August ii, 1910] 



NATURE 



17s 



The first chapters are devoted to an historical 

 account of the health conditions of the West Indies 

 at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Tliese 

 are ratlier hastily and loosely written, but suffice to 

 show that at that time these islands were veritable 

 death-traps. It was the newcomer who was attacked, 

 and no one felt safe until he had at least passed 

 through an attack of yellow fever, and so become, as 

 the saying was, acclimatised. Now, by the mtroduc- 

 tion of drainage, pipe-borne water supply, the destruc- 

 tion of mosquito breeding-places, and general sanita- 

 tion, these diseases have almost disappeared, and the 



islands are becoming the sanatoria nature surely 



intended them to be. 



larging dominion over that unlovely domain of nature 

 — disease. 



There are some signs, as mentioned above, of haste 

 in the production of the book, especially in the second 

 chapter. For example, a table is given on p. 8 which 

 is meant to show that the newly-arrived seaman was 

 frequently attacked, but no figures are given of the 

 total number of seamen dealt with. Again, on p. i6, 

 the foUowinsf sentence occurs : — " From 1817 to 1836, 

 in the garrisons in Jamaica, amounting at that time 

 to 257S men, the deaths from intermittent and re- 

 mittent fevers rose to 258 men." This probably means 

 a yearly rate, but it is not so stated. Other awkward 

 sentences are : — " Swooped down on every ship, war 

 vessel, and merchantman." "These 

 were the days which tried the nerve 

 and endurance of our fathers and 

 grandparents, or at least those of 

 them who survived the deadly disease 

 of not so long ago." "In "fact, the 

 entomological equipment of Trinidad 

 is exceedingly good and is bearing 

 excellent fruit." "So as to reap at 

 once the advantages which must 

 accrue." " In ten out of the fifteen 

 yards larvse were found in the 

 barrels, and the barrels nearly always 

 contained larvse." 



To conclude, this book, by bringing 

 together and presenting in an easy 

 form the efforts now being made by 

 the various Governments in the West 

 Indies towards the improvement of 

 the health of their respective islands, 

 and the brilliant results which have 

 already rewarded their labours, will be 

 of great use to all officials whose 

 duty it is to look after the health 

 and well-being of tropical popula- 

 tions. 



yi 



Truly, according to Sir Rubert, the victories of 

 modern medicine over tropical diseases in the West 

 Indies during the last few years have been marvel- 

 lous. Owing to the discovery of the cause, and the 

 fact of it being water-borne, cholera is now unknown. 

 Malaria has given up its secrets, and it is now merely 

 a matter of putting the knowledge gained into prac- 

 tice to stamp out that scourge of the Antilles. Yellow 

 fever, which a hundred years ago blotted out whole 

 regiments, is now relegated to the place of a patho- 

 logical curiositv. Ankylostoma disease, one of the 

 most potent destrovers of health and energy in the 

 tropics, is now understood, and can be coped with. 

 Prof. Boyce's book is full of instances of man's en- 



NO. 2128, VOL. 84] 



THE VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF 

 CHESHIRE.^ 

 HERE are few counties in Eng- 

 land which present a variety of 

 natural features so favourable to a 

 varied fauna as does Cheshire. It 

 possesses undulating plains ; heather- 

 clad or wooded hills of considerable 

 altitude ; numerous rivers, meres, 

 lakes, and " flashes " ; tree-clad vales ; 

 forest, woods, plantations, and shrub- 

 beries ; marshes and remnants of 

 niosses, besides considerable estuar- 

 ine frontages and half the broad 

 " Sands o' Dee." The county is freer 

 from manufactories, with their de- 

 structive smoke and fumes, and has 

 less of its area under the plough than 

 most of its neighbours. It is chiefly given up to sheep 

 and dairv farming, necessitating extensive grasslands, 

 and to large market gardens and nurseries, which are, 

 on the whole, friendly to the increase of certain classes 

 of animal life. Stili, with all these advantages, the 

 vertebrate fauna of Cheshire is not so rich as one 

 might expect, nor so rich, indeed, as it once was. 



1 " The Vertebrate Fauna of Cheshire and Liverpool Bay." Edited by 

 T. A. Coward. In two volumes. Vol. i., The Mammals and Birds of 

 Cheshire. By T. A. Coward and C. Oldham. Pp. .\xxii+472 ; with illu^;- 

 irations from photographs by Thomas Baddeley. Vol. ii., The Dee as a 

 Wildfowl Resort. By John A. Dockray. The Reptiles and Amphibians 

 of Cheshire. By T. A. Coward and C. Oldham. The Fishes of Cheshire 

 and Liverpool Bay. By James Johnstone. Pp. xH-210 ; with illustrations 

 from photographs by Thomas Baddeley. (London: Witherby and Co., 

 1910.) Price 26s. net the 2 vols. 



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