342 The Irish Naturalist. November, 



In Section IV the climate of Ireland is discussed. It is not so much that 

 we have more rain than our neighbours that makes our climate so damp 

 and forbidding, as that the rainfall is spread out over so many "soft" 

 days. The cutting down of the forests since man appeared in the 

 country is shown to influence the rate of evaporation, and so a moist 

 envelope is maintained for a longer time. Some useful hints in the para- 

 graph given to weather prognostication should be of service to farmers, 

 especially in harvest. 



The book is amply illustrated, and has only to be read to be enjoyed. 

 Though some of the chapters may prove somewhat difficult to the un- 

 initiated on account of the technicalities of the subject, it is to be hoped 

 that it will be widely read by the farming community, and especialty by 

 the younger portion of that class, amongst whom has been aroused of 

 late since the establishment of the Department of Agriculture a spirit of 

 inquiry into scientific methods which is sure to bear a rich harvest in 

 the near future. 



Isaac Swain. 



A BOOK OF BEASTS. 



Mammals of the World. By W. F. Kirby, F.Iy.S. With an Intro- 

 duction on Structure by W. Egmont Kirby, M.D. Pp. 141. 30 

 coloured plates and 11 figures in text. London: Sidney Appleton, 

 1907. Price 6s. net. 



The coloured plates of this volume contain pleasing illustrations of 

 169 species of Mammalia, for which Mr. Kirby — turning awhile from his 

 entomological pursuits — has written descriptions, with short diagnoses 

 of the orders and families to which they belong. The work has been 

 done with Mr. Kirby's usual care, and though the information given is 

 necessarily condensed, space has been found for several rather irrelevant 

 anecdotes. The classification adopted follows closely the familiar 

 sequence of Flower and Lydekker, but we note the separation — unjusti- 

 fiable zoologically — of man as a distinct sub-order of the Primates. 



Dr. W. E. Kirby's introduction is a summary of mammalian anatomy 

 and physiology condensed into twenty quarto pages, and we fear that 

 the language is too technical for the work to be of service to the unin- 

 structed readers who may desire to " make up " the subject from such 

 a convenient epitome. A few of the statements are decidedly mis- 

 eading, such as " the cranial nerves pass off directly from the cerebrum," 

 and " the kidneys secrete urea." 



G. H. C. 



