, REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



a, as the other members seemed to be harem? — a harem with its latticed win- 

 Ding all the time. It would give them dows ! The harem of the Government ! 

 reno-th to listen to the tiresome debate. Xo wonder the women cried through the 

 "But. my dear, why have you never windows of that harem that they wanted 

 lid me that the Ladies' Gallery is a to be free!" 



PESTS AND PYGMIES. 



The Land of the New Guinea Pyqmirs. By 

 aptain C. G. Ravrling. (Seeley. Service. 



)/- net.) 



Papua and the German portions of 

 ew Guinea have been well explored, 

 at of the Dutch territory little is 

 nown, and on reading the book before 

 5 it is easy to understand wliy this is 

 le case. The thick jungle, through 

 hich a passage can only be made along 

 le rivers, and where it rains for 330 

 ays out of the 365, with an average 

 linfall of 2t; inches per day, together 

 ith innumerable insect and animal 

 ests, make life practically impossible 

 or white men. A description of a few 

 f the insects alone is enough to deter 

 le very bravest : — 



" Over the dark and stagnant pools, 

 n the mud -banks and in the forest, 

 over clouds of mosquitoes, whose rul- 

 ig instinct, as we learn to our cost, is 

 le quest for human blood. ... In 

 ddition to these pests, leeches dangle 

 rom every leaf and branch, immediately 

 ttaching themselves to any part of the 

 ody with which they come in contact, 

 nd, as I verily believe, dropping on 

 tie wayfarer when passing beneath, at- 

 racted merely by the scent of blood, 

 "he worst of all places for them to 

 ttach themselves is the eyeball. So 

 ight and unsuspected is their attack 

 hat on several occasions two or three 

 rept between the eyelids without their 

 )resence being detected, and the first in- 

 imation received was the blurring of the 

 ision. A very severe inflammation of 

 he eyes is the result. 



" The worst of all these insect 

 )lagues, however, are the bluebottles, 

 ^hich are of immense size. What they 

 ive on is a mystery, but they exist in 

 nillions, attacking with ferocity any 

 ood left uncovered for a second and 

 warming in clouds upon any blanket or 

 liscarded article of clothing, absorbed 



in the one idea of finding a suitable 

 spot on which to deposit their eggs . . . 

 and if any success has been met with, 

 the ova become grubs before the morn- 

 ing, a never-to-be-forgotten reminder of 

 what a moment's forget fulness means." 



There are besides many other pests of 

 a lesser degree of obnoxionsness. The 

 only relieving feature in the way of ani- 

 mal life are the birds, of which a large 

 number with the most beautiful plum- 

 age exist in the jungle. 



The book is an account of the work 

 done by an English expedition which 

 was sent to New Guinea with the object 

 of collecting zoological specimens, and 

 at the same time making a sur\e\- of the 

 country up to the Cartensz Mountains. 



Though the expedition did not suc- 

 ceed in penetrating as far as was origin- 

 ally hoped, owing to the selection of the 

 wrong river as the line of attack, still 

 the results were very satisfactor\'. when 

 the inefficiency of the coolie bearers and 

 the numerous other obstacles that had to 

 be overcome are taken into account. 



The most interesting discovery was 

 that of a tribe of pygmies, who inhabit 

 the foothills of the Cartensz range. 

 These pygmies, who are, if anything, a 

 little more advanced in civilisation than 

 the coast tribes, live chiefly by hunting 

 (their weapon being the bow and arrow), 

 augmented by a little cultivation. Their 

 life, however, is one long struggle for 

 existence, The explorers only succeeded 

 in examining the men, as the women 

 were kept hidden in the forest, and not 

 even the largest bribes would induce the 

 men to produce them. The men were of 

 an average height of 4 ft. 8| in. 



The book is very interestingly written, 

 and gives a vivid account of the man- 

 ners and customs of the native tribes the 

 travellers encountered. 



