232 REVIEW—THROUGH AIREDALE, 
seeing in the valley is pointed out, and advice is given as to the best 
way of seeing it. he pith of the history of each old church, 
castle, or manor-house is given; and the natural scenery is described 
in a concise, clear, and easy style. The names of places are printed 
e 
adjunct to the index, and will save much time. There is a good 
map of Airedale, including miles of country on both sides, and 
many illustrations of interesting objects, together with a plan o 
Kirkstall Abbey. A glance at the map, taking in the whole of 
Airedale from the Humber to Settle, will show that the valley is 
studded over with old parish churches, castles, historic manor- 
houses, ancient seats of Yorkshire gentry, fortifications, ruins, and 
numberless other attractive objects, so that we may easily conceive 
that the author has had ample scope for his pen. The hum of 
business fills a portion of the valley—from Castleford to Bingley— 
and many places in this part of Airedale have lost their former 
beauty ; and many birds and other creatures have been banished by 
an ever-increasing population; but, above the latter place, the 
author takes us among murmuring streams, quiet ferny dells, 
meadows of wild flowers, breezy heights, and glorious river-pictures 
—spots at which one may spend a day or a week pleasantly, at 
little cost. 
here is a list of the birds of Airedale, compiled by Mr. E. P. 
ihoiterictt of Wilsden ; a list of the flowering plants and ferns, com- 
piled by Mr. H. T. Soppirt: 3 a chapter on Geology, and an interesting 
gossip on Folk-lore. This portion, which is paged separately, 
and placed at the beginning of the book, would, in our opinion, 
have been better at the end, and indexed along with the other 
matter. It might also have been an improvement if some of the 
common plants which are found everywhere had been omitted, and 
more stations given for the rarer species. As the list stands, a non- 
botanical reader might be liable to fall into the error of concluding 
that a plant is known only in the one or two stations indicated, 
whereas that particular plant might occur in twenty or thirty different 
places. This might, however, be easily remedied in a secon 
edition. It is pleasing to observe that misprints and cases of 
incorrect spelling, which often creep into the technical parts of the 
very best scientific books, are in this very rare indeed. ‘The book is 
not got up in a gaudy form to lie on a drawing-room table as an 
ornament, but is designed for real everyday use. On the whole, we 
think the author has succeeded well in his work, and we hope that 
the result may encourage him to bring out similar guides for some 
of the other Yorkshire valleys.—-G. R. 
Naturalist, 
