596 



NATURE 



[June 19, 19 13 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 

 The Log of H.M.S. Encounter. Australian 

 Station, 1910-1912. By Herbert Wilson. 

 (London: 'lhe Westminster Press, 1912.) 

 It may be more often than is generally known 

 that a petty officer in his Majesty's Navy keeps a 

 private log ; it may be seldom that such a log sees 

 daylight in the form of print; but it is approach- 

 ing a unique occurrence when such a log is pub- 

 lished in book form, and records in considerable 

 detail a complete storv of an eclipse expedition. 



The particular log to which reference is here 

 made is that of H.M.S. Encounter, covering the 

 period 1910-12. In this period, which was her 

 last commission on the Australian station, the 

 total solar eclipse of April, 1911, occurred, and 

 for that event she was placed on special service to 

 assist the British and Australian expeditions; 

 needless to say she did signal service on that 

 occasion. 



It mav be remembered that Dr. W. J. b. 

 Lockyer'and the Rev. Father Cortie, S.J., were 

 in charge of the British parties, while Mr. 

 Baracchi was chief of the Australian contingent. 

 Ml the parties went to Vavau, one of the islands 

 of the Tonga group, but the British expeditions 

 from England were conveyed from Sydney to then- 

 station bv H.M.S. Encounter. 



The author of this book is not only an excellent 

 observer, but, further, he can commit his observa- 

 tions clearly to writing. The account of his 

 experiences at the eclipse station is only one of 

 many incidents which he records in an interesting 

 manner in these pages. To take an example in 

 other fields, he writes: — "We ran into a great 

 storm area — great atmospheric disturbances. 

 There were intermittent downpours of rain, accom- 

 panied by great rolls of thunder and most vivid 

 lightning— in fact, a magnificent, typical tropical 

 storm." Being a practical man, he further nar- 

 rates : "We always take advantage of times like 

 this to wash our' dirty clothes in nice soft rain 

 water." Halley's comet was first recorded by him 

 in his entry of March 21 (1910), and he subse- 

 quently makes numerous remarks as to its appear- 

 ance on different occasions. 



This log is accompanied by numerous repro- 

 ductions from photographs taken by his ship- 

 mates, and the volume forms not only a valuable 

 memento to those who served through the com- 

 mission with him, but an interesting survey of a 

 petty officer's life on and off duty. 

 The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and 

 Historical Annual of the States of the World 

 for the Year 1913. Edited by Dr. J. Scott 

 Keltie; assisted by Dr. M. Epstein. Pp. xevi 

 + 1452+10 plates. (London: Macmillan and 

 Co., Ltd., 1913.) Price 105. 6d. net. 

 "The Statesman's Year-Book" with the present 

 issue reaches its fiftieth year of publication, and 

 by way of signalising this event certain new, 

 features are added which not only are appropriate 

 to it, but also enhance the utility of the work. 

 A number of statistics for the British Empire and 

 for the other principal countries are furnished 

 NO. 227;, VOL. Ql] 



to afford comparison between the conditions of 

 years about iboo and of the present day. There 

 is a semi-tabular retrospect of recent history. 

 Certain comparisons covering the same period 

 also appear under the individual headings ot 

 some of the countries. Map-work also plays an 

 important part ; there are maps, side by side, of 

 each continent lor the years 1863 and 1913; on 

 some of these {e.g. Europe and America) the 

 graphic representation of railway extension is per- 

 haps the most noteworthy feature ; from the maps 

 of Africa we have evidence at a glance of the 

 wonderful extension of exploration in tin- half- 

 century. The year-book always deals exhaus- 

 tively with the subject of defence, and we now 

 have diagrams illustrating the "growth of dis- 

 placement, horse-power, and speed of capital 

 battleship tvpes," and the "varying ratio between 

 weight of heaviest gun, its penetrative power, and 

 the' protection afforded to ships," during the last 

 fifty vears. 



It is scarcely necessary to say that the accus- 

 tomed features of the book are maintained at their 

 usual standard : the Franco-Spanish treaty is 

 dealt with by means of both map and text, and in 

 the same way the recent important extensions of 

 Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba are indicated. 

 The introductory matter further includes a variety 

 of valuable detail such as the substance of the 

 treaty of Ouchy, a table of cases brought before 

 the Hague tribunal, and material dealing with 

 the naval and land defences of the British Empire. 

 It is clear that in making up this book the problem 

 of space is very carefully watched, and even the 

 important additions mentioned here have not 

 caused the volume to become unwieldy. 

 Cambridge County Geographies : Lincolnshire. 

 By E. "Mansel Sympson. Pp. viii+193. (Cam- 

 bridge University Press, 1913.) Price is. 6d. 

 Dr. Sympson's account of Lincolnshire is un- 

 usually interesting, and will appeal in many ways 

 to scientific readers. The geology, natural his- 

 tory, climate, and peoples are all dealt with as 

 fully as the limited space allowed. Honourable 

 mention is made, among the distinguished men 

 produced bv the countv, of Sir Isaac Newton, Sir 

 Joseph Banks, and Sir 'John Franklin. Altogether 

 the volume well maintains the high standard ot 

 the series. 



Atlas Notes. By J. C. Chute. Pp. 82. (London: 

 Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 

 n.d.) Price is. 

 "These notes are intended as a guide to a re- 

 vision of the subject, for boys who have dabbled 

 in its various departments and who now wish to 

 make good their knowledge of the chief facts con- 

 tained in a good political and physical atlas," says 

 the author in his preface. If boys are set to study 

 geography in school they should not be allowed 

 "to dabble," but should be encouraged to work 

 methodically and with all the thoroughness the 

 time available permits. In that case the boys 

 would themselves make the notes required for any 

 future revision, which is better than having them 

 alreadv made. 



