154 



NA TURE 



[December i6, 1897 



of this change seems to be that the temple service 

 had become more complicated, and more time was 

 required by the priests for their preparations. Every 

 additional degree of sun depression would add about 

 five minutes for that purpose. The maximum extra 

 allowance in this group of temples is thirty-five minutes. 



Y. C. Penrose. 



NATURE AND A CAMERAS 



'pHE remarkably favourable reception accorded by 

 ^ the public and the press to the earlier effort of the 

 Messrs. Kearton has naturally tempted them to another 

 venture ; and the volume before us shows no falling off 

 in the matter of interest and the exquisite execution of 

 the illustrations from its predecessor. Only too fre- 

 <quently authors, having scored one success, are apt to 

 think their hold on the public will permit of a very in- 

 ferior second effort obtaining the same share of patronage 

 as the first, and any odd scraps of new information they 



Fig. I. — Nightingale on Nest. (From " With Nature and a Camera.") 



may possess are, with the aid of abundant " padding," 

 worked up to form a volume of the required dimensions. 

 The present work displays in an equally marked degree 

 the freshness and brightness so conspicuous in " British 

 Birds' Nests"; and as covering a wider area is calculated 

 to attract an even larger circle of readers. One of the 

 best tests of a work of this riature is its capability of 

 arousing the interest of young persons, and this, from 

 practical experience, we find to be the case with the 

 volume before us. 



Photography in the hands of artists of the capacity 

 and perseverance of Mr. Cherry Kearton is undoubtedly 

 the only real method of portraying animals in their 



' " With Nature and a Camera, being the Adventures and Observations of 

 a Field-Naturalist and an Animal Photographer." By R. Kearton, with 

 Photographs by C. Kearton. 8vo. Pp. xvi + 368, illustrated. (London : 

 Cassell and Co., Ltd., 1897.) 



native haunts, and more especially birds on their nests ; 

 and in the truthful representations of objects of the 

 latter class the present volume can fear few rivals. No- 

 thing can be more exquisite than the illustration of a 

 nightingale on her nest, which the publishers have per- 

 mitted us to reproduce (Fig. i) ; but this is onlv one 

 among many of the same excellence and interest, those of 

 the whitethroat and the chiffchaff being, if possible, even 

 more beautiful. The only thing we miss in illustrations 

 of this nature is colour, which would be of especial 

 value in photographs, like the upper one on page 253, 

 dealing with the protective resemblances of animals to 

 their surroundings. Possibly even this want may be 

 supplied in the near future. 



But it is by no means the beauty of the illustrations 

 alone that calls for commendation in the work ; many of 

 the observations in the text claim recognition from all 

 interested in the habits of British animals, while some 

 have a bearing on considerations of a higher nature. 

 For instance, in regard to protective resemblance, Mr. 

 Kearton says he is puzzled by the circumstance that 

 while young terns instinctively recognise its value, some 

 of their parents apparently do not and others do. This 

 is exemplified as follows : "As a rule, Sandwich terns' 

 eggs harmonise closely with their surroundings, and 

 even the experienced field naturalist has to exercise a 

 great deal of care to avoid treading upon a clutch when 

 visiting a breeding station. A friend of mine told me a 

 few years back that he had once visited a colony of these 

 birds on an island where the natural breeding accommo- 

 dation was so limited that many of them had conveyed 

 patches of pebbles on to the grass, and laid their eggs 

 thereon. We both recognised this as a wonderful 

 instance of the knowledge of the value of protective 

 coloration ; but I must confess that last summer at the 

 Fame Islands my faith in the wisdom of these birds 

 received a rude shock when I met with five or six clutches 

 of eggs lying most conspicuously on small circular 

 patches of broken mussel-shells, the dark blue of which 

 contrasted violently with the golden grey of the sand." 

 From this it would almost seem that the birds are un- 

 able to distinguish between a mussel-shell and a pebble, 

 and that any cluster of small smooth objects looks to 

 them equally suitable as a nesting site. 



Although the greater portion of the work is devoted 

 to birds in their haunts, the subjects treated of are 

 diverse. To the general reader and tourist the chapters 

 on the people and birds of St. Kilda will, perhaps, be 

 the most interesting ; while the sportsman will find 

 much to attract him in those on gamekeepers and duck- 

 decoying. To the amateur photographer the volume 

 will appeal not only as a standard of excellence at which 

 to aim as regards his own efforts, but more especially 

 from the account given in the final chapter of Mr. 

 Kearton's method of photographing. From this latter it 

 will be apparent that the task of portraymg many kinds 

 of birds — especially when they inhabit lakes or beetling 

 sea-cliffs — in their native haunts, is no easy one, but 

 rather one beset with numerous dangers to life and limb. 

 In the preface the author deprecates the charge of 

 foolhardiness, and the results obtained go far to'justify 

 the risks necessarily incurred. 



In the chapter on sea-birds and their haunts will be 

 found some of the matter most interesting to the ornith- 

 ologist, and it is here that some of the most successful 

 of the photographs occur. As an example, we select, 

 partly on account of its small size, the figure of a solitary 

 razorbill mounting guard over its egg reposing lower down 

 on the side of a pinnacle of rock (Fig. 2). But for beauty 

 of detail and execution we may refer to the gull's nest 

 with Q^% and young, and the group of puffins on p. 269, 

 and also to the nest of the black-headed gull on the 

 following page. To obtain the photograph of gannets 

 nesting on the Bass Rock, Mr. Cherry Kearton ran risks 



NO. 1468. VOL. 57] 



