NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 271 
It is impossible to review the present volume without being 
struck at the amount of thought and labour which must have 
been bestowed on its production. If it be true, as it undoubtedly 
is, that the careful study of a succession of types belonging 
to different families will do more to further the progress of 
Biology than any other course of study that could be adopted, 
students have every reason to be grateful to Mr. Mivart for this 
important monograph, in which the natural history of the Cat as 
the type of a back-boned animal has been so clearly and ably 
demonstrated. 
The Seals and Whales of the British Seas. By Tuomas Soutu- 
WELL, F.Z.S. Sm. 4to, pp. 128, with illustrations. London: 
Jarrold & Sons. 1881. 
Ir is perhaps no exaggeration to say that 999 people out of 
every 1000 know nothing about Seals and Whales, have no oppor- 
tunities of observing them, and perchance have never seen repre- 
sentatives of either, except in some aquarium or zoological 
gardens. For such persons the sources of information at present 
available are limited and not wholly satisfactory. It is true that 
certain species of Seals and Whales may be found represented in 
most museums of importance, but they are not always good 
specimens, nor invariably well preserved; while, without an 
adequate series for comparison and study, or an explicit and 
reliable text-book to guide one in the determination of the genera 
and species, it is impossible to gain much knowledge on the 
subject. 
Of text-books there is a noticeable scarcity, although many 
valuable and important memoirs are scattered throughout the 
publications of scientific societies, or printed in volumes beyond 
the reach of the general public. 
The best account of British Seals and Whales hitherto avail- 
able is that contained in the second edition of Bell’s ‘ British 
Quadrupeds,’ a work to which Mr. Southwell has naturally turned, 
as embodying almost all that was known on the subject at the 
date of its publication in 1874. Taking this work as his model, 
Mr. Southwell has carefully collected the latest records of the 
occurrence of Seals and Whales on the British coasts, and 
