328 Notices of Memoirs — Dr. H. J. Johnston-Lavis — 



BiBLIOGBAPHY OF THE GboLOGY AND EkUPTIVE PhENOMEKA OF THE 



MOBE iMPOKTANT YoLCANOES OF SouTHEHN Italy. Compiled by 

 Henky James Johnston-Lavis, M.D., D.Ch., M.R.C.S., P.Gr.S., 

 etc., late Professor of Vulcanology in the Eoyal University of 

 Naples, assisted by Madame Antonia Johnston-Lavis. 2nd 

 edition, completed, after the author's death, by Miss M. B. 

 Stanton, and edited, with a preface and a short life of the author, 

 by B. B. Woodward, F.L.S., F.G.S., of the British Museum 

 (Nat. Hist.). 4to ; 'pp. xxiv + 374, with a frontispiece and a 

 photograph of the author in 1905. London: The University of 

 London Press, Ltd., St. Paul's House, Warwick Square, EC. 4, 

 1918. 



ri'^HE history and raison d'etre of this important work are set forth 

 i by the editor, Mr. B. B. Woodward, in his preface, and thence 

 we extract the following salient facts: — 



The " Congres Geologique International" having arranged to hold 

 its second session at Bologna in 1881, the " Comite d'Organisation " 

 in that town decided, in their Seance of March 17th, 1879, to 

 undertake the compilation of a " Bibliographie geologique et 

 paleontologique de I'ltalie " as a contribution towards the success of 

 the meeting. For many unavoidable reasons that list was an 

 imperfect one. Still, a very considerable number of works and 

 papers were recorded, the total number of entries amounting to 

 6,566. 



Dr. Johnston-Lavis naturally availed himself of those sections 

 that concerned his special pursuits and set to Avork to supply 

 deficiencies and to add the titles of further publications as issued. 

 In this he was cordially aided by Mme. Lavis, who, working under 

 her husband's directions, industriously transcribed the fresh titles 

 and incorporated them with the entries from the older bibliography. 



By the time that the Geologists' Association paid its visit to 

 Southern Italy in the months of September and October, 1889, the 

 bibliography had grown to almost twice the size, and Lavis happily 

 seized upon the occasion to publish it in 1891 as an appendix to the 

 account of the excursion, which was reprinted from the Proceedings 

 of the Association, the whole thus forming a valuable manual of 

 information on the volcanoes of Southern Italy. 



From that time onwards no opportunity was lost for working at 

 this bibliography and endeavouring to render it as complete as such 

 a work can ever be. 



When the War broke out, depriving him at once of his practice, he 

 had determined to employ his enforced leisure from professional 

 duties till happier times should return in systematically revising and 

 augmenting the whole bibliography and in ransacking every available 

 source with this object in view. 



His tragic death^ cut this project short, and all the loving labour 



1 Geol. Mag., 1914, p. 480. 



