REVIEWS 335 



one way. The lists of references at the end of the chapters have been dropped, 

 and have been substituted by more complete footnote references, whilst 

 the size of the book has increased by ninety pages, nineteen of which are 

 devoted to a brief but concise consideration of the determination of acidity 

 by means of the hydrogen electrode, from the pen of Dr. Gerald L. Wendt. 



It is probable that this important addition will require even more space 

 in subsequent editions, when the value of the electrometric method of titration 

 becomes more familiar to food analysts. 



The book appears to be well up to date, and is produced in the usual 

 excellent manner that one associates with the publishers. 



J. C. D. 



The Falkland Islands and Dependencies. An Illustrated Handbook. By 

 T. R. St. -J. [Pp. loo, with 13 illustrations.] (Stanley, Falkland 

 Islands : The Government Printing Ofl&ce, 1920.) 



This book, written byLieut.-Col. T. R. St.-Johnston, recently Acting Governor 

 of the Falkland Islands, and published by the Government Printing Office 

 there, contains much interesting matter combined with many good photo- 

 graphs, and maps dealing chiefly with the whaling industry for which those 

 islands are a centre. The scenery of the islands reminds the writer of a 

 Scottish moorland: " Deep bays open up into land-locked harbours, and be- 

 neath the blue sky the rugged grey hills have a beauty and grandeur all their 

 own. Occasionally a seal can be seen disporting himself in the water, while 

 the swimming sea-birds, penguins, and ' logger ' ducks barely trouble them- 

 selves to move out of the ship's way." Here was, of course, the scene of the 

 great Falkland Islands battle between the British and German navies, where 

 the latter met with such a disaster. The chief town, Stanley, has straight 

 and regular streets, stores, and well-kept, comfortable houses, each with its 

 flower-filled porch or glass conservatory. The surrounding country can be 

 best described as consisting of mile after mile of springy turf, dotted about with 

 grey stone boulders and scattered clusters of browsing sheep, contentedly 

 grazing on the succulent grasses that abound everywhere. Farm-houses 

 and shepherds' homesteads are seen scattered here and there, the farms 

 being great tracts of country ranging from some two thousand acres up to 

 perhaps one hundred thousand acres. The land is of a gentle undulating 

 nature, but there are some mountain ranges which offer the excitement of 

 Alpine climbing. The best-known range is that of the Wickham Heights, 

 while Mount Adam reaches 3,000 feet. Trout abound in the streams. 

 The colony is full of historical associations ; but the discovery of the islands 

 is unknown. They were called the Ascension Islands in an old Spanish 

 chart of 1527. The history of the islands is full of many adventurers and 

 navigators, British, French, and Spanish. In 1842 the total population was 

 only 49,000 people. The whole story is briefly but well given by the author. 

 There is much sheep-farming, though there are occasional severe blizzards 

 and sand-storms in the early spring. The author says that the climate has 

 been improving during the last eighty years or so. "There are some 700,000 

 sheep in the colony now. The history of the whaling industry reads like a 

 romance. In 1905 the whole of the sea south of the Islands was a silent 

 waste of waters dotted about with uninhabited islands. In ten years it 

 has become the site of the largest whaling industry the world has ever seen. 

 Great factories, alive with mechanical power, are preparing countless thou- 

 sands of barrels of oil for the European markets. The seas are traversed in 

 all directions by steam whalers ; and a permanent population of a thousand 

 busy people has been settled in South Georgia. This island was originally 

 let by Government at a rental of £t per annum. The species of whales 

 caught are Megapteva nodosa, Baloenoptera physalus, and B. musculus. 



