478 Bibliographical Notice. 



palatal teeth as well, &c. Dr. Kroyer doubts the identity of L. ne- 

 bulosus, Gill, and L. gracilis, Rhdt., but vindicates, in case they 

 should prove identical as Mr. Gill supposes, the right of priority of 

 Reinhardt's name. For the sake of comparison, Dr. Kroyer intro- 

 duces a definition of L. lampetrceformis, Wahlb., from Iceland. Of 

 Lycodes, Rhdt., Dr. Kroyer describes two species from Greenland, 

 L. perspicillum, Kr., and L. nebulosus, Kr., which he had shortly 

 indicated already in 1844 : three Greenland species had been described 

 before by Reinhardt {L. Vahlii, L. reticidatus, and L. seminudus); so 

 that now five species are well established. The paper concludes with 

 a careful diagnosis of the genus Stichceus proposed a long time ago 

 by Reinhardt, and descriptions of two species, S. prcecisus, Kr., and 

 S. punctatus, Fabr. 



Dr. Kroyer' s paper on "Parasitic Entomostraca " (volume ii. 

 Nos. 2 and 3, 1863-1864, p. 75-426) contains the descriptions of 

 nearly one hundred new species, illustrated by eighteen plates, and 

 is, in fact, a kind of supplement to the treatise published by him 

 about twenty-seven years ago in the earlier volumes of the ' Naturhis- 

 torisk Tidsskrift,' whereby he gained so prominent a place as an au- 

 thority on the history of these curious animals. An enormous amount 

 of material has accumulated since then in the Museum of which 

 Dr. Kroyer has the charge ; and although other naturalists in the 

 mean time have described some of these new species, a considerable 

 quantity is still left for Dr. Kroyer to publish. The author still re- 

 tains Milne- Edwards's classification in its main points ; he acknow- 

 ledges that a reform is necessary, but looks to the ability of the ce- 

 lebrated French naturalist for the accomplishment of this task. He 

 reminds us that Milne-Edwards himself has indicated such improve- 

 ments as the union of Copepoda and Siphonostoma, and makes use 

 of the opportunity for praising the truly scientific spirit in which 

 great savans,the pillars of science, often abstainfrom reforms, of which 

 they discern the principles and outlines, but for which the proper 

 time has not yet arrived, thus preferring rather to serve the good 

 cause loyally than to get honour to themselves by perhaps plausible 

 but immature reforms. Dr. Kroyer's expressions on the mania for 

 new systems are worth quoting. He alludes to the German proverb, 

 " When the kings are building, the carters are busy," and says, " that 

 many zoologists seem to have taken a fright lest they should be ac- 

 counted mere scientific carters if they confine themselves to de- 

 scriptions. In order to gain for themselves a higher rank, they all 

 make systems, or at least stick some rag of systematic purple to their 

 descriptive papers. The crowd of systems, one more deformed than 

 the other, is so overwhelming that one is tempted to say with Ju- 

 venal, 'Semper ego auditor tantum nunquamne reponam?' and to 

 make systems one's self, merely in revenge." It is indeed but too true 

 that naturalists of a certain school, carrying their abhorrence to mere 

 specialities too far, seem to forget that the only solid foundation of 

 all science is accurate description of careful and well-planned obser- 

 vation ; that when the phenomena are accurately observed in all 

 essential points, and not till then, the true theory suggests itself; 



