30J 



NATURE 



S^Aitgnst 4, 1 88 1 



which are new. These are equally distributed through 

 the Jurassic and Cretaceous series ; but there are none as 

 old as our own Actinotiictra Chcltonensis from the Inferior 

 Oolite of Gloucestershire, nor as young as various species 

 from the Margate chalk. One of the Neocomian species 

 belongs to the sub-genus Ophiocrinus of Semper, which 

 i= characterised by the presence of five undivided rays. 

 There are only three recent species referable to this t)pe, 

 .ill of them inhabiting different portions of the Pacific 

 L'cean. With the Comaluhc must be included two species 

 of the curious genus ThioUieriainus, recently mentioned 

 in these columns (vol. xxiii. p. 377) as being a permanent 

 larval form. 



Prof, de Loriol's Monograph with its abundant illus- 

 trations forms an excellent supplement to the fourth 

 volume of Quenstedt's wonderful " Petrefactenkunde 

 Deutschlands," which deals with the Enciiniden. Taken 

 together, the two works give us a very complete account 

 of the Mezozoic Crinoids of Central Europe. We under- 

 stand that Prof, de Loriol is now working out the French 

 Crinoids in the same way as he has treated the Swiss 

 oaes, and we hope that he will be enabled to complete 

 t lis somewhat extensivetask with an equally satisfactory 

 result. This will render a similar work on the British 

 Crinoids more than ever necessary, and we trust that it 

 may be accomplished within a reasonable time. 



The second book mentioned at the head of this article 

 )3 the late Prof. Angelin's " Iconographia of the Silurian 

 Crinoids of Sweden." It has been published as a 

 posthumous work by the Swedish Academy, and is un- 

 questionably the finest work on Crinoids that has ever 

 appeared. It consists of twenty-nine beautifully-printed 

 folio plates, which illustrate the marvellous wealth of 

 Crinoids and Cystids in the Silurian rocks of Sweden. 

 Some of the figures, such as those of Crotalocriniis, are 

 excessively intricate, and they are all admirably clear and 

 well-arranged. The lamented death of the eminent 

 Swedish pala;ontologist has unfortunately prevented these 

 figures from being as useful to his successors as they 

 would have been, had he lived to describe them. They 

 have been edited by two of his colleagues. Professors 

 Lov& and Lindstrom, who have classified the genera 

 and species according to the system which they found 

 sketched out in Prof. Angelin's notes and manuscripts. 

 Unfortunately, however, the classification is an entirely 

 unnatural one, depending upon the number of basal plates 

 in the calyx. Wachsmuth, the chief authority in America 

 on the Palseocrinoids, has already pointed out that while 

 it brings together very distinct types such as Rhodociinus 

 and Poteriocrinus, genera which are very intimately re- 

 lated, such as Platycriiius and Dichocrinus, are widely 

 separated. Among the true Crinoids forty genera are 

 figured, comprising 176 species, many of which are new. 

 They are arranged into twenty-three families, but as 

 these are not defined we are unable to learn the principles 

 upon which they were established. 



There are also figures of twenty-three Cystidean species, 

 arranged into nine genera, including one new one, which fall 

 into three sections, the Apora, Gcmcltipora, and Rhoinhi- 

 Jcra. So far as can be ju Iged from the species referred 

 to each section, Angelin's classification is something more 

 than an introduction of new names for the three divisions 

 of the group which were sketched out by Miiller. Neither 



of the three genera included in the Apora, Angelin, are 

 ordinarily referred to the Aporitida j h\iX Echiiiospharites 

 aurantium and Ca?yoiystitcs, von Buch, were placed by 

 MiiUer among the Rhoinbifiri or " Cystideen mit Poren- 

 rauten " ; while the third genus, Mcgacysiites, Hall, is 

 ordinarily referred to the Diploporitida, which is a parallel 

 group to the Ceincllipora, Angelin. 



As in the case of the true Crinoids, we are unable to 

 learn the principle of Angelin's classification of the 

 Cystidea. It is not likely therefore to be adopted, at 

 any rate for the present. Possibly, however, it may stand 

 the test of future discoveries better than the Miillerian 

 system, though we do not think this contingency a very 

 probable one. 



In spite of the inconsistencies which we have mentioned, 

 the " Iconographia " must be indispensable to every 

 student of the Pateocrinoidea. A glance through its 

 pages makes one long to see some really good illustra- 

 tions of our British species. There are many specimens 

 of the utmost beauty and novelty, both in our public 

 museums and in private collections, which we hope will 

 some day be properly described in a " INIonograph of the 

 Fossil Crinoids of the British Isles." 



OUR BOOK SHELF 



The Countries of the World. By Robert Brown. Vol. 

 vi. (London: Cassell and Co.) 



We are surprised that, after so many volumes of this 

 work have been devoted to the description of America 

 and Asia, the whole of Europe and of Africa are disposed 

 of in a single volume, a considerable part of it being devoted, 

 moreover, to the Turkish Empire. This last is allotted 

 58 pages, whilst the whole of Europe is dealt with in 104 

 pages, and the whole of Africa in other 104 pages. 

 Moreover, why should Turkey have the favour of re- 

 ceiving thrice as much space as Russia, which is actually 

 dismissed in only eight pages, whilst France, Germany, 

 Italy, and Spain have only four pages each. Does the 

 Russian Empire, or Spain, with their variety of climate, 

 of soil, and of population, afford less interest for the 

 general reader than Asiatic Turkey, and Italy less than 

 Senegambia or Liberia ? 



It is obvious th.1t such a distribution of space must 

 affect the entire value of the work. Certainly when 

 reading Mr. Brown's book we ha\'e admired in many 

 instances the talent with which he succeeds in con- 

 densing in to very few pages a good description of a 

 country ; but the book being intended to afford more 

 interest to the general reader than a simple text-book of 

 geography, the author has been compelled to enter into 

 generalisations which cannot but give a false idea of the 

 subject. Is it possible that the reader can have a true 

 conception of the climate of France when he learns from 

 Mr. R. Brown's book that " the climate is one of the finest 

 in Europe — mild, equable, and healthy, in spite of the 

 hot winds from Africa, which sometimes impinge on the 

 southern districts, and the chilly 'mistral' which sweeps 

 down from the Alps in the north " .^ Or, what an idea 

 will be impressed upon his mind of Paris, when he learns 

 only that " in Paris centres the most polished society of 

 the world. From Paris are sent forth the hooks, the bon- 

 nets, the pictures, and possibly even the vices which are 

 so largely aped by the rest of the civilised world. It is 

 the city of pleasure. But, contrary to the general im- 

 pression, the morals of Paris, if not high, are not super- 

 latively low ; for though these are depraved enough, they 

 are infinitely superior in many respects to those of Vienna, 

 Naples, Bucharest, and even Berlin, which is mora cir- 



