BOOK NQTIGES. Wl 



years. Within the last year Trimeremrua trigonocephctlus, a poisonous sunk-:, 

 scribed in its pages as an inhabitant of Ceylon, has been obtained by our 

 Natural History Society from North Canara, and we have not a doubt that 

 many otber rare species will be found in regions which they are not now supposed 

 to inhabit. In committing this workto Mr* Boulenger, of the British Museum, 

 we must assume that thos i ncerned were making the best choice in their 

 power. Mr. Boulenger, we learn from the preface, has been on ga.<red for the 

 last eight years in classifying and describing all known species of crocodiles, 

 s, lizards, chameleons and batrachians in catalogues of the British 

 Museum. But, unfortunately, he does not appear ever to have heen in India. 

 The book has exactly the merits and the defects which might hare been anti- 

 cipated from these circumstances. Of c tbras, tree-frogs, monitor.-, and geckos, 

 as they present themselves inspirits oi wine, we have a most discriminating and 

 without doubt a most accurate account; but We are almost led tor forget that 

 they ever presented themselves in the flesh at all. Barely do We meet with even 

 an allusion to the habits of the living animal. Even those strange habits which 

 illustrate the most striking peculiarities of structures are severely unnoticed. 

 Here is a description of the tsngue of the chameleon :—*" Tongue cylindrical 

 extremely extensde and projectile, sheathed at the base, club-shaped and viscous 

 at the end, with an exceedingly elongate, glosso-hyal bone." This is most 

 a Imirable, but nowhere do we find even an allusion to the purpose for which the 

 creature is provided with this strange organ, so extensile and projectile and 

 club-shaped and viscous at the end. Again we are told that Draco possesses " a 

 large, lateral, wing-like membrane, folding like a fan, supported by the last five 

 or six ribs, which are much produced." Does Mr. Bouleng'er not know that the 

 Dracones are flying lizards, or does he consider the circumstance too trivial to 

 mention ? These two instances illustrate the whohi book. Lizards, snakes, and 

 frogs follow each other in even rows, as they did on the shelves of the British 

 Museum, where Mr. Boulenger examined them, easily distinguishable by then- 

 labels to those who know what the labels mean. Add to this that the book is 

 very sparingly illustrated, and it will readily be guessed that it is not cal- 

 culated to be generally interesting. To curators of museums and professors of 

 biology we are quite sure it will be very useful ; indeed, we may go further and 

 say that anyone who betakes himself to the study of reptiles, with the dissect- 

 ing knife in hand and a large collection of specimens at his command for com- 

 parative purposes, will find it an admirable guide. But the number of such 

 persons in India is very small, while the number of men who take an intelligent 

 interest in Hving creatures and wish to be able to identify those species of 

 beasts, birds, and reptiles Avhich come under then- observation is comparatively 

 large and has increased rapidly of late years, and we imagine that it was to 

 meet the needs of the latter class and so promote the study of Indian Fauna that 

 the publication of this series was undertaken. And we must candidly say that 

 this class will not find the book by any moans stimulating, or even so helpful 



