NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 79 



of sixteen years, it is written by one who is thoroughly master 

 of his subject, and he has been assisted by the information and 

 notes of all the best ornithologists in the county. The literary 

 and scientific standard of the books devoted to county ornithology 

 is clearly a rising one, and is no longer a matter only of con- 

 scientious compilation ; records must be appraised, and where 

 possible verified ; information must be sought from those who 

 never publish, and individual experience and observation must 

 be the foundation of the volume. Not only must well-known 

 collections be thoroughly overhauled, but how often one finds a 

 rare bird, badly stuffed and cased, on the walls of an inn, or in 

 the interior of a cottage ! In the Introduction Mr. Ticehurst 

 gives us a good account of the Kentish birds preserved in public 

 and private collections, and there is another feature which should 

 obtain hearty and general commendation. We read in the 

 Preface : " Where a rare species has been recorded from a 

 locality perhaps only a hundred yards beyond the actual boundary 

 it would be absurd to exclude it from all mention in the present 

 work." This removes one of the haunting suspicions one expe- 

 riences in reading a county book on birds. A hedge, a stream, 

 a lane may in places divide counties, and may thus limit a dis- 

 tribution or confine a record. Mr. Ticehurst has also pursued 

 the clue of many recorded rarities, and has located the speci- 

 mens, using all the perseverance of a trustworthy political agent 

 in following up removed electors. 



As regards the real material of the book, the history of the 

 birds themselves, there is little doubt that a further note might 

 be added here and there, but at the same time the reader will 

 wonder how so much has been included; bird-lovers in Kent 

 will find all they want, and if any supplementary notes are to 

 be added there are opportunities for publishing elsewhere. Any 

 young naturalist who carefully reads the pages will acquire 

 much sound ornithological information, and he need not con- 

 sider that this only applies to a Kentish reader. The illustra- 

 tions are principally of the birds' haunts and breeding places. 



In the Bibliography we find no mention of ' Greenwich Park,' 

 by A. D. Webster, its Superintendent, and which was published in 

 1902. In this publication is given a list of eighty-one species of 

 birds found there, thirty-four of which are said to breed in the 

 Park. 



