816 



SCIENCE. 



[X. S. Vol. XXI. Xo. 543. 



Dr. True's studies, and these are that several 

 American species which have been proposed 

 are quite nominal and that, as a whole, the 

 species of the Atlantic coast of Jsorth Amer- 

 ica can not be distinguished from those of 

 European waters. Further, the whales of the 

 Pacific coast, with the exception of the gray 

 whale, bear an extremely close resemblance to 

 those of the Atlantic, although at present 

 material is not available to definitely deter- 

 mine whether or not they are specifically 

 identical. 



The eastern species admitted by Dr. True 

 are the finback, Balcenoptera pliysalus 

 (Linn.) ; sulphurbottom, B. musculus (Linn.) ; 

 little piked whale, B. acuto-rostrata Lacepede; 

 pollack whale, B. horeaUs Lesson; humpback, 

 Megaptera nodosa (Bonnaterre) and North 

 Atlantic right whale, Baloena glacialis Bon- 

 naterre. These scientific names are those 

 recognized after a careful study of the litera- 

 ture and are practically those adopted in Dr. 

 True's paper of 1898, since he noted that M. 

 nodosa had been applied to the American 

 humpback prior to the use of M. longimana 

 for that taken on the European coast. 



It is certainly a relief to see the species of 

 cetacea rescued from the maze of synonymy 

 in which they have for many years been in- 

 volved, and if any one is so unfortunate as 

 to come upon some unique work that would 

 change any of the above names it is to be 

 hoped that he will promptly destroy it and 

 thus earn the gratitude of posterity. 



The fifty plates, with from two to four 

 figures on a plate, are devoted to reproductions 

 from photographs of crania and other impor- 

 tant parts of the skeletons, and many views 

 of stranded whales and whales lying on the 

 slips at whaling stations. The index is one 

 that not even the Nation can criticize and 

 Mr. True is to be congratulated vipon the 

 successful completion of a long and difficult 

 piece of work. F. A. L. 



TWO RECENT MOSS ROOKS. 



Di{. A. J. GiujUT has just published a second 

 edition of 'Mosses with a Iland-Lens,'* which 



*' Mosses with a Hand-Lens.' Second eilition 

 with Hepatics, pp. xvi -|- 208. Marcli, 1905. 



includes also some of the more common he- 

 patics. The new edition, which follows the 

 same general plan as the first edition, is ex- 

 panded, to included 169 of the ' more common 

 and more easily recognized mosses of the 

 northeastern United States,' as well as fifty- 

 four of the hepaticEE of the same region. 



The descriptions are non-technical, and only 

 such characters are employed as, according to 

 the experience of the author, can be deter- 

 mined by the use • of a powerful hand-lens. 

 The key to the families of mosses is followed 

 by a tn'e/ introduction and a short considera- 

 tion of the life history and general structure 

 of mosses. The last topic could be somewhat 

 expanded with profit to the student. The text 

 contains something like 118 figures and 39 

 full-page plates, the latter reproductions very 

 largely from the Bryologia Europsea, which is 

 a sufficient guarantee of their excellence. 

 Many of the figures are rather lacking in 

 clearness of detail, but in the matter of typog- 

 raphy and illustrations, the work is so much 

 of an improvement over its predecessor that 

 it deserves special commendation. 



To those who are without the advantages of 

 a compound microscope and can not afPord 

 the author's more complete book, ' Mosses with 

 Hand-Lens and Microscope,' this little volume 

 will prove a valuable aid. If it serves as a 

 stimulus to a more detailed study of this very 

 interesting group of plants, its existence will 

 be justified. 



Many students of mosses will probably wel- 

 come the appearance of ' Moose ' by Dr. W. 

 Migula.* Although the work is primarily in- 

 tended for German students, it contains much 

 that will be valuable for American students, 

 and its reasonable price places it within the 

 reach of all. 



The first chapter deals with the structure 

 of the moss-plant, and the general features of 



$1.75. Published by the author, 306 Lenox Eond, 

 Flatbush. Borough of Brooklyn, New York City. 

 Also O. T. Louis Co., 59 Fifth Ave., Xew York 

 City. 



* Band 1. ' Moose,' in Band V. of Professor Dr. 

 Thome's ' Flora von Deutsehland, Oesteri-eieh, und 

 dcr Sclnvciz.' Pp. vi + 512. 19 M. 1904. 

 Fricdrich von Zezschvvitz. Gera, R. 



