74 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST. 
A Survey of the Naturalistic Periodical Literature of America 
BY HOWARD CLARK BROWN. 
(CONTINUED. ) 
“The Guide to Nature,” published by the Agassiz Association, 
put forth its first volume in Stanford Conn., in 1908. It is a monthly 
edited by M. Bigelow. The title is alluring, indeed, and it may 
well be so, for this is one of the most worthy attempts within’ re- 
cent years to make nature-study practical and popular. Of the 
recent numbers we find book reviews upon Fabre’s ‘‘Social Life 
in the Insect World,” others by Burroughs, Frank Chapman, etc. 
There are articles which emphasize the work of Burbank, Thoreau, 
and other naturalists. In the limited numbers of worth while poems 
which are chosen, Joyce Kilmer’s “‘’Trees’’ was discovered. Between 
articles are oftimes short quotations from the great dreamers and 
thinkers of all time. Among the most valuable which I saw in a 
casual glance were quotations from Hearn, Roosevelt, Whitman, 
and W. H. Hudson. 
A strict outline of the contents of the April number, 1920, is 
here given: 
3 long articles—A Whittler’s Reminiscence (Old Curio stuff); Thé Heavens 
in April (Astronomical guide); Review of P. G. Howe’s, ‘‘Insect Behavior.’’ 
11 short articles less than one column)—Various titles, oddities, sights, etc. 
5 short book reviews—Shakleton’s ‘‘South’”’ (Conquest tale); A Botany 
Textbook; Terhune—‘‘Lad: A Dog.’ American Annual of Photography 
1920; Dickey—‘‘ Youth of James Whitcomb Riley.”’ 
2 short quotations from W. H. Hudson’s—‘‘ Book of a Naturalist’’; 2 by 
Emma Pieree—‘ The Underground Fairies’? and a quatrain, unnamed. 
3 poems—1 by G. L. Hamlin—‘‘ To the Old Tree*”’ 
14 illustrations, of which three are diagrams, and eleven are photographs, 
several full paged. 
Of course such a content table can mean but one thing: that is, 
that the field of the magazine is very wide, the material for the most 
part quite unliterary, but the whole effort of the magazine being 
directed toward an appreciation of the out-of-doors; and, con- 
sequently, as an aid in developing this appreciation, the great 
literary contributions upon the out-of-doors are thus brought into 
play. The magazine is not an epoch marking one in our list, but it 
is interesting. Its effort is constant, and sincere. It does not 
introduce our naturalistic literature directly, but rather serves as a 
guide toit. It stimulates interest and points the way to our nature- 
study classics. 
