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traits of our native Song-birds, evidently traced by the hand of a man of genius 
and an enthusiast,—an original and an indefatigable observer ; and truly refresh¬ 
ing to the spirit of the thorough-bred ornithologist, whom the stale and vapid per¬ 
formances of the hireling compiler have too frequently served only to nauseate 
and disgust. Deeply do we marvel how an individual, so little advanced in years, 
as Mr. Neville Wood really is, could have produced a work of which any natural¬ 
ist, however aged or experienced, might well be proud; and which all, who aspire 
to the character of a British ornithologist, must possess ; and, once possessing, will 
frequently peruse. 
The Text Book is, on the whole, an odd and rambling work : yet, like many 
very odd people and odd things, there is, about it, a spirit of indescribable fascina¬ 
tion and allurement. It consists, principally of short Reviews, with occasional ex¬ 
tracts from them, of all the more important Ornithological works which have ap¬ 
peared, both in Britain and upon the continent, from the time of the celebrated 
Willughby, of Middleton, to the present day; and will form an useful guide to 
the ornithological student in his selection of works of reference and illustration. 
Mr. Wood’s criticisms on the writings and researches of other men, are generally 
correct, candid, and impartial. Sometimes, however, as in the cases of Professor 
Rennie and Mrs. Perrott, they are surely uttered in a tone of unmerited and un¬ 
becoming asperity : nor, in our opinion, has full justice been done to the exalted 
genius and labours of our illustrious Ray. On the other hand, Mr. Wood is oc¬ 
casionally lavish of his praises, where, from the worthless and contemptible cha¬ 
racter of the subject, eulogy is converted into the deepest satire. Unmerited 
praise, like a strong light thrown upon a crazy edifice, serves only to render more 
conspicuous the defects of that object which it seeks to illustrate. After all that 
Mr. Neville Wood has said, or can say, upon the subject, the trumpery work of 
Lewin on British birds will be trumpery still. 
The Second Bart of the Text-book , entitled “ Synopses of Systems,” contains 
elucidations of the Ornithological Systems of Willughby, Linneus, Brisson, La¬ 
tham, Lacepede, Dumeril, Meyer, Illiger, Temminck, Cuvier, Blainville, Vieillot, 
Vigors, Lattreille, Lesson, and Fleming, with the respective periods of their an¬ 
nunciation or development. It would require more time and examination than we 
can, at present, bestow upon the subject, to discuss their characteristic merits and 
defects. To the ornithological student, this portion of Mr. Wood’s work will 
prove exceedingly acceptable and instructive. The remnant of the volume, under 
the head of “ Supplement ” is occupied with “ Hints for a new and complete work on 
General Ornithology ; and, as the title-page expresses it, “ discussions on various 
topics of interest.” 
We cannot terminate these imperfect notices without formally and earnestly 
recommending an attentive perusal of the Text-book , and Song Birds , of Mr. 
Neville Wood to our ornithological readers : and we must add that he, who can 
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