l893 . SOME NEW BOOKS. 71 



preserver. It may be hoped, indeed, that its issue will do something 

 to check the lamentable slaughter of these birds, which, if not stayed 

 in time, appears only too likely to reduce many parts of the United 

 States to the same condition as the British Islands in regard to 

 birds of prey. 



In the introductory chapter, the author enters into general con- 

 siderations regarding the feeding-habits of hawks and owls, and comes 

 to the conclusion that while a few of the former group are harmful to 

 the poultry-keeper and game-preserver, in the greater number of cases 

 the benefits conferred by the members of both groups far outweigh 

 their depredations. A few species, moreover, like the swallow-tailed 

 kite and the Mississippi kite, are absolutely beneficial, feeding entirely 

 on reptiles and other noxious creatures. While the owls are chiefly 

 instrumental in keeping in check the various species of rodents which 

 are so harmful to the agriculturist, the smaller Accipitrines do equally 

 good service in ridding the fields of the swarms of grasshoppers 

 and kindred insects by which they are too often devastated. With 

 this unmistakable verdict in their favour, we trust that we may 

 ere long hear the last of the offer of bounties for the wholesale des- 

 truction of these interesting birds. 



The total number of species of birds of prey recognised in this 

 volume as inhabiting the United States is upwards of fifty, among 

 which seventeen are owls, while the remainder, inclusive of the 

 osprey, are Accipitrines. Many of these, it need scarcely be observed, 

 are solely American, while others, like the duck-hawk, are merely 

 varieties of Old World species, and others again, such as the golden 

 eagle, differ in no respect from their representatives on this side of 

 the Atlantic. The chief diagnostic features of each species are 

 briefly but clearly given ; while especial attention is directed to the 

 areas of distribution. The especial feature of the book is, however, 

 the care which has been bestowed in ascertaining the precise nature 

 of the food of each species ; for which purpose elaborate tables are 

 given, describing the contents of the stomach of a large series of 

 specimens, reaching in some cases to over a couple of hundred. 

 Such researches must have entailed enormous labour on the part of 

 the author and his assistants, who, with the Department, deserve the 

 thanks of all ornithologists. 



R. L. 



Handbook of British Guiana. By James Rodway. Svo. Pp. 93. Georgetown 

 British Guiana, 1S93. 



Mr. Rodway is well known to the readers of Natural Science ; in a 

 series of articles full of life and interest he has made us familiar with 

 the forests of British Guiana, and now he gives us a genera) 

 description of the country, its inhabitants, climate, geology, fauna 

 flora, industries, its past history, and its resources and capabilities foi 

 future progress. Besides a map and a chart showing the steamer 

 routes, there are five-and-twenty excellent plates reproduced from 

 photographs, bringing vividly before us, now the splendid falls of the 

 Masaruni or the Kaieteur, now the solitary grandeur of Roraima, 

 towering upwards like a gigantic castle from a slope six thousand feet 

 above sea-level, an immense sandstone rock, with an area of 32 square 

 miles ; or we are looking down on the walls and roofs of Georgetown, 

 or New Amsterdam, standing out sharp and clear in a setting of 

 tropical vegetation, or it is the vegetation itself which forms the 



