382 Miscellaneous. 
a spiral; it is the oblique or spiral type.... What characterize 
them all are not only the oblique relations of right and left, but 
also the presence of one or more peculiar contractile bodies, the so- 
called contractile vesicles, and a diffuse digestive system.” He 
describes, in the ninth chapter, how the sinuses of the digestive 
cavity in certain Infusoria came to be described by Ehrenberg as 
saccules or pouches. In treating of the Mollusca, he agrees with 
Oken.in regarding as the rudiment of a left valve, homologous with 
that of a Lamellibranch, the operculum of the operculated Gastero- 
pods. At the same time he makes no allusion to the absence of 
correspondence between these two organs in respect of the relative 
periods of their formation. The Articulata are briefly touched upon 
in the twelfth chapter. He there shows some good reason for the 
promotion of the Sipunculoids to the Worms. The Diptera are 
placed by him at the top of the branch, on account of the extreme 
concentration of their bodies and the versatility of their heads. It 
is questionable, however, whether this is their true position, not- 
withstanding these points in their organization, because the typical 
form of the Insecta proper seems upon the whole to be four-winged, 
from which the abortion of the posterior pair constitutes a marked 
deviation; and it would be quite an exceptional circumstance were 
an abnormal group to constitute the highest of its class, to say no- 
thing of a branch. The division of the body into three groups of 
segments, and the versatility of the head, obtain to an equal extent 
in the Hymenoptera. Professor Agassiz’s arguments in favour of 
the supremacy of the Lepidoptera are not yet shown to be fallacious; 
and though in some particulars their organization may seem to be 
inferior, in others (e. g. antennee) it is of a grade decidedly superior 
to that of the Diptera. 
The third part is devoted to the embryology of the five branches 
of the animal kingdom. 
Many other details are worthy of notice; and, excepting some 
obtrusive claims to originality, and some personalities, the book is 
pleasantly written and well worth reading. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
On the Organization of Cryptoprocta ferox. By MM. A. Mitne- 
Epwarps and A. GRANDIDIER. 
CRYPTOPROCTA FEROX was completely unknown when in 1833 the — 
English ‘zoologist Bennett received a specimen of it, to which he 
called the attention of naturalists ; but this unique specimen was so 
young that it was impossible to ascertain its precise zoological affini- — 
ties, the dental system having not yet acquired its definitive form. 
Bennett thought the species should be placed in the family Viverridee, — 
close to the Paradowxuri, although he indicated some points of re- 
semblance to the Felide. 
Blainville obtained a drawing of the skull of this young individual, 
PPPOE, Sher te es Rese Whey) He > 
