lOO 



NA TURE 



[M Av 30, 1907 



west of Cape Colony, the Orange River Colony, 

 Algoa Bay, and various intermediary stations. 



In this volume, which contains 258 illustrations, 

 Mr. Johnson has confined himself to coordinating 

 the various discoveries of stone implements he has 

 n-.ade during the past four years in South Africa, 

 with descriptions of the deposits from whence they 

 were derived ; he, however, makes no attempt to 

 review the abundant literature on the same subject 

 already published. The e.\ceptional value of the 

 author's work rests in the fact that he makes little 

 or no direct reference to surface finds or to speci- 

 mens of man's handiwork which, in the shape of 

 flakes, cores, and implements, are scattered over the 

 surface of South Africa, in extraordinary profusion 

 in some localities; but in every instance in which he 

 describes his " finds " he takes us to the actual de- 

 posits from which he extracted the implements, 

 whether it be the high plateau gravels in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Johannesburg, the river gravels of the 

 Zambezi, Vaal, and Orange rivers, the more recent 

 alluvial deposits of the country, or the middens on 

 the coast of .Algoa Bay. 



The author divides the stone implements of South 

 .Africa into three groups, which he considers 

 well defined, namely. Primitive, Palaeolithic, and 

 .Advanced; these are, in his opinion, the South 

 .\frican equivalents of Eolithic, Paleolithic, and 

 Neolithic. The artificial character of the implements 

 of the primitive group is, the author admits, still a 

 matter in dispute, but when we come to the Palaeo- 

 lithic group we reach sure ground. If the old level 

 gravels of the Zambezi, below the Victoria Falls, 

 from which undoubted Palaeolithic implements have 

 been derived, were deposited prior to the retrocession 

 of the present falls, and there is strong evidence in 

 favour of such being the case, then the presence of 

 man in South Africa is relegated to a past, bewilder- 

 ing in its antiquity. Similar conclusions are arrived 

 at from the presence of Palaeolithic implements in the 

 old river gravels of the Vaal and Orange rivers. 

 When we compare the more carefully fashioned 

 implements (which, however, are not represented in 

 Mr. Johnson's illustrations), notably from the Cape 

 Flats, the laterite beds of Natal and Zululand, from 

 rock shelters and the caves and middens of the coast- 

 line of Table Bay and Algoa Bay, with the rude 

 weapons of the old river gravels, we unquestionably 

 find a progressive element in their making, though 

 they are not comparable in artistic merit with those 

 found so abundantly in Egypt, for instance. This 

 perhaps may be due to the stone-implement makers 

 of South .Africa not having had at their disposal 

 equally suitable material to work on. 



Though Mr. Johnson's division of the stone imple- 

 ments of South Africa into three definite groups may 

 be considered by some as perhaps premature in our 

 present state of knowledge, yet it is a step in the 

 right direction, and this volume with its useful illus- 

 trations will certainly be welcomed by students of 

 Soutli African prehistoric archjeology. 



NO. tq6i. vol. 76] 



OUB. BOOK SHELF. 

 t'ocket-Book of Aeronautics. By Hermann W. L. 

 Moedebeck, in collaboration with O. Chanute ana 

 others. Authorised English edition, translated by 

 W. Mansergh Varley. Pp. xiii + 496. (London : 

 Whitaker and Co., 1907.) Price 105. 6d. net. 

 In this handy little volume we have an excellent com- 

 prehensive summary of the whole subject of aero- 

 nautics, and the English reading public have to thank 

 Major Moedebeck for producing such a work which 

 has been so capably translated by Mr. Varley. 



Although called a pocket-book, the book might 

 really be described as a treatise on the subject, so ably 

 and so well arranged is the mass of material dealt 

 with. In fact, the book takes a very broad view of 

 aeronautics, and leads off with chapters on the 

 physical properties and technology of gases, the 

 physics of the atmosphere, meteorological observ- 

 ations in balloon ascents, and the computation of 

 results. Such a beginning is an indication of the 

 very scientific and complete way in which the author 

 set about bringing the matter pertaining to aeron- 

 autics to a focus, and his various collaborators, ten in 

 all, have succeeded notably in their task. 



Further, the historical survey of previous attempts 

 to gain the supremacy of the air is by no means 

 omitted, and admirable summaries are included which 

 give the reader a comprehensive and intelligent view 

 of the steps taken in each mode of attempted flight. 



To give some idea of the contents and authors who 

 have contributed to the book, it may be mentioned 

 that the subjects referred to above are from the pens 

 of Dr. R. Emden, Lieutenant J. Stauber, and Prof. 

 V. Kremser. The articles on the technique of bal- 

 looning, on ballooning, on military ballooning, 

 historical account of artificial flight, and on 

 air-ships, are treated by the author. Prof. W. 

 Koppen deals with kites and parachutes. Dr. 

 Miethe deals with balloon photography, while 

 Prof. W. I\utta gives an account of photographic sur- 

 veying from balloons. The articles on animal flight 

 by Prof. Karl Miillenhoff, artificial flight by the late 

 Otto Lilienthal and Mr. Octave Chanute, flying 

 machines, motors and air-screws by Major Hermann 

 Hoernes, complete the various sections of the subject. 

 A list of aeronautical societies, numerous appropriate 

 and useful tables, and an index conclude the volume. 

 In the preface it is stated that the suggestion 

 of translating this work is due to Mr. Alexander, the 

 well-known authority on aeronautics. English speak- 

 ing aeronauts, therefore, doubly owe to him their 

 gratitude, for the translator's work is not only ex- 

 cellently done, but he has adapted various tables for 

 the use of English readers, and has added an index. 



Blackie's Nature-drawing Charts. (London : Blackie 



and Son, Ltd., n.d.) 

 This is a series of fifteen sheets bearing coloured 

 drawings of twigs or portions of a plant to show 

 the nature of the flowers or fruit for use in art 

 schools, more especially in schools of design. It is 

 intended that the charts should be used in combin- 

 ation with living specimens, being displayed to serve 

 as a guide in noting essential features and in pro- 

 ducing an artistic drawing. Small figures are given 

 of parts suited to conventional treatinent, and several 

 examples of conventionalised designs are presented on 

 each chart. These show the adaptation of plant- 

 forms for such purposes as brush-work ornamentation 

 and the design of stencils, wall-papers, tapestries. &c. 



A book of instructions is supplied to explain which 

 charts or designs are suitable for different stand- 

 ards, and to provide other suggestions as to their 



