72 Kll''. 1. 1 J AND POK EST. 



decree of imperfection and incongruity in the work of Mr. Wallace. 

 In some respects he has carried differentiation into orders, families, 

 and genera to an extreme degree, while in others he has accepted, as 

 counterparts, groups whose representatives show the most fundamental 

 differences among themselves. Thus, in the class of birds 10 orders 

 and 131 families are admitted, and to such an extent is subdivision 

 carried that not less than 50 families are named for the passerines and 

 8 for the parrots; although those groups are two of the most natural 

 assemblages of the animal kingdom, and have been regarded by au- 

 thors of the highest scientific ability (V. g. Prof. Alphonse Milne-Ed- 

 wards, Prof. Garrod in 1874, and, apparently, Prof. Huxley,) in one 

 or both cases, as of simply family value. Again, the innocuous snakes 

 are subdivided into 19 families, and the butterflies into 16. 



In striking contrast with such families are many of those of fishes 

 and mollusks. For the former the classification of Dr. Gunther is 

 adopted, and we find the heterogeneous groups designated under the 

 names Percidce., Triglidce., Trachinidce, Scombi'idce, Carangidaz, Go- 

 biidce, Pe.dicitlati,Blenniidce, Gadidce,Sihtridce, and a number of others, 

 to be compared as natural families with those of birds. More incon- 

 gruous and heterogeneous still are some combinations designated as 

 families adopted from the earlier parts of Woodward's " Manual of 

 Mollusca. " Ignoring that author's own latest improvements, Mr. 

 Wallace has reverted to his cruder first conceptions, and we find families 

 too numerous to mention of the most unnatural description, and 

 which could be accepted by no scientific malacologist of the present 

 generation any more than they are retained by Woodward himself in 

 his later writings. We are cpiite safe in asserting that under several of 

 the families thus alluded to, or hinted at, the differences of structure 

 exemplified are greater than those exhibited by the extremes of living 

 birds. When such is the case, it is evident that we can have no just 

 or adequate idea of the compartive characteristics as to the zoological 

 geography of the several classes considered in Mr. Wallace's work. In 

 every class, not excepting birds (e. g., "orders " Picariae and Galli- 

 nse, "family" Pelecanidge,) there is apparent a want of familiarity 

 with the principles of taxonomy, and a great deficiency in classificatory 

 ability. Even when the author has attempted to give the more recent 

 views of systematic authors, he has sometimes signally failed — as, e. g., 

 when he would give the latest views of Dr. Gunther respecting the 



