NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 345 



mistaken conclusions based on imperfect data but not on ignor- 

 ance of the knowledge of the day. Humboldt's encyclopedic 

 attainments must have won the admiration of Macgillivray. 



Eight illustrations of birds drawn by Macgillivray, and now 

 contained in the British Museum, are reproduced in this volume, 

 and add to its attraction. ; Misprints appear to be few, though 

 in the preface we notice that Mr. Pycraft has had an extra 

 vowel added to his name. We have also been somewhat in doubt 

 as to the proper way to write the name of this great British 

 ornithologist. On the title-page it appears twice as " Mac- 

 gillivray " ; throughout the volume it is written " MacGillivray." 

 Bightly or wrongly, we have followed the title-page. 



Faune des Mammiferes d'Europe. Par E.-L. Trouessart. 

 Berlin : B. Friedlander & Sohn. 



In his preface Prof. Trouessart compares the evolutionary 

 views of to-day with those of the immutability of species at the 

 time (1857) when Blasius published his ' Naturgeschichte der 

 Saugethiere Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Lander von 

 Mitteleuropa.' At that time Blasius followed the doctrine of 

 Cuvier ; to-day, in a similar undertaking, Trouessart writes as a 

 disciple of Darwin. Four principal divisions are recognized in 

 this fauna: — (1) "La faune de l'Europe Centrale, la moins 

 caracterisee de toutes, attendu qu'elle ne presente que les especes 

 vulgaires, generalement repandues sur tout le Continent." (2) 

 "La faune Arctique caracterisee par Ursus maritimus, Cards 

 lag opus, Gulo borealis, Lepus timidus (ou variabilis), Rangifer 

 tarandus, Alee alces, &c. A l'Epoque Glaciaire cette faune s'est 

 avancee jusqu'aux Pyrenees." (3) " La faune des Steppes 

 Asiatiques, caracterisee surtout par ses Rongeurs des genres 

 Citellus, Gerbillus, Cricetus, Cricetulus, Spalax, Dipodipus, Alac- 

 taga, Ochotona, &c. ; cette faune, que vit encore dans le Sud-Est 

 de la Russie, s'est avancee jusque dans le centre de l'Europe 

 pendant la periode de secheresse qui succede a l'Epoque Glaciaire, 

 et y a laisse des survivants, par exemple, Cricetus cricetus (le 

 Hamster)." (4) "Enfin la faune Africaine ou Mediterraneenne, 

 caracterisee par Genetta vulgaris, Herpestes ichneumon, Canis 



