Bibliographical Notice. 130 



descriptions of these addenda arc scattered through many dilTereiit 

 scieiititic publications; hence tlio resolve of Llie New Zealand 

 (lovernnient to undertake the publication of a new ' Manual ' is one 

 tliat deserves the highest commendation, especially since the work 

 is to be accompanied by an Atl is of Plates (still to come) depicting, 

 wi' believe, all the species. 



The compilation of this ' ilanual ' was entrusted to Mr. 11. Suter, 

 than whom few, if any, are better qualitied to carry out such a big 

 work at all satisfactorily. Not only is the successful accomplish- 

 ment of such a task by a single writer remarkable, but it h.is to be 

 borne in mind that the Antipodean naturalist is most severely handi- 

 capped by the fact that a very large part of the material and most of 

 the necessary literature is only to be found over here. Thus, to cite 

 two examples ojdy under the latter category, when Mr. Suter began 

 his mission Thiele's important monograph upon the Chitons had not 

 reached him and lleeve's ' Conchologia Iconica' was not available. 

 All the greater the meed of praise to Mr. Suter, therefore, for the 

 admirable way in which he discharged his undertaking. The 

 volume will not only be of immense value to students of the New 

 Zealand MoUusca, but will be equally indispensable to all workers 

 in Malacology. 



All this is not to say that the work is free from criticism ; on 

 the contrary, it simply bristles with point? needing revision and 

 correction, especially in matters nomenclatorial. 



The classification adopted is that of Dr. Pelseneer in Lankester's 

 'Treatise on Zoology,' vol, v., save that, for reasons that do not 

 seem adequate, the retrograde step of treating the Ptcropods as a 

 class apart has been adopted, whilst we are treated to the extra- 

 ordinary statement " that the Gastropods were derived from Ptero- 

 pods, and not from Opisthobranchs," and that "The Pteropods 

 undoubtedly already appear in the Palceozoic," which latter assertion 

 no wise palccontologist will endorse ; nor can one call to mind any 

 creditable morphologist who would derive the Gastropoda from the 

 Opisthobranchia. The location of the Pteropods as a link between 

 the Ampbineura and the Gastropoda is distinctly anomalous. 



Much to be deprecated is the too scrupulous insistence in 

 employing original names, even when faultily founded, such as the 

 still-born Lymnoea, which Mr. Suter expands into Lymnoea (mis- 

 spelt Limnoea on p. v), for Limncect. "Worse still, the unhappy inter- 

 change of Tehysand A.plysia finds endorsement, and yet the family 

 name Aplysiidfe is left to do duty in the old sense ! 



On the whole, except in the case of the few poor cuts, the book 

 is fairly well printed, but there are some pages in which the 

 "quads" have printed that should not have been passed. Why 

 paper of four different shades, which do not correspond in an}- way 

 with the contents, should have been used is not explained, whilst 

 the dual instead of a single alphabetical index detracts from facility 

 in reference. It is to be hoped that the plates, when they arrive, 

 will prove superior to the text in " get up." 



