500 Bihlhgraphical Notices. 



izing the ova of ripe forms captured in the trawl, and returning 

 them to the sea, an idea which originated with the Americana in 

 regard to the cod. Little training would reaUy be necessary tor 

 this, since the skippers of trawling-vessels and not a few line- 

 fishermen in Scotland readily and successfully carry out artificial 

 fertilization. 



The plates attached to the work are eighteen in number, and of 

 these twelve are coloured. Certainly no expense has been spared 

 in regard to the first nine — the work of an accomplished artist, Miss 

 AVillis. A smaller number of coloured figures of the common sole 

 perhaps might have sufficed. In the structural figures great care 

 has been exercised by the author, though the effect after litho- 

 graphing is sometimes a little harsh, e. (j. in plates x. and xii. 

 Some of the figures in the last three plates (done in Jena) are very 

 neat, though there are a few small structural omissions, such as the 

 absence of the hypural and epiural elements in the transparent tails 

 of the young flounders in pi. xvii. fig. 5 and pi. xviii. fig. 1. 



In the preparation of this treatise the author has had to consult 

 popular favour and at the same time promote the advancement of 

 science. On the whole he has accomplished his task with much 

 perseverance and ability : and though there are omissions of 

 moment and a tendency to take somewhat limited views of various 

 questions, still the work is creditable and noteworthy both in regard 

 to the fisheries and zoology. W. C. M. 



A Zoological Pocket- Booh, or Synopsis of Animal Glass i/ication. By 

 Dr. Emil Selenka and J. R. Ainsworxh Davis. Charles Griffin 

 & Co. : London, 1890. 



This is a translation by Mr. Ains worth Davis of the third edition of 

 Dr. Selenka's ' Zoological Pocket-Book.' It consists of a series of 

 classificatory schedules, comprising definitions of the phyla, classes, 

 and orders of the animal kingdom, together with explanatory remarks 

 and tables. At the end of the book Mr. Davis has added some 

 useful " Notes on Distribution," and also a table showing the 

 " Geological Range of the chief Animal Groups." The book is inter- 

 leaved with blank paper for the reception of brief synopses of 

 " voluminous lecture-notes, or, in some cases, definitions of families 

 and smaller subdivisions." The size of the book (small octavo) 

 renders it an extremely handy little volume, and different-sized type 

 is usefully employed in order to emphasize the various classificatory 

 divisions. The book is, of course, intended for students, but its 

 value will largely depend upon the way in which it is used. Thus, 

 for a "short-course" man, struggling with the anatomy of his half- 

 dozen types, schedules such as these would scarcely be necessarj', 

 and, if used, would probably be productive of much confusion. The 

 more advanced student, on the other hand, who has received a good 

 general grounding in zoology, will be certain to find this little book 

 of much assistauce in preparing for examination. In the face of 



