December 8, 1893.] 



SCIENCE. 



319 



botany for the rapid determination of plants by using one 

 character after another." In carrying oat the scheme six 

 tables, are given, of which the first is synnptic, while the 

 second deals with the methods of determination of min- 

 erals by the aid of polarized light; in the third the mor- 

 phological character of the minerals is made the distin- 

 guishing characteristic, and in the fourth the determina- 

 tion of the crystalline system. In table five the minerals 

 are classified upon crystallographic grounds, and in table 

 six the positive or negative character furnishes the de- 

 sired clue to identification. To the original work (pub- 

 lished in Russian) the translators have added a brief chap- 

 ter describing a petrographical microscope and its acces- 

 saries. The work is not intended to be exhaustive, but 

 rather as introductory to the larger works of Rosenbusch 

 and others. To students beginning the study, and par- 

 ticularly to those working without instruction, the book 

 cannot fail to be of great service. 



The Mummy ; Chapters on Egyptian Funereal Archaeology. 

 By E. A.'Wallis Budge, L.D., F. S. A. Cambridg<;, Uni- 

 versity Press. 404p., with 88 illustrations, 1893, $3.25. 

 In his preface the author justly observes: "The pres- 

 ervation of the embalmed body or mummy was the chief 

 end and aim of every Egyptian who wished for everlast- 

 ing life." Hence, a large proportion of the monuments 

 and remains of ancient Egypt are of a sepulchral character, 

 and an intimate acquaintance with what relates to their 

 mortuary beliefs and ceremonies well nigh exhausts 

 Egyj)tian archaeology. 



Impressed with this fact. Dr. Budge has chosen "the 

 mummy' as the one object of study, but this in the widest 

 relations. He begins his volume with a brief sketch of 

 the history of the lower Nile valley, furnishes a list of 

 the dynasties, the cartouches of the principal kings, and a 

 list of the nomes or provinces. Next, beginning with the 

 Rosetta stone as a text, he describes succinctly the dis- 

 covery of the methods of reading the hieroglyf)hic writ- 

 ing. This brings him to his immediate subject, the 

 mummy, its preparation and surroundings. Short but 

 satisfactory descriptions are given of such appurtenances 

 as mummy cloth, Canopic jars, the Book of the Dead, ushabti 

 figures, sepulchral boxes, vases, toilet articles, scarabs, amu- 

 lets, figures of the gods and sacred animals, sarcophagi and 

 tombs. Mummies of animals, rejjtiles, birds and fishes 

 receive some attention, and there are instructive para- 

 graphs on Eg3'p)tian writing and writing materials, and 

 the Egyptian numbers and months. The book closes 

 with lists of the more common hieroglyphic characters 

 and determinatives. The whole is presented with great 

 clearness, and with a full, accurate and scientific knowl- 

 edge of the subject. As a practical handbook to Egyp- 

 tian archaeology, it has no superior, within the lines the 

 author has laid down for himself. 



The Outdoor World. By W. Furne.vux, F. R. G. S. New 

 York, Longmans, Green & Co. 411 p. 



Our Household Injects. By Edward A. Butler, B. A., B.Sc. 

 New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 342 p. 



Tlte Induatries of Animah. By Frederic Houssa . Im- 

 ported by Charles Scribner's Sous. 2.58 p., $1.25. 



^4 History of Crustacea. By Rev. Tho.ma R. R. Stebbing, 

 M. A. New York, D. Appleton & Co. (International 

 Scientific Series, Volume 71). 466 p., $2.00. 



During the last few years the laboratory naturalist 

 has very largely taken the place of the old student in 

 natural history, and work on biological subjects in gen- 

 eral is to-day quite largely carried on in the laboratoiy 

 by means of the microscope and the dissecting knife. 

 The reason for this can be largely traced to our mod- 

 ern education, which, in trying to introduce biological 



subjects into educational curricula, must do it in such 

 a way that the student can carry on his work in dif- 

 ferent branches at the same time. This is hardly com- 

 patible with a very widely extended field work. As the 

 result of this laboratory method, laboratory text books 

 and laboratory technic have become well developed and 

 well known, and readily meet the student's require- 

 ments. The general public, however, will always be 

 more interested in the side of natural history that treats 

 with animals and plants in a general way, and books 

 to be widely instructive must contain facts never to be 

 learned in the laboratory. Even the laboratory natural- 

 ist himself finds relief and pleasure in leaving his scal- 

 pel and microscope and turning through the pages of some 

 well written book upon the study of nature on a broader 

 scale. The four zoological books above listed represent 

 a better class of the popular scientific books which at- 

 tempt to deal with phases of nature in a wider way and in 

 a more popular style. 



The first of the four is a book designed for boys and 

 young people in general, and has for its purpose the 

 attracting young students to the study of nature. This 

 book attempts to give descriptions and figures of such 

 common animals and jslants as a wide awake boy might 

 be able to obtain by ordinary collecting methods. 

 Methods of collection are given, simple and readily ob- 

 tained forms of a^jparatus for collection are described, 

 and directions are given the reader as to where and 

 how he may most likely find certain animals and plants. 

 In the different chapters of the book different groups of 

 animals and plants are taken up for discussion and des- 

 cription. The book abounds in figures describing the 

 organisms mentioned, as well as the apparatus used and 

 methods of preservation. The scope of the book covers 

 all types of animals which the boy may be supposed to 

 find, from the smallest (not including microscojsic ani- 

 mals) to the largest, and from coelenterates to man. It 

 comprises the study of fresh water, land and marine ani- 

 mals, and is arranged in such a way as to give the boy an 

 interest and a zest in his study of nature in whatsoever 

 line he chooses, and withal a deal of scientific informa- 

 tion is given. The book is, in short, just the sort of text 

 book that a boy wants to interest him in natural historj', 

 and the figures, many of which are colored, are such as 

 both to attract and instruct. 



The second of the four is of quite a different character 

 and is designed as an introduction to entomology. It 

 gives an anatomical and a general account of such com- 

 mon insects as one may find in and around his home. The 

 anatomical description is illustrated by figures and is 

 more or less detailed. Bits of history of different species 

 of insects are introduced, many accounts of interesting 

 habits are described. As the insects are taken up one 

 after another, the author brings up for discussion just 

 the sort of questions which the semi- scientific reader will 

 desire to ask and have answered. He discusses such mat- 

 ters as the poison of mosquitoes; the origin and habits of 

 flies; the distribution and origin of cockroaches; meth- 

 ods of getting rid of many of the insect j)ests, etc. Quite 

 a number of excellent figures are given illustrating the 

 anatomy, and a few excellent photographic plates of some 

 of the smaller insects are introduced. This book, in 

 short, gives the sort of an account of common insects as 

 the elementary student in entomology may desire to have. 

 Both of these books being English books, the species 

 described and figured are English species. They are for 

 this reason less valuable to an American student, but at 

 the same time the diiference in species between English 

 and American is not so great that the books are not usa- 

 ble here. 



The thu'd book is even more entertaining to the gen- 



