250 



DISCOVERY 



whicli has an altitude of 12.341} fi-et. There appear to be 

 Sfveral routes to the summit, anil the mountain was first 

 climbed in 1SC14. Since then it has been ascended over 

 twenty times. In recent years scarcely a season has been 

 missed. But Mr. Turner was ambiliuus to achieve a 

 single-handed asceni. .Such a feat entailed some risk, 

 but to Mr. Turner it promised a unique pleasure. 

 " Twenty-four years' mt)untain exploration and climbing 

 have made nie exhaust nearlv all the pleasures of the 

 climbing craft, except solitarv climbing. The virgin peaks 



climbed bv nie alone are the outstanding 



features of all kinds of ascents of various degrees of 

 difficulty on this globe during my climbing career." Six 

 attempts in various years failed owing to unsuitable 

 weather, but eventuallv Mr. Turner satisfied his ambi- 

 tion, and was so proud of his achievement that he not 

 merely employed witnesses at a lower altitude to see him 

 on the summit, but prints their certificate. Why trouble 

 to prove what no one wishes to doubt, especially when th.^ 

 climb, according to Mr. Turner's own admission, was 

 made to satisfv himself alone? .\s he savs : "The real 

 climber will climb even if there Ix' onlv the mountain to 

 witness the feat." .\nother good climb was that of Mount 

 Tasman, the second greatest altitude in New Zealand, 

 and onlv 874 feet lower than Mount Cook. It was, how- 

 ever, in his Mount Tutoko expedition in iqig and 1920 

 that Mr. Turner broke the most interesting ground. There 

 he was in a little known and imperfectly surveyed region, 

 and succeeded in discovering a new lake as well as clear- 

 ing up .some doubtful detaiU of the topography. He 

 climbed to within a few hundred feet of the top of Mount 

 Tutoko, and showed that this name which belongs to the 

 highest peak in the district has not infrequently been 

 wrongly attached to the somewhat lower Mount 

 Madelaine. 



The whole book will be of great interest to climbers from 

 the detail the author gives to describing various difficult 

 problems he encountered. A happier literary style would 

 endow many of the situations with n thrill which thev 

 miss in the telling. The author's sentences are frequently 

 awkward, and his style is apt to offend the reader. .A 

 careful revision would not have been amiss. 



.Mr. Turner rightly believes that New Zealand olTers a 

 fine field for the enthusiastic mountaineer, but weather 

 conditions around the highest peaks are verv uncertain. 

 .Snowfall, e\en at midsummer, is often heavv, and lies 

 at about 2,000 feet. The peaks rise from relativelv low 

 levels, which necessitates quick travelling in order to 

 take advantage of fine weather. December to February, 

 and in some respects March, appear to be the best months 

 for climbing. Some notes on the author's methods of 

 training for his mountaineering are of interest. Mr. 

 Turner, we gather, climbs for recreation, believing in a 

 strenuous holiday in order to fit himself for business. 

 He finds climbing keeps him voung and fit, and we can 

 well believe it when we read of some of the feats in 

 wiiich he rejoices. We have already noted th<- use of the 

 skipping rope. A thousand skips in i\\e minutes as a 

 daily exercise, playing tennis in mountain Ijoots (he savs 

 nothing of the court), .Swedish <xercise, wood-chopping. 



and the vearlv ascent of certain peaks at a fi.xed speed, 

 are all devices used by Mr. Turner. .\nd to test his nerve, 

 which seems never to fail him, he indulges in feats of 

 balancing on loftv ridges and high summits, where the 

 average man would feel well satisfied if he could merely 

 stand upright. To a man so devoid of giddiness, moun- 

 taineering must indeed be a joy. Those who share this 

 qualitv will find pleasur<' in the book. The illustrations 



are good. 



R. N". Rit^MOSE Bkown. 



Books Received 



(Mention in this column does not necessarily preclude r» 

 review.) 



.MISCELI.ANEOL S SUBJECTS. 

 77/1' Home of the Indo-Eiiropeaiis. By Prof. H. H. 



Bkniiick. (Princeton University Press, and Humphrey 



Milford, Oxford Uni\ersity Press, 4s. 6d.) 

 Cri-ck Bioloi^v (iiul (irrck Medicine. Bv Charles .SiNGiik. 



I Oxford : At t'le Clarendon Press, 2s. 5d.) 

 The Book oi (jeiiesis. Translated into Colloquial Englis'n 



by Pkof. T. H. Robinson, M.A., D.D. (National 



.Adult School Inion, is.) 

 Essays on the De population of Melanesia. Etlited by 



W. H. R. RivKRs, M.n., F.R.S. (Cainbridgc 



I'niversity Press, (is.) 



Tlie Xexv Decameron. The Third Aolunie, containing 

 stories by Compton M.\cki£nzie, J. D. Beresford, 

 D. H. I.AWKKNCH, etc. (Basil Blackwell, 7s. 6d.) 





The Peoples of Europe. By Herbert John Fi.kuke, 

 D.Sc. (Oxford I'niversity Press, 2S. 6d.) 



The World .Ihout is. .\ study in Geographical Environ- 

 ment. By O. J. R. Howartii. (Oxford University 

 Press, 2s! hd.) 



.Short, carefullv written, accurate, and up-to-date 

 descriptions of these subjects, written by specialists for 

 the non-specialist but serious student. Few books are so 

 fresh and stimulating, as well as informing, and for the 

 price, so well printed, as these. The inclusion of both a 

 bibliographv and an index would be a boon to readers. 

 Prof. Fleure's book contains the former, and Mr. 

 Howarth's the latter only. 



SCIENCE. 



Tlie Piscovery of the Circulatiofi of the Blood. By 



Charles Singer, M.D., Litt.D., F.R.C.P. (Geo. 



Bell & Sons, is. bd.) 



This book is nicely printed and suitably illustrated, and 



has eightv pages in a stiff paper cov<r. It is the first of 



a new series entitled "Classics of Scientific Method," 



which promises to be a good one. The aim of the series 



