Notices of New Books. 5191 



received. In fact, we do not hesitate to say that the work appears 

 deteriorated and confused in its passage through their hands. Thus, 

 the Mammalia are divided into sections and orders, all of them num- 

 bered and named ; but the deer are placed under Glires, an order 

 which, thus augmented, is made to intervene between the Canidae and 

 the Phocidae. Again, the class Reptilia begins with a heading in 

 capitals, TESTUDINATA ; the first species noticed being the log- 

 ger-head turtle, the second the common lizard ; and this is followed 

 by a heading, Turtle ; and a species is noticed, supposed to be the 

 snapping turtle. Then follows a heading, Ophidia; and under this 

 range the blind worm, the ringed snake, the common viper, the com- 

 mon frog, the common toad, the natterjack, the warty newt, the 

 smooth newt, and the palmated smooth newt. Such is the com- 

 mencement of the volume ; and the same want of care pervades the 

 whole. Some light may be thrown on this jumble by a reference to 

 Mr. Patterson's Preface. He says: — "On examining the mass of 

 papers placed in our hands, we found those relating to the principal 

 divisions of the animal kingdom carefully separated from each other, 

 and the materials for each of the minor groups in separate covers. 

 Within these, smaller envelopes were placed, each appropriated to 

 one species. So far nothing could be more methodical or more com- 

 plete — the families, genera and species were arranged in regular 

 sequence, and, of course, any particular one could immediately be 

 found." We may easily suppose that a note on the red deer 

 got accidentally slipped into the same envelope as one on the dor- 

 mouse ; that a note on the lizard got between two on turtles; that 

 one on the frog was accidentally placed in an envelope marked Ophi- 

 dia. But such malpositions must have been the result of the merest 

 accident, and cannot be regarded as exhibiting any intention on the 

 part of the writer. It was the obvious duty of the editors to amend 

 such errors. Were they not appointed for this very purpose ? 



Having made this preliminary observation, applicable only to the 

 mode in which the volume is got out, and not at all to its intrinsic 

 value, it becomes necessary to state that the work abounds in useful 

 material for the compilation, at some future day, of a Natural History 

 of Ireland. The account of each species appears quite as a detached 

 paper, and has little or no reference to the context preceding or fol- 

 lowing. Many of these detached papers, perhaps I might say all of 

 those which are carefully worked up, have appeared, from time to 

 time, in the pages of periodicals. Thus, the paper on the Irish rat 

 (Mas hibernicus) appeared in the 'Zoological Journal' for 1837, at 



