EE VIEWS. 
85 
HOMES WITHOUT HANDS,* 
HE earlier numbers of this the best work which Mr. Wood has yet 
written, received a favourable notice at our hands. The volume is 
now published in its complete form, and it is only just to say that it is one 
of the most interesting treatises on natural history which our language 
possesses. The author has conceived the happy plan of treating of animals 
according to the mode of construction shown in their habitations. We know 
of no previous work in which this scheme has been adopted, and hence we 
think that “ Homes without Hands ” is likely to become the book of 
reference upon the subject of the dwellings of animals. Of course, the great 
bulk of Mr. Wood’s labours was that of the compiler, and therefore there is 
not much originality to be sought for or expected ; but so far as the 
compilation is concerned, we think the writer has conscientiously dis- 
charged his duty to the public. We notice a few errors, but after all 
they are trifling ones when the whole merit of the work is taken into 
consideration. Mr. Wood has divided his subject into seven distinct 
parts. He begins with the simplest and most natural form of habitation, 
namely, a burrow in the ground. Then follows an account of those creatures 
that suspend their homes in the air. Next in order come the animals that 
are real builders, forming their domiciles of mud, stones, sticks, and similar 
materials. The fifth section includes those creatures which live mainly in 
communities ; the sixth, those which are parasitic on animals or plants ; and 
the seventh, those which build on branches. Under each of these divisions 
the animals are arranged in their proper zoological order, commencing with 
mammalia. Let us select examples from some of these groups. Until Dr. 
Bennet published his observations, we knew very little of the habits of the 
Ornithorynchus. Now, however, this creature’s natural history is fully made 
out, and the following is Mr. Wood’s account of its burrow : — “ The duck-bill 
always makes its home in the bank of some stream. There are always two 
entrances to the burrow, one below the surface of the water and the other 
above. This latter entrance is always hidden most carefully under over- 
shadowing leaves and drooping plants. When the grasses are put aside, 
there is seen a hole of moderate size, on the sides of which are imprinted the 
footmarks of the animal. From this the burrow passes upwards, winding a 
sinuous course, and often running to a considerable length. From twenty to 
thirty feet is the usual average, but burrows have been found where the 
length was full fifty feet, and where the course was most amazingly variable, 
bending and twisting about so as to tire the excavators.” In this manner 
does Mr. Wood proceed to describe all the burrowing animals. Not confining 
himself either to the description of the habitations, he comments upon the 
habits and characters of the animal, so that his work is a vast compre- 
hensive store of natural history knowledge. Here is an account of a spider 
* “Homes without Hands.” By the Rev. J. Gr. Wood, M.A, London : 
Longmans & Co. 1865. 
