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NATURE 



[Sept. 26, 1872 



of the earth's history. He correlated the predor.iuiance 

 of Cryptogams with the Primary epoch, of Gymnosperms 

 with the Secondai-y, and of Angiosperms with the Tertiary. 

 The discoveries of the half century that have elapsed since 

 Brongniart published his views have confirmed the broad 

 truth of his generalisations. Recently they have been ex- 

 pounded and illustrated by one who worthily follows his 

 illustrious countryman in this particular field of study, — by 

 the Comte de Saporta in the preface to his Tertiary Flora 

 of the South of France. 



Accepting this classification, which is so far both 

 systematic and stratigraphical, Prof. Balfour prepares the 

 student for dealing with the more obscure fossil remains 

 by introducing each epoch with a rt'mme of the leading 

 characters of the great group of plants which are found in 

 it, drawn from their living representatives. The fossils 

 characteristic of the various foripations then follow in de- 

 tail. The most recent observations are given. Look, for 

 example, at the illustrations and descriptions of the fructi- 

 fication of the Cryptogamic plants of the Coal measures — 

 the ferns, club-mosses and mares-tails — brought together 

 here for the first time. 



The numerous woodcuts and the admirable plates 

 greatly enhance the value of the volume. 



W-M. Carruthers 



THE BRITISH MUSEUM PHOTOGRAPHS 



Ph olographs from the Collections of the British Museum. 

 Taken by S. Thompson, ist Series. (London : W. A. 

 Mansell and Co.) 



A MONG all the varied purposes to which the art of 

 ^^^ photography has been applied, there is perhaps 

 none for which it has proved itself more valuable than for 

 the reproduction of ancient works of art. It matters not 

 whether it be the sublime conception of some ancient 

 Greek sculptor, the thorny-looking inscription on a 

 Babylonian brick, or the stone hatchet of some pre- 

 historic troglodyte, in each case the reproduction by the 

 camera, if executed by a competent operator, will give a 

 more vivid and faithful idea of the original than any 

 drawing by however skilful an artist. 



In the case of inscriptions, of minute patterns, of 

 delicacy of form, or of the distinctive character of an 

 object, the merely mechanical process, though not entirely 

 without its drawbacks, possesses a great advantage over 

 the skilful artist, inasmuch as it is entirely fiee from pre- 

 judice. The artist, however conscientious, is always prone 

 to draw incorrectly such details as he does not under- 

 stand, and to attempt some improvement in force and 

 effect in those which he fully appreciates. It is only in the 

 case of coins and of other small objects which it is neces- 

 sary to hold in more than one light in order fully to dis- 

 cern the details, that a good drawing is preferable to a 

 photograph ; and then the question arises, what is a good 

 drawing ? 



For rendering available to students the contents of a 

 museum, photography is invaluable. By it the objects 

 which, in many instances, it is impossible to study at 

 leisure in their repository, arc, as it were, rendered port- 

 able, and made available for extended examination at 

 home, and for reference at a moment's notice. It is with 



great satisfaction, therefore, that we see this series of 

 nearly a thousand quarto photographs of objects in our 

 national collections issued to the public by Messrs. Man- 

 sell and Co. It is divided into seven parts — ethno- 

 graphical and pre-historic, Egyptian, Assyrian, Grecian, 

 Etruscan and Roman, Mediieval, and Seals, and one great 

 advantage to the student is that he is by means of a 

 comprehensive catalogue enabled to make his own selec- 

 tion of such photographs as come within his own particular 

 province. 



That the choice of the objects to be photographed has 

 been judicious may be inferred from the fact that it has 

 been made by the aid of Dr. Birch, Mr. Charles New;on, 

 Mr. A. W. Franks, Mr. Murray, Mr. George Smith, and 

 Mr. Walter de Gray Birch, all well known for their labours 

 in the departments which they represent. Four of these 

 gentlemen have also prepared the catalogue. 



The photographs themselves are remarkably well and 

 clearly executed, the figures in all cases being sufficiently 

 large to make the details visible. We have but one fault 

 to find, which it is to be hoped may be easily remedied — 

 the absence of any scale on the photographs, and of any 

 dimensions in the catalogue. In the case of some of the 

 pre-historic and ethnographical objects it would also be an 

 advantage if further particulars were given as to the 

 localities from which they were obtained. 



The catalogue is accompanied by an interesting intro- 

 duction from the pen of Mr. Chailes Harrison, giving a 

 good general view of the progress of human civilisation, 

 which the objects photographed illustrate, and also giving 

 the rationale of the whole series. We cordially concur in 

 his hope that each local museum will have its objects 

 photographed, and that the plates like these may be made 

 accessible to the public at a fixed moderate cost. In the 

 meantime we commend these illustrations of our rich 

 national collection to the readers of Nature. 



OUR BOOK SHELF 



Autumns on tlic Spcy. By A. E. Knox, M.A., F L.S. 

 Author of " Ornithological Rambles in Susse.x, &c. 

 (London ; Van Voorst.) 



We have se'dom come across a book in which the diilce 

 and the utile, science and amusement, are so happily 

 combined as in the modest little volume before us. Mr. 

 Knox's main object, apparently, in spending his autumn 

 on the Spey, was to fish for salmon m that tr> ing river ; 

 and some of his wonderful achievements in this exciting 

 occupation are narrated in an almost fascinating, and cer- 

 tainly unpretentious manner, in a few of the chapters of 

 his booklet. But it would be a grtat mistake to consider 

 this merely a book of sport, and Mr. Knox nothing more 

 than a genial " piscator ;" he has already proved what 

 is confirmed by this his most recent work, that his 

 knowledge of British zoology, and especially ornithology, 

 is extensive and thorough. To any one who desires to 

 see the report of a trained and patient observer on the 

 zoology, and even geology, of the basin of the Spey and 

 and of contiguous districts, we would with confidence 

 recommend Mr. Knox's woik. It contains much that is 

 valuable and interesting on these subjects, and a good 

 deal that is new to many. Quite chaiming and very 

 curious is his account of the modus cpeiandi of a family 

 of crossbills {Loxia cmvirostris) which he watched while 

 standing under a tree, a few inches above his head, busily 

 engaged at their marvellous employment of splitting the 



