284 



REVIEWS. 



Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Natural History , lately published^ 

 tvith some Notice of those considered the most interesting to British 

 Naturalists, 



Jesse, Edward, Surveyor of his Majesty's Parks, Palaces, &c. : 

 Gleanings in Natural History. Second Series. To which 

 are added some extracts from the unpublished MSS. of 

 the late Mr. White of Selborne. 8vo, 321 pages. Murray, 

 London, 1834). 



" I am completely ignorant of the scientific part of na- 

 tural history. Filling, as I do, an arduous and responsible 

 situation, I have only the means of making very cursory ob- 

 servations in my favourite amusement. These observations 

 have, indeed, been made during my various rides in His 

 Majesty's parks, in the fulfilment of official duties ; and my 

 chief relaxation has been in the tranquil and agreeable occu- 

 pation of writing down in the evening whatever [had] inter- 

 ested me in the course of the day." {Preface.) The subjects 

 treated of in the volume are rather many, and each is ren- 

 dered, by a delectable habit of amiable feeling, with which the 

 author is gifted, the centre of a circle of sweet associations. We 

 would instance the observations and reflections in Richmond 

 Park, with which the volume is begun ; the " economy of 

 nature," in p. 127.; and an " autumnal evening," in p. 211. 

 There is a chapter on " the sagacity of dogs," which is rich 

 in illustrative anecdotes ; and there are fifty pages of " mis- 

 cellaneous observations selected from the manuscripts of the 

 late Gilbert White of Selborne." An important contribution 

 to the science of natural history is supplied in a treatise on 

 eels, of which we have spoken in p. 283. 



Mudie, Bohert : The Feathered Tribes of the British Islands. 

 2 vols. 8vo. Nearly 800 pages, and about 60 figures of 

 birds and parts of birds; those of the birds coloured. 

 London, 1834<. ll. 8s, 



Indispensable to every studier and every lover of the birds 

 of Britain. This, like the rest of Mr. Mudie's works, is cha- 

 racterised by evidences of much original observation ; of a 

 combinative habit of reflection on things observed ; of clear- 

 ness of narration ; and of a capacity for discursive exciting 



