566 Reviews — Prof. J. Beete Jukes^s Letters, etc. 



ever he did, whether lecturing, writing, or working in the field or 

 on the sea, he was ever full of genuine earnestness, which inspired 

 others with an ambition to do their best also. 



The book before us sketches out, by the help of connective narra- 

 tive, and by letters and extracts from his writings, the life of Pro- 

 fessor Jukes from his birth in the old house at Summerhill, near 

 Birmingham, on October 10th, 1811, through his schoolboy days at 

 Wolverhampton and Birmingham, to his entry at St. John's College, 

 Cambridge, in 1830. Of this part of his life little has to be recorded 

 save that the first preceptor who appears to have made any deep or 

 lasting impress on Jukes's mind was Professor Sedgwick, whose 

 teachings certainly fashioned the course of his after-life. After 

 leaving Cambridge, Jukes, as we have said, took the field and 

 mastered the geology of a great part of England for himself, covering 

 his expenses with his lectures and other scientific work. He also 

 devoted some time to learning practical Field-surveying. 



In 1839 commenced his real start in life, as Geological Surveyor 

 of Newfoundland, a post which, though rough and somewhat perilous 

 in its nature and full of hardship, had for Jukes a charm which is 

 only fully understood by those who, to a love of wild sports, can add 

 the consciousness of a sound and vigorous constitution, a dauntless 

 courage, and a happy knack of making themselves at home anywhere 

 and with anybody. 



The work of surveying this inhospitable island was found to be 

 exceedingly difficult. No map of the country existed, the interior 

 being for the most part trackless, uninhabited, and obscured by 

 woods and morasses, geological observations could only be carried 

 on along the coast by means of boats. But here, though the cliffs 

 are bold, they are frequently inaccessible, and often either too per- 

 pendicular, or too well guarded by surf, to render landing practicable. 

 The inclemency of the climate too forbad the carrying on of such 

 work save in the short but brilliant summer season. Mr. Jukes, 

 however, completed his report, and returned to England at the end 

 of 1840. 



Far different and more congenial was the next work in which we 

 find him engaged. Having been offered the post of Naturalist on 

 board H.M. ship "Fly," under the command of Captain E. P. Black- 

 wood, E.N., bound on an expedition to survey Torres Strait, New 

 Guinea, etc., he left England on April 11th, 1842. 



The results of this exploration are detailed in the " Narrative of 

 the Surveying Voyage of H.M.S., Fly" (2 vols. 8vo. London, 1847). 

 In the book before us they are told in the shape of letters to friends 

 at home, and occupy some 142 pages, giving sketches of places, 

 people, and incidents in Australia, New Guinea, Java, and the 

 Eastern Archipelago, pleasant to read about, if not all agreeable to 

 the narrator. 



On the return of the expedition, in 1846, Mr. Jukes once more 

 sought his first love, and entered the Geological Survey, work- 

 ing principally in Wales, and at the South Staffordshire Coal-field. 

 Speaking afterwards about the difficulties of surveying and mapping 



