518 Reviews—G'eological Survey of Canada. 
Advance copies of the letter-press of these memoirs have already 
been distributed, pages 91-1221 having been issued in September, 
1887; pages 123-150 in December, 1888; pages 151-184 in © 
June, 1889; while the remainder, or pages 185-196, are dated 
August 1, 1889. . 
It may fairly be questioned whether paleontological science is in 
any way benefited by the practice of issuing advance copies of 
descriptions of fossils, without any figures to assist in their inter- 
pretation. The object of so doing, viz. to secure priority to the 
author of the species, is, of course, a perfectly legitimate one, but 
who that has attempted to picture to himselt, from a description 
alone, the form, say of an Ammonite, with all its intricacies of 
sculpture and suture-line, will not admit that the task has been in 
too many cases a hopeless one? Good figures have now become 
indispensable for the accurate identification of species, and not only 
do new species require them, but many old ones should be refigured 
from the original types. Such work would greatiy lighten the 
labours of the paleontologist. 
However, the volume now under review is amply supplied with 
figures of all the new species described, in a series of excellent 
lithographic plates, whose execution reflects much credit alike upon 
the artist and the lithographer. 
The first paper of the series enumerated above contains descriptions 
of Corals, 1 species, of Crinoids 11, of Blastoids 5, of Brachiopods 
11, of Lamellibranchs 2, of Gasteropods 6, of Trilobites 1, and of 
Fishes 1. Of these the following are considered to be new to 
science, viz. Taxocrinus lobatus, Hall, var., (unnamed), Homocrinus 
crassus, Dolatocrinus Canadensis, Pentremitidea filosa (doubtfully 
new), Lingula Thedfordensis, Spirifera subdecussata, Platyostoma 
plicatum. These are followed by a useful list of fossils from the 
Hamilton Formation (Middle Devonian) of Ontario. 
The author acknowledges his indebtedness to Mr. Charles Wachs- 
muth for the identification of three species of Crinoids, “as well as 
for valuable critical suggestions in reference to the Crinoids and 
Blastoids generally.” 
It is a pity that so competent a conchologist as Mr. Whiteaves 
should not have taken upon himself to decide the point as to the 
affinities of the fossil named by de Verneuil, and later by Professor 
James Hall, Turbo Shumardi, figured on plate xvi. (fig. 8) of the 
present memoir. Mr. Whiteaves goes no further than to observe 
that ‘the reference of this shell to the Linnean genus Turbo does 
not seem entirely satisfactory, and it is not easy to define in what 
particular it differs from Platyostoma.” 
The second memoir “On some Fossils from the Triassic Rocks 
of British Columbia” is prefaced by a brief account of the geo- 
graphical range of some of the typical species collected, one of which, 
a species of Halobia, is of interest as coming from the most northerly 
locality on the continent of North America (the Stikine River), from 
which Triassic fossils have yet been obtained. 
1 Pages 1-90 are contained in Part I. of these Memoirs. 
