Reviews and Book Notices. 29 
Zoological Philosophy: an Exposition with Regard to the Natural 
History of Animals. By J. B. Lamarek. Translated, with an Introduc- 
tion by Hugh Elliot. London: Macmillan & Co., 410 pages, 15s. net. 
By publishing this valuable treatise Messrs. Macmillan have once again 
earned a deep debt of gratitude from all naturalists. The great position 
attained by Lamarck in the scientific world makes a careful study of his 
work essential. His Zoological Philosophy was published half a century 
before The Ovigin of Species; and by far its most outstanding feature is 
its defence of the theory of the mutability of species against the theory of 
special creations for each species, then almost universally current. Lam- 
arck’s work was in three parts; (1) ‘Considerations on the Natural 
History of Animals, their Characters, Affinities, Organisation, Classi- 
fication and Species ; (2) An Enquiry into the cause of life, the conditions 
required for its existence, the exciting force of its movements, the faculties 
which it confers on bodies possessing it, and the results of its presence 
in those bodies ; (3) An Enquiry into the physical causes of feeling, into 
the force which produces actions, and, lastly, into the origin of the acts 
of intelligence observed in various animals.’ Through Mr. Elliot’s 
excellent translation these works are now readily available to the English 
student. In addition, Mr. Elliot gives a masterly resumé of Lamarck’s 
work, which occupies nearly a hundred pages. To his pen ‘falls the lot 
of vindicating the memory of one who, if he had laboured to destroy his 
fellow-men instead of to enlighten them, would have received all the glories 
of a national hero.’ 
A Naturalist in Madagascar. By James Sibree. Seeley Service & 
Co., 320 pages, 16s. net. Messrs. Seeley Service & Co., are to be thanked 
for introducing us in such a charming way to another most interesting 
territory. The flora and fauna of Madagascar have long had an attraction 
to the student of distribution, as to the naturalist generally. But for the 
most part the information available was locked up in scattered papers 
and memoirs, difficult to consult. Now, in one volume, from the able pen 
of Mr. Sibree, who has spent half a century on the island and knows it 
thoroughly, we get a careful record not only of the plants and animals, 
but of the natives. There are no ‘big game’ in Madagascar; the most 
dangerous sport is hunting the Wild Boar; the largest carnivore is the 
fosa, and the most dangerous reptile is the crocodile. In twenty-three 
chapters Mr. Sibree gives a wonderful insight into the capabilities of this 
wonderful island. There is even a fishing story, which we may be par- 
doned for quoting :—‘ A curious account is given by the natives of a fish 
which they call Hamby, whose length is said to be about that of a man’s 
arm, and its girth about that of his thigh. Its dorsal fin, they say, is just 
like a brush, and it has a liquid about it, sticky like glue, and when it 
fastens on to another fish from below with this brush on its head, the fish 
cannot get away, but is held fast. On account of this peculiarity the 
people use the hamby to fish with. When they catch one they confine it 
in a light cage, which they fasten in the sea, feeding it daily with cooked 
rice or small fish ; and when they want to use it, they tie a long cord round 
its tail and let it go, following it in a canoe. When it fastens on a fish 
they pull it in and secure the spoil.’ And Mr. Sibree is a missionary. 
British Ants: Their Life History and Classification. by H. St. J. K. 
Donisthorne. Plymouth: W. Brendon & Son, Ltd., pp. xvi. + 379 
Price 25s. net. This book will be welcomed by all entomologists, few of 
whom can be unfamiliar with the valuable researches into the life histories 
and habits of our British Ants carried out for over twenty years by the 
author. So intimate is the association between ants and numerous 
other forms of animal and plant life, that no naturalist can dispense with 
a knowledge of our indigenous species. Such a knowledge can be easily 
acquired from this volume, which describes the species of British ants in 
a manner so clear and interesting that no one should have difficulty in 

1916 Jan. 1. 
