SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



181 



NOTICES BY JOHN T. CARRINGTON. 



Note.-/h consequence of the great variety in sizes of books 

 now published, the old descriptions, founded on the folding 

 of the paper on which they are printed, will not in future 

 be followed in- these pages. In i:s stead their size, including 

 binding, will be given in inches, the greater being the length 

 and the lesser the breadth, unless otherwise specified. — Ed. 

 Science-Gossip. 



The Structure and Classification of Birds. By 

 Frank E. Beddard, M.A., F.R.S. xx + 548 pp. 

 8fin. x 5! in. with 252 illustrations. (London, New 

 York and Bombay : Longmans, Green & Co., 1898.) 

 21s. net. 



The author of this book, who is the well-known 

 Prosector and Vice- Secretary of the Zoological 

 Society of London, has founded it upon an impor- 

 tant MS. left by the late Professor Garrod, F.R.S. , 

 who was also the Prosector to the Society, and 

 who had commenced a work on bird anatomy 

 some time before his lamented death. His succes- 

 sor, Mr. W. A. Forbes, had intended to complete 

 it. and made some notes, with a considerable number 

 of accurate drawings, but death also removed him 

 before the opportunity occurred. So it has de- 

 volved upon Mr. Beddard to publish the book 

 before us, and excellently well has he done his 

 share towards its success. Although there are 

 several books and treatises on this subject, there is 

 not anything quite so concise nor so convenient 

 for English readers. The author's opportunities 

 are unrivalled for verifying the published state- 

 ments of others with regard to the anatomy of 

 birds and for conducting original research into their 

 structure. His laboratory at the Zoological Gardens 

 supplies every convenience, with ample subjects for 

 examination. We have, therefore, in this book not 

 only the experience of former authors carefully 

 checked by one of the best anatomists of the day, 

 but also Professor Garrod's material as left in the 

 MS. referred to. The plan of this work entails 

 three chief divisions, viz. : " The General Structure 

 of Birds," " Reproduction and Renal Organs," 

 and " The Classification of Birds." The latter 

 section occupies by far the larger part of the book, 

 taking no less than 371 pages. The illustrations 

 are carefully chosen and admirably drawn, a large 

 number being from Mr. Beddard's own pencil 

 and some by Professor Garrod and Mr. Forbes. 

 We strongly recommend library committees and 

 others who control the choice of books for students 

 to at once obtain this book, for it is sure to become 

 a classic in its subject. 



Smithsonian Institution : Report of the Museum 

 for 1895. xxii. + 1,080 pp. 9 in. x 6 in. illustrated 

 by 154 plates and 382 figures in text. (Washington : 

 Government Printers, 1897.) 



" The Annual Report of the Board of Regents of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, showing the opera- 

 tions, expenditures and condition of the Institution 

 for the year ending June 30th, 1895. Report of 

 the U.S. National Museum," is the correct title of 

 this remarkable book. It is beautifully illustrated, 

 many of the plates being quite masterpieces of the 

 art of process reproduction. This Report deals 



with the general administration. In the year 

 under consideration the Museum contained twenty- 

 eight organized departments and sections, under 

 seven administrative divisions. During that 

 period the Museum was visited by upwards of 

 200,000 persons, or a daily average of 644 on the- 

 313 days when it was open to the public. The 

 Museum library was evidently of much use to the 

 students or visitors, for upwards of 6,000 volumes 

 were consulted. Besides the general library there 

 were twenty-one sectional collections of books. 

 Part iii. of the report gives a summary of the work 

 done in the various scientific departments, and 

 lastly there are nearly one thousand pages of 

 appendices. Some of the papers in this, the most 

 important part of the book to the general reader,. 

 are most valuable. They are eight in number, 

 those devoted to anthropology or ethnology of the 

 North American Continent being three, mineralogy 

 two, natural history of Lower California one, 

 tongues of birds one ; and another on the taxi- 

 dermical methods in use at the Leyden Museum. 



Natural Resources of Indiana. Twenty - second 

 Annual Report of the Department of Geology 

 and Natural Resources of Indiana. By W. S. 

 Blatchley. xi. + 1,197 PP- 9 in. x 6 in. illus- 

 trated by 25 plates, 2 maps, and figures in text. 

 (Indianopolis: W. B. Burford, 1898.) 



The papers devoted to scientific subjects in this- 

 report are several. The first gives " The Geolo- 

 gical Scale of Indiana," with a section in diagram. 

 This is followed by one on "The Geology of Lake 

 and Porter Counties " ; "A List of September 

 Dragonflies of Whitely County " ; "A Catalogue 

 of Fossils of Indiana " ; a " Bibliography of Indi- 

 ana Palaeontology " ; and an admirable descriptive- 

 catalogue of the birds of that state is supplied by 

 Amos W. Butler. This last paper is fully illus- 

 trated by numerous figures of the birds, and in- 

 cludes 321 species known to occur in the state, and 

 eighty odd others, more or less hypothetical 1 

 visitors. 



Contributions to the Queensland Flora. By F. M. 

 Bailey, F.L.S. 34 pp. 8J in. x 5J in. and 17 

 plates. (Brisbane : Edmund Gregory, 1898.) 



This contribution to the botany of the Colony of 

 Queensland is devoted to the Freshwater Algae of 

 North-Eastern Australasia. It will be useful to 

 European students of that department of crypto- 

 gamic botany for comparative purposes. These 

 Botany Bulletins, of which this is No. xv., may 

 be obtained free on application to the Under Sec- 

 retary for Agriculture, Brisbane, on showing that 

 the applicant is a worker in the subject. 



An Illustrated Manual of British Birds. By 

 Howard Saunders, F.L.S., F.Z.S. Second 

 edition, revised, 8| in. x 5J in. (London : Gurney 

 and Jackson, 1898.) is. per monthly part. 



Twelve of the twenty monthly parts of this 

 excellent book are now complete. There are 

 several new drawings, some by Messrs. G. E. Lodge 

 and C. H. Whymper ; especially notable is one of 

 the flamingo, showing the manner of tucking up 

 the long legs during incubation. The old prints 

 illustrating this bird sitting astraddle on a mound 

 the height of its legs was one of those popular 

 errors which become perpetuated by continuous 

 copying of one author from another. Mr. Saun- 

 ders is sparing no pains to make this work as 

 completely up to date as possible, and we observe 

 several very recent records and newly-discovered 

 facts incorporated in its pages. Parts 11 and 12. 

 deal with the ducks, and commence the pigeons. 



