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Snowdeii Slights, Wildfowler. By Sj'dney H. Smith. Crown 

 8vo., 117 pp. and nearly 50 Plates from Photographs 

 by the author. (York : T. A. J. Waddington.) 3s. 6d. 



In his preface, the author states that his principal object 

 in ^\■riting this book has been to give a brief sketch of the 

 life and Mork of that fine old character, Snowden Slights, of 

 East Cottingwith, well Ioioanti as the " Last of the Yorkshire 

 Wildfowlers." As the author for two-thirds of his life has 

 known his subject intimately, he is naturally in a position 

 to describe his qualities, character and craft, and to relate 

 his varied experiences in a sympathetic manner. In this 

 the author has been undoubtedly successful, and has thus 

 produced an eminently readable little book wliich all 

 naturalists — sportsmen and wildfowlers in particular — cannot 

 fail to find interesting. 



This is hardly the place to say more on the main part of 

 the book, except that we are grateful to Mr. Smith for putting 

 on record before it is too late the simple life of the last and 

 perhaps the most famous of a disappearing race. It remains 

 however to say a few words on Chapter VI., which is devoted 

 to a list of the birds of that portion of the lower Derwent 

 Valley in which Slights followed his calling. This district, 

 situated to the south-east of York, is but a small one covering 

 no more than sixteen square miles, and is some sixty -five miles 

 distant from the sea. Although a light railway is in course of 

 construction through it, the district is still a remote one and 

 this, coupled Mitli the fact that large areas are flooded every 

 winter, accounts for the length of the list (127 species) that 

 the author has been able to compile ; while there can be 

 little doubt that a contributory factor not referred to by 

 him, is that the district is traversed by one of the numerous 

 subsidiary migration-routes which radiate north and west- 

 wards from the Humber. The chief feature of this list, as 

 perhaps is to be expected, lies in the wealth of wildfowl 

 and M'ading birds it contains, while it serves as a good 

 illustration of what can be accomplished in a favourable 

 area, albeit an inland and limited one, by an observer who is 

 always on the look-out. With the exception of these families, 



