SCIENTIFIC BOOKS.
Colour in Nature : a Study in Biology. By Marion J. New- bigin, D.Sc. (Load.), Lecturer on Zoology in the Medical College for Women, Edinburgh. (John Murray. 75. 6d.)— This book is an attempt to bring together in systematic order the scattered observations of various authors who have worked at different branches of the subject, and the authcress has bestowed most attention on the physiology of pigment colours. Much has bean accomplished, but there remains a vast field for inquiry and experiment which is absolutely unworked in many directions. The shortest and least satisfactory portion of the book is that relating to the colours of insects, and especially of Lepidoptera. The authoress thinks that quite too much has been made of natural selection as the chief factor in producing colour in plants and animals, and we are disposed to agree with her on this point.
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