The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-31 00:00:00

LIiERATURb.:.

The Instructive Picture Book. By M. H. H. T.
Edmonston 'and If-oughts.
This is a really admirable' work, alike -etieellent
in design and execution. - It will perhaps be re-
membered that a former work of this series, having
for its object general information on common things,
was issued some time since. We then took occasion
to speak of it in terms of high Commendation, and
this second part is fully equal in merit to the' first.
It takes for its subject the Natural History of the
QuadrUpeds, .which characterise the principal-divi-
sions of the globe, and thusiMpresses on the rdind of
the student a eirar idea of the geographical distribu-
,tionofanituale. Europe„the abode ehietly of, dotresti-
cated animals, occupies the first place, and accord-
ingly we meet with pliftA of the lynx, the wild
cat, the moose.and reindeer, the chamois and Alpine
hare, the Barbary .ape,ethe ca'ing whale, besides
cattle and sheep of various kinds. Asia is• repre-
sented by the tiger, hunting leopard, nylgitau,
musk deer, zebu, and yak. Java, New Qutnea,
Australis, and Van Diemen's Land follow, the:tkan-
rrereo, of course, occupying a prominent position in
the latter. Africa shows us no less than 16 plates,
ine.uding the most striking specimens of wita(ini-
mal life. The lion, the leopard, elephant, rhino-
ceros, hippopotamus, buffalo,- giraffe, zebra,: and
hyaena are the. most. prominent. South America
has, among others, the puma, jaguar, llama, sloth,
anteater, end chinchilla—the latter graceful little "
animal forminte one of the prettiest pictures in the
book. NortoAmerica, for its share, sends the
grisly bear, racoon, bison, mountain sheep, beaver,
and several kinds of deer. Even the ends of the
earth are made to contribute- the A,ritic.)regions
being the domain of the walrus, the etenSketx, and
the narwhal, or sea unicorn ; andthe7p,lete heleng-
ing to the Antarctic Seas showing .teeetbirsperm
whale. The various tribes of monkeysjurnish a
large proportion of the plates.
,:T_ he table. -ef-fon-
tents scarcely does justice to theeßumbeit eted va-
riety of the pictures, as in matiy.enstst,ces groups
of animals are introduced in4hc ,bdck: gt9und.
Each plate is accompanied lyfe-:a'ple-af.iitrd careful
description of the nature and hatittiet fhe ;ani-
mal, giving his proper soological - name, his
species, when first known, where most common,
and similar information, interspersed. with _anec-
dotes of their chase or capture most interesting to
young lovers of adventure. The size and beauty
of the plates are remar. able ; they are admirably
coloured, the landscapes and sea views being as
carefully drawn and brilliantly coloured as the
animals themselves. They are really excellent, and
the great variety of scene offered by the different
climates has been taken full advantage of. The luxu-
riance of tropical vegetation and the barren wastes
of snowy mountains are skilfully contrasted. Where
all are so good of their kind it would perhaps be
difficult to select. the best, but we mey mention as
especially remarkable for brilliancy and effect the
plates of the British wild cattle, the Lapland rein-
deer, the tiger. the elephant, the tapir, the walrus,
and sperm. whale. There are in all sixty plates,
and many of them will serve to teach in some
degree botany also. They will delight very juvenile
scholars, though the general character of the work
is suited to those much more advanced, and indeed
elders need not scorn to turn over its pages. The
drawings are really works of art, and we heartily,
recommend it to the public, at the same time ex-
pressing a hope that the series will be continued in
the same style. Ornithology would afford some
excellent subjects for the skilful pencil of the
artist. The present work can scarcely fail to meet
with a large share of public favour.
Liberty Hall, Oxon. By W. Winwood Reade.