618 Recent Literature. [ October, 
North American Mammals, to be published by the government. We 
have before us a “ specimen fasciculus ” of this work, treating of the fam- 
ily Mustelide or “ fur-bearing animals” of North America.’ 
In point of completeness and thoroughness of elaboration we know of 
no similar work at all comparable with it. Its scope, so far as the spe- 
cies treated are concerned, is sufficiently indicated by the accompanying 
transcript of the title-page. In the present short notice it only remains 
for us to state that while the technicalities of the subject — embracing 
exhaustive tables of synonymy and bibliographical references, full and 
discriminating diagnoses of the higher groups as well as of the several 
species and varieties, the etymology of the various names applied to the 
genera and species, including the vernacular of various languages as 
well as the systematic, and the geographical range of each species — are 
ably handled. There are also added elaborate and detailed biographies of 
all the American species treated, with shorter and more technical notices 
of all of their more closely related affines of other parts of the world. 
Incidentally are given many inte esting statistics of the fur-trade, while 
what we may term the literary history of each species comes in for a large 
share of attention, and forms by no means one of the least attractive 
features of the work. The author has drawn from all trustworthy 
sources of information and has woven into his chapters, with his well- 
known skill and gracefulness of style, all that is essential to the subject, 
—all, we might say, that is worth knowing of the animals treated. With 
this is blended no small amount of information derived by the author 
from personal observation in the field, with much other matter hitherto 
either unpublished or concealed in little-known publications. Such 
special characteristics of the family as the anal glands, which in one 
group serve so powerfully as an organ of defense, are treated in detail, 
while the terrible disease known as rabies mephitica or hydrophobia 
from skunk bite receives the full treatment its importance and peculiar 
interest demand, a dozen pages being devoted to the history of this fruit- 
ful source of rabies among dogs and other domestic animals. Asa mon- 
‘ ograph covering the whole field of the popular and technical phases of 
the subject, it is simply a model of literary workmanship. As nothing 
of a general character has appeared in the way of a popular history of 
the mammals of North America for thirty years, or since the publication 
1 Fur-Bearing Animals. A Monograph of North American Mustelidee, in which an 
account of the Wolverene, the Martens or Sables, the Ermine, the Mink, 
tan 
United States Army, Secretary and Naturalist of the Survey. ustrated ae 
figures on twenty plates. Department of the Interior, United States Geologi ; 
vey of the Territories, F. V. Hayden, United States Geologist. E ale: 
lications, No. 8. 8vo. pp. xiv., 348, Washington: Government Printing 
1877. 
