April i, 1909] 



NATURE 



129 



/i/iVTS I'OR iXATi'RE-Sri DW' 



(I) ATl^^- BRIGHTWEN was one of the pioneers 

 ^^^ in the art of making- young people 

 acquainted in a pleasant way with the plants and 

 nninials round about them, and we wish to express 

 our opinion that the nioud and method of much 

 of the " Nature-Study " which has been hurriedly set 

 a-going in schools to-day is right or wrong just as 

 it agrees or differs from what we find in the simple 

 and homely studies by the author of " Wild Nature 

 Won by Kindness." We say this very deliberately, 

 iilthough, to tell the truth, there is not much in the 

 particular book before us, which must be treated 

 tenderly, as its title suggests, and for the sake of 

 what has gone before. . But even here we find 

 some of the qualities which distinguish sound .nature- 

 study — fidelity to observed fact, appreciation of the 

 wonder and beauty of common things, and insistence 

 on interpretation rather than information. The book 

 shows how problems of a simple sort may be solved 

 in simple ways, given patience and a window-sill. 



(2) We have also j 



before us a beautifuf 

 popular edition o^ 

 Mr. R. Kearton's 

 *' -Vdventures of Cock 

 Robin and his, 

 Mate "—a book for 

 boys and girls, which 

 first appeared in 

 1904, and has been 

 deservedly popular.! 

 The photographic il- 

 lustrations have never 

 been excelled, and 

 there is plenty of 

 sound natural history 

 in the often rather 

 quaint colloquy be- 

 tween the cock robin 

 and his precocious 

 chicks, who persist 

 in asking about 

 migration and that 

 sort of thing. We 

 wish to record — for, 

 what it is worth — the 

 opinion of some' 

 voung' readers that 

 they like to listen to 

 Mr. Kearton and to 

 the robin, but not to 

 the two at once. 



(3) Mr. Snell apologises for his study of the 

 common objects of the country, but there is no need 

 for apology. His unpretentious descriptions are direct 

 and appreciative, his photographic illustrations are 



I (i) "L^5t Hours with Na 

 W. H. Chesson. Pp. 223; illu, 

 Trice 2.1. 6,/. net. 



(2) ■•'I'lii: Adventures of Cock Robin and his State." By R. Kearton. 

 W'ith upwards of 120 illustrations from photographs taken direct from 

 nature by Cherry and Richard K'-arton. Pp. xvi+240. (London: Cassell 

 and Co., Ltd., 1908.) Price 3^. 61/. 



(3) "Nature Studies by Night and Day." By F. C. Snell. Pp. 319,; 

 illustrated. (London : T. Fisher Unwin, 1008.) Price sj. 



(4) ■' The Nature-Book. L A Popular Description by Pen and Camera 

 of the Delights and Beauties of the Open Air." Pp. lv-4-372 ; 13 plates, 

 J2 coloured, and numerous illustrations. (London: Cassell and Co., Ltd., 

 1908.) Price I2S. net. 



(5) "The Story of the Sea and Seashore." By W. Percival Westell. 

 Pp. 34,^ ; illustrations from photographs and drawings (the latter mostly 



by C. F. Newall) and 8 coloured plates (7 by W. .S. Berridge and x by 

 C. F. Newall). (London : Robert Culley, n.d.) Price 5^. net. 



(6) "The House in the Water ; a Book of Animal Life." By Charles 

 G. D. Roberts. Pp. 323; with iS full-page plates. (London: Ward, Lock 

 and Co . Ltd., 1908.) Price 6j. 



(7) "Close to Nature's He:irt." By William M'Conachie. Pp. x-f276. 

 ((Edinburgh and London ; William Blackwood and Sons, 1908.) 



beautiful and with ideas behind them, and the whole 

 book has an open-air feeling about it. In connection 

 with " Nature-Study " in schools, this book will be 

 of service in showing the beauty and interest of 

 common things. Mr. Snell begins with a study ot 

 the so-called sleep of plants, and shows us anemones 

 and wood-sorrel and goatsbeard open and closed, 

 and the sweet-scented evening campion conspicuous in 

 the dim light. Another study deals with protective 

 coloration, and is illustrated, for instance, by 

 admirable photographs of the eg.gs of the ringed 

 plover among the stones on the beach, and of the 

 lappet-moth, so like a crumpled, withered leaf. The 

 author has an interesting note on the way animals 

 squat in conspicuous places when they are away from 

 their usual surroundings, and he doubts if birds often 

 catch butterflies in flight; but this useful scepticism 

 might ha've been extended with advantage to some 

 of the author's own sentences, e.g. that which points 

 out the boulder-like appearance of the " half-wild 

 mountain sheep" of Wales and .Scotland. Are these 

 the moiitons sauvaees which the French visitor slew 



ng Grea'. Black-backed Gull 



in default of deer? There are admirable studies of 

 the sundew, of the life-history of the frog, of the 

 beautiful forms of fungi, and of clouds, all with fine 

 illustrations. Very interesting is the series of photo- 

 graphs taken in the woods at night-— of moths feed- 

 ing, of woodlice on the tree trunk, of slug and frog-, 

 and so on. The value of the book is increased by 

 the practical directions given in connection wdth some 

 of the more difficult photographs, for no one can 

 look at them without wishing to be able to attain 

 to similar success in recording observalions. 



(4) Cassell's " Nature-Book " is probably the most 

 beautiful of the many volumes already called into 

 existence by the increased interest which is being 

 I taken in open-air natural history. It is lavishly 

 illustrated with charming photographs and coloured 

 pictures, and even to turn over its pages is a great 

 pleasure. Yet, in the strict sense, it is not a book, 

 having neither unity nor continuity. It is made up 

 of such delightful parts, by many different authors, 

 that we cannot but regret that they do not form a 



NO. 2057, '^'OL. 80] 



