Vol. 45 TORREYA June 1945 



BOOK REVIEWS 



Travelers All 



Travelers All, How Plants Go Places. By Irma E. Webber, 32 pp. Figures in color on 

 each page. New York: William R. Scott, Inc. 1944. $1.25. 



Dr. Webber's book is a charming survey of seed and fruit dispersal pre- 

 sented in a manner that easily captivates the interests of youngsters and even 

 teen age students. In it the author illustrates colorfully, accurately and attrac- 

 tively all of the common methods of dispersal by examples of well known or 

 wide spread plants. The text is written simply and interestingly. Although 

 vocabulary and interest levels are planned with the elementary school child in 

 mind, this little book could serve well, when the plants themselves are not avail- 

 able, as illustrative material for the junior high and senior high school student 

 especially in large cities where plants are so little known. Obvious effort was 

 carefully exerted to avoid any botanical errors. But the most amateur zoologist 

 or even John Doe would wince at the blue eyed, red headed, white squirrel eat- 

 ing an acorn on page 27. "Travelers All" is a welcome addition to any home, 

 school or public library where young people come in with eager eyes and 

 questions. Alma L. Moldenke 



EVANDER CHILDS HlGH SCHOOL 



New York, N. Y. 



A Canoe Trip in the Far North 



The Arctic Prairies. By Ernest Thompson Seton. xi + 308 pp. Illustrated. New York : 

 International University Press. Republished 1943. $3.50. 



In the summer of 1927, while traveling along the north shore of McLeod 

 Bay in Great Slave Lake, we came upon the inscription "Seton 1907" blazoned 

 on the vertical faces of the cliffs. The inscription marked Mr. Seton's journey 

 to the "Barren Grounds," described and illustrated in his delightful book, 

 "The Arctic Prairies" (Scribner's, 1911). It is a pleasure to welcome a new 

 printing of this volume (International University Press, 1943), and to pay 

 tribute to its author. The book is of particular value in these days when thou- 

 sands of people are having to adjust themselves to life in the subarctic wilder- 

 ness. For the book is more than a mere chronology of events ; it is an authentic, 

 living account of the country and of the author's reactions to it. 



By some stroke of good fortune my wife and I acquired and read "The 

 Arctic Prairies" before ever we embarked upon our botanical journeyings in 

 the Mackenzie country. I say good fortune because I am not sure that we 



