128 



THE OSPREY. 



of science and the Roman Catholic Church." 

 In his last article — Roman Cong-reg-ations and 

 Modern Thought — in the North American Re- 

 view of April (p. 562-574) he puts himself still 

 more decidedly outside of the Roman fold. He 

 ends it with these views: 



"The most imperative task for Roman theo- 

 logians to-day" is to disown the infallibity of 

 the councils and "the Pope's Encyclical" as of 

 "absolutely no account whatevei*. " Then may 

 be evolved "a Catholicity which shall embody 

 all scientific truth and all the religious truths 

 held b\' all forms of belief, including- the 

 beauties and noble precepts of the old Paganism, 

 which men too quickly and carelessly throw 

 aside." This article was published only the 

 day before his death. 



The Death of Dk. Beknard Altum will 

 affect economical zoology more than pure orni- 

 thology', but he published a considerable num- 

 ber or articles on birds, especiall3' on their rela- 

 tionship to agriculture and forestry. One of 

 his articles was on birds as weather prophets. 

 (Die Wetter prophezeihmigen der Vogel) in 

 "DieSchwalbe" (Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien), 

 1890, p. 107-109. His Lehrbuch der Zoologie was 

 popular enough to be published in several 

 editions. 



The Death of George B. Sennett deprives 

 the American Ornitholog'ists' Union of a pi'o- 

 minent and highly esteemed member. He was 

 born July 28, 184(3, in Sinclairville, N. Y., and 

 died March 18 last, at Youngstown, Ohio. He 

 was a business man engaged in large enter- 

 prises, especially the manufacture of oil-well 

 machinery. This business was carried on for 

 many years in Meadville, Pa., but was trans- 

 ferred some years ago to Youngstown. Much of 

 his time of late years was also spent in the citj' 

 of New York and his fine collection of birds was 

 deposited in the American Museum of Natural 

 History. This collection was made by Mr. 

 Sennett himself mainly in the field, and partic- 

 ularly in Southwestern Texas. His collection of 

 the birds of Texas and their eggs was indeed 

 conceded to be the largest extant. 



Mr. Sennett's writings chiefly related to the 

 birds of Texas. His "Notes on the ornithology 

 of the Lower Rio Grande of Texas" were pub- 

 lished in 1878, and followed the next year by 

 "Further notes [etc] ". The material and obser- 

 vations thus recorded were intended to be used 

 for an illustrated work on the birds of the great 

 state, and hope may be entertained that the 

 labor and expense incurred therein may not be 

 entirelv lost. 



Literature. 



Faune des Vertebkes de La Suis.se par 

 Victor Fatio, Dr. Phil. — Volume H. Histoire 

 Naturelle des Oiseaux. — Ire. Partie. Rapaces, 

 Grimpeurs, Percheurs, Bailleurs et Passereaux. 

 — Geneve et Bale. 1899. — The long looked for 

 volume of Dr. Fatio on the birds of Switzerland 

 has been published at last. 31 years have 

 passed since the first volume (on Mammals) ap- 

 peared and 10 years since the fifth (last volume 

 on the fishes) was published. The new volume 

 comes fully up to the high standard set in the 

 previous and will worthily complete the series. 

 As indicated, however, only the first part of the 

 volume is now at hand, but this itself is a bulk}' 

 book of 861 (xii + 839) pages, a colored map, and 

 a plate representing external parts. The 

 second part, it is promised, will appear soon 

 (pour paraitre prochainement) but in view of 

 the rate of prog^ress in the past this announce- 

 ment must not be taken too literally 



The old sequence commencing with the Rap- 

 tatores (= Raptores) is retained and con- 



tinued with the Scansores (= Pici), Insidentes 

 (^ Coccyges), Hiantes (< Macrochircs) and Pas- 

 seres. The Oscine Passeres of the region 

 studied are distributed among 10 "divisions" 

 including 17 families. We forbear the expres- 

 sion of any difference of opinion respecting 

 nomenclature or classification. 



Fur and Fe.a.ther Tales. By Hamblen 

 Sears. Illustrations bj' Frost Tavernier & Jac- 

 caci. — New York and London: Harper & Bro- 

 thers, publishers. 1899. [12nio. xii 4- 217 pp.] 

 This is a handsomely printed and illustrated 

 volume intended especially for boys, and will 

 undoubtedly be welcomed by these into whose 

 hands it may fall. It treats mainly of game 

 birds and animals. Of the five articles, the first 

 ("Henry's Birds") is about duck hunting-, and 

 the last ("A little Upland Game") i-ecords a trip 

 to "Robins Island" (near the eastern end of 

 Long Island, N. Y.) where the English Pheasant 

 and the Ouail were the special game. 



