Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 2 (1898).djvu/64

38 conceptions. To the cabinet naturalist in particular it is almost an instruction in field observation, and, having proved the charm in many recent works, will in time be demanded when animated nature is illustrated. As the writer of the text well observes, in reference to a fine photograph of the head of "The Prairie King": "This portrait of the head of the Great Bison will be a valuable document if ever the living animal disappears from the New World. No one could reconstruct from the thousands of skulls and bones which lie bleaching on the prairie the exact features and lineaments of the extinct Prairie King." Already of many animals now extinct we know as little of their natural appearance as we do of the features of most of the ancient philosophers.

Of the many illustrations we may mention the open mouth of the Hippopotamus, which is a fine study; the Secretary Bird is good, but its attitude is modified by confinement, and this bird particularly requires to be seen in its natural condition; the Common Seal rising above the water is a living picture; the Serval's Leap is probably not taken from life; the angry Cobra is a demonstration in ophidian attitude; the Mute Swans with their surroundings and shadows form a very happy production; while a Rhea sleeping, and the "final shower of an Elephant's bath" are revelations.

The work is produced at a very reasonable price, and we trust that it may achieve a success sufficient to encourage the production of a further series.