166 Recent Literature. [ Feb. 
asked for in the winter of 1885-86, but failed for want of the 
approval of the Secretary of the Interior. The smaller amount 
asked for at the session of Congress of 1886-87 was approved 
by the Interior Department and by the Senate,-but was lost in 
the conference between the committees of the Senate and House, 
during the last days of the term. 
This explanation is due to the various palzontologists and 
others who are interested in the completion of the work so suc- 
cessfully begun sixteen years ago, and for which so many pre- 
liminary publications have been made. The long delay in pub- 
lishing the illustrations, of which many have been prepared, is 
thus accounted for; although the inconvenience experienced by 
students is not diminished thereby. 
Pending the consideration of the question by Congress, letters 
approving or urging its favorable consideration by that body 
were received from Professors Baird, Osborn, and Scott in this 
country, and Flower, Gaudry, Riitimeyer, and Zittel in Europe. 
Notes favoring such action by Congress appeared in the ¥ahrduch 
Sir Mineralogie and Cosmos in Germany. i 
RECENT LITERATURE. 
Ridgeway’s “Nomenclature of Colors.'—This work has a 
value to others than naturalists, for it gives first'a large number 
of hints upon the selection of water-colors, pointing out thirty- 
six of the most useful and most permanent forms, and then How 
ese can be combined to make one hundred distinct shades. 
Next is a comparative vocabulary of the names of colors in 
English, Latin, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, and 
Danish. Illustrating this part of the work are ten colored plates, 
which contain one hundred and ninety-two distinct shades, each 
one named, while the explanation of each plate tells how these 
can be produced from the thirty-six colors deemed most essential 
for the water-color artist. As will readily be seen, this illustrated 
nomenclator renders the work of great value to the artist as well 
as to the naturalist, who has frequently considerable difficulty in 
his descriptions, of deciding exactly the meaning of nearly 
_ Synonymous terms. Could this nomenclature have a further 
ee Ridgeway, Robert: A Nomenclature of olen for Naturalists, and Compendium 
: si i. eed rnithologists. pp- 129, pls. 17. — 
s 
