82 



/ / ERE 



[October 3, 1918 



(or, maybe, both); for the book is almost entirely 

 devoted to the means available for purification by 

 chemical methods. These methods arc the least 

 eas) "I adoption of all known methods ol guarding 

 against water-borne disease in the dwelling, where 

 imple domestic filters so rarely receive the 

 comparatively Little attention the) require to main- 

 tain satisfactory working conditions. 



The author points urn in Ins preface that the 

 expert will find little bj way of instruction in a 



book which is offered more particularly to those 

 who are inexperienced, but zealous to learn. 

 This latter class ol readei will be confused and 

 discouraged lw all the chemical matter. included. 



Where the consumer is at risk from specific 

 water-borne infection the domestic methods of 

 Sterilising water are so rarely a success that the 

 practical sanitarian advises them only as a dernier 

 ressort; he always favours the safer alternative of 

 adopting every available means of preventing such 

 contamination. But the problems of obtaining 

 in rural districts drinking water that is satisfac- 

 factory in quality and quantity, and of guarding 

 its purity, are so lightly discussed in this work 

 that the reader will look in vain for usefully de- 

 tailed guidance under this head. 



The author is conscious of the shortcomings of 

 his statement, for his final paragraph is as fol- 

 lows : " In this brief account of rural water sup- 

 plies and their purification, the author has doubt- 

 less failed in many particulars, but if the reader 

 cares to write and explain his (or her) difficulties, 

 or to offer any suggestions or criticisms, the author 

 will endeavour to answer any such communications 

 to the best of his ability." If the work is exten- 

 sively read by the uninitiated, it should bring him 

 much correspondence. The following are among 

 the questions that may be raised even by the well- 

 informed reader : Is it not taking an extreme view 

 with reference to roof-collected rain-water to re- 

 gard it as "potentially unsafe, if not actually 

 dangerous," from the point of view of water-borne 

 infection, and therefore to maintain with reference 

 lo il that "the first thing to consider is how rain- 

 water can he best sterilised "? Is it reallv "out of 

 In describe methods of separating the first 

 washings from the roofs, and of collecting and 

 Storing rain-water in bulk; and, if so, wh\ is this 

 done .111 pp. 1 24—28? 



The book is disappointing, the more so because 

 it is written by one whose practical work upon 

 watei sup] I as won for him much well-merited 



recognition. 



I NEW ZOOLOGICAL STATION 

 Tropical Wild /. h Guiana. Bj William 



Beebe, <:. I. 1 lai tl m I' G. Howes. Willi 

 an Introduction b Col I. Roosevelt. Vol. i. 

 Pp. xx + 504. (New York City: \ew York 

 Zoological Society, ; London : \\ itherb) and Co., 

 1017.) Trice 12s. 6d. net. 



PIUS handsome volume, profusely illustrated 

 J- with original photograpl I scenery, 



plants, and animals, is the first-fruit i I a new 

 , 2553, VOL. 102] 



zoological station which has suddenly come to* 

 blossom in British Guiana whilst the old World 



was already in the midst of the all-absorbing war. 

 The sub-title explains this unexpected growth: 



"Zoological 1 ontributions from the Tropical 

 Research Station of the New York Zoological 



Society." In the words ol one ol the authors, it 

 marks the beginning ol a wholly new type of bio- 

 logical work, capable of literally illimitable expan- 

 sion. It provides for intensive study, in the open 

 field, of the teeming animal life of the tropics. 

 Cordial hospitality is extended to all naturalists to 

 secure, without jealousy, from whatever source, the 

 most thorough research possible. Every original 

 investigator lit to work in the field is sure of an 

 eager welcome and of all possible aid in his 

 studies. 



Mr. Beebe, with his previous experience "t 

 British Guiana (c/. "Our Search for a Wilder- 

 ness," New York City, 1908] as directing curator, 

 and Mr. Hartley and Mr. Howes as research asso- 

 ciates, established themselves in March, 1916, at 

 Kalacoon House, Hills Estate, Mazaruni River, 

 British Guiana, and stayed there until August, 

 1910. The place is about 40 miles from the coast, 

 near the Essequibo River, just above the marshy 

 alluvial zone, still within reach of the tide. Schists 

 and outcropping granite, < la\ subsoil and sand- 

 dunes, fere all covered with dense jungle. The 

 field of intense operation was restricted to half 

 a square mile around the station, a clearing for 

 india-rubber. Close b\ a square mile is covered 

 with second growth, some three years old, already 

 20 ft. high, affording valuable comparison with 

 the primeval forest, since this new area is com- 

 posed of its own flora and fauna. 



Work was begun at once. The present book 

 is not a traveller's account. It plunges at once 

 into observation and reflection concerning ever so 

 main topics, for example, the jungle is divided 

 into four horizontal zones, each with its character- 

 istic flora and fauna — floor, lower, mid, and tree- 

 tops— of which the middle zone is the heart of 

 tropical life, whilst that above is still a closed 

 book, for the obvious reason thai il is hopeless 

 to sit and observe on the top of the jungle. How- 

 ever, the authors hope next time In find ways and 

 means to establish themselves comfortably aloft. 



Concerning birds, tin- favourite study of the 

 director, nearly 300 kinds were observed, half 

 of which were omnivorous, 1 2 per cent. 

 wholly vegetarian, and 38 per cent, entirely 

 insectivorous. Ami, mark, "no trace of a 

 butterfly or moth was Found in any ol the 

 400 stomachs examined." There are man) 

 observations as to diet hitherto unsuspected. The 

 caracara, .1 reputed scavenger, sated himseli with 



seeds and insects. Swallow -t ailed kites, instead ol 

 terrorising other birds, lived on small fruit ami 

 large grasshoppers. Vultures were rare — at least, 



Careful search of the sky never revealed one — 

 but an) carcass left deep in the jungle, out of 

 sight, was within two or three days surrounded 

 hv various kinds of thes, ■ birds. Being devoid of 

 tin si 11s, of smell, were they attracted to the s|X>t 



