April 11, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



587 



propose for answer. Meaningless bones will be 

 clothed witli new interest when it is learned 

 that they are millions of years old, and that the 

 place whence they came was once the bottom 

 of an ocean or broad lake. And he invariably 

 desires to learn how it is known where to dig 

 for them, how they are preserved, and a multi- 

 tude of similar things. It is very evident that 

 the author of 'Animals of the Past' has had no 

 inconsiderable experience in answering such 

 questions, else he could hardly have encom- 

 passed within its pages so much and so clear 

 information about those things that the gen- 

 eral public desires most to know concerning 

 fossils. We will not quarrel with him for the 

 omission of a limiting adjective in the title, 

 nor suggest that some of its humor is a trifle 

 far-fetched, in consideration of the fact that 

 the book on the whole is very good. One who 

 is acquainted with the author's work in paleon- 

 tology will expect accuracy and reliability, 

 and he will not be deceived here. He has kept 

 his imagination in check — not always an easy 

 thing for the paleontologist to do ! — and has 

 said what he has to say in an easy way that 

 even the schoolboy will enjoy. The book is, 

 moreover, scientific, and not a collection of 

 paleontological fables ; it is, I think, the best 

 of its kind yet published. It tells how the 

 bones of extinct animals become fossilized, are 

 found, collected, restored and mounted, of the 

 many problems they present and the inferences 

 they suggest, the causes of growth and decay 

 among the animals of the past, etc. ; matters 

 that really interest the general reader quite as 

 much as details concerning creatures which 

 he can only imperfectly comprehend. But the 

 contents would belie the title, were this all. 

 Many of the largest, most interesting and 

 remarkable of extinct backboned animals, the 

 rulers of the air and sea and dry land, masto- 

 dons, mammoths, horses and the like are 

 described, and illustrated by restorations as in 

 life from the skilful brush of Gleeson and 

 Knight. Knight's reputation in such things 

 is well known — his work is the very best, but 

 Gleeson in the present instance comes a close 

 second to him. The book is a good one for 

 both the public and private library. 



S. W. WlLLISTON. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 



The Osprey for February contains 'Notes 

 on the Habits of the Broad-winged Hawk 

 (Biiteo platypterus) in the Vicinity of Wash- 

 ington, D. C.,' by J. H. Riley; 'Eambles about 

 my Old Home,' by Milton S. Ray; 'The 

 Mocking Bird at Home,' by F. H. Knowlton; 

 'Reminiscent, Random and Maine Bird 

 Notes,' by W. C. Kendall, and a sketch, with 

 portrait, of that most able ornithologist, 'Pro- 

 fessor Alfred Newton,' by E. W. Shufeldt. 

 The supplement, devoted to the 'General His- 

 tory of Birds,' contains a description of the 

 general characters of the class and of the 

 plumage. 



The Plant World for February contains 'A 

 Botanical Ascent of Mount Kataadin, Maine,' 

 by John W. HarShberger; 'Another Trip to 

 Glen Bui-nie, Maryland,' by 0. E. Waters; 

 'Botanizing in Winter,' by C. F. Saunders, 

 and 'A Primrose at Home,' by F. H. Knowl- 

 ton, besides the usual and numerous notes and 

 briefer articles which contain much of inter- 

 est. In the 'Families of Flowering Plants' 

 Charles L. Pollard concludes the description of 

 the orders Opuntiales and Myrtiflorse and 

 commences that of the Umbellales. 



The Museums Journal of Great Britain for 

 I'ebruary contains an article on 'Museum Sta- 

 tistics,' intimating that it is desirable to know 

 just how they are obtained, whether by esti- 

 mate or by actual record. J. G. Goodchild 

 presents an article 'On the Arrangement of 

 Geological Collections,' and there is a sharp 

 bit of criticism on some recent 'British Mu- 

 seum Appointments' in the entomological sec- 

 tion. The subject of 'Hygiene as a Subject 

 for Museum Illustration' is continued, show- 

 ing the proposed arrangement of the divisions 

 water, soil and personal. There is a large 

 number of notes. 



The American Museum Journal for Febru- 

 ary presents a review of the current work of 

 the various departments and their more nota- 

 ble accessions, which include a good collection 

 of mammals from Alaska, a fine skull of the 

 woolly rhinoceros (B. tichorhinus) and a good 

 series of butterflies from the Australasian re- 

 gion. This month's supplement is the Guide 



