The bust itself deserves particular attention; for, being crowned with laurel, and holding a scroll, it evidently characterises a poet; while the masks and garlands indicate his works to have been of the pastoral, georgic, and satirical kind; or perhaps of the comic.

The circumstance of the hand deserves notice, as it seldom occurs in ancient busts, and much less in sarcophagi.

The poet is dressed like a Greek, in a tunic or pallium; his right hand is covered, and he appears reciting. The Greeks, and especially the Athenians, in this manner wore their mantles. The circumstance of the crown is supposed to indicate not only a poet, but one who had excelled his competitors.

M. Millin ingeniously observes, that tablets (pugillares) would have been more consistent with the character exhibited than the scroll, if intended to represent the moment of composition, and refers to the muse Calliope in the Museum of Arts; but here the roll is adopted to intimate that the verses finished on the tablets were transferred to it.

The drapery suspended by large knots behind the bust was that which served as tapestry for the interior of apartments, and for that reason was called peripetasma.

The four genii holding the garlands are Bacchic, which are seen on other monuments performing a similar office; but here more immediately belong to the comedy or satire of the poet. These garlands are formed of bay-leaves and berries, having in the midst a flower of five petals; above each garland are masks separated by a thyrsus: on the right of the bust, Pan is distinguishable, as opposed to Acratus or Ampelus-not Faunus, as the work is in the Greek style; on the left, the first mask is Silenus, confronted with Bacchus.

M. Millin refers to other monuments of similar designation. A valuable one of this kind, with a Greek inscription, was acquired by Mr. Townley from lord Besborough's collection. It is hoped that the public will shortly know more concerning it.

The eleventh number exhibits an Egyptian head in cameo, from the collection of count Caylus, now in the National Library. Having been engraven in so incorrect a manner as to leave the sex of the representation uncertain, it is here more faithfully given, and particularly as exhibiting that style of imitation in which the taste and costume of Egyptian works were copied by the Greeks and Romans. M. Millin judges the stone in question to have been executed in Egypt, under the Greek kings, by an Egyptian artist, formed in the Greek school. He gives it as probable that the subject is the portrait of an aged woman much devoted to the worship of Isis, and who wished to be exhibited in the appropriate Egyptian dress. The age of the face represented he considers as incompatible with the figures of Isis—forgetting, however, the celebrated passage in

Plutarch expressive of her great antiquity:-nor', says he, ‘can this be called the head of an Egyptian priestess, because the ancient Egyptians had none; for,' adds he, if any indications of priestesses exist, they belong to the time when the Egyptian worship was perverted in Italy. How far this assertion is reconcilable with the mention of priestesses in the inscription on the stone from Rosetta, (see p. 526 of this Appendix) it remains for M. Millin to adjust.

The subject of the twelfth number is a painting on a Greek vase, which represents a washing of hands. As ablution was a rite of initiation, and also a ceremony that preceded marriage, this little vase is considered as a present to a young female, either upon one or the other of these occasions. The figures, though not correctly drawn, are pleasing; but that of the young female at the bath is much more simple than the other.

We hope in our next Appendix to notice the further success of this work.

ART. VIII.-Histoire naturelle, générale, et particulière, par Le Clerc de Buffon. Nouvelle Edition, accompagnée de Notes par C. S. Sonnini. Paris.

The Natural History, both general and particular, of Buffon. New Edition, with Notes, by C. S. Sonnini.

WE have already announced this edition of Buffon's Natural History, and propose at present to speak of its progress and some of the more important additions. It will be recollected that M. Sonnini designs to insert the supplements in their proper places, to add an account of the quadrupeds and birds discovered since the author's publication, and to extend his work to reptiles, fishes, insects, worms, and the history of plants. We have received forty-four volumes of this work.

We formerly observed that the sixteenth volume, (for so far had our former account reached) containing the charts and declinations of the magnetic needle, was delayed for the purpose of adding the observations of La Pérouse and Labillardière. It has now appeared, with the continuation of the mineralogy. M. Sonnini may say, with Linnæus, Lithologia mihi non cristas eriget; and he has called in the able assistance of M. de la Metherie: but, on the whole, we think the additions very imperfectly executed. The alluvial theory of this latter author is added, and an abstract of mineralogy, according to the modern discoveries, inserted; but, upon the whole, it is too concise, and too general for a laboured work of this kind, professing to embrace the entire scope of natural history.

The history of animals is greatly improved by the numerous and valuable additions of Sonnini, Latreille, Virey, &c. Sonnini has made many considerable ones to the articles of tiger, conguar, puma. He has added a description of the booted lynx from Bruce. Latreille has given an account of the black panther in the Tower, and greatly augmented the articles hyæna, rhinoceros, and mole. Virey and Sonnini have added to the account of the elephant, and the latter to the fennec. To the history of the buffalo, Sonnini has made considerable additions, and shown that it is distinct from the ox, and that, though they live together, they never copulate. The yak, or the buffalo with the horse's tail, is described from Pallas: it has been already noticed in our review of the Embassy to Thibet. Sonnini informs us that there are three races of zebu, distinguished by their size. From professor Allamand are derived some valuable additions to the articles of tapir and rein-deer. He has described also the gazelle with a cavity on his back, brought from the Cape of Good Hope by captain Gordon; and the gnou, a ruminant animal of the size of an ass, from the extremity of Africa. The hucque and the guemul of Chili resemble the lama, and have been confounded with it, but are distinguished by Sonnini. The sloth-bear and the megatherium are now well known. Various smaller animals from Chili are described by Sonnini, and several by M. Pallas, which are too numerous to mention particularly. Some of the animals described from Pallas are called flying-cats, because they have wings like bats, though they greatly differ from this genus. The calago, an animal which connects the makis and the jerboas, is described by Sonnini as well as Viscaque; it resembles the fox as much as it does the rabbit. Several phocæ are inserted from the descriptions of Molina. The platypus, or ornithoronchus, is noticed under the name of bec-d'oiseau.

