VOL. I. | Feecent Literature. 89 
first article is on the ‘‘Nesting of Cooper’s Hawk,” the introduction 
to which is so novel that it will bear quoting: “ As the habits and 
plumage, as also the nests and eggs, of nearly all our birds, has been 
laid before us on an elaborate scale by men of science, about all that 
remains for we lesser lights, is give our individual experiences, and 
they certainly have the merit of originality; therefore, my Oological 
friends do not expect to gain much wisdom from this article.’’ 
Surely the warning is unnecessary! This number however has one 
article of slight interest on “ Early Appearances of the Catbird.” 
The American Osprey, the April number (Vol. 1, No. 4) of which 
is before us, is printed in somewhat neater style, but the class of ar- 
ticles which it contains is not much in advance of those in the papers 
just considered. The anonymous article on “The Osprey” is the 
only thing of any interest in the number, but this contains no more 
valuable information than the statement that “ they never eat any- 
thing but fish,” and others of like value. The article entitled “Hints 
for Oologists”’ sounds like a very brief abstract of Ingersoll’s Birds’ 
Nesting. 
From the preceding illustrations I think it is shown that these 
papers, which are typical of a score or more published in America, 
possess little of merit or originality. Their defenders may urge that 
the papers are useful in inciting the young to an interest in natural 
history, but the objection to this is that they they are inaccurate and 
misleading, that subscribers are asked to write for them; and conse- 
quently the beginner in ornithology is induced to attempt to teach 
long before he has learned anything worthy of being imparted. 
Go AOR. 
American Spiders and their Spinning Work. By Henry C. 
McCook, D. D. In the first volume of this work Dr. McCook has 
given special attention to the snares and nests of spiders. He has 
treated of the Pacific Coast species as fully as he could with the ma- 
terial sent him, not having been able to carry out his desire to visit 
California and study them in the field. Dr. McCook succeeded in 
hatching some spiderlings from cocoons sent him from San Diego, — 
and studied several California species from living specimens. Three 
hundred and fifty-four figures embellish this volume. Some of the 
illustrations, although original with the author, have appeared with 
his magazine articles, or with Dr. McCook’s contributions to the 
Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences. R. S. E. 
