January 2, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



29 



" This Eeview of the Primates is the result 

 of a casual suggestion of my friend Frank M. 

 Chapman, Esq., that I should ' write a book 

 on monkeys.' The magnitude of the task — ^to 

 compel all the described forms of the Primates 

 to present themselves in their representatives 

 for critical examination and comparison — ^was 

 thoroughly appreciated, and also it was equally 

 well understood that no institution in the 

 world contained a collection of these animals 

 sufficiently large to permit a work like the 

 present to be completed by its aid alone. . . . 

 Twice were the museums of England and the 

 Continent visited, . . . and during a journey 

 around the world, the museums and gardens 

 of the Far East were also visited and their 

 collections carefully studied. The author has 

 seen and taken a description of nearly all the 

 types of the primates extant in the world to- 

 day, and there is not a collection of these ani- 

 mals of any importance existing at the present 

 time with which he is not familiar. The re- 

 sults of five years' continuous study are there- 

 fore embodied in this work. ... In the recog- 

 nition of apparently distinct forms, subspecies 

 in only comparatively few cases have been 

 accepted, because intermediates between what 

 are recorded as species have rarely been found 

 in this order, and neither of two forms, no 

 matter how closely they are evidently related 

 can properly be deemed a subspecies, no inter- 

 mediates having been observed. Also the 

 author has not seen his way to establish a sub- 

 species between the dweller of an island and 

 one of the mainland, because, no communica- 

 tion being possible, the appearance of inter- 

 mediates would seem most improbable. ... In 

 the present work there are altogether fifty-five 

 complete monographs. . . . Each member of 

 the order has been treated after the following 

 method. First a general review is held of the 

 genus accepted, the type fixed and description 

 given; then remarks are made on the appear- 

 ance and general habits of the species the genus 

 contains, followed by a review of the literature 

 and the geographical distribution, and a key by 

 means of which it is possible that all the spe- 

 cies of that particular genus may be recog- 

 nized. Then each species is taken up in regu- 



lar sequence, its synonymy given and the type 

 locality and geographical distribution recorded; 

 the present location of the type, if existing, is 

 then told, after which the peculiar characters 

 of the species, if it possesses any, are given, 

 followed by such remarks as may be necessary 

 upon the relationship the species under review 

 may have with some other in the genus; then 

 a full description and measurements of the 

 type if possible, concluding with an account 

 of the habits so far as they may be unques- 

 tionably known. . . . The author can not re- 

 frain from calling attention to the illustrations 

 produced by the methods and greatly improved 

 instruments invented by the special photog- 

 rapher of the American Museum, Mr. Abram 

 E. Anderson, which for clearness and perfec- 

 tion of detail, have possibly not been hereto- 

 fore equalled. Mr. Anderson was sent to Lon- 

 don expressly to photograph the crania in the 

 British Museum. . . . The colored illustrations 

 have been selected from those published in the 

 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of Lon- 

 don. . . . Those of the different species from 

 life were taken by Mr. Lewis Medland, F.Z.S., 

 of London, and certain excellent figures taken 

 by Mr. E. L. Sanborn from animals living in 

 the menagerie of the New York Zoological 

 Society. . . . All the species and races known 

 to the author that have been described prior to 

 June 1, 1912, are included in the three vol- 

 umes. After the date mentioned, the advanced 

 state of the press work did not permit of any 

 additions, except in an appendix to the third 

 volume." 



Following the preface is an introduction of 

 94 pages, a bibliography of 6 pages, a table of 

 contents, lists of illustrations, list of genera 

 and species in volume 1, and an " errata " 

 calling attention to the single mistake which 

 the author thought necessary to correct. The 

 introduction deals with the general subjects of 

 classification, variation and geographic distri- 

 bution. There is also a list of the generic 

 names that have been proposed for members of 

 the order, and a complete synopsis of the ar- 

 rangement adopted: 2 suborders, 8 famiilies,^ 



2 Although the family Hylobatidce is very prop- 

 erly used to distinguish the gibbons from the true 



