1921.] Recentlij published Ornitlioloyical Works. 741 



just fourteen years after his death, hut there the resem- 

 blance ends, for whereas Newtou^s works improved by delay 

 the same cannot be said of this book, which the author tells 

 us has had to be cut down by nearly half owing to the present 

 price of printing. 



The main object of a " Life" should be to give a clear 

 and impartial account of the chief characteristics of the 

 " Subject/'' and those of us, who knew Newton, get a good 

 and truthful picture ; but a "Life" has also another func- 

 tion, namely, by showing the intimate methods by which a 

 man earned his reputation, others migiit be spurred on to go 

 and do likewise; on this point, in our opinion, the volume 

 fails, i'or it hicks conliuuity in its arrangement and does not 

 lead the reader easily from chapter to chapter, so that we 

 fear that the present generation of ornithologists will rather 

 keep it as an ornament to tlieir Ijookshelves than assimilate 

 the large amount of valuable information contained in it, 

 and understand the methods which made Newton the fore- 

 most and soundest ornithologist of his day. 



Mr. Wollaston has the capacity for writing delightful 

 books, but this is not one of them. To read through and 

 epitomize Newton's vast correspondence can have been no 

 easy task, but the result would have made more pleasant 

 reading had the compiler compiled less and written more. 

 The best and most concise description of Newton is found 

 in the chapter by Sir A. E. Shipley, where we have a truly 

 delightful and accurate description of the Professor, but the 

 first half of that chapter, containing merely a dry descrip- 

 tion of Cambridge in Newton's early days, might well have 

 been omitted when space was an object, or a map, occupying 

 a page, would have been much clearer and more instruc- 

 tive. Another useful cut might ha.ve been the omission 

 of the three pages of telegrams to the " Red Lion's 

 Club." There is no evidence that these were the handiwork 

 of Newton himself, and, even if they were, they occupy a 

 space that might have been better utilized. 



Another excellent account of the Professor is given to- 

 wards the end of the book by Dr. F. H. Guillemard, 



