April 8, iQcgJ 



NA TURE 



155 



nitrites, nitrates, perchlorntes, carbonates, silicates, 

 sulphites, sulphates, polythionates, borates, phosphites, 

 and phosphates, and, of course, the groups analogous 

 to each of those mentioned ; the sulphates, with their 

 companion compounds, fill more than a third of the 

 volume. A complete index giving the chemical and 

 mineral names is appended. G. F. H. S. 

 ^ • 



NATURAL HISTORY OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO. 



The Birds of Tierra del Fiiego. By Richard Craw- 

 shay. Pp. xl+158; illustrated. (London: Bernard 

 Quaritch, 1907.) Price 3^. 13^. 6d. net. 



IT was by accident and not by design that Mr. 

 Crawshay visited Tierra del Fuego, and, spending 

 six months there, has been able to give us this 

 sumptuous natural history of a little-known land. His 

 book was badly wanted, for the author is probably 

 right when he doubts " if there is another land on 

 earth concerning- which more misconception prevails." 

 From the description given it does not seem a very 

 pleasant place to live in. 



" It commonly freezes at midsummer. . . . There 

 is the wind from the everlasting snows and glaciers, 

 always blowing with terrific force and with cutting 

 keenness, yet how invigorating and fragrant with 

 forest and peat and seaweed." 



Yet the author expresses himself fascinated by the 

 country, and while allowing that it is no place for 

 weaklings and for those who cling to luxury, he 

 claims that, however rigorous the climate is, it is 

 healthy. This seems to have been its character 

 always, for Sir John Narborough is quoted as writing 

 in 1670, " A man hath an excellent stomach here. 

 [ can eat foxes and kites as savourily as if it were 

 mutton. Nothing comes amiss to our stomachs." 

 This is saying a good deal. 



Although the title of this fine volume would lead 

 one to expect only an account of the birds, we referred 

 to it just now advisedly as a natural history of the 

 country. For the " preface " (which might perhaps 

 have been more properly the " introduction ") contains 

 an excellent and most interesting account of the 

 physical conditions of this remote spot, including the 

 geology, botany (the flora is very much more extensive 

 than might be imagined), the mammals (including 

 the native races of man), fishes, insects, crustaceans, 

 molluscs, &c. There appears to be only one reptile — 

 a little green lizard — and no amphibian. 



The birds dealt with in this work do not claim to 

 represent every species occurring in Tierra del Fuego ; 

 but they are, the author believes, the most compre- 

 hensive collection yet made in the island, and include 

 many recorded from there for the first time. Seventy- 

 nine species are enumerated in the classified list or 

 " index." The orders most numerously represented 

 by species are Passeres, Limicolae and Anseres. 

 Psittaci and Pici are represented only by a single 

 species. The woodpecker — a splendid scarlet-headed 

 bird — does not seem to be common. The existence of 

 a parrot in these high latitudes as reported by the 

 early voyagers was for a long time discredited. It is 

 common in flocks in the more open portions of the 

 NO. 2058, VOL. 80] 



forest to the south of Useless Bay, but seems to be 

 local and difficult to find. The majority of the species 

 are, however, only summer visitors, and some of 

 these we remember as winter visitors to Uruguay. 

 Five species of goose visit the country or are resident 

 therein, some of which " could hardly be numbered 

 in figures short of millions." An account is naturally 

 to be found of the race horse, loggerhead, or steamer 

 duck, which has constituted one of the wonders of 

 these waters from the time of the earliest navigators, 

 and has been the subject of much controversy. 



So little has been observed of the birds of Tierra del 

 Fuego in the country that it was at first surprising to 

 see so large a book on the subject. But the author 

 has quoted very extensively from the writings of 

 Azara, D'Orbigny, Darwin, Gould, and other voyagers 

 and naturalists, although for the most part their, 

 accounts of the species treated of relate to other parts 

 of South America and even more distant parts of the 

 world. For instance, although the cosmopolitan barn 

 owl is only doubtfully included, nearly six pages are 

 devoted to it, and the article includes Waterton's well- 

 known account of it in Yorkshire. In this way the 

 author has given his readers a fairly complete and 

 always interesting account of the birds on his list, a 

 fact that will be much appreciated by those interested 

 in birds and living in those remote regions into whose 

 hands the book may by good fortune come. 



The volume is well illustrated by twenty-one 

 coloured plates of birds by Mr. Keulemans, and 

 twenty-three plates of scenery and bird haunts, also a 

 map. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Handbook for Egypt and the Sudan. Edited by H. R. 

 Hall. Eleventh edition, revised, largely re-written 

 and augmented. Pp. xiv-l-613; with 58 maps and 

 plans. (London : Edward Stanford, 1907.) Price 

 14^. 

 The first edition of this work — " Murray's Egypt " — 

 appeared so far back as 1847, and was a reprint of 

 Sir Gardner Wilkinson's earlier book, " Modern Egypt 

 and Thebes," which had been revised by that great 

 pioneer in Egyptian studies so as to meet, so far as 

 possible, the requirements of a guide-book. From 

 time to time since 1847 additions were made to the 

 original edition, and in 1873, and again in 1880, it 

 was thoroughly re-cast by the Rev. Greville Chester, 

 the Rev. W. J. Loftie, Mr. Mitchell, and Mr. Phen« 

 Spiers, the latter of whom contributed many new 

 architectural plans. Then followed the editions of 

 1S96 and 1900, edited and revised by Miss Mary 

 Brodrick, with the help of Prof. Sayce and Capt. 

 H G. Lvons, the director of the Geological and Land 

 Surveys of Egypt. Unfortunately, these last two 

 editions — the ninth and tenth — contained numerous 

 errors and were far from satisfactory, so it is now a 

 pleasure to be able to record the appearance of a new 

 edition, under the editorship of Mr. H. R. Hall,_ which 

 fullv maintains the high standard of Wilkinson's 

 original " Handbook for Travellers in Egypt." 



Mr. Hall has thoroughly revised the archeeological 

 part of the work. The old division into two parts 

 has been abolished. Many paragraphs have been with 

 advantage deleted and new ones inserted. Several 

 sections have been re-arranged and re-cast, while 



