Geology for General Readers. By David Page, F.R.S.E., F.G.S. (Black-
wood.)—Mr. Page is as enthusiastic as he is learned in geological matters. He is never weary of writing on his favourite subject, and takes as much pains to fix the attention of a neophyte as to delight a philosopher. Hence he puts forth most attractive "manuals," or "text- books," or "sketches," and the little work before us is by no means an exception to the rule. We could not wish to place in the hands of a beginner a more intelligible or readable volume ; and by beginner we mean a person of any age or acquirements whose ideas are not clear on the subject of this particular science. For the benefit of such persons, i. e., of nine readers out of ten, Mr. Page has produced this lucidly arranged and agreeably written resume of all that is at present known about the earth's crust, or can be legitimately conjectured with regard to its interior. He tells the wonderful story of waste and recon- struction, of aqueous and igneous action, of the succession of periods and the progress of the forms of life, in a way that leaves upon the mind a clear conception of the whole theory of geology.
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