70 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 
loser, a fair judge, and a keen humorist. Mr. Wollastons’ book seems 
to be a good deal like the character of the man whose life he tells, 
whether by intent or by accident we. cannot, of course, determine. 
C7, EE: 
JOHN BURROUGHS—Boy AND MAN. By Clara Barrus, M. D. © Doubleday, 
Page & Co. 
The author of the volume “Our Friend, John Burroughs,” has pro- 
duced another book, not quite so formless as the first, but still far from 
satisfactory. The sincerity of Dr. Barrus’ desire to bring out an 
informational account of a very noted man, and the wealth of detailed 
knowledge which she possesses are evident, but nevertheless she has 
failed to write a good book. Perhaps ten or fifteen years from now, 
someone who does not know John Burroughs too well, and who is there- 
fore able to write a really representative biography will do what Barrus 
has attempted and failed. 
In the first place, the book is strangely organized. The chronological 
method of arrangement -is not well suited to a character study, which 
is evidently the aim of the book. Also Dr. Barrus, along with many 
others, overestimates the later work of John Burroughs. She tries to 
make him appear a philosopher as well as a naturalist, which he hardly 
could claim to be. John Burroughs as a writer of nature essays is 
deserving of praise; John Burroughs as a nature critic and as a phil- 
osopher is a much less striking figure. Because he was a big-hearted, 
kind old man, who could write beautiful English, knew a great deal of 
natural history, and had a number of rather spectacular eccentricities 
that were played upon by magazine writers, the nation idolized him. 
Nature study clubs had “Borroughs days,” and “Burroughs programs;” 
some book dealers went so far as to label him “America’s most noted 
naturalist.” Burroughs became a fad, and as a result we have such 
books as this one. Some day we may have a clearer evaluation of 
Burroughs, and then, a worth-while biography of an interesting man. 
Cc LaFa 
A MANUAL OF THE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF NORTHERN UNITED STATES. 
By. David Starr Jordan. 12th Ed. A.C. McClurg & Co. $3.00. 
This latest edition of Dr. Jordan’s standard is highly pleasing. Its 
purpose is to give students and collectors a ready means of identifica- 
tion, and a comprehensive survey of the characters on which the orders, 
families, species, etc. of the animals they find are founded. (To this end 
Dr. Jordan makes use of a system of analytical keys by which the dif- 
ferential characters are brought into the sharpest possible contrast. 
The oustanding fault with these keys in the early editions of the book, 
namely, the introduction of artificial characters for purposes of differ- 
entiation, has been corrected. The keys, while they tend to give the 
beginner the idea the classification is based on differences rather than 
