158 REVIEWS 



scurvy, which for a long time was the greatest handicap to polar 

 exploration. Quite contrary to the general view, Stefansson has shown 

 that the antiscorbutic value' of certain foods does not lie in their composi- 

 tion, but only in their freshness. Almost any fresh food is an antidote 

 for scurvy, though raw or underdone meat is the most effective. Scurvy 

 is avoided altogether through use of the all-meat diet adopted for the 

 Stefansson expedition. 



The book is remarkable well gotten up and is notably free from typo- 

 graphical and other errors. A trifling error is found on page 137, where, 

 in referring to Peary's North Pole sledge-journey, the explorer is made to 

 start from Cape Thomas Hubbard instead of from Cape Columbia. The 

 illustrations are all from photographs but in contrast to most popular 

 accounts of polar adventure, it is the commander only of whom no picture 

 appears. 



Whether dealing with the question of scurvy prevention or the 

 technique of snow-house building, of how to stalk the seals or to secure 

 for the larder all the animals in a herd of caribou, the explorer's person- 

 ality, his scientific methods of thought, his apt illustrations, and his 

 clear and incisive literary style, make the reading of the book fascinating 

 as are few others known to the reviewer. A scrupulous care to do full 

 justice to his subordinates will certainly impress itself upon the reader. 

 If through the accidents of the campaign a sailor in the party has been 

 favored by first sight of a new land, this fact is noted, not only in the 

 diary and in the book, but also in the deposits in the cairns made for 

 future travelers, and in these deposited records the names of all are 

 included. 



In the belief of Stefansson these northern lands are destined to have 

 great strategic value as landing stations in the aeroplane routes which 

 in the near future are to connect up the eastern with the western hemi- 

 spheres across the Arctic Ocean. To many this will appear fantastic, 

 but in an article which has recently appeared in the National Geographic 

 Magazine Stefansson appears to have demonstrated the entire feasibility 

 of these routes, and it is easy to see that they must exercise a dominating 

 influence upon the transportation of the future. 



William Herbert Hobbs 



Annual Progress Report of the Geological Survey of Western Australia 



for the Year 1Q21. Perth, 1922. 



Pages I to 10 give an outline of the work of the Geological Survey 

 since 1896, The remainder of the report (pp. 11-61) deals with the 

 field and office work for the year 1921. 



