ii8 



NATURE 



\yune 13, 1872 



the Solenhofcn stone, the Brown Coal of Bonn, the Mio- 

 cene limestone of Oeningen, and the Trias and Keuper 

 of Germany. 



Of English fossils the finest addition is that of the 

 Wetherell collection, the author of which was for more 

 than fifty years a dihgent collector of London clay fossils 

 at Highgate and its vicinity. This collection is a truly 

 Metropolitan series, and will, when the new Museum is 

 prepared, doubtless have, as it deserves, a suitable exhibi- 

 tion case. Altogether there have been added to the De- 

 partment of Geology a total of 4-,789 specimens. 



Mineralogical science is well cared for by Prof. Mas- 

 kelyne. Only 513 specimens have been added, but these 

 are each one a valuable addition to the cases. Among 

 the most important may be mentioned the Chlorides and 

 Iodides of Silver, in distinct crystals, from Chili, and a 

 series of remarkable crystals and masses of Iceland spar. 



In the Laboratory new minerals of the Dufrenite class 

 have been examined, to which the name "Andrewsite" 

 has been given ; a blue mineral from South Africa proves 

 on analysis to be " Percylite," only known hitherto in the 

 specimen preserved in the British Museum. The Cran- 

 bourne Meteorite is still being investigated. 



In the Botanical Department, Mr. Carruthers reports 

 a long series of important acquisitions during the past 

 year. Among other interesting additions to the exhibited 

 series may be named a series of microscopic preparations 

 of fossil plants, selected partly from the collection be- 

 queathed by Robert Brown, and partly from the specimens 

 subsequently acquired by the trustees, and exhibited 

 so as to show their minute structure by the help of fight re- 

 flected from mirrors. 



It will be seen that the key-note of the Report is the 

 hope of better times coming, not only for the National 

 Collection, but for its Officers, in the New Museum. In 

 this hope we most heartily concur, and trust that not the 

 least reform which will then be inaugurated will be the 

 entire modification of the present system, by which the 

 actual amount of instruction gained by the public appears 

 to be in inverse proportion to the vast resources of this 

 great establishment if well and ably administered. This 

 is not as it should be. There is no reason why the British 

 Museum should not become, under its new management, 

 one of the first educational establishments of the country. 



NEW WORKS ON GEOMETRY 



Solid Geometry and Conic Sections, with Appendices on 

 Transversals and Harm07iic Division; for the Use of 

 Schools. By J. M. Wilson, M.A. (Macmillan and Co. 

 1872.) 



Geometrical Note-Book, containing Easy Problems in 

 Geometrical Drawing preparatory to the Study of 

 Geometry; for the Use of Schools. By F. E. Kitchener, 

 M.A. 2nd edition, revised. (Macmillan and Co.) 



THESE works are by mathematical masters at Rugby 

 School. Their united aim (in connection with Mr. 

 Wilson's two previous parts) is to provide a complete 

 course of geometrical teaching, and so to meet a ciying 

 ■want of our schools, which has of late led to so much 

 agitation. It is now nearly four years since Mr. Wilson's 



first part and Mr. Kitchener's first edition appeared, at 

 which date an eminent reviewer, in his notice of the 

 " Elementary Geometry," remarked that the forces were 

 mustering for the battle. Since that time considerable 

 progress has been made in the agitation, and, thanks to 

 the Association for the Improvement of Geometrical 

 Teaching, which owes its origin in part to a correspon- 

 dence commenced in this journal, there seems to be a 

 fair prospect, if not of perfect success, yet of the whole 

 subject of geometrical teaching being placed on a more 

 satisfactory basis. 



The very first resolution put forward by this Association 

 in its second Annual Report is, " That some practical 

 familiarity with geometrical construction should precede 

 theoretical study ; and that the teaching of geometry 

 would gain by the free introduction of easy exercises and 

 numerical examples or illustrations." We presume that 

 a main object of Mr. Kitchener's book is to meet this 

 suggestion ; and from the fact of a second edition being 

 called for we may fairly suppose that it has met a felt 

 want. It will be barely necessary to do more here than 

 point out wherein this edition differs from its predecessor. 

 Without going into details, we may state that the size of 

 the page has been materially enlarged ; that instead of 

 blank spaces being left for figures to be drawn by pupils 

 on the printed pages, there are now inserted between 

 every two pages of type two sheets of admirable blank 

 paper. The paging is continued on these blank sheets. 

 There are three parts in the place of two ; the use of the 

 protractor is relegated to part ii. ; on p. 37 a return has 

 been made to Euclid's definition of parallels (this is 

 doubtless in consequence of the agreement come to and 

 embodied in the seventh resolution of the above cited 

 Report) ; the third part contains a few simple construc- 

 tions connected with tangency and the circumscription 

 of figures. There are apparently no typographical errors 

 in this well got-up work, and we take leave of it com- 

 mending it to all teachers engaged in the arduous task of 

 instilling geometrical notions into junior students' heads. 



It appears to us that the following are the only over- 

 sights to poir.t out : — Should not 7 precede 6 on p. 49? 

 Exercise 30, p. 25, should be expunged ; it is given on 

 p. 61, 4, where a definition is given which is wanting in 

 the former place. In Exercise 14, p. 62, the case of 

 parallel lines has been overlooked ; and on p. 50, for 514 

 we get 534 nearly =. 



To turn now to Mr. Wilson's book. This is charac- 

 terised by his usual clearness and ability. The selections 

 and the grouping are, in the main, all that we desire 

 in a school treatise ; we would, however, have preferred 

 a somewhat more extended treatment of the sphere and 

 cylinder. Some properties of the former are cited on p. 

 79 whicli have not been given in the work itself. A little 

 fuller notice of these solids would fit the book to meet the 

 requirements of candidates for the B.A. London Exami- 

 nation ; as by a recent extension of the University scheme 

 students are expected to be acquainted with the proofs of 

 the properties of these figures, which are assumed in trea- 

 tises on mensuration of solids. As indicated in the title, 

 the work consists of three parts ; the first part covers the 

 ground occupied by Euclid xi. i — 21, and further treats of 

 polyhedra and stereometry, the whole presented in a clear 

 and satisfactory manner, certainly in a form not hard to be 



