NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 439 



Occasionally the want of acquaintance with some of the 

 species referred to has led to misleading statements. For 

 example, we are told that " the beautiful Otter in the museum 

 of the Zoological Gardens (sic) is from Ireland, and is by some 

 considered as a distinct species. It is chiefly found on the coast 

 of Antrim," &c. There is, of course, only one species of Otter 

 in the British Islands. 



But we need not multiply instances of this kind, nor call 

 particular attention to old fables revived. The reader who is 

 sufficiently well versed in natural-history lore will be able to 

 ■ steer clear of such shoals and quicksands, and will find in many 

 of the chapters much that is entertaining. The value of many 

 statements which are undoubtedly accurate would have been 

 enhanced had the species been named and the authority quoted. 

 For example, it might have been well to give the name (Birgus 

 latro) of the Great Cocoa-nut-eating Crab of the Philippines and 

 elsewhere, which is noticed on p. 41, and refer the reader to the 

 excellent account which is given of it in Forbes' s ' Naturalist's 

 Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago.' One sees at a glance 

 that the writer has a taste for Zoology, and has compiled from a 

 good many authors ; but for want of experience, has not always 

 been able to separate the wheat from the chaff. We trust, how- 

 ever, that this criticism will not deter our readers from looking 

 into the book, nor prevent its author from continuing a course 

 of studies for which she has such aptitude, and which will soon 

 overcome such shortcomings as we have briefly noticed. 



British Birds : their Nests and Eggs. By W. Harcourt Bath. 

 Small 8vo, pp. 112. London: Swan Sonnenschein&Co. 1888. 



Unless for the purpose of forming one volume of a series of 

 so-called "Young Collectors' Handbooks," without which the 

 series would be considered incomplete, we cannot see that 

 any need for such a volume as this exists. There are already 

 several works on British Birds and their Eggs, in which the 

 latest and best information may be found, and which, moreover, 

 are well-illustrated. Cheapness is no recommendation unless 

 the information supplied is accurate, however briefly it may be 

 expressed, and this condition is not fulfilled in the present 

 treatise. The opening sentence of the "Introduction" shows 



