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The Lay of the Land. By Dallas 

 Lore Sharp. With drawings by Eliza- 

 beth Myers Snagg. Houghton, Mifflin 

 & Co. Boston and New York. i2mo. 

 214 pages, 15 decorative chapter head- 

 ings. $1.25 net. 



As a writer of nature literature — we use 

 the term in an exact sense — Mr. Sharp 

 has unusual qualifications. Added to 

 natural gifts as an observer and describer 

 of objective and subjective nature, he has 

 been trained to realize both the importance 

 of accuracy as well as the value of an 

 attractive style of presentation. As might 

 be expected from this somewhat excep- 

 tional combination of natural gifts and 

 their proper development, his books take 

 high rank among those of their class. 



They can be read as easily as they are, 

 evidently, written and we commend the 

 present volume to those who like to read 

 about out-of-door things without feeling 

 that they, as well as the author, are con- 

 tinually laboring under high pressure. — 

 F. M. C. 



The Birds of Maine. By Ora Willis 

 Knight. Bangor, Me., 1908. 8vo. 693 

 pages, 1 map, 30 half-tone plates. 



The author tells us that "since early 

 boyhood" it has been his hope to write a 

 book relating to the life histories of the 

 birds of his native state, and the present 

 volume is therefore the realization of a life- 

 long ambition. "For years data regarding 

 the nesting and food" of Maine birds have 

 been gathered, and some years ago a 'List 

 of Birds of Maine' was published, which 

 "served as a beginning by bringing out 

 much information regarding bird distri- 

 bution in the state. ..." 



The book opens with a key to families, 

 and under each family we have a key to 

 the species which occur in Maine. Brief 

 descriptions of the plumage of each species 

 are given, followed by a statement of its 

 general geographical distribution and, 

 under the head of "County Records," 



a statement of its status in various parts of 

 Maine, with the name of the observer 

 on whose authority the statement is made. 

 After this we have a biographical sketch, 

 usually based largely on the author's 

 studies and containing, therefore, much 

 original matter. The work, consequently, 

 has a general as well as a local value and 

 the author is to be congratulated on the 

 completion of his task. — F. M. C. 



In the Open; Intimate Sludies and 

 Appreciations of Nature. By Stan- 

 ton Davis Kirkham. Paul Elder & 

 Co., San Francisco and New York, 

 vii-j- 223 pages, 6 full-page half-tones. 

 Price, $1.75 net. 



Mr. Kirkham's beautifully made volume 

 is an invitation to the open. "Nature is in 

 herself," he writes, "a perpetual invita- 

 tion: The birds call, the trees beckon and 

 the winds whisper to us." These essays 

 treat of a wide variety of subjects, as may 

 be gathered from the following titles: 

 'Signs of Spring,' 'Bird Life,' 'Weeds,' 

 'Insect Lore,' 'The Winter Woods,' 

 'Laughing Waters,' 'The Mountains,' 

 'The Forest,' 'The Sea.' 



Most of these chapters appear to be 

 based on observations made in New Eng- 

 land (why are the authors of nature essays 

 so chary of dates and places?) but 'The 

 Forest ' was inspired by the conifers of the 

 Sierras. 



Mr. Kirkham evidently knows his orni- 

 thology and with no uncertain pen, writes 

 of birds with the sympathy of a poet and a 

 bird-lover.— F. M. C. 



The China or Denny Pheasant in 

 Oregon, with Notes on the Native 

 Grouse of the Pacific Northwest. 

 By William T. Shaw, Assistant Pro- 

 fessor of Zoology and Curator of the 

 Museum, State College of Washington. 

 Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Com- 

 pany, 1908. Oblong, 8vo. 24 pages, 

 15 full-page plates, one colored. 



The remarkable increase of Phasia- 

 11 its torquatus in Oregon makes any facts 



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