most of the leading genera of fishes, with diagnoses of the families and higher divisions as understood by Dr. Günther, with many good illustrations. While this part of the work will always be most valuable to the student, it remains to point out two radical defects. In the first place, the systematic classification is anything but a just reflection of the structural likenesses and unlikenesses found in nature, combining as it does all the faults of the older authors, some of which are crystallized into a new error of the learned author's own creation. We allude to his subclass of Paleichthyes, which is a triumph of systematic gaucherie. The second deficiency of which we complain, is the wonderful ignorance of North American Ichthyology displayed in the book. It is scarcely necessary to enter into detailed criticism of this part of the subject. We summarize by saying that the book has no value whatever as representing North American Ichthyology, and can only be read by the student here, as a systematic text-book, with reference to exotic species and genera. BRÜHL'S ZOOTOMY FOR STUDENTS.-We have often wanted some work giving sketches, with each part identified, of the anatomy of common types, especially of vertebrates. It will be difficult for the student to find in any single book, not excepting Owen's anatomy of the vertebrate animal, good, detailed figures of the common salamanders, lizards, birds or mammals. We therefore subscribed to Brühl's Zoötomy, and have found the parts as issued so useful for the purpose stated, that we unhesitatingly recommend it to teachers as the cheapest and fullest atlas of comparative anatomy with which we are acquainted. Twenty parts have been published, of which five have appeared during the past year. They comprise among other illustrations the osteology and visceral anatomy of the fowl and other birds, different fishes, reptiles and the osteology and brains of the apes, the latter given with sufficient fullness. The five parts issued lately illustrate the osteology of the Lepidosiren, Protopterus, Ceratodus, Chimæra, Callorhynchus, Rana pipiens, and of different turtles, the details being abundant, and evidently well drawn from nature. Very few of the figures are copied from other authors, and appear to be reliable, though we have not compared them with original preparations. The author is Professor of Zootomy in the University of Vienna. Further information is given in the title below. INGERSOLL'S FRIENDS WORTH KNOWING.2-Boys and girls are, in this little book, treated to glimpses of snails, birds, wild mice, and then taken out to the plains and shown by word and pictures the 1 Zoōtomie aller Thierklassen für Lernende, nach Autopsien, skizzert von CARL B. BRUHL. Illustrirt durch Zweihundert Tafeln, mit nahe 4000, von Verfasser meist nach der natur gezeichneten und sammtlich von ihm mit dem diamant in Stein radirten Figuren, Atlas in 50 Lieferungen zu 4 Tafeln. Wien, 1879, 8vo. Alfred Hölder, New York, B. Westermann & Co. Friends Worth Knowing. Glimpses of American Natural History. By ERNEST INGERSOLL. Illustrated. New York, 1881, 12mo, pp. 258. haunts and habits of the buffalo. Such pleasant reading as this, illustrated as the text is by uniformly attractive wood-cuts, most of them of much artistic excellence, is just what is wanted for young people. Particularly adapted to this end are the chapters entitled, "In a snailery," "Wild mice," "Our winter birds," and "First comers." "An ornithological lecture" will, we think, hald closely the attention of young readers and is written in the author's happiest vein. The effect of the book will be not only to interest the reader in the story so pleasantly told, but when next summer he meets with snails, frightens the wild mouse from its nest, or hears the notes of the thrush or song-sparrow, or sees the yellow birds gather about the thistle, he will not only recall the ornithological lecture he or she has read, but desire to learn for himself or herself more about the beautiful, attractive forms enlivening the woodlands and, meadows, or peopling the shrubbery or orchards near the house. GENNADIOS ON PHYLLOXERA.