048 
The species are taken up in groups, in so 
far as this can be done safely. Each biog- 
raphy, of which there are 119, is, as a rule, a 
composite applying to a number of near-re- 
lated forms, thus simplifying matters of pre- 
sentation, and avoiding repetition. A marked 
feature of the book is the degree of concen- 
tration attained; there is no trace of padding, 
and no room for baseless speculation, senti- 
mentalizing or humanizing, such as character- 
ize many current “nature” books. At the 
same time the style is animated and thor- 
oughly entertaining, a gift of composition 
which Nelson has exercised in many preceding 
contributions. Here is an instance, unfortu- 
nately a rare one, in which a man who really 
knows the field has put out a popular book on 
a natural history subject. 
Many are the portrayals which are evidently 
based on Nelson’s own personal field knowl- 
edge, some of them involving facts here for 
the first time made known to science. His ac- 
count of the behavior of kangaroo rats in 
Lower California is particularly apt in illus- 
tration of the above statement. 
During several nights I passed hours watching 
at close range the habits of these curious animals. 
As I sat quietly on a mess box in their midst... 
[they] would forage all about with swift gliding 
movements, repeatedly running across my bare 
feet. Any sudden movement startled them and all 
would dart away for a moment, but quickly re- 
turn. . . . They were so intent on the food [grains 
of rice put out for them] that at times I had no 
difficulty in reaching slowly down and closing my 
hand over their backs. I did this dozens of times, 
and after a slight struggle they always became 
quiet until again placed on the ground, when they 
at once renewed their search for food as though 
no interruption had occurred. . . . While occupied 
in this rivalry for food they became surprisingly 
pugnacious. If one was working at the rice pile 
and another rat or a pocket mouse approached, it 
immediately darted at the intruder and drove it 
away. The mode of attack was to rush at an in- 
truder and, leaping upon its back, give a vigorous 
downward kick with its strong hind feet. . . 
Sometimes an intruder, bolder than the others, 
would run only two or three yards and then sud- 
denly turn and face the pursuer, sitting up on its 
hind feet like a little kangaroo. The pursuer at 
SCIENCE 
[N. 8. Vou. XLVIIT. No. 1248 
once assumed the same nearly upright position, 
with its fore feet close to its breast. Both would 
then begin to hop about watching for an opening. 
Suddenly one would leap at the other, striking with 
its hind feet, . . . [producing] a distinct little 
thump and the victim rolled over on the ground. 
After receiving two or three kicks the weaker of 
the combatants would run away. The thump made 
by the kick when they were fighting solved the 
mystery which had covered this sound heard re- 
peatedly during my nights at this camp. 
The brilliantly coated paper used throughout 
this book although hard on sensitive eyes, is 
necessary to the handling of the halftone illus- 
trations. The printing of both the colored 
and uncolored pictures in all the copies we 
have seen has been done with pronounced suc- . 
cess. The color drawings by Fuertes are ad- 
mirable and we are astonished at the success 
with which this noted bird artist was able to 
turn to mammals, the drawings of which in 
this contribution mark as far as we know his 
first efforts in the new field. 
A critical reviewer might succeed in finding 
a number of small points to elaborate upon 
and of which to complain. For instance: It 
is trite to say that an Alaska brown bear is no 
more an animal than is a house fly. Yet here we 
have the title, “ Wild Animals of North Amer- 
ica,” though there is an evident effort made in 
the subtitle to remedy the matter by using the 
expression, “ mammal kingdom.” But here a 
taxonomic blunder is tumbled into! We can 
hardly believe that Nelson himself had any- 
thing final to say with regard to the title page 
of this book, but that the editor of the Na- 
tional Geographic Magazine got in ‘his work 
here in the belief so characteristic of editors 
of popular magazines that their public must 
be talked down to. 
But to pin the attention of the reader of 
this review upon such really minute defects 
would do violence to the facts in the case, 
which are that, according to the convictions 
of the reviewer, Nelson’s “ Wild Animals of 
North America” is more uniformly accurate 
and at the same time replete with information 
along many lines than any preceding book on 
American mammals. And even more, it may 
be declared with confidence that this book is 
