NATURE STUDY.*
IF all the books which seek to make biology popular find readers, it will soon be rare to meet among the rising genera. tion one who is not something of a naturalist. A strange mixture of trash and good work is spread upon the table of a reviewer of natural history books. Let us begin with Nature Study, by Mr. J. R. Ainsworth Davis (the Principal of the Royal. Agricultural College at Cirencester), which is intended as a reader for the higher classes of schools. Although the division into short numbered paragraphs lends it an unattractive appearance, we have read it through with interest and pleasure. The merit of the book, to our thinking, lies in the fact that it really gives a general hasty survey of the whole world of living organisms, and attempts to explain how form and structure are adapted to complex surroundings, This is particularly the case in the section dealing with plants, which is, in many ways, superior to the ecological portion. Herb Robert, taken as a type by Mr. Davis, provides a botanical education. The struggle for life in the animal and vegetable world is duly emphasised, and the importance of classification is not forgotten. The illustrations also are satisfactory.
We hardly know bow to describe The Young People's Nature Study Book, by the Rev. S. N. Sedgwick. Its three hundred pages and numberless illustrations cover a variety of subjects. Let us begin by saying that we have read every page with interest, and that we know nothing better for the naturalist- schoolboy, whose habits of observation will be quickened and knowledge of zoology and botany improved. He will learn the invaluable practice of keeping notes and recording observations; also, if he is of the proper disposition, bow to make a camera for 12e. 6d., a microscope for 3s. 6d., how to take micro-photographs, and how to mount slides. He will also learn a little about birds and their notes and nests. There is a very fair coloured folding plate of eggs. He is taught how to find and collect insects, and how to learn their names and orders; bow to make a formicarium for observing ants; and where to find and study the common plants. The study of Nature is an endless interest, but we have our doubts whether any one can cover so much ground as our enthusiastic writer attempts. Still, it is a capital book, and we welcome its appearance.
The next book upon our list is intended for an older generation of readers. We have in Life Histories of Familiar Plants a model of what a popular book may be when a capable writer, assisted by a profusion of excellent photographs, makes the mysteries of Nature intelligible to the unscientific. Unlike too many writers on " Nature- study" who give us merely descriptions and sentimental * (1) Nature Study : a Reader for the Higher Classes of Schools. By J. R. Ainsworth DR3719, F.C.P. With 100 Illustrations. London : J. N. Dent and Co. [2s. 6d.] —(21 The Young People's Nature Study Book. By the Roo. B. N. Sedgwick, M.A. Illustrated by 158 Photographs from Natnro taken by the Author, and 4 Coloured Platen. London : Robert Culley. [52 6:1 net.] ---(3) Life Histories of Familiar Plants. By John J. Ward. With Re., brandt Frontispiece and 121 Figures Reproduced from Photographs and Photo. Micrographs taken by the Author. London :e.Cassell and Co. [6s.]- (4) Children and Gardens. By Gertrude Jekyll. With 106 Illustrations by the Author. Country Life OtBee. not.)—(5) British Birds and their Epps r With a New Method of Identification. By J. Maclair Borairton, With 130 Coloured Illustrations. London : W. and R. Chambers. [Gs. not.] -- (6) Behind the Yell in Birdland. By Oliver G. Pike, F.& S., dm. With a number of Pen Sketcher; by E. Richmond Paton, F.Z.S., &c. London : R.T.S. [10s. 6d. nett]—(7) Stalks Abroad. By Harold Frank Wallace, F.Z.S. With a Frontig- pled°, 0 Full-page and 1S Hall-page Illustrations from Drawings by the Author, and 56 Photograpbe, London Longmans and Co. [125. lid. not.] --- (8) The Ileart of the Wild. By S. L. Bensusan. Illustrated with Actual Wild.Life Photographs. London: John Milne. fils.]-19) Animate at Nome. By W. Percival Westell, F.L.S., M.B.O.U. With Coloured Frontispiece by Lucy Kemp-Welch, and many Illustrations. Loudon : J. N. Dent and Co. [3s 6d.]—(10) The Wonders of the Zoo. By Lilian Gask. With Original Illustrations by Dorothy Hardy. London., Wells Gardner, Dorton. and Co. DPs. 6d. net ]—(11) Insect Stories. By Vernon L. Kellogg. With Illustra- ona by Mary Wellman, Maud Lanktree, and Wilco Shimoda. London i George Boll and Sons. r5s.]—(12) Dwellers in the Woods. By Rev. Theodore Wood. Illustrated by F. M. B. Blalkie. London : T. C. and E. C. Jaek. [Is. not.]—(13) British Butterflies, and other Insects. Edited by Edward II:Lomas, Illustrated. London Hodder and Stoughton. [6e.]
