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PARIS.

Academy of Sciences, April 11.-M. d'Abbadie in the chair. On a new determination of the latitude of Paris Observatory, by M. l'Amiral Mouchez. (See Our Astronomical Column).-Note by M. l'Amiral Mouchez, accompanying a star photograph obtained by Dr. Gill, Director of the Cape Observatory. (See Our Astronomical Column.)-On the flow from rectangular orifices, without lateral contraction: theoretical calculation of the delivery and of its distribution, by M. J. Boussinesq.-On the absorption of light by tourmaline, by M. A. Potier.-Researches on persulphuric acid and its salts, by M. Berthelot.-On the stability of the sand dunes of the Bay of Biscay, by M. Chambrelent. A long account is given of the methods that have been adopted to prevent the encroachment of sand along the coast of the Bay of Biscay.-Note by M. Dehérain, accompanying the presentation of his “Traité de Chimie Agricole."-On a new genus of Cretaceous Echinoids, Dipneustes aturicus, Arnaud, by M. G. Cotteau.-Experimental study of the decimal equation in observations of the sun and planets, made at Lyons Observatory, by MM. André and Gonnessiat. On the latitude obtained by means of the great meridian circle of Paris Observatory, by M. Périgaud.-On a series of determinations of latitude made with the great meridian circle of Paris Observatory, by M. F. Boquet.-Öbservations of Swift's comet (1892 March 6) and Denning's comet (1892 March 18) made with the great equatorial of Bordeaux Observatory, by MM. G. Rayet and L. Picart.—On the theory of Jupiter's satellites, by M. J. J. Landerer. (For the five preceding communications see Our Astronomical Column.)-On transformations in mechanics, by M. P. Painlevé.-On the evaluation of the numbers of permutations and complete circular arrangements, by M. E. Jablonski. -On the specific heats of metals, by M. Le Verrier. The author has measured the specific heats of lead, zinc, aluminium, silver, and copper, at various temperatures between o° and 1000 C.-On the polarization of diffused light by disturbed media, by M. A. Hurion.-On the decomposition of silver permanganate and on a particular association of oxygen with silver oxide, by M. Alex. Gorgeu.-On some new salts of iron, by MM. Lachaud and C. Lepierre.-Action of sulphuric acid on some cyclic hydrocarbides, by M. Maquenne.-Researches on some sugar principles, by M. J. Fogh.-On the formation of oxyhemoglobin by means of hæmatine and albuminoid matter, by MM. H. Bertin-Sans and J. Moitessier.-Law regarding the appearance of the first epiphysiary point of long bones, by M. Alexis Julien.-On an apparatus which enables Paul Bert's experiments on air and compressed oxygen to be easily repeated, by M. G. Philippon.—Distinguishing characters of ovine and caprine species: applications to the study of Chabins and Mouflons, by MM. Cornevin and Lesbre.-Halo seen at Parc de Baleine (Allier) on April 6, by M. de Montessus de Ballore. -Research on the geographical and geological conditions which characterize earthquake regions, by M. de Montessus de Ballore.

BERLIN.

Physiological Society, March 18.-Prof du Bois Reymond, President, in the chair.-Dr. Gumlich described experi ments made on himself on the urinary excretion of nitrogen. He had determined separately total nitrogen, nitrogen of urea, of ammonia, and of the extractives during periods with a mixed diet, a pure flesh diet, and a vegetable diet. During the second the nitrogen excreted as urea increased until it amounted to 85.6 per cent. of the total nitrogen, and that excreted as extractives and ammonia was also greater than during a mixed diet. During a vegetarian diet the urea nitrogen markedly diminished; that of the extractives and ammonia was also absolutely less than with a meat diet, although it had increased relatively to the re-t.-Dr von Noorden communicated, in connection with the above, an extended series of determinations of urinary nitrogen made on patients suffering from different diseases; among these two cases of phosphorus poisoning were of special interest.

