APKII. li), 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



443 



Bufferjiiegand Mofli.'' (British). By W. FvR- 

 NEAUX. London. Lougnians. 1894. 12°. 

 This is by no means a complete treatise 

 on these insects, which would be quite im- 

 possible in the 3.50 pages to which it is lim- 

 ited : but rather a selection has been made 

 of such as the author thinks would prove 

 most desirable. The number of British 

 butterflies, however, is so limited (G6 spe- 

 cies) that place is found for all of them. 

 A brief description and general account is 

 given of each species mentioned, together 

 with a figure of most of them ; a certain 

 amount of attention is paid to the early 

 stages and especially to the caterpillar : but 

 the book is very weak indeed on all points 

 as to classification, the common characters 

 of groups being hardly hinted at ; it is there- 

 fore intended almost exclusively for the 

 amateur, and not for the serious student. 

 The introduction, which occupies about a 

 third of the book, and is of as much inter- 

 est to an outsider as to a Briton, is excep- 

 tionally good for a work of this class, though 

 here again it is lean as regards all matters 

 of structure or classification . The illustra- 

 tions in the text, and they are numerous, 

 are with few exceptions unusually good ; 

 those on the twelve colored plates not so 

 good. The figure of the egg of Pieris bra-^- 

 sic(e, on p. 14, is upside down. 



S. H. S. 



The Pygmies. By A. de Quaetrefages. 

 Translated by Frederick Stare. Illus- 

 trated. Pp. 255. D. Appleton & Co. 

 1895. 



This volume forms number 2 of the 

 Anthropological Series, edited by Professor 

 Starr, of the University of Chicago. The 

 original appeared in Paris about eight years 

 ago, and the name of the distinguished 

 author, as well as the interest of the sub- 

 ject, insured it considerable attention. 



He approaches the topic liistoricallj' with 

 a chapter on the accounts of the pygmies 



which are found in classical writings, and 

 an attempt to analyze them in the light of 

 modern research. Turning to later sources, 

 a full history is supplied of what was 

 known ten years ago of the dwarf tribes of 

 Melanesia, of the Mincopies of the Anda- 

 man islands, of the Negritos of Indonesia, 

 of the Negrillos of Central Africa, and of 

 the Hottentots and Bushmen of the southern 

 portions of that continent. Special atten- 

 tion is given to the physical peculiarities of 

 the tribes mentioned and to their sociologic 

 condition. A chapter of .some length is 

 devoted to the religious beliefs of the Bush- 

 men and Hottentots, successfully contro- 

 verting the statement often advanced that 

 these humble peoples had no religion 

 at all. The illustrations, thirty-one in 

 number, are fairly well done, though printed 

 rather carelessly. The translator has ac- 

 complished his task well, and the text reads 

 pleasantly. 



It is to be regretted that the large ma- 

 terial accumulated in the last ten years on 

 this subject was not more freely called up- 

 on. Mr. Haliburton, Professor Kollman 

 and Dr. Virchow have contributed mono- 

 graphs which should not be overlooked. 

 Emin Bey's anthropometric reports on the 

 Negrillos are the best we have; but these 

 names are not referred to. We should 

 have liked, also, a chapter on the causes 

 which bring about decrease in stature, a 

 physiological studj^ of its etiology. Prob- 

 ably any people would become dwarfs un- 

 der given conditions, and the trait is there- 

 fore not a racial one. D. G. Brinton. 



An Introduction to Structural Botany (Flower- 

 ing Plants). By D. H. Scott. London 

 and New York. Macmillan & Co. 288 pp. 

 11.3 figs. 81.00. 



The author intends that this shall be a 

 book for beginnei-s. Three types are chosen 

 to illustrate the structure of the flowering 

 plants, the wall flower (Cheiranthvs Cheiri 



