SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



6 7 



we took exception to the class of natural-science 



books purchased by many of the newly-established 



free libraries. This new series is to a large extent 



a solution of the difficulty. If a future beginner 



gets hold of one of these volumes, his first path to 



a knowledge of the subject will be made smooth 



indeed, in comparison with the 



tyros of twenty-five years ago. 



With sufficient support, Messrs. 



Macmillan may perhaps be in- 

 duced to enlarge the number of 



the proposed ten volumes, so as 



to include others on plants, which 



are so much needed. We know 



of no general work on plants 



founded on the excellent plan of 



this new series on the animals, 



and feel sure such would be 



heartily welcomed. 



As " The Cambridge Natural 



History " is fully planned out in 



manner of its publication, it 



matters little whether the vol- 

 umes appear in exact sequence. 

 The first issued is, in fact, Vol- 

 ume iii. being the Molluscs 

 and Brachiopods, both recent and 

 fossil. The Rev. A. H. Cooke occupies 459 pages in 

 his section of mollusca, and has succeeded in placing 

 this subject in an interesting manner before his 

 readers. There are no less than 311 figures illus- 

 trating the first portion 

 of this volume, three of 

 which we reproduce as 

 examples. The excellent 

 system of side-headings 

 in thicker type is adopted, 

 giving titles to the para- 

 graphs dealing with each 

 subject. These are most 

 varied, ranging from 

 "Showers of Shells," or 

 " Prices given for Shells," 

 to "Larva; of Unionidas," 

 or " The Septentrional 



Sub-Region" of the pal.tarctic region, in which our 

 fauna is included ; but, whatever the subject, it 

 is fully explained in the simplest of language. In 

 Mr. Cooke's section the opportunities for pleasant, 

 chatty writing are numerous, and, although he has 

 not failed to keep well to the front the scientific 

 aspect of the work, he has fully availed himself of 

 the lighter vein, thus making the book most read- 

 able. It is only natural that the reverend author 

 should have dug out an anathema of the Church 

 against molluscs, which is so quaint we cannot 

 resist quoting it in full. He says : " Snails have 

 occasionally fallen, with other noxious creatures, 

 under the ban of the Church. In a prayer of the 



-opjt 



Sight in Molluscs. 



Eye of Helix pomatia, L., retracted 

 within the tentacle ; c, cornea ; ep, 

 epithelial layer; /, lens; op.n, optic 

 nerve ; r, retina. (After Simroth.) — 

 From Cooke's " Molluscs." 



Sight in Molluscs. 



Pecten opcrcularis L,, showing the ocelli on the two 

 edges of the mantle.— From Cooke's " Molluscs." 



holy martyr Trypho of Lampsacus (about ro 

 cent, ad.) there is a form of exorcism given which 

 may be used as occasion requires. It runs as 

 follows : ' O ye caterpillars, worms, beetles, 

 locusts, grasshoppers, woolly-bears, wircworms, 

 longlegs, ants, lice, bugs, skippers, canker-worms, 

 palmer-worms, snails, earwigs, and 

 all other creatures that cling to 

 and wither the fruit of the grape 

 and all other herbs, I charge you 

 by the many-eyed Cherubim, and 

 by the six-winged Seraphim, which 

 fly round the throne, and by the 

 holy angels and all the powers, 

 etc., etc,, hurt not the vines, nor 

 the land, nor the fruit of the trees, 



nor the vegetables of , the 



servant of the Lord, but depart 

 into the wild mountains, into the 

 unfruitful woods, in which God 

 hath given you your daily food.' " 

 A large number of the figures 

 are original, especially those illus- 

 trating comparative drawings in 

 the stages of growth of some 

 shells, or the development in 

 various species, or of characteristic 

 formation in the genus to which they belong. 

 Again, interesting series are illustrated, showing 

 how generic characters run from one to another, as 

 in the case of the marginal slit in Hemitonia, 

 increasing in Emarginula 

 and Macroschisma, until it 

 becomes enclosed by the 

 margin in Craniopsis and 

 Puncturella, finally be- 

 coming an apical hole in 

 Fissurclla. 



Chapter x. on " The 

 Geographical Distribu- 

 tion of the Land and 

 Freshwater Mollusca " is 

 most interesting and very 

 exhaustive, figures of the 

 characteristic shells of 

 some of the regions being given, as well as four 

 coloured maps of the regions. 



The remaining sections of Vol. iii. are devoted to 

 the Brachiopoda, and although occupying so much 

 less space than Mr. Cooke's section, the authors, 

 Messrs. Arthur E. Shipley and F. R. Cowper Reed, 

 have succeeded in making their subjects entertain- 

 ing and most instructive. 



The price of Vol. iii. of "The Cambridge 

 Natural History " is 17s.net. Messrs. Macmillan 

 have executed their part in producing the book 

 admirably, and we feel sure this series will become 

 most popular. 



J. T. C. 



