234 Literary Notices. 



British Museum. (London : printed for the Palaeontographical 

 Society, 1866.) — Mr. Woodward unites the Eurypterida and Xiphos- 

 ura under the order Merostomata, proposed by Dana for king 

 crabs only. The term "Merostomata" is derived from firjpo?, a 

 thigh, and oro/xa, a mouth ; the peculiarity of the order being that 

 the creatures it includes " have a mouth, furnished with mandibles 

 and maxillee, the terminations of which become swimming feet and „ 

 organs of prehension." The present part of Mr. Woodward's work 

 commences with some important introductory observations, and 

 then describes the Pterygotus Anglicus, with the help of numerous 

 figures of fossils, and of recent Crustacea, for comparison with the 

 former. Our readers will recollect an important paper by Mr. 

 Woodward in our vol. iv., p. 229, accompanied by a fine plate. To 

 this paper we may refer for highly-interesting information on a very 

 curious group of animals. The present monograph will evidently 

 take a high rank amongst similar publications, and it is illustrated 

 by numerous well-executed plates. 



The Student's Text-book of Electricity. By Henry M. Noad, 

 Ph.D., E.R.S., F.C.S., Lecturer on Chemistry at St. George's Hos- 

 pital, author of a " Manual of Chemical Analysis," " A Manual of 

 Electricity," etc. With Four Hundred Illustrations. (Lockwood 

 and Co.) — Since the publication of Dr. Noad's Manual of Electricity 

 we have constantly used it as a book of reference, and found its 

 merits of a high order. The present volume is founded upon it. 

 An admirable method of compression is employed, and the type, 

 though smaller than that of the Manual, is very clear. The various 

 subjects are all brought up to date, and, as a student's book, none 

 that we are acquainted with can compete with it. 



The Art of Wood Engraving : a Practical Handbook. By 

 Thomas Giles. With numerous Illustrations by the Author. 

 (Winsor and Newton.) — Mr. Gilks enjoys an excellent reputation as 

 a wood-engraver, and the present pretty little volume explains step 

 by step the various processes by which a wood engraving is made. 

 The lessons are well selected and simply explained, and cannot fail 

 to prove useful to those who wish to practise an elegant art, and to 

 be acquainted with the principles on which it is conducted. 



A Description of the New Telescopes with Silvered Glass 

 Specula ; and Instructions for Adjusting them. By John Browning, 

 E.R.S. (Straker and Sons.) — The great importance of the new 

 telescopes gives value to this pamphlet in explanation of their pecu- 

 liarities. Mr. Browning certainly does not overrate their merits. 

 One which we have, and others which we have seen, deserve more 

 praise than his modesty has assigned to them. This pamphlet con- 

 tains a great deal of valuable matter. 



Hints on Spectacles : When to Wear, and how to Select them. 

 By W. Ackland, Surgeon. (Home and Thornthwaite.) — The 

 primary object of this pamphlet is no doubt to sell the spectacles 

 made by Messrs. Home and Thornthwaite, in connection with whose 

 establishment Mr. Ackland is well, and honourably known to the 

 scientific world; but it differs, like Mr. Browning's pamphlet, from 

 an ordinary trade puff. It contains a well written exposition of the 



