1 882.] Recent Literature. . 315 



letters a, b, c, etc., but these letters are doubled when the varie- 

 ties have the weight of races or geographical species, while fossil 

 species and genera are marked by the sign f- 



There are points in the classification adopted that may reason- 

 ably be objected to. The most important of these is the creation 

 of the group Homodonta to include the sirenians, whales and eden- 

 tates, orders not closely allied, and differing much in the struc- 

 ture of the teeth. 



The terms Secundates and Ternates are new, and are no 

 improvement upon the older terms Unguiculata and Ungulata, 

 the last of which should be understood to comprehend four 

 orders, viz., Proboscidea, Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, and Ambly- 

 poda. It is not possible to discover anatomical characters of 

 sufficient importance to warrant the separation of the Bimana 

 from the Simiae, and it is probable that the Prosimiae should be 

 placed in the bunotherian series of sub-orders. This last proba- 

 bility is hinted at in the prospectus. 



Bettany's Practical Botany. 1 — This useful little book should 

 have been called First Lessons in the Practical Botany of the 

 Flowering Plants, as it does not even mention the non-flowering 

 plants. In the words of its author " its aim is to aid students in 

 schools and colleges in the practical work of describing flower- 

 ing plants." Some excellent suggestions are given under " How 

 to Describe Plants." The " Cautions," too, are to the point. 

 Under the successive topics, (1) Root system, (2) Stem and branch 

 system, (3) Leaf system. (4) Inflorescence and floral receptacle, 

 (5) Floral envelopes, (6) Stamens, (7) Pistil and ovules, (8) Fruit 

 and seeds, short definitions and practical directions for the study 

 of specimens arc given, which if followed step by step will enable 

 the pupil to observe accurately, and to record what he has seen 

 in proper order and in plain language. Special directions are 

 given in a later chapter for the study of the plants of the prin- 

 cipal natural orders, which will doubtless prove useful to the 



While we do not think it profitable to begin the study of 

 botany with such complex organisms as the flowering plants, we 

 nevertheless welcome this little volume because it can do good 

 service in directing pupils to study plants rather than books on 

 plants. The " laboratory method" is so fully carried out that the 

 book can scarcely be studied by itself; the pupil must study the 

 plant— C. E. B. 



Balfour's Comparative Embryology (Second Notice).— The. 

 chapter on the development of the birds is quite long, and the 

 embryology of the chick has been more thoroughly studied than 

 that of any other animal. In the brief chapter on reptiles, the de- 



' 'First Lessons in Practical Botany, by G. T. Bettany, M.A., B.Sc, F.L.S. Mac- 

 allan & Co., London and New York, i8mo, 104 pp. 



