British Fossils, and Where to Seek Them. By Joseph W.
Williams. (Swan Sonnenschein and Co.)—This book is one of the "Young Collector" series. It is published in a shilling form, with an astonishing number of figures for the price. The strata are taken in order of succession, and we are given for each group,—(1), its lithological character; (2), the localities whence fossils may beet be got from it ; (3), a list of characteristic fossils. We are not sure that this little book will fulfil its object, if it be that of acquainting the "young collector " with the characteristic fossils of the beds he may visit. Strings of names will not help him to identify what he finds, nor, indeed, will figures be any reliable guide, as even the commonest species from each stratum cannot be figured in a book of this kind. He is, indeed, supposed already to possess a knowledge of zoology and botany ; but though these may form the basis of palaeontology, they cannot be a substitute for it. We should have preferred definitions by means of which to recognise, say, the characteristic glinera of each rock. But leaving aside the plan, the book contains a fair sprinkling of misprints,—e.g., Orgia, Homalonatus, Amphyx, Ceradotus, Hydro- bra. Again, it is a pity that while the most abundant fossils of L. Silurian times are the graptolites, none at all of these are ascribed to the Bala group, and only three species to the Llandeilo. In the figures of eocene fossils, the molluscan fauna have fared ill, being represented only by two cephalopods, whereas they are of special importance, because it was upon these fauna that Lyell based his division of the tertiary period into eocene, miocene, and pliocene. The book is very unequal. The descrip- tions of the ammonite zones of the lies are really good and useful, as is also the table of the gault zones as exposed near Follrestone. The hints to collectors at the end are good, but one is startled to find the " Glossary of Palaeontological Terms (including those of Stratigraphical Geology) " containing only three terms which could possibly be called paheontological, the other ninety odd words being all names of rocks and minerals.
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