Botany and Zoology. 75 



tation of the systematic relations of the groups, a full account of 

 the structure, a connected sketch of the life history of palms, 

 starting from germination. The topics of distribution and uses 

 are treated in a reasonably full manner, and all has been done in 

 a careful and attractive way. 



The illustrations are of the first order, comparing well in every 

 way with any yet published in any country. The low price of the 

 great work (1.50 marks, for each number of forty-eight pages), 

 should place it in the libraries of most of our Colleges. The 

 parts are to appear about every month, and the whole work will 

 be finished in six years. g. l. g. 



2. An introduction to the Study of Lichens; by Henry 

 Willey, New Bedford. — We have been long in need of some 

 English work which should give in a condensed and easily com- 

 prehensible form the main facts concerning the structure of lichens 

 and their classification, since most recent text-books treat lichens 

 from a developmental point of view and do not give what may 

 be called the common-place facts which every beginner wishes to 

 know. The present work of 43 pages besides a supplement and 

 10 plates, is especially, adapted to the needs of those who wish 

 something to enable them to use understandingly the synopsis of 

 Prof. Tuckerman. There are chapters on the structure of lichens 



'and the method of collecting which give the essentials in a com- 

 pact and convenient form, as well as one on the distribution of 

 North American lichens and an excellent summary of the progress 

 of lichenology. The most valuable part of the work for lichen- 

 ologists is the supplement which gives an enumeration of North 

 American species of the genera not included in Tuckerman's 

 Synopsis, as far as published, from Bwonrycei to Verrucariei. 

 This is in fact a revised edition of the latter part of Willey's List of 

 North American Lichens published in 1873, with an enumeration 

 of all species discovered since that date and descriptions of 11 

 new species, 2 of them by Tuckerman. It is of interest to note 

 that the number of species of the orders above named now known 

 in North America is greater by more than a half than in 18*73. 

 The plates represent the spores of North American genera. 



W. G. F. 



3. The West Indian Seal {Monachus tropicalis). — The Bul- 

 letin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. ii, No. 1, 

 contains a description of the West Indian seal. Up to December, 

 1886, only one specimen was known to be in any Museum, the 

 National Museum at Washington, a specimen formerly in the 

 British Museum "having disappeared." In December, Mr. H. L. 

 Ward, of Rochester, son of Prof. H. A. Ward, the energetic head 

 of the establishment for supplying Museums, visited " The Tri- 

 angles " off the coast of Yucatan, with Mr. Fernando Ferrari- 

 Perez, of Mexico, found the seals numerous and obtained a large 

 number of skins and some skeletons, which were brought to 

 Rochester. Those of the skins representing the male, female and 

 young, and one skeleton, are now in the American Museum, New 



