382 NATURAL SCIENCE. May. 



the leading types of mammalian life, and their relations to birds, 

 reptiles, and amphibians, without being encumbered with descriptions 

 or systematic arrangement. The author has, moreover, exercised a 

 wise discretion in avoiding, so far as possible, the use of technical 

 names, which renders the book far more pleasant reading than several 

 popular works we could name, and it is almost needless to mention 

 that he is in general a master of style. We venture, however, to 

 suggest that the less frequent use of the word " nevertheless " would 

 save some weariness to the reader, and that when it is used the 

 punctuation ought always to be the same (see pp. 150, 151). 



The mention of punctuation reminds us that Professor Mivart 

 stands in sad need of a proof-reader, not only in the present, but in 

 some of his other works. For instance, on page 60 we are informed 

 that the marsupial mole hails from America, while on page i<S2 we 

 are told that tame gayais exist in certain parts of Spain ! Again, on 

 page 349 Soumerat stands for Sonnerat, while, if we mistake not, on 

 page 292 Seaman does duty for Scammon. Moreover, it would have 

 been well if the author had made up his mind on what plan he in- 

 tended to transliterate Greek names, and we should not then have 

 had Chirolcs in one place (p. 146) and Cheiromeks in another (p. 165). 



There are, however, other and more serious errors in the book 

 which cannot be laid to the charge of the long-suffering printer, and 

 for some of which the author will find it difficult to plead any adequate 

 excuse. 



One of the most glaring of these blunders occurs on p. 3, where 

 the author states that the American monkeys, as compared with their 

 Old World allies, " have developed an additional wisdom-tooth." 

 And again, on page 32 we read that "the monkeys hitherto noticed, 

 whether they have two or three wisdom-teeth on either side of each 

 jaw, all agree with us in having three grinders, which have milk 

 predecessors, and are technically known as premolars. But the 

 marmosets alone have only two such on either side of either 

 jaw." Now, in the first place, it is totally inadmissible to speak of 

 all the molars as "wisdom-teeth," that name applying solely to the 

 last of the series. Next, with the exception of the marmosets, all 

 monkeys and apes, like ourselves, have three molars (wisdom-teeth) ; 

 while those of the Old World have two premolars. The New World 

 monkeys differ in developing a third premolar ; while the marmosets 

 are distinguished from these by the loss of the last molar, a true 

 "wisdom-tooth," and thus have three premolars and two molars, 

 and not, as the author states, two of the former and three of the latter 

 teeth. Such a hopeless muddle as Professor Mivart has made of a 

 simple subject would be hard to equal ; and it is doubly to be deplored 

 in a work intended to instruct the weaker brethren. It is, indeed, 

 instruction (!). 



We have already mentioned two slips in regard to distribution 

 which may probably be attributed to careless proof-reading ; but 

 what are we to say with regard to the statement on page 184 that 

 " the goats are exclusively confined to Southern Europe and Northern 

 and Central Asia " ? Has the author never heard of Capra siniatica of 

 Egypt and the Sinaitic Peninsula, of C. walie of Abyssinia, or of the 

 Nilgiri wild goat ? Then, again, the statement on page 320, that the 

 common rorqual is the largest mammal, is manifestly incorrect, the 

 creature which has the honour of occupying this position being the 

 blue whale [Bahuiopicra sihhaldi). 



Other statements show want of reading on the part of the author. 



