THE AQUARIUM. 101 



to publish books of their own, treating of the Aquarium ; a list of the more 

 recent of which productions we have placed at the head of the present 

 article. To Mr. Sowerby's volume we will first call the attention of our 

 readers. The book is for the most part made up of quotations selected 

 from the works of Bell, Baird, Forbes, Gosse, Harvey, Hugh Miller, Owen, 

 and others whose names have appeared to the author sufficiently eminent to 

 be deemed worthy of his patronage. At page 199 he tells us, when speak- 

 ing of the Entomostracea, " that, having had but little Opportunity of in- 

 vestigating these little creatures myself, this part of our book must take 

 the character of a compilation, more completely than some of the others ;" 

 and, accordingly, he proceeds to avail himself of Dr. Baird 's work on these 

 crustaceans. His opportunities of investigating in their native haunts the 

 animals which he professes to describe would not appear to have been 

 numerous. Frequent allusion is made to the marine animals at Mr. Lloyd's 

 establishment, and, at page 209, Mr. Sowerby confesses that "the only 

 opportunity I have had of observing a living specimen of the Entomos- 

 traceous division of crustaceans was that afforded me by the attendant at the 

 Zoological Society's Fish- house." But though our author's journeys to the sea 

 side are not very often performed, yet, when he does go there, it falls to 

 his lot to observe phenomena very different from those which are com- 

 monly noticed. Acute and original powers of observation are, to a naturalist, 

 desirable qualities, and these Mr. Sowerby possesses in a very eminent 

 degree. Thus, in the first paragraph of the book, he informs us that 

 " pebbles throw out their long arms, fringed with net work, in many a case, 

 for food." A mere observer of facts, however, Mr. Sowerby is not. On 

 more than one occasion the philosophic bent of his mind is shown by pecu- 

 liar and ingenious interpretations of the observations made by others. Thus, 

 after describing the habits of the hermit crab, he adds — " Might it not be 

 that the zoe or tadpole form of some common species, produced where 

 empty shells of different sorts and sizes lie strewn plentifully among pebbles 

 and sand, falling into some of the hollows and becoming confined or liking 

 the condition, remained in it through subsequent changes, and that thus 

 what is first an accident becomes a habit." We presume that the above 

 are some of the " original observations and opinions, many of which will 

 be new to the reader," which the author promises in the preface. 



At page 1 8 we are told that Acephala (Acalepha? ?) will not live well in 

 confinement when full grown ; although some of them, in their early hydro id 

 stages, are interesting. To what hydroid forms does Mr. Sowerby allude. 

 Surely, if he has any notes of his own on those interesting " forms," he might 



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