BOOKS ABOUT. ANIMALS.*
THE great merit of Mr. John Walpole-Bond's Field-Studies of Some Rarer British Birds' is its originality. It gives us new field-studies by a genuine field naturalist The sub- stance of the book is altogether excellent and full of close observation. It is less his charm of style, which is sometimes depressingly trite, than the facts retailed which pleases the ornithological reader, He opens with the elusive Dartford warbler : rare, but not so rare as some believe. Even in Surrey there are commons where many pairs breed within a small radius. The pied fly-catcher, which is essentially a Welsh' bird, is the subject of the next chapter. We gather that Mr. Walpole-Bond has done much of his bird-watching in Wales. But be describes with lively delight the nesting of crossbills in Sussex; and in the same county he has studied carefully the cirl bunting : a fairly rare bird and a southern one which often escapes notice. Choughs he has chiefly studied in Ireland. So much has been written about ravens that there is little. new to be said. But the paper on the wood-lark is full of interest. After eight years of patient search in likely spots, he has only discovered two pairs nesting. in Sussex. To many experienced field naturalists the wood-lark remains an unknown bird. Yet those who have heard it mostly agree in thinking it the, finest of our songsters. And it sings in some places during ten out of the twelve months. The rarer birds of prey which occupied Mr. Walpole-Bond are the hen-barrier, buzzard, kite, peregrine hobby, and merlin. To these he devotes much space. Of the hen-harrier he declares that in 1907, in one not very large area, he met with eleven pairs. The re-establishment of the almost extinct Welsh kites, under the protection of the British Ornithologists' Club since 1903, is familiar to most persons. Mr. Walpole-Bond has, however, one new piece of information, for be says that he knows of several pairs that are not watched at all. There must be at least ten or a. dozen, pairs nesting this season. That most beautiful little summer migrant, the hobby, one duck (the gadwall), and a sea bird (the black guillemot.) occupy the last three chapters. It would be pleasant if one could know that the eggs of all the rarities, of whose haunts Mr. Walpole-Bond has knowledge, were safe from the cabinet.
From the British Isles we pass to bird life at' the South Pole. Antarctic Penguins2 is a wonderfully well illustrated. little book, which gives a full and curious account of the domestic life of these birds. The author, Dr. G. Murray Levick, was zoologist to the British (1910-13) Antarctic Expedition, and had the good fortune to spend the breeding. season at the great " rookery " at Cape Adare. Here the first Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis Adeline) began to arrive on October 13th. They came in processions, swimming and walk- ing and tobogganing over the ice and- snow. They are amazingly tame and confiding, and lend themselves readily to the camera. The book is filled with most amusing- photo- graphs. A long period of complete fasting and almost incessant fighting follows. The record of the daily doings of the colony and some of the habits which are noted' are. very strange. The " joy rides " on ice-floes, the drilling in battalions, and the antics when they push one another into the sea are inexplicable. The merit of the book lies in the detailed and minute accuracy of- the author's observations. These. it would be useless to summarize, for the book is one which every ornithologist should read. Unfortunately it lacks any index.
Two new volumes have recently appeared in the "Cambridge Nature Study Series," which Mr. Hugh Richardson is editing. Bird Studies in Twenty-four Lessons 3 is from the familiar'pen of that' prolific writer, Mr. W. Percival Westell. It aims, with considerable success, at providing a school-book en.
