1/ 



. Bibliographical Notices. 



I 



r We must not conclude without referring to the excellent observa- 

 tions on the divisions proposed in the great genus Papilio by Dr. 

 Ilorsfield, nor to the very careful manner in which the synonymy of 

 the old and the description of the new species have been worked out 

 by Mr. Moore. We could have wished that the classical system of I .y, 

 giving short Latin characters of each species had been adopted, as j CD" 

 we know by experience how apt entomologists are to overlook de- I 

 scriptions of species written only in the vernacular language of authors ■ 

 of other countries. We trust, in conclusion, that this volume is only 

 the precursor of several others, in which the remainder of the Order 

 will be described. We know that there are ample materials for such 

 additional volumes, and we trust that Dr. Horsfield will be spared to 

 see their publication. 



General Report upon the Zootogy of the several Pacific Railroad 

 Routes. Part I. Mammals. By Spencer F. Baird. 1 vol. 4to. 



Washington, 1857. » 



The contributions already made to our knowledge of the Fauna of 

 North America by the zoological appendices to the Reports of various 

 Surveys and Explorations ordered by the Government of the United 

 States, are neither few nor unimportant. The accounts of expeditions 

 to the Red River of Louisiana, the Great Salt Lake of Utah, and the 

 Zuni and Colorado Rivers, all contain materials worthy of much 

 attention, and especially calculated to throw light upon the theory of 

 the distribution of animal life in the North American continent. 

 And in the Reports of the recent U. S. Astronomical Survey in the 

 Southern Hemisphere, and of Commodore Perry's Japan expedition, 

 we have evidence that the American Government is sufficiently 

 'catholic' in its promotion of scientific investigation not to refuse 

 assistance in extending our knowledge of the zoology of other parts 

 of the world besides those immediately subject to its sway. The 

 seventh volume of the * Reports of Explorations and Surveys to 

 ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad 

 from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, made under the direction 

 of the Secretary of War in 1 853-5 G,' the title of the first part of 

 which is given above, promises to bring still greater additions to our 

 knowledge of North American Zoology than any of the previous 

 publications. This first part only embraces the Mammalia ; but if 

 the Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes, and other orders of organized 

 beings are treated of in the same way, the result will be a complete 

 and very interesting resume of the zoology of this portion of the globe. 

 The numerous different surveying parties which were employed on 

 the proposed Pacific railway-routes, amassed a very large quantity of 

 materials for scientific research, which were all transferred by the 

 U. S. Government to the guardianship of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion at Washington. The energetic Assistant- Secretary of that 

 establishment, Professor Baird — than whom no one could be found 

 better qualified for the task — has himself undertaken to work out 

 the specimens of Mammalia collected. The same gentleman, together 



Ann. ^ Mag. N, Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. i. 24 



