New Publications. 487 



towards a natural history of Corallines, and other productions 

 of the like kind, commonly found on the coasts of Great Bri- 

 tain and Ireland, published in 1755,*' Dr Johnston has brought 

 together in a separate volume, and with much additional origi- 

 nal information, a full natural history of our British Zoophytes. 



The work is divided into five parts. Part I. contains an 

 amusing history of Zoophytology ; a general account of the 

 structure and physiology of zoophytes ; and their classification, 

 a dry subject, which is made readable by the skill of our author. 

 He divides the British Zoophytes into the following sub-classes 

 and orders, viz.: — Sub-class I. Radiated Zoophytes. Order 1. 

 Hydroida. Order 2. Asteroida. Order 3. Helianthoida. Sub- 

 class II. Molluscous Zoophytes. Order 4. Ascidioida. Parts 

 II. III. IV. and V. are appropriated to the natural history of 

 the species. 



Each of these four parts is devoted to the consideration of one 

 of the orders,^ with all its families, genera, and species. We do 

 not here, as is too often the case in systematic works, meet only 

 with dry details ; on the contrary, great accuracy of discrimi- 

 nation is combined with valuable anatomical and physiological 

 observations, and beautiful views in natural history. 



The accompanying plates do honour to the artist, without 

 whose assistance this work would in all probability never have 

 seen the light. Our author was fortunate indeed in having the 

 aid of such a pencil as that of Mrs Johnston. 



A delightful feature in the " History of the British Zoo- 

 phytes," cannot pass unnoticed ; we allude to the interesting 

 biographies of known and also of unknown, but most merito- 

 rious observers, agreeably distributed throughout the work. 

 They recall to our imagination the times which have past — the 

 Linnaean epoch — and give an antique and fascinating air to 

 this classical work, ere long to be in the hands of every British 

 naturalist. 



