358 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



given, and, as most readers of ' The Zoologist ' will know, it 

 would be very difficult to find. 



" The Manx Cat," we are told (p. 42), is tailless, and resem- 

 bles the Lynx in this respect ;" but Mr. Poland surely cannot 

 suppose that Lynxes have no tails, though they are certainly 

 shorter than those of the typical Felidce. 



The statement that the Beech Marten, which he calls Mustela 

 foina, "is found in Scotland, Ireland, perhaps in North Wales, 

 and is probably extinct in England," shows that, for Mr. Poland, 

 English zoologists for the last ten or a dozen years have written 

 in vain, otherwise he would be aware of the general acceptance 

 of the late Mr. Alston's view (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 468), that 

 this species of Marten has nowhere been met with in the British 

 Islands.* 



The statement (p. 273) that "the Hare chews the cud, and 

 like other Rodents is able to raise itself on its hind legs," 

 betokens some confusion of ideas about Rodents and Ruminants ; 

 and the remark (p. 274) that "the Brown Hare has been known 

 to cross with the Blue, or Varying, Hare of Scotland," would 

 have been valuable had it been followed by some evidence in 

 support of the statement. We wonder what sportsmen will think 

 of the remark that " its habit of crouching at times on the ground 

 is the reason of its being coursed with two Greyhounds." The 

 account given of sport with the Rabbit (p. 280) is equally amusing 

 and misleading. 



The old story of the dark-coloured variety of the Fallow-deer 

 having been introduced by James I. from Norway, is once more 

 repeated, in spite of its having been shown years ago to be alto- 

 gether fallacious.! So difficult is it to eradicate a popular fallacy 

 when once it has taken firm hold of the public mind. 



But setting aside these and other blemishes, which catch the 

 eye as one turns over the pages, there is a good deal of information 

 of a kind that is curious, and to most readers will be probably 

 novel. 



It will doubtless surprise many to note the number and variety 

 of the animals whose skins have a marketable value, although it 

 should be observed that the length of the list as given in the 



* See ' The Zoologist,' 1879, p. 441 ; 1891, p. 401. 



f ' Transactions of the Essex Naturalists' Field Club,' 1880 ; and ' Essays 

 on Sport and Natural History,' 1883. 



