"A NATURE 
Lake Tempe are also considerable sheets of water. Their 
great depth is notable ; Lake Posso is 160 fathoms deep, 
Lake Motana 260 fathoms. The authors believe that 
they are of tectonic origin and are due to depression in 
the synclines between the mountain uplifts. They may 
be flanked by lines of fault, and the very steep slopes of 
their shores, as shown by the soundings, is easily ex- 
plained on this hypothesis. Their resemblance to the 
Central African lakes is close and is heightened by the 
presence in them of a molluscan fauna the affinities of 
which are said to be Miocene. Their great depth would 
appear to be against their Miocene origin, but as the 
areas that drain into them are small, it may well be that 
the deposition of sediment is too slow to have produced 
any very great effects. It is suggested that depression 
has also taken place and has counterbalanced the 
accumulation of alluvial material brought down by the 
streams. 
In conclusion, it may be noted that the work contains 
a full bibliography of the geology and geography of 
Celebes, and the description of each district is accom- 
panied by a synopsis of the observations of previous 
travellers. 
OUR BOOK SHELF. 
By W. W. Fowler. 
222: 
Pp. 
More Tales of the Birds. 232. 
illustrated. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 
Price 3s. 6d. 
THIS is a delightful little book of stories, admirably 
written and beautifully illustrated, in which birds play a 
more or less important part. It is in no way one of the 
numerous works on the popular natural history of birds 
with which the market is nowadays flooded, but strikes a 
line peculiarly its own. In the first chapter we have a 
pathetic story of a young soldier whose thoughts were 
turned to home and its associations during the Waterloo 
campaign by a lark’s nest which escaped destruction 
although situated in the midst of the great battle-field. 
The second deals with the toils and troubles of a house- 
martin, as supposed to be narrated by the bird itself. In 
regard to the reason for the annual migration, the bird is 
made to say: ‘‘We always do come here, and our 
ancestors always came, so I suppose we shall go on doing 
it. Besides, this is reallyour home. We were born here, 
you see ; and when the heat begins in South Africa there 
comes a terrible feeling in our hearts, a terrible home- 
sickness, and we mus¢ go.” Evidently, so far as birds 
are concerned, the author does not believe in the theory 
that Africa was a great centre of animal evolution. 
Jackdaws, magpies and starlings severally form the 
texts for other chapters. To ornithologists, perhaps, 
the interest of the book will centre on the exquisite illus- 
trations, by the accomplished pencil of Miss F. L. Fuller, 
which are alone worth the price charged. Although there 
are some to whom this class of writing does not appeal, 
many readersfof all ages and both sexes will doubtless 
find pleasant occupation for a spare hour or two in this 
bright and entertaining little volume. R 
College Algebra. By L. E. Dickson, Ph.D. Pp. viii + 
214. (New York: Wiley and Sons. London : Chapman 
and Hall, Ltd., 1902.) 
THE usual profession of “rigour” is followed here by the 
usual i inaccuracies. On page vii.we are told that = means 
“equal” ; on p. 69 it is stated without proof that if 7 is a 
proper fraction the limit of 7" is zero when 7 increases 
indefinitely ; the discussion of the exponential theorem in 
art. 129 is thoroughly unsound, and the proof that every 
equation has a root (pp. 211-12) is marred by serious 
NO. 1696, VOL. 66] 
[May 1, 1902 
defects. On the other hand, the chapters on logarithms, 
mathematical induction and theory of equations are 
good. Probably this book has been written rather 
hastily ; otherwise it is difficult to understand how such 
a competent mathematician as the author is known to be 
should have overlooked so many deficiencies. Even in 
the chapter on the binomial theorem for any index, he 
calmly applies the rule for multiplying two power-series 
without discussing its validity either there or in any 
other passage of the book! Finally, Mr. Charles Smith 
is made responsible for the assertion that the binomial 
expansion of (1 +x)" converges for x=1 if ~ <~—1. 
Very likely this is an uncorrected misprint for z >—1; 
but why refer to Mr. Smith instead of to Abel’s classical 
memoir ? M. 
A Laboratory Manual of Physics. By H. Crew, Ph.D. 
and R. R. Tatnall, Ph.D. Pp. xii + 230. (New York: 
The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan and 
Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price 5s. 
EACH exercise commences with references to certain 
school text-books, but, unfortunately for the British reader, 
these are all American works, and, so far as the reviewer 
knows, they are not used in any schools here. We are 
amused to find that metre scales are called metre 
“sticks” in the States. There is a good simple chapter 
on inertia, and a form of inertia balance is described. It 
seems tous a mistake to omit all experiments on velocity 
and acceleration because of their difficulty. Friction 
occurs in all real machines, and it ought to be studied in 
elementary works. The apparatus is generally of quite a 
simple character and very suitable for school use. Ap- 
pendix A contains an extract from one of Boyle’s papers 
in which he describes an instrument virtually the same 
as Nicholson’s hydrometer, and the authors call attention 
to this in their description of that instrument. The book 
will prove very useful in conjunction with the text-books 
to which references are made. 
Photographic Apparatus. Making and Repairing. By 
F. W. Cooper, D. W. Gawn and others. Edited by 
E. Brown. Pp. xvi+ 128. (London: Dawbarn and 
Ward, Ltd., 1902.) Price Is. 
IT is not every photographer who wishes to make or 
repair his own apparatus, but those who are acquainted 
with the use of tools will find this small book a useful 
help if they require it in aiding them to fit up all kinds of 
convenient accessories to the photographic camera and 
dark room. The information given is concise and the 
instructions are clear ; and numerous illustrations, 180 in 
number, are included which materially aid the text from 
a beginner’s point of view. The ground covered is by no 
means meagre, for the worker is made acquainted with 
such subjects as the studio and studio fitments, the dark 
room and its fixtures, cameras and accessories, printing 
and enlarging apparatus, concluding with numerous and 
useful miscellaneous attachments. That the instructions 
are the result of practice is shown by the numerous 
writers on the varied subjects, most of the information 
being reprinted with additions from articles in The 
Photogram. 
Monographie der Gattung Ree hus. Von Dr. 
Jakob von Sterneck (Trautenau). bhandlungen der 
k.k. zool.-botan. Gesellschaft in Wiee, Band i., Heft 2, 
October 31, 1901.) Pp. 150. (Wien: Holder.) 
AN exhaustive monograph of a genus of plants, poy 
known under the names of Fistularia, L., Rhinanthus, L., 
Alectorolophus (Haller), Allioni, and Mimulus, Scopoli- 
Fifty-one species and two hybrids are described by the 
author. The genus is most numerous in Europe (a familiar 
British representative being a common meadow-plant, 
known as the Yellow Rattle) ; but it also extends through- 
out a considerable portion of temperate Asia and North 
— 
