298 Notices respecting New Books, 



my whole attention to the application of the Theory of Probabilities 

 to the study of the moral and political sciences. I then felt how 

 desirable it was that this science should be rendered more elementary, 

 and that it should be brought down from the higher regions of ana- 

 lysis, and placed within the reach of those who have most frequently 

 to make use of it. It links itself to numerous questions which inter- 

 est the legislator and the statesman, — both are often obliged to infer 

 from the statistics of the past what' it may be useful to do for the 

 future, and they feel the want of means to enable them to judge of 

 the results produced by modifications of the laws which connect 

 events with each other, and to assign the weight to be assigned to 

 symptoms which announce the adversity or prosperity of a country." 



The subject is discussed under several general heads — the Theory 

 of Probabilities — Means and Limits — the Study of Causes — and 

 Statistics — eacli branching out into subordinate departments. The 

 whole discussion, though perfectly elementary and practical, is a 

 masterly performance. The illustrations are selected with singular 

 judgement ; and, for such a subject, the work is a book of very plea- 

 sant reading. 



"We have no doubt that the work will be eminently useful in this 

 country, and that it will make the name of its author known to many 

 who have never before heard of the astronomer of Brussels. 



The translation is executed with faithfulness, and is creditable to 

 the taste and judgement of the translator ; and we shall rejoice if 

 this is only a foretaste of what we may expect from the same hand. 



First Steps to Zoology. By Robert Patterson. Simms and 

 M'^Intyre. London, 1849. 



In this little volume, Mr. Patterson has presented to the young 

 naturalists of this country an abridgement of his recently published 

 Zoology for Schools His object in so doing (as appears from the 

 preface) is to convey some knowledge of the natural history and 

 classification of the various animals which inhabit our globe, to a 

 younger class of readers than would easily understand his more ex- 

 tended work above-mentioned. In most instances, accordingly, he 

 has confined himself to giving short notices of the different orders of 

 animals, selecting as individual examples of each, when such could 

 be done conveniently, those which inhabit our own islands and the 

 seas surrounding them. On the whole, the entire range of animated 

 nature is very fairly represented ; the vertebrated animals, the birds, 

 beasts and fishes of the old natural history books, preponderating, 

 as indeed, from the fact of their exhibiting the largest amount of in- 

 telligence and the greatest number of individual traits of character, 

 must almost necessarily be the case in a popular book. 



A large number of woodcuts are inserted, illustrating the different 

 subjects treated of; but the impressions are by no means so good as 

 one could wish ; and we think that, if Mr. Patterson would have a 

 little more care bestowed upon the getting up of these illustrations, 

 in case of the aj^pearance of a second edition, his work would be 

 greatly improved. On the whole, however, we can safely recommend 

 it to the notice of our readers. 



