304 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
from the Publishers’ Circular, “ the superficial deposits of gravel, &c., which, 
though comparatively thin, have so great an effect on the form of the surface- 
and the nature of the soil.” 
The work can be had in various forms, to suit the convenience of pur- 
chasers. Each of the 24 sheets is sold separately ; or the whole in a portfolio, 
with an index inside the cover ; or mounted together as a large wall-map. 
BIBLE PLANTS.* 
B IBLE students have every reason to be grateful to Mr. Smith, the ex- 
curator of the Botanical Gardens at Kew, for the concise history of 
the plants mentioned in the Bible which he has just prepared for their delec- 
tation and improvement. He has devoted a considerable amount of labour 
to the identification of the plants and plant-products mentioned in the- 
Scriptures, and to collecting and considering the opinions of previous writers, 
and in this little volume we find the results of his investigations. The wholo 
number of plants, as he tells us, is only about 100, and those who have 
never paid attention to the subject will be rather surprised to find how 
many plants, called by familiar English names in our “Authorised Version,”’ 
are anything but what they profess to be. Thus the “ tares ” spoken of fre- 
quently in the Bible are not the same as the wholesome and nutritive vetch 
which is known by that name, but a species of grass very similar in 
appearance to wheat or rye, but the grain of which is so poisonous that 
serious illness or even death has been caused by eating bread containing its. 
flour. This explains some of the references to tares, and especially to the 
sowing of tares amongst an enemy’s wheat. Many points of equal interest 
to this appear throughout the book, which is illustrated with ten charac- 
teristic plates. We recommend Mr. Smith’s little volume to the attention of 
all interested in Bible studies, especially to those who have to do with the 
communication of information on scriptural matters to the young. 
PHOTOGRAPHIC SPECTRA.f 
T HTS is an excellent work of reference, well got up, and containing thirty- 
eight excellent autotype plates of spectra, including an additional photo- 
graph of the solar spectrum and spark in air, compared for the purpose of 
showing the position of bright lines in the former assigned by Professor 
Draper to oxygen. Other bright lines are seen towards the green end in 
both spectra, which are not included in Professor Draper’s photograph. 
The metallic spectra were obtained by the induction spark and by means 
of the electric arc. The wave-lengths are taken partly from Lecoq de 
Boisbaudran, partly from Dr. Watt’s “ Index of Spectra.” The photographs, 
are printed four to a page, on uniform lengths of four inches, on prepared 
paper of fine nacreous surface, which would probably lend itself well to 
accurate measurement. 
• “ Bible Plants : their History, with a He view of the Opinions of Various 
Writers regarding their Identification.” By John Smith, A.L.S. 8vo. Lon- 
don : Hardwicke and Bogue, 1878. 
t “ Photographic Spectra.” One hundred and thirty-six photographs of 
metallic, gaseous, and other spectra, printed by the permanent autotype 
process with introduction, description of plates, index, &c. By J. Paul 
Oapron, F.R.A.S. 8vo. London : Spon. 1877. 
