BOOK NOTICES. 



47i 



name of the king of American game birds. 

 All the more pity since this same bird has 

 been chosen as the emblem of the League of 

 American Sportsmen. 



Wild Animals I Have Known, and 200 

 Drawings,- by Ernest Seton Thompson. 

 Being the Personal Histories of Lobo, Sil- 

 verspot, Raggylug, Bingo, The Springfield 

 Fox, Pacing Mustang, Wully and Redruff. 

 New York. Charles Scribner's Sons. 8vo., 

 cloth, pp. 359. $2. 



HOUGH'S "AMERICAN WOODS." 



Several years ago, Mr. Romeyn B. Hough 

 discovered that with the right kind of a 

 machine, it is possible to cut wood into 

 sections as thin as paper, which are almost 

 transparent, and yet fully retain the color, 

 texture and cell structure of the original 

 tree. The first cards produced in this way 

 were regarded either as curiosities, or as 

 highly interesting botanical specimens, and 

 when it was found that certain kinds would 

 take ink quite as well as paper, their great 

 novelty led to the production of. millions of 

 them for use by business men. To keep 

 pace with the demand for his wooden cross- 

 section cards, Mr. Hough invented and 

 manufactured special machinery for the 

 work of cutting, erected a factory, and en- 

 tered seriously into this unique and inter- 

 esting industry. 



The logical result of all this was the be- 

 ginning of a great reference work, or book, 

 on " American Woods," of which Part I. is 

 now before me. Instead of picture illustra- 

 tions, this unique book contains 75 speci- 

 mens of real wood, each 2 by 4 inches in 

 size, and so mounted that both sides of each 

 specimen are shown. 



Of the 25 species of American trees that 

 are treated of in the printed text of this 

 volume, each species is represented by 3 

 specimens of wood, a cross section, a radial 

 section, and a tangential section. For ob- 

 vious reasons, the bark does not appear. 

 Of course each specimen ,is an unsullied 

 sheet of natural wood, without oil or polish; 

 and they are mounted in openings in black 

 cardboard leaves, like photographs in an 

 album, 3 on a page, and both sides alike. 



The whole thing is very fetching, and 

 whether for educational or commercial pur- 

 poses, the result is of great value. Truly, 

 this age should be called the age of reference 

 made easy. Instead of a school, a builder, 

 an architect, a botanist, or any one else 

 being compelled to spend $25 in collecting 

 75 specimens of 25 different kinds of wood, 

 and even then scarcely knowing how to 

 make them available, here is the entire lot, 

 beautifully put up in a book-like volume, 

 royal octavo size, with a booklet of ex- 

 planatory text, all for $5. 



" American Woods " is designed to cover, 

 eventually, all of the woods of the United 

 States, in a series of 12 or 15 volumes, or 

 " parts," similar to the one before me. 



Seven of these volumes have already been 

 issued. The first 4 cover practically all of 

 the woods of the central region of the 

 United States East of the Rocky mountains, 

 and North of the Carolinas, the 5th those 

 of the Southeastern states, and the 6th 

 and 7th those of the Pacific slope. In 

 this connection I must say I am pleased to 

 note that this work is not offered on the 

 all-or-none basis which is usually adopted 

 for works of reference. The parts can be 

 purchased separately, at the regular price. 



It is impossible to commend this work 

 too highly. About it there is nothing to 

 criticize, and but one thing to suggest. As 

 an aid in identifying species, I wish Mr. 

 Hough would include in the text of each 

 succeeding part an outline cut of the mature 

 leaf, and, if possible, a small figure of the 

 living tree. The additional cost would be 

 trifling, and the addition in value and prac- 

 tical utility would trebly repay it. In all 

 other respects the text is complete and sat- 

 isfactory. It contains, besides a general in- 

 troduction to the study of trees, 3 separate 

 keys for the identification of the species 

 represented in this part, viz., by the flowers, 

 by the fruit, and by the leaves. Each species 

 is treated at reasonable length under the 

 following sub-heads: Names, in English, 

 German, French and Spanish; Specific 

 Characters, Size, Habitat, Physical Proper- 

 ties, Uses and Medicinal Properties. 



As far as the issue of the work has pro- 

 ceeded, it has elicited only the highest 

 encomiums of the press, and of private in- 

 dividuals who by reason of expert knowl- 

 edge are best qualified to judge of its merits. 

 It is absolutely without a rival, and as long 

 as there are trees in North America it will 

 continue to be a standard work. 



" American Woods," exhibited by actual 

 specimens, with copious explanatory text. 

 By Romeyn B. Hough, B.A., Part I., 25 

 species, 26 sets of sections. Second edition. 

 Royal octavo, green cloth, 79 pp. text. 

 Lowville, N. Y., R. B. Hough, 1899. $5 a 

 part. 



A handy volume has come to my desk, 

 entitled " Bicycle Repairing." In it the au- 

 thor and the publishers have aimed to pre- 

 sent a thoroughly complete manual on re- 

 pairing — a practical and reliable guide for 

 the proper mending of every part of a bi- 

 cycle. This is the fourth edition of the book 

 and new chapters and additions have been 

 introduced covering every important phase 

 of the subject not discussed in the earlier 

 editions. Many divisions of the original 

 volume have been greatly amplified. 



The bicycle is treated as a machine com- 

 posed of many parts, each of which may be 

 damaged to a greater or less extent. Every 

 injury to which each part is liable is dis- 

 cussed fully, and the best methods of mak- 

 ing the necessary repairs are explained thor- 

 oughly. The treatment of assembled parts, 



