606 
ON GURLT S ANATOMV OF THE HORSE. 
the splenius of the head and the splenius of the neck. I read the 
description of Percivall—that it is attached superiorly to the liga- 
mentum colli, reaching as far forward as the occiput, and as far 
backward as the fourth or fifth dorsal spine— inferiorly, to the 
transverse processes of all the cervical vertebrte, and to the mas¬ 
toid process of the temporal bone. Here are the three heads. 
I can understand them perfectly, and I can understand their 
function too—that, both acting simultaneously, they will, firmly 
erect the head and neck, and that one acting by itself will incline 
these parts to one side. I now turn to the translator of Gurlt, 
and I read that the splenius capitis is situated in the nape of the 
neck. It arises from the serratus anticus major, and the first 
cervical vertebra; it therefore raises the head and neck.’^ Whew ! 
The following muscle accidentally attracts my attention in the 
page which is now open. 14 C Musculus triceps femoris (biceps 
15) 
femoris homiilis). These arise from the sacrum and the ischium, 
and are inserted into the tibia, which they draw outward and 
backward when the limb is raised. This is worse than tlie very 
worst days of our worthy and competent—when he pleased— 
assistant demonstrator Mr, Vines: and yet you speak of the 
useful and skilfully performed enlargement of Gurlt’s too con¬ 
cise explanation.” How, gentlemen, is this ? Are we to add you 
to the tribe of critics despicable, and far too numerous, who laud 
and who damn many a book that they never read ? No ! no !! I 
will not allow this : but you were dozing, and your expiation 
must be to publish the whole of this letter, which your good 
sense will induce you to take as it was meant, in good part; and 
in the December Number to give us your opinion of the work, 
after you have read it. 
I could select instances from every page in which the advanced 
student will be bothered from the difference of nomenclature; and 
the younker will too often be tempted to throw aside the book 
with indignation. It was, indeed, a scandalous thing, that the 
German professor should thus have paltered with us in a double 
sense—that the bookseller should have been so lost to self- 
interest, to say nothing of common honesty, as to publish a 
work comparatively useless,—that the celebrated professor to 
whom this work is dedicated, should not have given one guaran¬ 
tee of its excellence, a few hours^ examination of it; and that 
you, the eyes of the profession, should have been so bamboozled. 
