0< TOBER 17, 1895] 



NA TURE 



591 



the middle of the Irish Sea, a flock of migratory birds 

 crossing (the weather having been specially fine for some 

 time) to England, from Ireland apparently, on a south- 

 east course. Before crediting this lob-sided partially- 

 radiating dispersal, we must have more convincing proofs 

 that birds and plants arc so peculiarly constituted that 

 an invisible parallel of latitude athwart a congenial 

 region, is, in a particular compass bearing, as impass- 

 able to them as an ocean or a Sahara. \\"e cannot 

 affect to believe that Mr. Dixon's is a more satis- 

 factorv explanation of the mysterious season-flight of 

 birds, than the cause — among others — long ago as- 

 signed, that the migrant species come north in spring to 

 breed, impelled by a hereditary impulse at that season 

 (and prol)ably guided by a direction-sense with which they 

 are specially endowed), to return to their old nurseries from 

 the regions whence their ancestors were compelled by 

 geologic and climatic causes to retreat, and in which they 

 were so long acclimatised as to be now unable to with- 

 stand the cold winter, with its meagre fare, of their 

 ancestral putn'ti, which consequently they forsake again 

 in the autumn. 



We cannot afford space to touch on many other points 

 in Mr. Dixon's book in which we believe he has gone 

 astray. We feel no nearer a solution of the mysterj- of 

 migration than before its publication. Writers on this 

 subject "should thoroughly understand not only the 

 rudiments of the higher philosophy [whatever that may 

 mean] of the geographical distribution of life before 

 they attempt to theorise upon it, or endeavour to demon- 

 strate it." We offer Mr. Dixon his own advice, which we 

 have copied from a paragraph in which a charge of ultra 

 crcpidiiiii is ill-naturedly levelled at some of the foremost 

 workers in the science with which he is dealing, and to 

 which their lifetime has been unremittingly devoted — a 

 charge which surely comes ill from one who is purely an 

 amateur, and a young man compared with the veterans 

 at whom he sneers. 



Mr. Dixon's style is cumbrous and not always easy to 

 comprehend, while his English is often very ungram- 

 niatical. It is only justice to admit that the book, with 

 the theories of which we so entirely disagree, contains 

 much interesting infomiation collated and condensed from 

 many sources. 



It is refreshing to turn from these airy speculations to 

 the stable ground of pure and unadulterated fact with 

 which the pages of " Heligoland as an Ornithological 

 I )bservator>'" are so lavishly filled. This is the English 

 translation by Mr. Rosenstock of Herr (".iitke's celebrated 

 \oIume puljlished in (ierman in 1S90. Ornithological 

 students in England owe their heartiest thanks to the 

 translator, as well as to Mr. Harvie Brown, to the pub- 

 lishers, and to all who have given a forwarding hand to the 

 task of presenting them with this great and important work 

 in their own language. The labours of its venerable and 

 distinguished author are too well known in this country 

 to require us to do more than recommend his book — 

 corrected by the author down to May last — in its new 

 garb. Binding, printing;, paper, and illustrations are all 

 that can be desired. In turning over its pages we recognise 

 anew the tiustworthy observer, and are reminded of the 

 story told of an old woman in a northern county 

 NO. 1355, VOL. 52] 



of Scotland, who, on being taken to task by her minister 

 for invariably paying the closest attention to any stranger 

 who occupied the pulpit, and of as persistently sleeping 

 in unbroken repose throughout his own sermons, replied, 

 " Hoot minister I wha's to ken fat kin' o' doctrine they 

 youngsters may be gi'in' ; we a' ken fine that we can 

 lippen to yoursel'." Herr Gatke's book can be perfectly 

 " lippen "-ed to. It is divided into three parts, the first of 

 which — on the migration of birds — is perhaps the most 

 important and interesting. This subject is discussed in 

 nine chapters, dealing with the course of migration in 

 Heligoland ; the direction, altitude and velocity of the 

 migration flight ; the meteorological conditions influ^ 

 encing it ; the order of migration ; exceptional pheno- 

 mena ; what guides the birds, and the cause of the 

 movement. In regard to the last, we quote the convic- 

 tion of this patient observer and recorder after fifty years' 

 experience, " that what at present has been ascertained in 

 reference to the migration of birds furnishes us with no 

 clue, by the aid of which we are enabled to penetrate the 

 depths of this wondrous myster>'." The second part deals 

 with changes which he has observed to occur in the colour 

 of the plumage of birds without moulting. This subject 

 has also been studied by Mr. Ogilvie-CIrant, of the 

 British Museum, who has not only corroborated the 

 truth of Herr tiiitke's obser\ations, but thrown much 

 new light on the subject. The final section of the book 

 gives an account of the birds observed in Heligoland, 

 which numljer 39S. The volume is illustrated by a 

 number of charming vignettes, an d by two excellent 

 portraits of Herr (liitke. 



The latest addition to the naturalist's library, edited by 

 Dr. K. B. Sharpe, and published by Messrs. .Allen and 

 Co., of Waterloo Place, is a " Hand-book to the Game- 

 birds," by Mr. W. K. Ogilvie-Grant, who is well known to 

 be an authority on this group. This is the first of 

 two \olumes, and contains an account of the sand- 

 grouse, partridges and pheasants. The second volume 

 (which will be issued shortly; will deal with the 

 American partridges, the megapodes, curassows and 

 hemipodes. The hand-book is founded on the 

 author's British Museum catalogue of the group (vol. 

 xxii.i, and is one of the best yet issued of the valuable 

 series to which it belongs. So far as published, the 

 volunies of Allen's Naturalist's Librar>- are each of 

 them concise monographs of the groups they relate 

 to, well illustrated and published at a ver\- low price. 

 The aim of the author has been to treat the sub- 

 ject in such a way that it may not only be useful as a 

 scientific work of reference, but also as a handy book for 

 sportsmen and field naturalists. With its aid they should 

 be able not only to identify the birds they shoot with as 

 little trouble as possible, but also to find out what is 

 known concerning the life-history of each species The 

 work will be specially \aluable to the museum curatoi ; 

 indeed, it is the only handy and up-to-date monograph of 

 the families it describes. This volume contains twenty- 

 one full-page coloured illustrations, some of which are 

 republished from Jardine's Naturalist's Library ; the 

 majority, however, have been specially drawn for it by 

 Mr. Keulemans. It is to be regretted that Messrs. Allen 

 do not see it to their advantage to dispense with the 