April 1.-Prof. du Bois Reymond, President, in the chair. Dr. Lilienfeld had found that the influence of leucocytes on the clotting of blood is due entirely to their nuclei, the stroma being quite inert. He isolated the chemically active substance from the leucocytes of the thymus gland, and calls it leuconuclein. -Dr. Rosenberg had investigated on a dog working in a tread-mill the assimilation of a diet consisting of definite portions of lean meat, fat, and rice during periods of work and repose, and found it to be the same in both

cases.

He believes the result of this experiment may be extended to the case of man. -Dr. Schweizer had investigated the behaviour of spermatozoa towards electric currents. Only in a few cases was he able to observe that some of the more active ones swam against the current. He found that the position they assumed in parallel rows with their heads turned towards the kathode was not in any way a result of their vitality.

Physical Society, March 25.-Prof. Kundt, President, in the chair.-Dr. Mewes spoke on emission and absorption.-Dr. Gross, in his experiments, extending over many years, on the decomposition of sulphur has recently tested it electrolyticalty. Barium and strontium sulphate were fused in a silver crucible, which formed one electrode, and a powerful electric current sent through the mass by means of a second electrode of platinum wire. Analyses of the products resulting from the electrolysis yielded a new compound of platinum and barium; at the same time 50 per cent. of the sulphur, originally present as sulphates, was found to have disappeared, and its place to have been taken by 40 per cent. of a new substance, which the speaker had also obtained during the electrolysis of sulphur. According to his views, sulphur is to be regarded as a compound of this new substance with hydrogen.-Dr. Budde described new experiments on the inert layer in emulsions of chloroform and soda, which confirmed him in his view that the layer is due to the rapid evaporation of chloroform from the upper surface of the mixture. A mixture of chloroform and water is even more suitable for the experiments, and, since chloroform is more soluble in cold than in warm water, he takes a solution of chloroform saturated in water at o°, and then warms it to 20°; at the latter temperature the chloroform separates out in minute drops, yielding a perfectly opaque emulsion, while the upper layer remains clear, owing to the evaporation of the chloroform. When this upper layer is removed by a pipette it remains clear, and must therefore contain less chloroform than the lower saturated portions. The regular configuration of the inert layer in vessels of varying shape had been at one time regarded by Dr. Budde, in agreement with Liebreich, as due to capillary action. His more recent researches have, on the other hand, shown that it is due to currents in the fluid resulting from differences of temperature, and may therefore be altered at will. When the external temperature is lower than that of the fluid, downward currents are established along the walls of the vessel, upward currents in the centre of the fluid, and the meniscus is convex: when the external temperature is higher, the reverse effect is produced, and the meniscus is concave.

April 8.-Prof. du Bois Reymond, President, in the chair.- Dr. Laumer gave an account of alterations made by him, in conjunction with Dr. Brodhan, on a spectrophotometer, with a view to improving the photometric part of the instrument by the introduction of his glass-cube. In connection with the above, Dr. Lammer went very fully into Prof. Abbe's theoretical researches on the delineation of nonluminous objects, which had been made during the latter's studies on the mode of action of microscopes, and transferred the results arrived at by Abbe to the conditions existing in a spectrophotometer.

Meteorological Society, April 5.-Prof. Schwalbe, President, in the chair.-Dr. Sprung spoke on atmospheric rings, and explained the formation of solar and lunar rings as the result of refraction of parallel solar rays in ice-prisms. The prisms must be three-sided, and the maximal intensity of light is obtained when the angle of entry and exit from the prism is 22, in which case the deviation is minimal. Solar and lunar halos are the result of the bending which light undergoes at the edges of minute ice-particles. The phenomenon can be observed by strewing lycopodium powder on a sheet of glass, and looking at a flame through this film. The speaker further exhibited some photographs of rings and halos, explained the conditions which are necessary for their successful production, and gave the formulæ involved in the calculation of the phenomena.-Dr. Schumbert made a communication in connection with Dr. Lachmann's (see report of previous meeting), and gave a synopsis of temperature maxima and minima observed at woodland stations, both in the woods and just outside them. Some interesting differences were observed, depending upon the kind of trees and the position of the thermometer. some remarks by Dr. Lachmann on a paper by von Bebber in Himmel und Erde on the same subject, Dr. Hofmann in conclusion exhibited an apparatus for registering the observation of meteors.

