GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE 207 



North American Forests and Forestry. By Ernest Bruncken. New York : G. P. 

 Putnam's Sons. 1900. 



This book deals more particularly with the relation of the forest problem to 

 the natural life of the American people. With this object in view, Mr 

 Pjruncken's choice of subjects and the .general outlines of his treatment are in 

 most respects admirable. After a brief introduction, in which his purpose is 

 defined, he begins witli a discussion of the North American forests, of tlie re- 

 lation between man and the forests of this country, of forest industries, and of the 

 destruction and deterioration of the forests. He is then ready to deal with the 

 nature and object-matter of forestry, the finance and management of forest 

 lands, the relation of forests to the government, and the difliculties which beset 

 the practice of forestry (conservative lumbering) in the United States. A final 

 chapter, which will be much read by the mimerous young men who are turn- 

 ing their attention to this new line of possible work, treats understandingly of 

 forestry as a profession. 



Mr Bruncken's book is much better calculated than any other with which I 

 am acquainted to convey a correct general idea of the forest problems of the 

 United States. He has seized the principal facts in the situation with intelli- 

 gence and has set them forth in a way easilj' understood. If there is to be 

 criticism of so useful a book, it should be directed chiefly against the fact that 

 the author's conception of the forest problems of the United States is much too 

 strictly limited by his acquaintance with those of the white pine states about 

 the headwaters of the Mississippi. It is to be regretted also that there is a lack 

 of accuracy in detail. For example, the silvicultural notes in the second chap- 

 ter are much too frequently based on the facts of European rather than of 

 American forests, or upon an imperfect knowledge of the latter. There is a 

 similar lack of precision in many i)arts of the book. However, since Mr 

 Bruncken expressly says that his book is not intended for professional foresters, 

 the blemish of such misconceptions is less great than it would otherwise be. 

 ()u the whole, Mr Bruncken's book promises well both for its own present 

 utility and for the future work of the writer. Giffokd Pinchot. 



Tarr and McMurry's Geographies. First book. Home Geograi)hy and the Earth 

 as a Whole. By Ralph S. Tarr and Frank M. McMurry: Small Svo, 

 pp. XV -f 279, New York and London: The Macmillan Co. 1900. 60 cents 



This little book, the first of a series of geographical text-books, is an attempt 

 to combine the inductive and deductive methods in the teaching of geography. 

 The first 107 pages are devoted to developing, from the home surroundings, a 

 knowledge of the formation of soils, mountains, valleys, and rivers, the phe- 

 nomena of the sea and air, and, finally, industries and government. With all 

 this as a preface, the remainder of the book is a description of the earth as a 

 whole and of its parts, much as in the older elementary geographies. The style 

 throughout is admirably adapted to holding the child's interest, while impatting 

 information. The text is freely supplemented with questions and suggestions, 

 and the numerous maps and cuts are very illustrative and finely executed. 



It will he interesting to learn the measure of success attained by this exjieri- 

 ment in geographic text-books. If unsuccessful, it will ))ea failure of the prin- 

 ciple, not of the form, for the latter is in all respects nearly faultless. 



