"Reindeer have never, in America, been herded in a domestic state, as is done by the Laplanders and others of Northern Europe; nor are they by the natives employed as beasts of draught. They exist only in their wild and natural condition. . . . . So with the Germans, and so, inferentially, with the people of ancient Aquitania; for there is nothing to authorize the supposition that they (the Germans) tamed the reindeer for domestic purposes, but only hunted it. . . . . Indeed, I very much question whether the Laps, Fins, etc., domesticated the reindeer until a comparatively late date. . . . Any theory, therefore, that might be based upon the disappearance of the reindeer from southern latitudes, in connection with the migration northward in remote ages of the past of the Esquimaux and other northern tribes, ought, I submit, to be very cautiously entertained."

The part before us is illustrated with four plates representing varieties of flint implements, and two landscape views of the site of caverns, explored by Messrs. Lartet and Christy, one representing Le Moustier on the Vezères, and the other the village of Les Eyzies.

It is impossible to do justice to a work of this kind until it is completed, but there can be no doubt from the five parts now before the public, that it will be a record of great interest in a scientific point of view, and will be highly gratifying to the friends of the late Henry Christy as a noble monument of his intelligence and zeal.

OVID, Selections for the Use of Schools, with Introduction and Notes, and an Appendix on the Roman Calendar. By William Ramsay, M.A., formerly Professor of Humanity in the University of Glasgow, Author of "Manual of Roman Antiquities," etc. Edited by George G. Ramsay, M.A., Trin. Coll., Oxon, Professor of Humanity in the University of Glasgow. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.)-This is an elegantly printed book of 352 pages, of which seventy-four are occupied with judicious selections from the poet, and the remainder with valuable and scholarlike notes, which will be found of much use to students, as they range over a great variety of topics, critical, philological, historical, mythological, etc.

EVERY MAN'S OWN LAWYER; a Handy Book of the Principles of Law and Equity, comprising the Rights and Wrongs of Individuals. By a Barrister. Sixth Edition, carefully revised. (Lockwood and Co.)This is a very useful work, which ought to find its way into all family libraries, merchants' counting-houses, etc. It is a compendious epitome of laws affecting the relations and transactions of ordinary life. It is well printed, of a handy size, and convenient for reference. The fact of this work having gone through five editions is evidence of its adaptability to general wants, and although we cannot endorse the promise on its cover, of "no more lawyer's bills," we very strongly recommend it as a serviceable guide, and frequent substitute for consultations.

FIRST LESSONS IN ASTRONOMY in Question and Answer. Seventh

Edition, revised. (Jackson, Walford, and Hodder.)-We cannot recommend this Catechism, as sufficient care has not been taken in re-editing it, and we do not think very highly of the catechism form of communicating knowledge. At page 8 is a curious mistake, that at seventy miles an hour it would take forty thousand years to go round the sun's circumference, which is given at 2,764,600 miles. In the chapter on the telescope it is erroneously stated that all the nebula examined by Lord Rosse's telescope have been resolved into stars, and that all nebula are star clusters. It is also absurd to represent our knowledge of the moon as having been materially effected by Lord Rosse's instrument, as all the principal moon work has been done with other instruments; nor is it right to assert that the whole surface of our satellite presents the appearance of a prodigious cinder, or a world entirely consumed by volcanic fires. Some folks have had such fancies, but they may be a long way from facts. The real constitution of the moon is still open to much doubt.

INSTRUCTIONS IN WOOD CARVING FOR AMATEURS, with Hints on Design. By a Lady. (Lockwood and Co.)—This is an elegant little book, which we hope will induce many of our readers to follow the good example of its authoress, and learn an art of much value and well adapted to female skill. In the present day, when in too many well-to-do families girls who have left school, pass their time in uuprofitable idleness, it is well to find recreations springing up which tend to cultivate taste, and make the principles of design familiarly understood. With a little pains and patience ornaments of great beauty may be made upon the hints given in this book, and the knowledge gained will greatly facilitate the appreciation of the higher branches of design, as exhibited in architecture and art manufactures.

A TREATISE ON THE ACTION OF VIS INERTIA IN THE OCEAN; with Remarks on the Abstract Nature of the Forces of Vis Inertia and Gravitation, and a New Theory of the Tides. By Wm. Leighton Jordan, F.R.G.S. (Longmans).-We are afraid this must be catalogued amongst the long list of mistaken works, such as those which endeavour to demonstrate that the earth is a prolate, not an oblate, spheroid; that the orbits of celestial bodies are perfectly circular, etc., etc. Mr. Jordan considers that as the earth rotates, the vis inertia of the waters of the ocean give them a permanent tendency to a relative movement in an opposite direction. He seems to regard currents and tides as resulting from the conflict of terrestrial rotation with vis inertiæ; but we do not profess to understand his explanation. Perhaps our readers may succeed with such sentences as the following:-"As the earth moves, the force of gravitation, which is the act by which vis inertia resists that motion, is then created by the pre-existing force of vis inertia, simultaneously with the creation of the motion which vis inertiæ resists." Or, "In two volumes, published in 1866 and 1867, I have endeavoured to show that

