342 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



DAMAGE BY WILD RABBITS AND HARES. 



Referring to Mr. Wattam's note {The Naturalist. Sept., p. 318), 

 may I warn those with gardens that rabbits and hares are very fond of 

 the bark of young pear and apple trees, and, to a lesser extent, that of 

 plum and damson. If the bark is gnawed all round the trees, they die. 

 — Frederick D. Welch. 



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PICTURE HOUSES AND BIRD LIFE. 



It almost seems to have become necessary that naturalists as a body 

 should protest against the absurd statements flashed upon the screen in 

 the picture houses of the country. Many of them are ridiculous and 

 absurd, and .some, like the following sample, cruelly libellous. A 

 picture of the Lapwing was being sho'wai and amongst other absurd state- 

 ments this appeared : ' Its habits are abominably dirty, it feeds on 

 filth ! '— R. F. 



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PROTECTION FROM FLIES. 



All field workers know what a nuisance ordinary flies can be at this 

 time of year, but it does not seem to be generally known that one can 

 get almost perfect protection by distributing about a tablespoon of 

 paraffin (kerosine) on the brim of one's hat or on one's head. For midges 

 it is no good. — A. E. Boycott. 



An excellent mixture for this purpose was referred to in these columns 

 some time ago. It was known as ' Terrifly,' and was prepared by Mr. W. 

 Mansbridge, of the Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Society. — Ed. 



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North England : An Economic Geography, by L. Rodwell 

 Jones. London ; G. Routledge & Sons, 25O pp., 6/- net. The author 

 has produced a fascinating book on new lines, and one that will well 

 repay perusal by naturalists or teachers. His theme is the physical 

 environments which have influenced the evolution of some of our greatest 

 industries. He emphasises the dynamic factors in the localisation of in- 

 dustries. He has made a careful series of sketch-maps which admirably 

 illustrate his points. There are a few slight typographical errors which 

 may be corrected in the next edition ; the collieries are not the only 

 things scattered in ' scatteredc oUieries ' (p. 21), and the I. Sheppard 

 (p. 117) is neither Isaac nor Jack ! 



The Rebuilding of Britain : Causes and Effects of the Great War, 

 by an Inspector of Schools. A Brown & Sons, 141 pp., 2/6 net. This 

 is hardly a natural history publication, but it is issued by the publishers 

 of The Naturalist. It is a fine summary of the causes leading up to the 

 great war, and we agree that it would be a great advantage if it were read 

 by every British child. In some parts of the book the child is obviously 

 being addressed direct : in others the inspector is evidently talking to- 

 the teachers about the children. This sometimes occurs in adjoining 

 paragraphs (p. 5). As to whether the ' matters treated of are tea 

 " obstruse," too "dry " ' to be acceptable, that xvill depend entirelv on the 

 skill oj the teacher! who presumably must accept this verdict without 

 criticising the anonymous inspector. There are portraits of King lulward 

 VII., F.mir Feisul, Zeppelin, Borden, Jellicoe, Asquilh, Chamberlain, 

 Tirpitz, Captain Fryatt, and many others, a view of a Dairyman's l-.ome 

 in Australia, a Canadian river full of logs, a sheep farm, etc., all presum- 

 ably more or less connected with the story. 



Naturalist 



