134 THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [i, 3, may 1905 



Beneficial Soil Bacteria. Farmers' Bulletin 214 (free) of the U. 

 S. Dept. of Agriculture is a very interesting account of the nitrogen- 

 fixing bacteria which live in the nodules on roots of leguminous 

 plants, such as clover and peas, and the relation of these bacteria to 

 the fertility of soils. The recently perfected methods of artificially 

 inoculating soils are fully described. 



Bird Leaflets. Educational Leaflet No. 12 issued by the National 

 Association of Audubon Societies deals with the short-eared owl- 

 description, habits and economic relations. The full list of leaflets 

 published to the end of 1904 includes: (i) night hawk; (2) mourning 

 dove; (3) meadow lark; (4) robin; (5) flicker; (6) wild pigeon; 

 (7) snowy heron; (8) marsh hawk; (9) red-shouldered hawk; (10) 

 sparrow hawk; (11) screech owl; (12) short-eared owl. Informa- 

 tion concerning the leaflets and the Audubon Societies may be ob- 

 tained from Mr. William Butcher, 525 Manhattan Ave., New York 

 City. 



Field Notes in Nature- Study. Under this title the Cincinnati 

 Teachers' University Club of Natural History is issuing a series of 

 pamphlets intended primarily to aid teachers of the Cincinnati 

 schools in their nature-study work. Pamphlet No. i, " A Chapter 

 from the Insect World: Butterflies, and moths," is by Professor 

 William Osborn. No. 2, issued in March, treats of " Land Sculptur- 

 ing Displayed about Cincinnati " ; and the editor has added some very 

 useful suggestions which will help teachers in presenting to pupils 

 the simple facts regarding land sculpturing. No. 3, " Land Snails," 

 will be ready soon. The Club has arranged a system of affiliation for 

 nature-study clubs in schools and will soon publish a pamphlet on 

 " How to Organize and Keep Alive a Nature-Study Club." Full 

 information may be obtained from the Department of Biology, Uni- 

 versity of Cincinnati. 



"Best Books." Lord Avebury's (Sir John Lubbock) revised list 

 of 100 books from all languages, which has been recently published, 

 includes five books directly relating to natural history: Humboldt's 

 " Travels," Darwin's " Voyage of the Beagle," White's " Natural 

 History of Selborne," Cook's " Voyages," and Darwin's " Origin 

 of Species." 



Natural History of the Dog. The Open Court is publishing an 

 interesting series of articles by Dr. Woods Hutchinson, on " What 

 the dog is built to do," " an Introduction to the Rational Study of 

 Natural History for Children." It is essentially a study of the domes- 

 ticated dog from the standpoint of the adaptations of structure and 

 habit which have a close relation to the animal's life. 



