[ 370 j 



XL VI II. Notices respecting New Books. 



Montagus Ornithological Dictionary ; neiv edition, " with a Plan of 

 Study, and many new Articles and original Observations. By James 

 Rennie, J.M., A.L.S., Professor of Natural History, King's Col- 

 lege, London; Author of ' Insect Architecture," ' Insect Transfor- 

 mations,' ' Architecture of Birds,' &;c'' London, 1 S3 1. Octavo j 

 Introduction, &c. pp. Ix., Dictionary and Index, pp. 592 ; 28 En- 

 gravings on Wood. 



" On my plan, any person, with a little care, may become a tolerably good 

 naturalist, the first walk he takes in the fields, without much knowledge of 

 books." — Mr. Rennic's Introduction, p. iv. 



'T^HE Editor of this new edition of Montagu's Ornitho logical Dictio- 

 -*• nary, and author of the introductory matter now prefixed to that 

 work, has recently been appointed to the chair of Natural History in 

 the King's College of London, (that is, we suppose, to the chair of 

 Zoology, since Mr. Burnett is Professor of Botany.) Having been 

 known to science previously only by the compilations (interspersed 

 with some observations of his own), of which he is stated to be the 

 author in the title-page quoted above, and which form part of the 

 Library of Entertaining Knowledge, he has undertaken the publica- 

 tion now before us, we presume, for the purpose of evincing his fitness 

 for the duties, as Professor of Zoology in one of our new national es- 

 tablishments for scientific education, which have been committed to 

 his charge. He has also still more recently announced, in pursuance, 

 we presume, of the same purpose, his intention of publishing " A 

 Conspectus of Butterflies and Moths," and a translation " with co- 

 pious notes and synonymes " of Le N'aillant's "Birds of Africa," 

 "Birds of Paradise," and " Parrots." 



We proceed, therefore, to examine the claims to regard as a man 

 of science and as a public teacher of zoology, which Mr. Rennie has 

 asserted in the volume now under our consideration. 



The introductory matter is arranged under the following heads : 

 " Introduction," — " Plan of Study," — "The Use of System," — " Sy- 

 stem of Linnaeus and Latham,". — "The Quinary System and Modern 

 Doctrine of Types, Affinities, and Analogies, — and " Catalogue of 

 Naturalists," subdivided into " Rudimental Naturalists, " — " Literary 

 Naturalists," — and " Philosophic Naturalists, and Original Obser- 

 vers." 



On perusing this introductory mattter from p. iii. to. p. Ix., we were 

 struck with the extreme assumption and arrogance of the whole style 

 of treating his subject, which is here displayed by the author; with the 

 bitterness and contempt of his vituperation of the naturalists whose 

 views he condemns, disingenuously mingled with praise, which on his 

 own showing must be undeserved ; and with the perverse ignorance 

 from which alone such misrepresentations as he makes on all the sub- 

 jects which he toucbes, could have arisen. We affirm, in limine, that 

 his statements respecting the Quinary System and every subject con- 

 nected with it, are a tissue of errors, from beginning to end. He 



does 



