268 



NA TURE 



[March 2, 1922 



to correct for the varying prevalence of gonorrhoea, a 

 chief cause of sterility, and of syphilis, a chief cause of 

 still-births and miscarriages. 



On the other hand, the author makes valuable use 

 of illustrations given by Darwin and others of the 

 varying fertility of animals under domesticated con- 

 ditions. It is evident that there is in this direction 

 a line of valuable investigation into the laws governing 

 fertihty which has hitherto scarcely been explored. 

 The evidence is none the less valuable because through- 

 out this book it is pressed into service in support of the 

 author's hypothesis that increasing nervous energy, 

 high feeding, and diminished physical labour reduce 

 fertility, whether in mankind or in the highly bred 

 racehorse. 



Travel and Exploration. 



(i) Hints to Travellers. Scientific and General. Tenth 

 edition. Revised and corrected from the ninth 

 edition, edited for the council of the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society. By E. A. Reeves. Vol. i, 

 Surveying and Practical Astronomy. Pp. xv4-47o. 

 Vol. 2, Meteorology, Photography, Geology, Natural 

 History, Anthropology, Industry and Commerce, 

 Archaeology, Medical, etc. Pp. vii + 318. (London; 

 The Royal Geographical Society, 1921.) 21s. net 

 (two vols.). 



(2) Camping and Woodcraft : A Handbook for Vacation 

 Campers and for Travellers in the Wilderness. By 

 H. Kephart. New edition, two volumes in one. 

 Pp. 405+479. (New York: The Macmillan Com- 

 pany ; London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 

 16^. net. 



BOTH these books are written for the traveller, 

 but they look upon his needs from different 

 points of view. In their scope and appeal, no less 

 than in their style, they differ widely. The first may 

 be said to minister to the intellectual needs of the 

 traveller, the second to his material wants. 



(i) "Hints to Travellers," which now reaches its 

 tenth edition, has been known for many years as an 

 almost indispensable volume for the traveller who 

 aims at doing any useful scientific work. Mr. Reeves's 

 volume on surveying and practical astronomy must 

 have found its way into more remote corners of the 

 world than any other book except the Nautical Almanac. 

 The present edition has been revised, particularly as 

 regards the second volume, but the general plan of the 

 book remains unchanged. The addition of a few 

 pages devoted to marine invertebrates would not be 

 amiss in the natural history section, and might help 

 to direct attention to an aspect of collecting which 

 many travellers are prone to overlook, 



(2) Mr. H. Kephart's aim is to teach the traveller 

 NO. 2731, VOL. 109] 



how to live rather than to take observations and record 

 facts. The two volumes, which are bound together, 

 deal respectively with camping and woodcraft. They 

 have grown from an earlier single volume which was 

 published in 1906 and was devoted entirely to travel 

 in the wilds; The author now appeals to a wider 

 pubhc, and devotes much attention to the growing 

 class of hoHday-makers who camp, not from necessity, 

 but by choice. For the benefit of the latter there 

 are chapters on fixed camps and camp furniture. 

 The chapter on camp cookery is most elaborate. Mr. 

 Kephart expects campers to live well — his dishes and 

 recipes take us far from the simplicity of oatmeal, 

 bacon, and tea, which are so often the staples of camp 

 life — but evidently the amateur camper in America 

 does not risk any hardship or privation. The chapters 

 on tents, bivouacs, clothing, camp-fires, packs, and 

 cave exploration, to mention only a few, are full of 

 useful hints, even if some of them are too obvious to 

 merit inclusion. There are useful remarks on axeman- 

 ship, and well-illustrated notes on knots and hitches. 

 The notes on accidents and emergencies are most 

 practical. Altogether Mr. Kephart's book makes 

 fascinating reading, and, even if primarily designed 

 for life in the forests of North America, it should prove 

 useful to campers all the world over, and should 

 certainly find a place in every boy scout library. 



R. N. R. B. 



Our Bookshelf. 



Introduction to Textile Chemistry. By H. Harper- 

 (Life and Work Series.) Pp*. ix-t-189. (London: 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 3^. 6d. 



Large extensions in the work of elementary education, 

 provided in the Education Act of 1918, have given rise 

 to the necessity for providing books of a new type. 

 Whether the increased facilities for education offered 

 by the Act are ever to materialise cannot yet be stated, 

 but the series in preparation by Messrs. Macmillan and 

 Co., three volumes of which have been issued,, seems to 

 provide a type of book which should have a very 

 beneficial influence on education beyond the elementary- 

 school standard. One of the arguments against educa- 

 tion is that it unfits the " worker " to perform his daily 

 routine. Even the least intelligent critic would prob- 

 ably admit that a workman is not less useful when he 

 knows something about the material he handles and 

 the machinery which manipulates it. The " Life and 

 Work Series " will assist education which, without being 

 narrowly utihtarian, takes as a basis the life and work 

 of man — a wide enough scope for any educator. 



The present volume is evidently the work of an 

 experienced teacher. The reviewer has taught students 

 of a textile centre on similar lines, and he is of opinion 

 that the book should be most successful. Wool has, no 

 doubt on account of the locality of the author's school, 

 a more prominent place than cotton, which will make 



