OCTOUER 29, 1908] 



NA TURB 



■59 



and iiianagenieiit are clearly based on l-cnowlcdge 

 ijained with the National type of producer, and would 

 not in every case be applicable to another form. 



The description on p. 56 of the arrangements in the 

 f'rossley plant for varying the entering mixture is 

 not \cry clear, and throughout the book but little is 

 said of the generators produced by this firm, and it is 

 limitations of this kind which are the chief fault that 

 can be urged against an otherwise admirable book. 



77/E y.l770.V.l/, COLLECTION OF I-ISUES. 



Guide lo the Gallery of Fishes in the Department of 

 Zoology of the British Museum (Natural History), 

 Cromwell Road, London, S.W. Pp. v+209. 

 (London : Printed for the Trustees, igo8.) Price is. 



THE unique collection described in this guide con- 

 sists mftinly of stuffed specimens, coloured, as far 

 as possible, to resemble the fishes in their natural 

 conditions. "I believe," says the director in the 

 preface. " that there is no other collection of fishes in 

 a public museum in which the specimens are pre- 

 sented without the usual iron supports, with sufficient 

 space around each fish and in natural colours, instead 

 of the oily-brown which all dried fishes tend to 

 acquire." All preserved material is kept in a separate 

 building, where it is accessible only to special appli- 

 cants. This arrangement is very desirable, since 

 arrays of jars displaying mystifying anatomical 

 details merely serve to distract the general student of 

 fishes who wishes to devote his attention to the ex- 

 ternal features of as many species as possible, acquir- 

 ing, at the same time, such information about each 

 as will enable him to understand their natural rela- 

 tionships, their places in the economy of nature, and 

 the special character and variety of fish-life in all its 

 aspects. This is the chief object of the collection, and 

 of the descriptive labels attached to each specimen 

 case. " This guide is a collection of the labels with 

 some additions, arranged systematically so as to show 

 the groups into which fishes are divided, and is illus- 

 trated by figures which are to a large extent taken 

 from photographs of the specimens actually seen in 

 the cases." * 



The variety and interesting character of the in- 

 formation given in this guide is fairlv illustrated by 

 the following samples : — 



" The Herring, Clupea harengus, 255, is found on 

 both European and American sides of the North 

 Atlantic, and is especially abundant in the North Sea 

 and off Norway. It may thus be regarded as a 

 northern and a cold-water fish. The ' Herring ' of 

 the North Pacific is of another species, Clupea pallasi. 

 The Herring fisheries of the North Sea take place 

 during the spawning season, which reaches its height 

 in June off Shetland, and in November off Lowestoft. 

 The fishing fleets move southwards as the centre of 

 shoaling shifts from point to point. The spawn of 

 the Herring, unlike that of most food fishes, even 

 the allied Pilchard and Sprat, sinks to the bottom; 

 but the fish are mostly caught near the surface in 

 drift-nets, which may be more than a mile in length 

 for each boat. .About 8,000,000 cwt. of Herrings, 

 valued at more than 2,000,000/., are annuallv landed 



NO. 2035, VOL. 78] 



in Great Britain. Tlie largest Herrings come from 

 Loch Fyne, in Scotland." 



" The .Sea-breams and Snappers belong to tlio 

 family Sparidae ; they are coast fishes, widely distri- 

 buted, and mostly carnivorous. The spinous and 

 soft portions of the dorsal fin are continuous and 

 nearlv equal in extent; the lower rays of the pectoral 

 fin are branched; the lower pharyng'eal bones are 

 separate. The genera of the family are distin- 

 guished the one from the other chiefly by the char- 

 acters of the teeth." 



In view of the recent rapid growth of our know- 

 ledge and increasing public concern regarding our 

 food-fishes, it is not surprising that special attention 

 has lately been devoted by the keepers of the gallery 

 to these fishes. They arc distinguished from other 

 fishes by the letters B.F.F. (British Food Fish), 

 while the descriptive labels attached to each specimen 

 give the latest information (repeated in this guide) 

 concerning its economic importance and value, the 

 principal fishing grounds, means of capture, food, and 

 habits. 



-Altogether, it may safely be said that a student 

 who conscientiously examines the fish series in the 

 national collection and who assimilates the informa- 

 tion contained in this guide will acquire an accurate, 

 vivid, and comprehensive knowledge of the world of 

 fishes, a possession not only valuable in itself, but the 

 best possible foundation for more special studies. 



W. W. 



THE RESISTANCE AND PROPULSION OF 

 SHIPS. 

 IIvdrauHcs. In two vols. Vol. ii.. The Resistance 

 and Propulsion of Ships. By Prof. Dunkerley. Pp. 

 iv + 253. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 

 1908.) Price 10s. 6d. net. 



THIS is the second volume of a treatise on hydrau- 

 lics written by the author. Its origin may be 

 traced to his previous service as professor of applied 

 mechanics in the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, 

 where students of naval architecture and marine en- 

 gineering taking advanced courses receive instruction 

 in the resistance and propulsion of ships. A good 

 text-book on these subjects, bringing information up 

 to date, has been much needed, and this volume (of 

 about 250 pages) will be welcomed. It brings 

 together in a clear and compact form the modern 

 theories of stream-lines and wave-motion, and sum- 

 marises experimental investigations on resistance and 

 propulsion, thus sparing readers the labour and 

 trouble incidental to personal research in many and 

 scattered publications containing the original papers 

 of Rankine, WiUiam Froude, Scott Russell, Cotterill, 

 R. E. Froude, and other authorities. The mathe- 

 matical parts of the book are well written, and the 

 descriptive sections are interesting ; numerous diagrams 

 assist the explanations. Practical applications of 

 scientific methods to the design of steamships and 

 their propellers find a place, although no attempt is 

 made to intrude on the special province of the naval 



