ornithologist's text-book. 199 



this formerly deserving repository now scarcely 

 pays the expenses of paper, print, &c, simply be- 

 cause the interest and originality of its matter has 

 so obviously and rapidly fallen off for some time 

 past. The " facts fresh from the fields", with 

 which it formerly teemed, and which must, we 

 think, have brought it an extensive circulation, 

 have now given place, for the most part, to dry, 

 musty, closet-hatched speculations, interesting 

 alone to the framers of such trash. We cannot 

 imagine the cause of this deterioration, and whilst, 

 with many of our ornithological friends, we sin- 

 cerely regret the circumstance, we cannot help 

 thinking, that, if a change for the better does not 

 shortly take place, the Magazine of Natural His- 

 tory will, ere long, like the Zoological Journal* 

 attain a " sickly maturity", and be pronounced 

 complete ! We offer these observations, be it 

 known, in a spirit of the most perfect kindliness 

 and respect, on account of our esteem and regard 

 for the learned and excellent Editor, Mr. Loudon; 

 but it would decidedly be to his advantage to pre- 

 sent his readers with matter as interesting and 

 valuable as he was wont to do, in the early part 

 of his administration r 



Captain Brown's Edinburgh Journal of Natu- 

 ral History continues to appear every other Sa- 

 turday, and several numbers relating to birds, 

 are already published. From a cursory view of 

 the contents of the parts already laid before the 

 public, we can pronounce the work to be well 

 deserving the attention of the student, while its 

 extreme cheapness will place it within the reach 

 of the humblest class of individuals. — Meyer's 

 Illustrations are making ra/pid advances, a large 



* This journal, however, was intrinsically good, but was too dry 

 and scientific to command anything like a remunerating circulation. 



