94 



NATURE 



[JULV 2 1, 1923 



barriers, but have little stability against the battery 

 of the waves. The pictures of coastal " planes of 

 marine denudation " (Ramsay wrote " plains " for 

 his larger features) are pleasing examples of the many 

 excellent photographic illustrations. 



The English and Welsh coasts are dealt with by 

 districts, which is a far better method than any 

 attempt to distinguish coasts of accumulation from 

 those where erosion is now active. The descriptions 

 thus appeal to readers who know the landscapes, and 

 they add much in the way of local geography for 

 dwellers near our shores. The descriptions of the 

 Chesil Beach and the coves of the Dorset coast may 

 be cited as examples of this treatment. Note has been 

 taken of the probable derivation of the big stones of 

 the Chesil Beach from flint-gravels formed on lost but 

 adjacent land. The re-opening of Pagham Harbour 

 in the Selsea area by a heavy gale in 1910 provides 

 a parallel on a small scale with the flooding of the 

 lands west of Dordrecht in 1421. The loss and gain of 

 land in East Anglia is illustrated by many details 

 and references that show the wide reading of the 

 author. 



This readable book forms a sound basis from which 

 a historian might proceed to a study of our maritime 

 industries, our relations with the continent, and our 

 great adventures overseas. G. A. J. C. 



The Statesman's Year Book : Statistical and Historical 

 Annual of the States of the World for the Year 19 2 j. 

 Edited by Sir John Scott Keltic and Dr. M. Epstein. 

 Sixtieth Annual Publication : Revised after Official 

 Returns. Pp. xxxii + 1583. (London: Macmillan 

 and Co., Ltd., 1923.) 20s. net. 



The sixtieth issue of this well-known work of reference 

 shows the same high degree of accuracy for which 

 previous issues have been distinguished. The informa- 

 tion for every country for which statistics are available 

 has been carefully revised, and the same applies to 

 the full lists of works of reference dealing with every 

 part of the world. For the first time Turkey appears 

 shorn of its old-time possessions, which now figure 

 either as independent states or as mandated territories 

 of other states. The new conditions in Ireland have 

 resulted in two new sections devoted respectively 

 to Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State. In de- 

 fault of separate figures, certain statistical information 

 for Ireland has still to be included under Great Britain 

 and Northern Ireland. The term United Kingdom 

 would seem to have disappeared. The two coloured 

 maps in this issue show respectively Ireland, and 

 Palestine with Trans- Jordan. There are the usual 

 statistical tables and a section on the League of Nations, 

 A voluminous index enhances the value of this well- 

 arranged volume. 



Lands of the Thunderbolt : Sikhim, Chumbi, and Bhutan. 

 By the Earl of Ronaldshay. Pp. xvii -F 267 -h 32 

 plates. (London, Bombay and Sydney : Constable 

 and Co., Ltd., 1923.) 165. net. 



The barest record of the journeys made by Lord 

 Ronaldshay from Darjeeling into Sikhim, Chumbi, and 

 Bhutan, could scarcely fail to be of interest. Sikhim 

 is probably the most mountainous country in the world, 



NO. 2803, VOL. I I 2] 



while both Chumbi and Bhutan are little known to 

 Europeans. Lord Ronaldshay's record, however, has 

 the added attraction that he is intensely interested in 

 the curious lines of thought of the peoples he met. 

 These are the result of that combination of Buddhism 

 and the animistic beliefs of primitive Tibet which we 

 know as Lamaism. In Lamaism, the rationalistic 

 philosophy of Buddhism, of which the author gives 

 a succinct account, coexists side by side with a belief 

 in " devils," and the efficacy of the praying wheel, a 

 reverence for repetition and an unquestioning faith in 

 number, most strikingly manifested in the endless 

 reiteration of religious formulae as an effective exercise 

 of piety. The result of the incongruous combination 

 is strikingly manifested in a weird ceremonial in which 

 such observances as the devil dances of the Black Hat 

 and the bizarre pantomimic dances of Bhutan play a 

 prominent part. Lord Ronaldshay's record of his 

 observations is illustrated by a large collection of 

 photographs, many of great beauty, taken by himself. 



Food, Health, and Growth : a Discussion of the Nutrition 

 of Children. By Dr. L. Emmett Holt. Pp. xi -f- 273. 

 (New York : The Macmillan Company ; London : 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1922.) 7^. dd. net. 



This book embodies a series of five lectures on certain 

 important and interesting topics relating to child nutri- 

 tion. The objects are to demonstrate the relation of 

 nutrition to health and growth, to state the require- 

 ments of children during the period of growth, and to 

 discuss how these requirements may best be met. 

 Considerable attention is paid to the accessory food 

 factors. 



The most important chapter is the last, which deals 

 with practical measures. Dr. Holt believes that the 

 only way of dealing with health problems, including 

 that of errors of nutrition, is by education of children 

 in matters of personal hygiene, and he suggests that 

 much can be done in schools to make the teaching of 

 health interesting and its practice attractive. 



The book contains much that is useful and interesting 

 to the general reader, and its understanding requires 

 no previous scientific knowledge of nutritional principles. 



The Chemists' Year Book, 1923. Edited by Dr. F. W. 

 Atack, assisted by L. Whinyates. Vol. I. Pp. 

 iv-h422. Vol. 2. Pp. vii + 423-1 107 + XV. (Man- 

 chester : Sherratt and Hughes, 1923.) 2 vols., 

 21s. net. 



" The Chemists' Year Book," which is the English 

 equivalent of the " Chemiker Kalender," is now ap- 

 proaching the latter in completeness. In the present 

 issue there has been some revision, and a new section, 

 on " Leather Analysis," has been added. It is worth 

 considering whether the space taken up by such de- 

 scriptions of analytical methods, which would usually 

 be sought in special manuals, could not be better used 

 in giving further numerical data. Thus, the section 

 on thermochemical data, or sections rather, since the 

 material is dispersed, cannot compare with the informa- 

 tion in the " Chemiker Kalender." The price is also 

 very high for a book which is to be replaced every 

 year. 



