Abstract
MR. SPIERS does not profess to give in this little book a full account of any one of the subjects with which he deals. His aim has been βto awaken or to stimulate a love for Nature in the minds of some who may not as yet have suspected what wondrous and ever-varying beauty lies everywhere about us, in ditch and pond, in rock and stone, in river and sea, on earth and in the skies.β With this end in view, he describes, in a series of short sketches, various phenomena which he himself has had opportunities of observing; and he does his work so well that to a good many readers his book may be of considerable service. There is nothing new or brilliant in Mr. Spiers's descriptions; but they are fresh and clear, and display not only a genuine love for Nature, but a capacity for appreciating the scientific significance of many different orders of facts. Besides other essays, the volume includes papers on seaweeds, rambles in Cornwall, a visit to the Channel Tunnel, St. Hilda's snake-stones, tiny rock-builders, and an evening at the microscope.
Rambles and Reveries of a Naturalist.
By the Rev. William Spiers, &c. (London: Charles H. Kelly, 1890.)
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[Book Reviews]. Nature 42, 172 (1890). https://doi.org/10.1038/042172a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/042172a0