• (1) Fie'd-Studies of Some Barer British Birds.. By John Walpole-Bond. London: Witherby and CO. [78. 6d. net.]—(2) Antarctic Penguins: a Study of their Social Habits. By Dr. G. Murray Lerick, E.N. London: William Heinemann. [6s. net.]—(3) Bird Studies in 2'teentylour Lessons. By W. Percival Westell, F.L.S., M.B.O.U. Cambridge: at the University Press. 12s. tid. net.]—(4) Pond Notions. By Ernest E. Unwin, M.Sc. Same pub- lishers and price.—(5) Animal Life by the Seashore. By G. A. Boulenger, LL.D., D.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.S., F.Z.S., and C. L. Boulenger, M.A., D.Sc., F.Z.S. London: Country Life Office. [5s. net.]—(6) Some Minute Animal Parasites. By H. B. Fancham, D.Sc.Lond., 1l.A.Cantab, Au.. and Annie Porter, D Sc.Lond. and F.L.S. With Froutispiece and 56 Text Figures. London: Methuen and Co. [5.. net.]—(7) Trout in Lakes and Reservoirs. By Ernest Phillips. With 8 Illustrations. London: Longmans and Co. [2s. 6d. net.]—(8) British I se* Reads: an Illustrated Record. Edited by Harold Frank Wallace, F.E.G.S., F.Z.S. London: Country Lite Office. [cis. net.]
British birds. It seeks to organize the practical study of birds in their own homes, in the class-room, and in the museum (where available), both in and out of school hours. There are twenty-four separate lessons, arranged according to seasons, and subdivided according to the haunts of birds which the class may be taken to visit. At the end of each lesson are problems to stimulate thought and promote the habit of observation. The author claims that the lessons have been tested in his own classes, both with teachers and scholars. The book seems to us far better suited for the teacher's than the pupil's use. The teacher who is not a genius at his work will find the lessons full of suggestions. There are illustrations from photographs and drawings, which serve their purpose adequately. There is one very noteworthy photograph of a wild great-spotted woodpecker perched against a little boy's back. It is a striking instance of wild nature won by kindness. The little volume ends with ten appendices on classification, list of migrants, glossary of terms, materials for lessons, &c. There is a list of books, compiled without taking much trouble, which is equally remarkable for the useful books it omits to mention and for the comparatively valueless works it includes. But, taken as a whole, Mr. Westell's book has much to recommend it.
The next in the same series is Pond Problems,' by Mr. Ernest E. Unwin, an enthusiastic science master with successful experience of teaching boys. His book is admirably illus- trated with a number of his own photographs and drawings. One can well believe, after reading his excellent little volume, that be must be a stimulating teacher. His subject is the structure and life-history of aquatic insects. The subject is an old one, but so freshly treated that the great problems of life, environment, adaptation, and evolution are constantly forced before the pupil. He is made to observe and to think, to draw, to mount slides for the microscope, to dredge in ponds, and to manage an aquarium. On every page are numerous questions to be answered. Mr. Unwin is a firm believer in the method of teaching by questions. This, again, is rather a book for the teacher, to whom the introduction is specially addressed. The chapters are severely practical, beginning with the material needed for each lesson. The commoner aquatic insects, beetles, mayflies, gnats, and caddis-flies are used to illustrate, with clearness, the profoundest questions of biology. There is a short bibliography at the end, and instruc- tions in appendices bow and where to obtain living material, and how to preserve and study the animals. Altogether, this small work is one of exceptional merit. It is full of stimulating suggestion to a teacher of "nature study," to use an odious expression.
There is a legend that the last words of a great Whig statesman on his death-bed were : "Bring me my spade and pail. The tide is going out." We all have recollections of the wonderful happiness we had, as children, digging on the sands or collecting natural history specimens in rock pools. There are many good books on the common objects of the seashore, but a recent publication by Drs. G. A. and C. L. Boulenger, called Animal Life by the Seashore,6 has special qualities to recommend it. It is a little beyond a small child's compre- hension; but it contains a deal of simple, accurate scientific information. The illustrations are numerous and all excellent, consisting partly of photographs (which we believe have all appeared in Country Life) and partly of very clear drawings. We are told something about nearly all the shore animals, from small fishes of the pools to the polyps. There is a chapter on each large group : Ascidians, molluscs, crusta- ceans, worms, echinoderms, &c. The authors are well-known zoologists, who write in a popular yet sensible and readable fashion. The information has the merit of being trustworthy and up-to-date. No better book for five shillings could be got for holidays spent at the seaside. Parents will be able to combine amusement with instruction.
