fficce?ii L,iteratur'e. 
53 
1883.1 
the clearness; piquancy and genuine sentiment that pervade his writing. 
On the whole the present chapter promises to be the most interesting 
and important contribution of its kind that we have had since Audubon 
and Bachman. 
Mr. Bicknell’s “Review” is based on observations made “during brief ex- 
plorations of the more southern Catskills Tfr three successive years : from 
June 6-15, 1880; 12-18, 1881; 24-27, 1882;” On the latter occasion the 
writer was accompanied by Dr. A. K. Fisher of Sing Sing, N. Y. “Mr. 
R. F. Pearsall, of Brooklyn, also visited the ‘same section of the region 
from May 30 to June 13, 1882. .... and has kitidly permitted me the use 
of his notes.” 
Twenty-five of the total fifty-six' pages are devoted to prefatory remarks 
on the faunal and floral features 'and -affinities of the Catskills. This 
introductory chapter is arranged on the. same general plan as that of Dr. 
Merriam’s paper and the subject is not less fully discussed. Mr. Bicknell 
evidently has a penchant for the analysis and comparison of faunae, and 
his- remarks in the present connection are decidedly interesting. He 
finds that the' Catskill Mountain Region- at large includes three distinct 
Faunae,— -the Carolinian, Alleghanian and Canadian. The Alleghanian 
prevails, and over the greater part of the less elevated country is nearly 
or quite pure, but in the lowlands ■‘along the Hudson it is perceptibly 
modified by the presence of certain *Garoiinian forms which extend up 
from the lower part of the valley of that riYer. ■ In the higher valleys, 
and along the slopes of some of the mountains, the Alleghanian Fauna 
meets and mingles with the Canadian. ’ The resulting association of 
species is decidedly curious : thus Mr. Bitknell has found such birds as 
the Winter Wren, the Slate-colored Snowbird, and. the Black-throated 
Blue, - Black-and- Yellow, Mourning, and Canadian Flycatchirtg Warblers, 
actually occupying the same ground with Wood Thrushes, Chewinks, 
Field Sparrows, and even Large-billed WafdF Thrushes. The fauna of 
the higher summits and slopes is purely Canadian, although several of 
the most charactistic, non-rhigratory Canadian birds are wanting. Their 
absence, the author thinks, is due to the isolated position and limited 
extent of the region. 
The list proper includes eighty-nine species and varieties. It is very 
fully annotated, a page or more being often devoted to a single' species. 
A novel typographical feature is the presence of an apostrophe between 
varietal and generic scientific names when the specific name is omitted. 
There can be no objection to the practice of occasionally shortening 
a trinomial to a binomial when it must be often repeated in the text, 
but the use of the apostrophe in such a connection is arbitrary and 
whimsical. :■* , 
We have another criticism : viz. that; sMr. Bicknell’s style would be 
improved were he to condense and simplify his sentences, which are fre- 
quently involved, and sometimes positively obscure. His choice of words, 
too, is often unfortunate; — in short, he has yet to learn that the simplest 
English is the strongest and best. 
