734 The American Naturalist. [September, 
Structure and Life of Birds.’—In this volume the author un- 
dertakes to show the development of birds from reptilian ancestors from 
anatomical evidence, He then describes the structure in detail, dwell- 
ing on the work done by special organs. The chapter on flight com- 
prising some hundred pages, contains the latest information on this 
vexed problem, and includes much original matter, the result of Mr. 
Headley’s personal investigations and observations. Color and song, 
instinct and reason, migration, and the principles of classification are 
‘treated of in separate chapters. A brief recapitulation of the argu- 
ments for and against the theory that the ancestors of the ostrich 
family were birds of flight, and hints as to the best methods of studying 
ornithology, are given in concluding the subject. Each chapter is 
accompanied by a list of books bearing upon the topic under discussion. 
Seventy-eight illustrations are given in the text, some of which are 
reproductions from photographs of birds in motion. 
RECENT BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. 
AMERICAN, AN.—The Cuban Question in its true light. New York, 1895. 
From the author. 
BAILEY, V.—List of Mammals of the District of Columbia. Extr. Proceeds. 
Biol. Soc. Washington, Vol. X, 1896. From the author. 
Batpwin, J. M.—Heredity and Instinct. Pt. II, Extr. Science, April, 1896. 
From the author. 
Benepict, J. E.—Preliminary Descriptions of a new genus and three new spe- 
cies of Crustaceans from an artesian well at San Marcos, Texas. Extr. Proceeds. 
U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. XVIII, 1896. From the author. 
Bulletins 34 and 35, 1895, Agric. Exper. Station, Kingston, R. I. 
Bulletin No. 95 (n. s.) 1895, New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 
CaTTELL, J. McK.—On Reaction Times and the Velocity of the Nervous im- 
National Acad. Sci., Vol. VII, Second Memoir. 
CoKEnoweEkr, J. W.—Can Maternal Mental Emotions produce Malformations, 
Deformities or Birthmarks? Extr. Omaha Clinic, 1894. From the author. 
KE, M. C.—Introduction to the Study of the Fungi. London, 1895, Adam 
and Charles Black. From the Pub. 
Day, D. T.—Mineral Resources of the United States, 1894, Non-metallic Pro- 
ducts. Sixteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Surv., 1894-95. Part IV. From the 
Survey. 1 
“t Biractare and Life of Binds. By F. W. Headley. New Yoik ssid Lenton, 
1895, Macmillan & Co. $2.00. 
