Nature Books

CHIRP THE FIRST. The winter of 1878 was certainly an unusually dreary one, and so thought a remarkably fine young Blackbird, as he perched one morning on the bare bough of a spreading lime-tree, whose last brown leaf had fallen to the ground some weeks before. With the exception of the Scotch firs and other fortunate evergreens, there was nothing to be seen on all sides but leafless branches standing... more...

PREFACE. This book has been prepared with the idea that teachers generally would be glad to introduce into their classes work dealing with the real objects of nature, provided the work chosen were of a character that would admit of its being studied at all seasons and in all localities, and that the subject were one of general interest, and one that could be taught successfully by those who have had no... more...

In 1928 when Miller and Allen (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 144) published their revisionary account of American bats of the genus Myotis, the black myotis, Myotis nigricans, was known no farther north than Chiapas and Campeche. Collections of mammals made in recent years for the Museum of Natural History of The University of Kansas include specimens of M. nigricans from eastern Mexico as far north as... more...

PREFACE. This little volume mainly consists of a reprint of a series of essays which appeared in the "American Naturalist" (Vols. i-v, 1867-71). It is hoped that their perusal may lead to a better acquaintance with the habits and forms of our more common insects. The introduction was written expressly for this book, as well as Chapter XIII, "Hints on the Ancestry of Insects." The... more...

CHAPTER XII. THE MULBERRY FAMILY. "There is a fruit tree," said Miss Harson, "belonging to an entirely different family, which we have not considered yet; and, although it is not a common tree with us, one specimen of it is to be found in Mrs. Bush's garden, where you have all enjoyed the fruit very much. What is it?" "Mulberry," said Clara, promptly, while Malcolm was... more...

ANECDOTES OF GOVERNOR PHILLIP. Arthur Phillip is one of those officers, who, like Drake, Dampier, and Cook, has raised himself by his merit and his services, to distinction and command. His father was Jacob Phillip, a native of Frankfort, in Germany, who having settled in England, maintained his family and educated his son by teaching the languages. His mother was Elizabeth Breach, who married for her... more...

PREFACE. There is no lack of good manuals of botany in this country. There still seems place for an adequately illustrated book of convenient size for field use. The larger manuals, moreover, cover extensive regions and sometimes fail by reason of their universality to give a definite idea of plants as they grow within more limited areas. New England marks a meeting place of the Canadian and... more...

CHAPTER I. VIOLA. 1. Although I have not been able in the preceding volume to complete, in any wise as I desired, the account of the several parts and actions of plants in general, I will not delay any longer our entrance on the examination of particular kinds, though here and there I must interrupt such special study by recurring to general principles, or points of wider interest. But the scope of... more...

CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. From a look at a globe or a map of the Eastern hemisphere, we shall perceive between Asia and Australia a number of large and small islands forming a connected group distinct from those great masses of land, and having little connection with either of them. Situated upon the Equator, and bathed by the tepid water of the great tropical oceans, this region enjoys a climate... more...

CHAPTER I HOW TREES GROW AND MULTIPLY   The trees of the forest grow by forming new layers of wood directly under the bark. Trees are held upright in the soil by means of roots which reach to a depth of many feet where the soil is loose and porous. These roots are the supports of the tree. They hold it rigidly in position. They also supply the tree with food. Through delicate hairs on the roots, they... more...