396 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



some of them have been printed more than twenty years. It is 

 quite time therefore that an attempt should be made to bring 

 together, with the aid of specialists, the best and latest informa- 

 tion which can be collected — building up, as it were, a more 

 modern structure upon the good foundations already laid by the 

 authors above mentioned. The task is by no means a light one, 

 for the amount of available materials is now very considerable, 

 and it will require the exercise of much skill and judgment to 

 bring together in a condensed and convenient form just such 

 information as is most desired by students of Zoology at the 

 present day. 



In entrusting the general editorship of these volumes to 

 Mr. Blanford, it will be generally conceded by those best qualified 

 to express an opinion that a wise selection has been made. Mr. 

 Blanford's long residence in India, where his work on the 

 geological survey afforded him constant opportunity of studying 

 the fauna of the country, his thorough acquaintance with the 

 works of his predecessors in the same field, and his well-known 

 ability as a practical zoologist, combine to fit him admirably for 

 the post ; and we cannot doubt that, under his editorship, the 

 scheme will be successfully carried out. 



To save time, as well as to ensure the best possible results, 

 the principle of a division of labour will be adopted, and different 

 specialists will undertake different parts of the work. For the 

 present it is proposed to restrict the publication to the Vertebrata, 

 and to complete the work in seven volumes of about 500 pages 

 each ; the Mammals (one vol.) being undertaken by Mr. Blanford 

 himself; the Birds (three vols.) by Mr. E. W. Oates, author of 

 the 'Birds of Burma'; the Beptiles and Batrachians (one vol.) 

 by Mr. Boulenger ; and the Fishes (two vols.) by Dr. Day, who 

 has already bestowed considerable attention on the subject in 

 his work on the ' Fishes of India,' which may doubtless serve as 

 a groundwork, with necessary modifications and additions. 



The first instalment of this important work is now before us 

 in the shape of the first half of Mr. Blanford's volume on the 

 Mammalia, and augurs well for what is to come. 



Adopting the classification proposed by Prof. Flower (Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. 1883, pp. 178—186), as " the best hitherto published," 

 the descriptions of genera and species, as well as the measure- 

 ments, have been taken from specimens whenever possible, and 



