392 • THE ZOOLOGIST. - 



larvae in their nests, and returning again to the cows to catch more. In 

 about twenty minutes Mr. Barrington estimated that between 300 and 400 

 tlies were caught on two cows lying close to where he stood. 



NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS, 



Text-book of Zoology. By Dr. J. E. V. Boas, Lecturer in 

 Zoology, Royal College of Agriculture, Copenhagen. 

 Translated by J. W. Kirkaldy and E. C. Pollard. 8vo, 

 pp. i — xviii; i — 558. With 427 figures. London: Samp- 

 son Low, Marston & Co. 1896. 



This work appears to have met with considerable favour on 

 the Continent, judging from the fact that two Danish and two 

 German editions had been published before the present English 

 translation was undertaken. From this we are led to expect 

 something superior to the ordinary type of zoological text-book, 

 and we may say at once that we are somewhat disappointed. It 

 may seem absurd to suggest that the subject-matter in a volume 

 which extends to 550 pages is too much condensed, yet such 

 would appear to be the case when we look for information on any 

 given point. The fact is that of late years the number of 

 specialists who work at particular groups has increased enor- 

 mously, and the result of their labours has been to put us in 

 possession of such a multitude of details that the ordinary text- 

 book fails to afford an adequate survey of the general subject. It 

 may be said, of course, that such a text-book is not intended as a 

 complete survey, but merely as an introduction, paving the way 

 for a more comprehensive general treatise. In this case it seems 

 to us very desirable to give references to the most useful books 

 and papers which deal with different sections of the subject, 

 special groups, or important topics, such as classification, 

 embryology, flight, moulting, parasitism, phosphorescence, &c, 

 so that the student may know where to look for fuller information 

 on any point with which he may be more immediately concerned. 

 The chief defect in most text-books is the unequal treatment 

 of the different groups, and this we suppose must always be the 

 case when such a work is attempted by an author single-handed. 



