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The First Book of Birds. By Olive 

 Thorne Miller. With 8 colored and 

 12 plain plates and 20 figures in the 

 text. Boston and New York, Hough- 

 ton, Mifflin & Co. 1899. i2mo, pp. 

 viii-f-149. 



Text-books based on successful experi- 

 ences in teaching generally prove to be of 

 value, and the present volume is no ex- 

 ception to the rule. It contains what its 

 author has found to be the most adequate 

 definition of the bird in her talks on this 

 little-known creature to boys and girls. It 

 is well-named a 'First Book of Birds,' 

 Mrs. Miller's aim being to arouse an in- 

 telligent interest in bird-life before con- 

 fronting the inquirer with ' keys ' and dis- 

 couraging identification puzzles. She, 

 therefore, begins with the nest, and out- 

 lines the development of the bird, follow- 

 ing this section by chapters on the bird's 

 language, food, migration, intelligence, 

 etc., and concluding with sections on ' How 

 He is Made,' and ' His Relations with Us. ' 

 The matter is well chosen, and so admirably 

 arranged that no attentive reader can 

 fail to receive a clear and logical concep- 

 tion of the chief events in a bird's life. — 

 F. M. C. 



Field Key to the Land Birds. By 

 Edward Knobel. Boston, Bradlee 

 Whidden. 1899. i6mo, pp. 55, numer- 

 ous cuts in the text and 10 colored 

 plates. 



This is an attempt to make plain the 

 way of the field student, to whom every 

 aid is welcome. One hundred and fifty- 

 five land birds are divided into four groups, 

 according to their size, and are arranged 

 on nine colored plates, in the preparation 

 of which the publishers have evidently 

 struggled with the evils of cheap lithog- 

 raphy, or some inexpensive color pro- 

 cess. Experience in this direction makes 

 us a lenient critic, and our standard has 

 been reduced from the level of perfection 

 to that of recognizability ; that is, if a 

 plate is sufficiently good to unmistakably 



represent a certain species, even crudely, 

 we view it solely from a practical stand- 

 point, and admit that it doubtless serves its 

 purpose. Applying this test to the plates 

 under consideration, we are forced to 

 state that, although fairly familiar with 

 the species figured, we are in many cases 

 unable to name the figures. 



The text is condensed and to the point, 

 and the pen and ink illustrations liberally 

 scattered through it will be found useful 

 by beginners, to whom the book may be 

 commended.— F. M. C. 



Our Common Birds. Suggestions for the 

 Study of Their Life and Work. By 

 C. F. Hodge, Ph.D., Clark University, 

 Worcester, Mass. Food-chart and Draw- 

 ings by Miss Helen A. Ball. 8vo, 

 PP- 34. 3 half-tones, 8 line cuts in text. 

 10 cts. per copy, $6 per 100 copies. 



This is a contribution to the pedagogics 

 of ornithology which cannot fail to interest 

 every one desirous of seeing bird studies 

 introduced in our schools. It opens with 

 a chapter on the ' Biology of Our Common 

 Birds, ' which shows the importance of 

 becoming acquainted with them, giving, in 

 fact, the reasons which have actuated Pro- 

 fessor Hodge in his work in the schools of 

 Worcester. 



The nature of this work and the success 

 which has attended it are set forth in the 

 succeeding pages, whose contents are in- 

 dicated by the sub-titles ' The Bird 

 Census,' ' The Food Chart' (A very useful 

 compilation by Miss Helen A. Ball, show- 

 ing graphically the food of our com- 

 moner birds), ' Bird Study in the School- 

 room,' 'Taming Our Wild Birds and 

 Attracting Them to Our Houses,' and a 

 ' Life Chart of Our Common Birds. ' 

 Lack of space prohibits a description of 

 the methods of bird-study given under 

 these headings. Some of the results of 

 their practical application, however, are 

 to be found in the concluding chapter on 

 the ' Ten-to-One Clubs' formed in the 

 Worcester schools, which were joined by 



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