Teo Te AUS D USB OIN, BUD i Bet i N 15 
JOHN BURROUGHS’ AMERICA, by Farida Wiley; Devin-Adair Co., New York. 
304 pages, $4.50. Illustrations by Francis Lee Jacques. 
“The most precious things in life are near at hand, without money and 
without price. I am bound to praise the simple life, because I have lived it 
and found it good.” In these two lines are found the basic philosophy of 
John Burroughs, the Hudson River naturalist who was probably the most 
famous nature writer of his time. He died in 1921, after 85 years of fruit- 
ful living, most of which were spent in the Catskill region of New York. 
Miss Wiley, who is on the staff of the American Museum of Natural 
History in New York (and who leads morning bird walks in Central Park) 
is responsible for bringing forth in a single volume some of the finest writ- 
ings of the Sage of Slabslides. 
In this volume, the reader will find Burroughs’ comments on all facets 
of nature: rocks, insects, bird nests, bird songs, soil, flowering plants, 
mammals, and the seasons. Nothing escapes his penetrating eye. Burroughs’ 
style of writing is so delightful that it is difficult to put the book down. 
And of course, for those who admire the line drawings of Francis Lee 
Jacques, one will find them here in abundance. 
Raymond Mostek, 3345 N. Harding Ave., Chicago 18 
a fl ff 
ERNEST THOMPSON SETON’S AMERICA, by Farida Wiley; Devin-Adair Pub- 
lishing Co., 23 East 26th St., New York 10; 413 pages; $5.00.. 
It was Farida Wiley’s intention and hope that this book would serve to 
keep alive the memory of a great writer-naturalist. by making available to 
a new generation selections from some of his more than forty books — 
many of which are now out of print. In this purpose, she has succeeded. 
Ernest Thompson Seton could truly be called a “citizen of the world.” 
Born in England, he spent his early boyhood in Canada. Between 1890 and 
1896, Seton studied art in Paris. Later he moved to New Jersey. He died 
in New Mexico on October 23, 1946, after 86 years of wonderful living. He 
overcame ill-health and poverty. As a youth he suffered from lung trouble 
and crossed eyes, and was stricken with arthritis in his 29th year. Yet he 
lived to become famous in many fields, as artist, author, scientist, teller of 
tales, authority on Indian life, naturalist and architect. His contributions 
are innumerable: Kipling declared that Seton’s writings inspired him to 
write his Jungle Tales; Seton founded the Woodcraft Indians in 1902, and 
eight years later helped to found the Boy Scouts of America. It was Seton 
who first used the system of field identification popularized by Roger Tory 
Peterson. 
One of the warmest stories found in this appealing volume is the tale of 
“Mother Teal and the Overland Route.” Raising her brood on the edge of 
a small pond, Mother Teal disconsolately sees the sun shrink the size of 
the pond. Another pond was a half-mile away. Mother Teal’s battle to 
save her “ten little balls of mottled down” from certain death at the claws 
of a marsh hawk, a fox, and a great tall man will win your sympathy and 
high regard. Many of Seton’s drawings enhance this admirable volume, 
which well deserves a place in your home library. 
Raymond Mostek, 3345 N. Harding Ave., Chicago 
