376 SCIENCE. 
book is a valuable contribution to the scientific 
literature of the subject. It can be well recom- 
mended to students of physiological science. 
Teachers will find in the practical arrangement 
of the book and in the summaries of views only 
to be found in widely scattered publications, a 
welcome guide for arranging theirlectures on 
this subject. Investigators, however, will always 
prefer to consult original contributions rather 
than text-books or handbooks. 
Oscar LOEW. 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Annals of the South African Museum. Volume 
I. Part 2. March, 1899. 
The first of the papers (V. in the series) in 
this volume is ‘On the Species of Opisthoph- 
thalamus in the Collection of the South African 
Museum, with Descriptions of Some New 
Forms,’ by W. F. Purcell. The treatment of 
the genus is brought to a conclusion, three new 
forms are described, and the localities and local 
peculiarities of the specimens, numerous in the 
collection, are given at some length. In con- 
clusion, the synopsis of all species known to the 
author, begun in a previous paper, is brought 
to completion. Article VI. is a ‘ Descriptive 
List of the Rodents of South Africa,’ by W. L. 
Sclater, and is published as preliminary toa 
greater work on South African mammals. The 
genera are arranged according to the list pub- 
lished by Oldfield Thomas in the Proc. Zool. 
Soc. for 1896, and 62 species are mentioned, 
one Malacothrix pentonyx being new. 
Article VII.—‘ Fifth Contribution to the 
South African Coleopterous Fauna,’ by L. 
Péringuey, is devoted to the description of new 
Coleoptera, mostly in the collection of the 
museum. 
Article VIII.—‘ On the South African Species 
of Peripatidee in the Collection of the South 
African Museum,’ by W. F. Purcell, gives full 
descriptions of the external systematic charac- 
ters of three out of the four previously de- 
scribed species, with descriptions of four new 
species. These are Peripatopsis leonina, P. sedg- 
wicki, P. clavigera and Opisthopatus cinctipes. 
Article [IX.—(by a misprint given as X.), ‘A 
Contribution to the Knowledge of South African 
Mutillide,’ by F. Péringuey, describes 26 new 
[N.S. Vou. X. No. 246. 
species. This brings the number of South 
African species of this family to 169, but the 
number -of which both sexes are definitely 
known is only 16. 
The final paper X.—‘ Description of a New 
Genus of Perciform Fishes from the Cape of 
Good Hope,’ by G. A. Boulenger, describes 
and figures Atyposoma gurneyi. 
F. A. Lucas. 
A Catalogue of Scientific and Technical Period- 
icals, 1665-1895. HENRY CARRINGTON BOL- 
TON. City of Washington, Smithsonian In- 
stitution, 1897. Second edition, pp. vii + 
1247. 
The first edition of Dr. Bolton’s catalogue, 
issued in 1885, has been a great aid to scientific 
men and to scientific research, and a second 
edition, with many additional titles and much 
revision, is very welcome. The former edition 
contained the titles of 4,954 periodicals, and the 
present edition adds about 3,600 new titles, and 
gives further information in regard to many of 
the periodicals described in the first edition. 
Regarding all these journals full details are 
given—the date of establishment, the number 
of volumes issued, the place of publication, the 
editors, etc., includingahistory of thevicissitudes 
undergone by so many scientific journals. Over 
200 pages are added, giving chronological tables, 
_a subject index, and a check-list, showing in 
what American libraries the more important 
periodicals may be found. 
The first part of the alphabetical catalogue is 
reprinted from the plates of the first edition 
with certain corrections. Then in the second 
part are the additions that could not be inserted 
in the plates and the new titles. This double 
alphabetical index is very inconvenient. It 
may indeed be reasonably claimed on various 
grounds that stereotyping is an invention for the 
retardation of science. The volume appears to 
be remarkably free from typographical errors 
in spite of the difficult proof reading, but it is 
not free from errors in compilation. Thus if 
we take the three leading American journals of 
general science, we find it said (referring to 
1895), that the American Journal of Science is 
edited by ‘James D. and E. 8. Dana and B. 
Sillimann.’ The American Naturalist is said to 
