LITERARY NOTICES. 



k>5 



Thomas Whittaker, James Sully, Grant Al- 

 len, and Professor K. Adamson, deal re- 

 spectively with vol. ii of J. II. Green's phil- 

 osophical works, C. Rendouvier, J. Delboeuf, 

 M. Guyau, and J. Volkelt. All these criti- 

 cisms are exceptionally able. The notes 

 upon new books are copious and inter- 

 esting. 



Hand-Book of Zoology, 'with Examples 

 from Canadian Species, Recent and 

 Fossil. By Sir William Dawson, LL. D., 

 F. R. S., etc. Third edition, revised and 

 enlarged. Montreal : Dawson Brothers, 

 Publishers. Pp.304. With 317 Figures 

 and 9 Plates. Price, $1.26. 



This little book, as its name implies, is 

 a hand-book of zoology. Chapter I, under 

 "Physiological Zoology," deals with the tis- 

 sues and functions of the animal. Chapter II 

 treats of " Zoological Classification," and fol- 

 lowing these is a rapid survey of the ani- 

 mal kingdom, fully illustrated by woodcuts, 

 which, in the majority of cases, were used 

 in the first edition of this work, published 

 in 1869. Some of the cuts are exceedingly 

 poor, though in the main correct. Fossil 

 forms are presented with the recent forms as 

 they should be, and so one gets a better idea 

 of the range of the animal kingdom. It is 

 a book that the amateur collector and the 

 young zoologist should have, as much infor- 

 mation in a condensed form is embodied in 

 its pages. 



It might be expected that the book 

 would be conservative and somewhat anti- 

 quated, from the known antagonism of its 

 author to the modern views of derivation. 

 It is interesting to see, however, that the 

 leaven of evolution is working slowly but 

 surely even here. 



In the preface to the first edition, Sir 

 William says : " I have avoided the modern 

 doctrines of a ' physical basis of life,' and of 

 ' derivation,' because I believe them to rest 

 on grounds very different from true science, 

 and therefore to be unsuitable for the pur- 

 poses of a text-book." Having in the first 

 edition arranged his material rigidly under 

 the branches of Cuvier, he says: "I have 

 not scrupled to adhere to them, as the ex- 

 pression of a grand and philosophical idea, 

 essential to an accurate and enlarged con- 

 ception of Nature " ; and, again : " This four- 

 fold division includes the whole animal 

 vol. xxx. — 45 



kingdom, and is the only rational one which 

 can be based on type or plan of structure. 

 . . . The attempts which have been made to 

 introduce additional branches or provinces 

 I regard as retrograde steps ; such, for ex- 

 ample, is the province Ccelenterata of Leuck- 

 art," etc., etc. And now in sixteen years — 

 a long time, it is true, for most minds to ad- 

 mit so much — we find the author not only 

 cancelling his protests against a physical 

 basis of life and derivation, but reluctant- 

 ly taking the retrograde steps in adopting 

 essentially the classification of Leuckart, 

 Ccelenterates and all, though he turns back 

 longingly to the quatenary classification of 

 Cuvier, which he says may still be regarded 

 as of scientific value. 



May many active years of work be vouch- 

 safed to this delightful and charming natu- 

 ralist, and in these years may he prepare 

 another edition of his hand-book, with still 

 further omissions and admissions ! 



An Elementary Course in Practical Zo- 

 ology. By Buel P. Colton. Boston : 

 D. C. Heath & Co. Pp. 185. Price, 85 

 cents. 



Mr. Colton has produced an admirable 

 book in the one before us. A student will 

 certainly get a clear idea of the animal king- 

 dom if he follows the stimulating advice and 

 directions which the book offers. The fol- 

 lowing plan of study is carried out : 



1. Directions are given for collecting 

 and preserving the specimens. 



2. The live animal is studied. 



3. The external features are noted. 



4. The animal is dissected. 



5. The development of a few forms is 

 traced. 



6. After studying each animal, its rela- 

 tions to other animals are considered (classi- 

 fication). 



He has avoided the almost universal 

 practice, so common in English and most 

 American text-books, of commencing with 

 the lowest known forms of life, and follow- 

 ing up step by step to the highest, thus 

 unavoidably conveying the false idea of a 

 continuous ladder in creation. On the con- 

 trary, he commences his examinations with 

 the insects as being animals that every one 

 may easily get. The pupil is told how to 

 see and what to see, and is permitted to 



