200 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



p. 206), parts iv. and v. of this important and beautifully illustrated 

 work have been issued. 



Part iv. treats of the genera Cephalopus (continued) and 

 Tetraceros, comprising eight species, seven of which are depicted on 

 coloured plates, and completes vol. i. of the monograph. Part v. 

 opens vol. ii. with descriptions of eighteen species of the sub-family 

 Neotraginas, with coloured figures of nine species. 



It is impossible to speak too highly in favour of " The Book of 

 Antelopes." It is a combination of the very highest standard of 

 literary and artistic excellence, and will rank in all respects amongst 

 the most useful, interesting, and beautiful of scientific works of its 

 kind that have ever been produced. 



THE WILD CAT OF EUROPE (Fells catus). By Edward 

 Hamilton, M.D., F.L.S., F.Z.S. Illustrated by P. and J. P. Smit. 

 (London: R. H. Porter, 1896.) 



Under the above title Dr. Hamilton gives us a neat octavo 

 volume of about one hundred pages. Herein he has brought to- 

 gether a great amount of information, which has hitherto remained 

 scattered over the wide field of zoological literature, concerning one 

 of the most interesting of European mammals. Among others, there 

 are chapters devoted to Ancestral Descent ; Description ; Etymology ; 

 Skull, and other Osteological Characters ; Geographical Distribution ; 

 Period of Gestation ; Interbreeding of the Wild and Domestic Cat ; 

 Relationships of the two Races ; Records of Wild Cats in England, 

 Wales, Scotland, Ireland (?), and the Continent, etc. etc. 



One of the statements made in the preface is so interesting and 

 important, that we make no apology for reproducing it. It runs as 

 follows : " I did not expect to find any difficulty in being able to 

 define the Wild Cat (Felfs catus) as a distinct species. The task, 

 however, was not so easy as I anticipated, for I found that the 

 characteristics relied on by most authors as specific were not persis- 

 tent, were at times absent, and were also often present in the 

 Domestic Cat. Moreover, on a careful examination of a number of 

 examples of the Wild Cat of the present time, I found many indica- 

 tions of a mixture of the two races." This is a subject on which we 

 trust Dr. Hamilton will afford us some further information, especially 

 so far as it may concern British examples. 



There are good plates of the Wild Cat, CafTer Cat, Fettered Cat, 

 and Cat of mixed breed ; and a series of illustrations devoted to 

 anatomical details. 



The book is a storehouse of information concerning the 

 European Wild Cat, culled from all sources, and is well got up, as 

 all Mr. Porter's books are. It will be very welcome to Zoologists, 

 and is to be highly commended. 



