34 THE AUDUBON BU hii 
Despite the fact that a 1967 census disclosed only 46 condors, comparé 
with estimates of 60 in the 1940s, McMillan is guardedly optimistic. Amoi 
plus factors he lists (1) the Forest Service “which has changed its plans f 
developing peripheral parts of the area and was showing a more favorah 
attitude toward wilderness and the condor” and (2) the establishment 
the San Rafael Wilderness Area which will nullify several encroachi 
factors in the surrounding environment, “a tremendous achievement bo 
for conservationists and for the condors.” 
The author mentions but does not endorse the propogation of condc 
in captivity, as the Sports Fisheries and Wildlife Department is doi 
with whooping cranes at Patuxent, Maryland; this he likens to raisi 
chickens in a Coop. —R. M. Barr 
THE WAR LORD. By Virginia C. Holmgren. 
Follett Publishing Co., Chicago, 1969. $3.50. 1969. 128 pages. 
The Ring-necked pheasant is today considered more native than the w 
turkey, and it is difficult to realize that he is an import from Asia. For 
two species of pheasant are recognized in Asia Minor and Asia. It has | 
lightfully adapted itself to the New World and is a familiar figure on me 
«+ roadside. Introduced to the U.S.A. by the handful, they now number 
the millions with huge flocks of several hundred to one or two thousé 
known to exist. 
Virginia Holmgren’s book is a “novelette” about the pheasant, Ww 
the “War Lord” serving as the hero of the story. Owen Denny, who ser’ 
as U.S. Consul in Shangai, China, had attempted to stock pheasants in 
native Oregon on a previous try. It is the second attempt, in 1882, tha 
romanticized in the tale. The “War Lord’s” escape from the clutches 
the sharp-shinned hawk and the menace of the hunter, provide the ' 
most exciting parts of the book. —Raymond Mos 
THE FLORA OF NEW ENGLAND. By Frank Conkling Seymour. 
Chas. E. Tuttle Co., Rutland, Vt., 1969. 596 pages. $12.50 
This is a flora in the classic style, written by a professional botanis 
serve the serious student. Essentially it is a key for identifying any va. 
lar plant found growing without cultivation in Connecticut, Maine, Ma 
chusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont. Limitation On; 
graphic coverage is the chief advantage which this book has over Ferné 
eighth edition of “Gray’s Manual of Botany” and over the Gleason | 
Cronquist “Manual of Vascular Plants.” The student using these | 
standard works for keying in the field is confronted by bewildering 1 
bers of species that must be sorted through, because of the large | 
graphical areas treated. With growing awareness of the living environr 
on the part of a larger public, there is a great need for more floras 
check lists which are limited to specific states or other small regions. 
Seymour’s book does a commendably proficient job for its par 
the country, the first such treatment New England has received. Of t 
states, only Maine has a recent state flora. The author is obviously fam 
