26 OCTOBER 1929, Page 42

More Books of the Week (Contiimed from page 597.) Although

every• man's hand is against the badger, and it owes nothing to sport (like the deer and fox, who would otherwise have vanished long ago) it has managed to fend for itself and -survive, and is now the last truely carnivorous wild animal in England. Miss Frances Pitt, (whose books must have so often delkghted our readers) tells us in Diana, My Badger (Arrowsmith; 5s.) of how a rabbit-catcher brought her her new baby pet and how she tamed it. The task was not easy and Miss Pitt only succeeded with a considerable amount of courage and plum cake, but she did succeed, and Diana appears to have been a fascinating and friendly creature, loving to romp with the dogs, taking tea with the family, and generally enjoying life to the full. We have here not only a delightful story, but a valuable contribution to natural history. Miss Pitt is in the great succession of Fabre as a writer on Nature : she has something of his power of investing the simplest narrative with vivid actuality. We could not put the book down and followed all Diana's doings with breathless attention.

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