GEOGRAPHIC SERIALS 127 



and age. Tlie great complexity of the soil i? adei|natt'ly recognized, and 

 the multifarious interactions between the ciiemical, physical, and vital, 

 by which the soil is produced and modified, are set forth appreciatively. 

 In treatment as in subject, Professor Merrill's work is notable. It is 

 strictly up to-date, embracing the results of the latest researches, and duly 

 recognizing the work of contemporary investigators; also it is made ad- 

 mirable mechanically by clear typography, good paper, excellent illustra- 

 tions (many of them i)hotomechanical reproductions), and a full index. 



AV J M. 



GEOGRAPHIC SERIALS 



The Geographical Journal for March opens with the minutes of the 

 Nansen meeting in London. Messrs Munro and Anthony continue the 

 narrative of their explorations in Mysia. Dr Dawson summarizes the 

 progress of the geographical work of the Geological Survey of Canada 

 for the past year. jNIr Vaugluin Cornish furnishes an exhaustive article 

 on the Formation of Sand-dunes, and Professor Leo lleini.sch an article on 

 Egypt and Abyssinia. 



llie Scottisli (ieographical Magazine for March ojjens with an ailicle en- 

 titled "Cape Juby," by Mr Fred S. Zaytoun, which contains a quite full 

 description of the northwestern part of the Sahara. Mr John Murray has 

 an article on the Balfour Shoal, a submarine formation in the Coral sea, 

 in the southwestern Pacific. This is accompanied by a chart and profile 

 showing temperatures of the sea water. The Nansen expedition receives 

 further notice in the form of a review of Dr Nansen's book. 



The Royal Colonial Institute, of London, is an organization for the in- 

 crease and diffusion of knowledge relating to Great Britain and her 

 dei)endencies. Its purpose, as stated in its by-laws, is " to provide a 

 place of meeting for all gentlemen connected with the Colonies and 

 British India, and others taking an interest in Colonial and Indian affairs; 

 to establish a reading-room and library, in which recent and authentic 

 intelligence upon Colonial and Indian subjects may be constantly avail- 

 able, and a nuiseum for the collection and exhibition of Colonial and 

 Indian ])roductions ; to facilitate interchange of experiences among per- 

 sons representing all the dependencies of Great Britain ; to afford op]>or- 

 tunity for the reading of papers and for holding discussions upon Colonial 

 and Indian subjects generally, and to undertake scientific, literary, and 

 statistical investigations in connection with the British empire." 



The Institute publishes a journal, which has already reached its twenty- 

 eighth volume, the first four numbers of which have been issued. The 

 character of its work may perhaps be illustrated by an enumeration of 

 the principal papers contained in these recent numbers of the journal. 

 Part I contains " Inter-British Trade," by Mr John Lowles, and "The 

 Colony of Victoria; Some of its Indu.<tries," by K. CJerome Dyer. Part 

 II contains an article by Sir Henry H. Johnston, entitled "England's 

 Work in Central Africa," in which the recent progress of civilizatit)n in 

 Great Britain's share of that continent is admiralily sunnnarized. Mr 



