BOTANY, ZOOLOGY, FORESTRY, AND SPORT.* WHEN a competent botanist condescends
to write for the general reader, to whom what is called "botanic literature" is unintelligible, one should always rejoice, and when the result of his labour is such an interesting and excellent piece of work as Plant Life in Alpine Switzerland, the general reader must indeed be grateful. Mr. E. A. Newell Arber calls his book "an account in simple language of the natural history of Alpine plants." This well describes it. It is not a flora, and does not attempt to enable the reader to determine a species. He opens by defining Alpine plants and mentioning some of their characters. He ends with a discussion (much too brief) of the origin of the Alpine flora, and the affinities it bears to the flora of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly to that of the Arctic regions. In the intervening chapters be takes all the typical Alpine genera, and dwells on • (I) Plant Life in Alpine Switzerland. By E. A. Newell Arber, M.A., F.L.S. Illustrated with 48 Photegraphs and 38 Figures in the Text. London : John Murray. [7s. 6d. net.—(2) Alpine Flowers and Bock Gardens. By Walter P. Wright. IIlturttated in Colour. London: Headley Brothers. [12s. 6d. net...I --(3) The Airy Way. By George A. B. Dewar. London : Chatto and Wiudus. [6s. net.]—(4) The Black Bear. By William H. Wright. Illustrated with Photographa by the Author and J. B. Herfoot. London : T. Werner Laurie. [Os. net.]—(5) Lives of the Fur Folk. By M. D. Haviland. Illustrated by E. Caldwell. London: Longmana and Co. [5s. net.]—(6) The Birds of Dam friceshire. By Ilugh S. Gladstone, M.A., F.Z.S., F.B.S.E., M.B.0.17. With Inustrations from Photographs and a Map. London : Witherby and Co. [We. net.]—(7) Keartons' Havre Pictures. By Richard and Cherry Hesston. 'With Descriptive Text by R. Hearten, F.Z.S. London : Cassell and Co. [15a. net.]—(8) Reptiles of the World. By Raymond L. Ditmars. With nearly 200 Photographs taken by the Author. London : Sir I. Pitman and Sons. [ON. net.)---(9) The Suhantaretie Islands of NCO Zealand. Edited by Chas. Chilton, M.A., D.Sc. 2 vols. London : Dulan and Co. 1as.net.]—(10) Forest Life and Sport in India. B Sainthill Eardley-Wilmot, C.I.E. Mustrated with Photo- graphs by Mabel -Wilmot. London : Edward Arnold. [12s. ea. net.] —(Lt) Sporting Days and Sporting Ways. By Ralph Nevin. London; Duck- worth and Co. [I2s. Ca. net.]
the striking points of biological interest which they present. This is done in the simplest possible language, and there is a full glossary. A profusion of remarkably good photographs of plants in natural situations, many clear text figures, and (in the appendix) an elementary account of the structure of flowers fit the book for those whose botanic training is slight. In the Alps all travellers become botanists, or wish to do so. Mr. Newell Arber's book will prove a valuable companion, which will open their eyes to countless adaptations by which plants fit themselves to their surroundings. He points out the complicated mechanisms for securing cross-pollination. He tells all that is known of the causes which have made "alpine" plants. He touches shortly on the experiments of Kerner and Bonnier. The factors affecting Alpine plants are chiefly intense light, dry atmosphere, and a low tempera- ture. Mr. Newell Arber's book will suggest many points that deserve attention or study, and which are far more interesting than merely naming a plant and then throwing it into the slop-pail or even pressing it. Such is the fate of most specimens brought back to the Alpine hotel after an expedi- tion. It is needless to inform botanists that Mr. Newell Arber is an authority, and writes with knowledge. Though fossil plants have been his special study, we fancy he also loves Lecmtonodium alpinuni, vulgarised as it is.
