8 JULY 1893, Page 24

Types of Animal Life. By St. George Mivart. (Osgood, McIlvaine,

and Co.)—Mr. St. George Mivart knows how to com- bine scientific accuracy with lucid and fascinating description, and in this handsome volume he has selected the most striking and remarkable types of animals, and explained their distinctive features. Few men have the faculty of combining the human and scientific aspect of animal existence with such admirable balance as the writer ; and to this is due the unusual interest with which we can peruse accounts of animals whose peculiarities have again and again been laboriously detailed. In Mr. St. George Mivart's hands the modification of structure to suit surroundings is never quite separated from the strangeness which such developments must often assume to human eyes. The writer's knowledge of animal instincts and character is well-known, and is of not less importance in adding to the charm of his work.