December 12, 1907] 



NA TURE 



129 



from hooking anything that is not a tarpon, and the 

 hoiiKward journey to the scales, where the fish are 

 weighed and wasted, for, unlike its Asiatic congener, 

 the tarpon is never used for food. Notwithstanding 

 Chat we are told that luck and brute force count for 

 far more than skill in tarpon fishing, it is curious 

 what a fascination the sport has for its votaries; 

 there is something beyond the surroundings and 

 Ix-vond the huge size and strength of the fish itself 

 (for these latter, great as they are, become insignifi- 

 cant when compared with the power and bulk of the 

 great serranids and sharks, which are but " vermin " 

 to the tarpon fisher) that lends a glamour to the sport. 

 Ir is curious to find the same author between the 

 same covers dazzled by this glamour, and yet talking 

 of " the semi-artificial sport of deer ' forests ' (sic),'* 

 setting the armchair and brute force of the tarpon 

 fisher higher than the rough hillsides, patience, and 

 skill of the deer-stalker. 



isformation of an old fort into the New York Aqua 



.\ chapter in this otherwise interesting section of 

 the book devoted to speculations upon the early life- 

 history of the tarpon is marred by the author's pre- 

 liminary assumption that Megalops is a "herring," 

 an assumption the more surprising when it appears 

 from other passages in the book that he is well ac- 

 quainted with one, if not both, of its real allies, Elops 

 and .Vlbula. Perhaps, however, in the case of one who 

 does not claim to write as a scientific ichthyologist, 

 sucli an assumption may be pardoned, as may his 

 want of knowledge of Gill's paper (Smithsonian Mis- 

 ccll.aneous Collections, 1005) dealing with the early 

 histories of Megalops and its allies, and epitomising 

 our c.visting knowledge of the singular metamorphosis 

 passed through by the young of these fishes. 



The concluding .section of the book contains some 

 useful suggestions for the sea-fisherman who may 

 NO. 1989, VOL. ']-]'\ 



wish to visit the West Indies, and holds out some 

 hope that Jamaica may hereafter find prosperity as a 

 resort for British tourists. 



It only remains to add that the printing and appear- 

 ance of the book are good, and that an e.xcellent index 

 is provided. The book is well illustrated from photo- 

 graphs, and we are enabled by the kindness of the 

 publisher to reproduce an illustration of the New York 

 Aquarium, showing how an old fort has been adapted 

 for this use ; the open tanks built into the floor for 

 the reception of large fishes are well shown in the 

 picture, and present a feature which would seem 

 worthy of imitation on this side of the Atlantic. 



L. W. B. 



GREEK ARCH.^OLOGY.^ 

 'T'HE articles in the latest volume of the " Annual 

 ■'■ of the British School at Athens " which are of 

 most importance are those by Mr. R. C. Bosan- 



quet, the late 

 director of the 

 School, and his 

 assistants, which 

 describe their e.x- 

 cavations in the 

 temple and pre- 

 cinct of the 

 goddess Artemis 

 Orthia at Sparta. 

 Thus, for the first 

 time for some 

 years, the main 

 linterest of the 

 .School's v/ork is 

 transferred from 

 things " M y ce- 

 na;an " or " Mi- 

 noan " to anti- 

 quities of the 

 "classical" 

 period. The e.x- 

 cavations of the 

 School at Palai- 

 kastro, . in Crete, 

 which have pro- 

 duced so many 

 interesting monu- 

 ments of the older 

 civilisation o f 



Greece, have been 

 brought to an end 

 (Mr. Dawkins de- 

 scribes the last 

 flicker of this 

 work last year in 

 the present 

 volume), and a 

 new scene of labour, amid totally different 

 surroundings, and productive of totally different 

 results, has been wisely chosen. This is as 

 it should be. Eventually the present phase of 

 the school's work will also e.xhaust itself, and then, 

 all in good time, the attention of the school 

 will no doubt again be turned towards Mj'cenasan 

 matters. Dr. Arthur Evans will by that time 

 have published his great book on Knossos, 

 the Italian results will also be published, and we can 

 start afresh with renewed interest and increased 

 knowledge, derived from the complete study of the 

 results of the previous period of excavation. Then 

 the school will, it is to be hoped, complete the great 



"The Annual of the British Srhool at Athens," xii. Pp. xi+523 ; 12 

 plates ; and illustrations in text. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1905-6.) 



' Sunshine and Sport i 



I and the West Indie 



