300 



Reviews and Book A^otices. 



(Nees.) Lindb. var. pyrenaiciim (Spruce). Mr. Macvicar has 

 tested the plant. I found the type of this plant by the Strid in 

 Bolton Woods, where it was first found by Carrington in 1857. 

 The variety was also found in 1857 by Carrington on Malham 

 Moor. The above, as far as I can discover, are the only certain 

 records in Yorkshire of the type and the variety. The Redmire 

 plant is an addition to North Yorkshire. 



«*--*-«»»^ 



Landscape in History and other essays. By Sir Archibald Qeikie^ 



F.R.S., etc. Macmillan & Co. 1905. 8s. 6d. net. 



Sir Archibald Geikie's essays are always entertaining-, and one cannot 

 peruse them without being charmed with his literary style, as well as 

 benefitted by the fund of information which he can so ably convey. The 

 present work is no exception to the rule. It contains a collection of lectures 

 and addresses which have appeared at intervals since the publication of 

 ' Geological Essays at Home and Abroad.' Half of them deal with scenery 

 in its geological relations and in its influence on human progress. Others 

 discuss the problem of the age of the earth, whilst the ' Life and Letters of 

 Charles Darwin,' ' Hugh Miller, his Work and Influence,' and 'Science and 

 Education ' also appear amongst the ten subjects dealt with. It would be 

 difficult to find anything wMth which one could altogether disagree in 

 Sir Archibald's writings. We should, however, like to know upon what 

 evidence the statement is made (page 24) that 'a long tract of land, extend- 

 ing from Cork across the Bristol Channel and the Southern Counties to the 

 coast of Yorkshire , has sunk fiftv feet or more since the Neolithic period.' 

 This may apply to the southern counties, but we know of no evidence of 

 such a depression on the Yorkshire or Lincolnshire coast. 



Animals I have Known. Arthur H. Beavan. T. Fisher Unwin. 5s. 



This is evidently a. companion volume to ' Birds I have Known,' by the 

 same author, recently noticed in these columns. An idea of its scope is 

 gathered from the author's preface : — ' The object of this work is simply 

 to record m\ experiences of animals in various lands, without reference to 

 scientific theories as to their origin and distribution.' The book deals with 

 British wild animals, British domestic animals, Australian animals, and 

 South American animals. It contains some interesting reminiscences, 

 though these at times are rather ' wordy ' — for example, it takes three pages 

 to describe how the author once saw a wild Cat, and bid it ' a hasty fare- 

 well.' Mr. Beaven evidently uses the word 'animal' in place of 'mammal' 

 from the title to the last page of the book. On page 89 we find ' Bats. 

 A Bat an animal! Is it not rather a bird with wings of skin?' (The 

 italics are the author's.) The author's choice of illustrations is somewhat 

 extraordinary. The chapter dealing with Hedgehogs is accompanied by 

 two sketches — one being a drawing of very doubtful qualitA", the other 

 showing a group of 'Hedgehogs skating!' — evidently culled from some 

 children's story book. The index occupies almost a page. 



The Annual Report for 1904 of the Scarborough Philosophical and 

 Archseological Society includes that of the Scarborough Field Naturalists' 

 Society. Each is evidentl\- doing good work. The reports of the various 

 recorders show that natural hi^lor\- in man\- of its bi-anches is well repre- 

 sented in the Scarborough district, and tlie\" include manv most interesting 

 records. Mr. W. J. Clarke writes on the ' \'ertebrata,' Mr. W. Gyngell oa 

 ' Conchology,' Mr. R. Gilchrist on 'Arachnida' and 'Geology,' Mr. W. 

 Pearson on ' Coleoptera,' Mr. A. S. Tetley on ' Lepidoptera,' Mr. J. H. 

 Hargreaves on 'Marine Invertebrate Zoology,' Mr. E. B. Lotherington 011 

 ' Fungi, Lichens, and Alg^e,' and ]\Ir. E. R. Cross on ' Flowering Plants.' 



Naturalist, 



