248 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



Frequently, also, there is an indication of the rarity or abundance of 

 a species in the divisions. 



The work is enriched with several maps of Ireland, to show the 

 divisions and localities, the progress of the field-work and the 

 present state of botanical knowledge, the petrography and the 

 orography. It is excellently printed. 



The author has earned the thanks of botanists beyond as well as 

 in Ireland for a great addition to what had been known of the dis- 

 tribution of the flora in Ireland. 



AMPHIBIA AND REPTILES. By Hans Gadow, M.A., Ph.D., 

 F.R.S., Strickland Curator and Lecturer on Advanced Morphology 

 of Vertebrata in the University of Cambridge. (London: Macmillan 

 & Co., Limited, 1901). Being vol. viii. of the Cambridge Natural 

 History. 



It is somewhat strange that we should have had to wait so long 

 for the advent of a modern work in the English language on such 

 important classes of the Vertebrata as the Amphibia and Reptilia. 

 We have not, however, waited in vain, or to little purpose. The 

 book under consideration has fallen to the lot of one who is not 

 only an accomplished specialist, but to one who has a decided 

 predilection for these so-called cold-blooded creatures. The result 

 is that we have an author not only capable of dealing with the 

 intricacies of anatomy and classification, but one who has also 

 studied the life-histories and habits of a number of species a most 

 desirable combination. 



In the preliminary chapters the characters of each class are 

 carefully defined, its position and ancestral forms considered, 

 a historical account of its classification furnished ; and much 

 interesting and valuable information afforded on physiological and 

 anatomical points, and on geographical distribution and life-histories. 

 In the case of the Amphibia, the remarkable facts bearing on their 

 development, metamorphosis, etc., are fully dealt with. 



The main portion of the book consists of a series of chapters 

 dealing with every order and family of the Amphibia and Reptilia, 

 recent and fossil. In these valuable contributions, the author has 

 combined with the necessary technical details much matter of an 

 interesting nature which will be greatly appreciated by naturalists 

 generally. The subjects have been handled with great ability and 

 marked success, and the book will rank with such standard works 

 as Flower and Lydekker's " Mammals," Gunther's " Study of Fishes," 

 and others. The work abounds in excellent illustrations, mostly 

 original, and there are many maps inserted in the text to illustrate 

 the distribution of the various families. A map, in colours, giving 

 the physical features of the world affecting the geographical distribu- 

 tion of the Amphibia and Reptilia, forms the frontispiece to a most 

 acceptable volume. 



