THE 
AMERICAN NATURALIST 
VoL. XXXV. February, 190r. No. 410. 
SCHARFF'S HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN 
FAUNA. 
LEONHARD STEJNEGER. 
IN a recent volume of the Contemporary Science Series, Dr. 
Scharff! has given us, under the above title, an elaborate 
attempt to trace the origin of the present fauna of Europe and 
to some extent also its flora. He has followed up the various 
migrations which have taken place in that continent chiefly 
Since Pliocene times, and indicated the routes which in his 
opinion they must have followed, as well as the obstacles which 
barred their way in other directions. This leads to a discus- 
sion of the conditions of climate and distribution of land and 
water during the glacial epoch. He has thus brought face to 
face in one volume some of the most important problems in 
zoology, botany, and geology, and whether we agree in his con- 
clusions or not, we owe him a debt of gratitude for the admi- 
rable manner in which he has laid the whole question before us 
and for the mental stimulus which his presentation of it is sure 
to infuse into the discussion. 
‘Scharff, R. F. The History of the European Fauna. London, Walter 
Scott, 1899. viii + 364 pp. 8vo, 21 figs. and maps in text. 
87 
