February io, 192 i] 



NATURE 



751 



proposals outlined above. In return for this 

 shield from danger during- a limited period, the 

 country may well ask : What guarantee is there 

 that the manufacturers are taking due measures 

 to promote and prosecute the scientific research 

 and scientific methods on which alone ultimately 

 these, or any other, industries can be made 

 efficient and able to stand against foreign com- 

 petition? THe leading manufacturers have com- 

 bined to form a scientific instrument research 

 association, and in addition many of them are 

 engaged continuously in scientific research. But 

 it is not clear that all the manufacturers who are 

 demanding the legislative measures outlined above 

 are contributing in either or both of these ways 

 to the advancement of the industry. It is worth 

 considering whether the proposed licensing com- 

 mittee should not take this factor into considera- 

 tion in any specific case in which it is asked to 

 i^Timt or to refuse a lirenre. 



British Mammals. 

 British ^[ammals. Written and illustrated by 



A. Thorburn. (In two volumes.) Vol. i. 



Pp. vii-f84-l-25 plates. (London: Longmans, 



Green, and Co., 1920.) Price 10/. los. net two 



vols. 



'HE success of "British Birds" and "A 

 Naturalist's Sketch-book" has induced 

 Mr. Thorburn and his publishers to issue com- 

 panion volumes on "British Mammals," the first 

 of which is now before us. Although the subject 

 of our native beasts has already been somewhat 

 exhaustively dealt with by Millais, Barrett-Hamil- 

 ton, Harting, Lydekker, Coward, Adams, etc., 

 there is yet room for Mr. Thorburn 's book, 

 because he is an artist-naturalist of such unique 

 quality and observation that anything he fnay 

 give us is worthy of publication and permanent 

 value. In his case the common truism that 

 there is always room at the top applies definitely. 

 Pictures of natural history are always in demand, 

 and we cannot have too many of those of the 

 highest quality, since the exponents who pos.sess 

 genius are so few. Wherefore, even if the 

 author's text is short, it is quite sufficient and 

 extremely accurate so far as it goes, whilst the 

 illustrations of the various species and sub- 

 species, especially the smaller ones, arc of such 

 remarkable accuracy and beauty that it is not 

 too much to say they have not been, and never 

 will be, surpassed. Where Mr. Thorburn excels 

 all other artists of mammals or birds is in his 

 supreme rendering of the colour and texture of fur 

 NO. 2676, VOL. 106] 



T' 



and feather, as well as in his perfect association 

 of natural background with the subject under 

 treatment. He also introduces just the right 

 botanical features found in association with the 

 creatures he depicts, and skilfully inserts little 

 and surprising notes of colour, such as a blue- 

 bell, an orange-tip butterfly, a golden kingcup, 

 or a humble daisy, which often makes a charming 

 picture out of what is really a dull and unattrac- 

 tive subject. This is pure skill, and the result 

 of a severe artistic training combined with a 

 knowledge of Nature. 



Those of us who collect books of naturalist 

 history find that there are few the text and illustra- 

 tions of which stand the test of years. Processes 

 of reproduction, as well as science and observa- 

 tion, are apt to become out-of-date and useless to 

 the practical naturalist of to-day, since within the 

 last few years this class of art and literature 

 has reached a level never approached in past 

 times. "The value of a book," once said Lord 

 Rosebery, "is its price in the second-hand cata- 

 logues." Wherefore it behoves us, in these days 

 of heavy expenditure and high taxation, to pur- 

 chase our treasures with an eye to the future, 

 and those of us who can afford a "Thorburn" 

 book will be wise, for the work of this great 

 artist must be limited, and will certainly rise in 

 value. 



The artist's pictures of dormouse, hedgehog, 

 badger, fox, shrews, and various species of bats 

 are quite little gems. His eye sees with Pre- 

 Raphaelite exactness almost every hair on the 

 lesser shrew, the smallest mammal in the world, 

 and gives it that delicious softness which it pos- 

 sesses. If there is one picture that is a tour 

 de force, it is the mole, a very difficult creature 

 to paint. We have kept a mole alive and seen 

 it gobbling a worm with the almost indecent haste 

 so admirably depicted. There is the correct and 

 strenuous position of the hind-legs, the holding of 

 the powerful fore-paws, and the perfectly rounded 

 line of the head as it gobbles its prey with a 

 true gourmand's rapidity. Most artists would be 

 content to paint just a dead mole, but Mr. Thor- 

 burn gives it life and character. Space does 

 not permit us to criticise the numerous plates in 

 which the artist has succeeded in giving us satis- 

 factory renderings of our native beasts. He has 

 a critical audience to satisfy, since he is apt to 

 think that we now know our own mammals, few 

 in number though they are; but special attention 

 may be directed to the bats, which, although un- 

 lovely things, yet require an accuracy of delinea- 

 tion that calls for the highest care and exactitude. 

 Mr. Thorburn has evidently taken the trouble to 