-This is a small volume of seventyeight pages in 12mo, divided in eleven chapters, of which the first nine review the origin and natural history of the insect and the remedies employed in other countries for the prevention of its ravages. The tenth chapter points out the great danger to Greece from importation of infected vines and the insufficiency of the existing laws on the subject. There is nothing new in the book, it being compiled from the writings of Planchon, Lichtenstein and Riley; the latter's figures, which have already done good service abroad, being rather poorly reproduced. It is the first work on the subject in modern Greek that has come to our notice. WOOD'S INSECTS ABROAD.2-The title of this book is somewhat misleading in a work published here, as many of the insects figured and described are common American species. This is explained by the fact that the book first made its appearance in 1874, in London, and treats of insects which are exotic from that standpoint. It is, however, an interesting book, and the author, through having access to the collections of the British Museum, has been enabled to present figures of many of the rare and curious treasures there preserved. The work is so pleasing in appearance and so entertaining withal that we regret to feel obliged to mention the presence of many typographical errors and to put our readers on their guard against placing too much confidence in some of the statements contained in the text. RECENT BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS.-Orange Insects. By Wm. H. Ashmead. 8vo, pp. 78, pls. 4. Jacksonville, 1880. From the author. Notice of recent additions to the marine invertebrata of the northeastern coast of The Destructive Phylloxera. By P. GENNADIOS. Athens, Greece, 1879. 2 Insects Abroad. A companion volume to "Insects at Home." Being a popular account of foreign insects, their structure, habits and transformations. By the Rev. J. G. WOOD, M.A., F.R.S., etc. New York, George Routledge & Sons. 8vo, pp. vi, 780, with 520 figures. America, with descriptions of new genera and species and critical remarks on others. Part 11. Mollusca, with notes on Annelids, Echinodermata, etc., collected by the U. S. Fish Commission. Part III. Catalogue of Mollusca recently added to the fauna of Southern New England. By A. E. Verrill. Washington, D. C. (From the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum, III. Printed Dec., 1880, and Jan., 1881.) Svo, PP. 335-410. Descriptions of new species of Crinoids from the Kaskaskia group of the Sub-carboniferous, pp. 7, pl. 1.— Notes on some new or little known North American Limnæidæ, pp. 8. On the Geographical Distribution of certain fresh-water Mollusks of North America, and the probable cause of their variation, pp. 8.— Some notes on American Land Shells, pp. 8. Remarks on the Trenton Limestone of Kentucky, pp. 17, pl. 1.— Descriptions of Crinoids from the Upper Sub-carboniferous of Pulaski county, Kentucky, pp. 7, pl. 1.— Remarks on the genus Pterotocrinus, Lyon and Casseday, pp. 6, pl. 1.— Descriptions of new Crinoids from the Cincinnati group of the Lower Silurian and the Sub-carboniferous of Kentucky, pp. 9, pl. 1. By A. G. Wetherby. (All ext. from Journ. Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist., 1879.) From the author. Description of five new species of Silurian fossils, and remarks upon an undetermined form. By S. A. Miller, pp. 4, pl. 1. (Ext. from Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1881.) From the author. James Smithson and his Bequest. By Wm. J. Rhees. (Smith. Misc. Coll.) pp. 159. From the institution. Early discoveries of the Hawaiian islands. By Henry A. Peirce and Chas. Wolcott Brooks. 