56 THE VICTOEIAN NATURALIST. 



REVIEW. 



Geology of Tasmania, by R. M. Johnston, F.L.S. 



This work contains, in addition to much new matter, the prin- 

 cipal memoirs on the subject contributed by the author at various 

 times to the Royal Society of Tasmania. Unfortunately, it is 

 published in such an expensive form that, to the majority of 

 scientific students, the price is prohibitive. The chapter on the 

 methods of determining rocks could be dispensed with, being 

 adapted rather for a text-book of mineralogy than for a treatise 

 on the descriptive geology of a country. A great number of 

 plates are given as an appendix at the end of the volume. They 

 include landscapes, sections of strata, and drawings of the prin- 

 cipal fossils mentioned in the text. 



The long lists of fossils from the various sedimentary beds 

 which are supplied are of special interest, as they include many 

 forms of common occurrence with us, and thus demonstrate the 

 close connection existing between the. geological history of Tas- 

 mania and Victoria. In the table of tertiary mollusca a few shells 

 are mentioned twice, though under different names, sufficient care 

 not having been taken to exclude synonyms. The author's sub- 

 division of the tertiaries does not correspond exactly with that 

 adopted by Victorian geologists. It is probable, however, that 

 the key to the tertiary geology of Australia must be sought on 

 this side of Bass' Strait, where the deposits of the tertiary period 

 are more extensive than in Tasmania. 



The palaeozoic and mesozoic strata, as well as the igneous 

 rocks of the island, are treated of at length by Mr. Johnston. A 

 full account is also given of the various metalliferous ores found 

 in the colony. 



The book is remarkable as being mainly the result of one man's 

 labour, Mr. Johnston having personally examined almost every 

 locality he refers to. Our thanks are due to him for the manner 

 in which he has worked out, at the cost of much time and trouble, 

 some of the intricate problems of Tasmanian geology. J. D. 



Mr. R. H. Nancarrow. — We regret to announce the death of 

 one of the earliest members of our Club, Mr. R. H. Nancarrow, 

 of Neilborough, which took place on loth May. Mr. Nancarrow 

 was an entirely self-taught man, and though he only contributed 

 one short paper, on the nidification of Acanthiza uropygialis, to the 

 Club's proceedings, still he was an active worker of the Bendigo 

 Science Society, Sandhurst, for which he delivered several lectures 

 on insect life, insectivorous birds, and kindred subjects, each of 

 which were illustrated by excellent drawings and specimens of his 

 own preparation. His place among the careful observers of the 

 bird and insect life of the colony will not be easy to fill. 



