The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-12-15

White was a fellow Of Criel College,
| Oxford. and q clergyman OF the S hurcL
of England He was carly possessed
| with a. deep love for nature, and fis stud
| les were mainly directed in that course.
| IJo was {: keen observer and accurate
! req soner and though his observations
| were limited to the fauna OF his Eng
! fish county, whether Inhabitants or visi-
| tors. he added greatly to The science OF
| The day by his conclusions concerning
| matters in natural history which were
| unsettled. Whites observations were
| nearly all conecraeds with or,litholosy,
and,it was in this direction that he contri-
! buteG most 10 the sum OF human knowl-
edge.
Yet, with all its scientific vafae It's
rather as a literary work that: THE Nat
ural history OF Sclborac,' appeals to
us of the present day. We Go not turn
for information to works written IN the
eighteen century: all the truth Of those
days has been collated for us and placed
in surer and more condensed form in mod
crn works But Gilloec. Whites book
will live nevertheless, because 1t possesses
an inherent. charm which is quito apart
from its bscicntific aspect 1t gives us
a constant series of delightful pictures,
filled with Il sympathetic beauty winch
enbalins it as q. classic. And the letters
| give US a, most admirable picture III miiiia-
ture of the daily life of an amateur 1i;ltu-
ralist in the days when the pcsluohs o.
rtarson, sportsman. country gentleman,
and man of science were not yet incon-
rr1ous. 1t is less to US that White wa s
ouc Of the first to strike the keynote OIL
n higher conception OF biography than
that he teaches Us how to observe anu
how to make the best use OF our. Oh,
scrvations. Many of his conceptons
may seem to US crude; out Il musk ps
remembered that in his day. all the w" % y y
was still to do; in ours, most OF II l.as
been. done. and we reap the advantage OF
l,no,vlodse where others. led 10y such
men as Gilbert White have sown toii, :,
SOUTHERN WILD FLOWERS AND
TREES. BY Alice Lounsberry NUS
| tratc,: by Mrs. Ellis Rowan. treuet'cA
a Stokes & Co, New. York. :,
Rotanasts. of both North and Soulh VII
welcome this first popular work on a,le
wild flowers and trees of tho South. me
work is not confined to trees and lowers
as such. but deals with shrubs, vines
and the various plants Then. too, there;
IL no hard ana fast line by which Tue
South IS limited to Il particular range OIL
States The plant that is found III RIO
rida may also be found in Maine, ana IN
this book such an extent Of habitat is
noted. Thus the location of plants is
facilitated. We find that the author,
Alice I.ounsberry, and the illustrator,
Mrs Ellis Rowan have III person gath
cred material from the mountains, tie
middle district, and the lowlands. Ihey
have included over one thousand plants,
an6 Of them we learn of their person
atty" their uses, as well as the teen
nicaI classification necessary to intelli-
n,1-., fSf-l
find too. that Miss Lounsberry has IN
delightful style recounted much of the
legends and folklore of the subject of
her book We may speak. too, of her
style IN connection with all of her de-
scriptire work. The care and clearness,
and withall, the interest of her writing,
adds much TO The value of her book. AS
a textbook it would in any case have
been d success; as a book for the gene
raj reader or occasional student it would
not have possessed its present helpful
ness but for Miss Lounsberry's happy
style Mrs. Rowan has furnished her
share of attractive features in her pic
lures. The book is profusely illustrated.
1t contains 16 colored plates. 1G1 sketches
and diagrams. Some of these are unique,
as pictures of number of the plants
have never been published. Sixteen en-
cravings from wash drawings of scenes
in the South are given. Both illustra-
tons and letter-press are entitled to
much praise, and the volume possesses
such merit as to give it place among the
standard botanies of America.
r. x. S.
NATURE AND CHARACTER At
GRANITE BAY BY Daniel A. Good
sell. Eaton & Main. New York
Mature and Character at Granite Fay
has certainly a place in Inc !ltcra:are #
description. It is well worth tht en-
conium Of James Richard Joy: 1T is
rare pleasure to see n1:.ire ana men
through loving eyes, and no one can
read these charming pases witho1t resl-
izing the sincerity and depth of feeling
which is behind them Bishop Good
sell has found an ideal summer home On
the shore of Long island Sound. and it
is of this he writes SO entertainingly in
his present volume. lie is not the mere
chronicler OF village life, he does not pho
tograph Granite Bay for US. lie casts
over all he sees and hears Il glamor of
indeiniteness--1 golden haze of beauty.
True that there is in Granite Bay 4
foundation for decoration. Int that four
dation has been siillful!y used. This
is well for we have II, the present volume
an ideal study Of an IDEAL rest place, ard
this lifts the book into the plane OF gen.
cral interest; position that exact de-
scrptions OF particular places rarely PCS
scsses. We do not lack detail N this
pleasant book. We have il a:,d local
color in abundance. but both are general
and not particular. The work is well
illustrated and forms delightful gift
book of moderate price.
G. w. 7.
Fiction.