Oct. II, 1877] 



NA TURE 



499 



Southern India snd Ceylon, and the highest points of 

 which we recognise in the volcanic peaks of Bourbon and 

 Mauritius, and in the central range of Madagascar itself 

 —the last resorts of the mostly extinct Lemurine race 

 which formerly peopled it. When Wallace, whose utter- 

 ances on this subject everyone must read with the greatest 

 interest, puts forward a former junction of Madagascar 

 with Africa as beyond doubt — a junction which, hovvever, 

 must have terminated before the inroad into Africa of 

 . the more highly organised mammals — everyone will 

 allow this opinion to be at all events well founded. But 

 when he proceeds to state that the fauna of Madagascar 

 is manifestly of African origin, his assurances are based 

 upon very slender grounds. In truth the individuality of 

 the fauna of Madagascar is so unique that even that of 

 New Zealand can hardly be compared with it. Wallace's 

 attempted parallel between Madagascar and Africa, and 

 the Antilles and South America is, in our eyes, sufficiently 

 disproved by the occurrence in the Antilles of Trochilid;e, 

 one of the most characteristic forms of South America. 

 But in Madagascar not one single one of the genera most 

 characteristic of Africa occurs. This originality of the 

 fauna is much too pronounced to allow Madagascar to be 

 treated of only as a ' sub-region ' or as an ' aberrant part ' 

 of the .-Ethiopian region." 



To prove this position, Dr. Hartlaub in his interesting 

 introduction to the present work, recapitulates the points 

 in which the avifauna of " Lemuria " approximates to 

 that of India and diverges from that of Africa." 



" But the negative evidence," he adds, " is still stronger 

 in the same direction. The groups of Musophagidi-e, 

 Coliidic, Lamprotornithina.', Buphagidaj, Capitonidre, 

 IndicatoridiP, Bucerotid;B, and Otidinte, so eminently cha- 

 racteristic of Africa, are entirely absent in Madagascar, 

 besides the genera Gypogeramis, Helotarsus, Coracias, 

 Crateropus, Irrisor, Bradyoniis, Diyoscopus, Laniarius, 

 Tchphonits, Pn'onops, Platystua, Haxicola, Picatliartes, 

 Balceniceps, and others, which are remarkably rich in 

 individuals and species in Africa. Besides this. Larks 

 and Chats, which in the African fauna are specially 

 prominent on account of their numerous forms as well as 

 regards their individual and specific abundance, are only 

 represented by a single species in iiladagascar itself, and 

 in the rest of the sub-region not at all. 



" In conclusion," Dr. Hartlaub adds, "if we take a 

 glance at the families of the Madagascar sub-region as 

 compared with those of Africa, four of these (Mesitida;, 

 I'aictidit, Eurycerotida?, and Leptosomida;) are peculiar, 

 whilst the Diurnal Accipitres, Pigeons, Honeyeaters, and 

 Cuckoos, are richest in species. In a considerable degree 

 this is also^the case with the orders Gralla; and Anseres. 

 As contrasted with Africa the Fringillid;e, Meropida;, and 

 .Sturnidaj (represented by only one genus), are extra- 

 ordinarily poor. On the other hand, the Coraciida;, 

 Laniidee, Artamidje, TurdidK, Muscicapida:, Pycnono- 

 tidse, and Lusciniidffi, are remarkable for their peculiarly 

 modified types, and the Sittidie, which are quite unre- 

 presented in Africa, for the anomalous form HyphapcsP 



Such are Dr. Hartlaub's matured views on a subject 

 which he has long had before him, and is, above all per- 

 sons, qualified to speak. 



In concluding our notice we have only to thank him 

 on the part of ornithologists for his convenient and useful 

 volume, and to wish that the Avifauna of many other 

 countries were treated of in a similar manner. 



OUR BOOK SHELF 

 Pollen. By M. P. Edgeworth, F.L.S. Illustrated with 



446 figures. (London : Hardwicke and Bogue, 1877.) 

