232 Revmvs — Our Scientific and Popular Journals. 



Bistinj^ of the crji'stalline rocks of Scandinavia and Finland and the 

 Silurian, Devonian, and Cretaceous strata, once extending from 

 Scandinavia over the area now occuj^ied by the northern part of 

 the Baltic and its bays through Courland and Esthonia far away 

 eastwards. 



The trees of this old northern land appear, nevertheless, to have 

 enjoyed a temperate climate, elevated probably by a warm marine 

 current from the tropics. Thus Camphor-trees, Willows, Beeches, 

 Birches, and numerous Oaks occur, together with Pines and Firs, in 

 great variety, and amongst them the Amber-pine. In order to account 

 for the richness of the Amber deposit. Dr. Zaddach assumes that 

 many thousands of this last-named tree must have perished, and 

 the amber-gum accumulated in vast quantities in the soil previous to 

 the submergence of the land. 



A detailed account of all the beds is given, including a description 

 of the more modem Brown- Coal Formation, the trees of which 

 nearly agree with the existing European flora. 



A good map of the North-west Coast of Samland, with numerous 

 sections, and also a plate of Fossil Insects found in Amber (deter- 

 mined by Mr. Frederick Smith, of the British Museum), together 

 with a list of authors who have written on the subject, completes 

 this most useful and valuable memoir. 



III. The Intellectual Observer having remained single for six 

 years, has become tired of celibacy, and this being leap-year, has 

 wedded the " Student," by which name it will be in future known. 

 Mr. Jackson writes in No. I, February, on "The Screw-Pine" 

 {Pandanus) and its allies. (For a good account of the fossil Pandanece 

 see Mr. Carruthers' article in Geol. Mag. for April last, p. 153, PI. 

 IX.) — Mr. Shirley Hibberd, about Ailantus silkworm culture ; — Mr. 

 J. K. Lord on the Pocky Mountain Goat. — Mr. Thomas Wright (in 

 Nos. 1, 2 and 3), on Womankind in all ages : he has not, at present, 

 touched upon Pre-historic ladies, when he does, however, we shall 

 take care to call attention to the fact. 



In No. 2, Mr. Jackson informs us that the fine old patriarch of the 

 vegetable world, " The Dragon-tree" of Teneriffe, computed by some 

 authorities to be six thousand years old, fell a victim to a furious 

 gale which swept across the Island last autumn. Humboldt describes 

 it as 45 feet in circumference a little above the root, and Sir George 

 Staunton as 12 feet in diameter, 10 feet from the ground, and its 

 height 70 to 75 feet. Fossil wood from the Iguanodon Quarry near 

 Maidstone has been attributed to this genus {Braccena Benstedii, 

 Konig.) 



In No. 3, Professor Church gives us an account of " Turacine." a 

 new animal pigment containing copper obtained by him from the red 

 feathers of the " Touraco," or ''plantain-eater." It is not a little 

 singular that this red colour is instable in the wing of the living bird, 

 and can readily be removed by washing the feather. Three birds 

 — two species of Plantain-eaters and one Musophaga — have yielded 

 this compound of copper. The birds are from the Cape, Natal, and 



