u6 



SCIEXCE- GOSSIP. 



The Flora of Bon rue month. By Edward F. 

 Ltstox. Oxon. viii-}-290 pp., 7i in. x 5 in., with 

 map. (Bournemouth: H. G-. Commin, 1900. ■ - 



This is a valuable addition to the local lists of 

 plants of this country. It is not confined to 

 Bournemouth proper, but to a twelve-mile radius 

 and the Isle of Purbeck. The district is one of 

 considerable interest to botanists, as it contains no 

 less than 1,137 plants out of 1.218 that occur in 

 the county of Hampshire, including the Isle of 

 Wight, several of which are rare. The introduc- 

 tion to this work occupies a couple of dozen pages, 

 and treats upon topography, climate, geology, and 

 other important features connected with the 

 locality and the plan of the book. The flora con- 

 tains a phanerogamia and some of the cryptogamia 

 as represented by equiseta. club mosses, and blad- 

 derworts. Of course the work is simply a list with 

 localities, and not one descriptive of species ; but 

 the stations mentioned are numerous, and the book 

 as a whole will be found a necessity for field 

 botanists visiting the interesting district to which 

 it refers. 



Hoijal Society of Queensland Proceedings. Vol. xv 

 for 1899. 161 ^ xxv pp., 9| in. x 5| in. Illustrated 

 by 3 plates. (Brisbane : G. Pole & Co. 1900.) 



There are various interesting papers which were 

 read during 1899 before the society. These treat 

 of several subjects, including "Entomology of a 

 Tea-Tree Swamp," " Beginnings of Life." " Xature 

 and Origin of Living Matter, " List of Minerals 

 from Xorth Queensland," ;i Description of Some 

 Caves near Camaoweal,'" " Life History of Mos- 

 quito," with illustrations. li New Species of Lepi- 

 doptera," and the Presidential address. In this 

 he advocates the greater attention in Australia, on 

 the part of authorities of public libraries, to books 

 on scientific subjects. There is difficulty of ob- 

 taining such volumes by scattered students in 

 thinly populated districts. 



Ha/ichester Museum. Report for 1899-1900. 

 280 pp.. 10 in. x 6 in. (Manchester : J. E. Cornish, 

 1900.) 6d. 



The Manchester Museum at Owens College is 

 one of the most progressive in the country. Every 

 year we hear of additions and improvements. The 

 period covered by this report is no exception. A 

 new room, measuring 45 ft. x 50 ft., has been made 

 to hold the " Dresser " Collection of Birds, which 

 are arranged in dust-tight cabinets. It is lit by 

 electric light. In other departments additions 

 have come by exchange with the Musee d'Histoire 

 Xaturelle in Paris and elsewhere. The geological 

 museum has been improved and the important 

 collections of mollusca made by the late Mr. 

 Layard. his anthropological collection, and the 

 ■' SchiU " collection of Lepidoptera are now features 

 at Owens College. The Section of Botany has also 

 increased. Altogether Mr. Hoyle. the Director of 

 the Museum, and his staff are to be congratulated 

 on the year's work. 



American Aleurodidae. By A. L. Qttaxxtaxce, 

 M.S. 79 pp.. 10 in. x 6 in. Eight plates and 16 

 illustrations. (Washington : Government Printinsr 

 Office. 1900.) 



This is an important addition to the knowledge 

 of a little-known group of animals. A number of 

 new species are described and figured by the 

 author, who has supplied excellent drawings for 

 reference. Anyone working at this group in Europe 

 should not fail to sret this work. 



27»- Unknown. By M. Camille Flammariox. 

 xiii - 4>7 pp.. 9 in. :■■ 5f in. (Loudon and New York : 

 Harper & Brothers. 1900. 7-. «;d. 



This book is a translation of the French work 

 •• LTncormu." and is an endeavour to reduce the 

 stud}* of what is usually called " Spiritualism " and 

 the -Occult' to a scientific basis. M. Camille 

 Flammarion. who is the popular French astro- 

 nomer, very justly point* out that " the unknown 

 of yesterday may be recognised to-morrow as 

 truth." It is essentially unscientific to condemn 

 any proposition as impossible which has not been 

 thoroughly investigated and disproved. Compara- 

 tively a short time since. Auguste Comte limited 

 the study of astronomy to the distances and move- 

 ments of planets and stars. '-We can never.'' he 

 said. '• find out what is their chemical composi- 

 tion." Five years after his death in 1857, spectral 

 analysis had shown the chemical composition of 

 the planets, and stars were classed in the order of 

 their chemical nature. The book before us deals with 

 Telepathic Communications, Hallucinations, the 

 Psychic Action of One Mind upon Another. Dreams. 

 Divination of the Future, and Magnetism. The 

 examples given of the use of hypnotism for medi- 

 cinal purposes are similar to those described by 

 M. Bernheim in his work on " Suggestive Thera- 

 peutics." The instances of psychic force are care- 

 fully collected and set before the reader. Whether 

 M. Flammarion can be held to prove, as he claims, 

 that psychic forces exist which " can transmit 

 thoughts and impressions to human beings at a dis- 

 tance, without the intervention of the senses," he at 

 any rate deserves the thanks of all thinking people 

 for the painstaking and scientific manner in which 

 he has treated a subject that charlatanism or actual 

 fraud have done much in the past to drag into 

 disrepute, and prevent earnest thinkers from investi- 

 gating in a systematic manner. We would, how- 

 ever, suggest that the incidents related would be 

 of greater value if the names and addresses of 

 those testifying were more often given for authen- 

 ticity. In fact, the lett r: "X,"so commonly used 

 in French newspaper reports, is rather too much 

 in evidence to inspire confidence. The book is 

 ended by a chapter entitled " Conclusion," in which 

 the author sums up his views. Though not deny- 

 ing the possibilities of some of bis hypotheses, we 

 fear there is a tendency on his side too readily to 

 accept mere statements on subjects which from 

 their nature render difficult accurate investigation. 

 The whole matter is one of great interest to 

 human beings. To what extent other animals are 

 affected by psychic forces we have no trustworthy 

 means of ascertaining ; neither do we know whether 

 they are the result of the recent institution of a 

 " new sense " due to man's civilisation, or a " dying 

 sense " which maybe becoming obsolete. — F. W. 



Works on Photography in the Library of the 

 Patent Office. 62 pp.. 6} in. x 4 in. (London : 

 H.M. Stationery Office, 1900.) 6d. 



We are glad to observe this, the first of a bio- 

 graphical series of the various subjects included in 

 that useful institution, the library of the Patent 

 Office in London. This number includes not only 

 the works on photography, but also on the allied 

 arts and sciences. The present list comprises 557 

 works, including seventy-three serials, wholly or in 

 part photographic, and representing 1.300 volumes. 

 To this is added a key to the classification of 

 headinsrs. 



