January i8, 1900J 



NATURE 



267 



.rust, and the changes which take place in it : in physical 

 l^-^eography, however, the facts of physical science are 

 made subservient to the descriptions of land forms and 

 other matters directly connected with the study of the 

 earth. In the present volume, for instance, " the non- 

 geographical elements of astronomy, the principles of 

 physics, and the divisions of geological time, are care- 

 fully excluded." The authors are, of course, entirely justi- 

 fied in limiting the sections dealing with these subjects to 

 any dimensions they please ; and many teachers of physi- 

 cal geography will agree that the method of treatment 

 adopted distinctly defines the scope of physical geo- 

 graphy. At the same time, the opinion of the writer is 

 that it is impossible for a student to clearly perceive 

 many of the facts of physical geography unless he has a 

 practical acquaintance with physical science. A student 

 with a knowledge of Boyle's law can fully understand why 

 half the earth's atmosphere is left behind in ascending to 

 a height of three and a half miles above sea-level ; but 

 a student of physical geography may be told that this is 

 the case, and have no real conception of the cause. Almost 

 every fact concerning the constitution and movements of 

 the atmosphere can be far more easily comprehended by 

 students who have received experimental instruction in 

 the principles of physics than by those who read them 

 for the first time in connection with natural phenomena. 

 Similar introductory knowledge is also required to intel- 

 ligently follow the action of internal forces such as give 

 rise to volcanic eruptions, the system of oceanic move- 

 ments, the solvent and disintegrating actions of water, 

 causes which affect climate, and many other natural 

 operations and conditions. A practical knowledge of 

 the principles of the science of matter and energy is 

 indeed essential to the scientific study of the earth ; 

 and without such knowledge students of physical geo- 

 graphy can have only a limited comprehension of the 

 causes of natural processes. 



As bearing upon this point, mention may appropriately 

 be made of a new syllabus of physical geography which 

 has just been prepared for the Cambridge Local Examin- 

 ations. The syllabus includes a course of practical 

 instruction drawn up with the distinct object of cultivating 

 the pupils' faculties of observation and reasoning ; it 

 therefore represents a praiseworthy attempt to make 

 lessons in physical geography of real educational value. 

 So far as the descriptive part is concerned, the volume 

 under notice is exactly the kind of book to use in classes 

 which follow the Cambridge course, and the appendices 

 will be found of service in showing the observations which 

 may be usefully made out of doors. But the sections on 

 the atmosphere and on astronomical geography are too 

 brief to be clearly comprehended by students unfamiliar 

 with the rudiments of physics and astronomy. In the 

 Cambridge syllabus experimental work in each of these 

 divisions of physical geography is rightly given promin- 

 ence ; and we consider that a larger amount of space 

 might have been devoted to them with advantage in the 

 present volume. As these sections now stand they will 

 convey information, but will not do much to encourage 

 individual observation. Moreover, most teachers will 

 find it necessary to postpone the descriptions of atmo- 

 spheric circulation to a later stage than is suggested by 

 NO. 1577, VOL. 61] 



the place in which it is here dealt with ; for though the 

 volume contains a most admirable account of wind 

 systems, every teacher knows that charts of winds and 

 isotherms are not easily visualised by the student who has 

 not learned to read such diagrams. 



Apart from the question of the relative importance 

 which should be attached to the different divisions of 

 physical geography, it would be difficult to suggest how 

 the volume could be improved. No better description 

 of the lithosphere, and the changes which take place in 

 it, could be desired by the student of physical geography 

 than is given by the authors. The examples of charac- 

 teristic land forms are naturally more often American 

 than European or British ; but as emphasis is always laid 

 upon the association of land forms with settlements and 

 industries, a useful lesson is conveyed even if the selected 

 district is strange to the reader. Several words, such as 

 tnonadnock, cuesta, cirumlin, peneplain, esker, and mesa, 

 not usually found in books of physical geography used 

 in this country, are employed to describe particular 

 formations, though no explanation appears to be given 

 of more common terms in physical geography, such as 

 hydrosphere, lithosphere, erratic, volcanic dyke, geoid, 

 Roches moutonnees, scoriae, tundra, selvas, pampas, and 

 regelation — or if they are mentioned they are not indexed. 

 Little importance need be attached to this, for physical 

 geography should be more than a collection of definitions ; 

 but as the student will in all probability meet with the 

 words later, he should know their significance. This is, 

 however, but a minor point, for a good dictionary will 

 furnish the meanings of these words, but it is only 

 occasionally that a volume of such an inspiring character 

 as the one here noticed is produced, and where so many 

 good qualities are exhibited, a judicious critic hesitates 

 to suggest any alterations. R. A. G. 



THE REMINISCENCES OF A. D. BARTLETT. 

 Bartletfs Life among Wild Beasts in the '■^ Zoo." By 



the late A. D. Bartlett. Edited by E. Bartlett. Pp. 



xviii + 375. (London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 



1900.) 



THE issue of the present volume may be taken as an 

 indication that its predecessor, "Wild Animals in 

 Captivity," was a success and has met with the apprecia- 

 tion of the public. Obviously, therefore, it is not the part 

 of a critic to decry what has practically been already ap- 

 proved, the work before us being a continuation of the 

 first series of Reminiscences. Undoubtedly there is a 

 very large amount of extremely entertaining matter in 

 this second venture. Especially is this the case with 

 regard to the author's experiences of Gorillas and Chim- 

 panzees, his important practical experiments and obser- 

 vations with regard to hybrids, his account of the veri- 

 fication of the hunters' stories as to the annual shedding 

 of its horns by the American Prongbuck, and his descrip- 

 tion of the habits of the Indian Panda, or Cat-bear. 

 The latter observations afford, indeed, an excellent ex- 

 ample of the acuteness of Bartlett's judgment as to the 

 affinity of an animal by the study of its habits alone. 

 The systematic position of the Panda was at the time 

 in question much disputed. Mr. Bartlett insisted on its 



