258 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS, 
The Wanderings of Plants and Animals from their first home. 
By Vicror Heun. Edited by J. S. Sranuyprass. 8vo, 
pp. 500. London: Sonnenschein & Co. 
Tue history of domesticated animals and cultivated plants 
is of considerable interest, forming no small part of the history 
of man himself and his slow advance to civilisation. The subject 
is susceptible of different methods of investigation which do not 
always give the same results, the conclusions arrived at varying 
as they. are derived from Natural Science, Ancient History, 
Literature, or Language. 
Prof. Hehn is of opinion that of late years the scientist has 
had too much his own way, and that it is time for students of 
History and Philology to be heard. Hence his own work with 
the above title, which the editor, Mr. Stallybrass, now presents 
in an English dress. 
The first thing that strikes us on looking through the volume 
is the unskilful arrangement of the subject-matter. The 
chapters on animals should have been kept distinct from those 
on plants, instead of being intermingled in the way they are at 
haphazard. It is distracting and irritating to pass from ‘the 
horse’”’ to ‘the vine,” from ‘asses, mules, and goats” to 
“stone architecture’ (a chapter which might well have been 
omitted), from “ cucurbitaceous plants” to ‘‘ the domestic fowl,” 
or from ‘‘ the carob-tree (Ceratonia siliqua)” to “‘ the rabbit”! 
Both author and editor display an unfortunate want of 
acquaintance with systematic Natural History, and, strange to 
say, with the discoveries of Darwin, a shortcoming which has 
led, amongst other mistakes, to an altogether exaggerated view 
of the changes which have been effected in the flora of Kurope 
by man’s agency. 
But confining our attention to that portion of the work which 
deals with ‘“‘the wanderings of animals,’ we may say that, 
despite the drawbacks to which we have above referred, and a 
certain heaviness of style not uncharacteristic of German writers, 
there is a good deal of curious information to be extracted from 
