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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



E & 



The Grouse : Natural History — By the Rev. 

 H. A. Macphersox. Shooting — By A. J. Stuart- 

 Wortley. Cookery — By George Saixtsbury. 

 With 13 Illustrations by A. J. Stuart-Wortley 

 and A. Thorburn, and various Diagrams in the 

 Text by A. J. Stuart-Wortley. Crown 8vo, 

 302 pp. (London : Longmans, Green and Co.) 

 Price 5s. 



The second volume of the " Fur and Feather 

 Series" comes at an opportune moment. Grouse- 

 shooting is in full swing, and lovers of the sport 

 are doubtless quite happy in its pursuit. It seems 

 generally agreed among the authors of this book 

 that the grouse is the bird above all others to pay 

 homage to, even from an epicurean point of view, 

 for Mr. Saintsbury says : "While nearly all game 

 birds are good, and some eminently good, grouse 

 seems to me to be the best," etc. 



The portion of the book that appeals especially 

 to our readers is that dealing with the Natural 

 History of the grouse, and in the eighty pages 

 devoted to it, Mr. Macpherson has given a great 

 deal of information in a very interesting and 

 popular manner. Although a sportsman first (as 

 is only natural in dealing with such a subject), 



Mr. Macpherson is a good naturalist, and his 

 chapter on the enemies of the grouse is very justly 

 written, although one is reminded of the anecdote, 

 told by Dr. Grace, of the much-liked umpire, who 

 on being asked to what he attributed his success 

 replied: "I always acts quite fairly, with just a 

 leetle leaning toward my own side." 



That the author should not accept the theory of 

 protective colouration in its entirety is to be 

 wondered at, for whilst giving a charming account 

 of the young grouse harmonising with the cover in 

 which it is found (page 35), he appears disinclined 

 to believe that environment has anything to do 

 with the colouration of the plumage of the older 

 birds (pages 58 and 59). It is, we think, however 

 generally agreed that surroundings in a great 

 measure decide colouration. 



The chapter on grouse-becking, and the various 

 methods employed to snare and trap the birds, is 

 full of interest, and some of the anecdotes are 

 especially amusing. 



The shooting of the grouse, by Mr. Stuart- 

 Wortley, is a very able piece of work, and covers 

 a wide experience, starting as it does with an 

 animated description of the rush from town to the 

 moors, and pursuing the subject through all its 

 varied phases. 



One cannot help feeling that the monograph 

 would be more complete were a good index added 

 to it, and a certain number of people would also be 

 interested probably by knowing that the scientific 

 name of the red grouse was Lagopus scoticus. 



The illustrations — specimens of which we are able 

 to give by the courtesy of the publishers — are 

 excellently drawn, the name of Mr. A. Thorburn 

 being a sufficient guarantee of their scientific value 

 and artistic effect. — [D. J. R.~ 



Old Grouse on the Tops. (From The Grouse : " Fur and Feather Series,") 



