January g, 19 13] 



NATURE 



519 



ternal influences, and, as mig-ht be expected, the 

 neighbourhood of New Guinea has had great effect 

 upon the ethnography. AustraHan influence, on 

 the other hand, appears to have been very slight, 

 though at least one of the tattoo designs charac- 

 teristic of the islands has found its way to Cape 

 York. IVIore unexpected is the presence in Mer 

 of a form of shell pendant representing the larva 

 of the ant-lion, which appears to have been intro- 

 duced by a native of the New Hebrides. The 

 practice of moulding the heads of infants, in the 

 desire to give them a shape so far as possible 

 removed from that of the Australian, seems to 

 hint at some racial antipathy, in spite of the fact 

 that one of the heroic figures of Torres Straits 

 mythology appears to have been a native of Cape 

 York. The harpooning of dugong and the capture 

 of turtle by means of the sucker-fish are treated 

 in full, and are interesting since the methods are 



peculiar to these islands. In this connection one 

 would venture to disagree with Dr. Haddon's 

 use of the word "butt " to designate that end of 

 the harpoon-shaft into which the point fits ; surely 

 this term can be applied only to the other end. 

 The native canoe is explained in painstaking 

 detail, and this section would be even more valu- 

 able if a sketch-plan of a typical native craft 

 had accompanied it. It might be suggested also 

 that "baler," and not "bailer," is the proper term 

 for the utensil with which canoes are baled. In 

 dealing with the native art. Dr. Haddon is 

 handling a subject of which he has made a par- 

 ticular study, and the result is excellent. Besides 

 purely formal patterns, the figures of fish occur 

 most often in native design, but the people of 

 Torres Straits are noteworthy as having risen in 

 one or two cases to the portrayal of scenery, an 

 accomplishment extremelv rare amongst primitive 

 folk. 



NO. 2254. VOL. go] 



The subject of the degeneration of patterns re- 

 ceives full treatment and is very illuminating, but 

 the section on the names and significance of 

 patterns and designs is disappointingly short. 

 This, however, is due to no fault of the author, 

 but to lack of information. While speaking of 

 degeneration, we may congratulate Dr. Haddon 

 tor his ingenuity in discovering that a peculiar 

 jrnament, now worn only at dances, is the sur- 

 vival of the spare bowstring carried on the arm by 

 vvarriors in the bad old days. Of amusements, 

 lop-spinning holds first place, and was pursued 

 with such devotion by the natives that, as cricket 

 in Fiji, it had to be limited by legislation. Dr. 

 Rivers's chapter is one of the most complete and 

 extensive discussions of the astronomv of a primi- 

 tive people which has appeared, and the indica- 

 tions which he gives of the existence of private 

 property in constellations are particularly in- 

 teresting. 



The entirely adequate treatment of 

 such diverse material mav be assumed 

 from the unimportant nature of the 

 criticisms made above. It should be 

 added that the illustrations are fur- 

 nished on the most generous scale, 

 and consist of forty well-printed 

 plates and nearly 400 line-drawings, 

 of which those included in the chapter 

 on textiles deserve a special word of 

 praise. If anything is lacking at all 

 it is perhaps in the binding, since in 

 the particular copy under review the 

 explanation of PL XVI. is duplicated, 

 while that for PI. X. is missing. To 

 speak generally, all that need be said 

 is that no one who sets out to deal 

 with the art and technology of a 

 primitive tribe can find a better model 

 for the presentation of his results 

 than the volume discussed above. 



.gicai Expedition L£OA' PHILIPPE TEISSERENC 

 DE BORT. 



THE announcement of the death of M . L. 

 Teisserenc de Bort, which appeared in The 

 Times of Monday, January 6, will be received with 

 profound regret by meteorologists in all parts of 

 the world, for he was conspicuous among the 

 pioneers in the investigation of the upper air. 

 The history of his connection with that investiga- 

 tion is one of the most encouraging episodes of 

 modern physical science. 



Born in Paris on November 5, 1855, the son 

 of an engineer, with ample private means, he 

 began his scientific career in 1880 at the Bureau 

 Central Meteorologique as chef de service of the 

 department of general meteorology, under the 

 directorship of Mascart. His interests were wide. 

 He spent his vacations in 1883, 1885, and 1887 in 

 the study of terrestrial magnetism and geology 

 in Algeria and Tunis, including the Sahara. In 

 later years his leisure hours were mostly devoted 

 to painting in oils. He remained unmarried. 



