iq8 Notices of Books. [January, 
goes more and more to remove those arbitrary landmarks once 
set up between the two organic kingdoms. No one nowconsiders 
the lowest animal as one stage above the highest plant. At the 
same time, we must be cautious. Whilst all that is common to 
the two great divisions of the organic world should be deemed 
equally necessary for the botanist and the zoologist, and while 
the methods employed by both are identical, and while neither 
can afford to be ignorant of the main results of the other, few 
persons have the time and the opportunities to enter into the 
details of both. The attempt to be great in many departments 
of knowledge leads too commonly to failure in all. The man 
who aims at being “ good all round ” in science loses his way 
even more signally than the “jack of all trades ” who is “ master 
of none.” It need scarcely be said that the paltry jealousies 
which formerly existed between the respective students of animal 
and vegetable life have passed away. There is, we believe, only 
one living person — a member, if we mistake not, of the “Vic- 
toria Institute” — who has displayed his bad logic and worse 
taste by likening botanists to greengrocers. 
The road to a sound and thorough knowledge of zoology and 
botany obviously lies, according to Professor Huxley, through 
morphology and physiology. It seems strange to us, in these 
days to refer to the works of Swainson — who within the memory 
of many still living was considered the most philosophic naturalist 
of the day — to find him proclaim these disciplines unnecessary, 
if not actually injurious to the student of animated nature. It is 
quite true that a man totally ignorant both of morphology and 
physiology may identify species, note their localities and observe 
their habits, and in this way may do science good service. But if we 
wish to study thoroughly any one animal, or class of animals, 
we shall find ourselves baffled and bewildered at every step if 
our knowledge extends no farther than its surface. Swainson 
considered it absurd to suppose that we could not understand an 
animal or plant without taking it to pieces. But neither animals 
nor plants exist for us to classify. Nature has not labelled and 
pigeon-holed them for our convenience. If we wish to under- 
stand and arrange them in any rational manner, we need every 
help that their internal as well as their outward structure can 
give us. Few persons have been foolish or eccentric enough to 
study Natural History from books only. Almost every zoologist, 
every botanist, collects specimens, and it is fortunately hard to 
do this without doing something more, without noting to some 
extent the economy and the localities of the specimens colledled. 
But too many are utterly wanting in that solid foundation which 
Professor Huxley seeks to supply in the work before us. Even 
the determination of species is effected by many merely by rote 
without any knowledge of principles. We have been present at 
a botanical meeting in the north of England conducted in this 
spirit. A promiscuous assemblage of plants had been brought 