After

AMSTERDAM.

Royal Academy of Sciences, April 2.-Prof. van de Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair.-Mr. Kapteyn communicated the result of a discussion of a great part of the photographs taken at the Cape Observatory under the direction of Her Majesty's Astronomer, D. Gill. The diameters of the stars on 370 of these photographs, covering an area of nearly 9000 square degrees of the sky, have been compared to the visual magnitudes of these stars according to the estimations of Messrs. Gould and Schönfeld. It is shown that for stars of equal visual brightness the actinic effect on the plates has been considerably greater for the stars situated in or near the Milky Way, than for stars situated in considerable galactic latitudes. The different causes that may have co-operated to produce this phenomenon have been carefully considered, and the conclusion is arrived at, that neither influences of meteorological causes, nor causes of systematically different sensitivity of the plates, are sufficient to account for it; and that the systematic errors in the estimations of the visual magnitudes are, in all probability, of secondary importance. It seems very probable, therefore, that the principal cause must be sought in peculiarities of the light of the stars themselves. The fact discovered by Mr. Pickering, that the Milky Way must be considered as an aggregation of stars of the first type explains only a small fraction (not o' mag.) of the differences found. Mr. Kapteyn therefore thinks that we are driven to the conclusion that the light of the stars of the first type in the Milky Way is considerably richer in violet rays than the light of stars of the same type in great galactic latitudes. From this would follow, according to the researches of Mr. Pickering, that the same must hold for stars of the other spectral types. In the meanwhile direct photometric and photographic experiments seem very desirable, in order to prove the reality of the phenomenon by more direct evidence than is contained in the plates of the Photographic Survey. Such experiments have been already undertaken by the Cape Observatory.-Mr. Hubrecht gave an account of the placentation of certain Lemurs and Insectivora, as a result of his recent excursion in the Indian Archipelago. The placenta of Tarsius spectrum is a discoid one, and differs from that of other Lemuroids hitherto known, in which a diffused distribution of villi over the whole surface of the chorion has been observed. In Nycticebus this coating loses its villous character at one pole of the egg in the latest stages of pregnancy. Certain stages of the discoid placenta of Galeopithecus were further described, as was also the double placenta of Tupaja javanica, each placenta having a reniform shape, these being situated right and left of the embryo, which has its ventral surface turned towards the mesometrium.-Mr. Pekelharing reported on his further investigations about the coagulation of the blood. He states that the A. fibrinogen of Wooldridge is the same substance which can be precipitated from the diluted plasma by acetic acid, viz. a nucleo albumin, the zymogen that, by combination with lime, forms fibrin ferment. Wooldridge's tissue-fibrinogen is also a nucleo-albumin from which can be obtained, by treating it with lime-salts, fibrin ferment. In accordance with Dr. Wright, Mr. Pekelharing has found that, in the dog and in the rabbit, an albumose can be split off from the nucleo-albumin, and in this manner the formation of the fibrin ferment can be prevented, or the action of the ferment already formed can be paralyzed.

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MONDAY, APRIL 25. ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY, at 8.-Prof. Wm. James's Treatment of Self: G. Dawes Hicks.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26 ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.30.-The Social and Religious Ideas of the Chinese, as illustrated in the Ideographic Characters of the Language: Prof. R. K. Douglas -The Mythology and Psychology of the Ancient Egyptians: Joseph Offord, Jun.

ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY, at 7.45.-An Inquiry into the Statistics of the Production and Consumption of Milk and Milk Products in Great Britain: R. Henry Rew.

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BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. BOOKS.-Blowpine Analysis, 2nd edition: J. Landauer; translated by J Taylor (Macmillan).- Air Comprimé ou Raréfié: A. Gouilly (Paris, Gauthier-Villars).-La Distribution de l'Electricité, Installations Isolées : R. V. Picou (Paris, Gauthier-Villars).-Résistance des Matériaux: M. Duquesney (Paris, Gauthier-Villars).-Machine à Vapeur: V. Dwelschauvers-Dery (Paris, Gauthier-Villars).-Elements of Materia Medica and Therapeutics: C. E. A. Semple (Longmans). -Fruit Culture: J. Cheal (Bell).My Water-cure: S. Kne.pp (Grevel).-Color-vision: E. Hunt (Simpkin).

