REVIEWS. 
375 
of the “ Encyclopaedia Britannica,” admits the accuracy of the old and ex- 
ploded doctrine. McCulloch is also taken to task on the same score. M. 
Valenciennes and the writer are at issue on several points, and Mr. 
Mitchell clearly indicates a few of the French naturalist’s errors, especially 
those concerning the supposed want of discrimination shown by the herring- 
in selecting its spawning-bed. We are treated to an extensive list of the 
enemies of the herring, and of the creatures on which it feeds ; a few pages 
being also devoted to the zoological and anatomical characters of the fish. 
We think this latter is the least important portion of the volume, for the 
descriptions are of an exceedingly general character, and the comparative 
anatomy of the animal is by no means fairly dealt with. Section 2 is 
very interesting, and gives an amount of instruction upon the methods of 
fishing and curing herrings in different countries which cannot he found 
elsewhere. The concluding portion of the essay is the most voluminous of 
all ; it embodies a history of everything connected with herrings and 
fisheries from the year 495 down to that of 1862. We have only to ask 
Mr. Mitchell one question. Why did he not (as his book was published in 
1864) examine the Commissioners’ Report to Parliament in 1863, and 
give us his opinion on it ? In publishing the present volume he has con- 
ferred a signal benefit on science, and has supplied the public with a most 
readable and instructive treatise. It is, we believe, the most copious 
monograph that has ever been written on the natural and chronological 
history of a single animal. 
THE SECOND STEP IN CHEMISTRY .* 
W E here thank Mr. Galloway for compiling the volume bearing the 
above title. It is a book which was much wanted, and will be a 
great boon both to lecturers and students. It is intended for a higher class 
of readers than those who sit upon the theatre-benches in the capacity of 
“ first-year’s-men.” The author has spared himself no amount of labour 
in bringing out this “second step and it may with safety be averred 
that the result reflects equal credit on him as a thoroughly well-read 
chemist and an able exponent of the subject which he professes to teach. 
This textbook may be said to embody everything that is at present known 
regarding philosophic chemistry ; and while it contains all that concerns 
the theoretical branches of the science, it is also adapted for employment 
as a book of reference by those pursuing a series of practical organic 
investigations. The views of all the modern English and Continental 
chemists find a place in Mr. Galloway’s manual, so that the student is not 
treated to an author’s hobby, but has the option of selecting those opinions 
which appear to be supported by the greatest weight of evidence. The 
* “ The Second Step in Chemistry, or the Student’s Guide to the Higher 
Branches of the Science.” By Robert Galloway, F.C.S., Professor of 
Practical Chemistry in the Museum of Irish Industry. London : John 
Churchill. 1864. 
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