36 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



and held on for some time, the little gazelle kicking out like mad. We 

 still galloped on, and I wondered what the finish would be. The shikari, 

 when he got up to them, without drawing rein, threw himself off his pony 

 and grabbed the deer by the hind leg, just as it had kicked itself free, and 

 pulling out his knife, cut its throat. It was a most exciting chase, and I 

 enjoyed the gallop immensely. On another occasion the Eagle, after it 

 was flown, did not see its quarry, and, after a vague flight, lit on the 

 ground and began to scream ; and the next time, when it was more 

 successful, we were too long in coming up, and the deer had shaken it off, 

 going on seemingly none the worse, while the Eagle, which was now on the 

 ground, remained there screaming like a fool, without attempting to get on 

 the wing again to follow its game." 



Here we must take leave of the traveller, and close a volume 

 which, after a recent surfeit of books on African big game, has 

 seemed to us refreshingly attractive. 



Birds from Moidart and Elsewhere, Drawn from Nature by Mrs. 

 Hugh Blackburn. Small 4to, pp. 192. Edinburgh : 

 David Douglas. 1895. 



The rapidity with which books on Natural History are issued 

 from the press at the present day, though hard upon reviewers, 

 is in one sense a good sign. It argues not merely a steady sale 

 for such works, profitable, we may hope, to all concerned in their 

 production, but a healthy improvement in public taste. It indi- 

 cates a desire, on the part of some readers, at least, for what is 

 natural and true and beautiful, in preference to the sensational 

 fiction which of late years has exercised so baneful an influence. 



This is as it should be, although we are far from saying that 

 all the books now written on Natural History are needed. More 

 than half of them, it may be said, have no permanent value; 

 they teach us nothing new ; while in many cases the illustrations 

 from an art point of view are deplorable, and from their inaccu- 

 racy too often misleading. 



A work of art to be successful depends not merely upon 

 originality of conception and perfect execution, but also upon 

 truth in design. From this point of view it matters little 

 whether the ablest craftsman has been employed to engrave the 

 artist's lines if those lines are faulty ; while their reproduction by 

 "process*" or photography, as a rule only emphasises the errors 



