THE ANNALS MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HTST.ORY. [FIFTH SERIES.] No. 77. MAY 1884. XXXV. — The Classification of the Animal Kingdom^ toith reference to the newer Zoological Systems. By Dr. T. Margo *. The sum of our knowledge of the anatomical and histological structure as well as the development of different animals has advanced of late years with wonderful rapiditj. In accordance with this the views of zoologists as to the classi-fication of the animal kingdom have also changed continuallj. It is therefore no wonder that with such frequent alterations of the system younger naturalists, who may be inclined to regard the system as the foundation of the science, find them-selves at first in no small difficulty, until, subsequently, after they have penetrated more deeply into the interior of nature, and recognized the essence of zoology more accurately, they arrive at the right view, that in reality classification or taxo-nomy is by no means the foundation of the science, but rather only the roofing-in of the structure raised upon the foundation of morphology and embryology. As the main cause of the vacillations nowadays apparently occurring in classification we must undoubtedly regard only * Translated by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from the ' Matliematische iind naturwissenschaftiiche Berichte aus Uiigarn,' Baud i. pp. 234-2G0 (1883). Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 5. Vol. xiii. 21