i6o 



Bird -Lore 



cation is an excellent one, and should bring 

 to Mr. Farr a large amount of additional 

 information, making his final work pro- 

 portionately valuable. — F. M. C 



Book News 



Houghton, Mifflin & Co. have brought 

 out a school edition of Mrs. Miller's 

 admirable ' The First Book of Birds ' 

 (reviewed in Bird-Lore, Vol. i, p. 167), 

 which is sold at the low price of 60 cents. 

 This book, it seems to us, should exactly 

 fill the wants of the kindergarten and 

 primary teacher. 



For a surprisingly frank confession of its 

 author's pleasure, if not in the killing at 

 least in the hitting of birds, we refer our 

 readers to Mr. Maurice Thompson's 'In 

 the Woods with the Bow,' published in 

 'The Century' for August last. For no 

 other reason, apparently, than that they 

 furnished a desirable target, such species 

 as the Blue Grosbeak, Sparrow Hawk, 

 Raven, Least Bittern, and others became 

 marks for his skill. At one time, however, 

 his enthusiasm as an archer evidently 

 carried him beyond his own wide bounds 

 and, on the departure of a companion, he 

 wrote " I felt free to turn myself loose and 

 make a fine stir in Arcadia. The wildest 

 shooting mood was upon me, and what- 

 ever moved became a target for my shafts. 

 I am afraid to make a full record of an 

 hour's business." 



We commend Mr. Thompson to the 

 game wardens of the state in which he 

 ' turned himself loose. ' 



If we may judge by a number of alleged 

 photographs of birds "from nature," pub- 

 lished recently in various magazines, their 

 makers have adopted the eminently prac- 

 tical, if scarcely praiseworthy method, of 

 placing a mounted bird among natural 

 surroundings, where its picture might be 

 made at leisure. Such photographs are 

 surely "from nature" — far from it. 



Readers of Mr. Richard Kearton's val- 

 uable works ' With Nature and a Camera ' 

 and ' Wild Life at Home ' will be inter- 

 ested to learn that their author proposes 



to visit this country in October to remain 

 several months on a lecture tour. 



The September number of ' The Milli- 

 nery Trade Review ' protests against the 

 appointment of naturalists as inspectors 

 of animals and birds in connection with 

 the enforcement of section 2 of the Lacey 

 bill on the ground that as "zealots in 

 their opposition to the wearing of bird- 

 plumage, they are incompetent to serve 

 in such capacity, as they are more than 

 likely to be swerved by their prejudices. 

 Nor are they competent to distinguish 

 between natural and made-feather novel- 

 ties after leaving the foreign factories." 



It is unfortunate that the inspectors 

 appointed will not have an opportunity 

 to confound the milliners with a display 

 of ornithological knowledge but, as a mat- 

 ter of fact, the section of the Lacey bill 

 referred to, relates to living birds and 

 not to their plumage. 



The American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory now publishes a popular monthly 

 magazine, entitled 'The American Mu- 

 seum Journal,' which is designed to keep 

 the public informed of the progress of 

 the Museum as shown both by exhibits 

 and publications. It may be obtained 

 from Dr. Anthony Woodward, Librarian 

 of the Museum, for ten cents a copy. 



The notices of Professor Jones' 'War- 

 blers' Songs ' and Mr. Burns' ' Monograph 

 on the Flicker,' published in Bird-Lore 

 for August, have brought us numerous 

 inquiries in regard to the Wilson bulle- 

 tin, in which they appeared. This excel- 

 lent publication is issued quarterly at 

 Oberlin, Ohio, under the editorship of 

 Prof. Lynds Jones, from whom informa- 

 tion in regard to subscriptions, back 

 numbers, etc., may be obtained. 



Houghton, Miffllin & Co , announce 

 for early publication ' The Woodpeckers ' 

 by Fanny Hardy Eckstorm. Doubtless 

 the day is not distant when we shall have 

 special monographs treating at greater 

 length than is possible in a general work, 

 each family of North American birds. 



