NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 37 



be in every respect more close to nature than the scared or 

 enraged appearance of caged animals ; our sympathy is alto- 

 gether with the Rat and its efforts to frustrate the intentions of 

 the photographer, as described (pp. 38-41). 



The illustrations in this book are of the most instructive 

 character, those of fish and " twenty years a cat" being exceed- 

 ingly successful. But for charm and beauty these pale before the 

 lovely photographic landscapes taken by Mr. Charles Job, of 

 which six appear in this volume. 



A Ready Aid to distinguish British Wild Birds. By David T. 

 Price. Gurney & Jackson. 



We presume that this small publication is not addressed to 

 ornithologists, by whom it might receive scant welcome, and we 

 write this opinion in a mollient and not aggressive sense. It is 

 apparently intended for those living in the country, who have 

 little knowledge — if any — of the bird-life around them, who never 

 acquired the wild lore of the schoolboy who happily nested and 

 trespassed in many well-remembered nooks and preserves. Its 

 usefulness may be found in its limitation; for those who know 

 nothing, or next to nothing, about birds, after reading these 

 pages, will probably go farther and seek to know more. The 

 information given is concise, so far as the necessary superficial 

 description is concerned. 



