[page] 534

CORAL REEFS.

Mr. Darwin's long-expected work on this interesting subject has just appeared, it is entitled, "The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs: being the first part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. London, 1842." (pp. xii. and 214.)

It is illustrated by three plates, and some engravings in wood: the former of these, 1st, showing the resemblance in form between barrier coral reefs surrounding mountainous islands, and atolls or lagoon-islands; 2nd, map and section of the Great Chagos Rank, and maps of the Menchiooff Atoll, Mahlos Mahdoo Atoll, New Caledonia, and Maldiva Archipelago; 3rd, showing the distribution of the different kinds of coral reefs, together with the position of the active volcanos in the map.