REVIEW OF BOOKS. 



A Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica. By Philip 

 Henry Gosse, A..L.S. Assisted by Kichard 

 Hill, Esq. Longman and Co. 



This is indeed a book on Natural History, 

 penned by a man worthy of being called a 

 naturalist. He has not purchased an old 

 obsolete book or two, and stolen from them 

 the errors of by-gone days; but he has put 

 before us, in all their freshness, anecdotes 

 and descriptions whose perusal is a matter 

 of real delight, 



We are much struck with the remarks 

 of Mr. Gosse on the study of Natural His- 

 tory, He says : " That alone is worthy 

 to be called natural history, which investi- 

 gates and records the condition of living- 

 things, of things in a state of nature ; of 

 animals, of living animals ; which tells of 

 their sayings and doings, their varied 

 notes and utterances, songs, and cries; 

 their actions in ease, and under the 

 pressure of circumstances ; the affections 

 and passions towards their young, towards 

 each other, towards other animals, towards 

 man ; their various arts and devices to 

 protect their progeny, to procure food, to 

 escape from their enemies, and defend them- 

 selves ; with many other inherent qualities." 

 In another place, Mr. Gosse remarks : " If 

 we are to have their portraits let us have 

 them drawn from the life, while the bright 

 eyes are glancing, and the flexible features 

 express the emotions of the mind v^itliiii ; 

 and while the hues, so often fleeting and 

 evanescent, exist in their unchanged reality, 

 and the attitudes are full of the elegance 

 and grace that free, wild nature, assumes." 



It is really quite refreshing to get one's 

 own ideas conveyed in such noble, yet « such 

 plain phraseology. Every real lover of 

 natural history must lend his hearty " Amen 1 ' 

 to all Mr. Gosse has said. Beading is good, 

 but observation and research are far better. 



In selecting from a book like this, nothing 

 hardly comes amiss; for the author's sojourn 

 in Jamaica, some eighteen months, has en- 

 abled him to get together a large quantity 

 of useful as well as agreeable information. 

 Let us first extract the particulars of 



" The Black Snake. — It climbs with facility, 

 mounting perpendicularly the smooth trunk of 

 a tree, and gliding along the branches, on which 

 it loves to lie in the sun. If alarmed, it will 

 sometimes move along the branch, but generally 

 drops to the ground, lowering its fore parts gra- 

 dually, but very quickly, and letting go with 

 the tail last of all. The mode in which colu- 

 brine snakes (and, perhaps, others) mount trees 

 is, I think, misunderstood. We see them repre- 

 sented in engravings as circling the trunk or 

 branches in spiral coils; but this, though it 

 may do well for stuffed specimens in a mu- 

 seum, is not the way in which a living snake 



mounts a tree. It simply glides up with 

 the whole body extended in a straight line, 

 doubtless clinging by means of the expanded 

 ribs, as we can see that the body is percep- 

 tibly dilated and flattened. In fact, a snake 

 finds no more difficulty in passing swiftly 

 up the vertical trunk of a tree than in gliding 

 over the ground. I have been astonished to 

 remark, how slight a contact is sufficient for it to 

 maintain its hold. The black snake will allow 

 the greatest part of its body to hang down in 

 the air, and thus remain still, while little more 

 than the tail maintains its position, by clinging 

 (straight, not spirally, and not half round it) to 

 the upper surface of a branch ; and it will often 

 pass freely and gracefully from one branch to 

 another at a considerable interval. The motions 

 of a snake in a tree are beautifully easy and free, 

 and convey the impression that the reptile feels 

 quite at home among the branches. 



" This is a bold and fierce snake, often turning 

 when struck, and approaching its assailant with 

 the head erected in a most menacing attitude ; 

 the mouth opened to its widest extent. I have 

 seen one thus endeavoring to attack when 

 foiled by being struck, and thrown off by a stick, 

 at length become quite enraged; the neck being 

 dilated to nearly an inch in width, and perfectly 

 flattened, so that the white skin could be seen 

 within the scales. 



" Tollentemque minas et sibila colla tumenlum. 



Vibg. Georg. iii. 421 . > 



" It is this dilatation of the neck, but in a much 

 higher degree, which gives so remarkable an 

 appearance to the deadly najas or cobras of 

 Africa and India. A black snake, which I had 

 tied by the neck with a string while I made a 

 sketch of it, struck fiercely at me with gaping 

 jaws as far as its cord would allow, every time 

 I looked up or down. The Creoles say, that if 

 a dog attacks it, it always strikes at his eyes, 

 and not unfrequently produces blindness," 



Our eye next falls upon a very graphic 



description of — 



" Moonlight. — There is something exceed- 

 ingly romantic in the nights of the tropics. It is 

 pleasant to sit on the landing place at the top of 

 the flight of steps in front of Bluefields House, 

 after night has spread her " purple wings " over 

 the sky; or even to lie at full length on the 

 smooth stones ; it is a hard bed, but not a cold 

 one, for the thick flags, exposed to the burning 

 sun during the day, become thoroughly heated, 

 and retain a considerable degree of warmth till 

 morning nearly comes again. The warmth of the 

 flat stones is particularly pleasant, as the cool 

 night breezes play over the face. The scene is 

 favorable for meditation; the moon "walking 

 in brightness," gradually climbing up to the very 

 centre of the deep blue sky, sheds on the grassy 

 sward — the beasts lying down here and there, 

 the fruit trees, the surrounding forest, and the 

 glistening sea spread out in front — a soft but bril- 

 liant radiance unknown to the duller regions oi' 

 the north. The babbling of the little rivulet, 

 winning its seaward way over the rocks and 

 pebbles, comes like distant music upon the ear 

 of which the bass is supplied by the roll of the 



