472 
CATALOGUE RAISONNE. 
History of Insects. Vol. I1.—Family Library. No. VII. Mur- 
ray. Londen. 1629, | 
This little volume, beautiful as all its contemporaries, is another and avery 
forcible proof of the great utility which a new system of publication may 
be to the propagation of useful and of scientific knowledge. The volu- 
minous works of Reaumur, Redi, Huber, &c. are here analyzed, and 
their results given in an agreeable form, and much, pains has been taken 
to illustrate the interesting subject of the natural history of insects with 
excellent wood-cuts. By these means, the results of arduous investiga- 
tions and researches, before seldom read, are now attainable by every 
one; and on becoming acquainted with the natural history of the bee, 
the wasp, the ant, the gnat, ichneumon, caterpillar, &c. which are con- 
tained in this first volume, many will be surprized at the interest that 
will be then first developed, as existing in a perusal of the habits of 
these little creatures, they will be struck with the ingenuity of their 
contrivances, and the great scope of their instinct,—in some cases, one 
would think, almost adapted to the circumstances in which they may be 
placed ; and we are still further sure that no one will read through these 
pages, without feeling humbled in his pride, in thinking of the man 
opportunities he has before neglected, of acquainting himself with such 
an interesting subject, while he inwardly acknowledges that there is a 
simplicity, a beauty, and a variety, characteristic of the facts contained 
in the natural history even of the lowest animals, that is capable of ex- 
citing more interest, and a higher sense of delight and gratification, than 
the images of fancy, though painted in the most glowing and varied co- 
lours, and which more often surfeit the imagination than they satisfy 
the mind. 
Observations on the Teeth of the Evinaceus Europeus, Urchin, 
or Common Hedge-Hog. By Gitpert Tuomas Burnet, Esq.— 
Quarterly Journ. of Science. (New Series.) No. XII. 
Mr. Burnet, after noticing the contradictory statements made with respect 
to the dentition of the hedge-hog, states his belief that the teeth deserib- 
ed by Linneus as canines, two on each side recumbent, are in truth de- 
generate incisors, and that the anterior of his molar teeth, are the real 
transitional canines ; and that hence the hedge-hog forms an admirable 
illustration of the transitional structure which connects two tribes of 
quadrupeds whose habits and dispositions are essentially distinct,—the 
Rodentia and the Fere. 
Chemical Examination of a Native Arseniuret of Manganese, 
By Rosert Joun Kane, Esq.—Jbid. 
In experimenting in a tube retort on some oxides of manganese, the author 
was led to the discovery of this ore, which was purchased as coming 
from Saxony. The subsequent experiments are conducted with an ac- 
curacy that would seem to warrant confidence in the results. The 
qualities of this metal are as follows: specific gravity 5.55; hard, brittle, 
perdendicular fracture, uneven, fine-grained, brilliant; colour grayish- 
white, growing dull, and becoming covered with a fine blackish powder 
on exposure to air; horizontal fracture dull and mamillary. Burns with 
a bluish flame before the blow-pipe, and emits a smell of arsenic. Is 
totally dissolved by nitro-muriatic acid. The result of three different an- 
alyses were, 
Manganese, - - - 45.5 
Arsenic, = - - - 61.8 
Loss, and a-trace of iron, - 2.4 

