Vol 'l9U3 XV ] Recent Literature. 367 



Townsend's ' In Audubon's Labrador.' l — Dr. Townsend has written 

 so many interesting accounts of the life and natural history of the Labrador 

 coast that we have come to associate his name instinctively with the wild, 

 rugged north-land which he so delights to tell us about. To those who are 

 familiar with his previous books the announcement of another volume will 

 mean another treat in store for them. The volume in question however, 

 has an added charm in the fact that the course of the writer on this trip 

 followed that of Audubon on his famous voyage of 1833. Stops were made 

 at the same points, the same localities were visited, the same birds were 

 studied and in several instances descendants of the very people whom 

 Audubon visited were met with. 



The first chapter gives a brief resume of Audubon's trip, with appropriate 

 quotations from his diary and some account of the men who were associated 

 with him. Then follows the narrative of the voyage of Dr. Townsend and 

 his companion Mr. Harold St. John, the botanist, from Natashquan to 

 Blanc Sablon, while two chapters on the conservation of wild life in Labra- 

 dor, and on the protection of the Eider, the latter of which appeared 

 originally in ' The Auk ' for 1904, complete the main text of the volume. 

 There is however an appendix consisting of letters from George C. Shat- 

 tuck, Jr., who accompanied Audubon, from his father, from B. Lincoln, 

 brother of another member of the party, and from Audubon himself, all 

 of which relate to the famous expedition. Dr. Townsend's narrative is 

 written in a delightful style giving one a vivid picture of the country and 

 its inhabitants, while the pages teem with ornithological matter including 

 many original observations on bird habits. 



The illustrations are half-tone reproductions of photographs of localities, 

 general scenery, birds and plants as well as portraits of many of the persons 

 mentioned in the text. A map of the coast of Labrador with the routes 

 of the two expeditions recalls to mind the comparatively small portion of 

 the coast which Audubon visited, and the fact that it lay entirely on the 

 southern side of the peninsula bordering on the Straits of Belle Isle and the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence. A good index completes this attractive volume. — 

 W. S. 



Pearson's ' Tales from Birdland.' 2 — With the constantly increasing 

 interest in bird study there is a steady demand for bird books, not only for 

 the advanced student, but for the little folks as well, and probably there is 

 no better way to arouse a lasting interest in birds in the child than to tell 

 him stories which are woven about the personality of some imaginary bird 

 hero. As a contribution to this class of bird books Mr. Pearson has just 



1 In Audubon's Labrador. By Charles Wendell Townsend, M. D., with illustrations and 

 a map. Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company. 1918. pp. i-xii + 1-354. 

 Price $2.50 net. 



2 Tales from Birdland. By T. Gilbert Pearson. Illustrations by Charles Livingston 

 Bull. Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918. pp. 1-237. Price 70 cts. postpaid. 



