SHORT NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
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we believe, of transatlantic origin ; and the folk-lore and plant- 
names connected with the subject of the book might easily be 
extended — the latter, indeed, need revision in some cases. 
But, on the whole, Mr. Weir’s book is singularly complete, and 
it is made more useful by the addition of a fairly good index. 
Mrs. Cashel Hoey’s The Cat, Past and Present (London, Bell 
and Sons), is a translation from the French of M. Champfleury, 
and is an excellent companion to Mr. Weir’s volume. The 
same ground is, to some extent, occupied by each, and yet there 
is very little that is common to the two volumes. The artists 
of cats (including the Japanese painter, Fo-Kow-Say, whose 
charming little studies appear as tail-pieces to chapters) ; the 
early history of cats in Egypt, Greece and Rome, as well as in 
heraldry and on signs ; their friends and foes ; their good and 
bad qualities — all these and much more are duly set forth in 
this attractive volume. The translator has added some interest- 
ing supplementary notes, notably the selections from Theophile 
Gautier’s “ Menagerie Intime.” Some of the illustrations are 
very curious— notably the popular Russian picture of the accom- 
panying of a cat to the grave by a cortege of rats ; this, we are 
told, “derives its origin from a very interesting Russian legend,” 
which, to our regret, is not given. Those who possess Mr. 
Harrison Weir’s volume should not delay to obtain Mrs. Cashel 
Hoey’s book ; while those already familiar with the latter 
should supplement their knowledge by purchasing the former. 
SHORT NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
Messrs. W. II. Allen and Co. send us new editions of Dr. J. E. Taylor’s 
Half-hours in the Green Lanes and Mrs. Lankester’s Wild Flowers worth Notice. 
The former is one of a class which always commands readers ; it contains 262 
figures of no great excellence, and a good deal of miscellaneous information. We 
can commend neither the letterpress nor the illustrations of Mrs. Lankester’s 
book, which, as it has gone through “various forms,” should not contain such 
errors as “ palustrzrs ” and “Galium arrarine,” which are twice repeated. The 
author’s use of capital letters is also extremely erratic. 
We have been very much pleased by the writings of two gentlemen who have 
only recently joined the Selborne Society, but who have evidently long been 
Selbornians at heart. Mr. D. Andrew has for the last three years contributed to 
the Dumbarton Herald a series of letters headed, with a curious anticipation of our 
own title, “ Nature Notes.” In these he shows a keen sense of what is beautiful 
in nature, and a considerable amount of literary skill — one of his poems, a 
“Scottish sang” entitled “ Robin’s Return,” is particularly pleasing ; and they 
are imbued with the true Selbornian spirit. 
Mr. W. Whitwell in A Bachelors Christmas Day, gives a delightful little 
sketch of the many pleasures which a botanist can derive from nature, even at 
the season when he is supposed to have the least opportunity for observation and 
study. It is wonderful what an interesting and instructive narrative Mr. Whitwell 
has constructed out of what would seem unpromising materials. He has evidently 
unusual power in detecting the “ tongues in trees,” indeed all plants seem to speak 