PAMPHLET.-On the Physics of Media: J. J. Waterston (Kegan Paul). SERIALS.-The Asclepiad, No. 33, vol. ix. (Longmans).-Geological Magazine, April (K. Paul). Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, 3rd series. vol. iii. Part 1 (Murray).-Himmel und Erde, April (Berlin, Paetel). The Annals of Scottish Natural History, No. 2 (Edinburgh, L'ouglas). Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, No. 95. vol. xxi. (Spon) -The Eagle, March (Cambridge, Johnson).-Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, vol. xxvi. Part 3 (Williams and Norgate).-Mind, April (Williams and Norgate).-Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Annual Catalogue, 1891-92 (Boston).-Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, March (Stanford).-Journal of the Chemical Society, April (Gurney and Jackson).-Bulletin de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg, nouvelle série, ii., xxxiv., feuilles 34-41.-The Engineering Magazine, April (New York).

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Pigments of Lepidoptera. -F. Gowland Hopkins C.G. S. System of Units.-Q. H. Tittmann; Prof. J. D. Everett, F.R.S.

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Influenza in America.-Prof. Edward S. Holden 582 Dust Counting on Ben Nevis. By Angus Rankin. 582 Abstract of Mr. A. Ricco's Account of the Submarine Eruption North-west of Pantelleria, October 1891. (Illustrated.) By G. W. Butler 584 Giraffes.

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W.Ostwald

Recent Advances in Physical Chemistry. By Prof.

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Our Astronomical Column:

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THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1892.

THEORETICAL CHEMISTRY.

Outlines of Theoretical Chemistry. By Lothar Meyer,
Professor of Chemistry in the University of Tübingen.
Translated by P. Phillips Bedson, D.Sc., and W.
Carleton Williams, B.Sc. Pp. 220.
mans, Green, and Co., 1892.)

"Go

when changes of composition accompany changes of properties in definite kinds of matter. If this were done we should not be deluged with those catalogues of the properties of innumerable disconnected substances which are frequently sold under the misleading name of textbooks of chemistry.

The paragraphs on the determination of atomic weights from stoïchiometric values (pp. 11-13) seem to me ex(London: Long-tremely lucid and apposite, provided the reader will give his close attention to them. I do not think the subject of chemical equivalents is treated sufficiently fully to make it clear (pp. 13-16). Paragraph 13 does not make perfectly intelligible the process whereby atomic weights are determined from the crystallographic relations of compounds. I am much taken by the order in which the author arranges his treatment of combining weights, equivalents, thermic equivalents, crystallographic equivalents, &c., culminating in Avogadro's law. The determination of atomic weights by the application of the law of Avogadro is made very clear in a couple of paragraphs (pp. 39-42); and the author is especially to be congratulated, in my opinion, on paragraph 26, wherein he most skilfully and gracefully avoids the popular error of making a stumbling-block of so-called "abnormal vapour-densities."

'OOD wine needs no bush," but a well-known bush makes one look for good wine. The translation of Prof. Lothar Meyer's "Die Modernen Theorien der Chemie," made by Messrs. Bedson and Williams, is so well known and so appreciated by all English-speaking chemists, that everyone welcomes a new book by the author of "Modern Theories," and expects the book to be a good one. The "Outlines of Theoretical Chemistry" is a translation, by the translators of the "Modern Theories," of a book published in German in the course of last year. The translation is exceedingly well done; the English runs smoothly and lucidly; the book reads as if it were composed in English, rather than as a translation from another tongue.

The subject-matter of this book is very similar to that of " Modern Theories"; details are avoided wherever the author thought this could be done with advantage, and the treatment is made as general as possible. In his preface to the English translation the author says:

"The general-I may say the philosophical-review of the subject has been my chief aim, to which the details should be subordinated."