 Mr. Edgeworth informs us in the preface that this 

 work is a considerably altered edition of a paper laid 



before the Linnean Society last year, but withdrawn by 

 the author, on account of his omitting to notice the work 

 of other botanists, British and foreign, on the same 

 subject. The work chiefly consists of plates with the 

 explanations and a list of forms of pollen figured by other 

 authors, as well as some general remarks on the forms of 

 pollen in different families. The figures are all drawn to 

 scale, are fairly done, and there can be little doubt that 

 the microjcopist who loves pretty objects will promptly 

 avail himself of i\Ir. Edgeworth's assistance in following 

 up the subject. Very much valuable information is given 

 in this book and it cannot fail to be useful to the scientific 

 botanist. We feel, however, that Mr. Edgeworth does 

 not wholly command our confidence on account of certain 

 blunders he makes. Most of the German botanists have 

 their names misspelt. Thus he always calls Purkinje 

 " I'urjinke," Naegeli " Nagili," Rosanoff "Romanoff," 

 I'ollendcr " Pollcnden," Luerssen " Leursen." Surely if 

 Mr. Edgeworth had been familiar with the writings of 

 these men, he from merely seeing their names on their 

 papers, would not have blundered so strangely. Then 

 «e feel rather doubtful about his references as we have 

 failed to find any paper by "Nagili" in Pringsheim's 

 '' Jahrbvicher," \ol. iii. Naegeli's name does not occur at 

 all in the index to the first ten volumes of Pringsheim's 

 " Jahrbiicher." The third volume of the " Jahrbiicher " 

 was published in 1S63, while Naegeli's paper on the 

 development of the pollen was published at Zurich in 

 1842. We think the student would hardly find the papers 

 of " I'urjinke in Latin," " Kritsche in German " " Pol- 

 lcnden Bonn." Why not refer to the proper title of the 

 book or paper ? Pollendcr has published two papers on 

 pollen, at Bonn, one in 1S67, in quarto ; another in 1S6S, 

 in folio. To which does Mr. Edgeworth refer ? Then 

 surely it is too late in the day to describe the pollen of 

 the pine as consisting of " 2 grains of pollen connected as 

 it were by a broad band" (p. 8) ; or the pollen of some 

 Acanthaceaj as existing " in a peculiar coil, which can 

 be unwound," in both cases the peculiar development of 

 the extine being overlooked. Altogether, then, the work 

 has slightly disappointed us, but perhaps we should not 

 jud^e so much by the blemishes we notice in it, as by 

 the undoubted worth both to the amateur and scientific 

 botanist of the figures and references. 



Die A lister und die Austermairthschaft. Von Karl 

 Moebius. (Berlin : Wiegandt, Hempel, and Parey, 

 1877.) 



Ml CH has been said and more has been written about 

 oysters and their culture. Astonished by large figures 

 many writers wished to astonish their readers in a similar 

 way, and to induce the coast population of all civilised 

 countries to undertake the culture of enormous masses of 

 this most costly of all molluscs. Thus a belief has been 

 widely spread that wherever there was a coast and sea- 

 water, oyster-beds could be established and quantities of 

 oysters could annually be obtained without much trouble. 

 The little book we have under notice is therefore well 

 timed. It reduces to their proper and reasonable measure 

 all ideas on this subject in speculative heads, and, as 

 the author owns himself, it will for that reason be hardly 

 welcome to these would-be oyster cultivators. But it will 

 be all the more so to biologists, proprietors of oyster-beds, 

 and the educated public generally, since it contains 

 valuable details of the biology, the peculiarities, and the 

 Ife-conditions of oysters. It will, we have no doubt, also 

 find a favourable reception amongst those government 

 departments of the various states of Europe and America, 

 whose duty it is to superintend the oyster-fisheries and 

 the natural oyster-beds, since it will offer them a reliable 

 basis for their judgment in adopting or rejecting measures 

 relating thereto. Prof. Moebius gives a very able account 

 of the artificial oyster culture in France, and of the 

 attempts made in this country to introduce the French 



