Books, Etc. for Study and References 
]\Iany inquiries are made regarding books, as to their 
value and reliability. The nature books are beginning to 
assume a proper place among our literature. There have 
been a number published that have mistakes, some of them 
serious, though for the most part they have been correctly 
written. One serious mistake, or a few minor ones, are 
sufficient to bring condemnation on a book. Most of these 
books were hastily compiled, without sufficient data for all 
statements made. 
Students of our day have the advantage of the mistakes 
made by those who have gone before, and have improved 
means for study. Therefore, as a rule, present day students 
are enabled to give more accurate results. The pioneers of 
ornithology, Audubon, Adlson and Gilbert White, will always 
have a place and their works will live, but the books of many 
of the intermediate writers will become next to worthless. 
However, there are many' excellent works in circulation 
that cannot be noted here because of lack of space. 
Many of those which have stood the test of time are 
mentioned, but the majority' are recent. Of the former, most 
of them have been revised and are kept up to date and in a 
sense are recent. Details of the methods of treating the 
subjects are not given. Anyone contemplating buying a 
book on birds or animals l^etter write the publishers for 
details of each book advertised. 
We had hoped to announce a book on the birds of Mich- 
igan. Prof. MTlter B. Barrows, of the Michigan Agricul- 
tural College, has such a work in preparation, which we 
trust will soon be available for students. Prof. Barrows 
was formerly connected with the United States Biological 
Survey, and wrote bulletins on the crow and the English 
sparrow. Prof. Barrows is considered one of the leading 
