382 Miscellaneous. 



a spiral ; it is the oblique or spiral type.... What characterize 

 them all are not only the oblique relations of right and left, but 

 also the jiresence of one or more peculiar contractile bodies, the so- 

 called contractile vesicles, and a diffuse digestive system.''' He 

 describes, in the ninth chapter, how the sinuses of the digestive 

 cavity in certain Infusoria came to be described by Ehrenberg as 

 saccules or pouches. In treating of the Mollusca, he agrees with 

 Oken in regarding as the rudiment of a left valve, homologous with 

 that of a Lamellibranch, the operculum of the operculated Gastero- 

 pods. At the same time he makes no allusion to the absence of 

 correspondence between these two organs in respect of the relative 

 periods of their formation. The Articulata are briefly touched upon 

 in the twelfth chapter. He there shows some good reason for the 

 promotion of the Sipunculoids to the Worms. The Diptera are 

 placed by him at the top of the branch, on account of the extreme 

 concentration of their bodies and the versatility of their heads. It 

 is questionable, however, whether this is their true position, not- 

 withstanding these points in their organization, because the typical 

 form of the Insecta proper seems upon the whole to be four-winged, 

 from which the abortion of the posterior pair constitutes a marked 

 deviation ; and it would be quite an exceptional circumstance were 

 an abnormal group to constitute the highest of its class, to say no- 

 thing of a branch. The division of the body into three groups of 

 segments, and the versatility of the head, obtain to an equal extent 

 in the Hymenoptera. Professor Agassiz's arguments in favour of 

 the supremacy of the Lepidoptera are not yet shown to be fallacious; 

 and though in some particulars their organization may seem to be 

 inferior, in others {e. g. antennae) it is of a grade decidedly superior 

 to that of the Diptera. 



The third part is devoted to the embryology of the five branches 

 of the animal kingdom. 



Many other details are worthy of notice ; and, excepting some 

 obtrusive claims to originality, and some personalities, the book is 

 pleasantly written and well worth reading. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



On the Organization of Cryptoprocta ferox. By MINI. A. Milne- 

 Edwards and A. Grandidier. 



Cryptoprocta ferox was completely unknown when in 1833 the 

 English zoologist Bennett received a specimen of it, to which he 

 called the attention of naturalists ; but this unique specimen was so 

 young that it was impossible to ascertain its precise zoological affini- 

 ties, the dental system having not yet acquired its definitive form. 

 Bennett thought the species should be placed in the family Viverridse, 

 close to the Paradoxuri, although he indicated some points of re- 

 semblance to the Felidse. 



Blainville obtained a drawing of the skull of this young individual. 



