1898] NOTES AND COMMENTS 81 



the older printed maps. At the close of last year there was 

 published by Mr J. E. Bergsjo, 6b Nybrogatan, Stockholm, a com- 

 plementary work from the pen of Baron Nordenskiold, entitled 

 " Periplus ; An Essay on the Early History of Charts and Sailing- 

 directions." This was issued in both a Swedish and an English 

 edition simultaneously. The volume, which is in royal folio, con- 

 tains 212 pages of richly illustrated text and sixty double plates, 

 reproducing by phototype or photolithography, portolanos, manuscript 

 charts, and other maps. The price is £10. 



The work is no mere detailed description of ancient maps, in 

 dry bibliographic style, but contains many a chapter of wider 

 interest, and numerous paragraphs full of suggestion for the 

 naturalist. Among such we may mention the history of the inven- 

 tion of the compass ; the discussion as to the first colonisation of 

 Greenland by Norsemen, in which Prof. Nordenskiold's practical 

 experience stands him in good stead ; the strange, half mythical, 

 and romantic sagas of the early discoveries along the coast of 

 Africa ; the vivid sketch of the rise and fall of Portuguese dominion 

 in the East ; the wonderful adventures of Marco Polo, the man 

 who always reckoned in millions. One side of this study may 

 interest the geologist, for many of these old charts and sailing- 

 directions afford evidence of changes in the relations of sea and land 

 that have taken place during the historic period. Naturally the 

 outlines of the maps are scarcely to be regarded as absolutely 

 accurate, but much can be learned from the sailing-directions as to 

 the former existence of channels, of bars, or of rocks, in places 

 where such are no longer found. This is especially the case with 

 the valuable chapter on " Sailing-directions for the Northern Seas," 

 contributed by Dr E. W. Dahlgren, the learned librarian of the 

 Swedish Academy of Sciences. 



It is strange how little the English figure in this work. Their 

 chief effect on the early history of navigation seems to have been, 

 through their acts of piracy, to bring about subsequent diplomacy, 

 and so pave the way for an international maritime code. This need 

 not prejudice English readers against the book, which, though too 

 expensive for most private pockets, will doubtless be demanded for 

 the larger libraries. It forms a worthy companion to the fine 

 Facsimile Atlas, and, though some of its views challenge criticism, 

 we are sure that all interested in geography and navigation will 

 give the veteran explorer hearty congratulations on the completion 

 of this magnificent volume. 



