774 



NATURE 



[August i8, 1921 



the "fixation" of the element in the form of 

 ammonia, cyanamide, cyanides, or oxidised com- 

 pounds of various kinds. These processes, which 

 occupy the latter half of the book, have formed 

 the subject of an extensive literature in recent 

 years, and no great novelty of subject-matter 

 or treatment is to be looked for. 



The earlier half of the book traverses less 

 familiar ground, and it is a great convenience to 

 have the data in reference to the activities of a 

 very inert element collected together in a systema- 

 tic form. The facts that lithium and magnesium 

 form exothermic nitrides and that cerium and 

 uranium burn with incandescence in nitrogen 

 represent the kind of information that can be 

 given to illustrate the properties of a gas which 

 usually receives but scanty treatment even when 

 the behaviour of hydrogen, oxygen, and chlorine 

 is fully described. T. M. L. 



The Realm of Man. 



Principles of Human Geography. By E. Hunting- 

 ton and S. W. Gushing. Pp. xiv + 430. (New 

 York : John Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London : 

 Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1921.) 215. net. 



The Principles of Economic Geography. By Dr. 

 R. N. Rudmose Brown. (Pitman's Economic 

 Library.) Pp. xv + 208. (London: Sir Isaac 

 Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1920.) 105. 6d. net. 



THE almost simultaneous appearance of two 

 educational works on geography bearing 

 very similar titles is not without significance. It 

 shows the pressure of circumstances leading to 

 the further elimination from geographical teach- 

 ing of the mere enumeration of facts which has 

 long been felt to be a desideratum, and to sub- 

 stitute an exposition which may claim to be re- 

 garded as a statement of principles. The result 

 is, at any rate, the publication of two very good 

 books, which may be welcomed as forming an 

 important contribution to the definition of geo- 

 graphy as it is coming more and more to be 

 apprehended in the higher teaching of the subject. 

 They may both be looked upon as going far 

 towards supplying what the present reviewer 

 has long felt to be a want among geographical 

 text-books — a physical geography in which the 

 main stress is laid upon influences, direct and in- 

 direct, on human life connected with place, rather 

 than upon that aspect of the subject which looks 

 to geology as its natural development; that in 

 which almost the entire emphasis is laid on the 

 operations by which the earth's crust undergoes 

 modification. 



This conception of the meaning of the designa- 

 tion " Principles " in both books is more apparent 

 NO. 2703, VOL. 107] 



in the larger of the two, that of American origin,, 

 the chapters of which all have titles, such as 

 "Man's Relation to Physical Environment," 

 "Man's Relation to Location," "Man's Relation 

 to the Climate," etc., bearing this out. Both 

 works, indeed, involve the statement of a good 

 many mere facts of geographical distribution, but 

 it would be pedantic to take exception to this as 

 not in accordance with the titles. The selection, 

 of the facts given shows regard to principle in 

 the singling out of those which it is most import- 

 ant to think of from the point of view maintained 

 by the authors. 



While both books may be described as, in a 

 large measure, physical geographies of the kind 

 indicated, they are, of course, not wholly so. 

 Neither would adequately answer to its title if it 

 were, for in both it is recognised that when influ- 

 ences on human life are considered as having the 

 place relation that demands their inclusion in 

 geography, facts derived from many sciences have 

 to be reckoned with and focussed in varying 

 degrees in different cases on particular problems. 

 Further, it should be added that both books are 

 written in a style of admirable clearness. 



But it does not follow from what has just been 

 said that no exception can be taken to the ex- 

 position of principles by the authors. The eager- 

 ness to substitute principles for isolated facts 

 sometimes leads to rather hasty generalisation, 

 which, it must be confessed, has long been an 

 evil in geography. The failing may arise from 

 an insufficiently disciplined desire to place geo- 

 graphy on the footing of a science, which, it is 

 thought, it cannot claim without having its own 

 stock of this kind. It might, on the other hand, 

 be pointed out that the very fact that it is so 

 hazardous to frame generalisations aiming at 

 strictly geographical content, and that the function 

 of geography is rather to maintain the habit of 

 looking round in all directions for influences con- 

 nected with place, has the advantage of making 

 each case a subject for special and comprehensive 

 thought, which surely gives great educational 

 opportunity. At any rate, the tendency to lack 

 of due care in generalising cannot be denied, and 

 there are, especially in the American work, too 

 many evil consequences thereof. Probably most 

 of the hasty statements of which complaint is 

 made would mislead no competent teacher. Most 

 of them result, one may be sure, from no mis- 

 conception on the part of the authors, who have 

 simply, while using plain language, failed to ex- 

 press exactly what they mean, or in some cases 

 made too summary statements, which may be 

 accepted as true when the necessary qualifications 

 are supplied. 



