erie AGU 1.0 BEOoNm BW Lily Ere N 21 
where seen, the uses to which they 
are put and bits of unusual infor- 
mation. A typical bit of unusual in- 
formation is as follows for zazamil 
(Cordia alba), a member of the 
heliotrope family: “The wood is 
lightweight and tough and is used 
for carpentry. Leaves and flowers 
are used for relieving chest con- 
gestion; a decoction is used for in- 
ducing perspiration; charcoal from 
the wood is used to treat stomach- 
aches. In Oaxaca the fruit is em- 
ployed in coagulating indigo, and in 
Ed Salvador the ‘viscid juice’ is 
used as a glue to fasten wrappers 
of cigars.” 
The water color paintings were 
made in 1964 and 1965 during five 
special trips made in different sea- 
sons to be able to observe the plants 
in bloom. The paintings were made 
within a day or two after the flow- 
ers were picked. Water color paint- 
ing was chosen over photos because 
the stages of development could be 
shown and the uncluttered individ- 
ual flowers could be portrayed dis- 
tinctly and in detail. The color 
plates were a bit disappointing 
probably because water color does 
not produce the bright, vivid colors 
which one is led to expect from the 
description in the text. 
The book brought back many 
pleasant memories to the reviewer 
as he vicariously re-lived the few 
days he spent on two visits to 
Guatemala. 
—Paul Schulze 
THE PURPLE MARTIN 
by R. B. Layton 
Nature Book Publishers, 1969 
192 pp, $2.98 (paper) 
Here is a book which can (and 
hopefully will) replace Wade’s non- 
authoritative book on the same 
species. It is a smaller book with 
large type and is very straight for- 
ward in its style. The author pre- 
sents some basic life-history infor- 
mation on this species and then 
discusses houses. His suggestions in 
the area of houses are sound, and 
he does not plug anyone’s commer- 
cial houses. 
He suggests house owners with 
martins study their birds, and pro- 
vides some simple forms for record- 
ing their observations. He also in- 
cludes a fairly complete biography 
of references on martins. Layton 
has available two sets of detailed 
plans for building wooden and alu- 
minum Martin houses; they sell for 
$1 each. This little book is not the 
last word on Purple Martins, but it 
is a big improvement over Wade’s 
book and much less self-serving. 
(We will try to stock this at our 
Illinois Audubon Bookshop.) 
—Peter Petersen 
PIPPA’S CHALLENGE 
by Joy Adamson 
Ballantine, 1973 
240 pp, $2.00 
When you grow weary of reading 
about Watergate, inflation, corrupt 
politicians and exploiter-business- 
men, what could be more satisfying 
than to transport yourself to the 
African plains and read about the 
life of one of the more fascinating 
animals of the wild world — the 
swift and graceful cheetah. An- 
other magnificent animal which is 
threatened by extinction by the 
cruel hand of man, the cheetah’s 
mating habits and breeding diffi- 
culties are chronicled by the au- 
Toor OL. borne ree, = Mee J oy, 
Adamson. 
She describes the fourth litter of 
the mature female cheetah, Pippa, 
and the development and behavior 
patterns of the four cubs, In “The 
Spotted Sphinx,’ Ms. Adamson ob- 
serves that cubs are usually able 
to survive and kill independently 
at fourteen months, and how Pip- 
