1878.] 
Notices of Books. 
275 
The first numberin Vol. iv. gives the records of much good work. 
The first paper, “ Notes on the Ornithology of the Lower Rio 
Grande of Texas,” by G. B. Sennett, may give the general public 
an idea of the difficulties which naturalists have to encounter on 
theirexplorations. “While we were constantly on the alertforhuge 
rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and centipedes, still more troublesome 
enemies were with us continually in the shape of wood-ticks and 
red bugs, to say nothing of the fleas. The wood-ticks we could 
pick off or dig out, but the abominable red bugs, too small to be 
seen, work themselves through the clothes and into the skin, 
making one almost wild with incessant itching. We only ob- 
tained partial relief by giving ourselves from head to foot, before 
going to bed, a bath of ammonia, and a daily bath of kerosene 
oil before going into the brush.” 
The author secured five hundred birds, one altogether new to 
Science ; about a thousand eggs, many of them new or rare ; a 
few mammals, all of which proved interesting ; and quite a col- 
lection of inserts. 
Drs. Coues and Yarrow’s “ Notes on the Herpetology of 
Dakota and Montana ” include a most valuable account of the 
rattlesnake, of which five species, belonging to the two closely- 
allied genera Crotalus and Caudisoma , infest the region in ques- 
tion. The authors do not believe in the alleged power of 
fascination possessed by this reptile, and consider that the use 
of the rattle is a problem still unsolved. “ One thoroughly esta- 
blished faCt concerning the rattle is that its practical operation 
is injurious to its possessor, by provoking attack from those who 
can cope with it successfully.” There is no known specific for 
the poison of the rattlesnake, but its bite, unlike that of the 
cobra, is by no means invariably fatal. 
Geological Survey of Victoria. No. 4. Report of Progress by 
the Secretary for Mines, with Reports on the Geology, 
Mineralogy, and Physical Structure of Various Parts of the 
Colony. By Messrs. Murray, Krause, Taylor, Howitt, 
Nicholas, McCoy, and Newberry. Melbourne: Ferres. 
London : Triibner and Co. 
It is satisfactory to know that the exploration of Australia — 
geological, palaeontological, and mineralogical — is not standing 
still. Attention is mainly directed, not unnaturally, to the occur- 
rence of gold-fields and auriferous quartz veins. Still the ex- 
istence of other useful minerals and the occurrence of animal 
and vegetable remains are not overlooked. Prof. McCoy makes 
