194 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



rather than profound, and perhaps that is a merit when we con- 

 sider the hands into which it is likely to fall. Of faulty treat- 

 ment, we may instance the section devoted to the Crocodilia as an 

 example. We have no distribution of the Crocodiles described, 

 and as the only species referred to is C. niloticus, a youthful 

 enquirer might consider that the Crocodiles were confined to 

 Africa. Moreover, the Garial and the Alligator are given as 

 " Allied Species," when it would clearly have been more exact 

 to write allied genera. But the book still fulfils a purpose of 

 its own, and we know of no other that will make a child think 

 more of the animals described ; while, if the teacher is really 

 capable of his or her implied function, some healthy commenta- 

 tion may be made, and some likely misconceptions be avoided. 



The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. 

 Edited by W. T. Blanford. Arachnida, by E. I. Pocock. 

 Taylor & Francis. 



Since the publication a few years previously of Thorell's 

 ' Spiders of Burma,' this is the most important work on the 

 Eastern Arachnida that has appeared, and it altogether supple- 

 ments Thorell's * Monograph ' by treating the Arachnida as a 

 whole, including the Scorpiones (Scorpions), the Uropygi, and 

 the interesting Solifugee. Altogether three hundred and forty- 

 three species are fully described — the Aranete, probably owing 

 to the exigencies of space, having a shorter diagnosis than 

 the preceding orders — and the families and genera clearly 

 characterized. The illustrations are not so numerous as in 

 some other volumes of the series, but those given are apt, and 

 of a structural description. The volume is a distinct addition 

 to our knowledge of Indian zoology, and forms a worthy con- 

 tribution to an excellent and much needed faunistic monograph 

 relating to the Oriental Region. 



