546 



NATURE 



[February 22, 1912 



its eyrie; the wifjeon has quilf lately been proved to 

 breed in Roxburghshire and Selkirlcshire, having 

 certainly arrived of recent years; and the eider-duck's 

 breeding range has its southerly limit at the Fame 

 Islands, which are included near the southern 

 boundary of "Tweed." In sliort, there is a peculiar 

 interest in the area treated of in this volume, since 

 it occupies n distinctly intermediate faunal position 

 between the north and the south of Great Britain. 

 The scope of the book needs no description. After 

 tin introduction, including a reference to previous 

 -workers, and a bibliography, the author gives a short 

 but picturesque account of the physical features of the 

 area, treating of the following subdivisions in order : 

 St. Abb's Head and the Northern Hills, the Western 

 Hills, the Southern Hills, the coast lands and islands, 

 the Berwickshire valleys and the How of the Merse, 

 the shires of Peebles and Selkirk, Teviotdale and 

 Lower Tweedside, the Cheviot valleys and the English 

 tributaries of "Tweed." Then follows the systematic 

 part of the book — the account of the mammals and 

 birds, reptiles, and amphibians. As the ichthyology 

 of the district is so closely connected with that of 

 " Forth," the fishes have been left to the volume on 

 that area. The body of the book is rich in interesting 

 notes, and the author has evidently spared no pains to 

 make his faunistic records complete and accurate. 

 This has demanded much personal verification, and 

 a careful search among old records, many of which 

 require that critical handling which only an experi- 

 enced naturalist can give. 



To give a sample of attractions which the area 

 affords, we will quote a short paragraph in reference 

 to north-western Northumberland :— 



" In few localities in the kingdom does the naturalist 

 find so many changing scenes within so short a 

 distance of one another, or so easv of access. The 

 highest hills rise to a considerable elevation, and 

 though he can no longer visit an eagle's evrie on 

 Cheviot, or even hope to see the king of birds upon 

 the summit, yet he has at least a chance of observing 

 the peregrine falcon and the raven ; the resident kites, 

 buzzards, and hen-harriers have departed, as from 

 most parts of England, but he may see the merlin on 

 the moors, while sparrow-hawks, kestrels, and carrion- 

 crows are still more common ; the brown and long- 

 eared o\yIs are abundant, and the short-eared owl 

 appears in the time of vole plagues; herons nest at 

 Chillingham and other places ; tufted ducks, pochards, 

 shovellers, and teal breed within easy range ; wheat- 

 ears, ring-ousels, pied flycatchers, wood-wrens, and 

 grasshopper-warblers occur here and there, with other 

 of our less common passerine birds ; black-headed gulls 

 share the lakes with coots and dabchicks ; and, finallv, 

 it is but a short and easy journev to the Fame Islands 

 or the Fenham Flats." 



OVR BOOK SHELF. 



In and Out of Parliament : Reminiscences of a Varied 



Life. By the Right Hon. Robert Farquharson, 



P.C. Pp. xi + 338. (London : Williams and Nor- 



gate, 191 1.) Price 12s. 6d. net. 



After twenty-five years of Parliamentary life there 



are sure to be many interesting reminiscences in any 



man's experience, and when to those years are added 



many others spent in study and travel, the whole. 



NO. 2208, VOL. 88] 



summed up in easy, flowing language, formsavolui 

 of delightful and pleasant reading. The most 1 - 

 teresting part of the book to most people will be that 

 devoted to "In Parliament," 



Dr. Farquharson's description of his first entry imo 

 Parliament, and of the difficulties and embarrassments 

 which surround anyone in a like position, will be 

 recognised as very true to life by those who have gone 

 through a like exfjerience. Nothing probably strike* 

 the new member, after a few first days of Parliamen- 

 tary experience, as his apparent uselessness, and hit 

 utter inabilitv to do anything "on his own." Later 

 on perhaps things improve. The chase of that elusive 

 object, the Speaker's eye, is interesting, if often dis- 

 appointing ; committee work, and the demands of his 

 constituents, will help to occupy his time, but his first 

 impression of ParliamentarN'-life will not be flattering 

 to his sense of self-importance. 



To those who from time to time have raised com- 

 plaints as to the ventilation of the House, Dr. Far- 

 quharson's experience as a medical man, and as a 

 member of two committees under the chairmanship of 

 Sir Henrv Roscoe which investigated fhe questions of 

 the drainage and ventilation, will be reassuring. The 

 source from which the air is pumped and the process 

 by which it is purified and rarefied arc described, and 

 should carrv conviction to the grumblers. 



Dr. Farquharson also assisted in the experiments 

 devised bv Sir Michael Foster to determine the number 

 of micro-organisms in the air of the House during its 

 sitting. He sat for two vears on the committee which 

 settled the constitution "and building of the Science 

 and Art Department, and supported Sir Mich.-ie! 

 Foster's opposition to the motion against vaccination. 

 He spoke, in fact, on most questions connected with 

 public health and the Army Medical Department, 



The perusal of Dr, Farquharson's book will well 

 repav anvone who takes an interest in the inner life 

 of our legislators and the part which a man of science 

 mav plav in the House of Commons, 



Who's Who in Science (International), 1912, Edited 

 bv H, H. Stephenson. Pp, xvi + 323. (Ix)ndon : 

 j! A, Churchill.) Price 65, net. 



The man of science will find this new publication a 

 verv useful addition to the books of reference kept on 

 his' desk. The volume begins with lists of the h' 

 and senior professors of the world's universities, 

 these are followed by short biographies of the r 

 important workers in science in all countries, 

 classified index brings together conveniently ur 

 their various countries the names of the men of sci. 

 prominentlv associated with each subject, 

 biographies provide information as to the acad^ 

 career and the important contributions to scienc- 

 each person whose name is included. 



Prehistoric Parables. By Wilson Bell, lUustratec: 

 Horace Taylor. Pp.' viii + 63. (Halifax: Mi 

 and Co.) Price 15. net. 



The seven short stories relating to prehistoric 

 included in this little book are dramatic and intt ; 

 ing. Civilisation is only superficial in cornpar 

 with the history of man, and a scratch will « 

 reveal the elemental human nature beneath. 

 Bell's parables mav therefore represent humanit^ 

 faithfullv as anv efforts to project ourselves into 

 mind of the past can do. He realises that to i 

 man, as he has done, in the Carboniferous peno' 

 for artistic effect has no geological sanction— and we 

 think he has gained nothing by such a departure; 

 from fact — but overlooking this point the stories are; 

 certainlv of human interest. 



