BOOK NOTICES. 



VELLOW PINE BASIN. 



Like the trapper, the scout and the Vigi- 

 lance Committee, the old-time prospector 

 has done his work, and is rapidly passing 

 away. Since '49 there has been not a moun- 

 tain range nor a foot-hill, nor a canyon nor 

 a gulch that he has not wandered over or 

 through, rifle and hammer in hand, fol- 

 lowed by his patient pack-horse bearing his 

 iron pan and his slender stock of grub. 

 Neither grizzly bears, Indians, mountain 

 torrents, nor engulfing snows have deterred 

 him from his brave search for the precious 

 metals. 



I am glad Mr. Catlin has given us this 

 vivid picture of the life and personality 

 of the typical prospector while its details 

 and colors are still vivid in his memory. 

 " Yellow Pine Basin " was not written by 

 a space-writer, on facts drawn from other 

 books, and made " to sell." Clearly, it is 

 the work of a man who knows every inch 

 of his ground; who knows what it is to 

 winter in the mountains, to wallow through 

 the deep snows, to fight for life against the 

 elements. 



It is a story of absorbing interest; of his- 

 torical value to any person who cherishes 

 the memory of the different types of Amer- 

 icans who have made this nation great; a 

 story that appeals to all that is noble and 

 patriotic in the heart of the reader. He finds 

 it is by a sense of duty fully done that a 

 man, wounded unto death and alone in the 

 wilderness, can calmly write his last mes- 

 sage to the gallant comrade who has gone 

 on snowshoes a hundred miles for succor, 

 and face Death in solitude without a mur- 

 mur. The men who won the West always 

 died like men. 



I am glad Mr. Catlin has given us Zeb 

 and Bud, and that he has shown us ex- 

 actly what it is like to spend a winter, 

 " snowed-up," in the Salmon river coun- 

 try, a hundred miles or more from the 

 nearest settlement. It is a good story, 

 well told; and the boy or the man who 

 gets it is lucky. 



Yellow Pine Basin: The Story of a 

 Prospector. By Henry G. Catlin. New 

 York: George H. Richmond & Co. Cloth, 

 i6mo, pp. 214. 



MISS MERRIAM'S NEW BIRD BOOK. 



In " Birds of Village and ( Field." which 

 modestly claims a place as " A Bird Book 

 for Beginners," Miss Florence A. Merriam 

 has rendered the " beginners " a service of 

 decided value. If we were back in the days 

 of long titles, it might well be called " Or- 

 nithology Made Easy, Fascinating and 

 Valuable." Its breezy descriptions, its 

 wealth of helpful figures, of all sizes, and its 

 clear-cut keys make the subject matter as 



clear as the air of California. The intro- 

 duction of a multitude of facts regarding 

 the noxious insects destroyed by the birds, 

 together with good pictures of the insects 

 in their various stages, greatly enhance the 

 permanent value of the book. This is de- 

 cidedly a happy thought; and now Miss 

 Merriam may as well expect a series of 

 practical demonstrations of the rock-ribbed 

 truth that " imitation is the sincerest form 

 of flattery." Every figure of a noxious in- 

 sect is an independent argument for the 

 preservation of the birds. I regret the 

 author has not laid greater stress on the 

 bounden duty of all bird lovers hence- 

 forth to take an active part in the promo- 

 tion of measures for the protection of the 

 few birds that the gunners have left. The 

 time has come for aggressive warfare on 

 the army of destroyers, and in this we ex- 

 pect the ornithologists to lead, not follow. 

 Let all authors of bird books take notice, 

 that hereafter any new bird book, or any 

 new edition of an old book that comes to 

 my table without preaching the gospel of 

 bird protection, will be considered serious- 

 ly imperfect, and treated accordingly. Far 

 too long have our writers of charming bird 

 books ignored the slaughter of the inno- 

 cents. It is indeed true that such works 

 incidentally promote bird protection by 

 promoting the love of birds; but that is not 

 enough. The situation now demands ag- 

 gressive warfare. 



Miss Merriam's book is fairly entitled to 

 general and long continued popularity. 

 Beyond all doubt, it is the author's best 

 piece of work, thus far; and it is very much 

 to my mind. The publishers have made of 

 it a very satisfactory volume, both as to 

 size and general attractiveness. 



Birds of Village and Field: A Bird Book 

 for Beginners. By Florence A. Merriam. 

 i2mo. pp. xxviii. 4- 406. Fully illustrated. 

 Houghton, Mifflin & Co., New York. 

 $2.00. 



A HANDY HAND-BOOK OF OUR GAME BIRDS. 



What is a " game bird " ? Out of every 

 50 sportsmen, probably 47 apply this term 

 to the Gallinaceous birds only — grouse, 

 quail, and partridge; but surely it should 

 be given a wider meaning. Mr. Frank A. 

 Bates has hit the correct idea in classifying 

 as " game birds " all " those species which 

 are suitable for food, which are habitually 

 pursued by man for sport, and demand skill 

 and dexterity in their capture." Under the 

 title of " The Game Birds of North Amer- 

 ica." he has published a very useful descrip- 

 tive check list, wherein nearly all the edible 

 birds are enumerated. Less than a month 

 before this little volume reached my table, 

 I had occasion to go through the A. O. 



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