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NOTICES 
The Sequel to the Death of a Wandering 
Snowy Owl. An Ornithologist’s Dream, 
Illustrated. A Poem. By J. Warren 
Jacobs, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. 
This is a dainty, beautifully printed and 
beautifully illustrated, descriptive poem on 
the death of a wandering snowy owl. Mr. 
Jacobs is well entitled to the term, poet 
naturalist. He sees phenomena of nature 
with an artist’s poetic eye, although in the 
main he is a well informed, practical or- 
nithologist. He has done more for fine 
estates that wish to have efficient bird houses 
than has any one else. In fact he is a leader 
along that line especially with houses spe- 
cially designed for the purple martin. 
Wonders of Insect Life. Details of the Habits 
and Structure of Insects. Illustrated 
by the Camera and the M'croscope. By 
T. H. Crabtree. F. R. P. S. New York 
City: E. P. Dutton & Company. 
In this book a great variety of insects 
are briefly and well described from a popu- 
lar point of view. The illustrations pre- 
pared from photography and photomicrog- 
raphy are sharp, clear, interesting and well 
arranged. It is a readable and entertaining 
book. The author is evidently a good nat- 
uralist with sympathetic regard for the 
popular reader. It of course does not claim 
to be a complete entomology, but it takes 
insects of greatest interest and skillfully 
portrays them. 
The Burgess Bird Book for Children. By 
Thornton W. Burgess. Boston: Little, 
Brown & Company. 
This volume, published several months 
ago. has greatly increased Mr. Burgess’s 
fame. He is well-known through the news- 
papers as the author of interesting bedtime 
stories, and in this book he has continued 
the pleasing narrative style which is pecu- 
liarly his own, and which here represents 
him at his best. Fortunately he has enough 
of the naturalist’s spirit to prevent him from 
distorting facts, although he advances bold- 
ly on the permissible ground of humaniz- 
ing and idealizing. The book makes no at- 
tempt to become a textbook of ornithology 
and there is no formal descriptive matter. 
He has wisely omitted all context in fine 
type for parents, teachers or naturalists, 
and has gone straight to the child and into 
the mental land where the child lives. The 
book is ideally adapted to children, and un- 
like most of that kind, will not be disliked 
by naturalists, or even by the birds them- 
selves, for the reason that it does justice to 
the subject. 
The Burgess Animal Book for Children. 
By Thornton W. Burgess. Boston: 
Little, Brown & Company. 
In view of the great success of “The 
Burgess Bird Book for Children” one would 
naturally suppose that it would be followed 
by a book on four-footed animals; indeed, 
a naturalist wonders why the quadrupeds 
did not precede the birds. We have always 
considered the fanciful portrayal of four- 
footed animals as more amusing than that 
of birds, probably because so many 
four-footed animals are kept as pets. The 
book is in Mr. Burgess’s usual style, so fa- 
miliar to readers everywhere, and de- 
picts a wide range of four-footed animals 
from an aspect that undoubtedly appeals to 
some children more effectively than the nat- 
uralists’ ordinary description. 
There are no technical terms or expres- 
sions that might confuse the young mind. 
Descriptions of the animal’s habits are made 
with clearness and simplicity. We cordially 
recommend the book. 
Textbook of Pastoral and Agricultural 
Botany. By John W. Harshberger, Ph. 
D. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston’s Son & 
Company. 
This is a study of useful and injurious 
plants of farm and country with especial 
reference to the agriculturist. Many of the 
illustrations are novel, some showing ani- 
mals that have been affected by various 
stock killing plants. Readers will be in- 
terested in seeing the effect produced in 
animals that have eaten the loco-weed, lark- 
spur and other plants. The ’ist of injurious 
plants is long and astonishing. A series of 
illustrations shows sheep and hogs that have 
eaten the white snakeroot. 
Wild Creatures of Garden and Hedgerow. 
By Frances Pitt. New York City: Dodd, 
Mead and Company. 
The intent of thus book is especially to 
interest the boys and girls. The stones are 
told in simple language and the subjects 
are the everyday creatures that one meets 
in garden and meadow, such as mice, birds, 
frogs, toads, etc. All human beings are in- 
quisitive. We walk about as animated in- 
terrogation marks, asking how and why the 
creatures around us do thus and so. The 
author has tr’ed to answer these auestions 
and does so in a pleasing manner. Although 
the observations ivere made in England they 
will nec^ertheless appeal to our American 
naturalists. 