exclamations, Mr. John J. Ward sets himself to explain, so far as they are known, the causes and the meaning of some of the diverse forms we see around us. The result is a pro- foundly interesting little book for those who at present vaguely understand what is meant by the Darwinian theory. There is, of couree,.nothing new in it, though we notice in reading the chapter on "Sensitive Plants" that the book was being printed before Mr. Francis Darwin delivered his recent presidential address to the British Association which excited so much interest. The wild camomile, the common arum, the primrose, the white clover, and the quake-grass provide Mr. Ward with some of the best texts for disserta- tions on evolution and the struggle for existence in language suited to the non-botanic reader.
From Nature-study to gardening is but a step ; moreover, in Children and Gardens Miss Jekyll bas a chapter on "Botany," though it is botany of a somewhat elementary and superficial kind. What need to recommend a work by Miss Jekyll P Every one knows what to expect from this popular authoress. Here we have a book partly for children, who will delight in the chapters on their gardens and their "playhouse," partly for their elders, who will enjoy the autobiographical chapters and the numbers of perfect photo- graphs which we expect in " The Country Life Library." The book is a mixture; it treats of weeds and picnics, pussy- cats and cooking, sand-castles and cowslip balls. Miss Jekyll may be grown into a woman in body, but in soul she has fortunately not ceased to be a child. No one could write a pleasanter book on a more harmless subject.
We pass from gardens to birds. Having come to the con- clusion that there is much to be said for Mr. 3. Maclair Boraston's book on British Birds and their Eggs, we may confess that we were at first prejudiced against the method of identification he has adopted. The intention is to provide the beginner with a means of identifying any British bird. Stragglers are of course ignored, and the tiro need only know a hawk from a swan. The birds are divided into some thirty groups, such as black birds, black and grey birds, black and white birds, black-headed birds. There are coloured plates of nearly every species; the form and colouring are sometimes grotesque, but regarded as diagrams the figures are effective. The short account of each bird's habits and notes is very well done. This is followed by a cautionary list which names and distinguishes the species that might be confused. Of course the real relationship of the birds must be learnt afterwards, but there is no doubt that to a completely ignorant beginner Mr. Boraston's strictly practical handbook may be very useful. There are only three birds which refuse to fit into his ingenious groups : the jay, goldfinch, and white wagtail. We strongly recommend every would-be or budding ornithologist to get this manual and test it by use. We cannot, however, say that the plates of eggs are well enough coloured to help him much.
Behind the Veil in Birdland consists of some exceedingly good photographs and rather slender letterpress by Mr. Oliver G. Pike, whose works are already well known. It is a hand- some but unwieldy volume, which will be attractive as a gift- book and decorate a parlour table. The huge size of the book is rather a mistake. Mr. Pike gives plates of some twenty birds and four mammals which are beautifully reproduced, and cost him much trouble and travel to obtain. He writes in that too poetic style which describes time song of birds as "the music in Nature's great concert hall"; and when the waves break on the rocks, "Nature's wildest deep bass anthem rolls up and along the shore." But this will be considered a trifling criticism of a book in which the plates and not the text are the attractive feature.
The author of the next work before us, Stalks Abroad, Pursues hie animals with the rifle as well as the camera and the sketch-book: Not many big-game hunters have enjoyed more varied experiences than those described by Mr. H. F. Wallace in his two years' tour of the world. We follow him from North America to New Zealand, and from Japan through India to British. East Africa. Yellowstone Park has often been described, and the ordinary sportsman from Mombasa rarely leaves the now beaten track. Mr. Wallace's account of the New Zealand red-deer is interesting when we remember that less than fifty years ago the first were imported. His criticisms of the sad manner in which the herds are allowed to increase and degenerate deserve the attention of the
authorities, and the same may be said of his observations on
game preservation in British Columbia. In the New World Mr. Wallace bagged wapiti, ptonghorns, and Rocky Mountain goats. In Africa be obtained a very varied collection of trophies, though he was disappointed in respect of his lion and his elephant. In India his opportunities did not bring any- thing better than blackbuck and muggers across his path.
