BOOK NOTICES. . 115 



area of 200 square meters. It consists of an upper and a lower story, and is 

 built in a circular form. In the lower story there rises a massive pillar, upon 

 which is placed the great refracting telescope. The lower story is divided into a 

 dining-room, kitchen and storerooms. In the upper story there are three bed- 

 rooms intended for the accommodation of astronomers and tourists visiting the 

 estabHshment. The roof consists of a movable cupola or dome. From the bal- 

 conies of the upper story a prospect of vast extent and grandeur is presented. 

 The spectator is able to see over half the island of Sicily, the Island of Malta, 

 the Lipari Isles, and the province of Calabria, on the mainland of Italy. The 

 observatory is erected upon a small cone, which will, in the case of eruption, 

 protect it completely from the lava stream, which always flows down on the op- 

 posite side of the volcano. 



BOOK NOTICES. 



Handbook of Invertebrate Zoology. By W. K. Brooks, Ph. D. Octavo, 

 pp. 392. Boston : S. E. Cassino, 1882. For sale by M. H. Dickinson, 

 $3.00. 



This work, which is most handsomely presented by the publisher, is a care- 

 ful and minute description of some typical forms of the invertebrata, with cuts, 

 mostly made for the purpose, and many of them drawn by the author himself, 

 illustrating every essential point in their structure. 



To students intending to prosecute their researches no handbook could be 

 used more likely to thoroughly prepare them. The author says: "In the 

 treatment of each type I have not attempted to make an exhaustive monograph 

 for the use of specialists, or to present all that is known about it ; but simply to 

 call the attention of the beginner to the structural features which he can readily 

 observe for himself." This he has done most minutely with the Protozoa, 

 taking as examples the shapeless Amoeba and the more advanced Infusorians, as 

 the Vorticella, the Calcareous Sponges and the Hydroida; the Radiata, including 

 the Medusae, the Star Fish and the Sea Urchin ; the Articulata, typified by the 

 Earthworm and the Leech ; the Crustacea, including the common Crab, the 

 Crayfish and Lobster and the Cyclops ; the Mollusca, represented by the bivalve 

 Mussel and the Squid. 



In each of these classes a careful description is given of the development, 

 anatomy, external and internal structure, and metamorphoses of each example, 

 and nothing seems to have been left undone that is necessary for the information 

 of the student. For instance, thirty-two pages are devoted to the grasshopper, 

 including full details of the hard parts and its internal conformation, twenty to 

 the earthworm, etc. The illustrations are very well executed. The work will 

 rank among the best of the present day for the use either of teachers or students, 



VI— 8 



