BOOK NOTICES. 



Any volume noticed will be sent prepaid upon re- 

 ceipt of the price affixed, by A. W, Mumford & Co., 378 

 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. 



North American L.\nd Birds. By SiJencer 

 F. Baird, Thomas M. Brewer, and Robert 

 Ridgway. A. W. Mumford & Co., Chicago, 

 1905. Octavo, 3 volumes, cloth, illustrated. 

 Price, Sio.oo. 



To say that the authors of a book are 

 Spencer F. Baird. Thomas M. Brewer, and 

 Robert Ridgway is a sufficient testimonial 

 of its great worth. The names of these men 

 are known to all students of ornithology. 

 The present edition of this great work is 

 a new and popular one. It contains more 

 than 1,000 illustrations. There are 64 full- 

 page plates, containing .545 heads of birds, 

 printed in colors, and 593 wood-engravings. 

 These illustrations are excellent and will be 

 of great assistance to the student. They 

 consist of a series giving the peculiarities of 

 the wing, tail, bill, and feet of each genus ; 

 a series of 50.3 full-length figures of the 

 birds, engraved on wood in the highest style 

 of the art; a series of 545 life-size heads of 

 the birds, very accurately printed in colors, 

 and frontispieces in each of the three vol- 

 umes, colored by hand. The text is inter- 

 esting as well as instructive. An important 

 feature of the worlv is tliat portion written 

 by Dr. Brewer. His accounts of the habits 

 of the birds form one of the most valuable 

 features of these volumes. The analytical 

 and synoptical tables will greatly assist the 

 student in the identification of birds, and 

 the geographical distrilmtion of the various 

 species in America is fully discussed. There 

 is also an excellent glossary of technical 

 terms. It is a work which should be pos- 

 sessed by all bird students, and we recom- 

 mend it to our readers. 



Atx The Year Round. Part IV, Summer. 



By M. A. L. Lane and Margaret Lane. 



Ginn and Company, Boston and Chicago, 



1005. 12mo. pp. 00. cloth, illustrated. Price 



.30 cents ; by mail, 35 cents. 



In the four volumes "Autiuun." "Winter." 



"Spring"' and "Summer" of the "All the 



Year Round" series the aim of the authors 



has been to stimulate the thought, enlarge 



the vocabulary, and open the eyes of the 



children to the wonders of the world around 



them. 



Poems and stories which may be used in 

 connection with the books are named in 

 in each preface, and a heli)ful outline is 

 included for the benefit of those teachers 

 who are not familiar with the details of 

 nature study as carried on in large and 

 well-organized school systems. 



The selections are based upon excellent 

 authorities, but they avoid technical terms 

 and colorless descrii)tions. Narrative and 

 verse give variety to the treatment, and 

 many ways of making use of the lessons are 

 suggested. The flowers, trees, birds, and ani- 

 mals known to most children are the sub- 

 .iects chosen, and much valuable information 



is introduced in a simple and conversational 

 way. 



The volume "Summer," as well as the 

 other three volumes of the series, are no- 

 table because of three features : The em- 

 phasis laid upon object lessons; the variety 

 of treatment and methods suggested, and 

 the careful consideration given to the child's 

 environment. 

 Butterflies and Bees. The Insect Folk. 



Vol. II. By Margaret Warner Mosley. 



Ginn and Comitany, Boston and Chicago, 



1905. 12mo, pp. 2G7, cloth, illustrated. 



Price, GO cents ; by mail, TO cents. 



This is a book that tells the young people 

 what butterflies, liees. and othev insects do 

 and how they do it. We feel better acquaint- 

 ed with tlie little people of the fields and 

 hedges when we have learned their secrets 

 and found out the reasons for their ways of 

 living. It is interesting to know why the 

 tongue of a butterfly is so long and is coiled 

 up like a watch spring when not in use ; to 

 know that the bright wings of the butterfly 

 are covered with lieautiful little scales which, 

 like the scales of the fish and the feathers 

 of the bird, are modified hairs; to Icnow how 

 the bees take care of their hive and of their 

 young ; how they make the wax and honey ; 

 in short, to know not only how our insect 

 neighbors look but how they act and some- 

 thing of the physical structure that makes 

 possible their actions. 



The book is addressed to children of eight 

 to eleven years of age. Its chief object is 

 to awaken in the young mind a sense of the 

 wonderful unity of all forms of life. 

 Songs of the Open. Words by Mary Grant 



O'Sheridan ; Music by W. C. E. Seelioeck. 



Rand, McNallv »& Companv, Chicago and 



New York. 1904. Quarto,' pp. 98, cloth. 



Price, $1.25. 



In this volume of songs Miss O'Sheridan 

 has written verses which were inspii-ed by 

 her study of Nature. They are songs of the 

 flowers and birds and trees, and of times 

 and seasons dear to the heart of childhood. 



Her dedicatory verses give a good idea of 

 the scope of the work : 



"Verses from valley and hill are these, 

 Songs of flowers and birds and trees, 

 In Nature's big book I learned them all, 

 As I turned the leaves from spring 'til fall. 



''Dear, wee children, wherever you are, 

 Looking at blossom or bird or star, 

 Nature has room in her heart for you. 

 And will teach you the songs in her big book, 

 too.' ' 



Mi.ss O'Sheridan's sympathetic love for 

 childhood especially adapts her for this work 

 and the i-esult has I)een most happy. 



Mr. Seeboeck's name is a sufl[icient guaran- 

 tee for the fitness and delightful quality of 

 the nnisic. 



The decorative borders by Mr. Comstock 

 and My. Hurst are a delight to the eye, and 

 the book, as a whole, is most pleasing and 

 satisfying. It cannot fail to charm in home 

 or school. 



