KEVIEWS. 
189 
animals and groups of animals that he may meet with in nature or find 
referred to in other works, and in keeping constantly in his mind the 
general principles of zoological classification. 
Starting with the Protozoa, Mr. Pascoe works his way upwards through 
the Animal Kingdom, which he divides into seven subkingdoms, the 
Protozoa, Coelenterata, Echinodermata, Vermes, Arthropoda, Mollusca, and 
Vertebvata ; or eight, if the Sponges, which, in accordance with the views of 
Iiackel and Leuckart, he places among the Coelenterata, are treated as a 
distinct subkingdom. For our own part, we cannot regard the sponges as 
forming either a separate subkingdom or a portion of the Coelenterata ; 
their affinities seem manifestly to be wifti the Protozoa. All these sub- 
kingdoms, and the classes and orders included in them, are briefly charac- 
terized, and the short diagnostic phrases are generally followed by a few 
concise notes on the structure and natural history of the animals composing 
the groups. Moreover, the whole of these groups are tabulated in a 
manner which, although generally rather artificial, will aid the student 
greatly in finding his way through the labyrinth of zoological classification. 
Under the orders the author indicates by name the families into which they 
nre divided, and gives a list either of the whole of the genera composing 
them, or of a selection of the best known and most characteristic of those 
groups. This last feature, although, perhaps, the lists of genera may appear 
like so much space wasted to a mere reader of the book, is really a most 
valuable addition for the purposes of the student, for, with the help of the 
index, it furnishes him with a sort of dictionary of some 1,500 generic 
names, such as may crop up and form stumbling-blocks in his path at any 
moment. 
That we do not agree with Mr. Pascoe in all his notions of classification 
need hardly be stated. A zoologist who in the present day could promul- 
gate a system with every part of which any other zoologist would be per- 
fectly satisfied, ought to be publicly exhibited as the last and greatest 
wonder of the world. But in the present instance our author has greatly 
weakened the force of any objections that we could urge against certain 
parts of his book (such as that relating to the position of the sponges 
already referred to) by indicating generally, in doubtful cases, the existence 
of opinions at variance with those adopted by him; and we must remark 
further, that while he has evidently studied the most recent attempts at 
zoological classification, he has wisely allowed himself to be very sparingly 
influenced by some of the wilder speculations on the subject. 
Here and there in his references to quite recent authors, and especially 
with regard to the phenomena of so-called alternation of generations, the 
author seems to us not to have quite realized the significations of terms, and 
his descriptions are in consequence more or less erroneous or obscure ; but 
these are only small defects, and on the whole we can heartily recommend 
Mr. Pascoe’s little volume to all students of zoology who want 11 a handy 
book of reference.” 
