5 FEBRUARY 1887, Page 45

The Sparrow - Shooter. By the Rev. F. 0. Morris. (Partridge and

Co.)—This is a vehement defence of the sparrow against the enemies who question his right to exist, too vehement, indeed ; for Mr. Morris, whatever the justice of his cause, ehould not have permitted himself to speak disrespectfully of a person of such undoubted authority in natural history as it bears on agriculture as is Miss Ormerod. Pro- bably truth lies in the mean. It is quite possible to have too many sparrows, as any one who has a garden near fields and woods pro- tected from trespassers knows to his cost, and also possible to have too few.—From the same author and publishers, we have also received The Seagull-Shooter. Here the subject is doubtless simpler, and the writer's aim deserving of more unqualified praise.