J^^; SOME NEW BOOKS. 387 



" veld " in drought and in rain is striking. The sudden rise of tlie 

 watercourses (" spruits ") is often a source of danger to travellers, 

 though it must afford a grand object-lesson to geologists on the force 

 of denuding agencies. 



There are some notes of interest on birds. Mr. Distant tells us 

 that the reputed fine of fifty pounds for killing the snake-eating 

 Secretary-Bird {Sevpentarius secvetariiis) is a myth, and that one was 

 secured after three miles' chase on horseback, a fact which shows 

 that the bird can run sometimes at least without breaking its legs. 

 The heavy flight of the male Widow-Bird [Chera pvogne) in the breeding 

 season is noted, its long tail being a great encumbrance, and, accor- 

 ding to Mr. Distant, an example of the production of a disadvantageous 

 structure by sexual selection. 



On mammals, Mr. Distant has not much to say, except to deplore 

 their extinction. The former magnificent antelope-fauna has been 

 almost destroyed by the persistent attacks of the Boers, and the 

 carnivora have necessarily much decreased in numbers. The preva- 

 lence of spiny acacias and hard-wooded trees is the only sign to-day 

 that multitudes of herbivorous mammals once dwelt in the land. 



Savage and civilised men alike receive attention. The Mag- 

 wamba Kafirs are described in some detail, and Mr. Distant has 

 formed a favourable opinion of the native character. A chapter is 

 devoted to the Boer of whom our author gives what seems to be a 

 fair and impartial criticism. It is not the Boers, however, but the 

 English and recent Dutch and other European settlers who will make 

 the future prosperity of the Transvaal ; and, curiously, the modern 

 Dutch emigrant is hated by the Boer. The gold and diamond mines 

 have attracted some very undesirable speculators into the country, 

 and some of the stories of gains and losses told by Mr. Distant are 

 interesting and instructive. His sketches of colonial character are 

 fresh and racy. 



There is an evolution in human dress as well as in animal organs, 

 and we are told that, in Pretoria, tall white hats distinguish lawyers 

 and doctors, while the President is the only wearer of a tall black one ! 



The book is well got up, and the illustrations are very good. It 

 is rather startling, however, to read (p. 107) about " Galileos who 

 cared for none of these things " ! G. H. C. 



Brehm's Tierleben. — Third edition. Edited by Professor Dr. Pechuel-Loesche. 

 — Die Kriechtiere und Lurche. By Dr. Alfred C. Brehm. New edition by 

 Professor Dr. O. Boettger and Professor Dr. Pechuel-Loesche. 8vo. Pp. 825, 

 with 167 engravings, i map, and 16 plates. Leipzig and Vienna : Biblio- 

 graphisches Institut, 1892. 



A THIRD edition of the celebrated work, "Brehm's Tierleben," is now in 

 course of publication, under the able editorship of Professor Pechuel- 

 Loesche, and we have just received the seventh volume, dealing with 

 the Reptiles and Batrachians. For the preparation of this volume 

 the editor has had the good fortune to secure the co-operation of 

 Professor Oscar Boettger, one of the most distinguished of modern 

 herpetologists. To Brehm's admirable descriptions of the habits of 

 these animals, Professor Boettger has added much of his own obser- 

 vations, and brought the work thoroughly up to date as regards the 

 systematic aspect, and thug raised it much above the usual standard 

 of popular Natural Histories. In fact, as it now appears, Brehm's 

 volume on the Reptiles gives not only an unequalled account of the 



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