366 Anthropology at the British Association. 



At Caerwent the exploration of the Romano-British site has 

 been continued under the supervision of Dr. Ashby, Director 

 ■of the British School at Rome. The ground plan of the Forum 

 and Basihca has now been completed. A post-Roman burial 

 ground was also discovered. It is to be hoped that a careful 

 anthropometrical examination of the bones will be made before 

 re-interment. 



Mr. Sidney Hartland supplied another suggestive folk-lore 

 paper upon 'The Origin of Mourning Dress.' It will be re- 

 membered that Professor Frazer suggests that mourning is a 

 survival of the idea of a protective disguise to deceive the 

 easily-cozened ghost of the departed. Mr. Hartland suggests 

 that the real intention seems to have been an expression of 

 sorrow and abasement in order to deprecate the malice of the 

 disembodied spirit. This suggestion is interesting. 



Other papers of interest were Rev. Dr. Irving's on the dis- 

 covery of a skeleton of a prehistoric horse at Bishop Stortford ; 

 Miss C. Fletcher on ' Archaeological Activities in the United 

 States ' ; Mr. H. D. Acland on ' Prehistoric Monuments in the 

 Scilly Isles ' ; and Mr. Sutherland on ' The Excavation of the 

 Broch of Cogle, Caithness.' 



Synopsis of the Orthoptera of Western Europe, by Malcolm Burr, D.Sc, 

 F.L.S., etc. London : Oliver Janson & Son, 44 Gt. Russell Street, W.C. 

 This is a most useful book, and one that was much needed. It consists 

 really of a series of papers which have appeared from time to time in the 

 pages of the ' Entomologists' Record,' and it is well that they have now 

 been put into such convenient form for work by students of this interesting 

 order of insects. In the 160 pages the book contains will be found concise 

 but clear descriptions of all the species known to occur in Europe on the 

 western side of the Carpathians ; and these, with the Tables of Genera and 

 Species, cannot fail to help the systematic collector immensely. Many 

 of the known localities of the various species are given, though Dr. Burr 

 has evidently overlooked not a few of the records for the British species. 

 As an instance (among many) only five English localities are given for 

 Xiphidium dovsale, its well-known habitat in South Devon, and Wicken 

 and Chippenham Fens in Cambridgeshire, being entirely omitted, although 

 the species has probably been taken more abundantly at Chippenham 

 than anywhere else. The great value of the book to British collectors 

 will be the descriptions of those European species which have not yet been 

 recorded from Britain, but some of which, owing to their close rela'tionship 

 to one or two of our commonest species, have probably been overlooked ; 

 and we shall be surprised if the publication o+" this book does not, in the near 

 future, be the means of adding species to our meagre list of British repre- 

 sentatives of the order. The book is nicely got up, and the arrangement 

 of the type is everything that can be desired". At the modest price of three 

 shillings, it should be in the library of every working entomologist. The 

 thanks of all orthopterists will be ungrudgingly given to Dr. Burr for this 

 .contribution to the literature of their special order. — G. T. P. 



Naturalist, 



