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ANALYSES OF BOOKS. 
Gescimmelte Kleiner e Schriften Naturwissenschaftlichen Inhalts .* 
Von Charles Martins. Autorisirte Uebersetzung von 
Stephan Born. i Band. Basel : Schweighauserische 
Verlag’s buchhandlung (Hugo Richter). 
The name of Charles Martins is so widely and so honourably 
known that we shall not need to enter into any explanations on 
introducing the German edition of his collected works to the 
notice of our readers. 
Of the six essays included in the present volume, three may 
be considered of more temporary interest, and as dealing with 
subjects sufficiently well known to the thoughtful and cultivated 
portion of the English public. 
The article on the “ British Association for the Promotion of 
Science ” was written in order to promote the formation of a 
similar body in France, and in this respedt the labours of the 
author and of his friends have been crowned with success. A 
“ French Association,” essentially on the same principle, has 
been constituted, and is apparently running a course of increasing 
utility. We must not, however, forget that the German “ Asso- 
ciation of Naturalists and Physicians,” called into existence by 
the illustrious Oken, was the earliest society of this nature. 
An account of the origin and constitution of the British Asso- 
ciation, and of the proceedings at one of its annual gatherings, 
needs of course little notice in a country where both the light 
and the shadow side of this itinerant Academy are thoroughly 
well known. But we feel bound to acknowledge the accuracy 
and fairness of Prof. Martins’s descriptions. It is sometimes 
said that no Frenchman ever succeeds in fully understanding any- 
thing English. To this rule, if rule it be, the author is an 
exception. We find here no mistakes which may rank higher 
than clerical errors. 
Another memoir is devoted to the exploring voyage of the 
Challenger — a subject in itself of unquestionable interest, but 
too well known to require special analysis, though it is introduced 
by a brief historical survey of earlier scientific expeditions, 
among which due attention is paid to the ever- memorable voyage 
of the Beagle. The author laments that the medical officers of the 
French navy are rarely qualified by their previous training to 
become successful observers in any department of science. 
* The Collected Minor Works of Charles Martins on Subjetfs connetted 
with the Natural Sciences. 
