132



Notices of Nezv Books, etc.



therefore admirable ; that of the Mealy Redpoll appears to have

been prepared from Continental birds, I have never seen British

specimens so distinctly marked. The plate of the Chaffinch is

the least successful.


Our members will be able to see that I have not over¬

praised the illustrations, since the courtesy of the publishers has

enabled us to use one of the plates to accompany the present

notice.


In conclusion, I urgently recommend every lover of our

native birds to secure a copy of this beautiful and instructive

volume: he will find that his money has been well spent.


A. G. B.



PETS and How To Keep Them : with twelve coloured plates and many

illustrations after photographs from life : by Frank Finn, B.A.,

F.Z.S., &c. London, Hutchinson & Co., Paternoster Row, 1907.


This is one of the most charming and handy little volumes

that we have seen for many a long day, and one calculated to be

extremely useful to all who keep pets. It is not confined to one

type of pet, but embraces the whole of the vertebrata : neverthe¬

less a considerable portion of the book is devoted to birds ; not,

Mr. Finn tells us, because of his individual preference for the

feathered tribe, but because a great majority of the animals

available for pet-keepers belong to that Class.


From personal experience we are quite able to endorse the

statement that “ a captive animal, if well housed and fed, has a

much better expectation of life than a wild one, and it is quite

possible that in the long run it enjoys more happiness during

its lifetime.”


The first fifty-nine pages are devoted to Mammals, and

then come upwards of a hundred pages on Cage and Aviary,

Garden and Park Birds, wherein much sound advice is given.

Here and there we do not quite agree with the author’s con¬

clusions, but this must always be the case when one aviculturist

compares his own experiences with those of another : it has been

said that “two of a trade can never agree,” and there is a

modicum of truth in the saying, but in the majority of cases

experienced bird-keepers agree remarkably well.


Personally we do not believe that milk-sop is good for



