8 54 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the book to be subsidiary to the practical 

 study. Following the method of working 

 from the known to the unknown, it begins 

 with the examination and description of 

 familiar plants ; and, in learning to dissect 

 and describe those objects, the student will 

 also be mastering the general and the special 

 morphology, histology, and physiology of the 

 plant. The first chapter gives the general 

 definitions of botany and its divisions. In 

 the second chapter the buttercup is taken up 

 for dissection and description, and its char- 

 acteristics and relationships are brought out 

 as typical of the Ranuncnlacece. In a similar 

 way the succeeding chapters deal with typi- 

 cal examples of other orders ; after which 

 the student is introduced to " The Vegetable 

 Cell," "Cell Contents," "Tissues and Sys- 

 tems," "The Root," "The Stem," "The 

 Leaf," " Inflorescence, Floral Organs, and 

 Fruits," and " Classification." 



Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting. By 

 William T. Hornaday. New York : 

 Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 362. Price, 



$2.50. 



Mr. Hornaday aims, in this volume, to 

 present a complete hand-book for the ama- 

 teur taxidermist, collector, osteologist, mu- 

 seum-builder, sportsman, and traveler. The 

 author speaks of it as " an affair of the 

 heart," and hopes that " it may be the 

 means of materially increasing the world's 

 store of well-selected and well-preserved ex- 

 amples of the beautiful and interesting ani- 

 mal forms that now inhabit the earth and 

 its waters." He thinks that previous works 

 on the subject are not practical enough, say- 

 ing, " The average book on taxidermy con- 

 tains four times too much ' padding,' and 

 not one quarter enough practical informa- 

 tion," and would remedy the defect. As a 

 reason for publishing such a book now, he 

 urges : " The rapid and alarming destruc- 

 tion of all forms of wild animal life which 

 is now going on furiously throughout the 

 entire world renders it imperatively neces- 

 sary for those who would build up great 

 geological collections to be up and doing 

 before any more of the leading species are 

 exterminated " ; and " Now is the time to 

 collect. A little later it will cost a great 

 deal more, and the collector will get a great 

 deal less ; . . . and it is my firm belief that 



the time will come when the majority of the 

 vertebrate species now inhabiting the earth 

 in a wild state will be either totally exter- 

 minated or exist only under protection. But 

 do not launch out as a collector until you 

 know how to collect. The observance of 

 this principle would have saved the useless 

 slaughter of tens of thousands of living 

 creatures, and prevented the accumulation 

 of tons upon tons of useless rubbish in the 

 zoological museums ofthe world." The cau- 

 tion in these passages is more important 

 than the incitement. There are too many 

 collectors abroad and they are too indis- 

 criminate. It would be well to reduce the 

 number and select from them, and then give 

 the selected ones such a book as Mr. Horna- 

 day's. Some species are in as much danger 

 from collectors as from any other source; 

 and all species, when collected, should be 

 put to the best possible use for instruction. 

 Mr. Ilornaday's book excellently fulfills its 

 purpose, and avoids the faults he finds with 

 its predecessors. It gives full information, 

 in six parts, on collecting and preserving 

 mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, marine in- 

 vertebrates, and birds' eggs and nests ; 

 taxidermy, mounting, and group-making ; 

 making casts ; osteology, or preparing and 

 mounting skeletons ; the collection and pres- 

 ervation of insects ; and general information 

 respecting insect pests and poisoning, books 

 of reference, etc. It is handsomely and lib- 

 erally illustrated by Charles Bradford Hud- 

 son and other artists. The chapter on Col- 

 lecting and preserving Insects is by Dr. J. 

 W. Holland, and the author acknowledges 

 obligations for assistance to other experts. 



A Primer of Ethtcs. Edited by Benjamin 

 B. Ccmegys. Boston: Ginn & Co. Pp. 

 127. 



There can be no question that Mr. Co- 

 megys has prepared a timely text-book. 

 Character training is equally if not more im- 

 portant than mental or manual training, but 

 receives scant attention. Carelessly consid- 

 ered as inseparable from religious instruc- 

 tion, it has been left to the Church, and the 

 Church now concerns itself with creeds rather 

 than conduct. An old maxim holds good 

 in this instance, for between church, home, 

 and state, the most needed education is 

 treated in hap-hazard fashion and falls to the 

 ground, while multitudes grow up to man- 



