368 Bibliographical Notices. 



a-dozen genera, whilst Mr. Gosse, in his paper pubhshed in this 

 Journal in Junelast, raises this number to forty-one, or, if we include 

 Capnea and Corynactis, which he then placed in a different section 

 of Polypes, to forty-four ; but these will form fourteen genera in the 

 former case, and sixteen in the latter. In the present work, again, 

 although it has advanced but a short distance on its course, we already 

 find indications of the tendency to further division, — as Mr. Gosse 

 p7'ovisionally proposes to break up his genus Sagartia (including 

 about twenty known species ) into no less than five groups, for which, 

 in the event of their being hereafter raised to a more prominent place 

 in the system, he has wisely and providently invented generic names. 

 If this plan be carried out much further, as indeed it is likely to be, 

 — not perhaps by Mr. Gosse himself, but by those who are to come 

 after him, and who, with a more inordinate desire to shine in the 

 world, may possess far less judgment, — we shall soon arrive at that 

 point when there will be a genus for every species ; and how far this 

 is desirable, we may leave our readers to decide. We must content 

 ourselves with calling attention to the fact that this tendency to the 

 multi|)lication of genera in the Actiniadse is getting to a great height ; 

 for we can by no means coincide in the suicidal wish expressed by a 

 recent writer in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society ' (see 

 'Annals,' Sept. 1858, p. 231), that there should be "a council 

 formed of five, ten, fifty, or any number of the most celebrated na- 

 turalists, and that no new species or arrangement should be published 

 without their consent being first obtained." If the council did their 

 duty conscientiously, we much fear that some of this gentleman's pro- 

 ductions would have little chance of appearing in print. There is, 

 however, one passage in his paper with which, as far as we can under- 

 stand it, we cordially agree. He says, " The rage for marine vivaria 

 has thrown many useless workers into the field ; and I much fear 

 that what may possibly tend to a love of nature does not always as a 

 matter of course advance science." Of the truth of the first of 

 these propositions no one can entertain a doubt ; the second is less 

 intelligible. 



Begging Mr. Gosse's pardon for stopping to pay this passing com- 

 pliment to one of his fellow-labourers, we must proceed to the con- 

 sideration of the four Numbers of his ' Actinologia Britannica,' now 

 lying before us, premising that the numbers, which appear every 

 two months, contain thirty-two pages of letter-press and a coloured 

 plate. 



The scope of the work is sufficiently indicated by its title ; and the 

 portion already published shows that Mr. Gosse is determined to 

 spare no pains to render it as perfect as possible. He commences 

 with a general description of the structure of the Actiniae, including 

 an explanation of the somewhat elaborate terminology which he has 

 lately proposed. The classification adopted is the same as that of 

 the aiithor's ' Marine Zoology ;' but he has introduced into the pre- 

 sent work a new and exceedingly valuable feature, namely the cha- 

 racters of the foreign families and genera, which must prove very 

 useful to the investigator of the British Actiniadae, by furnishing him 



