Notice of British Naturalists. 167 



turned this knowledge to a good account. When he entered up- 

 on his profession, although his time was chiefly occupied with 

 that, he yet found or made leisure not to neglect that which had 

 afforded him so much satisfaction in his youth ; and what time 

 he could spare was spent in this absorbing pursuit. While enga- 

 ged in publishing his work on Oology, he made a tour through 

 Norway, for the purpose of procuring the eggs of such birds as 

 are only migratory in Great Britain, and added several important 

 facts to those with which we were already acquainted. 



Although, as we have seen. Pennant had figured and described 

 many of the British fishes, Mr. Donovan had given about one half 

 of the species, and Mr. Jonathan Couch, of Cornwall, had estab- 

 lished a high reputation as the Ichthyologist of that county ; yet no 

 one had hitherto treated this branch as one altogether national ; 

 and this is the more surprizing, when we consider that this 

 country is entirely surrounded by the sea, that these animals form 

 a very important part of food, and that the coast is comparatively 

 very limited in extent, and unchangeable in climate. 



For many years Mr. William Yarrell, of London, had been 

 forming a collection of Fishes; and his possessing the advantage 

 of being able to search the London markets, put him in possession 

 of all such species as are more common, and many of the rarer ones. 

 In 1836 appeared the first number of his ' History of British 

 Fishes,'' which is completed in two thick octavo volumes. While 

 this work is altogether popular, and the price moderate, as a scien- 

 tific production it is invaluable ; and it contains all that is known 

 upon the subject, including a great variety of curious, and origi- 

 nal information. It is printed in the same shape and style as 

 Bewick's works, and each species is illustrated by a wood cutj 

 executed in a manner perhaps unsurpassed in this art. 



Mr. Yarrell is still alive, and is well known, equally for his ur- 

 banity of manners, his connection with science, his very valuable 

 private collection in some branches of natural history, and his pa- 

 pers in the Linnaean and other Transactions. He is now engaged 

 in publishing, in the same form as his volumes on fishes, a gen- 

 eral work on British birds. 



About the same time Dr. Bell, of London, published in like 

 form a volume on the ' British Quadrupeds^ which includes all 

 that are known, with a great variety of information concerning 

 them. 



