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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



the period of his death by his grand-daughter. It is 

 deeply interesting reading for the lover of nature, 

 and Miss Audubon has done well to point out the 

 simple, generous character of her grandfather. 

 Unfortunately some biographers have described 

 him as vain and ungenerous, but we think the 

 reader will agree with the editor of his journals 

 in her opinion that such a character is quite 

 unfounded. The illustrations in these volumes 

 include ten portraits of Audubon, which show 

 him as a man of refined features with keenly 

 observant eyes, doubtless inherited from his father, 

 a French admiral, though in some of the pictures 

 we may trace the ancestry of his Spanish Creole 

 mother. 



These volumes are well worthy a place in every 

 public library, when they would be doubtless 

 largely read in this country by many who are not 

 naturalists, as well as by the great and increasing 

 number who take more than a passing interest in 

 the works of Nature. 



The Naturalist's Directory for 189S. 128 pp. 8vo. 

 (London : Upcott Gill. 1898.) is. 



Although thicker by many pages than its prede- 

 cessor of last year, this "Directory" is still very 

 incomplete. It is nevertheless worth its published 

 price, and may save some of our readers trouble in 

 looking up addresses. It is to be hoped the editor 

 will be able, before the issue of the next annual 

 edition, to give much more attention than hitherto 

 in obtaining the immense number of names and 

 addresses which have still to be included in any- 

 thing nearly approaching a perfect directory, such 

 as ought to be issued, if even at a higher price. 



Report of Field Columbian Museum, 1896-97. 

 91 pp. large 8vo, 14 plates. (Chicago: 1897.) 



The frontispiece of this number is a picture of 

 the Field Columbian Museum of Chicago, which 

 is an immense building apparently admirably 

 designed. The other plates are interesting, and 

 perfect models of what illustration should be. In 

 fact, we have rarely seen any reproductions to 

 equal them for clearness in detail as specimens of 

 interior photography. The report is necessarily 

 a recapitulation of the work done during the 

 previous year, consisting of additions to the 

 museum and library, scientific lectures, and 

 cataloguing the objects in the museum, to which 

 collection many valuable additions have been 

 made. The Institution is evidently making rapid 

 progress. 



Fishes and Reptiles of Somaliland. 22 pp. large 

 8vo, one plate. (Chicago : 1S97.) 



This is one of the publications of the Field 

 Columbian Museum zoological series, and consists 

 of a list of the fishes and reptiles obtained in the 

 Museum East African Expedition to Somaliland, 

 in 1896. It is edited by Mr. S. E. Meek. The 

 plate is an excellent drawing of a new species of 

 fish of the family Scorpaenidae, named Pterois 

 ellioti Meek. We regret to see, however, that it is 

 described from a single specimen from Berbera, 

 but the plate indicates a very distinct-looking 

 form. In addition to this new fish, there are three 

 new Amphibia and a couple of new Lacertilia, also 

 described by Mr. Meek. 



A New Astronomy. By David P. Todd, M.A., 

 Ph.D. 480 pp. i2mo, with six coloured plates 

 and a large number of illustrations in the letterpress. 

 (New York, Cincinnati and Chicago : American 

 Book Company, 1898.) Si. 30. 



Without exception this appears to be one of the 

 most complete handbooks on astronomy, and 



exceedingly suitable for schools and students. 

 The author is fully qualified to write such a 

 work, as he is not only Director of the Amherst 

 College Observatory, but also well known as 

 leader of two solar eclipse expeditions under the 

 auspices of the United States Government. One 

 being to the West Coast of Africa, and the 

 other to Japan. Dr. Todd visited the latter 

 country on a second occasion in charge of an 

 astronomical expedition promoted by Amherst 

 College. He has certainly succeeded in producing 

 a most attractive and popularly written handbook. 

 This has been attained by placing more importance, 

 on the physical than on the mathematical side of 

 astronomy. Thus he creates a rapid interest in the 

 minds of his readers, which would be more difficult 

 to attain by the digestion of ponderous volumes. 

 The selection of subjects for illustration indicates 

 that most careful attention has been given to that 

 important department. The coloured plates are 

 a marked feature of the book, and some of them are 

 from observations of the author. The frontispiece 

 is one of the most striking, it represents the colour 

 effects on the landscape as seen by his party in 

 Japan during the total eclipse of 1896. There is 

 hardly a subject connected, directly or indirectly, 

 with astronomy which is not mentioned and 

 explained, including the names and use of instru- 

 ments, terms and methods of calculating distances. 

 We strongly recommend this handbook for the use 

 of schools and public libraries. 



Queensland A borigines. By Walter E. Roth, B.A ., 

 M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. 209 pp. royal 8vo, with 438 

 illustrations on twenty-four plates. (Brisbane : 

 Edmund Gregory. London : Queensland Agent- 

 General's Office, 1897.) 



The full title of this work is " Ethnological 

 Studies among the North-West Central Queensland 

 Aborigines." It is a valuable contribution to 

 ethnology, the author having had exceptional 

 opportunities, while medical officer, of studying the 

 language, customs and habits of the people whom 

 he portrays. Dr. Roth has made good use of 

 those opportunities, and the reader cannot fail to 

 remark upon the systematic manner in which he 

 has arranged his information. It consists of studies 

 in the native language, elementary grammar, 

 vocabulary, and an exceedingly interesting chapter 

 upon the expression of ideas by manual signs, 

 which are much practised, and are as elaborate as 

 the code of signs adopted by civilized races in 

 communicating with deaf mutes. These are illus- 

 trated by 213 figures, each expressive of an idea. 

 This book contains a remarkable chapter on ethno- 

 pornography, a subject which is too rarely dealt 

 with in a scientific manner. 



On Laboratory Arts. By Richard Threlfall, 

 M.A. 350 pp. 8vo, illustrated by gi figures. 

 (London and New York : Macmillan and Co., 

 Limited, 1898.) 6s. 



The author of this work is Professor of Physics 

 in the University of Sydney, and its object is the 

 laudable one of teaching young physicists to render 

 themselves as independent as possible of the 

 scientific instrument maker. The author points 

 out that there are many students with excellent 

 powers for observation and capacity for carrying 

 out experiments providing the instruments are 

 ready to hand, but who would be incapable of 

 making their own apparatus in case of failure, or 

 breakage. He has, therefore, prepared a number of 

 hints and instructions which will be found extremely 

 useful in the amateur's laboratory. Independently 



