i6 



SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



Mosses, with a Hand-lens. By A. J. Grout, 

 Ph.D. s + 74 pp., 8J in. x 5J in., with viii 

 plates and 90 other illustrations. (The Author. 360 

 Lenox Road. Brooklvn. Xew York. 1900.) 

 4s. 8d. 



" The purpose of this work,'" writes Dr. Grout 

 in the Preface, ''is to give, by drawings and 

 descriptions, the information necessary to enable 

 anyone interested to become acquainted with the 

 more common mosses with the least possible 

 outlay of time, patience and money." The illustra- 

 tions, which are very numerous, have been drawn 

 by Miss Thayer, without the aid of the compound 

 microscope. The descriptions are based on 

 characters, all of which may be observed ''with 

 the aid of an ordinary hand-lens of ten to fifteen 

 diameters' magnifying power." The object and 

 scope of the book is therefore much the same as 

 that of the -'Young Collectors' Handbook of 

 3Iosses." by Bagnall. It must be confessed that 

 American publishers excel us in the illustration of 

 botanical text-books. The figures accompanying 

 the letterpress here, without being in any way 

 elaborate or highly finished, are real illustrations, 

 and will prove a very practical assistance to the 

 beginner. It may be mentioned that, of about 

 100 species figured, over three-quarters of the 

 number are British. Accents are given to aid the 

 student in the pronunciation of the Latin names — 

 a very commendable practice, for which he should 

 be grateful. Exception, however, may be taken 

 to Dicranum, i.e., a long and accented. We 

 doubt, too, whether any power on earth will 

 induce a right-minded" individual to pronounce 

 Leucobryum (p. 59) with the accent on the short o. 

 Perhaps the most noticeable featitre of the book to 

 readers on this side of the Atlantic is the use of 

 English names wherever possible, and in some cases, 

 we think, where absolutely impossible. It is most 

 desirable, in a work intended to facilitate and 

 popularise a study, that accepted popular names, 

 where such exist, should be employed in preference 

 to the sesquipedalian nomenclature of science ; but 

 it is doubtful whether the wholesale Anglicising of 

 Latin names will ever succeed in creating a popular 

 nomenclature. The " Fallacious Screw-moss " 

 (Barbula fallax) and similar products of the 

 earlier bryologists have never taken root here, and 

 we doubt greatly whether the " Woodsy Mniurn " 

 (Mn. sylvaticunv) and the " Fuscous Dicranum ' 

 (D. fuscescens) have '• come to stay," even in the 

 United States. Apart from this, however, there is 

 a general absence of technical terms that is very 

 refreshing ; while the student who needs to 

 consult more advanced works will "find a full 

 glossary of such terms provided at the end of 

 the work. The price includes postage to this 

 country.— H. X. D. 



Journal and Transactions of Leeds Astronomical 

 Society. 122 pp.. 8+ in. x 5§ in., 4 plates and 

 4 illustrations. (Leeds : R. Jackson & Son.) 2s. 



The report of this Society for 1901 is full of 



interest, particularly the article, by Mr. O. T. Whit- 

 mell, on " The Planet Venus as a Yiew Point '" ; 

 '• The Year's Observations," by Mr. H. J. Towns- 

 hend; "The Total Eclipse of the Sun," from 

 Algiers, by Mr. Henry Wyles ; and from Xaval- 

 moral in Spain, by Mr. C. T. Whitniell ; also an 

 unsigned paper on " The Xew Star in Perseus." 

 The journal is good, and the Society is evidently 

 •• alive." It should receive the support of every- 

 one interested in astronomy in the neighbour- 

 hood of Leeds. At present it numbers ninety - 

 eight members, including eight ladies, several 

 of whom are well known workers. The Society 

 is likely to prove of real help to its members. — 

 F. C. B. 



Stalk-eyed Crustacea. By Charles G. Young, 

 M.A.. M.D.. xix + 514 pp., 8| in. x 5| in., with 7 

 coloured plates and figures in text. (London : 

 John M. Watkins. 1900.) 12s. 6d. 



The group of Crustacea included in Dr. Young's 

 work are those inhabiting British Guiana, West 

 Indies, and Bermuda. It is convenient to have 

 what the author calls a " Handlist " of the stalk- 

 eyed Crustacea of the western, tropical, and sub- 

 tropical Atlantic, as the information concerning 

 them was very scattered, in monographs and shorter 

 papers, in periodicals. The author has followed 

 the classification of Mr. H. Milne-Edwards in the 

 case of the larger divisions, but that of Messrs. 

 E. J. Myers and J. S. Kingsley for the tribes of the 

 Brachyura. In his introduction the author wisely 

 gives some explanation of scientific terms, which will 

 be an encouragement to the many persons who, 

 though without the specialist's scientific know- 

 ledge, on finding themselves in the geographical 

 district mentioned, would like to know more about 

 the 420 odd species described in this work. 

 Though quite unpretentious, the descriptions will 

 well serve their purpose, especially with the illus- 

 trations explaining the synopsis of genera. Xo 

 attempt is made to overload them with unneces- 

 sary terminology : therefore any person of ordinary 

 intelligence will find the book within under- 

 standing. The coloured plates will be found 

 useful, and are well executed. There is a 

 valuable bibliography, but in a further, edition 

 it would be worth while to insert some instructions 

 for collecting and preserving the larger crustaceae 

 for the advantage and encouragement of those 

 who might be induced to study this order in the 

 regions investigated by Dr. Young. 



Vitality. By Lioxel S. Beale, F.R.S., F.R.C.P. 

 xvi + 78 pp., 7 in. x 5 in. (London : Churehills. 

 1900.) 6d. 



This little pamphlet has been written with the 

 object of emphasising three points: (1) "That ours 

 is the only life-world at this time known " ; (2) " that 

 all living matter is, and has ever been, absolutely 

 distinct from all non-living matter"; (3) "that the 

 differences between man and all other organisms 

 in nature are absolute." Though one may differ 

 from Dr. Beale in his conclusions, especially with 

 regard to the last definition, his arguments well 

 repay investigation. He commences with a pre- 

 face on "Prolegomena, or What is Man?", con- 

 tinuing with short expositions on many subjects 

 connected with life, amongst others being "Labora- 

 tory Production of Living Matter," "Man's Organ- 

 ism," " Matter, Ether, and Motion," and concludes 

 with a "Defence of Vitality," defined as a non- 

 physical influence. 



