106 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 55. 



consult a zoology full of technical terms and 

 anatomical figures is not usually attractive to 

 the beginner. Given a book that is clear, con- 

 cise and correct, but not too technical, such a 

 reader would be led further in the same direc- 

 tion and, what is very important, would not 

 have to unlearn. 



The question naturally arises, does this book 

 carry out the design ? The author has in the 

 main succeeded in writing a very readable book 

 marked by a pleasant and interesting style ; 

 yet there are a few places where, through a 

 faulty mode of expression, the meaning is ren- 

 dered obscure, e. g. "Animals develop to a 

 higher point, in which the body layers develop 

 complicated organs, usually go through a larval 

 stage very different in appearance from the 

 adult" (p. 74). Other obscure sentences refer 

 to the germ layers (p. 30), and the openings of 

 the thoracic duct (p. 45). 



In the compilation of a brief introductory 

 text-book we can hardly expect to find the 

 pages entirely free from errors ; and, while in 

 the main, the author presents a correct state- 

 ment of our zoological knowledge, several 

 errors have found their way into the book. 

 For example, bone is said to be found in the 

 cuttlefish (p. 43), though we find on p. 228 car- 

 tilage correctly given. The paranucleus of the 

 Ciliata is confused with the nucleolus (p. 138). 

 On p. 180 the DendroccBla are stated on one 

 line to be mostly fresh-water forms and a few 

 lines further down to be mostly marine. A 

 similar contradiction appears on p. 186, where 

 we read ' The Entomostraca * * * are mostly 

 fresh-water forms, ' while, of the examples given, 

 all are marine. On p. 198 there are two errors : 

 the Chilognatha have ' two pairs of legs on 

 each segment, ' and of the thorax and abdomen 

 of insects, it is stated that ' both have the seg- 

 ments completely fused.' 



"What seems a serious fault in the plan of the 

 systematic part is the defining a group or 

 Phylum by means of types, which are them- 

 selves not suflBciently described. Chapter IV. 

 will illustrate this: The Echinoderms are de- 

 fined as ' animals more or less resembling in 

 structure the sea-urchin.' One who had never 

 seen a sea-urchin would naturally expect to 

 find a figure with which to compare the other 



forms of the Phylum ; but there is none given, 

 and the brief description would hardly serve 

 his purpose. Had there been an anatomical 

 figure and a more detailed description of each of 

 the types selected, the book would be more 

 useful to the ordinary reader. 



The chapter on the Coelenterata is perhaps 

 the most unsatisfactory. The difficult group of 

 the Cnidaria is best understood by treating the 

 simpler Hydrozoa first and then the Scyphozoa; 

 instead we have the arrangement as given by 

 Claus and Sedgwick, and there is, as well, a 

 lack of clearness and definite system. We think 

 the book would have been improved by giving 

 more attention to the Vertebrates. The de- 

 scription of the mammals is mostly confined to 

 a discussion of the teeth, which subject, impor- 

 tant as these organs are, is not likely to attract 

 the reader or satisfy him in lieu of some other 

 details which would naturally occur to him in 

 comparing the various orders of mammals. 



Notwithstanding the criticism of these, and 

 certain other errors which should be corrected, 

 we believe that the book will prove of value to 

 the reader and, in the hands of a teacher who 

 can amplify and explain, would serve as a good 

 text-book where principles, rather than a de- 

 tailed learning of systems and names, are de- 

 sired. 



The book is attractively and clearly printed. 

 The text is quite free from typographical errors; 

 we notice only ' infusorise ' (p. 67), ' Arthro- 

 poids ' (p. 186), ' fore ' for four (p. 267). The 

 numerous cross references are correctly given 

 except that ' fig. 12 ' should be fig. 121 (p. 299). 

 The ' List of Illustrations ' shows, however, 

 careless proof reading, for no less than nine of 

 the figures are referred to the wrong page. In 

 the contents there are two more errors, and we 

 presume that of the original figures No. 133 

 should be No. 123. W. M. Rankin. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. 



THE AMERICAN GEOLOGIST, JANUAEY. 



Dr. C. E. Beechee presents a sketch of 

 James Dwight Dana, in which attention is 

 called to the varied faculties and broad scientific 

 knowledge of the man, but no attempt is made 

 to give a complete account of his life. Special 



