276 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



practical way of dealing with the subspecies problem, as far as 

 clearness goes, though it might be pointed out that when we 

 have to use five words as the name of a given form, we are 

 getting near the old-fashioned plan of a brief description of the 

 species, to be used as its name, without its advantages of 

 intelligibility. Moreover, although, as in the case of the bird 

 quoted, the reduction of a form to subspecifio rank is often an 

 advantage both from the practical and scientific point of view, 

 there is a tendency to overdue lumping, as when Mr. Moulton 

 suggests that the largest form of the well-known Hill- or Talking- 

 Mynahs (Eulabes javanensis) is probably a subspecies of the 

 smallest or South Indian form (E. religiosa) ; the birds in this 

 case being quite as different as the Carrion-Crow and Eaven. 

 There is an interesting disquisition in the Introduction on the 

 evolution of nomenclature, but, although we fully recognize the 

 utility of such lists as the present, one cannot understand why 

 naturalists in the Tropics should worry about closet subjects at 

 all, and we have full sympathy with our author's plan of relegat- 

 ing all proposed alteration of names to his footnotes. 



Junior Botany. University Tutorial Press, Ltd. London, 1915. 

 The study of field zoology is intimately connected with 

 botany — indeed, we understand that one of our best known field 

 botanists in this country commenced his Nature studies as an 

 entomologist — so that, although we do not desire botanical 

 books for review in the ' Zoologist,' it may be pointed out that 

 the present manual is clearly written and well adapted for laying 

 the foundations for botanical knowledge. Stress is particularly 

 laid on experiments, which are far too much neglected by 

 zoological students. The only direct references to animals in 

 the book are naturally the descriptions of plant-devices for 

 fertilization and seed-dispersal by the aid of animals. 



The Auk. New series, vol. xxxii. Nos. 1, 2. Cambridge, Mass. 

 U.S.A. 1915. 3 dols. yearly. 

 There is much good matter in the first two numbers of this 

 Journal of the American Ornithologists' Union that have appeared 

 this year, but some that is rather depressing reading. We are 

 told by Mr. Henry K. Coale in the January number of the 