Mr. Wallace's description of his sport will be read with pleasure, and parts of the book are excellently well written. There are a few trivialities and slang words which might have been omitted. Mr. Wallace regrets that he is not more of a naturalist; but he has the advantage of being an artist. The reproductions from his sketch-book are admirable. It is to be hoped that he may some day publish more of them. The highest compliment we can pay is to compare them to Mr. Millais's best work.
We pass now to a book in which animals are written of in a careful and considered fashion. The literary form is polished, and there is some very clever work in Mr. S. L. Bensusan's latest volume, which he calls The He,frt of the Wild. The fifteen unconnected papers describe with ).nowledge and feeling the intimate life of animals. In those on the golden eagle, the grouse, the flamingo, and the stork we have descrip- tions of bird life. The last, the "Story of a Slave," tells how a little boy is kidnapped at Tim huotoo and sold in the market at Marrakesh. Hero Mr. Bensusan's knowledge of Morocco stands him in good stead, and the same may be said of his knowledge of Spain in the story of the fighting bull. The remaining papers deal with quadrupeds as varied as the ferret and the giraffe, the water-rat and the wild boar. Mr. Bensusan writes with much charm and his style has distinc- tion. He admits that he has " gifted bird and beast with an intelligence that they are not allowed to possess." We must confess that we have too little imagination to enjoy dialogues between a cuckoo and a vixen who discuss the migration of birds and speak (not disrespectfully) of "the equator" by that name. It is a lack of imagination which we share, as Mr. Bensusan would tell us, with many "serious naturalists." But many, fortunately, have other tastes, and to them this collection of Nature studies may be cordially recommended. Of their kind they are extremely good.
The next four books we shall mention are intended for young people. In Animals at Home Mr. W. Percival Westell makes a variety of common beasts, birds, reptiles, and insects tell their stories in a fashion that pleases children. The papers have appeared serially in a monthly periodical for little folks published by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The volume is prettily illustrated, for the most part with photographs. Mr. Westell is a real Nature-lover, and knows how to make his natural history attractive to the young and not too critical reader. For our own part, we share the emotion he feels at first hearing the chiffehaff's note. It is the greatest anniversary in the ornithologist's year. Miss Marie Corelli has contributed a short introduction which Mr. Westell (not, of course, meaning to be unkind) somewhat cruelly describes as "characteristic." Perhaps the illustrious authoress's views on vivisection are based on imperfect knowledge of the facts. Children who frequent the Zoological Gardens will appreciate The Wonders of the Zoo, by Lilian Cask. A little boy, Geoff. by name, who is kept from school by an accident, is taken for a series of visits to the Gardens, and told all about the animals by a kindly old Colonel. The authoress knows time menagerie well, but it is a pity that a competent naturalist has not revised her proof-sheets. Some of the information imparted by the Colonel is startling, and he does not seem to know that there is a difference in meaning between the terms "order," "family," and "genus." To be told that "jaguars" are the favourite food of lions might surprise even Geoff., though he would naturally accept the statement that the "hairy-eared bear" conies from "North-East Africa," and that the babiruatt is found in Java. We have noted a number of mistakes inexcusable even for a child's book.
In Dwellers in the Woods that well-known writer, the Rev. Theodore Wood, treats in the simplest fashion of the squirrel, some common sylvan birds, and a few insects. The style and the illustrations are suitable for the very young. The next is an American book by Mr. Vernon L. Kellogg, a distinguished writer on natural history, of Stanford University, California. The Professor and Mary, a little girl who was "collecting tarantula holes,n arrange to go out, observe, and collect together. Insect Stories, "a rambling, talky, little book," as the author calls it, describes such wonderfully interesting things that we regret that much of the language and most of the insects and the places in which they live would repre- sent little to English children. Californian juveniles are notoriously precocious. The Professor inculcates truly scien- tific accuracy. Mary is reproved for saying that wasps " hear." All that she has observed is that if she makes a noise they fly away. Lastly, we have yet another book of popular entomology, British Butterflies and other Insects, edited by Mr. Edward Thomas. The coloured photographs by Mr. R. B. Lodge and Mr. Martin Duncan are effective. The text consists of thirteen unconnected essays by various well-known writers : Mr. Anthony Collett, Mr. G. A B. Dewar, Mr. Richard South, Mr. Alfred W. Rees, and Mr. F. P. Smith. They are pleasantly written, but do not call for speoial remark. The habits of some of our lepidoptera are described, and the art of collecting is superficially dealt with.
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