412 
rOPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
by L. Mngrini ; Professor Tyndall’s Rede Lecture on Radiation ; on Meteor- 
ites, by M. Daubier ; on Electric Resonance of Mountains, by H. de Saus- 
sure; and several others which we cannot now mention. They all 
contain interesting valuable matter, and are all of interest ; but we think 
it questionable whether the proper object of the society is fulfilled in repro- 
ducing them. 
A STAR-ATLAS.* 
T HIS work, which barely “came in for” an announcement in our last 
number, is now before us, and we must say a word or two in its favour. 
Firstly of the contents of the work. It shows all the stars visible to the naked 
eye in its twelve circular maps, and has in addition two “ Index plates ” in 
which the six northern and six southern maps are exhibited in their proper 
relative positions. Both of them are capitally executed. The two maps of 
the northern and southern hemispheres are not so perfect as we could wish, 
but this is no fault of the author’s, but rather due to the circumstance that 
an immense multitude of things had to be brought within a limited space. 
But when we consider that they are merely general, and that their object is 
merely to show the student generally how the stars are arranged as a whole 
around the globe, they are very complete. It is when we come to consider 
the twelve maps, six of the northern hemisphere and six of the southern, 
that we are compelled to offer our best thanks to Mr. Proctor for the great 
labour and time which he must have spent in his endeavour to bring them 
up to their present perfection. They are very fine, being each about 
eighteen inches in diameter, and are on a sort of grey outline, and contain to 
the seventh magnitude of the stars (the different magnitudes being well 
arranged), and finally the nebulie. Though we cannot afford space to follow 
the author through the lengthened argument he adopts to show that the 
method adopted of placing the stars is the best, we must say that for ourselves 
we do not see any better plan ; and though Mr. Proctor’s is not perfection, 
it is so much better than any of the plans hitherto devised, that we cannot 
but congratulate him on its selection. We think the author has done well 
to arrange the stars according to the plan adopted in the Catalogue of the 
British Association, and it seems to us that he is if anything too apologetic to 
his readers. His work is well done, and must have involved immense labour. 
'Jake the following as an instance of the kind of work the author has had to 
go through. “ It must be remembered that, owing to the great size of the 
originals, the work of mapping was very wearying. The map had to be placed 
horizontally because of the large catalogue I had to refer to, and also because 
a star near the top of a map might be followed by a star near the bottom, &c., 
so that no slope could be adopted which would have been convenient for 
marking in successive stars. Thus all stars falling near the upper part of 
a map necessitated an altitude by no means favourable for good writing. 
• u A Star-Atlas for the Library, the School, and the Observatory,” &c. 
Drawn by Richard A. Proctor, B.A., F.R.A.S., and photo-lithographed by 
L. Brothers, F.Ii.A.S. London : Longmans, 1870. 
