SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



3°7 



BOOKS TO READ 



NOTICES BY JOHN T. CARRINGTON. 



Text-Booh of Vertebrate Zoology. By J. S. 

 Kingsley. viii + 439 pp., with 378 illustrations, 

 8| in. x 5| in. (London : George Bell & Sons ; 

 New York : Henry Holt & Co. 1900.) 12s. net. 



Following the aphorism that observation and 

 uncorr elated facts do not make science, Professor 

 Kingsley has produced an addition to the already 

 numerous text-books on Vertebrate Zoology. The 



national body.has fixed a uniform system which 

 we may all adopt. The figures forming the illus- 

 trations are generally well drawn and instructive, 

 i lie subjects being chosen \\ if li discrel ion. 



A Primer of Astronomy. By sir Robert Ball, 

 LI,. I)., F.R.S. viiin L83 pp., 7 in. I.! in., with 

 11 plates and 23diagrams. (Cambridge University 

 Press. 1900.) is. 6d. net. 



Sir Robert Ball lias placed before his readers n 

 primer on the subject of astronomy, which will be 

 found admirable for those who have not yet 

 entered upon the pleasures of its study. Sir 

 Robert's lucid style and easy diction render his 

 pages so simple as to appeal without difficulty to 

 the popular mind. The fifteen chapters are divided 

 into numbered paragraphs, which render reference 

 easy. The plates are from subjects obtained from 

 the best sources, and are well reproduced. By 

 permission of the publishers we give, as an ex- 



Mare Nubiuin 



Mare Nectaris 



Mare 

 Foecunditatis 



Mare 

 Tranquillitatis 



Mare Orisium 



Mare Imi'i-umi 



The Full Moon. Age 14 days, s hoars. Photo, at Lick Observatory. 

 ( From Sir Robert Ball's " Primer of Astronomy," I 



first part of his volume is devoted to an outline of 

 morphology of vertebrates, based upon embry- 

 ology, and the remainder presents an outline of 

 the classification of vertebrates — a subject, as Pro- 

 fessor Kingsley reminds us, that has in recent 

 years been too much ignored in college work. For 

 this purpose reference is made to fossil as well as 

 recent forms, since the existing fauna of the earth 

 should be studied in the light of the past. In 

 the classification the author differs in some points 

 from other students, and in regard to nomenclature 

 he prefers to keep well-known generic names- in 

 spite of the law of priority. There is some com- 

 fort in this — at any rate, till some recognised inter- 



ample of the illustrations, a picture of the moon 

 at full, as photographed at the Lick Observatory. 

 This little work is sure to largely increase the 

 popular knowledge of celestial bodies. 



Michael Faraday. By Silvanus 1'. Thompson- 

 D.Sc, F.R.S. ix -i 308 pp., 7^ in. x5 in., with por- 

 trait and 2l' illustrations. (London, Pari-. New- 

 York, and Melbourne : Cassell & Co.. Ltd. L901.) 

 2s. 6d. 



This constitutes a volume of the " Century 

 Science Series." Professor Silvanus Thompson has 

 been successful in giving in his pages a history of 

 the life and work of this eminent scientific worthy. 



