SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



NOTICES BY JOHN T. CARRINGTON. 



TJie Origin of Species. By Charles Darwin, 

 M.A. xiv + 703 pp., 8 in. x 5| in., with portrait. 

 (London : John Murray. 1900,) 2s. 6d. net. 



This new impression and cheap edition of the late 

 Charles Darwin's epoch-making work will come as 

 a boon to thousands of young students and their 

 elders. The book is embellished by one of the best 

 portraits of the author that is extant ; in fact it is 

 so good as to be in itself worth the price of the 

 book. This edition is well printed in good readable 

 type, and we have to congratulate Mr. Murray upon 

 enabling the many who have desired to possess 

 this work to find it within their reach. 



Thomas Sydenliam. By Joseph Frank Payne' 

 M.D. xvi + 264 pp., 8 in. x 5| in., with portrait- 

 (London : T. Fisher Unwin. 1900.) 3s. 6d. 



This is another of Mr. Fisher Unwin's " Masters 

 of Medicine," of which series we have already 

 noticed several in these columns. Thomas Syden- 

 ham flourished in troubled times, when medicine 

 was little understood as a science. He was born 

 in 1624 and was one of those who laid the founda- 

 tion of this present highly respectable profession. 

 The author of the book before us has had rich 

 opportunities, ' denied to previous biographers of 

 Sydenham, in consequence of the recent publication 

 of historical documents relating to Sydenham and 

 his times. The result is an exceedingly readable 

 book of high interest to students of history, 

 medicine, and science generally. 



A Year with Nature. By Percival Westell. 

 xvi + 276 pp., with 170 illustrations. (London: 

 Henry J. Drane. N.D.) 10s. 6d. 



Though this book is undated, it appears to have 

 been recently issued by the publisher, as the 

 author's preface is dated August last. It is one of 

 the handsome picture-books that have latterly 

 appeared with numerous illustrations depicting- 

 country scenes, in this case chiefly dealing with 

 birds. Some of the plates are very pleasing, but 

 others taken, from groups of preserved specimens, 

 are by no means so successful. The book is divided 

 into months as sections, and the letterpress into 

 essays upon country lore. The last section, that 

 devoted to December, includes some useful notes 

 on birds' claws. In another section is a study of 

 birds' beaks, and also one on birds' tails. The 

 book is nicely produced, and will form a handsome 

 present for anyone with a taste for the country. 



Flora of Skipton a.nd District. By Lister 

 Bothery. vii+ 135 pp., 8| in. x 5| in., with dia- 

 grams. (Skipton : Edmondson & Co.) Is. 6d. 



At the request of the Craven Naturalists' Asso- 

 ciation, Mr. Lister Rothery has prepared a list of 

 the flora of Skipton and district. It not only 

 contains the Phanerogamia, but also the Musci and 

 other Cryptogamia. There is a long list of fungi. 

 This local flora will be found useful for comparative 

 purposes. 



Birds of Ireland. By Richard J. Ussher and 

 Robert Warren, xxxi + 4 19 pp., 9 in. x 6 in., with 

 a coloured frontispiece, 7 plates, 7 illustrations in 

 text, and 2 maps. (London : Gurney & Jackson. 

 1900.) £1 10s. 



This is one of the most important ornithological 

 works, dealing with a restricted fauna, which has 

 been published for some time past. The authors 

 have for upwards of a decade been preparing the 

 materials from which it is constructed. The 

 design is scientific, and the contents trustworthy. 

 The many original observations are of more than 

 local interest. There is also included every 

 item of ornithological interest which has appeared 

 in various magazines since the days of Thompson, 

 who wrote, half a csntury ago, so much on th * 

 natural history of Ireland. The work is preceded 

 by a table arranged in columns, giving the Eng- 

 lish and Irish names of the birds, with the pro- 

 nunciation and their meaning. These are printed 

 in the Celtic characters. There is another valu- 

 able table giving the distribution of the species of 

 birds which have bred in Ireland in the nineteenth 

 century. The main body of the book is occupied 

 by notes on each species. These are copious, and 

 deal not only with the distribution, but also with 

 habits and other features connected with each 

 species. The nomenclature followed is that adopted 

 in the second edition of Mr. Howard Saunders' 

 ''Illustrated Manual of British Birds." The 

 coloured frontispiece represents half-a-dozen hand- 

 some varieties of peregrine falcons' eggs from 

 Ireland. The photographic plates are of subjects 

 well taken, and beautifully reproduced. One of 

 the most remarkable of these is by Mrs. Wynne, 

 of Castlebar, representing cormorants' nests in 

 trees. This appears to us to be of exceptional 

 interest; and a not generally known habit in these 

 birds. 



JReports of the Moss Exchange Club, Edited by 

 the Rev. C. H. Waddell and Mr. J. A. Wheldon. 

 63 pp., 8J in. x 5.| in. (Stroud : J. Elliott. 1900.) 



These reports - the fourth and fifth issued by 

 this society, applying to the years 1899-1900 — show 

 the character and extent of the very useful work 

 being done by its members, in the list of whom 

 for 1900 we regret to notice a slight falling off in 

 numbers as compared with that of the previous 

 year. That 5,300 specimens of mosses and hepaticae 

 shoidd in two years have been distributed among 

 the members is pleasing evidence of the increasing 

 interest now taken in this fascinating branch of 

 botany. We are glad to notice that there has been 

 instituted a beginners' section of the club, with the 

 nominal subscription of one shilling per annum. 

 The hon. secretary for this department is Mr. E. C. 

 Horrell, 49 Danby Street, Peckham, London, S.E. 

 This should be a material help to all who, starting 

 on the study of mosses and liverworts, find diffi- 

 culty in ascertaining whether their specimens are 

 correctly named, or in getting types of the prin- 

 cipal genera as a starting-point for individual re- 

 search. A very important feature of the reports 

 is a statement that an arrangement has been made 

 for every specimen of moss or hepatic to be ex- 

 amined by experts, and the nomenclature checked. 

 This of course entails much labour on the dis- 

 tributor, but is invaluable in eliminating error and 

 its perpetuation. The members ought to be, as 

 they doubtless are, grateful for the admirable 

 manner in which the Moss Exchange Club is con- 

 ducted by its hon. secretary, the Rev. C. H. Waddell, 



