LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL. 



141 



land trailed by caribou, moose, mountain 

 sheep and big brown bear; of frosty 

 days and gloomy nights in storm-driven 

 clouds; of the final triumphant piercing 

 of the frigid blackness, beyond both 

 clouds and blue sky, to the pinnacle of 

 Mt. McKinley, 20,390 feet high. Superb 

 photographs of a miner's map of the 

 goldfields add to the value of the book, 

 which is a revelation of north exploring 

 achievements in our own country. 



BIOGRAPB [CAIv. 



Dr. Cook was born of German-Amer- 

 ican parents June 10, 1865, at Callicoon, 

 among the Sullivan County hills of the 

 upper Delaware. Before the boy be- 

 came man he sought his fortune in New 

 York, worked his way through the Col- 

 lege of Physicians and Surgeons, and es- 

 tablished himself in the practice of the 

 profession. At the age of twenty-six, 

 he made his first journey to the North, 

 as surgeon of the Pearv expedition of 

 1891-92, during which he devoted special 

 attention to studies of the Arctic high- 

 landers then, for the first time, brought 

 into contact with modern scientific meth- 

 ods and study. 



"The Miranda" expedition of 1894, of 

 scientists, sportsmen and explorers, was 

 organized by Dr. Cook, and brought by 

 him through perils of ice and sea, safely 

 home, though the "Miranda" was left 

 at the bottom of the sea. While disabled 

 at Sukkertoppen, Dr. Cook led a party 

 in an open boat to Holsteinberg, whence 

 relief was obtained and subsequently 

 shared with the late Capt. Dixon of the 

 Gloucester schooner "Riegel," the ardu- 

 ous duty of the return voyage. 



In September, 1897, Dr. Cook assumed 

 the post of surgeon of the P>elgian An- 

 tarctic expedition, joining the ship at 

 Rio de Janeiro, and nearly two years 

 later returned, having brought all the 

 ship's company, with a single exception, 

 safely through the first Antarctic night, 

 for which distinguished service he re- 

 ceived gold medals from the Geograph- 

 ical Societies of Belgium and Antwerp, 

 and with the rank of Chevalier from the 

 King of Belgium. The narrative and a 

 resume of the scientific work of the ex- 

 pedition were later published by Dr. 

 Cook in "Through the First Antarctic 

 Night." 



In 1901 Dr. Cook revisited, as sur- 

 geon of the Peary "Erik" auxiliary ex- 

 pedition, the scenes of his northern work 

 of ten years before. 



In 1003 he led the first expedition to 

 attempt the approach and ascent of un- 

 known Mount .Mckinley in Alaska and 

 three years later first of men, with a 

 single companion, reached its summit 

 alter many thrilling adventures which 

 he describes in "To the Top of the Con- 

 tinent." 



Dr. Cook sailed a fifth time for the 

 north in June, 1907, and was reported 

 in winter quarters at Etah, North Green- 

 land. 



The A P, C axd N Y Z of Bee Cul- 

 ture. By A. I. and E. R. Root. 

 (116th thousand) Medina, Ohio: 

 The A. I. Root Company. 

 This standard encyclopaedia of the 

 practical methods of bee-keeping grows 

 better and better with each succeeding 

 edition. This recent revision takes a 

 long stride ahead of any previous. It is 

 well written and carefully edited, and 

 excellently printed and illustrated. It 

 should be in the hands of every bee- 

 keeper. 



Directory to the Birds of Eastern 

 North America.. Illustrated with 

 many woodcuts and twenty plates 

 drawn and engraved by the author. 

 Written and published by C. J. 

 Maynard, West Newton, Mass. 



This is a convenient pocket manual, 

 intended primarily for use by the pupils 

 in the author's bird classes, yet none the 

 less valuable to all other ornithologists. 

 The key is conveniently arranged accord- 

 ing to the habits and locations of birds. 



The Bird Our Brother. A contribu- 

 tion to the study of the bird as he 

 is in life. By Olive Thorne Mil- 

 ler. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin 

 and Company. $1.25 net. Post- 

 age, IOC. 

 What Beebe's "The Bird" is to physi- 

 cal parts, this book is to the psychologi- 

 cal characteristics. The book is wholly 

 for the "general reader," so it claims. 

 And I wonder if that includes the ornith- 

 ologist. Is not he, also, a "general 

 reader," at the same time, — or is it at 



