LITERARY NOTICES. 



277 



structure of different kinds of stem, of cork, 

 of the growing tip of stem and of root, the 

 vegetative structure and the modes of repro- 

 duction of cryptogamous plants, and the 

 structure of various seeds and fruits. The 

 text is illustrated with 149 cuts. An appen- 

 dix contains lists of plants and of reagents 

 used in study, etc. 



Handbook of Commercial Geography. By 

 George G. Chisholm, Fellow of the Royal 

 Geographical and Statistical Societies. 

 London and New York : Longmans, 

 Green & Co. Pp. 515. Price, $5. 



Commerce has undergone a change cf 

 character in recent times the nature of which 

 i3 indicated by the disappearance of the 

 word " venture " from the commercial vocab- 

 ulary. Cargoes of good3 are not now shipped 

 to distant ports in blind ignorance of whether 

 or not a sufficient demand exists at their 

 destination for the commodities sent. The 

 legend of the rash Yankee, who apparently 

 tempted the financial fates by sending a lot 

 of warming-pans to the West Indies, would 

 be impossible at this day. Commerce has 

 settled down to a more even course, it is 

 carried on by more exact methods, and is 

 directed more by knowledge and less by 

 chance than at earlier times. But there re- 

 mains much room for improvement in the 

 knowledge which importers and exporters 

 possess of the products and the needs of 

 foreign countries. To supply information 

 of this sort, and in such a form that it may 

 have " intellectual interest," is the aim of 

 the present volume. " In writing the work," 

 says the author, " I have had three classes 

 chiefly in view : first, teachers who may wish 

 to impart additional zest to their lessons in 

 geography from the point of view of com- 

 merce ; secondly, pupils in the higher schools 

 and colleges that are now devoting increased 

 attention to commercial education ; and, 

 thirdly, those entering on commercial life, 

 who take a sufficiently intelligent interest in 

 their business to make their private studies 

 bear on their daily pursuits." An intro- 

 ductory chapter embodies certain general 

 facts relating to the production, distribution, 

 and exchange of commodities, such as differ- 

 ences in soil and climate, in the price and effi- 

 ciency of labor, in facilities for transportation 

 and communication, in import and export 

 regulations, in language and money. The 



world's articles of commerce are then taken 

 up, under a number of classes, and the source 

 of supply of each, and, in case of the more 

 important commodities, other details, such as 

 mode of production, history of the industry, 

 uses of the article, quality of the product from 

 different places, and statistics of production. 

 Then the countries of the world are taken 

 up in succession, the location and geographi- 

 cal character of each is stated, its general 

 commercial advantages and disadvantages are 

 pointed out, after which the important prod- 

 ucts of the several sections and towns of 

 the country are named, statistics being given 

 in numerous instances. About thirty maps 

 are interspersed through this part of the 

 volume, showing the products, density of 

 population, railways, etc., of different coun- 

 tries. An appendix of fifty pages gives 

 tables of statistics in regard to the imports 

 and exports of the chief countries of the 

 world, and related information. The volume 

 has a full index, which is far from a matter 

 of course in English treatises. 



The Bermuda Islands. By Angelo Heilprin. 

 Philadelphia: The Author, Academy of 

 Natural Sciences. Pp. 231. Price, $3.50. 



The material of this volume embraces 

 geological, zoological, and botanical observa- 

 tions, and includes a few glimpses from the 

 traveler's point of view. " My main object 

 in visiting the islands," says the author, 

 "was to satisfy my mind on certain points 

 connected with the structure and physi- 

 ognomy of coral reefs, to the study of which 

 the Bermudas offer special advantages. I 

 contemplated but little work in zoology, and 

 that which was accomplished may be con- 

 sidered supplemental to the plan of work 

 originally laid out." The first chapter, and 

 to some extent the second, consist of " gen- 

 eral impressions" of the islands and sur- 

 rounding waters, and the inhabitants of both. 

 The view herein given is less roseate but 

 probably nearer correct than the descriptions 

 of writers more dominated by poetic enthu- 

 siasm than by scientific accuracy. Prof. 

 Heilprin next sketches the physical history 

 and geology of the Bermuda Islands, and 

 then takes up the coral-reef problem. He 

 discusses the chief contributions that have 

 been made to our knowledge of coral reefs, 

 his own convictions being in favor of Dar- 



