360 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



but the general reader can peruse its pages perhaps with greater 

 advantage than he would those of a more scientific character. 

 One of the most interesting incidents detailed is that of a vast 

 flock of "a kind of grey petrel " seen in about 40° south, 

 and about a thousand miles east of the Cape. They could be 

 seen for about eighteen miles in every direction, and the sailing- 

 ship took six hours to get clear of them with a steady 5g--knot 

 breeze. The doctor, " who was a bit of a calculator," estimated 

 that they were in the centre of a circle of birds thirty-six nautical 

 miles in diameter, or a square of thirty-six miles — i. e. 1306 

 square miles — or 4,079,108,160 square yards ; and, as each 

 Petrel, clear of its neighbour, occupied about three square yards 

 of water space, that would give 1,359,702,720 individuals. 



The illustrations are of an exceedingly middle-class descrip- 

 tion. 



Fishes of Australia ; a Popular and Systematic Guide to the 

 Study of the Wealth within our Waters. By David G. 

 Stead. Sydney : W. Brooks & Co., Limited. 



This is a well-illustrated popular book in the best sense of 

 the word. " Of over twelve thousand species of fishes at present 

 known, about one-tenth have been recorded from the waters of 

 Australia." It has not been attempted to deal with the whole of 

 these, but rather to give a comprehensive view of the fauna, and 

 we think Mr. Stead has succeeded. The illustrations are good 

 and ample, and the small book well fills a gap. The letterpress 

 has been compiled with care. 



