24 
STATE OF ZOOLOGY 
attacks. Tliis is not the place to bring forward the many 
errors of fact, contained in his fascinating chapter on the 
geographical distribution of the OpJiidia, which I shall do on 
another occasion, with the respect which is due to such a 
man, and to so great a personal friend ; who has now applied 
himself, and I see the announcement with joy, to a work on the 
Cetacea, which will certainly throw light on a subject, which, 
notwithstanding the recent labours of F. Cuvier and of Lesson, 
is still very obscure. 
BELGIUM. 
Turning towards Belgium, we find, that when she separated 
from Holland, she carried with her her due share of literary 
fame. My friend Cantraine, who was of such service to Tern- 
minck and to the Leyden Museum, now worthily occupies the 
chair of Natural History in the University of Ghent, and 
although he prefers the study of Mollusca, in which he has 
produced several descriptive and anatomical works, and is 
preparing others, he is also successfully occupied with Verte- 
hrata ; and among his other writings, has published an excel- 
lent Memoir on the Fish Ruvettus of Sicily and of Madeira. 
The Memoires de VAcademie Royale des Sciences de Brux- 
elles, afford us not a few papers of much value, among which 
I will notice a Monograph of the Dolphins with plates, a sub- 
ject, as all know, that supplies a desideratum in science, very 
little being known of theje fish-like animals so renowned in 
fable. This work we owe to M. Wesmael, who is also known 
for his entomological papers, especially that on the Instinct of 
Insects. The researches in Zoology and Comparative Anatomy 
by Wamheem, in the same Transactions, deserve honourable 
mention, though they relate principally to Mollusca. 
The zoological labours of the active spirit of Dumortier 
are also well known, especially those on the crania of Orang- 
outangs, and the philosophical inductions which he draws 
from them. He only admits one species of these animals, 
notwithstanding the diversity in the cranium, Avhich sometimes 
24 
