In Search of Minerals. By D. T. Ansted. (Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge.)—This little book forms one of the series re- cently brought out under the name of "Natural History Rambles." It contains descriptions of precious and ornamental stones, of jet, amber, pearl, and coral, and of earthy and metallic minerals. Such interesting and attractive substances as diamonds and gold arc treated in these pages in a pleasant way, and with a fair degree of accuracy. But surely it would have been more consistent with the title of "Natural History Rambles," had the writer taken his readers on a dozen mineralogical excursions. He need not have travelled beyond the limits of the 'Caked Kingdom, and yet in Cornwall, Cum. berland, Wales, Wanlockhead, and other famous mineral localities, would have found the materials for most picturesque descriptive tours. We long for a real ramble or mineral-hunt. We want to pick up amber and agates on the Suffolk coast ; wo want to search the rubbish-heaps of a Cornish mine for rare compounds of copper and lead. We want some exact topographical word-painting, such as the title of the book led us to expect, but we are disappointed.
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