not only the ocean, but also the outer crust of the earth and the atmosphere, all bear evidence of the action of vis inertiæ upon them; and if this be shown to be the case, we shall then have made the first inductive step towards a knowledge of the cause of the motions of the earth. For, if it be shown that those parts of the earth are acted upon by vis inertiæ, it must then be admitted, as a necessary corollary, that the forces which move the earth act chiefly upon it in its interior parts, so that the outer crust of the earth, as well as the ocean and air, being comparatively dead to the influences which cause motion, are acted upon by vis inertiæ as they are carried along upon matter in the interior part of the earth, which must be either comparatively alive to influences from without which set it in motion, or, otherwise, must move by virtue of an inherent property of motion which the exterior parts of the earth do not possess." OM EN MÄRKLIG I NORDSJÖN LEFVANDE ART AF SPONGIA. Ap S. Lovén. This is a paper from the Transactions of the Stockholm Academy, describing a small but very interesting species of siliceous sponge of the genus Hyalonema. Our readers will recollect Professor Wyville Thomson's paper on the H. Sieboldii in the INTELLECTUAL OBSERVER. Since then M. B. Du Bocage discovered a Portuguese species, H. Lusitanicum, and M. Lovén now describes "H. boreale n. Hab. in mari septenntrionali extras oras Norwegia profunditate 200 orgy arum." The paper is illustrated with engravings, representing the pear-shaped sponge supported by a column formed of a bundle of siliceous threads, showing details of structure.

RESEARCHES IN SOLAR PHYSICS. By Warren De la Rue, Esq., Ph. D., F.R.S., Pres. C.S., F.R.A.S.; Balfour Stewart, Esq., LL.D., F.H.S., F.R.A.S., Superintendent of the Kew Observatory; and Benjamin Loewy, Esq., F.R.A.S., Observer and Computer at the Kew Observatory. Appendix to Second Series, and in continuation of it. On the Distribution in Heliographic Latitude of the Sun Spots. Observed by Carrington. (Printed for private circulation by Taylor and Francis.)-In the second series of these important researches the authors observed, "it would appear that spots are nearest the equator when the heliographic latitude of Venus is 0°, and are most distant from the solar equator when this planet attains its greatest heliographic latitude." The present publication gives a mass of tabulated details to test this statement. The result is, that on the average the latitude of sun spots when Venus crosses the solar equator is less than when she is at her greatest distance therefrom; but this difference between 16° 8′ and 17° 16'-is not as great as might have been expected from the theory of the influence of the planet; and the authors consider "more observations necessary." "At those periods for which the present method of research is particularly applicable, we get a good result; but for that period for which it is not so applicable the evidence is less satisfactory." It is to be hoped that further research will clear up this very interesting question.

NOTES AND MEMORANDA.

COURSE OF ATLANTIC STORMS TO ITALY.-M. Matteucci publishes in "Comptes Rendus a short paper, showing that out of 118 storms coming from the Atlantic and striking the western coasts of England and Ireland, 49 reached Italy. In October, November, and December, the progress of these storms to Italy is much more frequent than at other periods; while in midwinter, and still more in summer, a striking diminution occurs. In the three months named, out of 29 storms, 23 reached Italy; in April, May, June, July, and August, out of 41, only 3 arrived at Italy.

seen.

PHOSPHORESCENCE OF THE SEA.-On the night of the 31st May, an unusually magnificent display of luminosity of the sea was witnessed at Teignmouth. A correspondent tells us that old sea-captains pronounced it the most brilliant they had ever He says, "The waves broke moderately, from two to three feet high, of the most magnificent green that can be conceived-the new aniline green is nearest to it--and of such power that the light was visible against rocks two miles away." The same correspondent kindly sent us some of the luminous water, which we found full of the wellknown Noctiluca miliaris.

ACTION OF SNAKE POISON.-Mr. S. P. Holford states in "Trans. Roy. Soc. of Victoria," that when a person is bitten by the Cobra di Capella, living germs are introduced into the blood, which multiply, so that millions of small cells are produced in a few hours, at the expense of the oxygen absorbed during respiration. He describes the cells as round, about 1-1700" in diameter, and having round nuclei 1-2800" in diameter, and containing germinal spherules.

CAPACITIES OF IDIOTS.-Some very interesting statistics are given in the schoolmaster's report of the state of his pupils in the Earlswood Asylum. He has 154 scholars from the inmates, and they are divided into six classes. The highest "can read in the New Testament with tolerable correctness, write sentences in copy-books, and do sums either by themselves or from the black board. The second class can read in an easy lesson-book, count above sixty, and add a little from the black board. The third class know the greater part of the alphabet, and count above thirty. The fourth class know six or seven letters, and count above twenty. The fifth can only speak vowel sounds, know one or two letters, and count to three or four. The sixth can only articulate one or two sounds, and cannot count, but will sometimes come when they are called."

STARCH IN THE YOLK OF EGG.-M. Dareste states in "Comptes Rendus" that he has succeeded in identifying with starch certain granules observable in the yolk of an egg.

THE OXYHYDROGEN LIGHT.-M. Caron states that oxide of zircon gives the most luminous effects on the oxyhydrogen flame. As it is expensive, he merely coats another material with it.

DEEP SEA DREDGING.-There is reason to hope that the government will place a suitable steamer at the disposal of Dr. Carpenter and Professor Wyville Thomson for some important experiments in deep sea dredging, which the Royal Society has had the good sense to support. In a letter to Dr. Carpenter, Professor Wyville Thomson alludes to the success obtained by M. Sars, the Swedish naturalist and inspector of fisheries, who obtained abundant animal forms at 300 fathoms depth off the Loffoden Isles; amongst them a beautiful little crinoid, at once recognized as a degraded type of the well-known fossil Apiocrinites. Dr. Carpenter addressed General Sabine, President of the Royal Society, on the subject, pointing out that the projected expedition could not be accomplished by private means. He proposes to start from Kirkwall or Lerevick, and to explore the sea bottom between the Shetland and Faroe Isles, dredging round the shores and fiords of the latter, and then to proceed N. W. into deep water. Results of great importance to science may be anticipated if this project is carried out.