220 



^\'.-^ TURE 



[Jii.v 4, 1S9: 



climbing for its ow-n sake. He leaves science for others, 

 cares nothing for topography except as ministering to his 

 pastime, and holds a plane-table in abhorrence. Thus 

 between his book and Sir W. M. Conway's "Climbing in 

 the Karakoram Himalayas," there is a great difference. 

 Still this is common to both : a delight in the wild beauty 

 and silent grandeur of the crags, pinnacles and snows of 

 the higher peaks. There is, no doubt, a beauty in the 

 .•Mps which all the world can see, as Ruskin has truly 

 remarked : but there is another aspect, solemn, almost 

 stern, yet with a strange, thrilling fascination, which he 

 only can appreciate who has grasped their rocky ledges, 

 or planted his ice-axe in their unsullied snows. \'ain it is 

 to rebuke Mr. .Mummery for treating the mountains like 

 greased poles. He retorts, unabashed, that the pole is 

 slippery, not gre.-isy, and that he enjoys trying to climb 

 it. But he seeks not to vulgarise the mountains ; he has 

 no love for the crowd of tourists which now annually 

 deluges the .Alps, nothing but contempt for the cockney 

 "mountaineer" who is h.iuled up a peak by his guides, 

 like a bale of goods, or who makes an ascent simply 

 because it is "the thing to do." Perhaps Mr. Mummery 

 mav sometimes carr\' daring beyond the verge of rash- 

 ness. It is to be hoped that few readers of this book 

 will be tempted to follow his example of making difficult 

 ascents without guides : for such work requires not only 

 gjTnnastic skill, but also knowledge and judgment, which 

 very few amateurs can ever acquire. Still it is difficult 

 to avoid sympathising with his love of a struggle — it is the 

 spirit which has made England great, a spirit which is 

 too often lacking in this age of molluscous sentimentality 

 and invertebrate opportunism. 



Mr. Mummery's book, as we have said, contains no 

 science and hardly any geography, but those who Io\e 

 the story of a plucky scramble, cle.irly told in good pithy 

 English, will be loth to lay it down. It is well illustrated, 

 with a number of small sketches introduced into the text, 

 and eleven full-page pictures from either drawings or 

 photographs. One or two of these will repay study as 

 fine examples of the fonns of weathered crags. None is 

 better than the photogra\-ure of the lower peak of the 

 Aiguille CrtJpon. .\mong the expeditions described are two 

 ascents of the Matterhorn by unwonted routes, a passage 

 of the Col du Lion and Col des Courtes, ascents of the 

 Teufelsgrat (written by Mrs. Mummer>'), of the .Xiguilles 

 des Charmoz, Grepon, du Plan, Verte (also by two un- 

 wonted routes), and of the Dent du Requin. The chapters 

 on the Caucasus describe some fine excursions, the chief 

 of which is the first ascent of the Dychtau (17,054 feet) in 

 1888, a magnificent peak, called m \.hc A/pim- Journal 

 of that date Koshtantau, for apparently this and a slightly 

 lower summit to the east (climbed by another parly in the 

 following year) indulge in a distracting habit of exchang- 

 ing names. In a concluding chapter Mr. .Mummery 

 discusses various moot points in ,A.lpine craft, advocating 

 a preference for " two on a rope " in difficult places, a 

 preference which is not likely to pass unquestioned by 

 some of his brother climbers. T. (I. HoNNKV. 



Dairy Haclerioloj^: IJy Dr. Ed. von Freudenreich. 



Translated by j. R. Ainsworth Davis. (London: 



Methucn and Co., 1895.) 

 An English translation of Dr. Freudenrcich's little book 

 appears vcr)' approiiriatcly at the present juncture, when 

 serious efforts are at length being made to raise' the 

 standard of our dairy produce by providing special 

 courses of study for those engaged m its production. 

