136 
REVIEWS. 
The Aquarian Naturalist : A Manual for the Sea -side. By Thomas 
Rymer Jones, F. 11. S., &c. Eight coloured plates. London: John 
Yan Yoorst. 1858. 
Here we have another book on the Aquarium and its inhabitants, from 
the pen of the distinguished Professor of Natural History and Compa- 
tive Anatomy in King’s College, London, containing descriptions, more 
or less imperfect, of many of our native marine animals ; numerous quo¬ 
tations from the writings of various British'naturalists; together with a 
considerable amount of poetry, and eight coloured plates executed by 
Mr. Tuffen West. 
The plan of the work is in many respects defective, and the several 
animal groups described therein are treated of in a very unequal man¬ 
ner. Thus, the Gasteropodous Mollusks are dismissed in eighteen pages; 
the Pishes, in less than nine,* whilst upwards of eighty-four are occupied 
with descriptions of the Marine Annelida, 
The style of the author is sufficiently varied, being sometimes agree¬ 
ably colloquial, at others, tediously verbose. He is prone, moreover, to 
indulge in occasional digressions from the more immediate subject of his 
work, and to enter on the discussion of topics which would seem, at first 
sight, to have but little connexion with marine zoology, such as the na¬ 
ture and application of the Baconian philosophy, the legendary records 
of St. Hilda, and the noisy clamouring of cockatoos. These digressions 
are, in our opinion, the best written portions of the book. They are, in 
short, well calculated to display the nature of the extensive course of 
reading which Professor Jones must have undergone in order to prepare 
himself for the production of the volume before us. We may add, that 
he possesses a more than ordinary acquaintance with the manifold mys¬ 
teries of Pagan mythology, and invokes, with due solemnity, and in their 
proper order, the shades of Cheops, Apicius, and Tartarus. 
But, notwithstanding the frequent allusions made by our author to 
the “froth-fringed margin of the sea,” the “foam-crowned billows,” 
and the “ silent shore,” it is still evident that he possesses a very super¬ 
ficial acquaintance with many of the objects which he professes to de¬ 
scribe. Thus, for example, in his account of the Echinodermata he 
tells us that— 
“ Amongst the most interesting decorative and characteristic occupants of the ma¬ 
rine vivarium must be enumerated the various species of Star-fishes, properly so called, 
constituting the great genus Asterias of modern zoology, &c.” 
And again, that— 
“ The Northern Sea-star, the species most common upon some of our coasts, is among 
the largest, the most powerful and ravenous of its kind, sometimes measuring, when 
completely expanded, twelve inches between the tips of the opposite rays. The colour is 
extremely variable, but usually purplish or grayish. Purple seems to be the natural 
colour, although, when very young, it is met with cream-coloured, or even white.” 
Now, we need hardly inform our readers that there exists such a 
work as Professor Forbes’s History of the British Star-fishes and their 
