3IONOGRAPHY. 17 



of the history of the animals composing it, so far as 

 they are known to naturalists. Yarrell's Histories of 

 British Birds and Fishes ; Forbes's Starfishes ; Forbes 

 and Hanley's History of British Mollusca and their 

 Shells; Bell's Crustacea, and Johnston's Zoophytes, need 

 no commendation. And when the whole series is com- 

 pleted, by Williams's British Annelides (which we hope 

 may soon be commenced) and the splendid work on the 

 Naked-gilled Mollusca publishing under the auspices 

 of the Ray Society, the Zoology of Great Britain will 

 be more perfectly illustrated than that of any other 

 country. In other countries the student has either to 

 consult a general Zoology, or at best a Fauna of the 

 country, comprising an account necessarily brief and 

 imperfect of all its animals. How few single authors 

 are capable of writing equally well on every tribe, in- 

 cluded in a general Fauna, if the country whose ani- 

 mals are described be extensive. Some one tribe has 

 engaged more of the author's attention than another, 

 and an undue prominence will thence be given to his 

 favourite. But where each author selects his own 

 tribe, and devotes his whole attention to it, we have in 

 the combined work of several pens the most perfect of 

 general Zoologies. This is precisely what we shall pos- 

 sess in Great Britain when the series of monographs to 

 which I have alluded is finished. 



To render these monographs as perfect as possible is 

 the interest of every student of Natural History ; and 

 the humblest worker in the field, if careful to see 

 with his own eyes, and record faithfully what he sees, 

 can materially assist the labours of the author. A 



c 