The book is not divided into chapters, but runs on from paragraph to paragraph. Beginning with a statement of the province of chemistry, the author passes in review the stoichiometric laws, sketches the atomic hypothesis, considers the various aspects of chemical equivalents, states and applies the law of Avogadro, refers to Prout's notions about the relations between the values of atomic weights, and states and briefly illustrates the periodic law; he then considers in several paragraphs the constitution of compounds in the light of the molecular and atomic theory, and, through a short discussion of physical isomerism, he passes to the consideration of such physical properties of bodies as melting and boiling point, capillarity, solubility, evaporation, &c., and the connexions between these and the molecular weights and constitutions of bodies. Finally the author devotes some fifty or sixty paragraphs to the treatment of the thermal and electrical aspects of chemical changes, and the subject of chemical affinity.

At the outset the essential character of chemical phenomena is emphasized :

"Chemistry deals with the changes which affect the material nature of the substance. Chemistry, then, is the science which treats of matter and its changes" (p. 2).

It is to be wished that all writers of books, whether elementary or advanced books, on chemistry, and all who endeavour to help others to learn this science, would keep steadily before them the characteristic feature of all chemical events, viz. that they are those which occur

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Paragraph 28, which deals in about thirty lines with nascent state," would much better have been omitted; the treatment is neither interesting nor accurate. It seems to me that paragraphs 34-40, which are supposed to give a clear general conception of the periodic law, quite fail to enable the student to grasp this all-important generalization. I think that much too little space is given to the periodic law, which comprises in itself all other schemes of chemical classification; and that too much space is devoted to valency, which, at the best, is a conception that is of very limited application. Anyone who turns from the study of Mendeleeff's great work on "The Principles of Chemistry" to the paragraph on P. 76 will be greatly astonished; the paragraph reads

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"Formerly it was more or less explicitly assumed that a chemical compound was held together by the total attractive force of the affinities of all the atoms contained in it; but, as our knowledge increased, it was gradually recognized that the connexion is between atom and atom, and that the atoms are attached to each other like the links in a chain, the continuity ceasing if even a single link of the chain is removed."

This sentence seems to imply that no one now looks on a molecule as held together by the interactions between all the atoms; but if one says this view is held by none, one must make a few exceptions, such as Mendeleeff and the chemists of his school. The treatment of atomic linkage on pp. 80-83 seems to me to be very one-sided and unsatisfactory. We are told (p. 81) that such a formula as H,O. SO, is inadmissible because it represents the compound as made up of atomic groups which are already saturated, and "therefore have no free affinities for mutual combination"; but on p. 107 we are informed that, in substances which crystallize with water, "every molecule is united with a definite number of molecules of water." But how can water molecules unite with, say, dehydrated alum, if the group HO is saturated and "has

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What is proved by the fact of combination with chlorine? No one can attach any clear meaning to the statement "two affinities are unsaturated." The only practical meaning these words have is, "The molecule CO can unite with two other atoms of certain kinds"; that is to say, the sentence quoted, when put into the speech of the plain man, asserts that the fact that CO does unite with 2Cl proves that CO can unite with 2Cl.

The later paragraphs, treating of the physical properties

of bodies and the connexions between these and the constitutions of the same bodies, seem to me to be both very well done and very disappointing. They are well done because an earnest attempt is made to put the matter clearly, but they are disappointing because it is quite impossible to grapple with these very difficult matters in the space which is given to them in this book. I do not think that anyone will succeed in getting a grasp of Raoult's law

from the pages which are grouped around paragraph 133. The application of Raoult's law to determine molecular weights, given on p. 137, is based on the constant 62°, which has been shown by van 't Hoff and others to be

erroneous.

But it is much easier to find fault than to compose such a book as this. A careful perusal of the work leaves the

THE TRAVELS OF A PAINTER OF FLOWERS.
Recollections of a Happy Life, being the Autobiography
of Marianne North. Edited by her sister, Mrs. John
Addington Symonds. In Two Volumes. (London :
Macmillan and Co., 1892.)

