EEVIEWS. 
215 
years ago. Happily the time has arrived when such reproaches can no longer 
be applied. A gentleman whose name is known favourably in every land 
wherein Entozoology is pursued, and who has already contributed several 
original memoirs upon the subject of entozoa to our scientific periodicals and 
“ Transactions,” has given us a volume, which, from its extent and method, 
apart from other features, is superior to anything of the kind which has yet 
been presented to our notice. 
Dr. Cobbold’s work is an embodiment of all that has yet been done upon 
the subject of human intestuial worms, and in it we find the results of his 
own carefully conducted inquiries ; judicious and impartial analyses of the 
conclusions at which all other entozoologists have arrived ; an exquisitely 
executed series of coloured and tinted plates, delineating the more interesting 
and rare species ; numerous truthful Avoodcuts intercalated with the text ; 
and, finally, in the form of an appendix, a bibliography, extending over 
sixty pages, and embracing the titles (and writers’ names) of all papers on 
entozoa that have been written in English, up to the time of the publication 
of the volume. This latter character we deem of the utmost import, as, 
besides furnishing thp student with much valuable information, it demon- 
strates to the general public how unjust and devoid of foundation have been 
the accusations of those who slander our British naturalists. 
To give anything like a faic review of the beautiful volume before us would 
require an amount of space equivalent, at least, to half of our present number : 
we shall therefore only indicate a few of the points which we deem espe- 
cially worthy of consideration. The classification which the author adopts 
is a new one, or rather a modification of Von Siebold’s and Professor Owen’s. 
He includes, with the true entozoa, the turbellaria (which Siebold elevates 
to the rank of a distinct class), and then calling the entire group Helniintha, 
he divides it into three sub-classes : Sterelmmtha, including the orders Tur- 
bellaria and Trematoda, and whose comprised species are characterized by the 
absence of an anal opening and the presence of a digestive cavity which 
seems hollowed out of the substance of the body, and is usually branched ; 
Goelelmintha, embracing the single order Nematoda, whose members possess 
an oral and anal aperture, and a true digestive canal ; and finally, Anenterel- 
mintha, a term partly coined by the author, but Avhich has been used in a 
somewhat similar form, and exactly similar sense, by Leuckart, Eymer Jones, 
and others, and which comprises two orders, Acanthocephala and Cestoda,' 
whose species have negative characters, viz., the absence of anal and oral open- 
ings. Being desirous of retaining the term Entozoa, as applied to a somewhat 
kindred series of creatures, we hardly think that the writer could well have 
adopted any other system than that proposed ; but Ave think he might with 
advantage have omitted the turbellaria from the scheme, particularly as he 
includes in this order both Nemertes and Planaria, which can hardly be said 
to have very decided affinities. Moreover, we do not see upon what grounds 
the Sterelmintha are placed first in the series, as it seems to us that Codelmintha 
have paramount claims to the highest rank. But these are matters of very 
little importance. It is, we consider, questionable whether the digestive or 
procreative system is more entitled to consideration as the basis of a plan of 
classification, and hence, as a matter of choice, Ave cannot object to Dr. Cob- 
bold’s selection of the former. But might not the group be divided equally 
