314 



RECREATION. 



are simple and expeditious Mr. Rowley's 

 book should be popular. Unquestionably, 

 the methods set forth for mounting large 

 mammals — with plaster-cast bones, wire- 

 cloth frame, papier mache, a hard statue, 

 hand-carved details, glue, nails and bags of 

 hot sand over all — are the most complicated 

 and difficult of any yet advised in print. 

 Before the skin is finally adjusted on this 

 hard, papier-mache statue, it is put through 

 soda water, benzine, sawdust, and arsen- 

 ical solution No. 4, in bewildering succes- 

 sion; and it is no matter for wonder that 

 " it is a great advantage to have 2 or 3 

 persons at work on a specimen." Well 

 may the author of this volume publish, as 

 his motto, Thoreau's line which says, " In- 

 to a perfect work time does not enter! " 

 Clearly, with him, time is no object. It is 

 not in every, shop, however, that taxider- 

 mists swarm like bees, and have time " to 

 burn." 



Mr. Rowley confesses frankly his in- 

 ability to use clay underneath a skin, and 

 therefore condemns it unsparingly. His 

 charges against it surely will amuse the 

 large number of taxidermists throughout 

 the United States who have been using it 

 constantly for 10 or 15 years, and without 

 any one of the dire results described in 

 this book. As a substitute, soft papier- 

 mache is all right for those who have an 

 unlimited supply of good paper pulp and 

 glue, and assistant taxidermists to work 

 them up and keep them ready for use; but 

 we fancy the average man who needs a 

 book on taxidermy would rather have 

 processes simplified and cheapened than 

 made more complicated and costly. 



Aside from the chapter, " The Reproduc- 

 tion of Foliage," and the employment of a 

 few chemicals and tools not heretofore de- 

 scribed and recommended in print, Mr. 

 Rowley's book contains little that has not 

 already been published. That he should 

 make in his preface an elaborate acknowl- 

 edgment to his assistant for the crude and 

 underdone figures illustrating the text is 

 rather droll, to say the least. Both in 

 taxidermy and in book making Mr. Rowley 

 has several things yet to learn. One is, to 

 give credit to other taxidermists and other 

 books for what he derives from them. 



W. T. H. 



DAVIES'S "NESTS AND EGGS." 



FIFTH EDITION. 



Mr. Oliver Davie, author of " Methods 

 in the Art of Taxidermy," 'has good reason 

 to be proud of the fact that public apprecia- 

 tion of his " Nests and Eggs of North 

 American Birds " has warranted the pro- 

 duction of a fifth edition, rewritten, ex- 

 tended, illustrated, and in every way more 

 valuable than any of its predecessors. 

 Whenever a book of instruction or refer- 

 ence develops the staying qualities that 

 have been revealed by this one, we call it 



" a standard work." Mr. Davie was fortu- 

 nate as well as wise in the early pre-emption 

 of the field covered by this book, and the 

 successful holding of it ever since the ap- 

 pearance of his first edition. 



It is not at all difficult to see why this 

 book maintains its hold on the public. 

 It is painstaking, and reasonably full as to 

 its facts, comprehensive in its scope, and 

 moderate in price. With admirable hon- 

 esty and tireless patience, the author is 

 scrupulously exact in giving credit for the 

 facts, figures, and illustrations that have 

 been drawn from other sources. We have 

 seen illustrations from Brehm copied in 

 many very pretentious publications, the 

 " Royal Natural History " being the latest, 

 but to Mr. Davie alone, so far as I can re- 

 member, belongs credit for the commend- 

 able honesty of awarding credit by stating 

 under each 'picture, " after Brehm." Such 

 visible conscientiousness is bound to be re-, 

 garded by every reader as evidence that the 

 author has been equally honest and sincere 

 in the preparation of his text. 



Part I. of the present volume mentions 

 all species of North American birds, and 

 for each presents a clear and concise state- 

 ment of what is known regarding its geo- 

 graphical distribution, nesting habits, and 

 eggs. Hundreds of observers are quoted, 

 and the amount of matter in the 509 large 

 octavo pages of brevier type is really very 

 great. Of course the subject matter has 

 been brought down to date, and the species 

 now included for the first time are suitably 

 indicated. Glad, indeed, would we be to 

 possess in one handy volume a similarly 

 complete summary of information regard- 

 ing the breeding habits of our North Amer- 

 ican mammals ! 



An important new feature is the presenta- 

 tion of about 150 illustrations of birds' 

 nests, full-length birds, and birds' heads. 

 The majority of them have been copied 

 from Brehm and other authors, but many 

 were made expressly for this work. Owing 

 to the desirability of keeping the bulk of 

 the volume down to the limits of handiness, 

 and the price to the lowest possible figure, 

 the paper used is lighter than that which is 

 necessary to the best results in the repro- 

 duction of half-tones, and the illustrations 

 of that class are not so clear and satis- 

 factory as the line engravings. Of course 

 heavy, glazed paper, a bulky book, and a 

 •higher price would have produced better 

 figures, but it is highly probable that the 

 great majority of Mr. Davie's readers will 

 prefer to have the volume just as it is. 



At the end of the volume, as Part II., 

 appear three chapters from the author's 

 " Methods in the Art of Taxidermy," on 

 the preparations of bird skins, nests and 

 eggs, illustrated by four full-page plates 

 from that superb work. The latter form 

 the most complete pictorial exposition of 

 skin-making ever published. A copious 



