BOOK NOTES 



ENGLISH WRITER ON AMERICAN SPORT. 



"Life and Sport on the Pacific Slope," by 

 Horace A. Vachell (Dodd, Mead & Co., 

 N. Y.), contains much more than the title 

 suggests. Written by an Englishman, who 

 takes the trouble to apologize for the 

 frank expression of his views of things 

 American, and who differs from so many 

 other English writers on American themes 

 because he knows what he is writing about, 

 this book is entitled to our praise as well 

 as our tolerance. The writer is evidently 

 a man of brawn and brain, a worker 

 who has seen the seamy side of American 

 life as well as its finished surface. He is 

 candid, earnest and widely informed. If 

 he holds us and certain of our customs up 

 to mild ridicule he is also just and discern- 

 ing in his criticisms. He is, withal, a 

 thorough sportsman and has evidently had 

 the leisure and the means to indulge his 

 tastes in that direction. He has obeyed 

 Thoreau's injunction, "Go hunt and fish 

 far and wide — farther and wider — and rest 

 thee by many brooks." Furthermore, he 

 possesses the qualities which, without any 

 change of habits, would make him a good 

 member of the League of American 

 Sportsmen. I heartily recommend this 

 book, not only to the sportsman, but also 

 to the general reading public. Those of 

 us who enjoy Max O'Rell, even when he 

 is slyly exposing our weaknesses, will find 

 pleasure in this volume of Mr. Vachell's. 



lustrated, from photographs and drawings 

 made during the war, and with diagrams. 

 Published by American Medical Associa- 

 tion Press, Chicago. 



DR. SENN'S WAR BOOK. 



The title of Dr. Nicholas Senn's new 

 book, "Medico-Surgical Aspects of the 

 Spanish American War," explains itself. 

 Dr. Senn is one of the greatest surgeons 

 in the world, and is a member of the 

 League of American Sportsmen. With the 

 title of Lieutenant-Colonel, he was Chief 

 Surgeon U. S. Volunteers during the 

 Spanish American war, and is now lecturer 

 on military surgery in Chicago University. 

 He is, therefore, in a position to know 

 every detail of importance connected with 

 the treatment of the soldiers during the 

 war. His studies and experiences, as em- 

 bodied in this book, are of immense value 

 to military surgery throughout the world, 

 besides being deeply interesting to even a 

 lay reader. Some of the leading chapters 

 are "Recent Experiences in Militarv Sur- 

 gery after the Battle of Santiago,'' "Ty- 

 phoid Fever in the Porto Rican Cam- 

 paign," "The Returning Army," "First Aid 

 Package in Military Surgery," "Nurses 

 and Nursing in War," "The Humane Side 

 of Warfare," etc. The book is fully il- 



A delightful book, that ranks in charm 

 with "Elizabeth and Her German Garden," 

 is "A Journey to Nature," by J. P. Mow- 

 bray. It is the story of a Wall street bro- 

 ker who spends a year in the country to 

 escape sudden death from heart disease. It 

 is a rare treat, in these days, to drift along 

 through woods and meadows with a writer 

 who is not trying to teach anything, has 

 no desire to kill anything, and does not 

 force the birds and animals to do strenuous 

 little stunts; a writer who simply feels 

 and dreams, analyzes a little, enjoys great- 

 ly. An alluring, elusive romance is sub- 

 tly suggested, but not as if to be taken se- 

 riously at any time except when, at the 

 end, the reader rejoices with the doctor at 

 the unexpected but salutary outcome. "A 

 Journey to Nature" is a book to own and 

 to read often. Published by Doubleday, 

 Page & Co., New York. 



"The Woman's Book of Sports," by J. 

 P. Paret, is intended especially for those 

 women who do not wish to employ in- 

 structors, yet who wish to avoid bad form 

 and awkward habits in acquiring a knowl- 

 edge of the principal outdoor sports. Mr. 

 Paret's work is based on the fact that the 

 faults of women are different from those 

 of men, and that women must, therefore, 

 have special instruction adapted to their 

 particular needs. Golf heads the list of 

 sports treated. It is followed by lawn 

 tennis, sailing, swimming, basketball, etc., 

 and numerous plates illustrate correct po- 

 sition for the various requirements of 

 these sports. Published by D. Appleton 

 & Co., New York. 



67 



For the use of students and observers of 

 nature, Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 

 have issued 3 small volumes entitled "Wild 

 Flowers I Have Seen," "Trees I Have 

 Seen," and "Birds I Have Seen." The 

 apparent borrowing of the titles is justified 

 by the fact that the books consist simply 

 of blank forms, to be filled by the student 

 with notes and remarks on the observations 

 he makes of birds, trees and flowers. 

 These books will slip into the pocket and 

 will prove most useful for recording facts 

 which might otherwise be forgotten. They 

 will enable each observer to write his own 

 book instead of merely reading the books 

 written by other naturalists. 



