January 19, 1900.] 



SCIENCE 



109 



the ' ' pericardium [from wliich the heart itself 

 is produced] and epicardium originate as out- 

 growths from the arohenteron." Comparing 

 the two statements such a reader might con- 

 clude that the first statement quoted means 

 that the pericardial sac and its invagination 

 are embedded in mesoblast as their formation 

 proceeds, but he would also be justified in 

 understanding the one statement to mean 

 that the pericardial sac and hence the heart 

 are of mesoblastic origin, while the other means 

 that they are of hypoblastic origin. 



Again the statement (page 10 ) that the cavity 

 of the pericardium and epicardiLim 'may be re- 

 garded as coelomic spaces' is not exactly clear 

 when compared with the statement made a few 

 lines below on the same page, that the cavities 

 of the renal vesicles and gonads are sometimes 

 interpreted as being formed ' by a splitting of 

 the mesoblast (coelomic).' 



But the book is an admirable resume of our 

 knowledge of a typical ascidian, and if the suc- 

 ceeding numbers are equally satisfactory, the 

 series cannot fail to be a potent factor in pro- 

 moting the study of natural history not only 

 in Great Britian, but as well beyond its borders. 



It is unfortunate that the volumes could not 

 be bound a little more securely, for they will 

 hardly withstand the rough usage which they 

 are pretty sure to receive as laboratory guides. 

 If this could not be done without increasing the 

 price, and if the price could not be increased 

 even by a small amount, then it seems to me 

 that it would be better to cut down the text 

 and illustrations, particularly the former, some- 

 what, and apply the saving in expense thereby 

 to making the binding better. 



Wm. E. Hitter. 



GENERAL. 



A LIMITED number of the reports of the Uni- 

 versity Geological Survey of Kansas still re- 

 main for distribution among persons who are 

 interested in mining and geology. The publi- 

 cations to date include five volumes bound in 

 cloth, and two annual reports on the Mineral 

 Resources of Kansas bound in paper. All 

 these may be had for the asking, except Vol. 

 I., the supply of which is entirely exhausted. 

 Persons writing for any or all of the reports 



should enclose the necessary postage, or re- 

 quest that they be sent by express. The 

 volumes are: Vol. II., General Geology of 

 Western Kansas, postage 26 cents ; Vol. Ill , a 

 Special Report on Coal, postage 28 cents ; Vol. 

 IV., Paleontology of the Upper Cretaceous, 

 postage 32 cents ; Vol. V., A Special Report on 

 Gypsum and Gypsum Cement Plasters, postage 

 16 cents ; Annual Report of Mineral Resources 

 of Kansas for 1897, postage 4 cents ; Annual 

 Report on the Mineral Resources of Kansas for 

 1898, postage 7 cents. 



Messrs. D. Appleton & Company have 

 nearly ready for publication The International 

 Geography. Seventy authors have collaborated 

 in its production, including the leading geogra- 

 phers and travelers of Europe and America. 

 The work has been planned and edited by Dr. 

 H. R. Mill, who also wrote the chapter on the 

 United Kingdom. Among the authors are Pro- 

 fessor W. M. Davis (The United States), Dr. 

 Fridtjof Nansen (Arctic Regions), Professor A. 

 Kirchhoff (German Empire), Mr. F. C. Selous 

 (Rhodesia), Professors de Lapparent and Rave- 

 neau (France), Sir Clements Markham, F. R. S. 

 (Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru), Sir John Murray, 

 F. R. S. (Antarctic Regions), Count Pfeil (Ger- 

 man Colonies), Mr. James Bryce, M. P. (The 

 Boer Republics), Sir H. H. Johnston, the late 

 Sir Lambert Playfair, Sir F. J. Goldsmid, Sir 

 Martin Conway, Sir George S. Robertson, Sir 

 "William MacGregor, Sir Charles Wilson, F. R. 

 S., the Hon. D. W. Carnegie, Mrs. Bishop, Dr. 

 A. M. W. Downing, F. R. S., Dr. J. Scott 

 Keltie, and Mr. G. G. Chisholm. The book is 

 illustrated by nearly five hundred maps and 

 diagrams which have been specially prepared. 



Other books announced for early publication 

 by Messrs. D. Appleton & Co. include Compar- 

 ative Physiology and Morphology of Animals, 

 by Professor Joseph Le Conte ; Some Great As- 

 tronomers, by Dr. Edward S. Holden, and the 

 Story of Eclipses, by Mr. G. F. Chambers. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 

 With the December number the American 

 Naturalist completes its twenty-third volume. 

 Hermon C. Bumpus has the leading article, on 



