LITERARY NOTICES 



XXIII 



Hie Human Side of Plants. By Royal Dixon. 

 New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. 

 The author has humanized certain well- 

 known actions of plants. He bases his state- 

 ments upon vegetal characteristics that no one 

 will feel disposed to test. A pertinent ques- 

 tion is, Has not the humanizing been, in sev- 

 eral instances, too strongly exaggerated and 

 made too sensational to merit commendation, 

 and escape adverse criticism? The harm 

 in such treatment is in the effect on 

 the ignorant reader. It needs to convey 

 a false impression, while at the same time 

 it is telling the truth, a combination that 

 cannot he unqualifiedly praised. A little more 

 self-restraint on the author's part would have 

 improved his book. Still, it brings plants 

 nearer to us when it helps us to realize that 

 they are living things struggling for their life. 



Through the Brazilian Wilderness. By 



Theodore Roosevelt. New York: Charles 

 Scribner's Sons. 

 Colonel Roosevelt is a progressive from the 

 naturalist's as well as the politician's point 

 of view. Few other men could accomplish 

 what he does. Must of us would think that 

 his political activities would be enough to 

 weary any politician and perhaps even his 

 followers, but in addition to those he takes 

 up new and aggressive work in the fields of 

 nature. He goes to nature not for rest but 

 for hard work. When he desires a change 

 he gets it by working a little harder. His 

 latest volume is an inspiration, not only toward 

 exploration of the wild realms of nature but 

 in its attractive literary form and the evidence 

 of his spirit as a genuine naturalist. Many 



THE MUSSURAMA SWALLOWING THE JARARACA, OR FER-DE-LANCE, AFTER HAVING 



JUST KILLED IT. 



From "Through the Brazilian Wilderness," by Theodore Roosevelt. 



Fundamentals of Agriculture. By James Ed- 

 ward Halligan. Boston : D. C. Heath & 

 Company. 



The book is edited, not authored. A good 

 notion. Mr. Halligan having obtained from 

 specialists the material for the various chap- 

 ters of the book, his work has been to com- 

 bine all in one continuous, stimulating whole. 

 The result is especially well adapted for ad- 

 vanced workers in the study of agriculture. 

 We can also cordially commend it to boys and 

 girls of advanced school grades who are study- 

 ing the fascinating subject of plant and animal 

 culture in its utilitarian aspect. 



geographers doubt as to his new river, and 

 perhaps his readers may doubt even more, 

 but no one will doubt his thorough enthusiasm 

 and wonderful ability to work hard and ac- 

 complish much. His account of the explora- 

 tion in the Brazilian wilderness is as fascin- 

 ating as any book of the kind that the re- 

 viewer has ever read. If Roosevelt were an 

 unknown man, this book would be worth while 

 for its own self. It does not read like a 

 diary of daily events, but the reader feels from 

 start to finish that it has a special theme and 

 that it is advancing toward a definite pur- 

 pose. The interest is held throughout to the 

 final chapter. 



