THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 75 



volume, and the habitat of every bird is indicated. The work will 

 be well indexed, and includes a glossary of the terms used and an 

 ilustration of a bird's external characters. 



The Australian Museum. — The forty-fifth annual report, for 

 1898, of the Trustees of the Australian Museum, Sydney, has just 

 been issued, and enables one to gain some idea of the great 

 amount of work carried out in that fine institution during a year. 

 The list of donations alone fills thirteen closely printed foolscap 

 pages, and these, together with purchases and exchanges, amount 

 to no less than 16,711 specimens. The number of specimens in 

 the Museum is not given, but the library now numbers about 

 8,500 volumes. It states that the second edition of the " De- 

 scriptive Catalogue of the Nests and Eggs of Birds Breeding in 

 Australia and Tasmania " is in course of preparation, and early 

 publication is anticipated. This will be in quarto form and 

 consist of about 500 pages. The catalogue will contain particulars 

 of the habits, nests, and eggs, and in fact the life-histories of all the 

 different species of Australian birds, illustrated by some 600 figures 

 of eggs and a large number of plates of birds and their nests, 

 many of which will be hand-coloured. The work is being 

 prepared under the direction of Mr. A. J. North, C.M.Z.S., the 

 Ornithologist of the Museum, and will be a valuable addition to 

 the literature of Australian ornithology. A special feature of the 

 volume will be the publication of illustrations and descriptions 

 of the birds recently discovered by the Horn and Calvert 

 exploring expeditions in Central and North-West Australia. In 

 addition to its scientific character, the catalogue will indicate 

 whether the birds are beneficial or injurious to the agriculturist, 

 orchardist, or viticulturist. As in the case of similar insti- 

 tutions in other colonies, the Trustees complain that the work 

 of the Museum is greatly hampered by inadequate funds. 



Early Chapters in Science. — An exceedingly interesting first 

 book of knowledge for young people has just been published by 

 John Murray, London, price six shiUings. It is from the pen of 

 Mrs. Awdry, and has been revised by eminent scientists and 

 edited by Professor W. F. Bartlett. It deals with natural history, 

 botany, physiology, physics, and chemistry, which are grouped 

 into two parts. The first, of 198 pages, called "The World of 

 Life," deals with the animal and vegetable kingdoms, while the 

 second, of 139 pages, called "The World of Experiment," deals 

 with the forces of nature. The book is well illustrated, and is 

 worth reading by older persons than those for whom it is 

 primarily intended. 



New Silurian Fossils. — The Geological Magazine for May, 

 1899, contains, among the original articles, one by the late Prof. 

 Sir F. McCoy, F.R.S., probably his last paper, entitled " Note on 



