NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 277 



Oryx horns, which were respectively 32 and 34 inches in length ; 

 but these are only average specimens compared with some that 

 have been procured in Somali-land, the longest on record 

 measuring 39 inches. A recumbent figure of Grevy's Zebra, of 

 which seven were shot, is given on page 91, but is unfortunately 

 lettered " Zebra grevu." The " four big Geese," one of which 

 was shot (p. 87), were not identified; nor is the big fish named 

 which was caught with hook and line, and weighed 20 lbs. 

 (p. 84). A large Snake, called abassa by the natives, stated to be 

 poisonous, and said to be new to the British Museum collection, 

 is not named, and as neither measurements nor description are 

 given, the reader is left altogether in doubt concerning its 

 identification. 



The author would have done well to have had these points 

 cleared up before publishing his narrative, which, as it stands, 

 is a mere record of shooting, and adds nothing to what was 

 previously known concerning the natural history of the country 

 traversed. 



The Hawks and Owls of the United States in their relation to 

 Agriculture. Prepared under the direction of Dr. Hart 

 Merriam by A. K. Fisher. U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture. Bulletin No. 3. 8vo, pp. 210. With 26 coloured 

 plates. 



Amongst the many useful volumes issued by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, and distributed so liberally on 

 both sides of the Atlantic, we have seen none more attractive 

 than that with the above title. It is brimful of facts, and 

 illustrated in a way that will make it extremely useful to those 

 for whom it is primarily intended, the object being to show that 

 birds of prey, commonly looked upon as enemies to the farmer, 

 and indiscriminately destroyed whenever occasion offers, really 

 rank among his best friends, and, with few exceptions, should be 

 protected. 



The statistics here published concerning the food of Hawks 

 and Owls in America are derived from the critical examination 

 by scientific experts of the actual contents of about 2700 stomachs 

 of these birds, and may therefore be fairly regarded as a reliable 

 exposition of the natural food of each species. 



Dr. Hart Merriam remarks that of the seventy-three species 



