46 Bibliographical Notices, 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 



A History of British Zoophytes. By George Johnston, M.D., with 

 44 Plates and 80 Wood Cuts. Lizars, Edinburgh ; Highley, Lon- 

 don ; and Curry and Co., Dublin. 1838. 



It was in the year 1 755 that John Ellis, a bright name in the list 

 of British Philosophers, first earnestly directed the attention of our 

 zoologists to the study of the native zoophytes by the publication of 

 his admirable ' Essay towards a Natural History of the Corallines 

 commonly found on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland.' His 

 clear descriptions and excellent illustrations first convinced natu- 

 ralists of the animal nature of those bodies. Yet, though his book was 

 interesting in the extreme, and though the beauty of the objects de- 

 scribed offered great inducements to those who loved to study nature, 

 not in books only but in her living works, few occupied themselves 

 with the pursuit. A meagre and compiled list of British zoophytes 

 appeared in Turton's ' British Fauna ;' a number of disconnected and 

 generally imperfect observations were made by various persons; 

 rarely our scientific Transactions and Journals contained some ex- 

 cellent Memoir on some detached species or perhaps genus ; and in 

 Dr. Fleming's * British Animals,' a classification and synopsis of the 

 species to him known as British was presented — a list which greatly 

 facilitated the study — but no separate work appeared on the subject. 

 At length, however, it has been taken up in a worthy manner by Dr. 

 Johnston in the volume before us, and the student may now pursue 

 his researches with a safe and ample manual to guide him. Not 

 merely will he study Dr. Johnston's work with advantage, but also 

 with pleasure ; for the learned author records his observations amu- 

 singly as well as scientifically, and brings the varied reading of a 

 discursive and elegant mind delightfully to bear upon an abstruse and 

 intricate subject. It is indeed strange, the study of zoophytology 

 should not have become as popular as that of conchology and ento- 

 mology, or other favourite natural history pursuits. The forms of the 

 Polypes are beautiful and singular in the extreme, witness the coral- 

 lines ; and as to colour, what animals can vie in gorgeous hues with 

 the Actiniad(B ? Their habits too are interesting and easily observed ; 

 and if ladies who live near the sea but knew such things were, coral- 

 lines and sea flowers might ornament the drawing-room as well as 

 gold-fish, and with much more benefit to science. 



Dr. Johnston prefaces his account of the species of British zoo- 

 phytes by three excellent dissertations. I. On the History of Zoo- 