 Although some of the peripatetic instruction on dairy- 

 work instituted in various districts by local County 

 Councils has not been attended with the success antici- 

 pated, yet there can be no doubt that systematic training 

 m this direction is very urgently required. As the trans- 

 lator truly remarks: "Not only Denmark, but .America, 

 France, (Icrmany, and .Switzerland are far ahead of us 



NO. 1340, VOL. 52] 



! in these matters, and compete against home dairy pro- 

 ducts with only too much success, while .Australia is 

 rapidly becoming another serious rival." The informa- 

 tion contained in " Dairy Bacteriology" as to the .fi/t7;/;_/ft 

 origin of some of the troubles with which, in actual prac- 

 i tice, the manufacturer of dair\' produce is only too well 

 ! acquainted, will doubtless be a revelation to many, whilst 

 the instructions given for their successful elimination 

 from the dair>% should at any rate impress the student 

 with the hopelessness of attempting such delicate opera- 

 lions as are involved in dairy work without an adequate 

 knowledge of the various parts played by bacteria in 

 dairies. 



The little volume is but an introduction to the subject, 

 otherwise we should have been justified in expecting a 

 better account of the milk-microbes which have been 

 discovered ; it is, however, written in an attractive 

 manner, and the author has, moreover, succeeded in 

 making it interesting and readable to the public gener- 

 ally, who as consumers are even more concerned than 

 the manufacturers in the hygienic aspects of our dairy 

 produce. 



We note that an edition of this useful little manual has 

 already appeared in French, Italian, and Hungarian, and 

 it only remains for us to congratulate Prof Davis upon 

 the excellent manner in which he has translated it into 

 English. 



j Longmans' School Algebra. By W. S. Beard and .\. 

 Telfer. Pp. 528. (London : Longmans, Cirecn, and 

 Co., 1895.) 



I So far as abundance of examples goes, this book is in 



! advance of other text-books of algebra. There are as 

 many as 5200 examples in the book, 500 of which are 

 collected as miscellaneous examples at the end. Teachers 

 who like to have plenty of material upon which to exer- 

 cise their pupils' minds, will find that this volume satisfies 

 their requirements. It seems hardly necessary, however, 

 to include in a school algebra such a ver\' large number 

 of examples ; in our opinion, the volume would have 



j been improved by omitting many of them, and amplifying 



I the very scanty descriptive text. 



Fallacies of Race Theories as Applied to National 

 Characteristics. By the late W. 1). Babington, M.A. 

 Pp.277. (London: Longmans, (Ireen, and Co., 1895 ) 

 Mr. H. H. (".. M.vcDoNNKl.i. prefaces these collected 

 essays with a brief statement of the views expressed in 

 I them. The late author contended that the mental and 

 I moral characteristics of nations are mainly the result of 

 I environment, and arc not derived from ancestors by 

 ' heredity. The transmission of physical characteristics is 

 not taken into consideration, and the treatimnt through- 

 out is more historical than scientific. 



A Chapter on Birds. I$y R. Bowdler Sharpe, LI..I)., 

 F.L.S. Pp. 124. (London: Society for Promoting 

 Christian Knowledge, 1895.) 



Eli;HTKl".N of our rare avian visitors, and their eggs, arc 

 brilliantly depicted by rhromo-liihogr.iphy in this attrac- 

 tive \olume for lovers of birds. Dr. .Sharpe's notes on 

 the life-histories and natural relations of the different 

 , species, furnish instructive reading for young students of 

 ornithology. Such a volume ought not, however, to be 

 published without an index. 



Nature in Acadic. By 11. K. Swann. Pp. 74. (Lon- 

 don : John Hall and Sons, 1895.) 

 From the observations of birds, insects, and other forms 

 of life, made by the author while on a voyage to Nova 

 Scotia, and diffusely recorded in this book, it is possible 

 to find notes of interest to naturalists. A systematic list 

 of the species of .North American birds mentioned in the 

 text, is given in an appendix. 