8vo, pp. 8. San Francisco, 1880. Ein geologischer Spaziergang durch Neu-Mexico und Arizona. Von Dr. Oscar Loew. pp. 42-51. From the author. Proneomenia Sluiteri gen. et sp. n., eine neue archaische Molluskenform aus dem Eismeere. Von Dr. A. A. W. Hubrecht. (Sep.-Abd. aus dem "Zool. Anzeiger," 1880, No. 70.) From the author. Discoveries of Minerals in Western North Carolina. By John T. Humphreys. (Read before Buffalo Acad. of Nat. Sci., June 11, 1880.) pp. 4. From the author. Chesapeake Zoological Laboratory. Report of the third year. Advanced sheets. Contribution a l'Etude Anatomique des Némertines. l'Avanc. des Sci.) pp. 48, pl. 1.— (Assoc. Franc. pour Note sur une nouvelle espèce d'Elasmobranche hypotrème, le Cephaloptera Roche brunei, pp. 2. Note sur la ponte du Pleurodèle de Waltl observée à la Ménagerie des Reptiles du Muséum d'Histoire naturelle, pp. 18. (Ext. du Bull. de la Soc. Phil. de Paris, 1880.) Sur la disposition des vertèbres cervicales chez les Chéloniens, pp. 4.— Sur le développement des spinules dans les écailles du Gobius niger (Linné), pp 4. Sur la ponte des Amblystomes au Muséum d'Histoire naturelle, pp. 3.— Sur l'oeuf d'un poisson du groupe des Squales Stogostoma tigrinum, Broussonnet. 4to, PP. 2. All by M. Leon Vaillant. From the author. Catalogue des Mammifères Vivants et Fossiles. Par Dr. E.-L. Trouessart. (Ext. Bull. Soc. d'Etudes Scientif. d'Angers, 1880.) 8vo, pp. 48. Revision du Genre Ecureuil (Sciurus). By Dr. E.-L. Trouessart. (Ext. Le Naturaliste, Oct., 1880.) pp. 10. From the author. The anatomy, histology and embryology of Limulus polyphemus. By A. S. Packard, Jr. (Anniv. Mem. Boston Soc.) 4to, pp. 45, pls. 7, 1880. From the author. Die Fossile Flora der Polarländer. Von Dr. Oswald Heer. Beiträge zur Miocenen Flora von Nord-Canada. 4to, pp. 17, pl. 3. Zurich, 1880. From the author. Untersuchung über Fossile Hölzer aus der arctischen Zone. Von C. Schroeter. 4to, pp. 38, pls. 3. From the author. Fifteenth Annual Report of the Colonial Museum and Laboratory, pp. 55. New Zealand, 1880. From the museum. An Introduction to the Study of Fishes. By A. C. L. G. Gunther. 8vo, pp. 720. Edinburgh, 1880. First Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. By Clarence King, Director. pp. 62, 1 map. Washington, 1880. From the survey. The Devonian Insects of New Brunswick. By Samuel H. Scudder. 4to, pp. 41, I pl. Anniversary Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History. Published by the Society, Boston, 1880. From the author. Die Milben als Parasiten der Wirbellosen, ins besondere der Arthropoden. Von Dr. G. Haller. Halle a. S. 1880. 8vo. pp. 89. From the author. Zur Kenntnis der Tyroglyphen und Verwandten. Von Dr. phil. G. Haller. (Aus dem XXXIV Bande der Zeits. f. wissensch. Zoologie.) 8vo, pp. 41, 3 plates. From the author. Bericht über die von Herrn Dr. Blankenhorn in Karlsruhe veranstaltete Sammlung aller an der Rebe lebenden mikroskopischen Thiere. Von Dr. G. Haller. (Aus den Annalen der Oenologie. VIII Band 1880.) 8vo, pp. 10. From the author. Application du sulfure de carbone au traitement des vines phylloxérées. 4°. Année. Rapport sur les travaux de l'année 1879 et sur les résultats obtenus. Par M. A. F. Marion. Paris 1880. 4to, pp. 118. From the author. Prontuario Filoxérico. Por Mariono de la Paz Graells. Madrid, 1879. 8vo, pp. 61, 2 plates. From the author. Glances at Forestry in France in 1660 and 1880. By the Rev. J. C. Brown, LL.D. (Reprinted from the Journ. of Forestry and Estates Management, Oct. and Dec., 1879, and March, 1880). 8vo, pp. 24. Biologie der Käfer Europas. Eine Uebersicht der biologischen Literatur gegeben in einem alphabetischen Personen-und systematischen Sach-Register nebst einem Larven Cataloge. Von Mathias Rupertsberger. Liuz a. d Donau, 1880. 8vo, pp. 295. From the author. Ueber die von den Trichopterenlarven der Province Santa Catharina verfertigten Gehäuse. Von Dr. Fritz Müller. Aus dem Portugiesischen übersetzt von Dr. Hermann Müller. Aus dem XXXV Bande der Zeitschrift f. wissensch. Zoologie. 