ROOK NOTICES. 



INGE'S HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY. 



For several years past the subject of nat- 

 ural history teaching in our schools has 

 been of great interest to me, and every new 

 text book on zoology has been purchased 

 and examined with eager interest. 



Speaking generally, and comparatively, 

 it seems that about 99 per cent, of our 

 schools leave their pupils densely ignorant 

 of zoology, and but little better in regard 

 to botany. Even in the few high schools 

 and normal schools where some atten- 

 tion is paid to natural history, the stud- 

 ies pertaining to it are generally dismissed 

 with " a lick and a promise," in favor of 

 such eminently useful branches as ancient 

 history, and the theory of civil government. 



Much of the blame for this state of things 

 lies in the fact that the elementary text 

 books on zoology have been so poor, and 

 so ill adapted to daily use in common 

 schools. One or two are excellent for high 

 schools and small colleges; but until now 

 not one has hit the mark set by the wants 

 of grammar school pupils. 



So far as I have seen, Professor Lange's 

 " Handbook " is by far the best work of its 

 kind yet produced. It gets down to the 

 level of the untaught pupil, and gives him 

 nature knowledge which is at once pal- 

 atable and easy to assimilate. Surely every 

 teacher who has grown weary with waiting 

 for a helpful handbook will hail it with a 

 feeling akin to joy. In it there is nothing 

 uninteresting, nothing which the pupil can 

 not grasp; and I can not see how a teacher 

 can be otherwise than pleased with it. It 

 makes the teaching of elementary zoology 

 and botany both easy and interesting. No 

 one but an experienced and successful 

 teacher could have produced a work so use- 

 ful. 



This is not so much a text book for pu- 

 pils as it is a handbook for teachers. The 

 latter are advised by the author to become 

 sufficiently familiar with their work to 

 teach their classes without referring to the 

 book. The key-note of the work seems to 

 be, teach what your pupils can understand, 

 teach what will interest them, what will be 

 remembered by them and made useful. In 

 regard to " Materials for Study," every- 

 thing within reach is seized on and ex- 

 ploited; and on the foundation thus laid, 

 other things are placed. Indeed, one of 

 the most valuable features of the book is 

 the careful and generous attention paid to 

 this subject. The teacher is told what to 

 get, where to find it, and how to use it. 



The book is divided into 26 chapters, 

 which in reality are 26 groups of things to 

 study. The following are a few examples: 

 " Life About our Homes, in September and 



October; " " Pond, LaKe and Stream, May 

 and July; " " Animal Life in the Woods; " 

 " Roadsides and Neglected Corners; a 

 Chapter on Weeds;" "The Trees of Our 

 Woods; " " Birds that are Resident in our 

 Northern States." Creatures or things that 

 are particularly useful or injurious to man 

 receive special attention, and the amount of 

 practical and useful knowledge taught in 

 the lessons is really great. 



The plan, scope and execution of the 

 " Handbook " are admirable. Every chap- 

 ter hits its mark. Besides natural history 

 knowledge, Professor Lange teaches bird 

 protection, kindness to domestic animals, 

 forest preservation, and the love of nature 

 generally. The botanical illustrations are 

 fair, but the majority of the zoological 

 pictures are poorly executed. Those of the 

 wild boar, Virginia deer, elk and moose are 

 so coarse and unattractive the publishers 

 should replace them with good figures at 

 the earliest opportunity. The " Hand- 

 book " is worthy of the best illustrations 

 that money can procure. 



" Handbook of Nature Study : " for 

 teachers and pupils in elementary schools. 

 By D. Lange. i2mo. Cloth, pp. xv. + 

 329. 60 illustrations. New York: The 

 Macmillan Company. $1. 



A NEW BOOK ON TAXIDERMY. 



The appearance of every new work on 

 taxidermy — save only the fearful ancl won- 

 derful productions of Montagu Brown — is 

 to every worker in that field an event of 

 decided interest. The really helpful litera- 

 ture on this subject is by no means so 

 abundant that any well-meant contribution 

 should be ignored. In " The Art of Taxi- 

 dermy " (D. Appleton & Co.), Mr. John 

 Rowley evidently has done his best to give 

 the world the full benefit of his knowledge; 

 but the result is rather disappointing. In 

 his 8 chapters he merely describes an im- 

 aginary collecting trip to Maine, the 

 methods of mounting mammals preferred 

 by him, the standard methods for the treat- 

 ment of birds, reptiles, and skeletons, and 

 the manufacture of artificial leaves and 

 flowers. That he should publish such a 

 book as this without even once mention- 

 ing or referring to the late Jenness Rich- 

 ardson, who took Mr. Rowley when he 

 knew nothing of taxidermy, and most gen- 

 erously trained him, taught him, and 

 pushed him ahead until his own lamented 

 death in 1893, is the very refinement of in- 

 gratitude. The public need not expect a 

 broad-gauge book from the pen of a man 

 who could do such a thing. 



With taxidermists who prefer compli- 

 cated and difficult methods to those that 



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