Reviews and Book Notices, 



Useful Birds of Southern Australia, by Robert Hall (306 pp., 

 price 3/6). A Guide to the Study of Australian Butterflies, by W. 



J. Rainbow (272 pp., price 3/6). T. C. Lothian, 49 Elizabeth Street, 

 ISIelbourne. 



In these two excellent volumes there is much valuable information 

 relating to two important sections of the fauna of Australia. The book ort 

 birds, besides being a reliable account of the avifauna of a part of our 

 colony, indicates at once the great usefulness of the birds to their district, 

 and in this way w^ill probably accomplish much good. From a scientific 

 point of view, the descriptions are clear, accurate, and are illustrated by 

 several photographs of the birds and their nests. The book is divided 

 into six parts, dealing with insect-eating birds, insect and vermin-destroy- 

 ing birds, insect and seed-eating birds, insect and fruit-eating birds, insect, 

 nectar and fruit-eating birds, insectivorous birds and others introduced 

 from the northern hemisphere. 



The second volume is an excellent account of the butterflies of the col- 

 ony, illustrated by a coloured plate, some dozens of other excellent plates,, 

 and nearly two-hundred illustrations in the text. The author is the 

 entomologist at the Australian Museum, and consequently is one whose 

 descriptions can be thoroughly relied upon. The book is prefaced by an 

 account of the various phases of the life history of the butterfly, hints 

 on collecting, preserving, rearing, etc. 



Final Natural History Essays, by Graham Renshaw. Manchester : 

 Sherratt & Hughes, 226 pp., price 6/- net. 



This is the third volume of essays issued from the pen of Dr. Renshaw. 

 His ' Natural History Essays ' was issued in 1904 ; his second was " More 

 Natural History Essays.' The present volume is equal to the standard 

 attained by the other two, and contains clear descriptions of many little- 

 known mammals. We are sorry to notice the word ' final ' at the heading 

 of the third volume, as these essays are so clearly written, so refreshing 

 and reliable, and the information is so evidently given at first hand from the 

 pen of a well-informed writer, that it is quite a relief to read them, and they 

 form a pleasant contrast to the vast amount of so-called natural history 

 literature which has been accumulating on our desk for some time. The 

 present volume contains sixty essays, and whether viewed from the stand- 

 point of the zoologist or the historian, each one is admirably carried out. 

 Museum curators and collectors of trophies of the chase will find this book 

 very useful from the information it gives. The subjects dealt with are 

 the Drill Baboon, Ring-tailed Lemur, Ocelot Cat, Caracal Lynx, Brown 

 Hyaena, Arctic Fox, Pacific Walrus, European Bison, Cape Buft'alo, Musk 

 Ox, Barbary Sheep, Nilgai Antelope, Beisa Antelope, Beatrix Antelope, 

 Leucoryx Antelope, Bubaline Antelope, Blesbok Antelope, Babirusa Hog, 

 Sumatran Rhinoceros, European Beaver, Canadian Porcupine, Spotted 

 Paca, Tasmanian Devil, and the Duck-billed Platypus. There are many 

 plates from photographs, most of which are admirable. 



Some Nature Biographies by J. J. Ward. London : John Lane, 

 307 pp., 5/- net. In this book Mr. Ward brings together several articles 

 which originally appeared in various popular monthly magazines. But 

 they are good examples of the way in which natural history can be put in 

 readable form without sacrifice of scientific accuracy. Mr. Ward's method 

 has been to regularly take photographs of changes in natural phenomena. 

 In the case of the bursting of the bud of a chestnut, the photographs are taken 

 daily ; a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis is ' taken ' every few seconds. 

 But each article is illustrated by a number of well-selected photographs — 

 there being no fewer than two-hundred in all. Butterflies and moths are 

 the author's favourites, but he also deals with ' Coal,' ' Nature's Units,' and 

 ' Jelly-fish.' The twelve plates showing the views of a bridge over a stream,, 

 in Warwickshire, one taken each month of the year, are really charming^ 

 At a crown the book is very cheap. 



1908 March i. 