MOST of the readers of NATURE will know without

telling that Marianne North was a world-wide traveller, that she travelled in pursuit of nature, that she was an accomplished and faithful painter of plant and animal life, and that the results of a life's labour were presented by her to the nation, and now cover the walls of a building in Kew Gardens, erected at her expense Most persons, too, who knew; her personally-and her acquaintances and friends are as numerous as her travels were wide-will be glad to know something more of her history, and especially something more of her travels, of impressions of the plant and animal life of the many her impressions of peoples, of places, and, above all, her

countries she visited and to which she gave her life. All remember her stately presence, her kind face, her charmwho had the pleasure of knowing her personally will ing manner, and her entertaining conversational powers -now relating the difficulties and delights of her expecomforts and genial society. She wrote as she talked, riences in foreign lands, now her appreciation of home and she was a fertile letter-writer; and she has written her book in the same style.

In early life Miss North made various journeys in Europe, and also went up the Nile and visited Syria, and

painted many flowers; but with the exception of the Sicilian Papyrus, and perhaps two or three other little pieces, none of this early work is in the gallery at Kew. Only 38 tically begins with her more distant travels; the first long pages of her book are devoted to her early life, and it practrip being to Canada and the United States, and extended to Jamaica, whence she returned to England. Two months later she started for Brazil, where she made a long stay, and then returned direct to England. The next journey included Teneriffe, California, Japan, Singapore, Borneo, and Java, and then home again. Her paintings attracted attention, and she complied with a request to exhibit some 500 of them at Kensington. This matter being arranged, she proceeded to India, landing on the way at Lisbon, Gibraltar, Malta, and Galle; and India was traversed almost from east to west and north to south.

The narrative of this journey is perhaps the most inthere was an exhibition of the accumulated paintings in

impression on my mind that, as a synopsis and suggestive remembrancer to the student who knows general chemistry well, this book will prove useful, but that it is too condensed and too slight to be of much service to him who is beginning the study of general chemistry. Most of the subjects dealt with cannot be made clear except by going into details, and illustrating them with considerable profusion. When one attempts to deal with these matters interesting part of the whole work. On her return home a broad and general way, and at the same time to devote only a few pages to each section, one is almost obliged either to make statements so generalized that they are of very little use to the earnest student, or only to touch the fringe of each part of the subject. Chemistry is an abstract science to a much less degree than physics; hence such short statements as those which sum up and include in themselves whole provinces of physical knowledge cannot yet be made in chemistry. Where the "Outlines of Theoretical Chemistry" fails for the most part it fails because no book could succeed; it fails because it attempts to do that which cannot, at present, be done.

M. M. PATTISON MUIR.

Conduit Street; and a visit to Mr. Darwin, which ended in a determination to go to Australia and paint the flowers of the fifth quarter of the globe. It should be mentioned that in the meantime Miss North had adopted a suggestion of the Pall Mall Gazette that her paintings should find their home at Kew, and her generous offer was accepted. So it was, that when Darwin told her that her collection of paintings would be an imperfect representation of the vegetation of the world without the Australian element, she took it as a "royal command," and prepared to go forthwith. This journey some of the old scenes were revisited, brief halts being made at Galle and Singapore, a longer stay with the Rajah and Rani

Brooke in Borneo, and thence to Queensland. New South Wales, Victoria, West Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand were successively visited; but incessant travelling, climatal changes, and continuous work had begun to tell on the constitution of this brave woman, who suffered much in the colder regions. Now, the great object was to make the collection of paintings as complete as possible, and she spared neither her pocket nor her person in trying to carry it out. Her book is so essentially the history of her gallery at Kew that one cannot dissociate them. The Australian journey was fruitful beyond all others, and the Australasian section of the gallery is perhaps the most attractive of all, being a marvellously complete representation of the varied and curious flora of that region. The homeward route was across the Pacific, calling at Honolulu, landing at San Francisco, and off at once to the redwood and mammoth-tree forests for more painting. Then across America by the southern route, and back to old haunts in the North-Eastern States, and home again to open the gallery, which had been built during this journey. Hanging the pictures was a most laborious task, from which Miss North took no rest. At this time the writer first made her acquaintance, and was engaged by her to botanize the paintings and compile a popular instructive catalogue. This occupied two or three months; and most interesting work it was, usually brightened by her presence.

