290 Bibliographical Notices. 



far back as 1832, aud the long time which it has been known to be in 

 preparation, with the high scientific character of its author, raised 

 the expectations of those who were studying the same subject. The 

 first livraison of plates has now reached this country, accompanied 

 only with simple explanations, so that we do not yet receive the 

 views of M. Agassiz upon many of the obscure points, but can only 

 guess at what may be his probable conclusions. The mode of publi- 

 cation is however otherwise excellent, each livraison being intended 

 to contain complete illustrations of a family or group, so that the 

 whole is brought under review at once, and is not scattered about as 

 so commonly occurs in works which appear in numbers. The descrip- 

 tive letter-press to this part is promised with the plates of the second, 

 which are to illustrate the Coreyoni. 



The plates are lithographic, are minutely executed, and those de- 

 voted to the details of the fins, scaling, and magnified figures are 

 very useful. A plate of details is given with each species. The 

 others represent the fish in its various states incident to age and 

 season. The first series show the Salmon, M. and F., in its breed- 

 ing dress, and a female in the state of summer or high condition 

 after having newly entered a river. These figures lead us to believe, 

 what we have long suspected, that the Salmon of many of the 

 continental rivers differed or was not identical with the common 

 British fish. They are reduced from specimens upwards of three feet 

 in length ; at this age and size the tail in both sexes of the latter 

 would be completely square, and the scale represented fig. 3. tab. 1 a. 

 is fully two-thirds less. The markings in tab. 2. also differ much. Six 

 plates are devoted to the illustration of S. fario. Some of the figures 

 are of importance as showing what is to be understood by the S. mar- 

 moratus, Cuv., and the S. sylvaticus of Shrank: but with the English 

 synonyms we cannot agree, they are given, " the Trout, the com- 

 mon Trout, the river Trout, the Gillaroo, the Parr (a young Trout)." 

 Now the Gillaroo of Ireland still requires investigation, and we have 

 reason to believe that it will form a distinct species. The Parr of 

 Scotland has no connexion with S, fario,* and the figure given as 

 the supposed "Parr or young Trout" has been undoubtedly designed 

 from a young specimen of true S. fario. We may also remark that 

 all the examples figured are from specimens agreeing with a very 

 marked but not uncommon variety of the Scottish S. fario found in 



* For distinctive characters between the Scotch Parr and common 5. fario, see Sir W. 

 Jarttine in Proceedings of Berwickshire Club. For characters separating it from the young of 

 the Salmon and migratory Trout, see Mr. Yarrell's British Fishes ; and Dr. Parnell, Fishes 

 of the Frith of Forth. 