Almost simultaneously there appears another book on Alpine plants, but one treating the subject rather from the gardener's view. Alpine Flowers and Bock Gardens is by Mr. Walter P. Wright, a very enthusiastic lover of mountain vegetation, whose habit and character he describes. He draws attention also to the manner in which Alpine plants have adapted themselves to their surroundings, and quotes Kerner and Bonnier. Much of the book is concerned with directions for culture in gardens and the art of making rockeries. More than half the thick volume is devoted to selected lists, with descriptions of favourite species, and contains useful information on soils, stones, and water- gardens. But the chief feature of the book is a series of extremely clever coloured photographs, though in a few cases it must be confessed that the colouring is a trifle crude and violent. The volume is an attractive work for lovers of rock plants.
The Airy Way, in which Mr. G. A. B. Dewar describes the impressions that English country scenery make upon him and others who share his love of wild life, is a pleasant book to read. His observations on the flight of birds and insects, the leaping of salmon, the unfolding of leaves, are not very definite or novel, and sometimes his fluent pen leads him to describe at length facts of natural history that are generally He writes with peculiar charm and feeling when he comes to the Hampshire chalk downs. We think that most readers will prefer the later chapters (which are descriptive of South Country rural life at various seasons) to the earlier sketches, which are discursive, and treat of the flight of swifts, swallows, gulls, and albatrosses. The albatross is a bird which unfortunately Mr. Dewar has never seen alive, and he does not seem to have studied seriously the mechanism of flight. More pleasing to the reader are the pages which carry him to Alice Holt Wood, the scent of oak, gorse, and bracken, and the cry of the cuckoo on a June day.
We noticed not very long ago a book by Mr. William H. Wright on grizzly bears. The present work, which is called The Black Bear, is another popular monograph and a com- panion volume. It contains a number of photographs from life, and the text is written in the same fresh and unalloyed American. About half the volume is filled with the story of Ben,' who was captured by Mr. Wright as a tiny cub in the Bitter Root Mountains in Idaho. The cub was tamed, and rode about a thousand miles on horseback with his master back to civilisation at Spokane. The chronicle of the habits he displayed and the tricks he learnt is amusing for all who have an affection for animals. In the end 'Ben' became too formidable, and had to be disposed of to a circus. The rest of the book deals with the habits, food, and characteristics of the black bear of America, with which Mr. Wright appears to have a very unusual acquaintance based on many years of close observation.
To those who like biographies of animals a, charming little book may be recommended. Lines of the Fur Folk, by Mr. M. D. Haviland, contains the stories of a fox, a badger, a cat, and a rabbit. Children will delight in them, and their elders, who appreciate good work of this kind, will read them with equal pleasure. There are of course many animal biographies existing. Some are good, but not a few are tedious. The present short series is extremely well written, and shows much feeling and knowledge. The scenes are laid in Ireland, and the little volume is prettily illustrated by Mr. E. Caldwell, whose merits as an animal artist are well known.
We can only record the appearance of a remarkably complete and exhaustive book on The Birds of Dumfriesshire, by Mr. Hugh S. Gladstone. It must be sufficient to say that the writer and his publishers have done their work admirably, and that the massive volume is all that could be desired as a county avifauna.
A new book by Mr. R. Kearton is certain of a popular welcome and does not call for a long notice. Marione' Nature Book contains some of the best work that this photographer has ever done. The full-page photogravures of British birds, mammals, and reptiles are especially well reproduced, and the result is a very handsome volume with plates of unsurpassed excellence and a slender accompaniment of descriptive text.
We can strongly recommend Reptiles of the World, by Mr. Raymond L. Ditmars, to those who desire a general popular survey of the tortoises, snakes, lizards, and crocodiles of all countries by a most competent naturalist. It is an American book by the curator of reptiles in the New York Zoological Park. We know of no other existing work on reptiles which combines scientific accuracy and classification with so much that is likely to interest the general reader. The book gives a complete survey that will be invaluable if the work is used for popular reference; and it is illustrated with a unique collection of excellent photographs. Mr. Ditmars's know- ledge of reptiles in confinement and in a wild state is probably unequalled. He follows Dr. Boulenger's scheme of classifica- tion, and has managed with unusual success to cover the whole ground, to adopt a satisfactory scientific form, and yet to produce an interesting and really popular book. He has also, fortunately, not omitted to give his experience of the art of keeping reptiles healthy in captivity.
