BOOKS OB THE QUARTER. 
87 
History in that country. In the year 1846 his first edition of the above 
work appeared, and met with the success it merited so well. Since that 
time, however, considerable revolutions have taken place in comparative 
anatomy and systematic zoology; of the classifications adopted in 1846 
there are very few extant now, most of them have been seriously modified, 
some of them have been entirely rejected. Creatures which then had been 
looked on as fish are now ranked among reptilia. Certain reptiles of that 
date are amphibia now-a-days. In fine, it became necessary for Mr. 
Patterson to subject his book to a complete revision, and to make several 
alterations and corrections. This he has now done, adding new matter to 
the text, and adorning the pages with numerous additional illustrations. 
The invertebrates are divided into four sub-kingdoms, Protozoa, 
Radiata, Annulosa, and Mollusca. We congratulate' the author on the 
introduction of the first and third, and the abolition of Articulata as a 
type ; but we do not care to see the old term Radiata preserved, especially 
as it still includes the Echinodermata. We would not elevate the latter to 
the dignity of a sub-kingdom, as Professor Thompson does, but they might 
be placed alongside some of the classes of the Annuloida section of 
Annulosa. The author very properly employs the term Coelenterata to 
include the Actinozoa and Hydrozoa ; and since in a note he suggests 
the propriety of constituting the group thus formed into a distinct sub- 
kingdom, we can hardly object to his preference for the old designation, 
especially as the work is intended for schools, and the greater the intro- 
duction of new systems the greater will be the confusion necessarily 
created in the class-room. A great deal of valuable and new matter has 
been added to the chapter on Protozoa, and the division of this group 
into Rhizopoda, Spongiadse, Infusoria, and Gregarinidee, is one which even 
the most critical must approve of. The removal, too, of Rotifera was a 
step in the right direction. In dealing with the Medusae the author intro- 
duces a few of Edward Forbes’s beautiful sketches of the gymnopthalmata, 
and gives notes containing copious references to the works of zoologists 
who have made original researches upon the subject. It is a peculiar 
feature in this chapter, that the term polypite has been substituted for the 
less exact expression polyp, and that the Cydippe and Beroe have been 
classed with their relatives the sea-anemones. The class Echinodermata 
is subdivided as in former editions, the Siponculidse being, however, 
grouped with the Annuloida. In the arrangement of Mollusca and 
Annulosa we observe the same indications of advancement as those 
seen in that of Protozoa and Coelenterata. That portion of the book 
devoted to Vertebrates has undergone less alteration than the preceding 
parts. Cuvier’s classification of fish is adopted, but that of Muller is 
given in a foot-note, together with much valuable information on the 
bibliography of the group. The mammals, birds, and reptiles are systema- 
tized in the usual manner. We are glad to perceive that the Dodo has 
been placed among the Columbida, but we conceive that the true affinities 
of Lepidosiren are not with fishes. In conclusion, without desiring to 
draw invidious comparisons, it may be said of this treatise that in point 
of scientific accuracy and clearness of description it is one of the best 
that has yet been presented to the public. 
