Idle Hours with Nature. By Charles Dixon. (Chapman and Hall.)—Mr.
Dixon always writes so pleasantly, and yet with so much thoroughness and attention to details, that we look forward to his books, confident that he will teach us something and express some decided opinion that will help to clear a knotty point. There are chapters about all the phases of bird-life, some devoted to the habits of particular families, such as swallows and game-birds ; others to the bird-life of certain localities, the water-side, the orchard ; and others, again, to the division of daily song, the evolu- tion of changing habits, and the wonderful problem of migration_ Good examples of different subjects are " Peeps between the Reeds," a charming chapter, and " Sunny Days in a Sunny Land,' where Mr. Dixon takes us to Algeria. But it is all good, and the writer knows how to tell us of familiar things without merely repeating them. He has something to say about migration in " North by West and South by East," and all through there is a leaven of thoughtful observation and true appreciation of the significance of the mysterious habits and movements of birds.
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