302 Literary Notices. 



where the pressure nrust be enormous, the temperature very cool, 

 and the quantity of light excessively small, and which nevertheless 

 glow with magnificent tints, popularly imagined to be peculiar to 

 regions that are exposed to the warmth and illumination of a 

 tropical sun. The Goby family likewise supply much interesting 

 matter, which the possessors of aquariums will appreciate, as some 

 of the Gobies are among the most elegant of their captives. The 

 Remoras and Sucking Fishes also occur in our list, and the Shanny, 

 which climbs out of the water and basks on a sunny rock. Mr. 

 Couch kept one of these fishes for six months, and he tells us that 

 in the summer it would lie for hours together on a stone, and 

 passed half its time out of water. Cooler weather induced it to 

 remain in the liquid element under shelter of a stone. Reading 

 these and similar instances shows us that a " fish out of water" may 

 be an image of enjoyment as well as of discomfort, and facts of this 

 kind bridge over the gulf that separates the atmospheric from the 

 aquatic tribes. It should, however, be remarked, that fishes which 

 can live for a time in air keep their gills moist, and are furnished 

 with a slimy varnish that arrests evaporation from their skin. This 

 volume cannot fail to enhance the great popularity which has 

 hitherto attended Mr. Couch's scientific and praiseworthy labours. 



A Manual of Popular Physiology, being an attempt to Explain 

 the Science of Life in untechnical Language, by Henry Lawson, M.D., 

 Professor of Physiology in Queen's College, Birmingham, etc. — 

 Hardiviclce. Professor Lawson is an able physiologist, and, as our 

 readers know by the excellent papers from his pen that have ap- 

 peared in our pages, he possesses in a high degree the art of pre- 

 senting a difficult subject in a cle&r and interesting light. This 

 little volume bears obvious marks of extensive knowledge, and 

 capacity for imparting it ; but while we praise it for its excellent 

 qualities, we must be permitted to regret that its author did not 

 implicitly trust to his subject and to his own natural talent in deal- 

 ing with it. The incongruous matter frequently introduced for the 

 sake of amusing the reader, will in many cases have an opposite 

 effect, and tend to divert attention from the substantial merit of the 

 work. 



A Description of certain Dry Processes m Photography, 

 specially adapted to the use of the tourist, by George Kemp, M.D. 

 Dawies, London : Greenwood, Liverpool. — This little book is not 

 adapted to beginners in photography, and those who have had 

 experience will only care to read certain portions that may be new 

 to tli cm. We extract one paragraph that may be useful to some of 

 our microscopic readers. " Take, for instance, the very beautiful 

 ciliary processes of the Unit mix /lumiJus — the common rock barnacle 

 of our coasts — and arrange them on a small plate of glass ; with 

 careful washing all the saltwater and its solutions maybe removed ; 

 the whole should bo placed in a slow oven, or under the receiver of 

 an air-pump, to dry, and then a lew drops of moderately thin un- 

 iodized and freshly-prepared collodion poured over the specimen. 

 This, when dry, may be floated oil' the plate into a vessel of clear 



