462 



/p^.^.v-n^^ (^uii Book Noiiccs. 



pleasing letterpress, w >y capable authors, the book contains some 



hundreds of photogro i .1, .\ presenting Nature in her various phases — 

 mountain and stream. lu.uiuual, bird and insect, tree, shrub and fungus. 

 In addition, there are a number of coloured plates, mounted on tinted 

 paper ; the whole forming an admirable gilt-book. The general ' get-up ' 

 of the volunie also lea\-es nothhig to be desired. 



Little Gardens and How to Make the Most of Them, by 

 H. H. Thomas. Cassell & Co., 150 pp., 1/6. 



This book is full of useful and practical hints on laying out, stocking 

 and caring for small gardens. The flower-garden receives chief attention, 

 and is treated from so many points of view, that the suggestions are help- 

 ful in laying out a garden in almost any aspect. The illustrations are very 

 numerous, many from photographs, and cannot fail in suggesting ideas 

 suitable for small gardens. ^Methods of pruning, budding, layering, trim- 

 ming, and other forms of training and propagating plants are given, and 

 usually illustrated by diagrams which help much to elucidate the text. 

 The two last chapters deal with the kitchen garden, and the growth of 

 fruit trees. Throughout, copious lists of species suitable for various 

 conditions are given. 



Animal Life in Malaysia, by J. Frank Daniel. Second Edition 

 The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis- 220 pp. 



This is e\'idently intended for the use of teachers in giving nature 

 study lessons to scholars, and contains useful lessons on the more important 

 forms of vertebrate and invertebrate life ; the illustrations being drawn 

 from the ^Malaysian islands. Each chapter contains the main points likely 

 to be of service to youngsters, and is followed by a list of questions bearing 

 on the lesson. These are usually very carefully drawn up. The book is 

 illustrated by a A ariety of blocks, several from photographs being excellent. 

 Some, howe\ er, are from ' drawings,' and should certainly be replaced by 

 better examples in another edition. We doubt if anyone would have guessed 

 w-hat the ' head of the two-horned African rhinoceros ' (p. 34) was, if the 

 description had not been given. Tt would look much better up-side-down, 

 and labelled ' the devil.' 



British Country Life in Autumn and Winter. Edited by Edward. 

 Thomas. Hodder & Stoug-hton, 240 pp., price 8/6 net. 



This is a companion volume to that for ' Spring and Summer ' noticed 

 in our columns for December 1907, p. 438, and the remarks then made 

 about the charm and beauty of the publication equally apply to the present 

 volume. We must also again refer to its remarkably low price, having 

 regard to the size of the book, and the wealth of coloured plates mounted 

 on tinted paper. There are forty-three chapters in the book, written by 

 Canon Vauglian, Richard South, G. A. B. Dewar, A. W. Rees, J. Walpole 

 Bond, A. H. Patterson, and other well-known writers. The subjects 

 dealt with are varied, and include Richard Jefferies, Gilbert White, Our 

 Vanishing Fauna, The National History of Place Names, The Entomologist's 

 Methods, etc., etc. The book is light, the type is large, the illustrations 

 are 'f pictures,' and the w^hole of the articles are very entertaining. What 

 better companion could one want for a leisure afternoon ? 



Of course we could hardly expect to refer to new natural history books 

 without including something from the pen of Mr. W. P. Westell. His 

 latest, ' The Story of the Sea and Shore ' (London, Robert CuUey, 

 343 pp., 5/- net), is prepared in his usual style. As usual, also, he is mainly 

 indebted for the success of his book to photographers and artists who have 

 supplied the illustrations. The present volume deals with whales, fishes, 

 seals, birds, molluscs, jelly-fish, ' plants and shrubs,' etc. We notice Mr. 

 Westell visited Yorkshire, and walked forty miles in a day. On reading 

 that part relating to the Birds of the Flamborough Headland, we 

 found it to be uncommonly well done, having been largely ' lifted ' 

 from Mr. E. W, Wade's well-known pamphlet on that subject. 



N'aturalist, 



