SHORT NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
75 
The compiler, and the writer who has nothing to say, are, and so far as we can 
judge will be, with us always, and need not be mentioned unless duty calls upon 
us to notice their works. But a Jefferies, like a White of Selborne, is rare ; his 
writings .should be read and read again, and cherished as a precious possession, 
and they should be among the very first to appear on the shelves of that Selborne 
Library which we hope will, at no distant date, form a prominent feature in the 
work of every branch of the Selborne Society. 
SHORT NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
An Account of British Flies (Diptera), by F. V. Theobald, B.A. , F. E.S. (Vol. 
i., 8vo, pp. XX. 215, plates and woodcuts. London : Stock.) The Diptera, or two- 
winged flies, are, as far as known at present, more numerous in England than any 
other order of insects except the Hymenoptera and Coleoptera, the number of 
existing species being variously estimated at from 2,500 to 3,000. But very little 
attention has been paid to them in this country, for — if we except a small number 
of students who have taken up their study within the last few years, and general 
writers on entomology like Curtis and Stephens — Haliday, Walker, Meade and 
Verrall almost exhaust the list of English writers on the order, and even their 
work, except Walker’s Insecta Britannica Diptera and Verrall’s Catalogue of 
British Diptera, has been exclusively confined to papers in periodicals. Hence 
Mr. Theobald has done good work in bringing together a large amount of infor- 
mation which will be very useful to young entomologists who wish to take up the 
study of Diptera, especially if working in the country, at a distance from large 
libraries where they cannot obtain the great European works, even if they should 
be able to read them. On the Continent things are much more satisfactory, and 
the great works of Macquart and Robineau-Desvoidy for France, Meigen and 
Loew for Europe generally, Schiner for Austria (perhaps the most complete and 
valuable book of all), Rondani for Italy, Van der Wulp for Holland, and Zetter- 
stedt for Lapland, leave little to be desired ; though the number of smaller books 
and papers on Diptera is much less than that relating to the more popular orders 
of insects. Too much should not be expected from a book of the character of Mr. 
Theobald’s, but we notice here and there a slight looseness of statement which he 
would do well to avoid. Thus, Walker’s Diptera, which is stated to have been 
written “more than fifty years ago” bears dates 1851, 1853 and 1856; and 
Morris’s Catalogue of British Insects, referred to as published nearly fifty years 
ago, was published, we believe, about 1865, or perhaps even later. W. F. K. 
Old Rabbit, the Voodoo, and other Sorcerers, by Mary Alicia Owen. Illustrated 
by Juliette A. Owen and Louis Wain. (8vo, pp. xv., 310. London; T. F. Unwin. 
6s.) Those who are acquainted with “ Brer Rabbit ” — and we hope all the readers 
of Nature Notes are reckoned among their number — will be glad to learn more 
of his adventures from the pen of another recorder. But in Miss Owen’s delight- 
ful book our old friend meets with a formidable rival in the shape of “ Ole Wood- 
pecker,” who occupies in the feathered world the position which Brer Rabbit 
fills among animals, is more than a match for “ Blue Jay ” — Mark Twain’s blue 
jay — and is as unprincipled, as unscrupulous, and, we regret to add, as successful 
as that “ lowdownest watsizname ” himself. Of course, as Mr. C. G. Leland 
points out in his brief but suggestive preface, the importance of such a collection 
of stories as this is to be found in its scientific aspect ; and the student of folklore 
will fully appreciate the care with which Miss Owen has brought together so much 
hitherto unpublished matter bearing on the mysterious subject of Voodooism and 
the like. But just as the Brothers Grimm provided by means of their investigations 
a most fascinating collection of tales for children, so such books as this not only 
gratify the learned, but add various delightful beings to the population of our 
playrooms and nurseries. It has been said, both of Uncle Remus and of the present 
volume, that the dialect in which the stories are narrated detracts from the charm 
of the book. We do not think so. On the contrary, it appears to us that the 
stories gain by this quaint medium, which really presents so little difficulty that we 
