BOOK NOTICES. 



255 



action of running water, it was not equalled in England. The Professor also said 

 the canon of flow Stean might owe its initial character to a natural crack or joint 

 in the strata ; but may not the How Stean Beck have once pursued an underground 

 course as the Nidd does at present, and the roof of the excavation by gradual wear 

 have since fallen in ? There were here some caves, varying in size, the largest, 

 known as Eglin's Hole, being explored by the bulk of the party. Time had been 

 so well and fully spent in observations that it was impossible on the present 

 occasion to visit Goydon Pot Hole, and the direction was therefore taken towards 

 Lofthouse. Under the bridge the river bed was examined, and some intensely 

 hard black limestone, full of producti, noted. Professor Green stated that the 

 wonderful scenery around Pateley which had been just visited was due, in the 

 opinions of some, to some great convulsion of nature. This was not the case, much 

 of it being owing to the action of water, twofold in its nature, mechanical in carry- 

 ing away obstacles which impeded its progress, and chemical in dissolving the 

 carbonate of lime contained in the limestone. Referring to the ravine at How 

 Stean, he said all present had heard of the wonderful canons of Colorado, in some 

 parts over a mile in depth, and yet all cut out by the action of running water ; 

 well, here we have an example of precisely the same character, arising from the 

 same cause, and although, of course, on a much smaller scale, yet as perfect in its 

 way. He had had much pleasure in visiting this neighbourhood, not only from 

 the beautiful scenery he had beheld, but also from the variety of the physical 

 geology of the district, so unique in its character. He also suggested that a special 

 study should be made of these curious mounds or hummocks in the valley, which 

 might either be composed of morainic matter or torrential river gravels ; by obser- 

 tion of sections, their true composition and origin might be ascertained. 



None of the officers of the section for Micro-Zoology and Botany were present, 

 and therefore no report could be submitted, and the meeting concluded with a vote 

 of thanks to the chairman. .— 



BOOK NOTICES. 

 A Dictionary of the names of British Plants, for the use of amateurs 



and beginners as a help to the knowledge of the meaning and pronunciation 

 of the scientific names of British wild flowers, by H. Purefoy Fitzgerald. 

 London : Bailliere, Tindall & Cox. , sm. 8vo, pp. 96. No date on title. 

 Price, 2s. 6d. 



We regret to have vainly sought anything to praise, except it be the laudable 

 aim of the author, in this little work, issued in the early autumn of 1885. In 

 spite of the modest deprecatory appeal against ' harsh criticism ' in the preface, a 

 work of this sort must always stand or fall upon its actual merits, and if the ' help' it 

 offers is a delusion and a snare (through inaccuracy), nothing but disparagement 

 is possible. To begin with, the work supplies no want, a cheap and much ampler 

 book (Alcock's Botanical Names for English Readers ; Reeve, 1876) covering the 

 same ground is already in existence, and Mr. Fitzgerald's seeming ignorance of the 

 fact is the sole raison d'etre his later work can lay claim to. Apart from very 

 doubtful, if not absolutely false statements as regards names and derivations, 

 affording incontestible internal evidence of imperfect knowledge of botanists and 

 botanical literature, this petite book is well enough so far as it goes, and where it 

 deals with such simple words as acris, apifera, Linna>a> lutea, etc. , may safely be 

 accepted as reliable, if in places amusingly simple ; but outside very narrow limits 

 the information it affords is so meagre, not to say embryonic, as to leave quite 

 unsatisfied all save the humblest and most superficial aspirations after ' light, more 

 light.' For example, to put off the mass of the amateur botanists of 1886 — to 

 whom the bewildering erudition of the recent 8th Ed. of the London Catalogue of 

 Plants is seriously offered as none too strong meat — with the statement that a 

 species or variety is named Bakeri 'after Mr. Baker, a botanist,' 'Briggsi' (it 

 should be Briggsii) 'after a Mr. Briggs,' Gibsoni 'after a Mr. Gibson,' ' Hailstoni 

 after a Mr. Hailston ' (whose name had an e at the end), is worse than puerile in 

 its affected, witless brevity. One is thankful, after the foregoing, that the great 

 Hooker, and the equally great Watson (although their names have been com- 

 memorated in species and varieties as well) have been mercifully omitted altogether 

 — Watson i ' after a Mr.' Watson would have been the acme of mockery. 

 Aug. 1 886. 



