252 Reviews. [isP April 



the world has ever seen." The pity is that the field observations 

 of Samuel White have not been all recorded, and the mass of 

 material collected, much new to science in those days, had not 

 been worked out. 



["Birds of Our Bush, or Photography for Nature-Lovers." By R- T. 

 Littlejohns and S. A. Lawrence, with an Introduction by J. A. Leach, D.Sc. 

 Illustrated from photographs by the authors. Melbourne, .\uckland. Christ- 

 church and Wellington. N.Z., and London: Whitcombe and Tombs 

 Limited.] 



" Birds of Our Bush " is a good title to a well-written book, 

 and indicates that its youthful authors will rise to great things 

 " in the open field." It is a double-barrelled book, dealing with 

 bird -observing and photography. The field observations are 

 exceedingly good, not to mention some hitherto unrecorded facts 

 in the life-histories of familiar species. 



The photography part, as stated, is only for beginners in nature 

 photography. The authors do not pretend to teach one's grand- 

 mother to suck eggs. Details and experiences are given in a 

 breezy and attractive style, while obstacles are surmounted — weary 

 waitings for models who never posed and wet camp-outs are mere 

 nothings. Of the many fine pictures, perhaps the best three are 

 the White-browed Wood-Swallow (frontispiece), Swallow (p. 32), 

 Nests of Fairy Martins (p. 87). The flowers that prettily embower 

 the Spinebill and nest (p. 121) might have; been named. "In the 

 Haunt of the Lyre-Bird " (p. 193) the soft sylvan scene leaves 

 much to the imagination, and is a true photo. -art picture of a 

 difficult subject. From the nearness of the camera to the chief 

 object, and the rapid exposure necessary, some of the bird pictures 

 arc technically under-exposed, but they are nevertheless useful 

 to demonstrate the natural pose of the bird, &c. 



There is a well-merited introduction by Dr. J. A. Leach, of the 

 Royal Ornithologists' Union, wherein he draws attention to the 

 importance of the field work of Messrs. Littlejohns and Lawrence, 

 and mentions their connection with the Gould League of Bird- 

 Lovers of Victoria. It is hoped that these youthful authors will 

 keep true to their hero, John Gould. 



There are several royal roads to the study of Nature ; therefore 

 there are other ways than the one we choose for ourselves. 

 Nature is one spirit, but has many manifestations — " In diverse 

 forms a common soul we see." 



One of the best pictures in " Birds of Our Bush " is the Tomtit 

 near Nest (p. 66), but the hypercritical will say it is unnatural — 

 an Australian bird perched on a plant (furze) introduced from the 

 northern hemisphere ! However, the authors are to be con- 

 gratulated on their bright bird book, while the publishers (Messrs. 

 Whitcombe and Tombs Limited) have left nothing to be desired 

 from a printer's point of view, and typographical " eyesores" are 

 conspicuous by their absence. Copies of " Birds of Our Bush " 

 may be had direct from the publishers, 1 89-1 91 Little Colhns- 

 street, Melbourne, price 12s. 6d. (postage 3d. extra). 



