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NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 



Ootheca Wolleyana : an Illustrated Catalogue of the Collection of 

 Birds Eggs formed by the late John Wolley, Jun., M.A., 

 F.Z.S. Edited from the original notes by Alfred Newton. 

 Part II. Picarige-Passeres. R. H. Porter. 



The first part of this publication was reviewed in ' The 

 Zoologist' for 1865 ! Since then another generation of ornitho- 

 logists has arisen ; but we may well, in more senses than one, 

 congratulate Prof. Newton and ourselves that he is still the 

 spirit of the work. In his preface we are given many reasons 

 why the delay has been unavoidable, and in some respects 

 beneficial to the production of this instalment ; and we read 

 with intense satisfaction, which will doubtless be shared by 

 most naturalists, some wise words on classification. Classi- 

 fications are always more or less propositions, and Prof. Newton 

 remarks : — " The ideal Taxonomy of Birds is beyond the range 

 of my vision. All that is wanted in the present case is care not 

 to break up groups which are believed to be most nearly allied ; 

 their sequence signifies little, and in the existing condition of 

 systematic ornithology — if such a phrase be allowable — the most 

 ready way of referring to any species is to look for its name in an 

 Alphabetical Index." We are glad these words bear the impress 

 of his authority. 



We are here given an interesting memoir of John Wolley, 

 who, like many more, did much, though he died early. The 

 memoir also observes the real obituary canon. In the record of 

 every life there are facts we want to know ; things we ought to 

 know; but other matters of which we ought not to be told. A 

 biography is not an autopsy, or at least should not be. 



There are lessons we may find in the notes. How often and 

 how readily mistaken identity is recorded ! Wolley relates an 

 instance in connection with the eggs of a Woodpecker : " I 



