480 BihliograpJiical Notices, 



sport ; but then the book would not have been half so funny as it 

 is — e. g. the articles on the fox and the otter. At the same time 

 the work contains a large amount of information which could not 

 easily be found elsewhere ; it is well illustrated, and, inasmuch as 

 its merits distinctly outweigh its defects, which are amusing, we 

 may fairly recommend it, even to naturalists. 



Horn Measurements and Weights of tlie Great Game of tJie Woi^ld : 

 being a Record for the use of Sportsmen and Naturalists. By 

 EowLAND Waed. Published by the Author, 166 Piccadilly. 



It might be thought that a book which deals with the measure- 

 ments of Great Game would prove interesting principally to the 

 sportsmen whose trophies were therein recorded ; but a wider circle 

 will be attracted by this volume, inasmuch as it also appeals to the 

 naturalist. The author modestly disclaims any pretensions to the 

 production of a scientific work ; but nevertheless this book deserves 

 the notice of those scientific men who appreciate exactness, for, to 

 quote the title of the diploma-picture of an eminent Roj'al Acade- 

 mician, " Science is Measurement." It is no small advantage to 

 have at hand a volume to which reference can at once be made for 

 the extreme as well as the average dimensions of the antlers of 

 deer, the horns of sheep, wild goats, bufPaloes, &c. ; the substances 

 jiopularly known as " horns " which grow on the snouts of rhino- 

 ceroses ; the tusks of the hippopotamus, of the two existing species of 

 elephants, and of the wild boar ; and the skins of the lion and tiger. 

 All these and many other interesting details are to be found in this 

 profusely illustrated and handsome book. The descriptions of some 

 of the rarer antelopes are likely to prove of considerable utility to 

 zoologists ; the geographical distribution of all the animals mentioned 

 seems to be indicated with unusual accuracy ; and much of the 

 information conveyed is new or at least recent. Por instance, it 

 may safely be said that never before has such a record of the dimen- 

 sions of the grand wild sheep of the Pamirs, Ovis poli, been acces- 

 sible to naturalists. If we have to make a trifling complaint it is 

 that the two undoubtedly distinct species of African rhinoceros are 

 mixed up under the common heading of R. bieornis, with merely 

 asterisks and footnotes to indicate the horns which are those of the 

 almost, and perhaps quite, extinct R. sinms. It is indeed grievous 

 to think that, so far as we are aware, there is not in any collection 

 a single adult example of this huge square-mouthed grass-eating 

 species, which will only be known to the next generation by a very 

 few horns and through old pictures. It is difficult to give suitable 

 extracts from a work of this kind ; but we can testify to its general 

 merits, as well as to the manner in which the author has endea- 

 voured to assist scientists by sending rare specimens to the British 

 Museum and the Zoological Society for inspection and determination. 



