Reviews and Book Notices. 



287 



nephew. The present volume has followed Mr. Westell's larger ' Story of 

 Insect Life,' which was not sent to us, so we cannot compare the two. 

 Judging from the experience gained from seeing previous volumes, how- 

 ever, we should imagine that the present is a ' boiled down ' edition of its 

 predecessor, and we hope in the process that much of the irritating talky- 

 talky nonsense has been omitted, though apparently all of it has not. 

 We were going to refer to the style of the writing in the present volume, 

 but we find from the author's preface that it is modestly described as 

 ' bright, crisp, and entertaining,' so we will take his word for it, though 

 many wouldn't. 



The Farm shown to the Children, by F. M. B. and A. H. Blaikie, 



described by Foster Meadow. Edinburgh, T. C. and E. C. Jack, 91 pp., 

 price t/ . This is a further addition to Messrs. Jack's well-known ' Shewn 

 to the Children ' series, and has all the merits of the volumes previously 

 noticed in these columns. From the knowledge possessed by the author, 

 it is evident that his selection to describe the beautiful pictures is as 

 appropriate as is his name. The Farm is dealt with very cleverly, from 

 almost every aspect, and in a way delightful to young folks. 



Gleanings from the Fields of Nature, by E. T. Connold, F.Z.S. 

 Religious Tract Society, 270 pp., price 3/6 net. Like so many of the 

 publications from this firm, Mr. Connold's book is a remarkably cheap' 

 production. It consists of a series of essays dealing with spiders, sea- 

 urchins, ants, whelks, wasps, fungi, etc., etc., bound together. There are 

 several illustrations from photographs, mostly of specimens secured in the 

 Hastings district, now in the author's ' private museum.' There is what 

 the author calls an ' excellent introduction ' to the volume from the pen 

 of Dr. David Anderson-Berry, in which that writer says nice things about 

 Mr. Connold ; most of it, however, is rather too much like a sermon. To 

 young readers particularly ' Gleanings from the Fields of Nature ' will 

 appeal. 



Nature Study Made Easy, by E. B. Shallow and W. T. Cullen. 



The MacMillan Company, New York, 136 pp., 2/-. This is evidently 

 intended as a reading book for young children, and begins with ' Oh, Mary, 

 what a beautiful flower, cried little Nellie Brown.' Nellie then asks if it 

 has any perfume, and in this way gets some information about a rose, 

 which reminds her of the lily, and later of a poem ' the Lily and the Rose,' 

 which is given, and so on. The book is written in fairly simple language, 

 and is profusely illustrated. As in the case of so many ' Nature Study ' 

 books, it is confined to plants. 



Nature Study and Brush Drawing, correlated on Heuristic lines, 

 by W. F. Rankine. Cassell & Co. 64 pp. This is really an excellent 

 book of its kind, the numerous carefully drawn illustrations of animal and 

 plant life being in white on a black back-ground, suitable for reproducing 

 on the blackboard. The descriptions given Math each are well thought out, 

 and will prove most serviceable to teachers. At the end of the volume are 

 notes on collecting and preserving specimens, observations and records, 

 and a ' Nature Calendar.' 



The World's Birds, by Frank Finn. London : Hutchinson & Co., 

 180 pp., price 5/- net. 



This book was originally started as a joint production of Dr. Chalmers 

 Mitchell and Mr. Finn, but the appointment of the former as Secretary of 

 the Zoological Society prevented the joint production of the work, but 

 nevertheless, the author has carried out the task well, single-handed 

 The volume contains a useful summary of the chief families, the descrip- 

 tions being supplemented by several excellent diagrams in the text, and 

 by numerous plates from photographs of birds in the ' Zoo.' The matter 

 is necessarily ' boiled down,' but is rendered perfectly intelligible and handy 

 by being placed under the heads of ' Diagnosis, size, form, plumage and 

 colouration, young, nest, eggs, incubation, courtship, food, gait, flight, 

 disposition and habits, note, economic quahties, captivity, and distribution 

 of important species.' 



1908 July I. 



