GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE 



Handbook of Birds of the Western 

 United States. By Florence Mer- 

 riam Bailey. With 33 full - page 

 plates by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and 

 over 600 illustrations. Pp. xc+512. 

 8 X5j4 inches. Boston: Houghton, 

 Mifflin & Co. 1902. $3.50 net. 

 Only minute study and infinite pa- 

 tience, added to a personal acquaintance 

 with nature and with practically every 

 bird described, big or little, could make 

 this book possible. The volume can- 

 not be too strongly commended. The 

 person who knows nothing about birds 

 is fascinated by the simple living de- 

 scriptions, while the specialist gains a 

 fund of information from the careful 

 and systematic classification. 



The introduction of over 90 pages in- 

 cludes articles on " Collecting and Pre- 

 paring Birds' Nests and Eggs," by 

 Vernon Bailey ; " Bird Protection," by 

 T. S. Palmer, local lists of birds found 

 in different sections of the West, and a 

 handil)' arranged bibliography, followed 

 by a'key to families of water birds. 



The biograph}' of each bird opens 

 with a brief description of the principal 

 characteristics of the bird, its plumage, 

 size, distribution, where it builds its 

 nest, and the color of its eggs. This 

 is followed in every case by an account 

 of the bird's habits and life. Mrs 

 Vernon Bailey has a delightful style 

 and gives a personal interest to the 

 subjects. The following random selec- 

 tion is cited as an example : 



' ' In the stillness of the high moun- 

 tain forests your ear sometimes catches 

 the thin, finely drawn pipe of the brown 

 creeper, and if you watch patiently on 

 the dark-shaded boles of the lofty trees 

 you may discover the little dark-colored 

 creature — seeming small and weak in 

 the great solemn fir forest — creeping 

 up the trunks, examining the cracks 

 with microscopic care as he goes. If 

 he feels that his work has not been done 



thoroughly enough he drops back and 

 does it over again ; and when one tree 

 has been gone over to his satisfaction, 

 he often flies obliquely down to the bot- 

 tom of another trunk and creeps pa- 

 tiently up that. On Mount Shasta, 

 where the firs are decorated with yellow 

 moss, the Sierra creeper goes around 

 its pads when he comes to them, but 

 works carefully over the dark lichen- 

 covered branches. Sometimes he lights 

 upside down on the under side of a 

 branch, and clings like a fly, but with 

 the aid of his pointed tail well pressed 

 against the bark." 



Mr Vernon Bailey is the author of 

 a number of the biographies, and others 

 who helped Mrs Bailey to make the 

 book a success are Dr C. HartMerriam, 

 Mr R. Ridgway, Dr A. K. Fisher, Mr 

 E. W. Nelson, and Dr T. S. Palmer. 



The Tragedy of Pele'e. By George Ken- 

 nan. Illustrated. Pp. 257. 5^ x 8 

 inches. New York. The Outlook 

 Co. 1902 $1.50 net. 

 Mr Kennan went to Martinique on 

 the Dixie as the special representative 

 of The Outlook. This volume includes 

 his letters to that journal revised and 

 much enlarged. 



For vivid description some of the 

 chapters in the volume are surpassed 

 by few things in literature. In chap- 

 ter IV, " In the Track of the Volcanic 

 Hurricane," an account is given of a 

 long interview with Ciparis, the negro 

 criminal who imprisoned in an under- 

 ground dungeon escaped the deadly 

 blast of May 8, and whom Mr Kennan 

 had the enterprise to hunt up and per- 

 sonally interview. The testimony of 

 this man is of great importance in ex- 

 plaining the causes of death on May 8. 

 Ciparis was waiting for his breakfast, 

 when suddenly it grew very dark, and 

 also immediately after hot air mixed with 

 fine ashes came in through the grating 



