September 7, 1S83.] 



SCIENCE. 



313 



brate zo61og\-. Notwithstanding the presence 

 of the neat little volume before us, and its prom- 

 ising title, a complete guide is still as nuicii a 

 desideratum as ever. Like all other books 

 which have appeared in English on this subject, 

 this volume is small and thin, and, we are com- 

 pelled to add, wretchedly illustrated. Of the 

 one hundred and one pages of subject-matter, 

 sixteen are frittered awaj- in an eflbrt to inform 

 the reader where birds of the various families 

 from Turdid,ae to Alcidae are to be found. 

 Mow much better to have devoted this space to 

 adequate instructions for mounting dried skins, 

 which important branch of the subject is sum- 

 marily disposed of on a single page, instead 

 of to such cheap information as that ' the 

 chimney-swift inhabits chimneys,' that king- 

 fishers are found ' in the vicinity of streams,' 

 and the like. With the exception of the above, 

 all the information and advice contained in the 

 chapter on collecting is valuable, and bears the 

 stamp which experience places upon its work. 



The chapters on ' skinning birds ' and • mak- 

 ing skins ' would be very satisfactory but for 

 one tlii'ig. While the author strongly con- 

 demns dry arsenic as a dangerous poison, and 

 sajs not a word about arsenical soap, the onlj- 

 preservative he recommends as fit for use is 

 one compounded onh- by himself. After extol- 

 ling its virtues to the extent of two pages, but 

 carefully withholding all information as to its 

 composition, he coolly informs the reader 

 that its price is ' twenty-five cents per single 

 pound.' We are told that tannic acid, alum, 

 salt, or black pepper ( 1 ) may be used to tem- 

 porarily preserve skins until the other can be 

 procured. The ' dermal preservative,' which, 

 strange to say, is not a poison, is recommended, 

 or rather exclusively directed, in no fewer than 

 fourteen places throughout the work, for mam- 

 mals, birds, reptiles, and fishes, as a non-poi- 

 sonous astringent, absorbent, deodorizer, and 

 insecticide ; and, if the reader is at all credu- 

 lous, he will be led to exclaim. There is but 

 one preservative, and C. J. Maynard is its 

 maker! If this little book is "honestly in- 

 tended to meet the wants of amateur collect- 

 ors wherever it may find them, and not to 

 increase the sale of a nostrum of doubtful 

 value, nor to advertise the author's business, 

 the author has taken a queer way to show it. 

 It will not be surprising if his readers resent 

 such unfair treatment. 



Willie tliere is much that is practical, valua- 

 ble, and new in the chapter on mounting birds, 

 and in those detailing the treatment of mam- 

 mals, reptiles, and fishes, they are all deplor- 

 ably incomplete ; and we vainly regret that the 



author did not go as deeply into the subject, 

 and with as good diagrams and illustrations, as 

 he might have done. The information given 

 is valuable as far as it goes ; but there are only 

 one-quarter as many facts stated, and direc- 

 tions given, as the unskilled operator needs to 

 know. 



As an example of the doubtful value of such 

 highly condensed instructions, we ma}' take 

 tliose for skinning small mammals. The au- 

 thor says, "... peel down on either side 

 [of the body] until the knee-bones are exposed, 

 then cut the joint, and draw out the leg, at 

 least as far as the heel." Not a word is said 

 about skinning the foot, and removing the flesh 

 under the metacarpal and metatarsal bones: 

 hence we suppose it is left to decompose, which 

 it will generally do right speedily, and at the 

 expense of the hair and epidermis above. We 

 should like to sec the author remove and pre- 

 l)are the skin of any monkey according to his 

 own directions. 



We are honestly sorry we cannot freely 

 recommend this manual — nor any other in 

 our language, for that matter — as being well 

 calculated to meet the wants of those for whom 

 it is intended. An epitome of the subject is 

 no longer wanted, but a handbook which shall 

 be reallj- complete is needed very much. 



ELEMENTARY TRE.ATISE ON THE 

 MICROSCOPE. 



Traitc e'le'menlaire du microscope. Par Eugknk 

 Trutat. Conservateur du museed'histoire natu- 

 relle de Toulouse. Paris, Gau/Aier-FiV/arx, 1883. 

 322 p., leS ill. 



Few are aware of the m.agnitude to which 

 microscopical work has grown. The modern 

 methods of research in the physical and bio- 

 logical sciences have involved more and more 

 an appeal to the microscope. As a result of 

 this growth, we find whole volumes devoted to 

 a description of the microscope and its appli- 

 cation to the various departments of study. 



Microscopy has been taught in our scliools 

 only a very few years. This is partly due to 

 the fact that formerly the instruments were 

 both expensive and imperfect. There was 

 also an almost total lack of literature ujwn 

 tlie subject. At the present time, bowever, 

 there are plenty of good works on microscopical 

 technology, and the microscope as applied to 

 the study of medicine in all its branches, in- 

 cluding biological research. 



In a work like this before us. it is necessary 

 to present a large amount of material of such 

 an elementary character that it is of value 



