NATURE 



[November 21, 191 2 



(5) Regional Geograpliy : the World. By J. B. 



Reynolds. Pp. vii + 360. (London: .'\. and C. 



Black, 1912.) Price 35. 6d. 

 (6j Libya Ualica : Terreni ed Acque, Vita e Colture 



dclla Nuova Colonia. By P. Vinassa de Regny. 



Pp. XV + 214. (Milano : Ulrico Hoepli, 1913.) 



Price 7.50 lire, 

 (i) "1\ /TR- WALLIS rightly begins his 

 J.VJ. elementary general geography with a 

 note about pictures, plans and maps, and estab- 

 lishes a connection between them so as to show 

 the pupil how certain features appear (for instance) 

 on a photograph and on a map respectively, and 

 how a map is for some purposes a clearer repre- 

 sentation than a picture if rightly interpreted. 

 The book generally is on a regional basis, and the 

 usual connection is established between climatic 

 and other phy' cal conditions, economic and 

 natural produclv^, and the life of man. The whole 

 is clear and simple, and not overloaded with detail. 

 There are some good maps among the illustrations. 



(2) There can no longer exist any excuse for 

 ignorance in the matter of map-reading and map- 

 construction when so convenient and cheap a book 

 on the subject as Prof. Dickson's is accessible. 

 It is so well produced, and, above all, so fully 

 illustrated, that its cheapness is especially a 

 matter for remark, while the simple explanation 

 of scales and conventional signs of the various 

 methods of representing relief and so forth are 

 admirable. Incidentally we find a few useful 

 explanations of certain terms in physical geography 

 which are not infrequently misused, and there is 

 also some indication as to the general inferences 

 which can be drawn from a good map as to the 

 nature of a country. Thus, there are some inter- 

 esting paragraphs on lines of communication, with 

 illustrations of typical routes for various types of 

 conveyance across a given piece of country. 



(3) The feature of Messrs. Black's new guide 

 to Harrogate and its neighbourhood is that of 

 an alphabetical arrangement under names of 

 places, so far as .concerns the environment of 

 Harrogate, and to some extent under subjects as 

 regards the place itself. This undoubtedly adds 

 to ease of reference. The volume is of convenient 

 size and light; it is also well mapped. The 

 appreciation, or otherwise, of the three-colour 

 illustrations may be a matter of taste. 



(4) The guide under notice to the Alps of 

 Provence is chiefly to be commended for the 

 prominence and greater space than usual which are 

 given to a general dissertation on the physical, 

 geological and other natural features of the region. 

 Apart from this, both the printing and illustrations 

 reach a standard in advance of many guide-books 

 printed abroad which have come under our notice. ' 



NO. 2247. VOL. 90] 



(5) Miss Reynolds's "Regional Geography of the 

 World " will probably be of greatest service as 

 a topographical introduction to the regional 

 system of geographical teaching which is now so 

 widely applied. The general regional con- 

 clusions are deferred to the end and are disposed 

 of briefly, though Miss Reynolds points out that 

 it is optional to the teacher to take them at the 

 beginning, and probably many will do so. Topo- 

 graphy and economic products receive specially 

 careful attention throughout the book. The maps 

 are not always carefully printed and occasionally 

 are difficult to read, while those given to illustrate 

 political features of the European countries and 

 elsewhere are old-fashioned and scarcely worth 

 their space in the volume. 



(6) The production of a volume dealing with 

 Tripoli under the name of "Italian Libya," and 

 bearing the date of next year, is an example of 

 publishing enterprise not untinged with humour ; 

 but the book itself is a thorough geographical 



I study of the region. The morphology and topo- 

 graphy are first dealt with, and later the climate, 

 hydrography, vegetation and other natural 

 features are successively outlined, with appro- 

 I priate bibliographies, tables and illustrations, the 

 I last in ample numbers. There is a particularly 

 I clear geological map in colour, worked out by the 

 author. 



OUK BOOKSHELF. 

 Customs of the IVorld. A Popular Account of 



I the Customs, Rites, and Ceremonies of Men 



( and Women of all Countries. Edited by \^'. 

 Hutchinson. Part i. (London : Hutchinson 



i and Co., 1912.) 



! This is the third division of the valuable series 

 of works on popular anthropology which we owe 



1 to the enterprise of Messrs. Hutchinson. Part i. , 

 which is now before us, sufficiently indicates the 



I scope of the publication. 



I Dr. Haddon supplies a useful general introduc- 



j tion, in which he illustrates the importance of the 

 subject. Custom he defines to be unwritten law. 



I It depends primarily on the environment, that is, 

 the conditions under which each group, the customs 

 of which are being examined, secures its livelihood. 

 The geographical control, while it is more marked 

 among races the culture of which is of the primi- 

 tive type, tends, with advance in civilisation, to 

 become more or less negligible, but is never 

 entirely lost. Generally speaking, some of the 

 most primitive customs are those of a magical 

 nature, intended to secure the most elementary 

 needs of humanity, such as .the periodical growth 

 of plants or animals used for food, the causation 

 of rain or sunshine, and so on. With the more 

 complete organisation of the group we reach those 

 customs which represent the influence of the col- 

 lective emotion of its members, such as rites of 

 initiation, birth, marriage, and death, all of 



