752 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. Vm. No. 204. 



world-renowned Miocene beds of that locality. 

 In the immediate vicinity are to be seen the 

 petrified remains of an ancient forest. One of 

 the stumps measured fifteen feet in diameter. 

 The whole surrounding country shows the 

 effects of igneous action in past ages. This is 

 especially noticeable in the rear of the post- 

 office in Florissant, where the granites are rent 

 into fearful chasms, and where several deep, ex- 

 tinct geyser funnels may be seen, worn on the 

 interior perfectly round and smooth by the ac- 

 tion of water. 



A trip was taken to Crystal Peak, four miles 

 north of Florissant, where some iine Amazon 

 stone was obtained. This completed the work 

 of collecting, which, in every respect, has given 

 very gratifying results. 



S. Ward Lopee. 



Weslkyan XJniveesity, 

 November 5, 1898. 



THE PROPOSED CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC 

 LITER'ATXJEE. 



In Science for October 28th there is a notice 

 of the Second Conference on an International 

 Catalogue of Scientific Literature, and it is said 

 that a decimal system has been recommended. 



At this critical time (before the work has 

 been begun) there ought to be open discussion 

 by cataloguers, and the most liberal attention 

 given to the wishes of the users of such a cata- 

 logue. A repetition of the English catalogue, 

 monumental but not used, is to be avoided. 

 The most important characteristic of a cata- 

 logue of scientific literature ought to be its con- 

 venience to the user ; this quality ought to pre- 

 vail over all other qualities of such a catalogue. 

 The possible wants of a user of the catalogue 

 should be constantly thought of and provided 

 for by the cataloguer. 



The user is interested in his subject, probably 

 not in cataloguing. He wants to find quickly 

 and easily what has been published on a certain 

 branch of Science. He does not want to learn 

 a system of classification nor its method of ap- 

 plication, as he would have to do in the case of 

 the decimal system. He wants to find his sub- 

 ject in the alphabetical order, as he would in 

 an encyclopredia ; first the title, then the date, 

 then the author and the size of the work. 



The list of subjects should be derived from 

 the titles as they are being collected, and it 

 should be arranged in alphabetical order, for 

 the convenience of the user. 



In doubtful cases and where more than one 

 branch of a subject is treated in a paper a title 

 should be repeated under as many subjects as 

 by the most liberal construction a user is likely 

 to look for it, with too many repetitions rather 

 than too few. 



Ask the users if I am not right; and for whom 

 else is the catalogue to be prepared ? 



In a case like that of the great English Cata- 

 logue of Scientific Papers, where the titles are 

 arranged in the order of the authors' names 

 with a number against every title, the numbers 

 only need be collected and classified ; or the 

 numbers and the dates (though this would per- 

 haps double the cost of publication). And here 

 again the user should be considered by making 

 the list of subjects large and by putting them 

 in alphabetical order. 



Alfred Tuckeeman. 



New York, November 5, 1898. 



SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



Charles Darwin and the Theory of Natural Selec- 

 tion. By Edward B. Poulton. New York, 

 The Macmillan Co. 1896. 

 This was not only a very timely book when 

 it appeared, but will always be one of the 

 minor classics of evolutional literature. It is 

 well and clearly written, compact, and a most 

 handy book of reference for the student of Dar- 

 win's life and work, by a sincere and orthodox 

 Darwinian. Not only does Professor Poulton 

 give us the leading facts in Darwin's life, but 

 in a happy and skillful way he tells the secret 

 of his greatness, when and how the fact of 

 evolution was impressed upon him, and the 

 date when the idea of natural selection as an 

 efiicient cause was suggested to him. The two 

 discoveries of Darwin which led him to reflect 

 on the principle of evolution were, first, the 

 fossil armadillos of the Pampean deposits and 

 their relation to those now living, which led 

 him to remark, in 1837, in his ' Naturalist's 

 Voyage round the World:' " This wonderful 

 relationship in the same continent between the 



