The writing of so-called ' nature books ' by a certain class of romancers 

 has of late attracted the serious attention of naturalists who deplore the 

 rapid development of this class of light literature, for the reason that 

 manj otherwise intelligent people who happen to know little of natural 

 history are misled into taking such books as those recently put forth by 

 William J. Long and Mason A. Walton at their face value and as veritable 

 records of bona fide observations by competent naturalists, even school 

 superintendents and school teachers of good standing innocently giving 

 them their endorsement as proper ' nature books ' for school use. 



Several writers in 'Science' have recently taken up the matter, with 

 especial reference to the writings of William J. Long. In ' Science ' for 

 Feb. 26, 1904, Prof. William Morton Wheeler, under the title 'Woodcock 

 Surgery,' gave a critical and rather sarcastic analysis of Mr. Long's now 

 famous article 'Animal Surgery' published in 'The Outlook' for Septem- 

 ber 12, 1903 (see Auk, Jan, 1904, pp. 8S-90) ; and in ' Science' for March 

 4, 1904, Mr. Frank M. Chapman published a paper entitled 'The Case of 

 William J. Long,' in which he quoted at length from a defense of Mr. 

 Long published some time previously in the ' Evening Transcript' of 

 Boston, and also some of Mr. Long's own ' confessions' as to his methods 

 and aims as given in some of his books, — his "efforts to reveal 'a vast 

 realm of nature outside of the realm of science ' in ' ideas above and 

 beyond the world of facts ! ' " 



In 'Science ' for April 22, 1904, Mr. William Harper Davis, a compara- 

 tive psychologist of Columbia University, reviewed the discussion from 

 the psycologist's standpoint, dwelling with some particularity upon "Mr. 

 Long's gullibility," to whom he refers, after citing passages from his 

 books, as "a confessed intellectual anarchist." The discussion is con- 

 tinued at still greater length by Mr. Long's rejoinder to his critics in 

 ' Science ' for May 13, 1904, in which, through the intervention of the 

 editor, Mr. Long has the last word. Under the title ' Science, Nature 

 and Criticism ' Mr. Long makes the best of sundry indiscretions of his 

 critics, and with an injured innocence air proceeds to produce various 

 affidavits in proof of statements in his ' Animal Surgery ' article, which 

 show that there is "certainlv warrant fur believing that the woodcock 

 sets his own broken leg," and also "that the habit is more common and 

 widespread than [he] supposed possible when [he] published [his] own 

 observations." Through good tact and skill he has made the best of his 

 opportunities for defense and may be able to convince incompetent judges 

 that he is an innocent victim of persecution, and that his statements have 

 been met with "dogmatic denials mixed with considerable error and mis- 

 representation " rather than by candid objections and some knowledge 

 on the part of his critics. 



An important work entitled ' The Geese of the Old World ' is announced 

 for early issue by subscription by Mr. Rowland Ward (166 Piccadilly, 

 London). The work will be prepared by Sergius Alpheraky, Correspond- 



