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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Catalogue of the Marine Molluscs of Japan. By 

 Henry A. Pilsbry, Conservator, Conchological 

 Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 

 Philadelphia. 106 pp. demy 8vo, illustrated by 11 

 lithographed plates. (Detroit : Frederick Stearns, 

 1895.) Price, paper covers, $1 ; cloth, $1.50. 



This handsome work is more than a mere 

 catalogue, for it describes and figures forty new 

 species and eight varieties of marine mollusca from 

 the Japanese fauna, and is said to be a complete 

 list of those animals, as far as known up to the date 

 of publication ; thus superseding Dunker's "Index 

 Molluscorum Japonici." The catalogue before us 

 contains upwards of 500 more species than the 

 latter work. Much care has been taken with the 

 collation of the discoveries, localities and illustra- 

 tions of other authors treating the Japanese group. 

 It is an excellent contribution to the study of 

 geographical distribution of marine mollusca. Much 

 of the new material described by Professor Pilsbry 



the reptiles. Mr. Lydekker shows well in this and 

 the last part, when considering fossil forms, how 

 very closely allied are the reptiles to the birds. 

 The comparative portion of the work has always 

 been valuable, but in this instance it is especially so, 

 for even the least thoughtful reader cannot help 

 being struck with the development of Aves in one 

 direction and Reptilia in another, from some 

 common stock. 



British Birds' -Nests : How, where and when to find 

 and identify them. By R. Kearton, with an Intro- 

 duction by R. Bowdler Sharpe, LL.D., pp. xx. 

 and 368 medium 8vo. Illustrated with upwards 

 of 120 photographs by C. Kearton. (London: 

 Cassell and Co., Limited, 1895.) Price 21s. 



This is indeed a beautiful book ; a work of art 

 as well as one most interesting to the amateur 

 ornithologist. As a rule the plates are a great 

 success, being reproduced from photographs taken 

 of the nests in situ. To accomplish this, it has been 



Chronophotographic Camera for Studying Flight of Insects. (From " Movement" by E. J. Marey.) 



was collected by Mr. Fredk. Stearns. The number 

 of species peculiar to Japan, apart from the Indo- 

 Pacific faunas, has been largely increased. The 

 old questions of nomenclature and classification 

 crop up again in this work. 



The Royal Natural History. Edited by Richard 

 Lydekker, B.A., F.R.S. Illustrated with 72 

 coloured plates and 1,600 engravings. (London 

 and New York : Frederick Warne and Co.) 

 Published in is. parts. 



Parts 23, 24 and 25 of this work are now before 

 us. Part 23 is quite a sportsman's number, as it 

 contains some of our familiar game birds and rails, 

 also their allies in other parts of the world. Some 

 of the illustrations are very good, for instance, a 

 group of Spitzbergen ptarmigans on page 397. In 

 Part 24 we come to the gulls, with their neighbours. 

 Vol. iv. is concluded, with the birds, in this number, 

 the ostriches and emeus coming last. Part 25 

 commences Vol. v., the first animals in it being 



necessary to travel many thousands of miles and 

 occupy much time in awaiting favourable oppor- 

 tunities. Not only have ordinary photographic 

 cameras been used, but also Dallmeyer's telephoto 

 lenses ; such having been necessary in cases like 

 the picture of a raven's nest, facing page 222, 

 where it was impossible to get anywhere near the 

 situation. The arrangement of the birds in this 

 work is alphabetical. In the introduction, Dr. 

 Bowdler Sharpe considers this book " marks an 

 era in natural history, just as Gould's ' Birds of 

 Great Britain ' and Booth's ' Rough Notes ' did in 

 the past. The method of illustrating works on 

 natural history has undergone as much development 

 as the illustration of the animals themselves has 

 done in our public museums." Certainly, when 

 we compare the illustrations with those in the old 

 standard works of the early part of this century, 

 the present generation has much for which to feel 

 thankful. Photography has its faults, but these 

 have been reduced to a minimum in this work. 



