The Birds of the Latin Poets

Abstract

THIS book is a monument of patient industry redolent rather of the midnight oil than of the woods and fields. It is mainly an anthology of quotations from Latin, American, and English poets. As a serious contribution to our knowledge of birds, whether European or American, it is not of great value, and naturalists will find it disappointing. But scholars will find it useful as a dictionary or concordance of Latin birds, and to American nature-poets it will prove a treasury of their own bird-lore. The preface should be read first, to prepare the reader for its defects, which to our mind are serious. “My single year in Europe,” says the author, “occupied largely with the technique of our craft, left scant time for woods, meadows, and riverside. Besides, this is the task of years for a finished expert in the birds of Europe.”

The Birds of the Latin Poets.

By Prof. E. W. Martin. Pp. 260. (California: Stanford University, 1914.) Price 1.00 dollar.