﻿NOTICES 
  OF 
  NEW 
  BOOKS. 
  397 
  

  

  chosen 
  to 
  treat 
  these 
  " 
  survivals 
  " 
  as 
  superstitions, 
  and 
  to 
  trace 
  

   their 
  appearance 
  and 
  quotations 
  in 
  the 
  lines 
  of 
  poets 
  and 
  other 
  

   distinguished 
  writers 
  — 
  mostly 
  British. 
  He 
  has 
  thus 
  produced 
  a 
  

   most 
  interesting 
  anthology, 
  which 
  hears 
  the 
  impress 
  of 
  a 
  familiar 
  

   acquaintance 
  with 
  most 
  of 
  our 
  well-known 
  poets 
  and 
  biblical 
  

   writers. 
  He 
  has 
  carefully 
  compiled 
  most 
  of 
  those 
  weird 
  and 
  

   curious 
  notions 
  which 
  have 
  principally 
  become 
  attached 
  to 
  birds, 
  

   and 
  has 
  traced 
  them 
  throughout 
  much 
  literature, 
  but 
  he 
  has 
  not 
  

   dealt 
  with 
  their 
  origins, 
  which 
  the 
  growing 
  study 
  of 
  folk-lore 
  can 
  

   alone 
  reveal. 
  What 
  we 
  call 
  superstitions 
  are 
  most 
  frequently 
  

   only 
  survivals 
  of 
  events 
  and 
  ideas 
  from 
  a 
  dim 
  past, 
  which 
  have 
  

   come 
  down 
  to 
  us 
  in 
  the 
  stage 
  of 
  myth, 
  and 
  already 
  much 
  has 
  

   been 
  traced 
  in 
  animal 
  folk-lore 
  which 
  has 
  evidently 
  not 
  yet 
  come 
  

   under 
  the 
  purview 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Gibson, 
  who 
  approaches 
  the 
  problem 
  

   from 
  another 
  standpoint. 
  He 
  asks: 
  — 
  " 
  How 
  came 
  legends 
  and 
  

   omens 
  and 
  monstrosities 
  into 
  existence 
  ? 
  Did 
  they 
  arise 
  from 
  

   men's 
  sinfulness 
  and 
  fear, 
  or 
  were 
  they 
  the 
  outcome 
  of 
  fertile 
  

   imaginations 
  desirous 
  of 
  adding 
  to 
  the 
  wonders 
  of 
  Creation?" 
  

   There 
  is 
  in 
  this 
  subject 
  a 
  distinct 
  opportunity 
  for 
  a 
  great 
  book, 
  

   which 
  might 
  prove 
  a 
  companion 
  volume 
  to 
  the 
  well-known 
  

   'Wanderings 
  of 
  Plants 
  and 
  Animals 
  from 
  their 
  First 
  Home,' 
  by 
  

   Hehn 
  and 
  Stalrybrass. 
  Mr. 
  Gibson 
  has 
  produced 
  an 
  interesting 
  

   volume, 
  but 
  he 
  should 
  not 
  refer 
  to 
  Figuier 
  as 
  " 
  the 
  celebrated 
  

   naturalist." 
  

  

  A 
  Book 
  of 
  the 
  Snipe. 
  By 
  " 
  Scolopax." 
  Blackwood 
  & 
  Sons. 
  

  

  A 
  perusal 
  of 
  this 
  little 
  book 
  will 
  prove 
  to 
  any 
  reader 
  that 
  it 
  

   is 
  possible 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  sportsman 
  and 
  naturalist 
  combined 
  in 
  one 
  

   individual. 
  Snipe-shooting 
  to 
  the 
  writer 
  of 
  this 
  notice 
  is 
  now 
  

   only 
  a 
  memory, 
  and 
  was 
  confined 
  to 
  rice 
  and 
  old 
  cane 
  fields 
  in 
  

   the 
  Malay 
  Peninsula, 
  where 
  the 
  birds 
  could 
  in 
  season 
  be 
  found 
  

   abundantly, 
  and 
  under 
  a 
  tropical 
  sun 
  ; 
  " 
  Scolopax 
  " 
  deals 
  with 
  

   the 
  bird 
  as 
  found 
  in 
  these 
  islands, 
  often 
  in 
  bog-lands, 
  under 
  a 
  

   wintry 
  sky, 
  and 
  frequently 
  requiring 
  much 
  finding. 
  Although 
  to 
  

   most 
  of 
  our 
  readers 
  the 
  Snipe 
  and 
  not 
  the 
  gun 
  will 
  be 
  the 
  chosen 
  

   subject-matter, 
  the 
  little 
  volume 
  should 
  be 
  read 
  from 
  end 
  to 
  end, 
  

   for 
  the 
  author 
  is 
  both 
  a 
  sportsman 
  among 
  field 
  naturalists, 
  and 
  a 
  

   field 
  naturalist 
  among 
  sportsmen, 
  and 
  w 
  7 
  e 
  come 
  across 
  hints 
  and 
  

  

  