Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/404

376 Darwin, play a considerable rôle in the formation of soil, so must these animals, in conjunction with Echinids and Holothurians, effect considerable modifications in the sand and mud which pass through their bodies."

The concluding section is devoted to the Polyzoa, and is from the pen of Mr. S.F. Harmer. The Polyzoa may be said to have existed without a history till the beginning of the present century. "Originally passed over as seaweeds, their real nature was established in connection with the discovery of the animal nature of corals." Even now the echoes of the controversy which raged as to whether Thompson's name of Polyzoa or Ehrenberg's term Bryozoa should be used are sometimes faintly perceptible. The first is employed by the majority of English writers, while the second is almost universally used by all continental authors. Many of the marine forms have a very wide distribution, Mr. Hincks having described several species as occurring from Norway to New Zealand. We are glad to see that Mr. Harmer still describes Mr. Hincks's 'History of the British Marine Polyzoa' as "invaluable," and his excellent contribution will, we feel sure, if studied, lead many more zoologists to study these somewhat neglected creatures, who are undoubtedly as interesting as "birds, beasts, or fishes."

In conclusion, we can only generally praise a most welcome addition to zoological literature, a volume we do not value because it only contains what is new, or is without any views that may be controverted, but because it affords the life-histories of animals whose study and observation are little in vogue, while the information is imparted by specialists who have pursued the modern biological method.

is a worthy supplement to our own 'Zoological Record,' and all naturalists who seek to study the mysteries of the life, as well as the form, habits, and distribution of species will place the volumes of this series by the side of those we have mentioned, and which we so well thumb. 'L'Année Biologique' is under the general direction of Prof. Yves Delage, assisted by a