200 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



together with the number and colour of the eggs; await the 



period of incubation, and observe the behaviour of the hen bird, 



and the growth of the chicks until they are old enough to take 



care of themselves, and are strong enough on the wing to come 



under the notice of Mr. Stuart Wortley. We are then instructed 



in the whole art of Partridge- shooting, whether by walking 



them up in line, shooting over dogs, or driving ; and to the 



majority of readers, we imagine, this will prove the most 



attractive portion of the book. In view of the two volumes on 



Shooting which form part of the Badminton Library, Mr. Stuart 



Wortley had no easy task before him when he undertook to 



write the treatise now before us. It was difficult to go over the 



ground which had been so well traversed in those earlier 



volumes by such a past master as Lord Walsingham, without 



risking some charge of plagiarism, or at least some want of 



originality. Mr. Wortley, however, has surmounted the difficulty, 



and very well has he done it. The secret of his success, as it 



seems to us, lies in the fact of his drawing upon his own 



experience, which is evidently extensive, and saying what he has 



to say in a bright, fresh and original manner, which carries the 



reader with him through every page, " from find to finish." 



We have been particularly struck with his last chapter, 



headed " Verbum sap." in which he discusses the present aspect 



of the Game Laws, and the silly clamour which periodically 



arises for their abolition. His observations on the whole are 



just, and often forcible. Thus : — 



"The late Mr. Peter Taylor, M.P., who was about as good a judge of 

 the relations between landlord, tenant and labourer, as a modern alderman 

 would be of a Roman triumph, loudly demanded and eventually obtained 

 the last Select Committee on the Game Laws twenty years ago. His 

 discomfiture was complete when it was found that the great weight of 

 evidence given by farmers was in favour of retaining them ! " 



Mr. Wortley insists that good farming and a large stock 

 of Partridges are absolutely compatible conditions, and are often 

 seen together. " This," he says, " the farmers cannot deny. 

 If they do, depend upon it they are discontented men and bad 

 farmers, and consequently not worth having as tenants." 



We should like to make further extracts, but the demands 

 upon our space preclude this. We must content ourselves with 

 commending the book, which is well planned, well written, and 

 has, moreover, some excellent illustrations. 



