possession, but did not find a single corrobora- 

 tion of Mr. Smee's assertion. I give the follow- 

 ing extracts, as it is a pity that any such 

 statement, if unfounded, should remain unre- 

 futed : — 



" ' The smallness of the eyes is to this animal a 

 peculiar happiness; a small degree of vision is 

 sufficient for an animal ever destined to live 

 underground; had these organs been larger, 

 they would have been perpetually liable to 

 injuries, by the earth falling into them; but na- 

 ture, to prevent that inconvenience, hath not 

 only made them very small, but also covered them 

 very closely with * fur. Anatomists mention, 

 besides these, a third very wonderful contrivance 

 for their security, and inform us that each eye is 

 furnished with a certain muscle, by which the 

 animal has the power of withdrawing or exsert- 

 ingthem, according toHts exigencies.' — Pennants 

 British Zoology, vol I, page 130, 8vo. ed. 



" ' The mole, though not blind, has eyes so 

 small and so covered, that it can have little 

 benefit from the sense of seeing.' — Buffon, vol 5, 

 page 358. 



" ' The e} r es are so small, and so hidden beneath 

 the hair, that their existence even was denied 

 for a while. They have been ascertained, how- 

 ever, to be tolerably sharp-sighted.' — Cuvier. 



" ' The actual existence of a visual organ, 

 though in an imperfect state of development, is 

 well known ; and the open condition of the eye- 

 lids, in the common species, at least, would lead 

 to the conclusion that this sense is not abso- 

 lutely wauting to it.' — Bell's Quadrupeds." 



That the eyes of the mole were design- 

 edly made to assist its sight when above 

 ground, cannot reasonably be doubted. 

 However giimmering and faint the ray of 

 light presenting itself, yet it well answers 

 the required purpose, and gives notice to the 

 animal when to withdraw from observation. 

 All the old writers agree in this ; Ray, in 

 particular, says : — ■ 



" I have made divers accurate dissections of 

 the eyes of moles, with the help of microscopes, 

 having a doubt whether what we take to be eyes, 

 were such or no ; but upon a strict scrutiny, I 

 plainly could distinguish the vitreous and crys- 

 talline humours ; yea, the ligamentum ciliare and 

 the atramentaceous mucus. The pupil I could 

 manifestly discern to be round, and the cornea 

 capped or conical. The eye is at a great dis- 

 tance from the brain, the optic nerve very 

 slender and long, reaching from the eye through 

 the intermediate flesh. It so passeth to the 

 brain, along with the pair of nerves reaching to 

 the nose, which are much the largest in all the 

 animal. These creatures, I imagine, have the 

 faculty of withdrawing their eyes, if not quite 

 into the head as snails, yet more or less within 

 the hair, as they have more or less occasion to 

 use or guard their eyes." 



We have "been somewhat particular in our 

 remarks about The Naturalist, because it 

 will save us hereafter the necessity of doing 

 more, or little more, than merely quoting 



from it. It is a very valuable addition to 

 our knowledge of the habits of animals, and 

 issued at so cheap a rate as to be accessible 

 to the masses. In the hands of its very able 

 editor, Dr. Morris, it has flourished exceed- 

 ingly the first year ; we hope it will more 

 than treble its circulation ere the sun has 

 again run his annual course. 



Outlines of Comparative Physiology, touching 

 the Structure and Development of the Races 

 of Animals, Living and Extinct. By Louis 

 Agassiz, and A. A. Gould. II . G. Bohn. 



When we mention that this forms one of 

 the volumes of Mr. " Bonn's Scientific Li- 

 brary," we have said all that is needful to 

 give it a hearty welcome with the reading 

 public. Of all living publishers, Mr. Bohn 

 stands pre-eminently alone, for the extreme 

 beauty, correctness, and excessive cheapness 

 of all his modern issues. Nor are these 

 their only recommendations, for he has 

 brought out some, and he contemplates 

 bringing out many more, of the most valu- 

 able books that ever saw the light. If the 

 public fail to avail themselves of the hitherto 

 unheard-of opportunities thus afforded for 

 their edification and improvement by Mr. 

 Bohn, they deserve to die and be buried in 

 their ignorance. Thus much for the worthy 

 bibliopole. Now to examine the volume be- 

 fore us. 



Professor Agassiz, from the numerous and 

 important additions he has made to natural 

 science, renders any eulogium on his fame 

 as a naturalist unnecessary. In conjunction 

 with Mr. Gould, he has produced this goodly 

 volume, which consists of the first portion 

 of the " Principles of Zoology." It is avow- 

 edly intended as a text -book for the use of 

 our higher schools and colleges ; but no 

 treatise could be better suited for giving the 

 general reader a sound and wholesome 

 knowledge of the Philosophy of Natural 

 History, and the principles of Physiology. 

 The arrangement is throughout clear, the 

 style simple and lucid, and the range of 

 subjects important and comprehensive. 



The editor of the work, Dr. Thomas 

 Wright, tells us, in a modest preface, that 

 he has enhanced the value of the original 

 work by " making large and important ad- 

 ditions to several chapters." In so doing, 

 he has wisely and judiciously availed him- 

 self of the valuable treatises of Cuvier, 

 Carus, and Meckel on Comparative Ana- 

 tomy ; and those of Tiedeman, Mliller, Va- 

 lentin, and Wagner, on Physiology. 



We need hardly say that this will be a 

 most valuable work for a journal like ours, 

 as its pages are replete with information of 

 the most interesting nature. At the present 

 moment we can but direct attention to its 

 publication. We must however add, that 



