ERCANT

NEW YORI

LIBRAD

HARDWICKE'S

SCIENCE-GOSSIP:

1885.

NEW YOR

LIBR

HARDWICKE'S

Science-Gossip:

AN ILLUSTRATED MEDIUM OF INTERCHANGE AND GOSSIP

FOR STUDENTS AND

LOVERS OF NATURE.

EDITED BY

J. E. TAYLOR, PH.D., F.L.S., F.G.S., F.R.G.S.I.,

HON. MEMBER OF THE MANCHESTER LITERARY CLUB, OF THE NORWICH GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, OF THE
MARYPORT SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, OF THE ROTHERHAM LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY,

OF THE NORWICH SCIENCE-GOSSIP CLUB, OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
AUSTRALASIA, OF THE VICTORIAN FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB,

NEW YOR

PREFACE.

SOM

COME years ago Professor Huxley delivered a lecture at the Royal Institution, entitled "The Coming of Age of the Darwinian Theory," celebrating thereby the momentous natural history discoveries and events, of which the brilliant discovery of our Biological NEWTON was the parent, nurse, and suggestor.

We desire only to compare great things with small. The present volume also witnesses the "Coming of Age" of SCIENCE-Gossip. For twenty-one years we have endeavoured to meet the tastes of students of natural science-to treat of the discoveries, theories, opinions, and guesses in every department of the same—Ornithological Entomological, Conchological (besides many other ologicals); Botany, in its multitudinous departments; Geology (including Paleontology, Petrology, Lithology, &c.); Microscopy, with its enormous and everincreasing "Cast-net" over every science imaginable; as well as a host of subjects bordering on Astronomy, Meteorology, Chemistry, Folk-lore, and "Notes and Queries" (which latter will be found tolerably encyclopædic).

It has been a loving and loveable work on the part of the Editors. For the first seven years this Magazine had the advantage of the Editorship of Dr. M. C. Cooke-for the last fourteen years, the present Editor has had the enjoyment of personal communication with all, or nearly all, the writers whose papers have appeared in these pages.

A brief interregnum, however, has occurred. Owing to failing health, the Editor was obliged to take as long a holiday as he could. Fortunately, the same able agent who piloted Mr. R. A. Proctor through Australia as a Lecturer on Astronomy, came to England, and made a similar arrangement with the Editor of SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

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