The results of an interesting and important scientific expedition, undertaken with the assistance of the New Zealand Government in 1907, have been published under the editorship of Dr. Charles Chilton. The Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand, as the work is called, contains in two bulky volumes, illustrated with photographs, a mass of material on the geology, zoology, and botany. The general results to our knowledge are summarised by the editor, and the volumes contain a bibliography and maps. This is a scientific work, and it will be enough here if we draw our readers' attention to the book. The editor is Professor of Biology at Canterbury College, N.Z.
We will end this notice with a couple of very readable books. Mr. Eardley-Wilmot, who writes with the experience of thirty-five years in the Indian Forest Service, has pro- duced a very pleasant and interesting volume. Forest Life and Sport in India gives a picture of the many responsibilities and amusements of the Forest officer. Besides much that is worthy of note about actual sylviculture in India, there is abundant tiger-shooting, and a few pages even on the social gaieties of Simla. There cannot be many men who have shot more tigers than Mr. Eardley-Wilmot. He has, however, safely retired to England to crown a life of hard work as a Development Commissioner. His career began in 1873 in Oudh, and after sixteen years he was promoted to administra- tive rank. For the last five years, before his retirement in 1908, he was Inspector-General of Forests to the Government. His book takes us from Kashmir to Assam and Burma, even to Ceylon and the Andaman Islands. In the course of his duties he must have visited every province and district in India. He writes now full of anxiety as to the future if forestry be not scientifically studied. Vast improvements both in theory and practice are visible since he went to India. Heads of Government and, to a lesser degree, jungle savages are sympathising with the aims and anxieties of the Forest officer. The conditions of service have been altered for the better, and to young Englishmen of a certain hardy temperament the career of Forest officer presents attractions which no other can offer. Even those who have never been in India, and take no technical interest in forestry, will probably read Mr. Eardley- Wilmot's book with pleasure. It contains the impressions of a shrewd observer who is equally interested in problems of government and the habits of wild elephants. The book is well illustrated with photographs by the author's wife.
The last is a more frivolous work. Mr. Ralph Nevill in Sporting Days and Sporting Ways has given us another enter- taining book ; but we lay it down surfeited with anecdotes, and unable to remember any of the more or less amusing stories he has collected. It would be advisable not to read more than a chapter at a sitting, and, since there are ten chapters, to prolong the amusement and minimise the effects of the orgy. Let us describe the contents, and resist the temptation of men- tioning paste and scissors. Every one who fancies the book from our description, and those who are already acquainted with Mr. Nevill's earlier works, cannot do better than read it for themselves. Stories of old coaching days, of highwaymen, footpads, and innkeepers, lead on to shooting and hunting. Sometimes Mr. Nevill provokes our curiosity, and makes us wish for more details and for authorities to be quoted. The sole interest of many anecdotes is that they should be true. Who are the "men alive not so many years ago" who remembered going snipe-shooting on the site of Belgrave Square ? And who are "some sportsmen" who in 1842 shot ten brace of partridges on Wimbledon Common ? The old Surrey and the Epping Hunts supply abundant material for a chapter. Then the history of gaining-houses, a subject which Mr. Nevin has studied particularly, leads on to some anecdotes of turf celebrities. Poaching stories, shooting-matches, and tales of famous sporting dogs and eccentric keepers fill some pages. Pugilism is a rich mine for those who dig into ancient sporting literature. Tales of Tom Cribb, Gully, Molineux the negro, Mendoza and Dutch Sam, both of whom were Jews, and many other heroes of the ring fill more than a chapter, A book like this gives a strange picture of English life a century or more ago.
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