Edinburgh Evening News-'One of the most interesting writers of wild nature to-day is H. Mortimer Batten, who has put together an informative little book on the habits of animals.'

Northern Ensign . . . Such an excellent publication should be in the possession of all Scoutmasters and others interested in the study of nature in its wild state. The drawings, being direct from nature, excel most of the attempts of other writers less familiar with the life and habits of wild creatures.'

King's Highway-'. . . It is packed with interesting first-hand information. . . . Mr Batten's nature-studies are well known, and he is just the man to write a book of this kind. He was a paragon of the Boy Scouts before Baden-Powell started the movement, and his textbook is a valuable contribution to Scouting literature.'

The Schoolmaster-'. . . We heartily welcome a book of this description which is thoroughly practical, and will be the delight of Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, and every lover of woodcraft. . . . The drawings are excellent, the quasi-confidential manner of the writer is very taking, and altogether we sum up strongly in favour of the work, feeling it is the work of one who knows.'

The Field-... Will be found very interesting to all lovers of nature. The book has the advantage of being concise, but at the same time leaving out no important detail.'

Western Daily Press, Bristol-. . . Of the greatest interest to all interested in natural history and the explanation of nature's secrets. The drawback to so many books of this character is the somewhat monotonous doctrines of the authors. This Mr Batten has most successfully avoided, and his little book is full of bright illustrations of the nature of the animal under consideration. This one would only expect from the author of Habits and Characters of British Wild Animals. . . . Two shillings is a very small price to pay for such an interesting and helpful book.'

The Queen-'A delightful little guide for all lovers of woodcraft. The study of tracks involves the entire life-histories of the animals concerned, and Mr Batten's sketches and letterpress form the best introduction that a beginner could ask.'

Scottish Educational Journal—"This is a book that no child should be without, and there are few grown-ups who would not enjoy it thoroughly.'

A Money-Saving Manual.

Scots Pictorial says-'Chambers's new book or guide to the perplexed is, we confess, the one publication on the subject which we have been able to understand offhand.'

'Mr Burns is that rare type of expert able to express himself in simple and direct language.'-Scotsman.

The 1920 Edition is in substance a New Book.

CHAMBERS'S INCOME-TAX GUIDE. 4th Edition. By JOHN BURNS, W.S. Strong paper cover, 3/6 net (per post, 4/-); Cloth, 4/6 net (per post, 5/-).

'Habits and Characters of British Wild Animals'—continued. Outlook- Because the things he records have interested him enormously, he has been enabled to pass the interest on to his readers, till no story-book in the world could be more absorbing. But if observation has helped him, intuition has done almost as much. He is one of those rare souls to whom what an old writer has called "the sensitive souls of beasts" have been revealed. That other book of his, Tracks and Tracking, was a masterpiece of patient woodcraft. And the spirit of the woods is always about his pages. We can hear the very rustle of the leaves on the trees.'

Athenæum. . . We like Mr Batten's spirit, which is in the proper humanitarian tradition. His personal observation has been very full, and his anecdotes are sometimes fascinating.'

Country Life-... The lover of wild nature will appreciate this pleasantly given insight into the ways of our national fauna.'

Globe-. . . It is not merely based upon the lifelong observations of a naturalist who has a rare and enviable gift of presenting facts in an attractive form, but the reader whose experience is of much more limited scope will be delighted to find that his casual notes are confirmed by higher knowledge.'

Aberdeen Free Press-'. . . Mr Batten is to be congratulated on an exceedingly interesting contribution to the science of woodcraft-a study of the habits and characters of British wild animals based on personal observation extending over a long period of years. . . . The author is sportsman as well as naturalist.'

Nation 'This book is very well written indeed, and is full of such original and interesting observations that most practised field naturalists would get hints from it.'

