Miscellaneous Intelligence. 419 



Dr. G. Marx, on the Myriapods, by Mr. C. H. Bollman, and on 

 the Helicoid Land Mollusks, by Mr. H. A. Pilsbry. 



An appendix contains notes on the recent literature of coral 

 reefs, presenting fairly the general course of argument in the 

 several papers or works mentioned. 



IV.' Miscellaneous Scientific Intelligence. 



1. British Association. — The meeting of the British Association 

 for the year was held at Newcastle, commencing on Wednesday, 

 September 11. The address of Professor W. H. Flower, the 

 president, was devoted mainly to the subject of the arrangement 

 of museums, but it closes with a few words on evolution which 

 end in the expression of his opinion, that the " principle of nat- 

 ural selection has played a most important part in the production 

 of the present condition of the organic world; that it is a univer- 

 sally acting force continually tending toward the perfection of 

 the individual, of the race, and of the whole living world." The 

 address in the section of Mathematics and Physics was by Capt. 

 W. de W. Abney, on the effect of light on matter; in that of 

 Chemistry, by Sir Lowthian Bell, on progress in metallurgy 

 through the aid of chemistry ; in that of Geology, by Professor 

 James Geikie, on progress in knowledge and theory with 'respect 

 to the Ice-age; in that of Geography, by Sir F. de Winton ; that 

 of Economic science, and Statistics, by Professor F. Y. Edge- 

 worth, on mathematical reasoning in political economy ; that of 

 Mechanical science, by Wi. Anderson, on the molecular struct- 

 ure of matter, etc. ; that of Biology, by Professor J. S. Burton 

 Sanderson, on the mechanism of life in its simpler aspects ; 

 that of Anthropology, by Sir Wm. Turner, on the subject of 

 heredity. 



For the several addresses in full, the reports of committees, and 

 abstracts of papers read, we refer readers to " Nature," com- 

 mencing with the number for September 12. 



2. Scientific Papers of Asa Gray. Selected by Charles 

 Sprague Sargent. In 2 vols. 8vo. of 398 and 504 pp. (Hough- 

 ton, Mifflin & Co.). — These handsome volumes contain a selection 

 from the reviews, biographical sketches and shorter essays of Dr. 

 Gi'ay, and not from those issued by himself in volume form, nor 

 any of his papers in descriptive botany. For fifty years he was 

 personally identified with the botanical work of the world, and 

 particularly with that of America; and, besides his special labors 

 in the science, he was led by his interest in botany and in his 

 fellow-workers to write reviews of botanical publications as they 

 appeared, biographical sketches, and essays on various topics sug- 

 gested by his own researches or those of others. These shorter 

 papers, therefore, " furnish the best account of the development 

 of botanical literature during those fifty years." Prof. Sargent 

 states in his Preface that the amount of material he had for selec- 

 tion was overwhelming, the bibliographical notices and reviews 



