200 
_ truly represent the original compounds, the task becomes 
quite easy. It follows naturally from these assumptions 
that the acids determined in the mineral are found insuffi- 
cient for the lime present ; the existence of organic acids 
is therefore next assumed, and “organate of lime” ap- | 
pears in the author’s analyses as an ingredient of mineral 
phosphates ! R. W. 
LIGHT SCIENCE 
Anecdotal and Descriptive Natural History. By A. 
Romer.—Z7he Jvy. A Monograph, By Shirley 
Hibberd.—Buds and Blossoms. Stories for Children. 
—Fairy Mary’s Dream. By A. F. L. (Groombridge 
and Sons.) 
T is very gratifying to see works of the above class 
brought out,—books which it is supposed, are calcu- 
lated to amuse as well as instruct. Ten years ago they 
would have been a dead loss to the publisher, and their 
publication now is one of the surest proofs that science 
is permeating all classes and is appreciated by persons of 
all ages. 
Mr. Romer’s beautiful book explains in the introduc- 
tory chapter in a clear and simple manner the classes 
and’ orders of the Animal Kingdom, and then goes on to 
describe the haunts and habits of the best known fre- 
quenters of the jungle and prairies, such as the lion, 
cheetah, and rhinoceros, giving particular attention to the 
monkey tribe and bears. The book is enlivened by 
numerous anecdotes and contains coloured plates and 
wood engravings. 
“The Ivy” is a monograph comprising the history, 
uses, characteristics, and affinities of the plant, and a 
descriptive list of the garden ivies in cultivation. The 
book is most luxurious and tasteful, both in binding and 
letterpress. The plates, coloured with great delicacy, 
represent the various kinds of ivy, and so natural are the 
leaves, that one is almost tempted to take one up. A 
coloured sketch of the Entrance Gate of Conway Castle, 
surrounded by specimens of ivy, forms the title-page ; 
the letterpress is thickly interspersed with sketches of 
“ivied castles, and churches, and quotations from Virgil, 
Euripides, Harleian Manuscripts, Shakespeare, Words- 
worth, and the modern poets.” An interesting part of the 
work is the author’s historical and literary memoranda 
from the times when the ivy was called “the plant of 
Osiris” by the Egyptians down to the time when its 
praises were sung in that famous song, by Charles 
Dickens, “ The Ivy Green.” 
“ Buds and Blossoms,” a book containing ten stories, 
will be a welcome addition to a child’s library ; the last, 
called the “Fir-tree’s Story,” being particularly pretty. 
This little volume contains several coloured plates and 
woodcuts, and the title-page is gracefully illuminated. 
“Fairy Mary’s Dream,” another charming book for 
children, is in the form of a poem, The illustrations are 
_well done. The colouring of the peacock’s feathers on the 
title-page and in the plate “ Till on a green fern’s nodding 
crest” is exquisite; and besides the plates there are 
many engravings descriptive of the butterfly’s journey. 
Ww. L, 
NATURE 
| Fan. 16, 1873 
OUR BOOK SHELF 
Patholog isthe Histologie der Luftwege und der Lunge. 
Von Dr. Albert Thierfelder. Atlas of six plates (Leip- 
zig, 1872). 
ALTHOUGH death and disease are“as much a part of 
Nature as life and health, yet it is found convenient to 
separate the study of living structures under morbid 
conditions from the rest of biology, so that a work like 
the present must in these pages be more briefly noticed 
than its importance would de-erve. 
It is more than fifteen years since the publication of 
the late Prof. Férster’s Atlas of Morbid Histology; and 
when we consider all that has been done in that time, re- 
presented in such volumes as those of Virchow, of Forster 
himself, of Rindfleisch, of Cornil and Ranvier, we see ~ 
ample reason for the issue of a new series of plates illus- 
trating the subject. The present He/f is the first instal- 
ment of the complete work, which is to consist of ten 
such, each complete in itself. The drawings are ad- 
mirably executed both by Dr, Thierfelder and by the 
engraver. The text is strictly limited to explaining them, 
and is therefore much shorter than in Eiker’s physio- 
logical atlas, for instance; but in the present state of 
pathology we regard this as a merit. The selection of 
subjects for illustration is always difficult: it might be 
objected that some of these drawings (e.g. fig. 2 of Pl. I.) 
represent little but normal tissues; but, on the whole, 
practical pathologists will not have room to complain on 
this score. Some patriotic anatomists will be glad to see 
“die von den Englandern supposirte Basementmem- 
brane” taking its place without question here. The price 
of these beautiful plates is very moderate, and we heartily 
wish Dr. Thierfelder success in completing his work, 
Coalfields, Western Port. Report of the Board to the 
Colonial Government, Victoria. 
THE Government of Victoria are determined to find a 
workable coal-field in that colony, and, apparently not 
satisfied with the examination of the mesozoic rocks 
made by the extinct Geological Survey, have had the 
same strata re-examined by a mining engineer acting 
under the direction of a Board. The results of these 
further investigations are embodied in this final Report, 
but they add little or nothing to our previous knowledge, 
Indeed the Report seems to be for the most part a work 
of supererogation. The geological age of the coal-bear- 
ing strata had already been definitely ascertained by Mr, 
Selwyn and his staff, yet the Report goes into this ques- 
tion at considerable length as if it was quite a novelty. 
Then, as regards the extent of the actually proved coal- 
seams, Mr, Selwyn, as is well known, expressed an un- 
favourable opinion. Upon his geological map of Cape 
Patterson the coal-seams exposed upon the coast are pro- 
tracted inland so as to show the approximate area over 
which they extend, and this is only some 106 acres. So 
experienced a geologist as Mr. Selwyn was not likely to 
misread the evidence which is so clearly and abundantly 
developed along the coast. But the Board believe that 
“any calculations based on the bearings of the strike of 
seams in this locality are unreliable.” There does not 
appear, however, to be anything specially mysterious and 
abnormal about the coal-vearing strata of Cape Patterson, 
nor is there any reason why they should not “ behave” 
like similar deposits elsewhere. The Geological Survey’s 
map shows a very small area of workable coal, and per- 
haps this is why the strike and dip on the well-exposed 
coast at Cape Patterson are considered unreliable—the 
wish in this case being father to the thought. Mr, Selwyn © 
and Professor M‘Coy both believed it possible that at 
some considerable depth below the coal-seams of Cape 
Patterson a better coal-field might be got. The Board, 
however, does not think this likely. Here, again, we 
| should be inclined to pay more deference to the opinion 