Lady's Field . . . The real charm of this book lies in the fact that it is not compiled from a series of notes, but is written from the author's own observations, which gives it such an intimate touch that one becomes immediately absorbed. . . . As well as containing much that is picturesque, the book is crammed with interesting facts. But it is because of its "telling" that it steps right away into the front rank of natural history books. . . . It is as absorbing as any story-book of the year.'

'TRACKS AND TRACKING.'

Morning Post-'This is a delightful little book by a true expert. Mr Batten does not boast of his ability as an intimate of Dame Nature, but now and again he relates an experience which shows him to be "far ben" in the loving-kindness of that lady of the Greater and Lesser wildernesses.

3

ANIMALS.'

Court Journal-'. Is a book that should be in the library of every reader of the Court Journal who has a country-house. . . . Mr Batten is a great authority on the subject of British wild animals, and he says in his Introduction: "I have endeavoured to include not only necessary facts, but also to infuse into each record something of the character of the beast itself." It can be said that Mr Batten has succeeded. . . . The amount of interesting detail he gives is amazing, and his chapter on the fox, for example, will be considered by many to be alone worth the guinea charged for the book. Reynard's mode of life, his actions and devices, are all explained, and the wonderful reasoning powers are all analysed; and this applies with equal truth to the other wild animals dealt with in the volume. . . . Those who wish to give a gift-book of permanent value, and not merely one of passing interest, should get this volume.'

. . .

...

The Times-'. . . Few books written in this generation on the animals of our country contain more genuine knowledge of their habits or are more likely to inspire a kindred enthusiasm. . . . It is impossible to give an idea in a few lines of the abundance and interest of the observations on the habits of the badger, otter, stoat, weasel, and less retiring species such as the hedgehog and water-rat.

The studies of rarer animals are not more interesting than that of the innumerable gray rat; . . . but in the main Mr Batten takes us into wilder and more agreeable landscapes than most of those which the gray rat frequents, and brings us home, as he says after watching his otters, "with the feeling of having seen. thing worth while."'

some

Truth 'It is the result of first-hand observation, and the drawings by Mr Warwick Reynolds add immensely to its value.'

Yorkshire Post-It has the charm that can only be obtained by the intimate observer who is writing of what he himself has noted. ... The work is just the thing to place in the hands of a youth with a love for nature, for it puts him on terms with the animals that he can meet now, and will help him to regard them with a quickened interest.'

The Scotsman-‘... The information set forth in this wholly delightful book is a rare blending of the scientific and the popular. Those who love the wilds, but who cannot bring themselves to study dry and rather forbidding treatises on zoology, will turn to it with eager interest, and in their search for knowledge they will not be disappointed.

A FEW PRESS OPINIONS, 1920-21.

'HABITS AND CHARACTERS OF BRITISH WILD ANIMALS.' 21/- net; per post, 22/

By H. MORTIMER BATTEN.

Realistically Illustrated by WARWICK REYNOLDS.

'TRACKS AND TRACKING.' 2/- net; per post, 2/3.

W. & R. CHAMBERS, LTD., 38 Soho Sq., London, W. 1; and Edinburgh,

Wynterfold went out walked up to the monk. The man had a book in his hand, which he clutched to his bosom.

"Excuse my being inquisitive," said Wynterfold, "but may I see that book?

Rather grudgingly the book was handed over. It was a note-book dealing with matters of philosophy and ethics. The names Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, occurred each of them several times. The monk explained that he was a student at the university.

"And do you have lectures on Sundays at your university?"

66

We have a lecture for an hour every Sunday morning after Mass."

"And what do you study at these lectures?

The monk spoke not exactly with a pure English accent, but with speech very far removed from the plain Irish brogue. Was it his Latin and Greek studies that were responsible for this? Otherwise he seemed quite a simple man. Perhaps he had lived in foreign countries and there consorted with people who spoke the same language, but who were not his own countrymen. He might have been to Rome and stayed there some time.

"A free and independent State," Wynterfold continued. "And what sort of figure would "Philosophy." your people make divorced "Philosophy; not theology?" from the rest of us?'