CRITICAL NOTICES OP NEW PUBLICATIONS. 333 



that of the theory of his art — should be unceasingly studied. This 

 work of De Quincy, so admirably translated by Kent, is a valuable 

 acquisition to his means ; it is full of profound thoughts and prac- 

 tical observations. 



On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. By William 

 Swainson, Esq., A.C.G. Vol. I., 12mo., London : Longman 

 & Co. 1836. 



We have often heard it contested, with some show of plausibility 

 on each side, whether the labours of the field or the closet-natu- 

 ralist were the more important of the two. Now, it appears to us, 

 the question is one of no importance, as it must be obvious to those 

 who are disposed to view the matter impartially, that, whatever 

 may be the respective powers of the mind requisite for each depart- 

 ment, both are alike essential to the advancement of the science. 

 That the two may be advantageously united in the same individual 

 is, moreover, satisfactorily proved by the original observations on 

 the habits of the feathered race which the author of the present 

 treatise has occasionally introduced ; one or two of which we shall 

 extract as specimens. His scientific knowledge and acumen are too 

 well known to require any comment from us. We shall now pro- 

 ceed from these generalities to a brief notice of the contents of this 

 book, which forms the eighty-third volume of Lardner's Cyclopaedia. 



The first chapter contains some general observations on birds — on 

 the peculiarities of the class — its relation to reptiles and quadrupeds 

 — and its primary divisions. The following remarks are so excel- 

 lent, and the subject of them has been so frequently misunderstood, 

 that we shall extract them for the benefit of our readers. 



"The first, or pre-eminent type, is termed the Insessorial, or typical, because 

 it corresponds to the order Insessores, the most perfect in this class. We use 

 the term perfect, on this and all other occasions, not as implying that other 

 groups — when compared to such as are thus termed — are imperfectly form- 

 ed, but indicative only of a higher or more complicated organization. No- 

 thing that the Universal Creator has made can, by any possibility, be im- 

 perfect, in the usual meaning of the word ; because, as one of His attributes 

 is perfection, it of course follows that all His works are equally so ; that is, 

 they are most beautifully and most completely formed for the station in the 

 scale of nature they are intended to fill, and for performing the functions 

 belonging to their particular organization. But while this truth is apparent 

 to all who wish to know it, there cannot be a doubt that some animals have 

 their instincts more developed, and their forms more highly organized than 

 others. A bee is a more perfect animal than a butterfly, and this latter than 

 an oyster. Why ? Because, although each, ' after its kind,' is perfection, 

 yet a wonderful degree of instinct has been given to the first, great beauty 

 of form to the second, and both have been denied to the third, which, more- 

 over, is barely capable of voluntary motion.'' — p. 8. 



The next three chapters are devoted to an explanation of the ex- 

 ternal anatomy of birds. Although this subject has been treated of 

 in the works of almost every preceding ornithologist, we never 



