BOOK NEWS. 



Bradford Torrey always writes entertainingly, and a new 

 book by him needs no fresh praise for its literary merits. In "A 

 World of Green Hills"* the reader is given enchanting glimpses of 

 nature in North Carolina and Virginia in early spring. The author 

 visited the region primarily to study the birds, of which he found 

 many rare ones to interest him, but the wild flowers were too 

 attractive to be overlooked, and both are blended in this book* 

 which all lovers of out-doors will delight to read. 



" The Plant Baby "f is a book on botany that little folks will 

 appreciate. While primarily intended for the use of teachers in 

 the lower grades, it is written in simple, untechnical language 

 that any child of five can understand. Beginning with the plant 

 in its " cradle," as the seed is called, the subject is gradually de- 

 veloped until without conscious effort the child has learned how 

 plants grow, how they get their food, how the flowers are con- 

 structed and many other facts which the beginner needs to know. 

 The book is profusely illustrated, well printed, and, with the ex- 

 ception of an occasional slip in the text — as when it is said that 

 seeds which have lain in the pyramids for centuries have after- 

 wards germinated — is well written. 



An interesting collection of poems dealing with the various 

 phases of nature has appeared under the title of " Poetry of the 

 Seasons.":}: The book is designed for "grammar schools and 

 home libraries." While it seems to meet the requirements of the 

 former admirably, it may be questioned whether the omission of 

 several of the better known American poems will make the collec- 

 tion as acceptable to the general reader. The compiler's greatest 

 fault seems to be a tendency to draw upon the "minor poets;" 

 but there are doubtless many, familiar with the others, who will 

 value the book for this very reason. On the whole the collection 

 is one of considerable merit, since it contains some three hundred 

 poems representing the work of one hundred and seventy English 

 and American authors. The poems are grouped under the four 

 seasons. There are four full-page illustrations and numerous 

 others in the text. The type, paper and press-work are excep- 

 tionally good. 



*" A World of Green Hills," by Bradford Torrey ; Houghton, Mifflin & 

 Co., Boston and New York. i8q8. 16-mo., 282 pp.. price $1.25. 



t"The Plant Baby and Its Friends," by Kate Louise Brown; Silver, 

 Burdett & Co., Boston. 1898. 8-vo . pp. 155, introductory price 48 cents. 



t" Poetry of the Seasons," compiled'by Mary I. Lovejoy ; Silver, Bur- 

 dett & Co., Boston, i8q8. 12-mo., 336 pp., introduction price 60 cents. 



