The Zoologist/4th series, vol 1 (1897)/Issue 667/Notices of New Books
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.
The Fur and Feather Series with this volume maintain their standard of excellence in Natural History and Sport. In fact, one great merit of these volumes is to show how sport and natural history should be combined, and not divorced as is so frequently the case. Of course there is no necessity for the naturalist to be a sportsman, though every field naturalist has some of the spirit and ardour that pertain to that pursuit; but there is every reason for the sportsman to be—as he often is—an observant naturalist, and his opportunities are great. To readers of 'The Zoologist' the principal interest will be found in the contribution by Mr. Macpherson, who in delightful phraseology that recalls the scenes among which the Red-deer is found, gives us a local narrative of the life of the animal.
As our author remarks, the history of the wild Red-deer (Cervus elaphus) is closely interwoven with our national life, and we may well sigh for the times when "The Weald of Kent was no less the haunt of well-furnished hinds than the waste lands of Lancashire, or the more distant solitudes of central Scotland." Much has been written on the Irish deer, descriptive justice has been done to the English and Scotch deer, but, as we read, "Curiously enough, no one except the writer himself has attempted the life of the stag upon the face of the mist-wrapped hills of the English Lake district. In the forest of Martindale, situated in the very midst of this Lake-land, the deer "which once roamed from the shores of the North Sea to the red sandstone cliffs that break the swell of the Irish Channel, have for many years past found their only northern sanctuary," and as existing in this haven Mr. Macpherson tells the tale of their lives.
These Martindale deer appear to have had no change of blood until thirteen or fourteen years ago, when one stag calf and five hinds were procured "from a well-known forest on the Scottish mainland," which soon mingled freely with the English hinds. "In a forest like Martindale, where there is no other wood than stunted hazel or wind-twisted thorns and alder, the deer are forced to subsist throughout the year on an admixture of short sweet grass and strong wiry bents, besides heather where they can get it. When Martindale was cropped with extensive fields of oats, the deer used to break bounds, and often inflicted considerable injury on the ripening grain before it was carried. At the present time the stags roam in winter in search of fields of turnips, repeating their incursions night after night, in spite of careful watching." But we cannot give more extracts, and must cease our peaceful contemplation of the animal and proceed to "Deerstalking" under the guidance of Cameron of Lochiel.
Here the scene is changed to the Highlands of Scotland, and though sport is now the main topic there is still much to interest the zoologist. We seem always born too late to have known nature at her best. The name of deer-forest is almost as misleading as that of a Boer farm. Yet at the same time the first is at least a survival, and "seems to confirm the opinion, if confirmation be necessary, that vast regions of the Highlands were in former times covered with indigenous forests of the various species of trees, whose descendants, in sadly diminished numbers, are found at the present day scattered among the valleys and on the hill-sides of most of our northern counties." The owners have altered as well as the forests. There was a time, as our author informs us, when a nobleman was not expected to so far derogate from his position as to go into the forest and shoot deer himself when a forester was kept for that purpose. Now a successful millionaire considers he puts the seal on his social position by purchasing his right to do so. We are therefore not surprised to learn that at the present day it is calculated that about 4000 stags are killed annually. But the rifle is not the only enemy of the deer. "Spring is the ticklish time of year for all animals in the Highlands. If deer are very much reduced during the winter, they are bound to suffer when the grass begins to grow. If they are in good order they proceed to lay on flesh at once, and thus gain the full advantage of the summer grazing. It is in spring that those cold east winds prevail, often accompanied by hot sun in the day time, which parch the ground and give it a white, desert-like appearance. A well-wintered stag must be better able to stand this particularly trying period of the year than one which has only just been able to pull through the cold north-westerly blasts of wind bringing sleet, snow, or rain, which may not improbably have formed with little interruption the weather of the past four months."
Stag-hunting, by the Viscount Ebrington, transports us to Devon and Somerset, where it "is the only survival in England of a sport which was followed in earlier days in most countries in Europe, and which still has many devotees on the Continent." The total head of deer in this locality is estimated by the author at about four hundred, while the average number killed for the last ten seasons is sixty. Although sport is there again the principal theme, there are scattered notes of the greatest interest to the naturalist. Thus:—"Something is to be learned also from the feeding of the deer. If the bark of a tree or the ivy growing on it is gnawed up and down, it is the work of a hind; but if the bites are across the trunk they are a stag's." Again:—"A stag crosses his legs right and left in walking, while with a hind the prints of the hind foot will be in a direct line" with those of the fore foot unless she is heavy in calf; and it is curious, seeing how careful Nature is to protect animals in that condition, that they should in anything resemble the male at that period. The extra weight on the legs is no doubt the reason, and at calving time the stags are defenceless too, having shed their horns." Another query of interest is, "What becomes of the old deer? They are not all killed by the hounds; a few may meet with foul play, but some must die a natural death. Yet it is hardly ever that their bodies are found."
The fourth section of the volume is devoted to "The Cookery of Venison," a subject of importance to every right-thinking naturalist and sportsman, but one outside discussion in these pages.
The publication of this great work—in which the authors, with the modesty that pertains to excellence, disavow the formation of "any conclusions which are new to science," though justly claiming that "a great number of new facts are recorded—worthily upholds the best traditions of the Smithsonian Institution. The aim of the authors is best expressed in their own words:—"Our purpose has been to present in Oceanic Ichthyology a discussion of all forms of fishes found in the seas of the world, both pelagic species and those occurring at depths greater than 500 feet, especial prominence being given to those species which are found in the Atlantic Ocean, most of which we have had an opportunity to study. All oceanic fishes are included, partly because it is not yet possible to distinguish strictly between the two classes, and partly because the pelagic forms have, in part at least, been mentioned in the discussions by all previous writers on deep-sea fishes." The publication will therefore find a place with, and also supplement, Prof. Collett's descriptions of the Fishes of the Norwegian North Sea Expedition, Dr. Günther's 'Deep-Sea Fishes of the Challenger Expedition,' Dr. Vaillant's Report on the Deep-Sea Fishes of the Travailleur and Talisman Expedition, and Alex. Agassiz's 'Contributions to American Thalassography.'
