REVIEWS. 



457 



the extensive plains of the Lothians, begirt by the Pentlands aud_ Lammcr- 

 nuiirs, the Bass and Berwick-Law to the south ; the prospect from either sum- 

 mit may vie with any in the kingdom, presenting at once to the eye v hateyer 

 is necessary in water, forest, and mountain to form the beautiful, the pic- 

 turesque, or the grand." The palace of Falkland lies at the base of the East 

 Lomond, and in the midst of the deep blue waters of Loch-leven stand the 

 ruins of the keep in which the unfortunate Mary Stuart was imprisoned by her 

 subjects. Towards the southern boundary of this county, near a tributary of 

 the river Eden, between the ^veU-known to^iis of Cupar and St. Andrews, is 

 Dura Den, famous in geological circles for its "yellow sandstone," the beautiful 

 fossil fish entombed in which have given celebrity to this locality in every quar- 

 ter of the world. Most of the species peculiar to this " yellow sandstone" are 

 figured in Agassiz' grand work the " Poissons Eossiles," and in that author's 

 separate memoir on the fishes of the Old lied Sandstone (MonograpUe des Poissons 

 fos-siles da Vieux Grh Rouge). The present monograph in a scientific point of 

 view derives one of its chief values from the descriptions of the new piscine 

 forms Phaneropleuron Andersoni;^ and GJyptohpinus Khinairdi, by Professor 

 Huxley. 



Of ibr. Anderson's own labours we may say that he has usefully compiled 

 the observations of other geologists on the zoological and physical character of 

 tlie Old Bed sandstone, and that he has done full justice to the opinions of 

 Murchison, Austen, and Page on the origin of that formation, bringing promi- 

 nently forward Mr. Austen's ingenious speculations on its possible lacustrine 

 origin. The inference of its marine character derives its strongest support 

 from the enormous thickness of the conglomerates in Scotland and Hereford, 

 for the fishes may well be freshwater, and thcii" admixture or concurrence with 

 marine forms iti the Bussian equivalent of this deposit may be due to a possible 

 liabit of their visiting the sea, like the sturgeon, at certain periods, or to their 

 having lived so near the sea as to be swept down by floods. 



But wdiile wishing to favour and encourage this, as we always desire to do 

 every monographic work, we can not help regrettmg that many errors of state- 

 ment, as well as typal incorrectnesses, have been allowed to pass forth to the 

 world. 



Nothing is more essential to scientific books than absolute correctness, and 

 in such a monagraph as this of Dura Den, we ought not to find Pterygotus spelt 

 wuth an improper o (p. 23) for the proper y, Encrinites spoken of and described 

 (p. 93) as corals (!). Nor should, an inverted Hlustration as that of the 

 characteristic heterocercal tail (p. 39), be allowed to escape notice. Truths are 

 easily distinguished by the learned from casual errors, but it is different 

 with the not skilfully versed : to detect one error is suggestive to them of ano- 

 ther, and they naturally argue if an author blunders in small things, he is not 

 reliable for the more important ; thus many a valuable treatise has been cast 

 aside, and every author who does not heed such minor matters wiU ever be 

 subject to the like neglect. 



Associated as Dr. Anderson's name is with the early history, and the compli- 

 mentary nomenclatui'e of the fossil fish of Dura Den, to no one could we have 

 looked more appropriately for an account of that highly interestiag and beautiful 

 locality ; and appearing as this work did at the period of a great gathering of 

 learned gentlemen (the British Association Meeting), patronized by applaud- 

 ing royalty, it must have proved a tempting bijo2i for the many visitors that 

 the Den, from its proximity to the scene of scientific action, would have had on- 

 the late occasion, and whom we are sure received a thorough Scottish welcome 



* The term GJijpticus was applied by Agassiz to some fragments of this fish : that author 

 concurs in Professor Huxley's more descriptive generic name. 



