BOOK NOTICES 127 



and plants except in the monographic works of speciaHsts. The 

 description of the floating-garden of Xochimihco makes one think 

 of a veritable paradise where " the authentic airs of Paradise do 

 blow " : here the famous Axolotls are denizens of its waters, and 

 Dr. Gadow's remarks upon these paradoxical creatures and their 

 development are most interesting. That the vegetation in Mexico 

 is luxuriant, and that there is an enormous variety and abundance 

 of fruit, one would naturally expect, but when we read of a forest 

 where Salvias, Dahlias, Begonias, Geraniums, Oxalises, Fuschias, 

 Tradescantias, Irises, and Thistles flourish, one cannot help longing 

 to visit such a favoured spot. Apropos of this particular forest, 

 however, we learn that animal life seemed almost absent, even birds 

 were very scarce, but the presence of Armadillos proved an inter- 

 esting And. The ornithologist will read with pleasure of Hang- 

 Nests, Humming Birds, Macaws, Motmots, and various other 

 feathered inhabitants of the Mexican forests ; while the entomologist 

 will find much that is worth reading about the Butterflies and 

 Moths, and of the ways of the Leaf-cutting Ants and of Termites. 

 Much information is given about Rattlesnakes and other reptiles ; 

 and of the modus operajidi of the A'^ampire Bat. Dr. Gadow has 

 also a great deal of knowledge to impart about the natives and 

 their customs, whilst his descriptions of the scenery help us to realise 

 the glories of the country about which he tells us so much and in 

 so pleasant a fashion. The book is abundantly illustrated by excel- 

 lent reproductions of photographs, and is well got up. G. G.-M. 



Report on the Immigration of Summer Residents in the 

 Spring of 1907, etc. By the Committee of the British Ornitho- 

 logists' Club. (London: Witherby and Co., 1908.) Price 6s. net. 



Like the Report for previous years noticed in the " Annals," the 

 one for 1907 affords much information of a reliable nature on the 

 arrival or first detection of summer birds in England. It also gives 

 some notes on the spring and autumn (1906) movements of a 

 number of other migratory species which have been reported to the 

 Committee. The Report will be useful to those of our readers who are 

 interested in the movements of migratory birds in Scotland, since it 

 contains valuable data for instituting a comparison between the 

 arrival, and other movements, of identical species in various localities 

 from the shores of the English Channel northwards. The Com- 

 mittee are to be congratulated on the success that has attended its 

 efforts. 



Two Books on European Birds' Eggs. 



Since our last notice several instalments of Mr. Dresser's 

 great work have appeared, carrying the parts down to xvi., and 

 leaving only the Waders, Gulls, Petrels, and Divers, to complete 

 the book. The plates which, it is almost needless to remind our 



