Feb. 3, 1881J 



NATURE 



317 



tions, now also form two series : the Science Parts being 

 published twice a year, in December and April, and the 

 Polite Literature and Antiquary Part once a year, in 

 December. Quite recently the Academy have determined 

 to publish another series of quarto Transactions under 

 the title of " The Cunningham Memoirs," part i of the 

 first volume of which, containing a memoir by Dr. John 

 Casey, F.R.S., on Cubic Transformations, has just 

 appeared. 



The publications of the Ro\-al Dublin Societx- are of 

 the same type as those of the Irish Academy, e.xcept that 

 they are exclusively confined to science. Of their new 

 series of Transactions, parts i to 13 of volume i have 

 been published, and for convenience of publication the 

 first two parts of volume 2, containing " Observations of 

 Nebula: and Star Clusters, 1S4S-187S," by the Earl of 

 Rosse, have also appeared. The first two volumes of 

 these Prcccedinos have been published, and a part makes 

 its appearance pretty regularly every third month. Fol- 

 lowing the example of the .Academy, the memoirs forming 

 the Transactions are published separately. 



It would thus appear that not only is there evidence of 

 scientific life among the societies of Dublin, but that 

 there is also an abundant opportunity for the publication 

 of any really valuable scientific information, and so far 

 at least as the publications of the Irish Academy are 

 concerned they fall in no respect as regards type, paper, 

 or illustrations, behind the best of our London societies. 



JOHN DUNCAN 



ALONG with a cheque for 5/. to John Duncan, whose 

 story was told by Mr. W. Jolly in NATURE of 

 January 20, we have received the following note from 

 Mr. W. Westgarth : — 



January 27, 18S1 

 Dear Sir,— On reading the account of John Duncan in your 

 last week's issue, it occurred to me that surely your readers would 

 respond to your invitation to get up a small fund, say of 100/. to 

 200/., for the brave old man who has so long and perseveringly 

 fought, and against all "odds," for the cause of .-science and 

 mind. 1 enclose 5/. towards the object. Should you see objec- 

 tions to opening a list in Natdrf, please send on my small dole 

 to Mr. JoUy as he directs. W. Westgarth 



We have the greatest pleasure in acting upon Mr. 

 Westgarth's hint, and we trust that many of our readers 

 will be prompt to follow his good example. Subscriptions 

 addressed to the Editor of Nature, 30, Bedford Street, 

 Covent Garden, W.C, will be duly forwarded. We have 

 already received the following : — 



£ s. a. 



W. Westgarth 500 



Publishers of Nature 5 5° 



F.R.S o 10 o 



Mrs. Forster 100 



CASSELL'S NATURAL HISTORY^ 

 'T'HE third volume of this useful cyclopjedia of zoology 

 ■*■ consists of the concluding portion of the Birds by 

 R. Bowdler Sharpe, and of the Reptiles and .Amphibia by 

 the Editor. On glancing over the well-printed and beauti- 

 fully-illustrated pages, a few facts have struck us, to which, 

 for the benefit of the series, we would call the editor's 

 attention. In the opening sentence of Chapter 1. of 

 this volume we are referred to "the preceding chap- 

 ters " for an account of the Picarian birds. The context 

 proves it should be to the preceding volume. This, 

 which might mislead the reader, is evidently the result 

 of the publication of the work in parts, and could be 

 easily avoided. 



All through Mr. Sharpe's portion of the work, when 

 the scientific names of birds are referred to they are 



■ "Cassell's Natural History." Edited by Prof. P. Iilartin Duncan, 

 M.B,, F.R.S. Vol. III. (London, Paris, and New York: Cassell, Petter, 

 G.nlpin, and Co., 1880.) 



quoted generally within brackets in the same line as the 

 popular name ; while in the editor's special portion no 

 such useful uniformity is attended to. Sometimes, as on 

 p. 245, the eye has to wander from the text to foot-notes 

 at the bottom of the page ; sometimes, as at p. 248, the 

 name is quoted after Mr. Sharpe's fashion (for a mixture 

 of both styles see p. 362). The use of the word "kind," 

 when the editor refers to " species," is in our judgment, 

 though perhaps sanctioned by its use in the English 

 translation of the Bible, not happy. Thus we read that, 

 while genera among the reptiles are abundant, " kinds " 

 are numerous. The "kinds" of some families swim 

 freely; some "kinds" have a skin; by the way, what 

 kind of a reptile be it that has no skin ? In other cases 

 the word "member" instead of species is used. Is it 

 not a mistake to say that in many Chelonians "the well- 

 known ' tortoise-shell ' covers over all the hind parts." 

 Surely in Carctta squamosa the tortoise-shell plates cover 

 over most of the carapace. While the families of the 

 Chelonian order are given, we find, when we come to the 

 Lacertine order, no intelligible mention of the families of 

 the split-tongued lizards. In referring to the important y- 

 paper on Archaopteryx by the Professor of Geneva, the 

 editor ought to have seen that the name of Carl Vogt 

 was correctly spelled. The divisions of the Snakes is 

 such as must necessarily confuse any student. The sub- 

 order Thanatophidia is made to include two sub-orders 

 in the text, when in the table of classification one of 

 these sub-orders, Solenoglypha, is called a family. The 

 groove-fanged Opisthoglypha are included with the Agly- 

 phodontia with solid teeth. In a work of this nature 

 nothing is, we take it, of more importance than that there 

 should be some well-defined system of classification, not 

 necessarily to be treated of in full detail, but as far as is 

 possible to be rigidly adhered to. That this is possible, 

 a glance over the sections of this and the previous 

 volume treating of Birds will abundantly demonstrate ; 

 and that this is practicable, even with an extreme com- 

 pression of space, is also to be proved by an appeal to 

 the way in which the eighth order of Birds is managed, 

 where, though only three pages were allowed to this most 

 interesting and important of orders, yet we are even in 

 these few lines enabled to get an idea of the orderly 

 sequence of its families. This work is in many ways so 

 excellent, that we venture on these criticisms with the 

 object of trying to keep it up to a fairly good standard, 

 and of making it useful in some measure as a work of 

 reference. 



As specimens of the excellent illustrations in this 

 volume we have, through the courtesy of the publishers, 

 the opportunity of presenting to our readers the two fol- 

 lowing. The Common Quail {Coiurni.r dactytisonans) 

 visits Europe in the summer, when prodigious numbers 

 are trapped and sold for purposes of food. Waterton 

 mentions that 17,000 specimens were brought to Rome in 

 one day. They are to be found in large quantities on 

 the coasts of the Mediterranean, and so abundant are 

 they in the beautiful Island of Capri, that it is said that 

 it was from this source that the bishops in the olden 

 times derived a large part of their wealth. The Quail is 

 most rapid in its flight, and performs long and fatiguing 

 journeys. Sunset is its time for active exertion ; during 

 the day it remains quite quiet, reserving its energies for 

 the evening, when it goes off in quest of food. 



Their favourite nourishment is insects, but at times 

 they feed on grain and seeds ; small stones are also 

 swallowed to facilitate digestion. The habits of the quail 

 are most unamiable and unsocial, and generally, when 

 they meet with one of their own species, they display a 

 very pugnacious disposition. The female has a much 

 better nature ; she is a most excellent mother, even pro- 

 tecting young 'birds who have been deprived of their 

 parents' care. She builds her nest of small portions of 

 plants, and lays eight to fourteen eggs ; these are pear- 



