Book Reviews

Forest and Bird, Issue 149, 1 August 1963, Page 17

Book Reviews

Two very fine books, one on New Zealand birds and the other on native trees and shrubs, have recently been published. Every member of the Society will want to possess them. Both are obtainable from the Society’s head office.

NEW ZEALAND BIRD PORTRAITS, by M. F. Soper. 104 p., 83 plates (including 7 in colour), royal 8 vo. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs 28s. 6d.

To the bird lover Dr. Soper’s excellent photographs need no introduction; but it is a real treat to find so many of them gathered together in a fine book. The book is all the more valuable for the interesting descriptive accounts of the birds and their nests, and of the author’s adventures, and often difficulties, in. obtaining his photos. In these accounts he brings to light many aspects of bird behaviour that seem to have been overlooked by most other authors. Dr. Soper certainly used his eyes as well as his camera.

When one first opens the book one cannot fail to be impressed by the quality of the photos, but after a few pages of the text have been read one simply cannot put the book down. Even without the photos the book would . have been worth while publishing. There is a full and useful index. The combination of interesting text, excellent photos, and first-class printing (the printers may well be proud of their work) make this book one for the whole family to enjoy. At only 28s. 6d. it will be in demand as a gift book. Every bird lover will want to present his friends with a copy.

TREES AND SHRUBS OF NEW ZEALAND, by A. L. Poole and Nancy M. Adams. 250 p., profusely illustrated, map, loyal 8 vo. Wellington; Government Printer 255.

This book is different from all others on New. Zealand trees. Although designed especially for those who lack a formal training in botany it will be of value to the professional botanist not only as a means of rapid and authoritative reference but also because of the excellent series of botanically correct and aesthetically pleasing drawings. Where else will one find in botanical literature a family so well and so fully portrayed as are the Coprosmae in this book? The combination of authors is a fortunate one: a first-rate botanist

with a most skilful and accomplished artist who combines artistic merit with a considerable degree of botanical knowledge.

The native-plant lover unfamiliar with botanists’ jargon will at first use the excellent drawings to identify his specimens; but it will not take him long, with the aid of the very full glossary, to become familiar with such at-first-outlandish terms as “dioecious”, “distichous”, and “fastigate”, and be able to get the full benefit from the text. For it is not possible to avoid such terms and at the same time be accurate and succinct. A feature that will, appeal to the non-academic, amateur botanist is the way in which species identification is based on leaf form; flower structure is at times complicated, especially when the flowers are minute and not easily obtained. Other commendable features are the meaning of both generic and specific components of botanical names—whereby the characteristics of genus or species are more readily comprehendedand the very full index.

Over 400 species of native trees and shrubs are described and illustrated. The names used are. in accord with those in Allan’s Flora. No native-plant enthusiast, no horticulturist, no teacher, no tramper, no ecologist, can afford to be without this book. Some may perhaps express a wish that the book had been produced in a smaller size, to fit comfortably into a pocket; but had the publisher done this both text and drawings would necessarily have been of smaller size. As it is, the type fount blends well with the drawings, it is of a size that is easy to read, and the overall result is most pleasing indeed. The Government Printer has certainly produced a very fine book that will set the standard for all similar works. One wonders how such a book can be retailed at only 255.

Our popular lady clerk at Head Office, Miss Bellett, has just returned from a tour of' North America. On her return Miss Bellett mentioned she had been impressed with a number of slogans she saw during her journeyings. The following examples are worth reading and thinking about. i -A, < ? rest . r y lecturer at Grand Canyon concluded his talk with the words: Please take nothing away with you but your memories, and leave nothing behind but your footsteps. Notice on a glorious beach behind Diamond Head Honolulu : Let no man say of you, And say it to your shame, This was a place of beauty Before you came.