The next book deals with the world of animals invisible to the naked eye, but revealed by the microscope. Some Minute Animal Parasites 6 is a semi-scientific or semi-popular book of real merit and of absorbing interest. It gives the intelligent general reader some of the latest results of scientific research. The greater part of the chapters deal with those numberless microscopic parasitic one-celled animals which cause a variety of diseases. The names of the two authors are well known in the scientific world. Dr. H. B. Fantbam, formerly assistant to the Quick Professor of Biology at Cambridge, is now
Lecturer in Parasitology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Dr. Annie Porter is an energetic prosecutrix of original researches. The book emphasizes the importance to the human race of studying parasitic protozoa. Every one knows vaguely what has been done in the way of destroying mosquitoes and stamping out yellow fever. The great dis- covery that sleeping sickness in man and nagana in cattle are caused by trypanosomes and transferred by blood-sucking flies is also familiar to many people. The present volume gives most excellent accounts besides of our present state of knowledge regarding several other diseases of man and the lower animals. Domestic cattle, horses, grouse, poultry, silkworms, and bees are all at times subject to sickness caused by protozoa. Many of these one-celled organisms are dependent upon a vertebrate and an invertebrate host. Their life-histories, so far as they have been worked out, are among the most amazing wonders in the animal world. Our knowledge is still very imperfect. It may well be that the mysterious mortality of trout in the Southern Counties is due to protozoan parasites, and not, as the anglers believe, to tarred roads. The general aspects of parasitism are well dealt with in the last chapter but one. The stages by which free living protozoa may become parasitic are indicated. As a general rule, it is a misfortune to a parasite to be pathogenic and disastrous to be lethal. The ideal host is one that can tolerate the parasite for a long period without injury to its own health. But once the parasite has multiplied and produced resistant forms, the death of the host may produce the only channel of escape and be needful for the propagation of the race. The book is excellently illustrated with many lucid original drawings.
Our last two books deal with animals, trout and deer respectively, from the standpoint of the sportsman rather than that of the zoologist. A number of municipal authorities have discovered that by stocking the reservoirs which supply their towns with water they can turn them into a source of revenue, and, by issuing day tickets at 2s. 6d., can give much pleasure to bumble anglers. Mr. Ernest Phillips, who has made a special study of such trout-fishing in these reservoirs, gives a list of one hundred and fifty sheets of water owned by local authorities. lie calls his little book Trout in Lakes and Reservoirs? It is a practical guide to managing, stocking, and fishing. Mr. Phillips strongly recommends the buying of stock from established trout-farms rather than the establish- ment of hatcheries. Of the three sorts of trout—Brown, Lochlevens, and Rainbows—he favours the first. He rightly condemns the much-overpraised American Rainbow, which experience has shown to be useless and disappointing. The instruction he offers on angling for trout in lakes with fly, minnow, and worm is very sound. He describes some great days' sport. We have all heard of Blagdon and Lake Vyrnwy. It is a pity that many sheets of water should stand untenanted by sport-providing trout; and Mr. Phillips's book may be warmly recommended to those who want informa- tion on the prospects which stocking with trout offers.
British Deer heads' is edited by Mr. Harold Frank Wallace, who was honorary secretary of the exhibition held last year at the Water-Colour Society's Gallery. It contains many good photographs, as well as measurements and other par- ticulars, of a remarkably representative collection that was got together. Red deer (including park and some New Zealand beasts), fallow deer, and roe are included. Most of the best heads that exist were lent by their owners, and two hundred and seventy-five were shown. The record here preserved is interesting to sportsmen and all who care for such trophies. It is undeniable that the modern heads show a tendency to deteriorate. The causes are discussed in the introduction, from which we also learn that there were five Scottish deer forests in 1812 and seventy in 1872. The stimulus to Highland sport was given in varying degrees during that half-century by Sir Walter Scott, Sir Edwin Landseer, and the Prince Consort. The latest estimate of forests is one hundred and ninety-eight, and rents do not diminish.
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