There is a great charm in learning the forms of life that inhabit the gloomy oceanic depths. And we still know little, for, though we are told some 600 different kinds of fishes have been obtained from the depth of 1000 feet and more, there can be little doubt that the tale of the sea is not yet told. "It seems probable that there are many inhabitants of the depths which are too swift, too wary and cunning, or too large to be taken. It cannot be doubted, for example, that somewhere in the sea, at an unknown distance below the surface, there are living certain fish-like animals, unknown to science and of great size, which come occasionally to the surface and give a foundation to such stories as those of the sea serpent." Here therefore exist the potentialities of zoological discovery of the most absorbing interest, liable almost to provoke romantic speculation. As the once discredited Herodotus has now been rehabilitated by recent African discovery, so some of the wild traditions of ocean life may come to have an explanation; myths to have some kind of realities, and fables prove to have been at least based on facts. We have, however, some negative data to qualify supposition. "The recent investigations of Mr. Agassiz in the Pacific, with the Tanner net, seem to show pretty conclusively that there are but few living forms below a depth of 1800 or 2000 feet." On those found still deeper the abyssal environment has produced much modification. Thus of Lionurus filicauda, Günther, reported as from great depth, its describer refers to the small eye, the soft bones, the lack of firmness in the scales, and the filamentous tail as indicating its abyssal abode.
As one turns over these more than 500 quarto pages devoted to generic and specific descriptions, with the careful details of local habitats, and when the reader may have done something of this monographic and faunistic work himself, he cannot help feeling that apart from all else, the patient labour of zoologists is an established fact. Such authors have few readers, appeal alone to their peers, and did they accept the axiom of Goethe, that he "who does not expect a million of readers should not write a line," works like those under notice would never be produced.
The accompanying Atlas contains 417 figures.
This beautiful publication may be taken as the last contribution of the late Henry Seebohm to British Ornithology. Other material may yet be printed, but it will not probably wholly pertain to "our rough island story." It is a fitting sequel to the same author's 'History of British Birds,' and though Seebohm did not live to see it published, there can be no doubt that his wish would have been gratified in having it edited by his friend Bowdler Sharpe. The system of classification is as proposed by the author, and with this we have nothing to do, for we are here concerned with eggs and not systems; in fact, criticism should be a matter between oologists and the work of the lithographers. Whether this is much required seems almost answered in the negative by an examination of the plates, which, belonging to an English work, we rejoice to see were done in England.
The descriptive notes are full and to the point. The geographical area over which the bird is at various times to be found, the place and time of nidification, the structure of the nest, and the shape, size, and colour of the eggs, are alike—where possible—given. A full enumeration of species is contributed, including the Great Auk (Alca impennis), two particular eggs of which belonging to the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, are now figured for the first time. To conclude a necessarily brief notice, we may surely say that we now possess the book on British Birds' Eggs.
The many surviving friends of Henry Seebohm will appreciate the striking portrait given as frontispiece, while in writing the personal memoir Dr. Sharpe has escaped both the Charybdis of panegyric and the Scylla of criticism.
In perusing this book we are reminded of a long ago, when Wood's 'Common Objects of the Seashore' was a well-thumbed companion of our early days, replaced subsequently by Gosse's 'Naturalist's Rambles on the Devonshire Coast.' It sometimes seems that this branch of Zoology is not so popular as it was once; we more seldom see the private marine aquarium, less often meet with the shore collector. We are all aware of the great advance in scientific Zoology made by competent observers at Marine Stations, and may at once cite Plymouth; but our remarks are only intended to apply to the readers for whom the book is written. "In the present volume it is the author's desire to act as a friendly go-between, introducing the unscientific seaside visitor to a large number of the wonderful and interesting creatures of the rocks, the sands, and the shingle beach." As such it might be difficult to place a better book in the hands of a young enquiring sea-side naturalist. The illustrations are numerous and helpful.
A second edition of this well-known Manual will be undoubtedly welcomed by those to whom it is addressed. "The object of this little Manual is to enable the novice to collect, identify, and arrange systematically the various shells—both land and freshwater—which abound in almost every part of these islands."
Apart from this modest programme there are some features of general interest to the biologist. Thus Dr. Scharff, in his 'Slugs of Ireland,' is inclined to the opinion that the colours of slugs in that island are at all ages, as a rule, protective. Mr. Adams, however, considers that "the results of his own collecting tend to show that climate may be a factor in the matter." Dealing with inland localities, he finds that he has "taken more brilliant forms, and those more abundantly, in the South of England (where the climate is warmer) than in the north." His experience has been the same with coast localities. "All along the south coasts of England and Wales, Cardigan Bay, and the west coast of the Isle of Man and north coast of Ireland (all of which are noted for a mild climate), I have taken coloured forms abundantly; while on the coasts of Lancashire and North Wales and the east coast of England from the Thames to the Tees (where the climate is more bracing), I have no personal records for anything but the type."
This little book is not only calculated to increase the ardour of the young collector, but, what is more, make him a student of Conchology. Such primers did not exist when we were young, and it would seem—as we hope is the fact—that a taste for Natural History is increasing with the reading public. The lines of the youthful zoologist of to-day are indeed made pleasant.