June 8, 1893J 



NATURE 



125 



stray visitors — which may or may not be of casual 

 appearance, such as Phoca barbata, P. annellata, P- 

 groenlandica and Cystophora cristata—vi& have, as constant 

 residents in our waters, two species — the common P. 

 vitulina and the larger and more local Halichosrus 

 griseiis — animals that difter as much in some of their 

 habits as they do in conformation and appearance. Of 

 the former species we need say little, but concerning the 

 latter the several volumes of this series have given much 

 information, making abundantly clear that it is a native of 

 our seas and therefore a true member of our Fauna, a 

 position that, through want of appreciation of recorded 

 facts, had hitherto been doubtful. But our authors, in 

 this volume at any rate, exhibit laudable caution in not 

 advertising its haunts, leaving those who can " read 

 between the lines " sufficient indication as to where they 

 are, which we maintain to be a perfectly fair proceeding 

 on the part of writers in regard to species subject to 

 persecution. If the hairy coat of the Grey Seal approached 

 in value that of his long-eared and furry cousins of the 

 Southern Seas and North Pacific, the life of his race 

 would not be worth a year's purchase, despite the 

 dangerous character of the waters he frequents. For- 

 tunately it is only his oil that is coveted by his would-be 

 murderers, and that is not a sufficient inducement to 

 them to follow him to some of the asylums he has found. 

 We could tell of one where he feels so secure, from 

 absence of molestation, that he will let a boat come 

 within oar's length of him before he rolls off the rock on 

 which he is basking — and then rather with the air of 

 <loing a courteous act in giving place to strangers who 

 may want to land upon the shelf All the same we fear 

 that one of these days terrible return for his politeness 

 will come upon him and his kindred even in the fortunate 

 islands we have in mind, and we must not dwell longer 

 on this subject lest we should reveal what ought to be 

 a profound secret. But we are bound to admit that the 

 Grey Seal is not the most intelligent animal in the world, 

 hough his long, grave face gives him an expression of 

 wisdom far beyond that conveyed by the chubby coun- 

 tenance of his commoner relative. 



Of course the most important members of the Scottish 

 fauna are at present the Red Deer and the Red Grouse — 

 looking only to the amount of money they are the means 

 of bringing into the country, though equally of course it 

 is declared that the greater part of this amount, that 

 which is paid for shooting rents, is not spent in the 

 country. But we suppose the same might be alleged 

 almost everywhere of rent of any kind, and heaven forefend 

 us from dabbling in the mysteries of the " dismal science." 

 Concerning Red Deer much more is to be told than 

 people suppose. The statistics of Jura Forest compiled 

 and privately printed by Mr. Henry Evans, of which an 

 abstract is given by our authors in their Appendix 

 (pp. 239-244) may well set any one thinking, especially 

 as regards the death-rate, which ifobserved among human 

 beings in any part of the world would set that district 

 down as more unwholesome than any known elsewhere. 

 The mortality is attributed chiefly to what is known as 

 " Husk," which appears due to a " hair-like lung worm " 

 (of what kind we cannot say), and reaches 20 per cent. 

 and upwards among the male calves before they complete 

 NO. 1232, VOL. 48] 



their first year, and when we consider that this is on an 

 island with a comparatively mild climate, where every 

 care is taken of the beasts, the result is indeed extra- 

 ordinary. It is only when the zoologist is brought face to 

 face with facts of this kind that he can realise what the 

 Struggle for Life must be of which he has read so much, 

 and the depth of his ignorance about it. No wonder 

 then we cannot explain, what seems to be quite certain, 

 the dwindling, that in many places has ended in the 

 extinction, of the Ptarmigan. Our authors appear to 

 attribute it to the moist influence of the Gulf Stream, 

 but we are not conscious of any evidence that this is 

 greater now than it was twenty, thirty or fifty years ago 

 and surely the reason must be sought elsewhere. 



We have allowed our notice of this very pleasant book 

 to run to an excessive length, so that we must here 

 surcease from commenting on many passages which 

 really call for remark — most of them for praise and only 

 a few for blame. We certainly should not care to involve 

 ourselves in the mooted question of the alleged Pintail's 

 nest or nests on Hysgeir off Canna (pp. 129-J31) ; but 

 we must protest against our authors' countenancing 

 (p. J 67, note) the often-exploded but ever reviving fallacy 

 of Rooks' eggs being served up in place of Plovers'. The 

 curious so-called " Tailless " or " Docked " Trouts (" club- 

 tailed " would be a better name) of certain lochs are 

 treated of by Dr. Traquair. They may perhaps be 

 compared with the somewhat analogous case of the 

 " Crummy " Stags of Jura and Mull, concerning which we 

 are disappointed to find little or no information, which is 

 the greater pity since the introduction of new blood has 

 already diminished and will probably put an end to these 

 interesting local " sports." A few words must, howe\4er, 

 be added as to the illustrations, and especially to those 

 from photographs by Mr. Norrie, which are not only well 

 chosen, but for the most part extremely beautiful. The 

 maps too are all effective if not always neat, and the 

 little sketches "let in" to their margins are as pretty 

 as they are accurate. Herein, as throughout the letter- 

 press of the volume generally, the islands are most 

 favoured, and there is only one of the plates which 

 illustrates a scene on the Scottish mainland. So we 

 part from Messrs. Buckley and Harvie-Brown, commend- 

 ing their assiduity, and wishing all success to their next 

 venture, whether Moray or Shetland be its subject. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Gun and Camera in Southern Africa. By H. Anderson 

 Bryden. With numerous Illustrations and a Map. 

 (London : Edward Stanford, 1893.) 

 In this book Mr. Bryden records the incidents which 

 happened in the course of a year of wanderings in 

 Bechuanaland, the Kalahari Desert, and the Lake River 

 Country, Ngamiland. The region is one in which much 

 interest has been taken lately, and colonists and settlers 

 will find in Mr. Bryden's lively pages exactly the sort of 

 information that is likely to be most useful to them. The 

 volume also includes many passages that will be read 

 with pleasure by ethnologists, naturalists, and sportsmen. 

 The illustrations — which are offered as " faithful delinea- 

 tions of places, objects, and people hitherto not often 

 accessible to the camera" — add greatly to the value 

 of the narrative. 



