536 



NATURE 



[October 27, 1910 



Fig. 8.— Spiloga 



Little Striped Skunk, 

 graph of I 



photo- 



markings by Mr. E. Thompson Scton (• Life-Histories I ETHXOGRAPHY AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 

 of Northern Animals"). As regards the interpretation | 'pHE purchaser of this handbook will feel no reffret 

 of the mimetic resemblances of butterflies as due to a { ■'• that it is not cast in the form of a guide. Manv, 

 syncryptic resemblance to flowers and the surrounding perhaps most, of those who buy museum publications 

 vegetation and its interstices, it is impossible to say [ do so as they lea\e the building, and although tho 



fate of such mementoes 

 cannot be determined 

 with certainty, it may 

 be assumed that thev 

 ire sometimes read at 

 li'isure. A descriptive 

 liandbook on broad lines 

 is, therefore, a better in- 

 \estment for the average 

 \isitor than a guide of 

 the old, and arid, type. 

 The present e.xample is 

 worthy of the best fate 

 that can befall it at the 

 hands of the man who 

 looks in from the street, 

 and it will be cordially 

 welcomed by those 

 whose interest in ethno- 

 graphv is less casual 

 and fortuitous. 



The introduction con- 

 tains a brief survey of 

 the progress of geo- 

 graphical exploration 

 from classical times on- 

 ward, and traces the dis- 

 coveries which rendered 

 possible the develop- 

 ment of the comparative 

 studv of mankind. The 

 scope of ethnography is defined in a concise discussion 

 of man in his relation to the material world, to his 

 fellows, and to the supernatural. 



The greater part of the book, which deals with the 

 ciillectiuns ;is exhibited in the Museum, is arranged 

 under geographical 

 headings, and the limita- 

 tions of the collections 

 are naturally reflected 

 in the handbook. Thus, 

 under Persia, India, and 

 japan, the subject of 

 arms and armour is 

 practically the only one 

 considered, whilst 

 China is only referred 

 to incidentallv. The 

 culture of Tibet, Cey- 

 lon, Indonesia, and 

 some of the tribes of 

 northern and cen-traT 

 .Asia, is entered into in 

 greater detail. Useful 

 summaries are given of 

 the ereneral conditions 

 of the life and culture 

 of the peoples of these 

 areas, with reference 

 not onlv to their arts 

 and industries, but also 

 to their customs and be- 

 liefs. Racial origins 

 and afifinities are briefly 

 considered, and the 

 said that "What's hit is history, what's missed latest views are stated. The same treatment is 

 mystery." While the misses do not make the hits any adopted with regard to the peoples of .\ustralia, 

 the less, the niysterv mav serve to throw light upon Oceania, .Africa, and .Vmerica. Special mention mav 



the workings of a lilind that has made history. , •■ H..nctl,.ok,othe Ethnn^raphic^l Coller.ion.." Pp. xv+.o,. (London: 



E. B. F. Printed by OrJer of the Truste-!S, British Museum, 1910.) Price 2j. 



NO. 2I,^q. VOL. 84] 



more than that such a theory does not e.xplain many 

 well-known characteristics of the mimetic groups. 



Whatever be the verdict of the moment, a man 

 will be judged and ought to be judged by what he has 

 done, not bv what he has failed to do. It has been 



p'lolograph of stiilTed skin, 



