Abstract
THIS book of less than 800 octavo pages deals with the animal life of the world. The arrangement is systematic; the space allowed to each group is proportioned to its popular interest, and the authors have done what they could under the prescribed conditions to make their contributions readable. Since the Vertebrates occupy more than five-sevenths of the volume, the Invertebrates come off poorly. Mammals, by Mr. Lydekker, and Birds, by Dr. Bowdler Sharp, are more liberally treated, and these sections are far more interesting than the rest. It will be seen that though the book has its merits, its use is limited. We can hardly recommend it to students or to field-naturalists, or to collectors, but it will suit those who desire information about the animals which they meet, not in the flesh, but in the newspaper or book of travel. The quantity and quality of the information are equal to what would be found in any encyclopædia except the Britannica. The cuts, which are numerous, are not good; some of the frogs and salamanders, for instance, are almost unintelligible. There is a full index, which will prove a useful feature. Is it worth while to point out that there is no such plural as Animalcules?
The Concise Knowledge Natural History.
Edited by Alfred H. Miles. Illustrated. Pp. xvi + 771. (London: Hutchinson and Co., 1897.)
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M., L. The Concise Knowledge Natural History. Nature 56, 125 (1897). https://doi.org/10.1038/056125b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/056125b0