598 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. | [Vor. XXXV. 
be obvious, and its only excuse is the bad example set by human 
anatomists in this respect. Not only are the cavities of the thorax 
thus unnaturally united, but the abdominal cavity, really one, nar- 
rowly escapes being divided in two, a condition which the authors, 
however, finally imply to be contrary to fact. 
The text is illustrated by one hundred and seventy-three original 
figures, many of which, particularly the drawings of muscles, are 
models of clearness and accuracy. Some, however, especially those 
on the brain, lack firmness, and a few, such as F ig. 42, are so shaded 
that more or less of the lettering can be discovered only by elimination. 
The descriptive portion of the work is followed by some forty 
pages of practical directions which give all that is needed for so 
simple a subject as the dissection of the cat, and the volume is 
concluded by an index of nearly three thousand entries. 
Although the book is in a well-worked field, it certainly occupies 
a unique position, for none of its predecessors can be described 
as accurate, complete, and compact. These qualities will without 
doubt place it first among English guides to the anatomy of the cat. 
P. 
Two Recent Papers on the Lampreys. — In the Fourth Annual 
Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries, Game, and Forests, of New 
York, Professor H. A. Surface of Pennsylvania State College has a 
very interesting study of the lampreys of New York from the eco- 
nomic standpoint. He shows that the lampreys rank first in the 
rivers of New York as enemies of other fishes, yet not one word had 
hitherto been written as to any method of reducing their numbers. 
Professor Surface gives a detailed account of the four lampreys 
found in New York, their habits, their enemies, and the species of 
fish on which they attach themselves, rasping off the flesh until 
the fish dies. The spawning habits are treated with especial care, 
and the fact that all die after once spawning is apparently well 
established. : 
Experiments with weirs of wire and with hand nets show what 
large numbers of lampreys could be destroyed in the spawning season 
with little expense. In the interest of other fishes, this should be 
done in streams and lakes which lampreys infest. 
Professor Surface’s paper is illustrated by numerous photographs 
of scenery, and of the spawning lampreys, as also of the catfishes 
and other fishes destroyed by them. As a practical study in economic 
zoology, this work is to be highly commended. 
