Review of Recent Geolooical Literature. 37 
into which he can not inject his staining fluids and which is 
insubordinate to his knife, the latter is justified in feeling 
that his colleague should not attempt to unfold the whole plan 
of nature from the few remnants of life left upon the earth. 
AVith the geologists this man is the lender. In questions of 
stratigraphy among sedimentary rocks he is the court of last 
resort. The "stratigraphie geologist" exists upon official lists, 
but unless he is trained to the niceties of his vocation his 
conclusions are lame until the paleontologist supplies him 
with arguments. If the working paleontologists seeking f)r- 
ganization for mutual helpfulness and the progress of their 
interests will hardly acquire these ends by consociation with 
the zoologists, they are at least more at ease among the geol- 
ogists; yet the growing importance of their themes, the 
singular nature of their subjects and their unique methods 
indicate that they will never get what they most need from 
organization nor establish their character as a peculiar peoi)le 
until they get by themselves. Perhaps the active body of 
American paleontologists will see the usefulness and practi- 
cality of effecting such an organization and demonstrate that 
while they may be neither geological tish, nor zoological flesh 
they are, nevertheless, good red herring. 
REVIEW OF RECENT GEOLOGICAL 
LITERATURE. 
Ueber die Beziehungen der fossilen Tuhulaten zu den Alcyonarien. 
By F. W. Sardeson. (Neues Jahrbuch fiir Min., Geol. und Pal. Bell. 
Bd. X, pp. 249-.362: Stuttgart. 1896.) 
By those who are interested in Palaeozoic corals any serious attempt 
to advance or increase our knowledge of that large and difficult group 
must be greeted with pleasure. However, a recent and somewhat ex- 
tended treatise on "The Relation of the Fossil Tabulates to the Alcyo- 
naria" seems to be a step in the wrong direction. I refer to the jjaper 
cited above, which was x^repared as a thesis for the doctorial degree in 
the Albert Ludwig University of Freiberg. 
The author, with questionable result, has brought forward and elab- 
orated certain propositions of Mosely (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc, vol. \GG, 
pt. 1, p. 91, 1876: Challenger Rep. Zoology, vol. ii, p. 102 et seq., 1881) 
relative to the relationship of Pala'ozoic and recent corals. It was on 
occasion of his discovery that Heliopora belonged to the Alcyonaria, 
and in view of the long recognized relationship between that genus ;uid 
the fossil Heliolites, that Mosely opened this question. 
