Z92- 



THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 



The volumes' are abundantly documented 

 bibliographically. 



BIRDS AND BEASTS OF THE GREEK 

 ANTHOLOGY. 



By Norman Douglas. 



Obtainable from Norman Douglas, 

 c/o T. Cook and Son, 

 $6.00 5! x S|; Z19 Florence, Italy 



This delightful and charming volume, 

 privately and beautifully printed in an 

 edition of five hundred numbered and 

 signed copies, is the kind of book to be 

 written under conditions which can only 

 fill with envy and longing the heart of 

 the poor devil tied to a dingy laboratory 

 on a raw March day. Let the author tell 

 about it. 



Books have been written on the Natural History 

 of the Bible, on that of Shakespeare, of Homer, 

 Virgil and so forth: why not a similar one on the 

 fauna of the Greek Anthology — though the flora, 

 perhaps would be even more interesting? So I often 

 thought, while reading and re-reading this mar- 

 vellous collection which has been my companion 

 for many months past. Three years, I finally con- 

 cluded, might suffice for the venture. Three years, 

 under some vine-wreathed arbour, with the necessary 

 books at one's elbow, and one's soul at ease. Such 

 a thing, it is obvious, should be a holiday perform- 

 ance; written con amore and not otherwise; in rever- 

 ential, playfully-erudite fashion. Three years or 

 even more; for I soon realized that the enterprise 

 might well blossom — why not? — into a general 

 treatise on ancient Natural History and the changes 

 in animal economy which have occurred in the 

 interval between then and now; that it would open 

 up, incidentally, a number of questions social, aes- 

 thetic, and humanitarian, showing how the attitude 

 of mankind towards birds and beasts has altered since 

 those days. Three years, I kept on saying to myself — 

 where shall they be found? 



I shall not find them. 



Be that a pretext for putting together the follow- 

 ing notes which may serve as material for some one 

 more fortunately situated. The pencillings then 

 scrawled in my Anthology are fast fading; I amplified 

 them later with references to such authorities as were 

 accessible, but a good many others would have to 



be consulted if the undertaking were to be brought 

 up to date, such as, for instance, von der Miihlc's 

 book on the Birds of Greece, which I have not been 

 able to procure. 



An undertaking, for the rest, of the gentlemanly 

 kind; quite useless. 



So it is throughout, just utterly useless, 

 perfectly delightful literary gossip about 

 birds and beasts, good food, and such like 

 things. Perhaps the most important 

 thing in the volume is the author's recipe 

 for cooking a langouste. 



A NATURALIST AT THE DINNER 



TABLE. 



By E. G. Boulenger. 



Gerald Duckworth and Co., Ltd. 

 6 shillings 5 x -j\\ 160 London 



A pleasantly and authoritatively written 

 contribution to the ancillary literature of 

 gastronomy. It is not a cookbook, but 

 aims to inform the bon vivant about the 

 natural history of many of the things 

 which come to his plate. No epicure 

 will fail to add this entertaining little 

 volume to his library. 



REALITIES OF BIRD LIFE. Being 

 Extracts from the Diaries of a Life-loving j 

 Naturalist. 



By Edmund Selous. Constable and Co., Ltd. , 

 14 shillings London 



5! x 8|; xvi + 351 

 A highly interesting contribution to : 

 natural history. It is a detailed record of 

 field notes made in connection with "the : 

 intensive watching of birds in natural 

 surroundings." A wide range of species 

 is covered. Especial attention is given to 

 courtship, mating, and nesting behavior. 

 In the case of the ruff (Pavoncella pugnax) 

 Mr. Selous' observations demonstrate 

 sexual selection in the classic Darwinian 



