^°'g^'^] Rccc7it Literature. 283 



Since that time Mr. Rowlej, assisted by a trained staff, lias added many 

 noteworthy examples of taxidermic art to the museum collections, the 

 most effective of which is the group of moose, doubtless one of the 

 finest pieces of taxidermy in this country. 



In its preparation Mr. Rowley visited the region represented, and the 

 bounds of his experience include many such expeditions to the lands of 

 the animal afterward to be mounted in his laboratory. The book he has 

 written reflects the wide scope of his training. It is arranged in eight 

 chapters. The first treats of field-work, the outfit, hunting, trapping, etc; 

 the second, of tools and materials; the third, of casting; the fourth, of 

 birds; the fifth, of mammals; the sixth, of fish, reptiles, and crustaceans; 

 the seventh, of skeletons ; the eighth, of the reproduction of foliage for 

 use as accessories in groups ; and an appendix gives the names of reli- 

 able firms from whom taxidermists' supplies may be purchased. 



Mr. Row-ley's distinguishing characteristics as a taxidermist are patience 

 and originality. His methods are for the most part his own. Instead of 

 the excelsior, clay-covered mannikin, described by Hornadaj', he makes 

 a model of gauze-wire covered with plaster composition, practically as 

 hard and dry as marble. Over it he places, not a pickle-soaked, and 

 often discolored skin, but a tanned hide whose colors havs not been 

 subjected to the action of chemicals. Thus shrinking, split-seams, and 

 cracking are things of the past. Photographers should note Mr. Rowley's 

 suggestion to use formalin in hardening gelatin films, while his chapter 

 on artificial foliage describes satisfactorily for the first time the manner 

 in which the accessories of our modern groups are produced. In short, 

 this book fully presents the unequalled advance which has been made in 

 the art of taxidermy during the last decade, and as such it must at once 

 replace all other works relating to the subject. — F. M. C. 



Birds of Los Angeles Co., Calif.' — In his introduction the author 

 states tliat the "present list, Avith the accompanying notes, is the result 

 m.ainly of observations made by members of the Southern Division of 

 the Cooper Ornithological Club, and cover little more than the past six 

 or eight years." He is commendably conservative, entering only those 

 species whose occurrence is beyond doubt, and submitting all difficult 

 questions of identification for expert opinion. The list is therefore 

 authoritative. It includes 300 species and subspecies, all being concisely 

 annotated.— F. M. C 



'Birds of the Pacific Slope of Los Angeles County [Calif.], A List with 

 Brief Notes. By Joseph Grinnell, A. B., Assistant Instructor in Biology, 

 Throop Polytechnic Institute. Publication No. 2, Pasadena Academy of 

 Sciences. 8vo. pp. 52. Press of G. A. Sweedfiger, Pasadena, California. 

 March, 1898. 



