326 



SCIENCE. 



[N., S. Vol. XIV. No. 348. 



apply as vigorously as the surgeon the rules of 

 antisepsis and asepsis. ' ' We are convinced that 

 while, in an experimental course carried out by 

 students, it is perfectly feasible and of great util- 

 ity to insist upon rigid antiseptic precautions 

 in such experiments as require it, they not only 

 introduce an unnecessary complication in cases 

 in which the animal is to be sacrificed, but 

 often interfere seriously with, and always dis- 

 tract the attention of the student from the real 

 object of the observation. Further, most of 

 the work on mammals which can and ought to 

 be performed by students is of such a nature 

 that a strict adherence to antiseptic technique 

 throughout the whole experiment is practically 

 impossible. If the argument that " it is a bad 

 discipline to have two styles of operation, since 

 certain details of the antiseptic method will be 

 fatally neglected 'when one wishes in excep- 

 tional cases to apply it," be a sound one, we 

 ought seriously to enquire whether the reckless 

 custom of wearing one sort of dress in summer 

 and another in winter is not very likely to re- 

 sult in a fatal confusion of times and seasons, 

 muslins and mackintoshes, shirt-waists and 

 sealskin coats, and to lead to such awful inver- 

 sions as ducks in December and ulsters in July, 

 or whether any man who respects his stomach 

 and has a conscientious regard for the intere>ts 

 of his insurance company, can afford to permit 

 his cook to dabble at the same time in the 

 cumulative mysteries of roast and boiled. 



9y^ 



■4 



G. N. I. S. 



The Home Life of Wild Birds. A New Method 

 of the Study and Photography of Birds. By 

 Francis Hob art Herrick. New York and 

 London, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1901. Pp. 

 xiii + 148. 



In 'The Home Life of Wild Birds,' Francis 

 Hobart Herrick has given us a most valu- 

 able treatise aud one which is sure to be of 

 the greatest assistance to those who are follow- 

 ing the perplexing pastime of bird photog- 

 raphy. The author states the truth when he 

 says that animals should be studied as animals 

 and not as if they were human beings. If some 

 others had shared this commendable belief, 

 an enormous amount of trash would be absent 

 from the book shelves aud consequently seekers 



of truth would be saved a corresponding amount 

 of annoyance. We have no objection to well- 

 written fairy tales, fables, or stories of personi- 

 fied animals, but when an author states or 

 implies that his human thinking and acting ani- 

 mals are truthfully portrayed, and the alleged 

 facts are taken from nature, then we consider 

 he should be most severely criticised. 



Taking advantage of that force which for 

 convenience we term parental instinct, Mr. 

 Herrick overcomes the chief difficulty that be- 

 sets the bird photographer. The method is to 

 remove the nest from its surroundings, whether 

 it be in the tall tree, deep wood, swamp or im- 

 penetrable brier patch, and set it up in a good 

 light, so that the branch or other support of the 

 nest will occupy the same relative position as 

 in the old site. It was found that the parent 

 birds soon got used to the new surroundings 

 and attended the young as if nothing unusual 

 had happened. By the aid of a green tent 

 which concealed the operator and outfit, and 

 when in use was open only at a point in line 

 with the lens, the affaii's of the little family 

 could be observed with perfect ease at a dis- 

 tance of only a few feet. In this manner the 

 author spent what must have been many happy 

 days in observing the interesting movements 

 that were taking place in and about the nests 

 of the robin, cedarbird, kingbird, chestnut-sided 

 warbler, bluebird, brown thrasher, red-eyed 

 vireo, nighthawk and many other species. 



The 137 pages which detail these experiments 

 are full of valuable facts and suggestions and 

 will surely be welcomed by those who care to 

 learn the mysteries of bird life. The numer- 

 ous photographs which enliven the book, with 

 the exception of a few distorted on account of 

 the nearness of the object, are admirable, and 

 in connection with the text undoubtedly will 

 stimulate many to seek a fascinating recreation 

 so well described and illustrated in this volume. 



A. K. F. 



Washington, D. C. 



DISCUSSION AND COBBESPONDENCE. 

 THE COAST PRAIRIE OF TEXAS. 



This physiographic feature, which extends for 

 a distance of nearly four hundred miles, from 



