BOOKS AND WRITERS. 



The tribe of Burroughs and Thoreau, of Bradford Tor- 

 rey and Wilson Flagg has gained a new recruit in the person 

 of Winthrop Packard whose two graceful volumes "Wood- 

 land Ways" and "Wild Pastures," recently issued by Small 

 Maynard & Co., add a new note to the literature of out-door 

 life which has been growing a trifle catalogue-like of late. 

 One finds in these books no directions for knowing either 

 beast, bug or blossom and yet they deal with all three from 

 the viewpoint of one who loves undissected nature and is alive 

 to its varied phrases. Both books have been inspired by the 

 wild nature in the vicinity of Boston — sights, sounds, and 

 happenings in the bird and insect world, that have doubtless 

 been seen, time and again, by other observers, but never be- 

 fore recorded by one with a talent for seeing the unusual in 

 the commonplace. The strict scientist may find the books a 

 bit too fanciful, the language a trifle too flowery, and he may 

 complain that nothing especially new is given to the world 

 in their pages, but to one who loves nature for its own sake, 

 such chapters as "Brook Magic," "Waylaying the Dawn," 

 "The Frog Rendezvous," "The Pond at Low Tide," "Thin 

 Ice" and "White-faced Hornets," will recall many pleasant 

 days spent afield and prove most enjoyable reading. The 

 price of each book is $1.25. 



Nearly everybody who knows birds is also familiar with 

 the various helps to their identification issued by Chas. K. 

 Reed, Worcester, Mass. For several seasons the "Bird- 

 Guide" in two tiny volumes devoted to the land and water 

 birds respectively, has been a prime favorite with many 

 students and there has recently come to join the group a 

 "Flower Guide" built on the same general lines. The latter 

 has as a sub title "Wild-flowers east of the Rockies" but in a 



