412 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (Nou. XXXIX. 
tunate that a work dealing with the vertebrates only should pre-empt 
such a broad title as “The American Natural History," which, with- 
out the accompanying subtitle, is apt to be rather misleading. ‘The 
latter, “A foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of 
North America," is much more nearly descriptive of the character of 
the book in hand. As the author states in his preface, it has been 
his primary intention to provide for the boys and girls of North 
America between the ages of fourteen or fifteen and the age at which 
they usually enter the university, an introduction to the * higher ani- 
mals” of the continent, in a form that will be interesting and pleasing 
as well as instructive ; also to furnish a book of reference for teach- 
ers in the intermediate grades. All who have read Mr. Hornaday's 
“Two Years in the Jungle” are aware of his ability to write 
entertainingly, and his years of experience in the field and in the 
New York Zoölogical Park have given him opportunities for study- 
ing the living animals such as comparatively few men have had. 
These advantages have been combined to make * The American 
Natural History" good and instructive reading, not only for young 
people, but for any who have a limited acquaintance with our ani- 
mals. 
In general, only the commoner forms have been selected for treat- 
ment, but in some cases descriptions are given of the rarer species, 
while a number of exotic animals, such as the Monotremes, the fruit- 
eating bats, etc., are introduced to fill the gaps in the North Ameri- 
can fauna. The treatment of the various forms varies considerably, 
apparently to a large extent with the author's interest. The portion 
dealing with the Ungulates is especially extensive and contains much 
original information gained from experience with the animals in cap- 
tivity. Throughout the work a special point has been made of refut- 
ing popular fallacies, such as, that beavers use their tails as trowels, 
that porcupines shoot their quills, that mountain sheep alight on their 
horns, and that the hog-nosed snake is poisonous, — a feature which 
should be conducive of good results. Protection, especially of the 
game animals, has also received considerable attention and emphasis, 
a subject which it is well to bring to the attention of the public 
whenever possible. 
The illustrations are numerous, and in most cases excellent. This 
is especially true of the reproductions of photographs, which cannot 
be praised too highly; but on the other hand, some of the drawings, 
especially of the mammals and fishes, seem hardly up to the standard 
of the day, at least in artistic effect. One cannot but wish that in 