The thirty-fourth volume is concluded by a methodical ar◄ rangement of the quadrupeds by Latreille, who has greatly profited by the labours of Cuvier and La Cepède.

The thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth volumes contain the history of apes. Latreille has made many additions to the text of Buffon. The fellow-labourer,' says he, of the learned and respectable Sonnini, so worthy to become the editor of the works of the French Pliny, who honoured him with his friendship, and communicated to him so many valuable remarks, having been entrusted with that part which relates to apes, I have concentrated all my powers to justify his confidence, and endeavoured to render the history of these animals, published by Buffon, as complete as possible." Latreille seems to have collected from the most approved works and the most respectabletravelers. Those of Audibert, Cuvier, Geoffroy, and La Cépède,

He

have been of the greatest service to him: he has added considerably to the article of the orang-outang-a species of ape peculiarly interesting, by the strong relation it bears to man. shows, however, that it differs very widely: and concludes that the orang-cutangs, though more resembling man than the other apes, have yet an organisation' that separates them at a considerable distance from us, and places them with other animals.

The differences pointed out are, first, that the occipital foramen is farther back than ours; so that, when placed on the hinder feet, the head is not balanced. Their eyes are, in that situation, turned upward, and they only look directly forward when the animal is placed on four feet. 2. The pelvis has the plane of its aperture parallel to the spine; and so strait, says Cuvier, that it cannot furnish a sufficient base, nor equal attachments to the trunk-consequently, the body cannot remain in a perpendicular situation. 3. The hind feet do not rest on the whole plane, but only on the external edge, presenting in consequence no point of support. We see therefore, by their conformation, that nature has formed them to climb with ease. 4. The hollow of the thigh bone, in which the patella moves when we extend the leg, is so short, the flexor muscles are inserted so low, that the orang-outang remains constantly with its knees half bent. 5. The larynx cannot articulate any sound, as the air fills two considerable cavities placed in front of the neck, and communicating with the trachea before it passes through the glottis. 6. The thumb is so short that it cannot be of any use. 7. The maxillary bone, as in all the mammalia, except man, is divided by a suture between the canine tooth and the last of the incisors, so that these are all fixed in the intermaxillary bone.

Latreille has also made considerable additions to the natural history of the gibbon. He has given the history of the ape of Warmb, described in the Journal de Physique of 1798; and introduced the black ape spoken of by Vaillant, as well as the rhesus of Audibert. Various additions of less importance we have observed, which would detain us too long were we to dwell upon them; and this last genus of the mammalia is concluded by a table of every species of ape hitherto known.

The thirty-seventh volume begins with the history of birds, in which we find very copious and important additions to the text of Buffon. The general history of birds has been greatly augmented by Virey; and the rest of the volume treats of the eagles. Sonnini has added to the history of the common eagle, and described many new species (at least ten) unknown to

Buffon.

The thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth volumes contain descriptions of the other carnivorous birds of the same family, in which the additions by Virey and Sonnini are very numerous,

In the fortieth volume is an account of the nocturnal birds of prey; and it concludes with those which cannot fly; viz. the ostrich, the cassowary, the solitary, &c.-In these articles we trace numerous additions by the same hands.

The forty-first and forty-second volumes contain the bustards, turkeys, and the rest of the gallinaceous tribe; the fortythird, the quails, the pigeons, and turtles, with the continuation of the partridges; the forty-fourth, the crows, the pies, the jays, the rolliers, and the birds of Paradise.-We perceive chiefly the additions of Virey in the forty-third, and of Sonnini in the forty-fourth volume: they are numerous and important.

In the forty-fifth, Sonnini describes several of the birds of Paradise which Buffon had not seen; and the history of the stares follows. We next find that of the trompiales (icteri), with a variety of new species; of the merulæ, included by Linnæus with the thrushes, the blackbirds, and ouzels of this country; to which many new species are added. And this little race fills the whole of the forty-sixth volume.

The forty-seventh contains the grosbeaks; to which Virey, one of our editor's fellow-labourers, has added many new species. Sonnini contributes to our knowledge of the Canary-birds, sparrows, &c. by many novelties. The forty-eighth volume contains the new species of finches, tanagres, siskins, &c.-In the forty-ninth are the ortolans, &c. communicated by Sonnini; and, in the fiftieth, some new species of agomi (psophia L.), the trumpeter, with various corrections, by the same author. In this volume, Virey describes many new species of the flycatcher, and Sonnini communicates some new observations respecting the larks.

The fifty-first volume contains the sequel of the history of the larks by Sonnini, and of the beccaficos by Virey. The figuiers, the warblers, are described by the same author in the fiftysecond volume; and the remaining birds (for the list would be endless) in the subsequent ones. The sixtieth is the last which has reached us on the subject of ornithology; and it is concluded by a memoir of J. C. Lapierre, on the laying of birds, and their incubation. This essay contains some curious remarks, which we cannot at this time enlarge on. The subject will again occur to us very soon.

The birds and minerals were the last parts of natural history which occupied the attention of Buffon; but modern discoveries have greatly added to the other branches with which that celebrated naturalist was imperfectly acquainted. It is the object of Sonnini, as we have already remarked, to supply his defects; and we shall now announce, as we have room for a little more, the works which have been published with this view, 2 Q

APP. Vol. 35.