76 
XATURE XOTES 
have been expected, both in this gioup and among insects his diligence was 
rewarded by the discovery of novelties. We should be glad to know what is the 
species of tree-fern which forms the remarkably “ pure” forest on South Trinidad, 
of which we are allowed to reproduce the illustration, and we frequently find 
ourselves, while reading Mr. iN’icoU's interesting narrative, filled with regret that 
the comparatively small coaling capaci y of the ” Valhalla ” often much curtailed 
their stay in the islands visited. The whole “get up ” of the volume is excellent ; 
and of the many first-rate plates that of Abbott’s Ibis on Aldabra (which we are 
also permitted to reproduce) is one of the most attractive. 
Bees, IVasps ami Ants, and other Stinging Insects. By Edward Saunders. 
With numerous Illustrations in the text, and four Coloured Plates by Con- 
stance A. Saunders. in. x 5 in. Pp. 144. George Routledge and 
Sons. Price 3s. 6d. 
Mr. Saunders is well known as an authority upon the aculeate Hymenoptera, 
and it is always desirable that our most elementary manuals should come from 
the pens of our best authorities ; for it is far more difficult to teach beginners 
than advanced students. These highest insects are lull of interest, and it is 
much to be wished that more of our younger observers and collectors would 
turn their attention to the Hymenoptera. Of the Aculeata alone there are some 
400 species in this country, many of them most imperfectly known. W^e cannot 
imagine any work more likely to be conducive to this wider spread of the study 
than the present series of short clear chapters. They are far more anatomical 
than our President’slwell-known work, which is, in fact, rather a contribution 
to comparative 'psychology. We believe that most persons will rise from its 
perusal with the sole regret that there is not more of it. We note that Gilbert 
White is cited as accurately describing the habits of a bee, and that Mr. Saunders 
states the curious generalization that “ Eccentricity in structure almost always 
occurs in the male ; excess of coloration usually in the female.” 
British Birds' Nests : How, Where, and When to Find and Identify Them. By 
Richard Kearton. Illustrated from photographs by C. Kearton, and with 
Coloured Plates of eggs. New Edition. In sixteen fortnightly parts. 
9V in. X in. Cassell and Co. Price is. net per part. 
This “ revised and enlarged ” edition of the popular work which first appeared 
in 1895 is to contain the best of the pictures in “ Our Rarer British Breeding 
Birds” (published in 1899), and other more recent achievements of these most 
successful bird-photographers. Six “Rembrandt” plates on stout card and 
fifteen coloured plates of eggs, comprising 140 species, will render the work, 
when complete, a remarkably cheap one. The present part contains forty-four 
pages ; the birds, dealt with in the alphabetical order of their English names, 
extending from Accentor to Chough. There is an excellent Rembiandt plate of 
a young Buzzard, and a coloured plate of the eggs of Terns, which is a master- 
piece in tricolour printing, besides eight whole-page illustrations of nests, and 
twelve smaller ones. The text consists of brief practical descriptions of the 
adult plumage of both sexes, the situation, locality, and materials of the nest, the 
eggs and the time of year when they are laid, with remarks on migration, notes 
and local names. The whole is admirably planned and executed. 
The Naturalist. Special Spring Number. March. Price is. net. 
This is merely a double number — but an excellent double number — of our 
well-known contemporary, the 614th number it has issued. We congratulate 
the editors on the varied interests to which it appeals. Plant-chemistry, fungi, 
boulders, algae, diptera, moths and birds — all find a place, mostly, as is the rule 
in The Nairn alist, with reference to Yorkshire. A number of reviews, a coloured 
plate, and four other whole-page illustrations go to make up a most attractive 
issue. 
Received : Bird-Lore and The Victorian Naturalist for January and February ; 
The Estate Mctgazine for February and March ; and Nnowlrdge, The Irish 
Naturalist, British Birds, The Animals' Fiiend, The Humanitarian, and The 
Agricultu) at Economist for March. 
