246 
Recent Literature. 
school, however, Dr. Coues is perhaps among the more conservative 
members. 
Having fulfilled our duty of critic by finding all possible fault with the 
“Coues Check List” we turn to the much pleasanter task of mentioning I 
some of its many good qualities. Of its several departments the intro- | 
ductory chapters may be characterised as terse, practical, and to the point; 
the Check List proper as carefully and in the main wisely framed ; the I 
“dictionary” as an exhaustive treatise of high scholarly excellence and 
of unquestionable utility. Concerning the whole work we can say nothing 
stronger than that it is in every way worthy of its brilliant and distin- 
guished author, who has evidently made it one of his most mature and ■ 
carefully studied efforts. Its favorable reception can be a matter of no 
uncertainty, for it fills a field of usefulness peculiarly its own, and one 
which need in no way conflict with that so ably covered by Mr. Ridgway’s 
recent “Nomenclature.”* — W. B. 
Gentry’s Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States.! — It is I; 
now several months since the appearance of the twenty-fifth part, the final 
number of this work, which was published by subscription. The text 
is written by Mr. Gentry himself, while the plates were executed by Mr. 
Edwin Sheppard, “subject to the suggestions and dictations of the author.” 
The title is misleading, for instead of treating of all the species found in 
the United States, it deals with but fifty — less than one-fifth the number 
known to occur within this area. 
The typography and press work are good, but the plates fall far short of 
deserving the same praise. In the early numbers the nests and eggs 
were generally figured alone, but the author soon acceded to the popular 
demand and furnished colored representations of the birds on all plates 1 
commencing with the seventh part; with the final number appeared 
four extra plates, on which were shown the birds that were omitted in the 1 
first six parts. 
* While it is unfortunate that there should be two check lists of North American 
birds, Dr. Coues’s right to publish his views in this form was undeniably established I 
when his first list was issued and accepted. Moreover, we see no reason why others | 
should be debarred from the same privilege, and we fancy that a third list, representing ' 1 
a different and more conservative school of thought, especially in the matter of no- 
menclature, would have a large following. As regards a choice of names, in the 
comparatively few cases where the present authorities differ we should weigh well 
before accepting either. Many persons, doubtless, have neither the time nor the 
inclination to do this, and such, necessarily, must be guided by individual preferences 
in favor of one or the other author. In all cases of publication, however, a simple 
statement of the authority followed will be sufficient to prevent any confusion or mis- 
understanding. 
f Illustrations of Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States, with’ Text, by Thos. 
G. Gentry. Philadelphia: J. A. Wagenseller, Publisher, No. 23 North Sixth Street. 
Copyright by J. A. Wagenseller, 1881. [4to, parts 1-25, pp. 1-300. 54 col. chromo- 
lithographs, and chromo-portrait frontispiece of the author. Price, $25.00. 1880-82.] 
