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Reviews



I once had a very peremptory letter from a hospital nurse, insisting

that I should tell her by return of post how to cure her Parrot of

feather-plucking. I replied that as she had not enclosed a stamp for

reply, and as I was in no way her debtor, I felt that I might reasonably

have ignored her communication ; the condition of her bird was

probably the result of incorrect feeding, and the habit once formed

was practically incurable. In answer to this I received a missive full

of coarse abuse; if it made the good lady happy, it did not trouble me.

Of course, it is not pleasant to have to remind correspondents that they

have omitted to enclose stamps, but even before the War pennies

mounted up in the course of a year, and I could not expect our Society

to pay for postage incurred through non-members seeing copies of our

Magazine.


Being Correspondence Secretary was not all pleasant work. Some

querists sent me packets of disgorged food and other nastiness, under

the impression that this would help in diagnosing the cause of illness

in a bird, and although an hour or two in a hospital dissecting-room

in the old days certainly did improve my appetite, I cannot say that

the receipt of these abominations just before breakfast produced a like

effect !



REVIEWS


Birds in Town and Village. By W. H. Hudson, pp. ix -j- 274

and 8 coloured plates. London : J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. 1919.

Price 10s. 6 d. net.


This is a delightfully written book, full of the charm and grace that

characterizes Mr. Hudson’s writings. Some of ns remember the greater

portion of this book, viz. the section “Birds in a Village”, in a rather

different dress ; but in its new setting it is certainly improved, and,

personally, we wish the author had contented himself with a task well

done and omitted the further new matter. For however highly we

may esteem the author as an observer of birds in their natural haunts,

and for his power and facile manner in bringing home to us the poetry

of the countryside, we must refuse to accept him as an authoritative

guide when he enters upon the perplexing subject of the economic



