83 
BOOKS OF THE QUARTER. 
THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS/"* 
I F we are ever to arrive at a clear solution of the mystery which now 
involves the subject of the origin of species, or if any satisfactory 
generalization regarding the supposed development of new beings, not only 
morphologically but physiologically distinct from those that have existed 
before them, is ever to be framed, most assuredly the observations of those 
who have given years of unremitting attention to the study of the characters 
of animals, will have much to do with it. And since the framing of 
exact laws may be regarded as the primary object of all philosophic 
students of science, the highest meed of praise is due to the man who, 
having devoted, one may say, a quarter of a life-time to the collection and 
collation of facts, generously and without reserve presents us with the 
fruits of his labours, — supplies us, in fact, with the very materials which 
as zoological legislators we required. To this category belongs the author 
of the volumes now before us. Mr. Bates, whose character as an 
entomologist is familiar to all our readers, has here presented us with the 
results of eleven years’ explorations in the wild and little-known regions 
of tropical South America. The book is written in a terse and pleasing 
style, devoid of that literary display and indulgence in scientific techni- 
calities which render such works unpalatable to the general reader, and 
moreover is elegantly and profusely illustrated, and is, as regards its 
mere mechanical features, a credit to its publisher. The first volume 
describes the author’s adventures in the country of the Lower Amazons, 
from Para to Barra and Rio Negro, and his various tracks may be 
traced along the valuable map which is appended to this portion of the 
work. The general contour of the country, the characters of its vegeta- 
tion, and the political and polemical institutions of its human inhabitants 
have not escaped the notice of Mr. Bates, who, however, has given most 
of his attention to the nature of the fauna, and the lines of distribution of 
the animals included in it. The keenness of his powers of observation 
appears to rival even that of the great Humboldt, for we can hardly con- 
ceive of the existence of anything in the vast Amazon region which has 
not in some manner been alluded to ; suffice it to say that no less than 
14,712 distinct species of vertebrates and invertebrates were examined, of 
* “ The Naturalist on the River Amazons.” A Record of Adventures, 
Habits of Animals, Sketches of Brazilian and Indian Life, and Aspects of 
Nature under the Equator, during Eleven Years of Travel. By Henry 
Walter Bates. 2 vols. London : Murray. 
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