Our Reptiles and Batrachians : a Plain and Easy Account
of the
Lizards, Snakes, Newts, Toads, Frogs, and Tortoises Indigenous to Great Britain. By M. C. Cooke, M.A., LL.D., A.L.S. With Original Figures of every Species, and numerous Woodcuts. New and revised edition. (W. H. Allen and Co.)—We do not usually notice second editions, but as the present useful little manual is a reissue of a book published in 1865, and long out of print, we venture to make it an exception to the rule. The British reptiles and batrachians are extremely few in number, only seventeen being here enumerated, and in Ireland there are still fewer; and .even among these very few, except the frogs and toads, are likely to thrust themselves under the notice of the casual observer, unless specially looked for. Nevertheless, residents in the country, or persons interested in natural history generally, will be glad to have a handbook containing descriptions and coloured figures of all our species. The small number of species allows each to be discussed at some length, and there is also considerable infcrma- tion to be found, in the introduction and elsewhere, about foreign species, and matters relative to them. One or two points which should have been referred to in their places have been overlooked. Thus, although the author speaks of the supposed venomous Indian lizard, the biscobra, he makes no mention of the well- authenticated venomous Mexican lizard ; and in his account of the toads, he should certainly have alluded to their liability to the attacks of flesh-flies, especially the so-called Sarcophaga bufonivora. We believe that this has been several times observed in England, though less frequently than in France. We think, too, that an appendix might have been added with advantage, giving a short account of the European salamanders, tortoises, &c., which are .commonly sold in London.
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