30 



THE OSPREY. 



In the Osprey's Claws. 



Willi Xatiirerimla Oimn-n. — Being the Adyeiitures 

 anil Observations of :i Field Natiiialist and an Ani- 

 mal I'hutofiraiilipr. By Kichsrd Keaiton, F. Z. S. 

 Illnsliated by ISO pictures from photograplis by 

 Cherry Kearton. 1 ondon: Cassell &Co. Clotli,21.s. 



The Mes- 

 srs. Kear- 

 ton have 

 before pro- 

 d u c e d a 

 book, "Bri- 

 tish Birds' 

 Nests," 

 and the 

 new one is 

 largely a 

 r e s u It of 

 their ex- 

 periences 

 and obser- 

 V a t i o n s 

 while col- 

 lecting the 

 ni ii t e r i a 1 

 for the for- 

 mer work. 

 As the title 

 indicate s , 

 they have 

 not c o n - 

 tined them 

 selves t o 

 any partic- 

 ular range 

 ofsubJHcts, 

 but have 

 chosen sub 

 jeets here 

 and there 

 which at- 

 t r a c t e d 

 and niter- 

 ested them 

 Bits of 

 am using 

 dial og u e 

 and anec- 

 dotes lend 



life and color to the book, giving it a genuine liter- 

 ary tone. Our heart warms to the enthusiastic 

 naturalists as we read of their tramps through the 

 lanes and bjways of the I ondon suburbs early in 

 morning, studying the inhabitants of hedge and bush 

 before it is lime lo start to their work in the busy 

 metropolis. We see them again, with note-book 

 and camera, turning their backs on London and 

 traveling the length of tlie "right little, tight little 

 isle," to spend a long vacation in that ornithologist's 

 paradise of the Hebriiles, the Island of iSt.Kilda. 



Many an ornithologist, wh(-) has run the ri'^k of 

 bruises, sprains and broken bones in the puisuit of 

 his favorite avocation, will feel a thrill of sympa- 

 thetic interest at the simply told tales of hazardous 

 adventure which till the pages of this book. As Mr. 

 Kearton says in his preface: "It is impossible to 

 udge of the work by the resul s. Much efibrt has 

 no apparent result, and many of the results are out 

 of all proportion to the labor involved." The photos 

 graphs are the work especially of Jlr. Cherry Kear- 

 ton, and their number, variety, and beauty do him 



great credit. Pictures of rural life, of wild and beaut- 

 iful scenery, as well as tho.se ot birds, enhance the 

 charm of the book very matirially. In one of them 

 the collector is seen walking backward over the 

 edge of a higli,stee]uliff, supported only by a slender 

 rope, while the waves are dashing in foam on the 

 rocks hundreds of feet below him.— A. B. 



Where. ti> IIiiul American Game. — Published by the 

 United States Cartridge Company. Cloth, 50 cents. 



The question, "Where to Hunt American Game?" 

 is asked and answered in this neat little volume. 

 Some year.s ago this company published for gralu- 

 tious (Ustribution a large work describing game in 

 different localities of the United States and giving 

 names of the best guides who might be secured. So 

 great was the demand for this book that it was 

 deemed better to issue a new one than multiply edi- 

 tiwn of the eld. Accordingly new material was 

 collected from reliable sources, and having been 

 compiled, the governors and game commissioners 

 of the various States were given opportunity to ex- 

 amine it and verify the statements maile. The 

 arrangement of the book is very convenient ; the 

 States being arranged in alphabetical order, it takes 

 but a mom.ent to turn to the page containing the 

 information desired. The book is handsomely illus- 

 trated with 133 half-tones from drawings of game 

 found from Maine to California. 



In addition to the information concerning the 

 kind and quantity af game to lound in each State, 

 the area and general topoi;raphy of every one, and 

 the character of its game laws, are briefly stated, so 

 that the book is a very good sportsman's guide. 



Some of the facts recorded are mournful enough 

 and show all too plainly the unsportsmanlike work 

 of some of our so-called sportsmen. "Decreasing," 

 "rapidly being exterminatf d," and hke phrases 

 occur altogether too often; but we note, with a feel- 

 ing of relief, that in many localities more stringent 

 game laws and more rigid enforcement of them are 

 having a good effect; and that some of our bestgame 

 is increasing. — -A. B. 



Tiie Jlinls iif Jiuliana. — A Descriptive Catalogue of 

 the Birds that have been Ob.served within the State, 

 with an Account of their Habits. From the -2(1 

 report of the Dapartment of Geology and Natural 

 Resources of Indiana, 1897. W. S Blatchley, State 

 Geologist. 



The author divides the State into three parts, ac- 

 cording to its physiography, and in each ofthe.se, as 

 in ancient Gaul, dili'erent manners and customs — 

 amongthe birds, of course — hold sway. The North- 

 ern plain is the cro.ss-roads where almost all the 

 (liH'erent species known in the State meet at some 

 time during the year. Here, among sand dunes and 

 scrub-oak forests, aquatic birds from the lakes meet 

 the birds from the south, following up the winding 

 brani'hesol the Whitewater and the Maumee. Here 

 al.so, for a little while in early spring, and again in 

 late autumn, tarry the birds of pa.ssage, pausing for 

 a brief rest before continuing their flight to distant 

 latitud<s. In like manner, Prol. Butler has credited 

 each of the other two portions of the State, the Cen- 

 tral plain and the Ohio .slope, with its peculiar birds. 



It is interesting to read how numbers of individuals 

 and species changed as civilization advanced, and 

 that the distribution became more general with m- 



