January 7, 1S98.] 



SCIENCE. 



33 



thereon as bayleyi. Similarly Reithrodontomys 

 lacei is spelled lacyi. 



In dividing the work into parts it Is a pity the 

 publishers did not end the second part with the 

 •Carnivora instead of including the first 63 pages 

 of the Rodentia. In binding by orders — the most 

 convenient form for most uses — the volume on 

 the Rodentia will have no title-page in front, but 

 has one for the matter posterior to the 63d page, 

 where the 3d fasciculus begins (page 453 of the 

 whole Catalogue). 



The reviewer is indebted to Dr. T. S. Palmer 

 for calling his attention to a number of the er- 

 rors in generic names and dates. 



In two instances Trouessart imposes new 

 names on forms distinguished but not named 

 by previous authors, and in both instances 

 modestly but wrongly credits the name to the 

 previous author Instead of himself. The cases 

 in point are Vespertilio gryphus septentrionalis, 

 attributed to Harrison Allen, and [j¥j(s] sylvati- 

 ■cus var. novehoracensis, attributed to Erxleben, 

 and placed as a synonym of Peromyscus leucopus. 



The three parts now published comprise the 

 Primates, Chiroptera, Insectivora, Carnivora 

 and Rodentia and contain 760 genera and 4,085 

 species. Of these, 288 genera and 1,900 species 

 are included in the single order Rodentia. 



The Catalogue, in spite of its inherent imper- 

 fections, is an extremely useful document and 

 must be at the elbow of every student of mam- 

 mals. 



C. Hart Merriam. 



Guide to the genera and classification of the 

 North American Orthoptera found north of 

 Mexico. By Samuel Hubbard Scudder. 

 Cambridge, Mass., Edward W. Wheeler. 

 1897. Pp. 89. Price, $1.00. 

 Dr. Scudder began bis entomological studies 

 ■with the Orthoptera, and is still at work elab- 

 orating the sub-families, genera and species 

 with reference to a general work on the classi- 

 fication of the order. The little book before 

 -us is designed to serve as a Prodomus of the 

 -work, which we hope may be completed at a 

 no distant day. As such it will be of great 

 service to the student, since the families, sub- 

 families and genera are tersely and yet fully 

 ■described. Besides these diagnoses there are 



elaborate tables for the determination of the 

 families, sub-families and genera ; the species 

 not being mentioned. 



In addition to the general bibliographical 

 notes, those devoted to the families and the 

 list of the literature are full and presumably 

 exhaustive. The index appears also to be 

 complete. The paper and printing are unex- 

 ceptional. 



It will be seen that the book will be indis- 

 pensable to the student, as there is nothing like 

 it in our entomological literature. That it has 

 been prepared with thoroughness and care goes 

 without saying. When will the time come 

 when we shall have similar exhaustive manuals 

 of the other orders of insects. 



A. S. Packard. 



Les Ballons- Sondes de MM. Hermite et Besan- 

 (;on et les Ascensions Internationales. Par 

 Wilfrid de Fonvielle. Bibliotheque des 

 Actualit6s Scientifiques. Paris, Gauthier- 

 Villars. 1898. 18mo. Pp. 112. Figs. 27. 

 This brochure by my colleague, the Secretary 

 of the Aeronautical Commission, is timely, 

 since it is the first complete account of an im- 

 portant investigation in Europe. M. de Fon- 

 vielle is well fitted to write on the subject, for 

 he is not only a distinguished aeronaut and the 

 author of several books on ballooning, but since 

 their inception he has been an advocate of 

 ' ballons-sondes,' or 'ballons perdus,' as for- 

 merly they were derisively named. 



When one of these exploring balloons, set 

 free by MM. Hermite and Besangon, in No- 

 vember, 1892, lost its buoyancy and fell to the 

 earth there was obtained for the first time, from 

 its minimum barometer and thermometer, the 

 greatest height and the lowest temperature 

 which had been reached. Fourteen of these 

 small balloons having envelopes, generally of 

 paper, filled with illuminating gas were lib- 

 erated from Paris and most of them were re- 

 covered with their instruments recording the 

 extremes of height and cold. MM. Hermite 

 and Besanjon, therefore, were encouraged to 

 continue the exploration of the upper air with 

 larger balloons made of goldbeaters' skin or 

 of special silk, which they called Aerophiles. 

 These carried continuously recording barom- 



