210 
NATURE 
[¥an. 12, 1871 

and flows through the country of the Chunchamayo In- 
dians, a wild tribe, hostile to the Peruvians and but 
little known to them. The soundings were found to give 
from three to five fathoms in depth and the width was 
about 100 yards. The course of the river was east for 
1,000 yards from its confluence and then north. 
In the valley of Chunchamayo the forests consist of 
trees of extraordinary size, and the villages are numerous. 
According to Padres Amich and Sobrevista, the Indians 
belong to the tribe of the Amayos. The chief object of 
search of the expedition was the Cerro del Sal, or the 
Salt Hill, from which the Indians obtain that necessary 
article, The expedition consider they ascertained the 
region of it ina sandstone formation, 
The expedition observed plantations of cocoa (coca ?) 
and Indian corn, and on the banks of the river fishing huts, 
with nets and fittings for catching and salting fish. What 
was most striking was an iron furnace of a square form, 
about two yards high, and five feet each way, constructed of 
bricks eighteen inches long. It was worked witha double 
bellows, and supplied with coal, wood, and pounded ore. 
Water for the tanks was brought from a height in landers 
of bark hides. There were about twenty or thirty hun- 
dredweight of cast-iron. The whole excited the admira- 
tion of Mr. James Greg, owner of the Lima Iron Foundry, 
who accompanied the expedition. 
The party fully ascertained the presence of salt, and 
considered they had found the vein of salt reputed to be 
ten miles in length, as they found it consisted of earth 
with particles of salt and quartz crystals. On digging 
down they found that the salt increased. 
The Indians use the bow and arrow, and seemed much 
afraid of firearms. The commander recommends as 
the best mode of subduing them that the Salt Hill 
shall be taken possession of. It is considered that a 
navigable point has been found about 200 miles from the 
capital City of Lima, and by means of which it can 
obtain communication with the Atlantic. The Govern- 
ment is strongly urged to send a more powerful expedition. 
HYDE CLARKE 


BRITISH DIATOMACEZ * 
(3 is now some years ago since Mr. Van Voorst pub- 
lished for Messrs. Smith and Beck two volumes of a 
“ Synopsis of British Diatomaceze,” by Prof. William Smith, 
of Cork, which were beautifully illustrated by Mr. Tuffen 
West. The latter volume of this Synopsis was published 
in 1856, and even then the number of new forms of these 
minute silicious Algze had rendered necessary the prepa- 
ration of a supplement which, however, owing to the death 
of the author, never appeared. Since 1856 many and 
important works and memoirs on the diatoms have been 
published, and not only have the pages of the Quarterly 
Journal of Microscopical Science contained numerous 
writings on this subject, but workers like Rabenhorst, 
Grunow, and Cleeve have continued to add to not only the 
number of species, but to the amount of our knowledge of 
the Diatomacez. We venture, nevertheless, to think that 
the time had not quite come to write anew a history of 
the British Diatomacez. The difficulty of finding good 
specific characters remains just as great as it was when 
Smith’s work was published, and the number of local lists 
recorded has been too few to give us anything like an idea 
of the geographical distribution of these forms ; still we 
should be sorry not to welcome one of Mr. Van Voorst’s 
series of British Natural History works, a series of which 
we have every reason to be proud; almost their only 
drawback being incidental to the method in which 
the works of the series are published, viz. in numbers, by 
* “The Natural History of the British Diatomacez.” By Arthur Scott 
Donkin, M.D. Part x. Nov. 1, 1870, (London; J. Van Voorst, Illus- 
trated with Plates by Tuffen West, F.L.S.) 


which it too often happens that there is a want of uni- 
formity between the earlier and later portions of the 
work. 
Dr. Donkin’s work is to consist of two parts, “ the first 
will be introductory, and contain a full account of the 
Diatomacez and a new classification based on their struc- 
ture and mode of development ;” and the second, which 
is to be published first, “ will be synoptical, and give an 
accurate and succinct description of all the known British 
genera and species. The synonyms of each species will be 
fully given with the view of rendering the work more 
valuable for the purpose of reference.” There strikes us as 
being something quaintly simple in the words we have 
italicised. Fancy an apology for giving synonyms, as 
if they were something or another that people did not 
care about ! 
Part one (pp. 1 to 14.and plates 1 to 4) now lies before us. 
The execution of the plates disappoints us. We know that 
the artist’s right hand is very far from having lost its cun- 
ning, and yet the figures hereare, to our mind. much inferior 
to the figures by the same hand in Smith’s work. 500 
diameters, too, is a large scale for the amplification, and 
will only unduly increase the number of plates—it does not 
appear either to have contributed to greater distinctness 
of detail. Plate 3 is open before us. Fig. 3 we should 
consider scarcely recognisable ; and fig. 7 is greatly less 
true to nature in both outline and proportion than one also 
of the same species before us by Grunow. 
The first familytreated of in the text is the Naviculea. 
No synonyms are given to the genus Vavicu/a, but we 
learn from the diagnosis and from the remarks in the text 
that Pinzularia Ehrb., as emended by Smith, is reduced 
to the rank of a synonym of this genus ; so that Navicula 
will be a genus very full of species, and we venture to 
suggest that there will be great difficulty in many instances 
in determining whether to refer a species to the section 
with flattened or convex valves. The initials M. V, are 
used to express a view of the frustule, exhibiting the 
median connecting zone, and the margins of the valves; 
this we welcome as an improvement. 
Perhaps this is hardly a fitting place to criticise very 
closely-the species given inthis part. Opinions may differ 
very widely indeed as to what is a species among these 
little Algee, still we think it questionable if JV. didyma 
var. Smith, Synop. vol. i. p. 53, quoted as a synonym to 
NV. smithiz De Breb. is not greatly nearer VV. smithii var. 
Jusca Ehrb. Again, we do not think that WV. Ayperborea 
Grun. is identical with P. fzsca Ehrb. ; it differs both in out- 
line and details, and unless the difference in strize is to be 
altogether given up, Péznularia forficula O. M. cannot 
be regarded as synonym of JV. swborbicularis Ehrb. ; NV. 
nitescens Ehrb., and NN. suborbicularis Ehrb., are rightly 
kept as separate species, and we also approve of the 
separation of WV. s#dbsalina from NV. amphisbena. N. 
latissima Ehrb. is described as having striz distinctly 
granular, how then can Piunularia divaricata O.M., 
striz distinctly costate, be regarded as a synonym? It 
will not do to separate some forms and bring others to- 
gether exactly for the same reason. The habitats given 
are most meagre, and the work presents a contrast in this 
to the rest of Mr. Van Voorst’s series. Evenin cases where 
the author could have given Irish localities for rare and 
interesting forms, he has passed them over, and if we had 
not found a reference or two to the Lough Mourne De- 
posits in the County Down, we should have fancied that 
no Irish localities were to be given. 
_ We have been thus candidin our notice because we believe 
it possible with care to remove from this work the signs 
of its being slightly premature. It only needs to keep to 
its promise and give the syonyms in full, and to give the 
habitats in full, at least for uncommon forms, and lastly 
to make the figures more distinct, to make this “ N atural 
History of British Diatomaceze” a very valuable work. 
W. 

