742 Recenthj jmblished Ornithological Works. [Ibis, 



who relates his first conversation with Newton on his 

 (Guillemard's) return from Lapland. The fact that he liad 

 been there for birds was quite enough for Newton, who 

 promptly asked him round on the following Sunday evening. 

 This episode reminds the writer of his first meeting with 

 Newton, when as a " Fresher" he kept some live birds, in- 

 cluding Knots, of which Newton had heard. It was about 

 two o'clock in the afternoon, when my landlady announced 

 " Two gentlemen to see you/' and in came Newton with his 

 brother. Nearly his first remark was " And, so you're the 

 Knotty man.'' He looked at one or two wretched bird-skins 

 I had (I shudder to think what he must have tliou<i;ht of 

 them !) atid then, with a cheery " Good afternoon," invited 

 nie to his Sunday evenings. Such was the man, and such 

 his attitude towards any undergraduate who showed the 

 least genuine appreciation of Natural History. 



We are surprised to find no reference to the volume on 

 Birds of the ' Cambridge Natural History,' and compara- 

 tively little on the Great Bustard, but, with a few minor 

 exceptions, most of Newton's 'pet* subjects have been 

 noticed. The main fault of the whole book lies in the way 

 it has been put together. While the reader's thoughts are 

 on one subject, he suddenly finds himself reading a quota- 

 tion from a letter on another (the quotations not being in 

 inverted commas or otherwise distinguished from the rest of 

 the letterpress), and it may be necessary to turn over 

 several pages to find the author's or recipient's name in a 

 footnote. This arrangement is exasperating to the average 

 man, and makes it anything but a readable book. For the 

 rest, as might be expected from a compilation of Newton's 

 letters, it contains a considerable array of most interesting 

 facts, which make it worth every ornithologis^t's while to read 

 in spite of the difficulties which are put in his way ; and we 

 hojjc it may find its place on the book-shelves of every 

 'Ibis ' in memory of the keenest and most lovable "^ gentle- 

 man attached to the study of ornithology " that England 

 ever produced. — J. L. B. 



