536 



NA TURE 



[April 5, 1906 



SAILING CRAFT IN EUROPE AND ASIA. 1 

 T N these days, when sails are falling- more and more 

 A into disuse for ocean-going vessels, and the con- 

 struction of sailing-ships is a dwindling industry, it 

 is refreshing to come across a book like this, breath- 

 ing throughout an intimate knowledge of sailing- 

 ships and sailors, displaying insight into, and sym- 

 pathy with, the nature of the men who follow the sea 

 on the coasts of many countries, and showing in 

 every page powers of quick observation and ready 

 understanding of all that makes for the efficiency of 

 sailing craft. The author indicates his recognition of 

 the inevitable triumph of the steam-ship in competi- 

 tion with the sailing-ship for purposes of both peace 

 and war, but he rejoices no less in the belief that 

 throughout all time fishing- and coasting-vessels will 

 remain dependent upon sails, and so 

 will constitute a school of seaman- 

 ship in which the traditions of the 

 past will be maintained. Mr. 

 YVarington Smyth describes the 

 volume modestly as " an attempt to 

 record tin- peculiarity of the prin- 

 cipal types of sailing craft in Europe 

 and Asia which I have observed 

 . . . and to consider the causes 

 which have been at work in the de- 

 velopment of boats and the results 

 attained under the conditions with 

 which they have had to con- 

 tend. " 



This attempt has been eminently 

 successful, and has resulted in the 

 production of a book which is a 

 perfect treasury of information on 

 the subject treated, is well arranged, 

 brightly written, and beautifully 

 illustrated. The author has received 

 the assistance of many competent 

 authorities in special" classes of 

 vessels described. Captain Drechsel 

 has_ dealt with Danish vessels ; Mr. 

 Colin Archer, the well known naval 

 architect of Larvik, has been re- 

 sponsible for details of Norwegian 

 types; Mr. Robert Duthie, of the 

 dollish Fishery Board, has given 

 valuable information in regard to 

 the Scottish fisheries, and other 

 friends have assisted in regard to 

 extra-European types. The descrip- 

 tions are arranged in geographical 

 divisions, which is not merely the 

 most natural scheme, but also that 

 which best brings into relief the 

 underlying motive of the book, namely, the illustra- 

 tion of the influence of local conditions upon form 

 type, and sail-plan. Other writers, notably the late 

 Mr. Dixon Kemp, and those who, since his death, 

 have continued the revision of his work on " Yacht 

 and Boat Sailing," have emphasised the influence of 

 local conditions, and gathered large stores of informa- 

 tion illustrating the general principle. In most cases 

 these writers have dealt with the subject from a more 

 technical standpoint than that assumed in the volume 

 under review. It must not be assumed, however, 

 thai Mr. Warington Smyth has neglected technicalities 

 or unduly sacrificed them to a popular treatment of 

 Ins subject. On the contrary, for manv classes of 

 sailing-vessels he gives the " lines " (or building 

 drawings) and the sail-plans, and his portraitures of 



1 " Mast and Sail in Europe ar.d Asia." By H. Warington Smyth Pp. 

 ^lx + 448. (London : John Murray, roo6.) Price zjs. net. 



NO. 1COI, VOL. 73] 



both hulls and sails in the vignettes scattered freely 

 throughout the text are admirable in their details. 

 The interest of the book is increased by the introduc- 

 tion of numerous reproductions of famous pictures of 

 shipping, and no pains have been spared by the 

 publisher either in regard to these illustrations or to 

 other features for which he is responsible. 



Mr. Smyth excludes from his survey pleasure boats, 

 yachts, and square-rigged vessels, and gives adequate 

 reasons for that course. About one-half of the book 

 is devoted to European types, beginning with the 

 Baltic and Scandinavian countries, and passing 

 to Holland, Scotland, the east coast of England and 

 the Thames estuary, the south and west coast of 

 England, and then to France and the Mediterranean. 

 To English readers, probably the most interesting 

 section of the book will be that dealing with Eastern 



vegian Pilo 



vessels, including those of the Indian Ocean, the Malay 

 Peninsula, the Gulf of Siam, and China. Here we 

 find special types of great antiquity, differing widely 

 from Western vessels, but well adapted for their 

 special services and surroundings. Mr. Smyth com- 

 bines philosophical reflection with a yachtsman's en- 

 thusiasm and a technical knowledge which goes 

 beyond that of the ordinary amateur, and this fact 

 adds to the charm of his book. 



One quotation may be permitted, even within the 

 limited space available in this notice, as indicating 

 this side of his work. He says : — " It is probably 

 true that the degree of civilisation of any race is 

 remarkably reflected in its boat architecture. The 

 variety of its adaptations to the peculiar requirements 

 of its waters is a measure of its appreciation of the 

 value of the cheapest and most certain method of 

 communication known to man ; and it is evidence of 



