Page:Condor16(1).djvu/26

Jan., 1914 THE PEOPLE'S BREAD 2,5 A single plate by "C. C. T." (we should really like to know him) is like an oasis in the desert, because it does serve to recall to mind birds with which we are familiar. ?'R. I. B." 's work, reached in the Sparrows, restores in a measure our drooping spirits.. His birds really look like' birds, even though the color printer has played him some scurvy tricks, as witness his pale pink Crossbill, page ?69. The remainder of the book, filled (from page ?72 on) with unsigned sketches, although we suspect some of the work to be "R. I. B." 's still, because of the sustained excellence of its drawing, goes all to pieces in its coloring. Thus, the Green-tailed Towhee is smeared all over the back and wings with a vivid grass- green, as is also the Violet-green Swallow (poor little innocent!). The color- mixer tired of his work or else had orders to hurry up the job, and the result is a sad mess. Somebody soused the Ouzel's head in a keg of brown paint (who- ever drew that bird, page 2?8, as also the Catbird on the opposite page, has even Horsfall beaten). The Willow Thrnsh, page 235, fell into the lye vat and all his feathers bleached to a sickly yellow-brown; while the Robin and the Varied Thrush and the Bluebird have befiutiful vermilion breasts, such as even the Car- dinal might envy. By the way, what became of the black band on the Varied Thrush's breast? We have told a thousand people by word of mouth that the Varied Thrush was much like a Robin, except that he had a black crescent across the breast. Could we hawe been mistaken ? Our "guide" declares we are. And some of the earlier plates are not above criticism from the standpoint of accuracy in coloring. The Bonaparte Gull, page 26, boasts a combination of immature wings and nuptial head-dress. The Western Gull, on page 23, dif-- fers not a whit from the Herring Gull in the plate, although it is very different in fact. The Buffleheads, page 52, are way off color; the Black Turnstone, page 9 ?. is shades too light; and the Glossy Ibises, page 63, far too red. It is the achieved excellence of many of the plates in point of coloring which leads us to attribute the poor work to carelessness rather than inability. Usually the descriptive matter offered is placed directly opposite the figure upon the plate to which it appertains. Occasionally, however, transpositions have arisen, changes which must cause confusion to the inexperienced student. We should know, of course, that the Brown and the White ,Pelicans were trans- posed; but the change in the Scoters, page 56, will mislead the incautious stu- dent; while the confusion among the Auklets, page ?5, baffles even honest in- quiry. The QtTails, page 95, will deceive all but the elect. While it is obviously impossible in a work of this size to draw birds to a uni- form scale, it might be expected that those, usually only two in number, upon the same plate, would be of the same scale. Yet this principle, commonly observed, is so often disregarded that it fastens upon the plastic minds of the young a vicious misapprehension which can never be quite shaken off. Thus, the di?er- ence in the size of the lesser Loons, page ?2, is grossly exaggerated; the West- ern Solitary Sandpiper and the Western Willet, page 33, appear as twins; while the difference in the Curlews, really slight, save as it resides in the bills, is exag- gerated one-half. Wilson and Mountain Plovers should be carefully distinguished in point of size; yet he who looks upon these in the "Guide" is confused forever after. Most offensive of all is the Swift plate, wherein Vaux's is made to appear almost as large as its great kinsman, the Black Swift. These things are unpar- donable. In taking up the consideration of the text, we find, speedily enough, that it is incoherent and inconsistent, ungrammatical even; that it is in fact, mere wadding. If this were all, we could forget it, and only wish that the spaces had