924 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 103. 



our enthusiastic appreciation of the character 

 of the discussion. There is much inspiration 

 for the right sort of entomology to be got from 

 reading these eighty and odd pages. 



It is that part of the work as yet unreferred 

 to which alone is indicated by the title of the 

 book. Much of the inspiration gained from the 

 perusal of the introductory chapters would be 

 lost if the purely systematic part of the work 

 were not treated consistently with the author's 

 beliefs. But the treatment is consistent. The 

 Bombycine family Notodontidse, includiDg, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Packard's delimitation of the 

 group, ' 21 genera and about 78 species/ found 

 in America, north of Mexico, is the subject of a 

 careful monograph. The biology of each species 

 is given as fully as known, a special attention 

 being paid to the details of larval markings and 

 armature. It is hardly necessary to say that 

 careful descriptions of immature stages ' ' in the 

 light of the recent very suggestive and stimu- 

 lating work of Weismann, entitled ' Studies in 

 the Theory of Descent, ' ' ' are not so common in 

 monographs of Lepidopterous families that, 

 met Math, they should pass without comment. 

 Such treatment is distinctly rare. The detailed 

 descriptions of these immature stages are sup- 

 plemented by a splendid series of colored plates 

 of larval forms. There are also a series of plates 

 of wing venation, some figures of the external 

 anatomy of the heads of imagines and a number 

 of maps showing the geographical distribution 

 of the family. 



The book is a valuable one for its point of 

 view as well as for the actual matter of it. 

 American entomology will be helped by it in 

 reputation and in inspiration. 



Vernon L. Kellogg. 



Stanford University, Calif. 



Determinative Mineralogy and Blowpipe Analysis. 

 By George J. Brush. Revised and enlarged 

 by Samuel L. Penfield. New York, John 

 Wiley & Sons. 1896. Pp. 163 and 33 double 

 pages of tables. $3.50. 



Mineralogists, metallurgists and students in 

 these branches of science, who have been using 

 the former edition of this book, on accoun of 

 the value of text and tables, will gladly wel- 

 come this revised edition. 



In this new edition, the text has been 

 thoroughly revised and for the most part new 

 material has been substituted. The work has 

 been greatly enlarged by the addition of a new 

 chapter and by the expansion of the chapter on 

 ' The Reactions of the Elements.' 



In the introductory chapter, the author has 

 very clearly and concisely explained and de- 

 fined the commoner terms and names used in 

 mineralogy and also those in chemistry, necessi- 

 tated by the study of the chemical character of 

 the minerals. 



The second chapter has been devoted, (1) to 

 a description of the blowpipe apparatus " which 

 is necessary or convenient for making the sim- 

 ple tests for the identification of the elements 

 and the determination of the minerals ; " (2) to 

 the reagents commonly employed in the study 

 of minerals ; (3) ' to the nature and use of 

 flames.' There is here a very full and clear 

 description of the character and use of the dif- 

 ferent flames, well illustrated with cuts and 

 descriptions of experiments on the composition 

 and use of the difierent parts of the flame. 



In the chapter on the reactions of the ele- 

 ments, which occupies nearly one hundred 

 pages of the text, the elements have been taken 

 up alphabetically, for convenience of reference. 

 In connection with each of the elements, a short 

 description is given of their occurrence and 

 rarity. The tests described, which include a 

 great many new ones especially devised for this 

 work, have all been carefully verified by the 

 author, and are applicable for the elements in 

 their many forms of combination. Many of 

 the old tests have been simplified and improved, 

 and details are given concerning methods of 

 manipulation in making many of the tests, 

 which will be found exceedingly useful. This 

 part of the book will be greatly appreciated by 

 mineralogists on account of the thorough and 

 exhaustive work that has been done in bringing 

 the text up to date. In connection with most 

 of the elements, experiments are very care- 

 fully described, by which the tests can be very 

 characteristically illustrated. This adds greatly 

 to the value of the work as a text-book. To 

 facilitate the use of the work as such and also 

 as a book of reference, the descriptions of the 

 rarer elements are given in fine print, as well 



