Herr Badeker's and Dr. Brewer's Oological Works. 41 1 



illustrate the Oology of North America/' and the descriptions 

 are not limited merely to notices of those species of whose eggs 

 the author can supply illustrations, but give as much information 

 as possible about what are still ' Desiderata ' to him. It pos- 

 sesses, too, a quality as remarkable, we regret to say, for 

 singularity as for merit : " In all instances the illustrations are 

 taken directly from the egg itself, and in none has any attempt 

 been made to make use of drawings," for, with a few praise- 

 worthy exceptions, this is a fact which cannot be asserted of 

 oological works in general. However, we do not entirely agree 

 with the Doctor in the remarks which follow the above-quoted 

 passage, for we consider that we have in England at least one 

 draughtsman whose works give an unqualified contradiction 

 to our author's opinions; but we have already in this article 

 noticed the great practical difficulty of depicting eggs accurately, 

 and the consequent scarcity of competent artists. In the absence, 

 therefore, of a Trans-Atlantic Mr. Hewitson, Dr. Brewer is quite 

 right in the course he has pursued, which is that of profiting by 

 an " ingenious application of photography to the aid of litho- 

 graphy ;" and the result is a series of figures, somewhat deficient, 

 perhaps, in brilliancy, yet certainly sufficiently well coloured, and 

 of course unsurpassed in the fidelity with which characteristic 

 markings are rendered. 



Of the letter-press of the work we are also justified in 

 speaking highly, though it is no more than might be expected 

 of the author. In his own language, his design " embraces as 

 its legitimate subjects the external shape, size, and markings of 

 the eggs, the nests, or the substitutes for nests, the general 

 habits of the birds peculiar to the breeding season, and their 

 geographical distribution, especially so far as the last may be in 

 connexion with their nesting ; " and we are bound to say that 

 Dr. Brewer is not one of those writers who keep the word of 

 promise to the ear, but break it to the hope. If there be any 

 let or hindrance to the due performance of what he has under- 

 taken, it is a stern necessity — quam vincere non datur — that 

 compels him to yield. Oology in the United States labours 

 under the disadvantage of having but few votaries, though of a 

 truth their paucity is in some measure compensated for by their 



