76 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



British Sea Birds. By Charles Dixon. 295 pp. 

 8vo, with eight illustrations by Charles Whimper 

 (London : Bliss, Sands and Foster, 1896.) Price 

 los. 6d. 



The temptations offered by some publishers of 

 natural-history books are great, and more than 

 difficult to v/ithstand. We know many a young 

 ornithologist who will furtively handle that spare 

 half-guinea on seeing this work at his booksellers. 



reminding one of the miles of similar nets we have 

 seen spread along the coast of Italy, south of 

 Naples, in the quail season. The beauty of Mr. 

 Whimper's pictures is largely due to his appropiate 

 backgrounds, and some of those in this book have 

 that character to the full. We have been naturally 

 first attracted, on taking up this work, to the 

 pictures and the general excellence of its produc- 

 tion by the publishers, but the letterpress will be 



Guillemots and Razorbill. From Dixon's " British Sea Birds. ' 



To say that the illustrations are by Charles 

 Whimper is a guarantee for their beauty and 

 general truthfulness. By the courtesy of Messrs. 

 Bliss, Sands and Foster, we reproduce a couple of 

 them for our readers' inspection ; it was difficult to 

 select the most artistic, for all are alike good. The 

 eight pictures include the black-backed gull and 

 common tern, ruffs, guillemot and razorbill, great 

 northern diver, tufted duck, stormy petrel, chough, 

 and a view on ]?riskney foreshore in migration 

 time, which is a' night scene, with nets spread for 

 the capture of the birds, more especially ducks. 



found quite as attractive. Mr. Dixon's pleasant 

 style and abundant information is all that the 

 unscientific reader will desire. Altogether this is 

 quite the book for the country house and the town 

 bird-lover, who takes his holiday by the " sad sea 

 waves." 



Modern Optical Instruments and their Construction. 

 By Henry Orford. 100 pp. 8vo, illustrated by 

 88 figures. (London : Whittaker and Co., 1896.) 

 Price 3s. 



This is essentially an amateur's book, as it 