No sooner was the opening of the gallery accomplished, than the terribly jaded donor of this munificent gift to the public began to think of visiting new regions to further enrich it. But I must be brief, for even to catalogue these journeys occupies much space. South Africa was next visited, and several months' uninterrupted work, much of it done under trying conditions of failing health, yielded so bountifully that it was determined to build a wing to the gallery, for the existing walls were already completely covered.

Miss North intended going from South Africa to Madagascar, but the means of communication were irregular and uncertain, and her health so bad that she returned home; but having to some extent recovered, she went the following year (1883) to the Seychelles, to paint the beautiful palms and screw pines of those islands. Even this did not satisfy her, and she started on her last journey in November 1884. Chili was her goal, and the principal object of this long journey was to paint the Araucaria imbricata in its home, as she had already painted the Brazilian and Australian species. She also succeeded in painting a considerable number of the characteristic types of the vegetation of that country. But this voyage, by way of the Straits of Magellan, tried her waning strength very much, and a less energetic person would have collapsed entirely. In the last chapter of her "Recollections" we read that all was enjoyment until they reached Bordeaux. "Then my nerves gave way again (if they were nerves), and the torture has continued more or less ever since." Beautiful Rio was touched on the outward voyage, and on the homeward route, by Panama, old friends were looked up in Jamaica. England was reached in the spring, and it cost another year to rearrange the gallery; the introduction of the South African, Seychelles, and Chilian paintings entailing renumbering throughout, in order to preserve the geographical order.

The foregoing is an outline of her journeyings, but the book should be got for the details, which are almost always interesting, often clever and quaint. Here and there one meets with uncompromising criticisms and descriptions of persons that might have been expunged with advantage. The descriptions of the vegetation of various regions, with particulars of the principal elements, are pleasant and instructive, often containing much original information; and will be greatly appreciated by those who frequent the gallery at Kew, of which the book, as already stated, contains the history.

After completing her work at Kew, Miss North took an old-fashioned house at Alderley, in Gloucestershire, where she formed a charming garden; but her constitution was broken, her suffe rings increased, and she died in August 1890. W. B. H.

AMERICAN TOWN TREES.

Our Trees. By John Robinson. (Salem: Horton and Son, 1891.)

THIS

HIS short account of the trees of an American town and its neighbourhood consists of reprints of newspaper articles written in 1890-91 for the benefit of local readers: they have been re-compiled into book form at the request of the directors of the Essex Institute, and date from the Peabody Academy of Science, Salem.

Several points strike a careful reader of the book. The writer draws special attention to the fact that the articles, or chapters, are not intended as botanical essays; and the reader will probably decide that the remark was unnecessary, for a more unscientific work dealing with a scientific subject would be difficult to find; but there is a peculiar charm in a certain style of talks about natural objects-for instance, in some of the more chatty paragraphs of White's "Selborne," or Walton's "Angler," and even Evelyn's" Flora "-which attracts the most devoted student to refreshing looks around his subject-matter from every-day points of view, and this little work possesses that charm. Few facts of scientific importance are met with in such writings, and still fewer of the generalizations which make science what it is the specialist may even deride the writing as talkeetalkee "-gossip, if you will; and even the broadest thinker may be inclined to wonder why such articles are written; all this, and more, may be true, and yetthere is the charm, nevertheless, and it is very apt to seem appropriate where trees and flowers are concerned. Whether it is advisable that such writings should increase is a matter likely to settle itself, simply and certainly, because very few can produce them. A scientific work, then, this is decidedly not. It is a series of homely chats about trees, by one who knows and loves them. The latter fact leads to another-namely, that such a writer cannot help telling you something worth learning even though it be by the way, and merely incidental.

In the first place we gather some ideas as to what trees are common in the streets and gardens of a Massachusetts town, and the evidently thriving condition of magnolias, sumachs, maples, witchhazels, mulberries, hickories, gingkos, catalpas, sassafras, and many other beautiful trees, makes envious one who knows what difficulties are

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