7 o THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



account of his visits to a number of islands in the Caribbean Sea 

 and Gulf of Mexico, and proves himself to be an accurate observer, 

 possessed of wide sympathies and a facile pen. He tells us much 

 regarding the various forms of life, from rats, birds, and land-crabs to 

 the living glories observable amid the coral reefs. The fishes of the 

 seas traversed also come in for much notice, and many remarkable 

 and rare species were captured. The volume well deserves a place 

 in the library of those interested in travel and natural history, and 

 is well and abundantly illustrated. 



The Home-Life of the Osprev, Photographed and Described, 

 by Clinton G. Abbott, B.A., with thirty-two Mounted Plates. 

 London : Witherby & Co. Price 6s. net. 



The home-life of the Osprey has a great, but now, alas, 

 melancholy interest for Scottish naturalists. Mr Abbott's wonderful 

 pictures have been taken in America, where some of the haunts of 

 the bird are very different from those we were once familiar with in 

 Scotland. There we find nests (depicted) on the seashore, and even 

 on telegraph poles by the side of a railway ! The pictures give us 

 all that is claimed for them, namely, peeps into the vie intime of this 

 fine bird from the egg to the flight of the full-fledged young ; and 

 there are also a number of pictures of the birds in various attitudes 

 of flight, alighting on the nest, feeding the young, etc. The letter- 

 press is suited to the pictures, and is of much merit. — G. G.-M. 



The Life and Love of the Insect, by J. H. Fabre. Translated 

 by A. T. de Mattos. London : Adam & Charles Black, 

 1911. Price 5s. net. 



This charming book reads more like a fairy tale than a series of 

 scientific essays. Written in a fascinating style, the work deserves 

 to be read for the sake of its literary merit alone, but when the 

 habits of the insects described are also taken into consideration, 

 the eighteen chapters form an altogether delightful volume. The 

 first four, on the Sacred Beetle, and the two last, on the Languedocian 

 Scorpion, appear to us the most interesting, but they are all full of 

 charm. The language throughout is poetical and beautiful, with a 

 strong personal element, while the absence of technicalities renders 

 the book singularly attractive. We can cordially recommend it to 

 our readers. 



