278 Revieivs — Wachsmuth 8f Springer'' s Monograph on Crinoids. 



to figs. 2c and 2d. I would also suggest that figs. 5 and 7 of pi. v 

 are incorrectly described ; if they really are in the position stated, 

 then they show a variation of fundamental structure, remarkable not 

 merely in itself but also from the fact that it is not alluded to in 

 the text. While grateful for the numerous figures, so admirably 

 illustrative of specific form, one could have wished to see more 

 drawings of detail on an enlarged scale. The pores of Batocrinus, 

 to instance a structure much discussed by our authors, are nowhere 

 adequately figured. Similarly, the representations of the assumed 

 slits or pores in the anal sac of the Fistulate Inadunata are not 

 enough magnified to form evidence worth opposing to the numerous 

 enlarged and detailed figures already published by me as proof that 

 these supposed slits are nothing but deep folds. It is a great boon 

 to have gathered in one volume such charming and, no doubt, 

 trustworthy figures of nearly all the species of North American 

 Camerata; but it may be suggested to future workers that the 

 time has gone by for nothing but pictures of specimens, however 

 exquisite. We want accurate drawings of structure and variations 

 of structure, represented in the most intelligible manner possible. 

 Apparently it is thought undignified or inartistic to put reference 

 letters on the plates illustrating a book of this importance. Such, 

 at any rate, is the custom, with the result that it is often hard to 

 follow descriptions of structure. When an exact drawing of an 

 obscure specimen is given, and in many cases most rightly given, 

 let us at least have an explanatory diagram. Too many of our 

 scientific "ships" are spoiled for want of this "ha'porth of tar"; 

 though this is not always the author's fault. One feature of Messrs. 

 Wachsmuth and Springer's plates is the consistency of orientation : 

 " in illustrating the plates of the calyx, the dorsal view is figured 

 with the anal interradius up, and the ventral view with the anal side 

 down. Eight and left remain the same in both cases." This example 

 should always be followed ; and when a specimen is drawn from the 

 side its orientation should invariably be stated. 



Let us turn now to the text. The Historical Introduction is 

 of value chiefly for its account of discovery and work in North 

 America. Fourteen hundred crinoid species from that country are 

 now described, but in 1858 only seventy had been defined. In that 

 year remarkable finds were made, and the now famous localities of 

 Burlington, Grawfordsville, Keokuk, and Louisville yielded hundreds 

 of perfect specimens. Troost had already reported, though not 

 published, 86 new species and 16 new genera from Tennessee, but 

 Burlington furnished over 300 species, a greater number than those 

 hitherto known from the whole world. Crinoid-collecting became 

 the rage, while "men of science, anxious to publish the new forms, 

 and fearing they might be preceded by competitors, brought out 

 preliminary descriptions to secure priority for their species. These 

 descriptions, in many cases, were so indefinite that the identification 

 of the species was almost impossible, and this created considerable 

 annoyance and labour to later writers." It is to be feared that the 

 creation of annoyance in this manner has not yet ceased, and that it 



