Bibliographical Notices. 367 



the translation. The portion of Van der Hoeven's book relating 

 to the Protozoa was very defective, and here Dr. Clark has added 

 some notes ; but still this section is by no means satisfactory. At 

 page 102 and the two following pages we find a good abstract of the 

 recent investigations of Huxley, Leuckart, &c, upon the structure 

 of the Siphonophora ; and in pp. 109-1 19 numerous changes induced 

 by these facts have been made. On pp. 135-138 the translator 

 has introduced an account of the development of the Echino- 

 dermata, which is far more detailed than the same portion of the 

 original work; and in describing the Entozoa (at pp. 173-176) he 

 has given an abstract of the recent discoveries of development 

 of those creatures, which have also caused him to omit Van der 

 Hoeven's family of Cystica, now proved to consist of the develop- 

 mental forms of Cestoid worms. He has, however, given descrip- 

 tions of the different forms of Cystic worms at pp. 181-183. In the 

 preface to the second volume the translator has added some further 

 notes on the Inverteb rated animals, including references to the valu- 

 able " corrections and additions" to the German translation, published 

 in 1856 by Leuckart. From this we also learn that the author him- 

 self has made great alterations and additions to the second volume, 

 so that, in Dr. Clark's own words, " this volume may be regarded 

 rather as a third edition of the original than simply a translation of 

 the second." The two volumes are illustrated with four-and-twenty 

 plates, which are printed from the original copper-plates of the Dutch 

 edition, and which, although some of them might doubtless be im- 

 proved in appearance, will certainly prove exceedingly useful to the 

 student. 



Actinologia Britannica ; a History of the British Sea-Anemones and 

 Madrepores. With coloured figures of all the species. By 

 Philip Henry Gosse, F.R.S. Parts I.-IV. 8vo. London, 

 Van Voorst, 1858. 



If the present rage for Aquaria have no other result, it has cer- 

 tainly been instrumental in increasing the number of recorded British 

 species of Sea- Anemones. On all our coasts dilettanti and naturalists 

 are busily engaged in rummaging the rocks in search of these beau- 

 tiful flowers of the sea ; Actiniae form the most prominent ornaments 

 of the artificial rock-pools which it is the fashion now-a-days to esta- 

 blish in almost every house ; and if the observation of the habits 

 of these beautiful captives be carried on with anything like the same 

 zeal, we shall soon possess a tolerably complete body of information 

 upon their natural history. 



In the meanwhile, however, it must be confessed that the import- 

 ance which the Actiniae have acquired in the eyes of aquariists is 

 leading to its natural consequence : — under constant examination, 

 minute characters seem to grow into greater prominence ; and hence 

 the number of genera formed threatens to increase in an astounding 

 ratio as compared with the number of species. Thus Johnston de- 

 scribes twenty-seven species of Actiniadse, which are included in half- 



25* 



