RiippcU's Travels in North Africa. 385 



Art. L. Analytical Notices of Books. 



Atlas zu der Reise im ndrdlichen Afrika, von Eduard Ruppell. — 

 Erste Abtheilung, Zoologie. Hefte 1 — VIII, Folio. — Frankfurt 

 am Main, 1826—1828. 



In the north-eastern regions of Africa, and in some part of what may 

 be regarded almost as the central portion of that extraordinary continent, 

 M. Ruppell has recently been a sojourner during six successive years. 

 Upper Egypt, Nubia, Dongola, and Sennaar have been visited by him 

 carefully and repeatedly, and he has penetrated into the Oasis of Kor- 

 dofan, while his assistant has ascended some distance up the Bahr-el- 

 Abiad. For nearly three years his head quarters were at Kurgos, and 

 from hence he made excursions in various directions towards the south 

 and west extending as far as the 14th degree of north latitude. His 

 object has been to explore, so far as they could be rendered accessible 

 to him, the countries of the interior of north-eastern Africa, and his 

 researches have been directed to the acquisition of information in nearly 

 every branch of science. Throughout the whole of his stay in these 

 comparatively little known regions he devoted himself especially to 

 the investigation of their natural productions, and succeeded in 

 transmitting to his native city, Frankfort, many subjects of consider- 

 able interest, which have been deposited from time to time in the 

 museum of the Senkenbergian Society of Natural History. At once 

 to point out the important results of the labours of M. Riippell, by which 

 their collection had been so extensively increased, and to enable Natu- 

 ralists generally to participate in the benefits conferred on Zoology by 

 that enterprising traveller, the Directors of the Society determined not 

 to defer until his return to Europe the publication of the materials 

 transmitted by him. They accordingly commenced, in 1826, the Zoolo- 

 gical Atlas which we have now to notice, and entrusted the editing of 

 the work to three of their members; Dr. Sommering superintending 

 the execution of the plates ; the articles on the Vertebrata being written 



