22 NOVEMBER 1884, Page 20

The Band of Mercy Guide to Natural History. By Vernon

S. Mor- wood. (John Hogg.) —It is an excellent idea to connect the know-

ledge of Nature with the thought of kindness and tenderness to dependent creatures. Much o? the knowledge that we are busy acquiring in this direction seems, unhappily, to be connected with feel- ings quite different. The Band of Mercy organisations are now, as we learn from the preface, very wisely identified with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Let them go on and

prosper, we say, till we shall see no longer the hideous list of cruelties with which month after month the Society appeals to the public. We welcome this volume as a means towards this end.