224 * 
REVIEWS. 
statement repeatedly made that in certain cases the individuals of 
the same variety evince a strong predilection to pair together. We 
do not wish to dispute this statement; it has been affirmed by credible 
authors, that two herds of differently coloured deer long preserved 
themselves distinct in the New Forest; and analogous statements 
have been made with respect to races of sheep in certain Scotch 
islands ; and we know no reason why the same may not hold good 
with varieties in a state of nature. But we are by our profession as 
critics bound to be sceptical, and we think that Mr. Bates ought to 
have given far more copious evidence. He ought also to have given 
in every case his reasons in full for believing that the closely allied 
and co-existing forms, with which his varieties do not pair, are not 
distinct species. Naturalists should always bear in mind such cases 
as those of our own willow wrens, two of which are so closely alike 
that experienced ornithologists can with difficulty distinguish them, 
excepting by the materials of which their nests are built; yet these 
are certainly as distinct species as any in the world. 
"We think so highly of the powers of observation and reasoning 
shown in this Memoir, that we rejoice to see by the advertisements 
that Mr. Bates will soon publish an account oi his adventures and 
his observations in natural history, during his long sojourn in the 
magnificent valley of the Amazon. We believe that this work will 
be full of interest to every admirer of Nature. 
XVIII.—Prodromes Mokographxae Scitaminearijm, additis 
hvonndllis de Phytographia, de Monocotyleis et Orchideis. 
Auctore P. Horaninow. Petropoli. 1862. 
The Family of ScitaminesB has never attracted so much of the attention 
of cultivators as have the Orchids, so that our stores do not contain 
such ample means of studying its species as are afforded in the case 
of the latter Family. Unfortunately, too, (as is also the case with 
Orchids), the species of this Order dry badly, the foliage affords but 
little aid in discriminating species, and the flowers are, generally, 
extremely delicate in texture, and so much compressed in the process 
of drying, that it is most difficult to get a satisfactory knowledge of 
the shape and structure of the corolla and anthers. 
The position of our author is not at all favourable for the prepara¬ 
tion of an exhaustive monograph of a family which cannot be studied to 
advantage in the Herbarium, so that we have no right to look to him for 
that great desideratum. This work will, however, be very useful as a 
carefully compiled resume of the species of the Order, and it will be of 
great use to any botanist who may be able to undertake, under more 
favourable conditions, a critical examination of the species. The 
flowers (like those of Orchids) vary very much, and the study of the 
species in their native habitats, and cultivated side by side in the 
