NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 235 



The President announced that the new Library Catalogue, which had 

 been edited by Mr. Champion, with the assistance of Mr. McLachlan 

 and Dr. Sharp, was now ready for sale to the public at 9s., and to the 

 Fellows of the Society at 6s. a copy. — H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 



NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 



Animal Coloration : an account of the principal facts and theories 



relating to the Colours and Markings of Animals. By F. 



E. Beddard, M.A., Prosector to the Zoological Society of 



London. 8vo, pp. 288. With four coloured plates, and 



woodcuts. London : Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 



Mr. Poulton's volume on this subject in the * International 



Scientific Series,' and Dr. Wallace's sketch of animal coloration 



in his work on ' Darwinism,' deal with the matter almost entirely 



from the point of view of natural selection. In the book now 



before us Mr. Beddard has, as he puts it, " attempted to lay some 



stress upon other aspects of the question." He has borrowed 



fewer illustrations from insects than his predecessors, although, 



as he says, it is impossible not to devote a good deal of space to 



insects, when we consider, for example, that the theory of 



mimicry is almost entirely supported by evidence furnished from 



that group. 



Mr. Beddard's aim, however, has been to give the reader a 

 general notion of the facts and theories relating to Animal 

 Coloration ; and although the result must be regarded rather as 

 a useful compilation than as an original treatise, its character is 

 of an extemely varied and interesting nature. 



It is important, of course, at starting, to distinguish between 

 "colour" and "coloration," that is to say, between the actual 

 tints, and their arrangement and distribution. It is no doubt the 

 fact, as stated by Dr. Wallace, that " colour is a normal product 

 of organisation," entirely independent of utility ; on the other 

 hand, as Mr. Beddard points out, there is a good deal of 

 evidence to show that " coloration bears often a distinct relation 

 to the needs of the animal " ; from which he infers that it may 

 therefore have been modified by natural selection. 



Coloration, however, is not always in harmony with the mode 

 of life of the animal; not onlv are there colours and coloration 