8vo, pp. 41, 2 plates. From Dr. Hermann Müller. Paltostoma torrentium. Eine Mücke mit zwiegestaltigen Weibchen. Von Dr. Fritz Müller. (Aus Kosmos, 1880.) 8vo, pp. 6. From Dr. Hermann Müller. On some new and little known species of Tineida. By Thomas, Lord Walsingham. (From Proc. Zool. Soc., 1880, No. vI.) 8vo, pp. 17, 2 plates. From the author. Pterophoride of California and Oregon. By Thomas, Lord Walsingham. London, 1880. 8vo, pp. 66, 3 plates. From the author. Description of the preparatory stages of Euptoieta claudia Cramer. By W. H. Edwards. (From Can. Ent., Vol. XII, 1880.) 8vo, pp. 5. From the author. Description of a new species of Limenitis. By W. H. Edwards. (From Can. Ent., Vol. XII, 1880.) 8vo, pp. 6. From the author. T. Chambers. (From Journ. Cincinnati Soc. New species of Tineina. By V. Entomologische Notizen. Von Dr. G. Haller. (Aus den Mittheil. d. Schweizer. entom. Ges., Band v1, No. 1.) 8vo, pp. 11. From the author. Die Imbauba und ihre Beschützer. Jahrgang, Heft 8, 1880.) 8vo, pp. 7. Die Variabilität der Alpenblumen. IV Jahrgang, Heft 6, 1880.) 8vo, pp. Von Dr. Fritz Müller. (Aus Kosmos, IV Von Dr. Hermann Müller. (Aus Kosmos, GENERAL NOTES. BOTANY.! VARIATIONS IN THE GROWTH OF VIRGINIA CREEPER AND HICKORY.It is well known that no two plants ever grow exactly alike, though these variations are often very slight. Two instances have come under my observation which have interested me very much, though they may be familiar enough to botanists. The first relates to our beautiful indigenous climbing shrub, the Virginia Creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia), several of which I have transplanted from the neighboring forest to the grounds about my residence. Some of these specimens are very free growers, climbing a dozen feet during a season, having joints three to four or five inches long, and large widely expanded leaves; the tendrils in these are very long and similar to those of the wild grape. Others have very different habits of growth; the joints are quite short, not more than one to two inches long, and the growth of the whole plant is very slow as compared with the first-mentioned variety. The tendrils, too, are very short. In some instances the stems send out aerial roots which burrow into the bark of the supporting tree, after the manner of the Poison Ivy (Rhus toxicodendron). The long-jointed free-grower never sends out these aerial roots, but depends for its support upon its tendrils which soon become dry and hard, and as tough as little wires. The other instance refers to our common shellbark hickory (Carya alba). In the spring some of the trees may be seen with bursting buds and even expanding leaves while the buds of other trees standing close at hand are dormant and remain so for many days. In autumn these differences are also quite as marked; the leaves on some of the trees ripen and shrivel up even some days before any frosts, turning to a dark gray or slate color. Upon other trees the leaves continue green until the first frosts; they then turn yellow, with something of the same beautiful tints of the hard maple, and remain so until the heavier frosts completely dissipate their golden glories.-Chas. Aldrich, Webster City, Iowa. THE COMPOSITE-Dr. Gray, in his last "Contributions to North American Botany," issued September, 1880, from the Proc. Am. Acad. Arts and Sciences, takes a considerable space to speak of "some of the results already reached" in the elaboration of the Composite for the forthcoming "Synoptical Flora of North America." As the portion of that work in which this order will be included cannot be published for some time, it may be well to sketch the more important of these results. Under the genus Venonia, the species V. altissima of Nuttall, long considered to be a variety of V. fasciculata, is restored to full specific rank. Elliott's name, Eupatorium parviflorum, gives way to Hooker's E. 1 Edited by PROF. C. E. BESSEY, Ames, Iowa. |