4.
FLIGHTS AMONG FLIERS;
OB,
EPISODES OF INSECT LIFE.
By the Author of ' FLORAL FANCIES.'
A discourse on the Instincts and Habits of Insects, combining a seasonable admixture of the Real and Ideal of
entomological life, in an allegory of amusing fiction, adapted to the months of the year.
" Verily, Master CKICKET, thy angular figure and round physiognomy shall be exhibited in our first vignette. Thou shalt be honoured
as our opening subject, and if thy name had not already served the purpose of one, whose sympathy with thy merry chirp has been shared
by thousands, thou shouldst have given a title to our book, like ' The Bee' and other seekers and gatherers of Sweets. Thou art, in truth,
au omnium-gatherer, nothing comes amiss to thy convenient appetite, and variety must be the character of the feast we would provide, no
less thau of that which thou lovest to devour. True, as we have said, thou art not particular; " scummings of pots, sweepings, bread,
yeast, flesh and fat of broth," thy pickings most esteemed, seem not, some of them, the most inviting fare; yet do these dainties, each in
its kind, serve to symbolize, not unaptly, the very sort of viands wc would sick and set before our readers.
"For "scummings of pots," suppose wc say the "cream of our subject," the most light, nnd. withal, the richest of the agreeable
matter already laid up by others, to be extracted by ourselves in the field of observation. For "sweepings" let us put "gleanings,"—
Gleanings in Entomology—and we have the very term adopted by a well-known writer for his amusing anecdotes in various branches of
Natural History. Then "bread," with Cricket as with man, the very "staff of life," if poverty forbid him not to grasp it, what substance
more properly symbolic of that which must form the ground-work of our book,—matters of solid fact, mixed with and lightened by the
"yeast" of illustration, discursive and pictorial. And as for the "flesh "and "fat," the strongest fare on which the Cricket delightcth
to regale, may they not serve to typify that principle of mental nourishment, of all the most vital, afforded by the religious contemplation
of all natural objects endowed with life ? "
[ƒ« November.
*„* One vol. 8vo. with numerous iUustrations, real and ideal.
3ust piultôiirti.
1.
THE DODO AND ITS KINDRED;
The History, Affinities, and Osteology of the DODO, SOLITAIRE, and other extinct Birds of the Islands
Mauritius, Kodriguez, and Bourbon.
By H. E. STRICKLAND, M.A., F.R.G.S., F.G.S.,
President of the Ashmolcan Society,
AND
A. G. MELVILLE, M.D. EDIN., M.R.C.S.
The interest which has always attached to that singular bird, the DODO, having been recently much increased by
the discovery of evidence which proves that each of the three islands, Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Bourbon, formerly
possessed distinct species of birds of the same anomalous family, it has been thought desirable to collect the scattered
facts and records, and publish a complete monograph of the present state of our knowledge of the BidintS, in order
to remove the many erroneous statements which arc current, and to restore these lost organisms to their rank in the
Natural System.
%* One volume, royal quarto, with eighteen plates and numerous wood illustrations, price 1/. Is.
2 .
(Under the Authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.)
NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. SAMARANG,
During the Years 1843^16.
By CAPTAIN SIR EDWARD BELCHER, C.B., F.R.A.S., and G.S.,
Commander of the Expedition.
With a Popular Summary of the NATURAL HISTORY of the islands visited,
By ARTHUR ADAMS, P.L.S., Assistant-Surgeon, E . N .
Commencing at Borneo, the Expedition extended as far north as Korea and Japan, including within its limits
the Islands of Quclpart and Loo-Choo, the Meia-co-shimah and Batanese Groups, the Philippine and Sooloo
Archipelagos, Celebes, Ternatc, and Gilolo, with other Islands of the Blue and Yellow Seas.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
" Sir Edward Belcher has collected much curious information respecting the fierce lllanuns who in Borneo and elsewhere have carved
themselves out small independent principalities with the sword. * * To Sir Edward Belcher's Narrative wc arc in common
with the public much indebted : though in the present article wc have only been able to avail ourselves of a very small part of the varied
and valuable information it contains. In the wide range of his voyage Sir Edward Iklehcr had other work to perform: his volumes
sufficiently show with what skill and ability he performed it."—Edinburgh Review.
" The cession of the territory of Sarawak by the Sultan of Borneo to our countryman, Mr. Brooke, and its rapid consolidation and
prosperity under liis benignant rule have awakened the mind of Europe, and that of Knirh-.ul i-.|nriaih, to the great political and commercial
importance of the numerous and beautiful groups of islands in the Asiatic Archi]>clago. AU these points were visited during the
loug voyage of the Samarang, some of them several times; and the Narrative is intensely interesting."—Athenaum.
" What channels arc opening, and how delightful it is to believe that an irresistible impulse has been given to the deliverance of these
masses from oppression! Captain Belcher affords us some most interesting intelligence in regard to this dcvoutly-to-bc-wishcd-for consummation,
and we hope the generality of our readers will follow the course of this voyage from Borneo to Loo-Choo, Korea, and Japan.
The comineri-ial mtc I'^iiuv and advice arc particularly valuable. The Vocabularies of the various languages, so acceptably collected by
Capt. Belcher, arc of singular philological interest."—Literary Gazette.
"These volumes give the official and authorized account of the surveying voyage of the Samarang in the Eastern Archipelago and
Northern Seas of China and Japan. Besides much geographical and practical information, Capt. Belcher's Narrative contains a close and
mature view of the ministers and monarchs of those distant regions. A novelty about the portions of Sir E. Belcher's book to which
wc arc now adverting, is their conscientiousness and apparent veracity, in recapitulating the trading capabilities of Borneo and the natural
advantages of labium. The author describes these as he found them without any over-anxiety of laudation; and such of our merchants
as contemplate enterprises to that new El Dorado will do well to consult his pages beforehand. Sir E. Belcher has added something to
our kuowledge of these regions; he has viewed the people of the Meia-eo-sbimalis and Loo-Choo with a more wary and intelligent eye
than any of his predecessors; and we have little doubt that his conclusions respecting them will be found correct. Quclpart and the
Korean Archipelago arc new ground."—Examiner.
"Those who wish to comprehend the scope and results of the Voyage, to get a clear view of the character and policy of the principal
peoples of those parts, to judge of our prospects of quickly opening an extensive trade iu the Archipelago, aud to form a distinct geographical
idea of the region, must possess themselves of Capt. Belcher's work. Nor will it, amid its instruction, be found unattractive."—Spectator.
"Wc must express the gratification wc feel at being enabled to announce the extended circulation of these important volumes; a
dissemination they hided preeminently merit, as well on the score of the interesting and novel nature of the information they comprise,
as from the lucid and engaging style in which they arc written. A singularly interesting and extensive portion of the world; the manners
and customs of its varied inhabitants, with its natural productions, are admirably described in these volumes, which arc also copiously
illustrated with beautifully executed charts, coloured eugrariugs, and etchings."—Asiatic and Colonial Quarterly Journal.
• » * In 2 vols., Svo., 964 pp., 35 Charts, Coloured Plates, and Etchings, price 36«., cloth.