Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 39.djvu/874

854 the book to be subsidiary to the practical study. Following the method of working from the known to the unknown, it begins with the examination and description of familiar plants; and, in learning to dissect and describe those objects, the student will also be mastering the general and the special morphology, histology, and physiology of the plant. The first chapter gives the general definitions of botany and its divisions. In the second chapter the buttercup is taken up for dissection and description, and its characteristics and relationships are brought out as typical of the Ranunculaceæ. In a similar way the succeeding chapters deal with typical examples of other orders; after which the student is introduced to "The Vegetable Cell," "Cell Contents," "Tissues and Systems," "The Root," "The Stem," "The Leaf," "Inflorescence, Floral Organs, and Fruits," and "Classification."

aims, in this volume, to present a complete hand-book for the amateur taxidermist, collector, osteologist, museum-builder, sportsman, and traveler. The author speaks of it as "an affair of the heart," and hopes that "it may be the means of materially increasing the world's store of well-selected and well-preserved examples of the beautiful and interesting animal forms that now inhabit the earth and its waters." He thinks that previous works on the subject are not practical enough, saying, "The average book on taxidermy contains four times too much 'padding,' and not one quarter enough practical information," and would remedy the defect. As a reason for publishing such a book now, he urges: "The rapid and alarming destruction of all forms of wild animal life which is now going on furiously throughout the entire world renders it imperatively necessary for those who would build up great geological collections to be up and doing before any more of the leading species are exterminated"; and "Now is the time to collect. A little later it will cost a great deal more, and the collector will get a great deal less; . . . and it is my firm belief that the time will come when the majority of the vertebrate species now inhabiting the earth in a wild state will be either totally exterminated or exist only under protection. But do not launch out as a collector until you know how to collect. The observance of this principle would have saved the useless slaughter of tens of thousands of living creatures, and prevented the accumulation of tons upon tons of useless rubbish in the zoölogical museums of the world." The caution in these passages is more important than the incitement. There are too many collectors abroad and they are too indiscriminate. It would be well to reduce the number and select from them, and then give the selected ones such a book as Mr. Hornaday's. Some species are in as much danger from collectors as from any other source; and all species, when collected, should be put to the best possible use for instruction. Mr. Hornaday's book excellently fulfills its purpose, and avoids the faults he finds with its predecessors. It gives full information, in six parts, on collecting and preserving mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, marine invertebrates, and birds' eggs and nests; taxidermy, mounting, and group-making; making casts; osteology, or preparing and mounting skeletons; the collection and preservation of insects; and general information respecting insect pests and poisoning, books of reference, etc. It is handsomely and liberally illustrated by Charles Bradford Hudson and other artists. The chapter on Collecting and preserving Insects is by Dr. J. W. Holland, and the author acknowledges obligations for assistance to other experts.

can be no question that Mr. Comegys has prepared a timely text-book. Character training is equally if not more important than mental or manual training, but receives scant attention. Carelessly considered as inseparable from religious instruction, it has been left to the Church, and the Church now concerns itself with creeds rather than conduct. An old maxim holds good in this instance, for between church, home, and state, the most needed education is treated in hap-hazard fashion and falls to the ground, while multitudes grow up to