1889.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 95 



tion was issued in which the account of the fishes was completely recast. 

 A third and fourth edition followed (in 1SS0 and 1884), and now a fifth 

 edition wholly rewritten and rearranged. 



A complete key to the vertebrates known to inhabit noi'thern and east- 

 ern United States means the definition of 1145 species, 607 genera, 

 213 families, 54 orders, and 7 classes. The vertebrates may now be 

 studied by college classes with the Manual as a key as readily as hith- 

 erto the flowering plants could be identified with Gray's Manual. 



The range of the work has been widened, so that it now embraces all 

 known vertebrates of Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Canada, Nova Scotia, 

 and the Atlantic coast as far south as Cape Hatteras. This is a great 

 gain in completeness, for it adds numerous large mammals, such as the 

 coyote, grizzly bear, harbor seal (among carnivores), the white-tailed 

 deer, mule-deer, carabou, prong-horn, big-horn, and buffalo (among 

 ruminants), the order Cete (among mammals), some birds, as the 

 auks, and a very large number of fishes. 



The revision has included the nomenclature, bringing the names up 

 to the present agreement among the specialists. The omission through- 

 out the work of all synonymy is doubtless of advantage for brevity, but 

 the addition of a brief and judicious condensed synonymy would be a 

 great gain. Such a change in nomenclature as that of the generic name 

 of the loon from Colymbus to Urinator, and the use of Colymbus for 

 the grebe formerly known as Podiceps, is in the interest of good nomen- 

 clature and should be followed, although it would be confusing to the 

 tyro, for whose benefit a clue could be easily given. 



The greatest improvement observed in the new edition is the change 

 in the order of description, beginning now with the lowest and pro- 

 ceeding to the highest, and ending with man, who in the earlier editions 

 was entirely ignored. With this improved order of treatment is also an 

 improved method, the withdrawal of artificial keys based on characters 

 of easy recognition, but of slight or often no morphologic significance, 

 and the substitution of natural keys based on characters of true genetic 

 value. In the former work the intention was to name the specimen as 

 quickly and as easily as possible ; now is added to this chief aim the 

 purpose to exhibit classificatory facts with their proper value so as 

 to draw attention to natural affinities among the vertebrates. This 

 is in the direction of sounder learning. A key built upon the natural 

 system is not always the shortest, but it is the surest, and hence in 

 science the best. The new edition thus steps out into a somewhat larger 

 place than its predecessors and is no longer merely a key to the names of 

 vetebrates. It is an introduction to a more scientific study of vertebrate 

 zoology. It is well fitted to be used as a college text-book, and will 

 find a place in many laboratories for that purpose. 



Besides the matter of most purely systematic importance the author 

 has made space for the etymology of all the names and items of histor- 

 ical interest, and he occasionally hints at some economic feature or 

 curious habit, or even at times indulges in a touch of guarded humor. 



Though the new edition contains perhaps twice as much matter as 

 the second edition it is shortened 32 pages by the more economical use 

 of space and the employment of smaller type. So good, however, is 

 the press-work that the new page is more attractive to the eye than the 

 page of the old editions. — H. L. Osborn. 



