M'Murtrie's Translation of the Regne Animat. 651 



memoir on the Circulation of Reptiles, by an American Natural- 

 ist : had the translator taken the trouble to consult the memoir, 

 he would have seen that Cuvier had there found reasons for 

 modifying his opinion on the structure of their organs of circu- 

 lation. If he has consulted it why has he suppressed all notice 

 of the discoveries of one of his countrymen ? 



Cuvier, at page 24, speaking of the Genus Monitor, says, " ils 

 ont des dents aux deux manchoires, et en manquent au palais." 

 They have teeth in the two jaws, but want them in the palate. The 

 translator says, at page 18, " they have two teeth in both jaws, 

 but none in the palate." Now, to whatever this blunder may 

 be owing, we must remember that this translation was not made 

 for men already learned in natural history ; such persons would 

 undoubtedly prefer to acquire the original to any translation 

 whatever. The only claim to notice which this book has with 

 the public, is that it is a " very faithful and able translation" — as 

 Professor Silliman has thought proper to call it — by the aid of 

 which American students could acquire exact notions of the 

 Zoological branch, and compare the descriptions in the transla- 

 tion with the specimens to be found in the collections. How 

 can Dr. M'Murtrie excuse himself then for putting our young 

 naturalists to the expense and trouble of rummaging all the un- 

 Jabelled specimens of our museums, (few of which have any 

 pretensions to scientific arrangement,) for monitors " with two 

 teeth in both jaws," when no such animal exists in nature. Every 

 student who has been well grounded in comparative anatomy, 

 is aware that the teeth are the principal characters to be relied 

 on in dried specimens of this genus: thus baffled, he has recourse 

 to other characters, by the aid of which he at last finds out his 

 animal, with a mouth full of strong conical teeth in both jaws. 

 These small verbal mistakes, as some persons indulgently call 

 them, are pregnant with important consequences to others. 



At page 23, 20th line, we have, speaking of the Tachydromotts, 

 " Square and carinated scales on the back, under the belly, and 

 on the tail ; no collar nor femoral pores, but on each side of the 

 anus is a small vesicle opening by one of the latter." Cuvier 

 says, " le collier leur manque ainsi que les pores aux cuisses ; 

 mais de chaque cote de leur anus est une petitie vosicule ouverte 

 d'un pore." They have neither collar nor femoral pores, but on 

 each side of the anus is a small vesicle opened by a pore: Dr. 



