Bibliographical Notices. 405 
chosen. One or two small oversights we notice; for instance, 
reference might have been made to Hewitson’s figure of the egg of 
the Cream-coloured Courser—the first ever given—in ‘The Ibis’ 
for 1859, pl. 11. fig. 3; and with regard to Dann’s communication 
to Yarrell respecting the nesting of the Broad-billed Sandpiper, 
the Ist edition of ‘ British Birds,’ vol. ii. p. 639, and p. 642 (fig. of 
egg), should have been quoted rather than the 4th, in order to 
mark the early date of the discovery. On the whole, however, the 
work is as nearly perfect as any book can be, and, although neces- 
sarily costly, no ornithologist would willingly dispense with it. We 
are glad to hear that Mr. Poynting is preparing a similar work 
on the eggs of the British Raptores, and we trust that he may be 
further encouraged to give illustrations, with equally good letter- 
press, of the eggs of all the birds in the British List. 
Trouessart’s Catalogue of Manmals. 
Catalogus Mammalium, tam Viventium quam Fossilium. By Dr. E.8. 
Trovessart. New Edition. Fasciculi I. and I1., containing the 
Orders Primates, Prosimiz, Chiroptera, Insectivora, Carnivora, 
- Pinnipedia, and Rodentia (part). Berlin, 1897. 8vo. Fried- 
linder and Son. 
SrocK-TAKING 1s an important operation in all trades, and in no case 
is it more urgently wanted than in Zoolegy, especially in Mammals. 
Few qualified zoologists would, however, care to undertake the 
enormous labour involved in the preparation of a systematic cata- 
logue of all the known genera of Mammals, both recent and fossil ; 
and the thanks of all interested in this particular branch of natural 
history are therefore due to the author of this magnum opus, who, 
it may be hoped, will enjoy the health and possess the patience 
and perseverance necessary to complete his self-imposed task. 
With the changes that are daily taking place in our conceptions 
of zoological classification, and the perpetual emendations of nomen- 
clature and descriptions of new forms that within the last few years 
have almost revolutionized the study of Mammals, and have 
rendered out of date almost every work on the subject before it has 
left the press, it cannot be expected that any sort of finality will be 
attached to the work before us. Indeed, although it is thoroughly 
well up to date, it may be observed that several important modifica- 
tions have already been suggested in the classification of more than 
one group since the work went to press. 
With the general scheme of classification adopted by Dr. Troues- 
sart—that is, the division of the class into orders and families—we 
have no special concern, particularly as it is in the main that followed 
by most English writers on the subject. Of far more general 
interest are the author’s modes of dealing with the burning questions 
of nomenclature, orthography, and the limitations of species and 
subspecies. 
