154 



RECREATION. 



birds, in the best plumage, could not pos- 

 sibly have yielded more satisfactory or 

 more artistic portraits. They simply com- 

 pel admiration and encomium. For ex- 

 ample, take the " Screech Owl in Red 

 Plumage," " Golden-Crowned Kinglet," 

 " Brown Thrasher," " Sparrow Hawk," and 

 " Flicker." In all these striking groups 

 with natural accessories, there is really 

 nothing by which the critic might detect 

 the fact that the photographs are from 

 mounted birds, unless it be by their artistic 

 excellence and perfection. Those who 

 know the facts will agree with me that when 

 living land birds are photographed, they 

 seldom look perfect, and really satisfactory. 

 Somehow their plumage is never quite 

 right. There are numerous reproductions 

 of photographs of live birds, particularly 

 young birds in various stages of growth. 

 The series of seven pictures of blue jays, 

 from the nest and the pipped eggs up to 

 the 17-days-old bird able to fly, is exceed- 

 ingly interesting and valuable, especially to 

 city boys and girls who know little of how 

 a bird grows. Some of the pictures are 

 very droll. 



There are numerous pictures of nests, 

 some a trifle indefinite as to details, but 

 all very interesting. That of the " Scarlet 

 Tanager " is truly a work of art, and the 

 nest of the " Flicker," in a hollow tree, is 

 a close second. There are many smaller 

 illustrations of bird skins and dead birds, 

 but they are so completely eclipsed and put 

 down by the group pictures they awaken 

 but little interest. I believe the book 

 would be better without them. 



This volume treats only of " the land 

 birds of Eastern North America," and its 

 handling of them is both new and peculiar. 

 They are described in the groups in which 

 the observer finds them, thus: " About the 

 House," " Along the Highway," " In the 

 Woods," " Across the Fields," " In Marsh 

 and Swamp," and " By Stream and Pond." 

 Beyond all question, this classification is 

 not the best that could be made. I believe 

 it will not be liked by those who will act- 

 ually use the book as a handbook. In 

 identifying a species, it is needful to have 

 all the members of a group together, first, 

 in order to find out what the bird is not, 

 and then to find out what it is. Mr. Scott 

 intimates that if the reception of this book 

 is satisfactory, we may expect a companion 

 volume on the Water Birds of Eastern 

 North America. We sincerely hope it will 

 appear, and that its contents will be dis- 

 posed under the classification of the 

 A. O. U. 



In yet another respect, " Bird Studies " 

 appears to be seriously defective. Like 

 nearly all of its predecessors, this book ut- 

 terly ignores the destruction of our " birds 

 of Eastern North America " that is now 

 going on so furiously, and says not one word 

 in behalf of bird protection! Of what is 



Mr. Scott thinking that he should so to- 

 tally ignore this subject? To all genuine 

 lovers of birds he owes an unqualified 

 apology for not improving his golden op- 

 portunity to do good in this direction. 

 What moles these mortals be! 



BIRD STUDIES: An Account of the 

 Land Birds of Eastern North America. 

 By William E. D. Scott. With illustrations 

 from original photographs. Small quarto. 

 Cloth (leather back) ; pp. 363. New York, 

 G. P. Putnam's Sons. $5.00 net. 



The United States Cartridge Co. has 

 published a book, entitled " Where to Hunt 

 American Game." It is a work of 288 

 pages, giving a brief synopsis of the attrac- 

 tions of each State in the Union, for sports- 

 men. Under these respective heads is given 

 a list of the various game found in each 

 state, with special information as to the 

 particular portion of the state in which each 

 species is most abundant. Full informa- 

 tion is also given as to how to reach these 

 various game ranges, and there are many 

 valuable points as to the game laws in the 

 different states. The greatest value of this 

 work, however, and its chief delight to 

 sportsmen lies in its marvelous illustra- 

 tions. There are 134 of these, many of 

 which occupy full pages, and they are, with- 

 out exception, the most accurate and beau- 

 tiful series of game pictures that has ever 

 been presented to American readers, in any 

 one volume. 



The book was written by and published 

 under the personal supervision of Mr. C. 

 W. Dimick, advertising manager of the 

 United States Cartridge Co., and the 

 sportsmen of the country will owe him a 

 lifelong debt of gratitude for this magnifi- 

 cent piece of work. In the preface he says: 

 " Great care has been taken to present 

 accurate pictures of game, a task far more 

 difficult than most people imagine. Ar- 

 tists of undoubted skill' made the illustra- 

 tions. They were then submitted to the 

 highest authorities in this country, both 

 zoologists and sportsmen, for criticism, 

 and it is believed the pictures in this 

 work cannot be surpassed for accuracy and 

 beauty." I can indorse every word of this 

 statement, and so can anyone who has 

 ever published an illustrated book or maga- 

 zine, and who sees this book. 



It is easily worth $2.50 a copy, yet the 

 U. S. Cartridge Co. is selling it at 50 cents 

 a copy. It is to be sold principally through 

 the gun and sporting goods trade. 



The Company sells it to the dealers at 

 50 cents and stipulates that they shall not 

 charge more than that price for it. 



Every sportsman in the United States 

 and Canada should have a copy of it, and 

 I cannot see how any man who loves the 

 woods or the fields can fail to buy it at the 

 first opportunity. If you do not find the 



