The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-21
Miscel1nneou. Books.

A little volume which cannot fail to be
an attractive gift book for the holidays.
contains "a Christmas Sermon" by Rob-
ert Louis Stevenson. This essay embodIes
the cheerful, brave, and philosophical view
of life so clearly set forth in the Stevenson
letters. Though not bound in decorative
fashion, it is a dainty bit OF printing, and
the contents alone make it valuable with
out any extraneous attractions. (New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons.)
Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers" is the
title Of the latest volume OF John Bur-
roughs nature essays, and charming one
1t is. The fascination Of Burroughs is that
while one always, in a sense, knows what
to expect of him he never repeats himself
and does not wear out subject. The pres
ent volume, which is intended for chill
dren's reading, but Will be equally delight
ful TO grown folk, deals with the chip
munk. the squirrel, the woodchuck, the rab-
bit. the muskrat. the skunk, the fox, the
weasel. the mink. the raccoon, the porcu-
pine (whom 1t is rather inaccurate to con-
slider as wearing fur. the opossum, the
wild mouse, and the hare. 1t is illustrated
with colored plates. The illustrations are
partly good and partly not so good The
drawings are spirited, but the coloring is
in some instances considerably at fault
The worst example of this is to be found
in the drawing of two 'coons in a tree
Anybody who has ever seen the animal
ought to know that 'coons paws are as
black as If they had been coated with SCOT,
but the artist has made them yellow
brown. In the coloring of that offensive
animal Mephitis mephitica also. there is
slip. A skunk looks, at distance, more
like black and white cat than anything
else. and the clear white of his fur is not
reproduced with much accuracy. Neither
is a grey squirrel distinguished by reddish
brown head and paws: he is all grey or
greyish white. Blunders of this kind in
book OF natural history, with geological
gardens so accessible as they are. can only
be considered inexcusable. The text of the
book. however, is devoid of mistakes. and
very delightful One of the most interest
ing chapters is that relating to the musk
rat. Mr.. Burroughs tells several stories
illustrating the sagacity of these furry
architects in building their nests. On one
occasion their unaccountable instinct led
them TO build an enormous nest, three or
four feet high, which an old farmer said
meant high water" and sure enough.
there was freshet. Another story is as
follows:
Again, in the fall of 1880, when the wea her
wise wagging their heads, some foreeasting
mild, some winter watched with in
terest for sign from my muskrats. About No.
vember ], month earlier than the previous
year, they began their nest and worked at it
with n will. They appeared to have Just got
tidings of what coming. If had taken the
hint palpaby given, my celery would not
have been frozen up in the ground. and my apples
caught in unprotected places. When the cold
wave struck us, about November 20. my four
legged ''l-told-you sos had nearly completed
their dwelling.
Altogether, the nature-lover will en-
joy this book immensely, and those who
do not know much about the ways of peo-
pie in fur will find therein a vast deal
of interesting and valuable information
Houghton, Miffiin & Co. $100.)