SIEBOLd's EUROPEAN FUESHWATEE-FISHES. 26 



study which he found infinitely more difficult and time-absorbing 

 than he had anticipated, he presents us with the results of his 

 labours in an octavo volume of 430 pages, illustrated by 64 woodcuts, 

 and 2 coloured plates. 



The somewhat lengthy introduction to Dr. von Siebold's volume is 

 evidently \vritten for that part of the public which does not care much 

 about the information which they might gather from the work itself. 

 In this the author describes the ordinary ways and means of collect- 

 ing materials and information, which are familiar to every one who 

 has studied any portion of a particular fauna. The introduction is 

 followed by a complete and excellent review of the literature bearing 

 upon the fishes of Germany, whereby the author evades the usual 

 practice of quoting in the synonymy of each species every author 

 who has ever noticed it. This is a method far superior to the one in 

 which valueless works and names of would-be naturalists are promis- 

 cuously quoted along with original descriptions and scientific authors. 

 From the author's own assertions in his introductory remarks and 

 especially from the synonymy itself, it is evident that he places himself 

 on the side of those Zoologists who would counteract the mischief doiie 

 by Agassiz, Valenciennes, Bonaparte, and Heckel, in introducing 

 into ichthyology the custom of splitting up species and genera 

 on the slightest and most insufficient grounds. " The catalogue of 

 our freshwater-fishes," says Dr. v. Siebold, " abounds with untenable 

 species. This nuisance has been partly caused by systematists 

 who have carried the multiplication of the genera so far, and 

 who have defined the characters of these genera so indistinctly, 

 that in consequence of their insufficient examinations they were 

 obliged not only to separate fishes which must be referred to 

 the same species by every unbiassed observer, but even to place 

 them in two distinct genera, in obedience to the principles of their 

 unnatural system." Of the authors mentioned none fares worse 

 than Heckel, and although Dr. v. Siebold pays him all those compli- 

 ments which celebrated savants usually pay to one another, the sy- 

 nonymy of almost every species shows, that he has no great 

 opinion of the discriminating powers of the man who endeavoured to 

 make Vienna the head-quarters of our knowledge of European fresh- 

 water-fishes. For although out of Austria there never was much 

 doubt as to the scientific value of Heckel's genera and species, it re- 

 quired a publication like the present^ to entirely supersede the " Siiss- 

 wasserfische der Oesterreichischen Monarchie," and to thoroughly 



