The Zoologist— October, 1871. 2781 



carefully taught at an early age much may be expected from it. It is to 

 be regretted, however, that their first teachers are generally sailors, who 

 often teach them such words as are not heard in polite society." 



The quolalion exhibits the mode in which Mr. Keulemans has 

 treated each bird. If I were disposed to be critical I might 

 perhaps express regret that he has not an Englishman at his 

 elbow just to suggest the advantage of confining himself to English 

 modes of expression and English idioms : the fact that Mr. Keule- 

 mans has printed in our language implies that he desires an 

 English audience and English purchasers ; and it would be only a 

 reasonable concession to English taste were he to make the work 

 English in its character. In this respect it improves as it proceeds, 

 but there is abundant evidence that the author thinks in German. 

 I only throw out this hint for Mr. Keulemans' consideration. 



Only three parts of the work have yet appeared, each treats of 

 six species. Part 1. contains the gray parrot, the robin, the 

 goldfinch, the St. Helena waxbill, the magpie and the blue tit; 

 Part II. comprises the whitethroat, the wood wren, the bullfinch, 

 the pied wagtail, the wood lark and the fire-crested weaver-bird ; 

 and Part III. the bearded tit, the nuthatch, the hawfinch, the 

 yellowhammer, the song thrush and the willow wren. 



I have again to record my cordial approval of Mr. Keulemans' 

 figures : the idea of drawing from the life is not absolutely original, 

 but I think the practice of drawing all the illustrations from living 

 birds is entirely new, and this is clearly the course which the 

 author has laid down for himself. He says that " all the drawings 

 of the birds represented are made from the living object." I sin- 

 cerely hope that this will continue to be the case, and that he may 

 be able to adhere to this announcement from beginning to end : 

 as we never see a birdstuffer's bird in a cage, so we never desire 

 to see its eflBgy in a book on * Cage Birds.' 



I cannot lay down my pen without saying how heartily I wish 



this work success. It will make its way where the more scientific, 



more elaborate, more complete work, noticed in the last number 



of the ' Zoologist' cannot penetrate : it is intended for a different 



class, a less learned class; for the keepers of Cage Birds are not 



necessarily scientific ornithologists. 



Edwakd Newman. 



SECOND SERIES VOL. VI. 3 B 



