38 DH ES AYU DU BiOwNG Bie eel 
5. Traveling incredible distances 
to predetermined locations without 
others of their species as guides or 
any previous experience to direct 
them. 
6. Inventive ways of survival in 
the world of men. 
Although undoubtedly scientific, 
“Beastly Inventions” contains some 
humorous ploys. Consider just one 
precious bit, the story of enterpris- 
ing blue tits, one of twelve Europ- 
ean tits (birds related to chicka- 
dees) that made nuisances of them- 
selves and provided entertainment 
to the entire country in numerous 
English towns by learning to re- 
move tops of milk bottles and 
helping themselves to the cream. 
Hundreds of frustrated housewives, 
in connection with several milk 
companies, tried varied measures 
to thwart the smart tits. None were 
successful until there were pro- 
vided boxes that could be locked 
to contain the bottles. Mrs. George 
relates that, cut off from their 
cream supply by use of the boxes 
on porches, “some tits flew to the 
wagons and sipped cream while the 
milkmen were delivering.” 
—Ray M. Barron 
EXOTIC PLANTS 
by Julia Morton 
Illustrated by Richard Younger 
Golden Press, 1971 
160 pp, $1.25 paperback 
More than 380 species of exotic 
plants are mentioned in this new 
book. They are members of 83 
families, delightfully illustrated in 
full color. With so many travelers 
visiting areas such as Florida, 
Mexico, the West Indies, the 
Hawaiian Islands and the Bermu- 
das, this pocket guide to the showy 
plants found in gardens in tropical 
or subtropical areas of the world 
will prove highly useful. The book 
is done in the usually fine style of 
the Golden Press — Introduction, 
Botanical Gardens, Glossary, In- 
formation sources and an Index. 
We delighted to again see the pic- 
ture of a favorite flower, the frag- 
rant white frangipani. 
—Mrs. I. L Mostek 
MAN’S IMPACT ON 
ENVIRONMENT 
by Thomas R. Detwyler 
McGraw-Hill, 1971, 731 pp, $5.95 
Too often ardent environmentalists 
have been at a loss to respond to 
verbal or written attacks leveled 
by  anti-environmentalists. Some 
excellent answers including the 
subtle and insidious ways by which 
man has destroyed a_ balanced 
ecosystem are contained in this 
recent book by Thomas Detwyler. 
The author has_ selected 50 
published articles, each of which 
covers in detail a certain aspect of 
man’s alteration of the environ- 
ment; thirty-six of the articles 
were published within the last five 
years and thus describe present 
conditions in the ecosystem. 
The wide spectrum of subjects 
makes this paperback a big book 
in terms cf current information as 
well as in physical size. For the 
price, it’s a real bargain. Length 
is probably its greatest liability, 
but organization of material is 
simply superb and compensates. 
The book is broken into ten 
sections each covering a different 
aspect of man’s impact, with each 
section consisting of two to nine 
articles. Each section or selection 
may be read independently so that 
readers may choose according to 
their interests. 
Section I reviews man’s historical 
use of the earth and how his 
