SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



185 



NOTICES^ BY JOHN T. CARRINGTON. 



Country Pastimes for Boys. By P. Anderson 

 Graham. 464 pp. Svo, illustrated by 24S plates 

 and figures. (London and New York : Longmans, 

 Green and Co., 1895.) Price 6s. 



It is quite a pleasure to wander through the pages 

 of this book, 

 with boyhood 

 memories re- 

 freshed, until 

 we wish we 

 had to live 

 it all over 

 again. It is 

 even a greater 

 satisfaction to 

 find the good 

 manly tone 

 which per- 

 vades the let- 

 terpress, such 

 a contrast to 

 the masses of 

 inacc urate 

 rubbish which 

 many caterers 

 of boys' books 

 unfortunately 

 provide. How 

 boys mentally 

 and morally 

 survive such 

 stuff is often a 

 marvel to us. 

 Unfortunate- 

 ly some do 

 not, becom- 

 ing social fail- 

 ures, largely in 

 consequence 

 of their early 

 reading. Here, 

 however, is a 

 good book 

 well worth its 

 price, profuse- 

 ly illustrated 

 with pictures 

 on every other 



page or more. We reproduce three of them as 

 examples. Natural history occupies many pages, 

 birds and bird-nesting no less than 100, besides 1 ithers 

 on " Bird Pets " and " Familiar Birds for Talking." 

 Fish and some animals are also treated, as are 

 poisonous plants, berries and fungi. Considering 

 the space at his disposal, Mr. Graham has done 

 well to avoid long articles of the organized games 

 of cricket, football, or tennis, and to devote himself 

 to what may be seen in country rambles. Still there 

 is much beyond natural history which will gladden 

 the heart of a manly boy in the chapters on 

 "Skating," "Tobogganing," "Swimming," and 

 many open-air games. In his treatment of the 



Catching Mussels. 



From "Country Pastimes for Boys. 



natural history section, the author fully recognizes 

 the necessity of allowing boys to catch and handle 

 such wild animals as they can. As he says, the 

 hunting instinct is one of the strongest possessed 

 by boys, and to crush it out of existence is 

 impossible. We might add neither is it desirable, 

 for the more we civilize the more effeteness do we 

 introduce into human character, which soon 

 develops faddiness. Far preferable in boyhood is 

 the noble young savage who delights in honourable 

 manliness, even if his nails are in perpetual mourn- 

 ing, to the namby-pamby youth devoid of all 

 originality. Cruelty must ever be discouraged, but 

 priggishness should be equally stamped out in guid- 

 ing youthful habits of thought. In the chapter on 

 " Fishing without Tackle" is an account of catching 

 fresh-water mussels which is ingenious, but we ima- 

 gine hardly 

 such good fun 

 as tick ling 

 trout. That, 

 however, is 

 perhaps one 

 of the things 

 boys should 

 not know, as 

 it savours of 

 the tricks of 

 the poacher, 

 though it is 

 not omitted 

 from this book 

 and will be 

 found under 

 "Gump ing ' ' 

 and " Tick- 

 ling." This 

 account opens 

 with the very 

 sound advice 

 that all good 

 sportsmen 

 ought to know 

 how a wild 

 creature be- 

 haves in ease 

 and security 

 before at- 

 tempting to 

 catch it. As 

 a gift - book 

 for boys we 

 can hardly 

 imagine a 

 better, either 

 for amuse- 

 ment, " wrin- 

 kles,"or trust- 

 worthiness. 



Notable Answers to One Thousand Questions. 463 

 pp. Svo. (London : George Newnes, Limited, 1895.) 

 Price 2S. Gd. 



This is a reprint of the sixth thousand questions 

 in the enquiry columns of " Tit- Bits," with replies. 

 There will be found among the questions a con- 

 siderable sprinkling on scientific subjects, and from 

 them we may gain some instruction and also 

 amusement. For instance, under the question 

 " What is the smallest known insect?" We are 

 referred to the number of microbes found in forty- 

 five days' old Gruyere cheese. We were under the 

 impression that microbes were considered to be 

 more probably of vegetable origin than insects. 



