130 Reviews — Hutchinson's Extinct Monsters. 



to find numerous readers. Of course, the magnificent collections of 

 the Natural History Museum facilitated this undertaking, and it is 

 a pleasure to remark that this unique treasure-house is often referred 

 to in the new edition. 



In a review of Hutchinson's hook in a scientific journal we must not 

 look at this work merely from the evidently satisfactory commercial 

 and general point of view, hut must consider if the author has 

 succeeded in moulding modern science into a popular form, and thus 

 must look for the faults as well as for the merits of the work we are 

 reviewing. 



Considering the difficult} 1 ' that has to be overcome to make the 

 general reader, who knows but little of osteology, understand the 

 structure of creatures that are only known from their bones, 

 Hutchinson's book marks a decided success. Naturally this success 

 could only be brought about by not entering into the discussion of open 

 questions, but accepting a generally probable solution, and with this 

 the critical part of the book is restricted within certain though often 

 regrettable limits. The bulk of the book treats, of course, as most 

 appealing to the general reader, of the different types of fossil vertebrata. 

 After an introduction the first chapter is devoted to fossil footprints. 

 The detailed history of their discovery in different countries is carefully 

 given, but I believe this chapter will appear to the general reader as 

 one of the dullest parts of the whole book, for while footprints are 

 quite interesting as showing how indirectly even the soft parts of an 

 animal can be preserved, I think the reader is rather indifferent as to 

 whether a slab was found in 1828 or 1836. A comparison of the 

 footprints of some animal with its skeletal remains, notably the work 

 of L. Dollo on the footprints of Iguanodon when sitting, running, and 

 walking, might easily have been substituted for some parts of the 

 second chapter. 



Turning to chapter iii, dealing with "Sea Scorpions", we find 

 a great effort to make us understand these creatures, but their general 

 structure is so unlike anything living that this portion might have 

 been omitted were it not for the fact that it shows the public that 

 in bygone times other monsters besides animals possessed of a backbone 

 also existed on the earth. 



Turning to the vertebrata, we can only congratulate the author. 

 Ichthyosaurs and Plesiosaurs, even Archagosaurus and the stupid- 

 looking Actinodon, seem to have come off quite well during their 

 resurrection. The Madodonsaurus on pi. ix, however, is decidedly 

 feeling uncomfortable, for with its head turned skyward it seems as 

 though it were about to sneeze at the next moment. 



The chapter dealing with " Anomalous Reptiles " (Cotylosaurians, 

 Thecodontia, and Anomodonts) gives reconstructions of Pareiasaarus 

 and Naosaurus. Besides these instructive pictures several photographs 

 of Professor Amalitzskj-'s Russian monsters are reproduced, and since 

 these have never yet been adequately described Hutchinson's book 

 contains in this respect some data that are of more than general interest 

 even for the most critical scientific student. 



Fully sixty-two pages deal with Dinosaurs, and give not only 

 a very good account of many interesting discoveries but several 



