320 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



Nature Songs and Stories. By Katherine 



Creighton. Ithaca, New Vork : The 

 Comstock Publishing Company. 

 Again The Comstock Publishing Company 

 has given a commendable stimulus to the 

 child's interest in nature. Most of us older 

 people could go directly to nature for a song 

 in the heart and for unexpressed stories of 

 the pathos of the years and of our nearness 

 to Al other Nature in the long ago, but chil- 

 dren need to express orally and verbally the 

 joy that nature arouses. Many a teacher 

 will hail these stories with delight and gladly 

 read them to their pupils, and many a mother 

 will find here just the thing in story and song 

 to arouse an interest in nature. The illustra- 

 tions are appropriate and beautiful. 



A Handbook on Frogs and Toads. 



The Museum of The Brooklyn In- 

 stitute of Arts and Sciences has issued 

 an interesting brochure on "The Frogs 

 and Toads," by Frank Overton, M. D. 

 The classifications are convenient. 

 The illustrations are of more than the 

 usual order of excellence. A better 

 photographic portrayal of piping frogs 

 and toads has never come to our desk. 



Professor Albert F. Blakeslee of the 

 Connecticut Agricultural College al- 



A MALE TOAD "SINGING" (BAGPIPE STYLE). 

 From the Science Bulletin of The Museum of The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. 



The Wonder of Life. By J. Arthur Thomson, 

 M. A., LL. D. Xew York City: Henry 

 Holt and Company. 

 This book is by the author of the well- 

 known "Biology of the Seasons," "Darwin- 

 ism and Human Life,' - and "The Study of 

 Animal Life." It contains many accounts of 

 interesting phases of life. It is really a cy- 

 clopedia although it includes only the biolog- 

 ical facts that are the most interesting and 

 most important. It was' brought to my atten- 

 tion by one of our Members who stated en- 

 thusiastically that he had found it helpful 

 and advised me to get it. I have not seen 

 any other book of the kind that contains a 

 better selected series of interesting examples. 

 For the beginner or for him who is well 

 advanced in nature study it will be an inspir- 

 ing and helpful volume. It is profusely 

 illustrated. 



ready well-known to nature lovers 

 through his book on "Trees in Winter ' 

 has a most readable article in the 

 November issue of the Journal of 

 Heredity (Washington, D. C), on the 

 height of various sorts of corn grown 

 on the college plats and the stature 

 of students of the institution. The 

 whole makes a most suggestive and il- 

 luminating discussion of heredity, eu- 

 genics, the influence of environment, 

 the distribution of mental ability and 

 a half dozen other matters which just 

 now especially engage the public mind. 

 Few modern biologists have so well 

 expressed the scientific attitude toward 

 social questions. 



