SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



*55 



tions, and he can tell you whence they come and 

 where they go. Then, hundreds of great trees are 

 quite as well known to him as public buildings to 

 the inhabitants of the city. If in a strange locality 

 he bends down a young sapling at intervals, so that 

 the under-surface of the leaves may be visible on 

 his return and point the way. His white companion 

 misses him as he hurries along and stands up be- 

 wildered. At a short distance his reddish-brown 

 skin harmonises with tree trunks, and as his move- 

 ments are absolutely noiseless he cannot be seen or 

 heard. . . . On they go again, until perhaps a 

 small creek is reached, over which stretches a 

 fallen palm. On this the red man lightly trips and 

 is going straight along into the forest, expecting 

 the other to follow. But who could walk in boots 

 on such a slippery bridge ? The white man gives 



" On the War Path." 

 From "By Vocal Woods and Waters." 



the bush call, hoo-oo-oo-oo, and the Indian comes 

 back again, looking surprised that this convenient 

 bridge could be any more an obstacle to another 

 than him. The novice trys to explain, but before 

 he can understand what is taking place, he is in the 

 arms of his companion and over the creek." 



Again, speaking of trees (page 12) : " How firm 

 and stately are these great monarchs of the 

 forest ! They have gained their positions years 

 ago, and are now strong enough to hold their 

 own. They have good armour, well-tested, have 

 killed off thousands of young rivals and might be 

 thought secure. But no, mere strength may not 

 overcome them, but craft will. Like Sinbad, they 

 take some apparent weakling on their shoulders, 

 and he soon develops into another ' Old Man of the 

 Sea.' When the forest giant gets old and feeble 

 his enemies come round him in force. He can no 

 longer continue the great struggle, and quickly 

 succumbs, perhaps to two or three of his own 

 children who have grown up under his shadow." 



Above all things Mr. Rodway is a lover of plants, 

 and his chief interests set forth in this book are in 

 the fights of the various species for a temporary 

 ascendancy in life. The adaptation of one kind to 

 its surroundings to the destruction of its neighbour, 

 or host, as the case may be. Much is said about 

 the parasitic plants upon trees. Small in them- 

 selves they are individually as nothing, but growing 

 as they do in British Guiana, a short time only is 

 needed to slay the monarch of the forest. With 

 the permission of the publisher we reproduce an 

 instance as photographed by Mr. Rodway. It 

 is a silk cotton-tree crowded with epiphytes and 

 lovely orchids. The density of the forest, its 

 solidity and want of detail make the photographic 

 illustration difficult to reproduce. Still many of 

 the pictures which accompany this book are such 

 - s to dwell over and examine with minute care. 



With regard to the struggle among the forest 

 plants for the right -to live and obtain air and light, 

 we may, once again only, quote (page 225) : "In 

 great cities the struggle fur existence develops more 

 individuality than in villages, where there is a 

 tendency to perpetuate old manners and customs. 

 A similar thing happens in the forest with a throng 

 much denser than is possible in any city. We can 

 only compare the trees to a great mob gathered in 

 one place and struggling with each other to gain 

 the best point of observation. In such a crowd, 

 although there is a certain amount of unison as far 

 as the striving to obtain the same object is 

 concerned, nevertheless, selfishness reigns supreme, 

 and the weakest get trodden under foot. So it is 

 in the forest ; each individual strives to get a share 

 of the sunlight and elbows everyone that stands 

 in its way, in some cases climbing upon their 

 shoulders and in others trampling them down." 



" In the Guiana Forest " is indeed a book of the 

 month, and one that will give intense pleasure to 

 the lover of nature, whether with scientific tastes 

 or the more simple reader who cares for vivid 

 description of unfamiliar beauty and its bitter 

 struggle for existence. &&&& 3'B'Su Q-T.C] 



Cloudland : A Study on the Structure and Character 

 of Clouds. By the Rev. W. Clement Ley, M.A., 

 F. R. Met. Soc. 208 pp., with numerous coloured 

 plates, photographs, charts and diagrams. (London : 

 Edward Stanford, 1894.) Price 7s. 6d. net. 



Considering its great importance to mankind, it 

 is remarkable how comparatively little progress 

 has been made in the science of meteorology. 

 How few are there among the better educated of 

 this country who can accurately describe any 

 ordinary grouping of clouds. We often hear of 

 remarkable aqueous effects in the high atmosphere, 

 but as a rule their description rarely conveys more 

 than the fact that they appeared exceptional. The 

 author has in this work attempted to place before 

 his readers in practical form, with the assistance of 

 coloured and other pictures, the whole subject of 

 cloud nomenclature, their generic grouping, and 



"A Dainty Morsel." 

 Froni"/)r Vocal Woods and Waters." 



influence in assisting a forecast of the state of 

 weather for some little time after their appearance. 

 It is much to be regretted that the limited number 

 of buyers of this class of book render its publication 

 so expensive. It is one which should be in the 

 hands of the thinking multitude, and we trust 

 Mr. Stanford may find sufficient encouragement to 

 issue it in cheaper form. The coloured illustrations 

 of the classification of clouds are generally good. 

 One of the most interesting plates is No. vi., being 

 of "Cloud distribution in a typical cyclone." 

 With the aid of this plate one gets quite a com- 



