KEV/EWS AND EXCHANGES 
JI3 
call.” Dift'erent again is the song of the chiffchaff in the garden 
there. Four or five uniform ringing notes form the burden ; 
chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff — one wonders that it does not tear 
out its little throat. Ever gay, the thrush occasionally drowns 
the other melodists, and most refreshing of all, we hear the 
cry of the blackbird, I-am-here, Hu-u-e-o. The last birds to be 
noticed are a pair of pied wagtails which are wooing each other 
by the stream side, and are so tame that the field glass may be 
put in its case for the while, especially as the willow wren has 
gone in quest of a better situation for displaying himself. 
Walter Johnson. 
Battersea, 5. IF. 
REVIEWS AND EXCHANGES. 
More Tales of the Birds. By W. Warde Fowler. Macmillan and Co. Price 
3$. 6d. net. 
A truly delightful book ! All the more delightful, perhaps, to a jaded 
reviewer because of late we have been inundated with a very sea of bird (and 
beast) stories, highly praiseworthy, of course, from the motive point of humanity, 
but utterly lacking in any other claim, whether of natural talent, originality, 
literary style, or even simple realistic naturalism, for appearing in print at all, 
stories “ written for a purpose,” and negativing, if not contravening, that purpose 
by the fact of the writers having no proper equipment, either of natural genius or 
literary craftmanship for the task. From all fear of such criticism Mr. Warde 
Fowler’s previous record as an author must necessarily e.xempt him. Let it be 
said at once, therefore, that there is scarcely one of these tales that might not be 
read with interest and pleasure, even by those who ordinarily take little of either 
in the cult of birds or humanity, for the mere sake of the literary and artistic 
charm, the easy, unforced style, which, when added to the author’s power of 
close observation, lend a glow of beauty and picturesqueness to even the simplest 
bit of realism. 
Perhaps the least noteworthy, because most commonplace of the series is that 
called The Sorrows of a House Martin. On the other hand, if we were to single 
out two for special praise, they would be perhaps the first and last ; the first, 
A Lark's Nest, because it is simply a literary gem, a perfect little idyll, exquisite 
in colour and freshness, of the battle of Waterloo ; while the latter. Too Much of 
a Good Thing, might be read with advantage, not only for its delightful mingling 
of tenderness and humour, but as a gentle corrective to a certain element in the 
iterature to which we have already alluded and which has been stigmatised (much 
to our indignation, but not wholly undeservedly) as “ mawkish sentimentality.” 
The sorrows of the good “poet” and his wife under the tyranny of the birds to 
whom they give sanctuary are capitally described, and offer a valuable lesson on 
the results of all such kindly but ignorant attempts to interfere with the balance 
of Nature. In the “ poet’s ” case we should have remembered that humanity 
embraces a wider range of animal life than blackbirds or even birds in general, 
and should have adopted Nature’s own remedy. We should have kept a cat ! 
The illustrations by Miss Fuller are really good, and the volume tastefully got 
up. Altogether a charming gift book for anyone, young or old, after one has 
read and enjoyed it oneself. 
Cameos from Nature, By Mrs. J. T. Gumetsall. S. W. Partridge and Co. 
Price 5s. 
Twenty-four chapters — two for each month— appreciatively written, illus- 
trated by twenty-five photographic views. Some few phrases, to say nothing of 
