbal 

 illustrations are homely enough to appeal to the 

 simplest minds. Chapter ii. deals with the apparent 

 and real motions of the heavenly bodies, and here 

 again the beginner should find no difficulty in grasp- 

 ing the fundamental ideas. Comets are discussed in 

 chapter hi., which really consists of a description of 

 Biela's famous comet and of the meteoritic genesis of 

 these bodies. 



The thirteen " notes " comprise a melange appar- 

 ently consisting of extracts and examples taken from 

 the author's note-book, and it is rather difficult to 

 sci 1.1 what class of reader they will appeal. Portions 



NO. 1885, VOL. J$] 



of them are certainly too erudite to suit real beginners, 

 whilst they are not of the form to appeal to more 

 advanced students. For example, the observing of 

 the sunrise, combined with the consultation of a 

 year book, would hardly answer to the description of 

 an " accurate method " of determining time. Double 

 stars, climatic variations, auroras, eclipses, the lunar 

 phases, and the zodiac are amongst other things dealt 

 with in this section of the book. YV. E. R. 



Fragmenta Pliytographiae Australiae occidcntalis. By 

 L. Diels and E. Pritzel. Pp. 608. (Leipzig : \V. 

 Engelmann, 1905.) 

 Although the floras of the different Australian 

 colonies present a certain homogeneity that unites 

 them into a definite " Flora Australiensis," there is 

 also a considerable diversity between the floras of the 

 eastern and western sides of the continent ; that of 

 tin' western half is distinguished by its richness, the 

 singular modifications due to physical conditions and 

 the large proportion of endemic species. Exclusive of 

 the northern tropical region, the vascular plants of 

 Western Australia, according to the evidence of the 

 Government botanist, Mr. A. Morrison, do not fall far 

 short of 4000 species, and most of these are found in 

 the south-west. The writers of this volume travelled 

 through this portion of the colony, and also penetrated 

 into the interior from Geraldton to Cue, and as far as 

 Ranowna and Menzies in the Coolgardie district. 

 Phytogeographical limits are determined mainly by 

 the rainfall, which reaches a maximum of 39 inches 

 in tin neighbourhood of Cape Leeuwin and diminishes 

 rapidly to 9 inches at Shark Bay in the North and 

 Southern Cross inland ; the botanical provinces out- 

 lined in this volume have been mapped out in accord- 

 ance with the rainfall. 



The book is primarily a systematic compilation of 

 the authors' collections, and although there are in- 

 teresting notes on morphology and habit, the principal 

 feature is the intimate knowledge which the authors 

 display of the distribution of the various species. A 

 revised arrangement of the Verbenaceae is given, with 

 analytical kevs and numerous illustrations. Additions 

 have been made to most of the typical genera, to 

 mention only Acacia, Drosera, Hibbertia, and several 

 of the Myrtacea;. Taken in conjunction with 

 Bentham's " Flora Australiensis," Baron von Muel- 

 ler's "Fragmenta," and Spencer le Moore's notes, 

 these " Fragmenta " provide the necessary data for a 

 fairly complete flora of the colony. Dr. Diels pro- 

 poses to write a continuous phytogeographical account 

 later, wherein it may be expected that he will sum- 

 marise the extraordinary modifications of the desert 

 and other plants that are no less unique than those of 

 the Egyptian desert flora which Volkens has so vividly 

 portrayed. 



Sporting Sketches. By E. Sandys. Pp. vii-l-389; 



illustrated. (New York : The Macmillan Company; 



London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1905.) Price 



ys. 6<2. net. 

 Mr. Edwyn Sandys is so well known to bird-lovers 

 and sportsmen in general by such works as " LJpland 

 Game Birds " that anv volume of a somewhat similar 

 nature is almost sure of a hearty reception on the 

 part of that section of the public to which it more 

 specially appeals. In the volume before us the author 

 has collected together a number of articles on sport- 

 ing subjects which originally appeared in that excel- 

 lent American sporting magazine Outing, and to these 

 he has apparently added others which now see the 

 light for the first time. Whether, however, new or 

 old — and the author seemingly gives us no clue on 

 this point — the articles have such a freshness about 



