i6o Bird -Lore cation is an excellent one, and should bring to Mr. Farr a large amount of additional information, making his final work pro- portionately valuable. — F. M. C Book News Houghton, Mifflin & Co. have brought out a school edition of Mrs. Miller's admirable ' The First Book of Birds ' (reviewed in Bird-Lore, Vol. i, p. 167), which is sold at the low price of 60 cents. This book, it seems to us, should exactly fill the wants of the kindergarten and primary teacher. For a surprisingly frank confession of its author's pleasure, if not in the killing at least in the hitting of birds, we refer our readers to Mr. Maurice Thompson's 'In the Woods with the Bow,' published in 'The Century' for August last. For no other reason, apparently, than that they furnished a desirable target, such species as the Blue Grosbeak, Sparrow Hawk, Raven, Least Bittern, and others became marks for his skill. At one time, however, his enthusiasm as an archer evidently carried him beyond his own wide bounds and, on the departure of a companion, he wrote " I felt free to turn myself loose and make a fine stir in Arcadia. The wildest shooting mood was upon me, and what- ever moved became a target for my shafts. I am afraid to make a full record of an hour's business." We commend Mr. Thompson to the game wardens of the state in which he 'turned himself loose.' If we may judge by a number of alleged photographs of birds "from nature," pub- lished recently in various magazines, their makers have adopted the eminently prac- tical, if scarcely praiseworthy method, of placing a mounted bird among natural surroundings, where its picture might be made at leisure. Such photographs are surely "from nature" — far from it. Readers of Mr. Richard Kearton's val- uable works ' With Nature and a Camera ' and ' Wild Life at Home ' will be inter- ested to learn that their author proposes to visit this country in October to remain several months on a lecture tour. The September number of ' The Milli- nery Trade Review ' protests against the appointment of naturalists as inspectors of animals and birds in connection with the enforcement of section 2 of the Lacey bill on the ground that as "zealots in their opposition to the wearing of bird- plumage, they are incompetent to serve in such capacity, as they are more than likely to be swerved by their prejudices. Nor are they competent to distinguish between natural and made-feather novel- ties after leaving the foreign factories." It is unfortunate that the inspectors appointed will not have an opportunity to confound the milliners with a display of ornithological knowledge but, as a mat- ter of fact, the section of the Lacey bill referred to, relates to living birds and not to their plumage. The American Museum of Natural His- tory now publishes a popular monthly magazine, entitled 'The American Mu- seum Journal,' which is designed to keep the public informed of the progress of the Museum as shown both by exhibits and publications. It may be obtained from Dr. Anthony Woodward, Librarian of the Museum, for ten cents a copy. The notices of Professor Jones' 'War- blers' Songs ' and Mr. Burns' ' Monograph on the Flicker,' published in Bird-Lore for August, have brought us numerous inquiries in regard to the Wilson bulle- tin, in which they appeared. This excel- lent publication is issued quarterly at Oberlin, Ohio, under the editorship of Prof. Lynds Jones, from whom informa- tion in regard to subscriptions, back numbers, etc., may be obtained. Houghton, Miffllin & Co , announce for early publication ' The Woodpeckers ' by Fanny Hardy Eckstorm. Doubtless the day is not distant when we shall have special monographs treating at greater length than is possible in a general work, each family of North American birds.
