Oct. 23, 1879] 



NATURE 



599 



It gradually shrank till, in 1837, it became quite dry, and 

 its bottom was converted into a grassy plain. In 1865 it 

 was a lake again, 17 feet deep ; two years later, only 2 

 feet deep ; and in 1876 it was 20 feet in depth. 



The account of the flora of Australia Mr. Wallace 

 takes from Sir Joseph Hooker's exhaustive essay. In 

 the description of the zoology he makes a curious shp in 

 stating (p. 57) that the Banded Ant-eater {JMyrmecobius) 

 has a greater number of teeth (fifty-two) than any known 

 quadruped. He quite forgets the big Armadillo {Prio- 

 donta), which has nearly twice as many, to say nothing 

 of the crocodiles. It is also hardly correct to say that 

 the Monotrcmes have no teeth. 



After an interesting summary of the geological features 

 of the country and of the mode of occurrence of gold, 

 an account of the natives ensues. It contains interesting 

 information, but seems hardly precise enough, those 

 points in culture in which Australians differ from all 

 other races being hardly brought out with sufficient dis- 

 tinctness. Such a statement as "that the life of the 

 .Australian native is one of abundance and privation, idle- 

 ness and activity," might be made of all savages in the 

 world. It is hardly accurate to describe a boomerang as 

 " about three feet long," boomerangs being used of very 

 various sizes, and many of the Western Australian and 

 Queensland weapons being of about only a foot and a 

 half in length. Again, why denote the spear thrown by 

 means of the throwing-stick as "about ten feet long"? The 

 spears thus used are of most various lengths, and some 

 employed at Cape York arc not more than five feet long 

 ut the most. Again, the throwing-stick is not always " a 

 straight flat stick," but ranges through many forms, one 

 being oval and shield-like. 



Throughout the book the implements and weapons of 

 natives are described in a slipshod and insufficient manner, 

 .".s where the Papuans are stated to possess " Knives and 

 axes, both formed of sharply chipped flints, resembling 

 those of the stone age found in Europe." We believe that 

 no flint implement has ever been found in New Guinea. 

 The Papuans have knives of obsidian, and stone-headed 

 axes and adzes, but the blades of these latter are not 

 made of flint, but of jade or greenstone, or some similar 

 material, and are not chipped to an edge, but invariably 

 ground smooth all over. The only recent savages, 

 apparently, who employ unground stone axe blades are 

 the Australians, and very many of their blades are wholly 

 or partially ground. Again, the canoes of the Admiralty 

 Islanders are described as " formed of a hollowed tree 

 with the sides raised by a plank and fitted with an out- 

 rigger." Such a description might apply to numberless 

 other canoes occurring in Mr. Wallace's region of 

 Australasia. The peculiar interest in the Admiralty 

 Island canoe lies in its having two outriggers, or rather, 

 an inclined balance platform opposite to the ordinary 

 outrigger. 



The real interest in the study of savage weapons and 

 implements lies in the differences to be observed in the 

 form and structure of the contrivances used by each race. 

 The implements manufactured are often as characteristic 

 of the race as is its language. They have certain general 

 family resemblances in their form to those employed by 

 nearly allied races and certain special peculiarities, some, 

 like words from a neighbouring language, have been 



imported, and may or may not have undergone sub- 

 sequent modification, others are absolutely peculiar and 

 characteristic. When taken as a whole they are as 

 important for the elucidation of the past history, and the 

 determination of the affinities of the races of men as are 

 language, or even to some extent physical characteristics. 

 A description of the implements used by a race in order 

 to be of real value and interest, should point out what 

 particular implements are peculiar to the race, and in 

 what their peculiarity consists, and what are common to 

 the race and its immediate allies. A mere catalogue of 

 implements, ornaments, and weapons given without detail 

 or explanation is valueless. 



The several colonies of Australia are treated of in 

 detail in the present work. In the account of New South 

 Wales Port Jackson is, as usual, vaunted as one of the 

 safest, deepest, and finest in the world, but it should 

 always be remembered that though it is very pretty and 

 very deep inside, its entrance channel is not deep enough 

 to admit a first-rate ironclad, and that men-of-war some- 

 times suffer from lack of shelter in Farm Cove, and drag 

 their anchors. 



By an unfortunate slip, under the description of Queens- 

 land, palms of the genera Cycas, Areca, &c., are spoken 

 of, a mistake the more misleading to unbotanical readers 

 because Cycads are not unlike palms in outward appear- 

 ance. 



In the account of the Malay Archipelago which follows 

 in the description of the Sulu Islands and their notorious 

 pirates, it should have been mentioned that the Sultan of 

 the islands has at last submitted to the Spanish rule on 

 receipt of a sum of money. An arrangement to that 

 effect was made about a year ago, and an agreement 

 signed at Manila. 



Dr. Horsfield's interesting account of the Tenger 

 Mountain, the great volcano of Java, is quoted at some 

 length in the account of that island. The crater of the 

 mountain is said to "exceed perhaps in size every other 

 in the globe ; " yet it is only four miles and a half in larger 

 diameter and three and a half in smaller, whilst the great 

 crater of Haleahala, in the Sandwich Islands, really the 

 largest in the world, is twice as big, measuring over 

 twenty miles in circumference. Curiously enough, no 

 mention whatever is made in the book of this wonderful 

 crater, nor of the island of Maui, in which it occurs, in 

 the very meagre account of the Sandwich Islands, in 

 the part of the work which treats of Polynesia. 



The first portion of the work, which treats of Australia 

 and the Malay Archipelago, is by far the best. The 

 account of Polynesia generally which follows is most 

 indifferent, as might be expected from the astonishing 

 fact that no reference whatever is made to the two most 

 important works on the subject, viz., Meinicke's " Inseln 

 des Stillen Oceans," and Gerland's stout volume in Waltz's 

 " Anthropologic." If good use had only been made of 

 these works the result would have been far more com- 

 plete and trustworthy ; but a translation of Meinicke's 

 work would have been better still. 



The figure given as that of a native of Fiji is very 

 unfortunate, since the face is represented as elaborately 

 tattooed, whereas tattooing on the face is excessively rare 

 in Fiji, and tattooing on men at all rarer still. It is not 

 correct, however, to state that "in Fiji the women only arc 



