A Sketch of the Natural History (Vertebrates) of the British
islands. By F. G. Aflalo. (William Blackwood and Sons.)—Zoology is a progressive science, and even in the British fauna new discoveries are for ever being made and the results of new observations recorded. Mr. Affales book is a trifle disappointing, chiefly because he has attempted what no man could do, that is, to com- press a readable account of seven hundred or more animals into some four hundred pages. But, such as it is, the book is well done, and a vast amount of information has been put together in a handy and inexpensive volume. This book is without doubt the best general account of our British beasts, birds, reptiles, and fishes now existing. We speak only of modern works, for old-fashioned books of natural history are worse than useless, and the volume now before us has the great merit of being scienti- fically accurate and yet adapted for general reference as well. The illustrations, though good in their way, are few and not particularly interesting; and the wrong principle seems to be followed of giving illustrations of the best known of our animals. No space worth considering is saved by the tiresome and mysterious asterisks and symbols which are used to indicate whether birds are residents or summer or winter visitors. The same signs are affixed to the fishes with different meanings. With these exceptions we recommend the book as an excellent one to have in every country house and refer to when any question arises on any point of British zoology. There is a most useful, though by no means complete, bibliography at the end of the book.
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