Geology and Natural History. 481 



guarantee as to the depth and thoroughness of treatment, while in 

 the chapter on the "Origin and Descent of Rocks," in which is 

 presented an outline of the recently proposed quantitative system 

 of classification, the authors have had the assistance of Prof. J.. 

 P. Iddings. 



In the reviewer's opinion, the volume hardly supplants the 

 manuals at present in use but rather supplements them, and from 

 the somewhat philosophic and evolutionary cast would be most 

 profitable to the student who has previously accumulated suffi- 

 cient facts to feel the need of their coordination. It will be of 

 chief value, therefore, to advanced students, to geological special- 

 ists, enabling them to get comprehensive outlooks over related 

 fields, and to teachers of geology in general. The character of 

 the volume should make it attractive also to the general reader of 

 scientific tastes who wishes to follow the latest trends of geologic 

 thought. j. b. 



6. The Mineral .Resources of the United States for the Calen- 

 dar year 1902 ; David T. Day, Chief of Division of Mining and 

 Mineral Resources. Pp. 1038, 8vo. U. S. Geological Survey, 

 Washington. — This is the Nineteenth Annual Report of the 

 series, and is in the octavo form which is most convenient 

 for use. It gives the usual summary of the mineral production 

 for the year, with detailed papers on specific subjects by different 

 authors. The system now adopted of distributing the individual 

 chapters in advance of the final volume, whenever such are ready, 

 has the great advantage of bringing the material within reach of 

 the public very promptly, while the complete volume issued later 

 is invaluable for reference. 



7. Fragmenta Florae Philippinae / by J. Perkins, Ph.D. 

 Fascic. 1 ; 66 pages imp. 8vo, Leipzig, 1904 (Gebriider Born- 

 traeger, price 4 marks). — Even before the pacification of the 

 Philippines various projects were formed by Americans for the 

 scientific investigation of the Islands. It was felt that the 

 American occupation of this biologically rich archipelago not 

 only offered to our investigators new opportunities but in a way 

 imposed upon them certain obligations toward activity in the 

 fresh field thus unexpectedly opened. In their enthusiasm some 

 of those most eager to undertake this task little appreciated its 

 difficulty. Biological areas are not changed by shifting political 

 boundaries. The Philippines are and must always remain a part 

 of the Old World. We have not in all America adequate litera- 

 ture or authentic specimens for a scholarly examination of the 

 Philippine flora. To accumulate such material must be a matter 

 of years of patient and critical labor. It is true that American 

 energy, backed by the liberal support of the United States gov- 

 ernment, as well as by private patrons of science, could speedily 

 bring together in our country Philippine collections more exten- 

 sive than any which have resulted from the slower methods of 

 Spanish or other foreign explorers, yet this is by no means suffi- 

 cient. The Philippine flora possesses such a strong affinity with 



