,8,,. EXPLORATION IN NEW GUINEA. 771 



legalising this unwarrantable contravention of the laws as to priority 

 of geographical nomenclature. 



Although the book would, from its title and preface, lead one to 

 •expect a general account of British New Guinea in all its aspects, it 

 is almost entirely devoted to an exposition of Sir William Macgregor's 

 ■exploits. Yet narrowed down to this, the record of so much work of 

 the highest excellence and importance would have been welcome if 

 it had been compiled with more judgment and less bias ; and if in 

 its preparation the official reports had been followed more closely, 

 we should have been spared many inaccuracies, and much bad 

 grammar, as well as a superfluity of inflated language which in a 

 book which its maker hopes may be " welcome to students of Natural 

 Science," is nauseous in the extreme. 



The names of the authors who have contributed the scientific 

 appendixes to the volume are sufficient guarantee for their accuracy. 

 Especially valuable are the vocabularies furnished by the Rev. 

 W. G. Lawes, and those collected by the Administrator in so many 

 different districts of the Possession. We miss with regret any report 

 on the mammalia, on the birds, and on the land and fresh-water 

 mollusca, though they are, we believe, to be found in the Parliamen- 

 tary papers. The distribution of these groups is peculiarly interesting, 

 and we should have been grateful for a complete resume of the fauna 

 collected here from the publications through which the notices 

 are scattered, and especially from the official papers, where they are 

 practically buried. Throughout the volume there are several excellent 

 illustrations, and there is a good map. The publishers are to be 

 warmly congratulated on the binding, paper, and printing of the 



book. 



Henry O. Forbes. 



3c 2 



