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NATORE 
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veteran ornithologist of the same name) which deserves 
special attention, as devoted toa somewhat neglected and 
imperfectly known group of the class of mammals—the 
Manatees or “sea-cows,”as they are popularly called, 
The Manatees constitute, as is well known, one of the 
three modern representatives of the formerly more ex- 
tensive order of Sirenians, or ‘“ Herbivorous Cetaceans,” 
as they are sometimes, though not very correctly, de- 
nominated ; for it is doubtful whether they have any near 
relationship to the true Whales. One of these three 
forms—the Rhytina stelleri—is already extinct ; the other 
two—the Manatee and Dugong—are rapidly diminishing 
in numbers before the advancing tide of civilisation, and 
it is highly desirable that full details of their structure 
and habits should be obtained and recorded before they 
are “improved” off the face of the earth. 
Dr. Hartlaub, having examined the skulls and other 
specimens of Manatees preserved in the various museums 
of the Continent, presents us with a vésaszé of his investi- 
gations in two well-ordered and well-illustrated essays. 
In the first of these he describes the skull of the African 
Manatee (Manatus senegalensis), and compares it bone 
by bone with that of the American JZ. /atirostris, fully 
establishing the specific difference of the two forms, 
which has been doubted even by some of our most recent 
and best authorities.1 In the second memoir he describes 
for the first time the skull of the South American Maza- 
tus tnunguis,a species absolutely ignored by the great 
majority of naturalists, and shows its distinctness from 
M. lativostris. 
It is hardly necessary even to recapitulate the points of 
difference between these three forms of Manatees, which 
Dr. Hartlaub has given at full length in these memoirs, 
and which seem to be sufficiently obvious on reference 
to his well-drawn figures. But a few words may be added 
on the geographical distribution of the three living Mana- 
tees, so far as this is at present known to us. 
The African Manatee inhabits the west coast of that 
continent from the Senegal down to the Quanza, and 
penetrates up the larger rivers far into the interior. In 
the Senegal it has been recorded by Adanson, in the 
rivers of Liberia by Biittikofer, in the Niger and Benué 
by Barth and Vogel,-in Gaboon by Du Chaillu, 
in the Lower Congo by Johnston and Pechnel-Loesche, 
and in the Quanza by Monteiro. Whether the “Charuf 
el bachr,’ or water-sheep, ascertained to exist in 
the Uelle by Schweinfurth, which is probably the same 
as the supposed Manatee found in the Shari and Lake 
Tchad by Barth and other travellers, should be referred to 
Manatus senegalensis, or is even a Manatee at all, 
remains an interesting subject for future inquiry. But it 
seems tolerably certain that some sort of Sirenian in- 
habits the inland basin of Lake Tchad, and the proba- 
bility is that it will turn out to be a AWanatus. 
In America the exact boundaries of the two species, 
Manatus latirostris and M. inunguis, cannot yet certainly 
be stated, owing to the confusion that has hitherto existed 
between these two forms. But it is certain that the 
Manatee occurs on the Atlantic coast of America from 
25° N.L. to 19° S.L., and that those of the Antilles, the 
Gulf of Mexico, and Surinam, are referable to JZ. 
* Cf. Flower, ‘‘ Catalogue of Vertebrates” in the Museum of the Royal 
College of Surgeons, part 2, p. 528, 1884. 
latirostris. On the other hand, JZ. znunguzs is only 
certainly known from the Amazons and its tributaries, 
where it was first discovered by Natterer. Dr. Hartlaub 
is inclined to believe that the Manatee of the coast and 
rivers of South-East Brazil must be likewise M7. znunguzs, 
but this does not seem to be probable. It is more likely, 
we think, to turn out that one species is found all along 
the Atlantic sea-board, penetrating only slightly up the 
rivers, while the other is confined to the interior, and is a 
purely fresh-water species. 
OUR BOOK SHELF 
Infant-School Management. By Sarah J. Hale. 
don: Stanford, 1886.) 
THIS is one of the best books on infant-school 
management that we have seen; the authoress 
knows exactly the kind of information infants can most 
readily assimilate, and how best to impart it; while on 
the other hand she is fully aware how dangerous and 
worse than useless the forcing process is. 
The second part of the book consists of sketches of 
lessons in natural history, natural phenomena, food- 
plants, and common objects; and if science is to be 
taught in all our infant schools in the manner our 
authoress suggests, we may look forward to a largely 
increased taste for science in the rising generation. 
Here is an extract from the introduction to the 
second part showing the method of teaching which 
she recommends :— 
“In every case the teacher must bring plenty of 
illustration to bear upon the lesson. In natural history 
the real azimal or a good picture, and if possible, some 
thing or things that it furnishes us with, as, for instance, 
the fur of the otter, the shell of the tortoise, the quills of 
the porcupine. Also the teacher should carefully provide 
herself with pictures of animals which afford strong con- 
trasts to the one with which she is dealing, as well as 
those which bear some general resemblance to it, that she 
may exercise the dscrimznative as well as the asszmzla- 
tive faculty of her pupils. In all object lessons, various 
specimens of the object should be produced for examina- 
tion and description ; the little ones themselves must do 
the main part of the latter under the teacher’s guidance, 
for these lessons are not only to enable the children to 
form new ideas, but they are also intended to train them 
in giving expression to such ideas. The teacher must 
make good use of the black-board, and should practise 
drawing objects, so that she may illustrate with facility 
and precision any particular point of her lesson which 
can be so illustrated. All the materials, pictures, dia- 
grams, &c., which the teacher provides from time to 
time, should have their place in the school museum 
(Lon- 
-ready for future needs, and the children should be en- 
couraged to bring contributions to such a museum, 
particularly such as the lessons they receive may suggest. 
Object-lesson cards, pictures, and all illustrations should. 
be carefully used, and when not in use, have their proper 
places on wall or shelf. The teacher should arrange all 
specimens in the museum, and have each addition neatly 
labelled and catalogued.” 
A Vear in Brazil. By Hastings Charles Dent, C.E., 
F.L.S., F.R.G.S. With 10 Full-page Illustrations and 
2 Maps. (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, and Co,, 
1886.) 
THIs is a very interesting account of a year’s sojourn in 
an interesting country, and although the author went out 
for a special purpose, to survey for a railway, every 
moment of his spare time was taken up in making collec- 
tions and taking notes in most of the branches of natural 
history. The scientific interest of the book is mainly 
