4i8 



NA TURE 



[August 30 1900 



been so well described. Of the linnet, too, he says most 

 truly that it has one note, and only one, of almost un- 

 approachable musical beauty. The singing of the sky- 

 larks, that invariable accompaniment of down life, is 

 described with all Mr. Hudson's wonderful sympathy 

 and delicacy of language ; but what are we to say of 

 his belief that the highest notes of this bird maybe heard 

 on the downs at a distance of three miles ? It is a belief 

 which it would hardly be possible to test. 



" The Birds of Cheshire " is an excellent book of its 

 kind. The first essential of such a compilation is that it 

 should be unimpeachable as a record ; and, so far as we 

 can discover, the compilers have here used both pains 

 and judgment in testing the records of others, while their 

 own experiences are recorded simply and faithfully. Thus 

 a real step is gained in the collection of valuable material 

 for that comprehensive work on the distribution of birds 

 in these islands which we may hope to see in due time. 

 There is no superfluous matter in this volume, and no 



— Bearded Tit feeding young. 



attempt at fine writing ; and excellent paper, print and 

 binding combine to make it a very pleasant book to 

 handle. The half-dozen plates of Cheshire scenery are 

 very effective, and nothing is wanting, unless it be a 

 rather better map of the county. 



The avifauna of Cheshire, as the authors remark, is 

 surprisingly poor ; the county does not lie upon any 

 regular line of migration. It is too far north for the 

 nightingale, which has seldom occurred, though we note 

 that it has been recorded by that excellent observer, Rev. 

 C Wolley-Uod. The lesser whitethroat, as might be 

 expected, is not common, nor is the grasshopper 

 warbler. We should have expected the pied flycatcher 

 to be more common than seems to be the case ; the tree 

 sparrow, a bird of peculiar distribution, has probably 

 been often overlooked. The goldfinch and linnet are 

 decreasing in numbers, but the opposite is the case with 

 the turtle-dove. The list of waders, gulls, and birds of 

 the coast, is not very large, and we regret to find that 



NO. 1609, VOL. 62] 



the ubiquitous golfer is contributing to its further 

 diminution. The characteristic bird of the county is a 

 noble one — the great crested grebe, which is widely 

 distributed ; and in dealing with it the authors have 

 allowed themselves some half-a-dozen pages, which will 

 be welcome to all ornithological readers. 



Mr. Pike's little book bears the same relation to his 

 photographs as a popular lecture does to its lantern 

 illustrations : i.e. it is of secondary interest. Photo- 

 graphy, applied to birds and their nests and eggs, 

 seems to be a most attractive pursuit, leading its 

 votary often to spend hours in the endeavour to catch a 

 bird at some opportune and interesting moment, or to 

 find the nest on which he has set his heart. It should 

 certainly be useful in training the faculty of observation, 

 and in assisting the memory ; and it may become a 

 most welcome substitute for the predatory habits of 

 private egg-collectors, who are perhaps the most dan- 

 gerous enemies of our rarer birds. The actual contribu- 

 tion to zoology, however, does not seem as yet to have 

 been great, and it is quite possible that before long we 

 may have too many books on the subject. Mr. Pike's 

 is, however, so unpretending and so pleasantly written, 

 that it will no doubt be welcome to many beginners in 

 ornithology who wish to learn where and how to look for 

 nests, and a few of his experiences and his photographs 

 will be interesting even to the more experienced. Part 

 iv., on Norfolk birds, is perhaps the most valuable 

 section of the book, and of the three photographs which 

 Mr. Pike succeeded in taking of the nest of the bearded 

 tit we select one for reproduction, as a favourable 

 specimen of his work. 



THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF 

 MA THEM A TICIANS. 



A CONGRESS of mathematicians was held at Chicago 

 ■^^ during the World's Fair ; but this was an isolated 

 one. The series of international congresses was in- 

 augurated at Ziirich in 1897, and the second congress of 

 this series met in Paris from the sixth to the eleventh 

 of the present month. About 225 mathematicians of 

 various nationalities, with 25 members of their families, 

 were present. It had been expected that the numbers 

 would be very much greater, as many as one thousand 

 provisional acceptances having been received before last 

 December ; the diminished attendance was doubtless due 

 partly to the great heat of the preceding month, but prob- 

 ably in greater measure to the fear of exhibition crowds 

 and e.xhibition extortions. It had been supposed that the 

 Exhibition would attract people to the Congress ; on the 

 contrary, it seems to have kept them away. The com- 

 position of the Congress was certainly international ; the 

 numbers of members from the different countries were 

 approximately as follows : — France, 90 ; Germany, 25 ; 

 United States, 17; Italy, 15; Belgium, 12; Russia, 9; 

 Austria and Hungary, 8 ; Switzerland, 8 ; England, 7 ; 

 Sweden, 7 ; Denmark, 4 ; the remainder being from 

 South America (4), Holland, Spain, Roumania, Servia, 

 Portugal, Turkey, Armenia, Greece, Canada, Mexico, 

 Japan. 



The actual business was preceded by a reunion at the 

 Cafe Voltaire, on the evening of August 5, when about 

 half the members were present. The proceedings proper 

 consisted of two general meetings on Monday and 

 Saturday, with sectional meetings on the four inter- 

 vening days. The opening general meeting had been 

 announced for 2.30 p.m., August 6, in the Palais des 

 Congr^s in the Exhibition grounds : but unfortunately 

 some action on the part of the Exhibition authorities 

 necessitated changing the hour to the morning, and this 

 change was decided upon too late to be communicated to 

 all the members, many of whom had not even arrived in 

 Paris at that hour. Thus a considerable number of the 



