I 12 
NATURE NOTES. 
SHORT NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
The May instalment of The Country Month by Month merits similar praise 
to that which we have bestowed on preceding volumes ; and the series, when 
completed, will form a valuable accession to the Selbornian’s library. We note 
that the Columbine is said to be either “ white, dull purple, or light brown,” in 
a wild state. This is contrary to our experience : the plant which grows in the 
woods of South Buckinghamshire has large bright blue, flowers, far more beautiful 
than those usually met with in gardens. The cautionary note that “ the hawthorn 
may not be open until the middle of the month,” was not necessary this year, 
when it seemed much earlier than other plants ; we saw it fairly well in blossom 
not far from Oxford on April 29th. Something more might have been said 
about the flowers of the horse chestnut, which are described as “ flecked with 
splashes of pink and lines of yellow ; ” the distribution of these patches is more 
regular than the authors seem to have noticed. But these are excellent little 
books. 
Mr. I. W. Tutt’s Random Recollections of Woodland, Fen and Hill (Sonnens- 
cheiii, 3s. 6d.) are mainly, though not entirely, entomological, as might be ex- 
pected from the editor of the Entomologists’ Record. The author has a fondness 
for startling titles. “ The Escaped Convict,” “ Why the Negro is Black,” “ The 
Love-making of the Ghost,” “ The Coastguard’s ^Iistake,” are the headings of 
ome of his chapters. He is wrong in supposing that the fritillary butterfly took 
its name from the resemblance of its markings to those of the flower so called 
both are to be traced to the Latin fritillus. The lady’s smock, which to Shakes- 
peare appeared “ all silver-white,” is “ bright pink ” or “ red,” to Mr. Tutt’seye, 
which suggests that he must be affected with something like colour-blindness. 
There seems also to be some confusion in the description of the Birdsfoot Trefoil 
(p. 139). There is, however, a great deal of pleasant and useful reading in the 
book, although the inelegant arrangement of the “contents” is calculated to 
prejudice the reader unfavourably. We hope the owner of “ the cement works 
at ” whom the author styles “ one of Nature’s abortions,” is not typical of 
the kind of person to be met with in ram’oles in the neighbourhood of Cuxton ; 
although Mr. Tutt tells us that “ this type of man is not rare,” we are inclined to 
doubt the accuracy of his statement. 
We have from time to time (Nature Notes, 1893, pp. 51, 89, 153) called 
attention to the admirable Fieldpath Rambles (R. E. Taylor & Son, 19, Old 
.Street, E.C.), in which Mr. Walker Miles is giving to the public the benefit of 
his extensive knowledge of the most picturesque districts in the neighbourhood of 
the Metropolis. Having completed his four series of cross-country routes in West 
Kent, he has now transferred his sphere of operations to the Surrey Hills. We 
have received the Fifth Series ( Round Dorkmg and Box Hill, price 6d. ), and though 
as yet we have had no opportunity of submitting it to a practical test, we are per- 
suaded by our complete success in tracking out the routes described in the West 
Kent Series, that the fullest confidence may be placed in the guidance of the 
author, and that even a total stranger will find it impossible to lose his way. But 
the precise directions are by no means the only merit of the work. The routes 
detailed will lead the pedestrian to points of vantage commanding some of the most 
magnificent scenery in the south of England. Welcome scraps of information on 
matters of local interest are added, and the text is clearly printed ; but we venture 
to think that the book would benefit by the omission of the red borders to the 
pages and of the rather crude woodcuts. A. G. 
Mr. L. N. Badenoch’s Romance of the Insect World (Macmillan & Co., 6s.) 
is a popular work, dealing with metamorphosis, food, hermit homes, social homes 
and defences of insects, or protection as derived from colour. The illustrations 
are good and partly original, though some are necessarily copied from other 
sources, which are acknowledged. There is a glossary of technical terms at the 
end, and a good index, and it strikes us as a novelty that terms explained in the 
glossar)' are marked in the text with an asterisk. The letterpress is fairly well 
