BOOK NOTICES. 



281 



gathered, but it was not stated whether they were truly wild specimens. The 

 whole landscape was made bright by masses of Gorse and Cowslip in full bloom. 



For the Geological section the report was given by its secretary, Mr. S. A. 

 Adamson, F.G.S., of Leeds. The members of this section had accompanied 

 Mr. Knubley's party as far as Lofftus Hill ; in this neighbourhood there were no 

 good sections to be seen, but at a farmhouse was shown the humerus of some huge 

 mammal, which had recently been found in some draining operations. It was 

 arranged that this be sent shortly to the Leeds Museum for further examination. 

 Good opportunities offered of examining the pebbles and fragments of rock found 

 in the glacial deposits with which so much of the area of the district is covered. 

 In the erratic drift were observed boulders of mountain limestone, chert, and 

 galliard with striae ; while the local drift contained fragments of permian rocks and 

 new red sandstone. The members then proceeded to the 'Devil's Arrows,' huge 

 gritstone monoliths, and afterwards to Aldborough. The Rev. Mr. Elmhirst sub- 

 mitted to the section some good rock specimens, including blocks of tufa and some 

 fragments of magnesian limestone exhibiting a remarkable green colouring, which 

 will be submitted to analysis; and Mr. T. Carter Mitchell, of Topcliffe, exhibited a 

 huge neolithic celt found inhisneighbourhood, evidently adapted from a liassic nodule. 



The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to Mr. Porritt, proposed by 

 Mr. J. W. Addyman, B.A., Starbeck, and seconded by Mr. J. R. Penistone. 



BOOK NOTICES. 



A Naturalist's Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago, 

 a Narrative of Travel and Exploration from 1878 to 1883. 



By Henry O. Forbes, F.R.G.S., &c. With numerous illustrations, from the 

 author's sketches and descriptions, by Mr. John B. Gibbs. London : Sampson, 

 Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington. 1885. [With five Maps.] 

 The scene of Mr. Forbes' five years of labour in the cause of science is laid in 

 lands already rendered classic by Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace's enchanting book, 

 ' The Malay Archipelago.' The fact that there was scope for much further scientific 

 investigation in these Isles of unique position, each and all of whose fauna and flora 

 is of surpassing interest, since they form the border lands where two great 

 zoo-geographical regions — Oriental and Australian — meet, is well evidenced by 

 the importance of the book before us. Indeed, as one would expect of lands so 

 peculiarly situated, there is yet a great work to be accomplished, especially in 

 regard to their natural history. 



We consider the author's model is a happy one for a book of this description. 

 The book is subdivided into the following parts : — I. In the Cocos-Keeling Islands ; 

 11. In Java ; III. In Sumatra ; IV. In the Moluccas and Timor-Laut ; V. In 

 Buru ; VI. In Timor. Several chapters are devoted to each section in which the 

 natural history, physical features, and the incidents of travel encountered during 

 the sojourn, are pleasantly set forth. Each section is furnished with a scientific 

 appendix devoted to the valuable Ethnological, Zoological, and Botanical 

 results of the author's investigations ; and in some cases where but little or nothing 

 was hitherto known of the region under consideration, complete lists of all the 

 species recorded as occurring are furnished. In the preparation of these appendices 

 it is only necessary to mention that the author has had the assistance of such well- 

 known naturalists as Drs. P. L. Sclater and Garson ; Messrs. C. O. Waterhouse, 

 R. B. Sharpe, A. G. Butler, W. F. Kirby, G. A. Boulenger, and others, which is a 

 guarantee of their excellence and of their value to the specialist. The book is one 

 of extreme interest throughout, but those chapters devoted to the hitherto terra 

 mcognita — the Timor-Laut, or Tenimber Islands, and to the but little-known 

 Island of Timor, are specially attractive. The presence, too, of Mrs. Forbes, who 

 went out to be married, and who accompanied her husband for two years, assisting 

 him not a little, adds to the romance of the wanderings. 



To the naturalist interested in geographical distribution, or studying the faunas 

 or floras of the Oriental or Australian regions, and also as one of those charming 

 combinations of natural history and travel which have been so popular since 

 Darwin's 'Voyage of the Beagle,' and which are so acceptable to the scientific 

 tendencies of the present time, we have much pleasure in bringing it under the 

 notice of ou r readers as a book in everyway deserving their attention. 

 July 1885. 



