Geographic Literature 



79 



independent of the others. American 

 exploration of Alaska has been so rapid 

 in recent years that it is perhaps not 

 surprising that this work is several 

 years behind in its information regard- 

 ing the great territory. There is also 

 no reference in the volume to the wheat 

 and corn areas of the United States, 

 though the ' ' Bad Lands' ' are described. 



Dutch Life in Town and Country. By 



T. M. Hough. With illustrations. 



New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons. 



1901. $1.50. 



Mr. Hough presents an interesting 

 picture of Dutch life, more particularly 

 in his chapters on ' ' Court and Society, ' ' 

 "The Professional Classes," "The 

 Peasant at Home," "The Administra- 

 tion of Justice," and " The Canals and 

 Their Population." About 50,000 per- 

 sons live on barges all the year round 

 and form a "canal population." For 

 generations they have been left to them- 

 selves, a class apart, and have given 

 color and picturesqueness to the inland 

 waters of Holland ; but the spirit of re- 

 form is in the air — the government is 

 beginning to interfere, to insist on the 

 education of the barge children, so that 

 in a few years this unique population 

 will disappear. The volume is one in 

 the notable series on "Our European 

 Neighbors," which the Putnams are 

 publishing, 



The Bolivian Andes, a record of climb- 

 ing and exploration in the Cordillera 

 Real in the years 1898 and 1900. By 

 Sir Martin Conway, with illustrations. 

 New York : Harper & Bros. 

 This book is a narrative of one suc- 

 cessful ascent, that of Illimani (21,192 

 feet), and of two failures, on Sorata and 

 Ancohuma. Were this merely a narra- 

 tive of these climbs, the book would be 

 dreary reading, but fortunately it con- 

 tains much more. The author intro- 

 duces his readers to the central and one 

 of the highest parts of the Andes, to the 



great desert plain, the Puna, the summit 

 of the Andean plateau, which forms the 

 base of the great peaks, and to the 

 human life of this scarcely known re- 

 gion, in a most charming and interest- 

 ing manner. The rubber industry and 

 the gold and tin mines of the region 

 visited are treated also with fulness. 

 A map would have added greatly to the 

 value and interest of the book. 



South Africa a Century Ago (1797- 

 1801). By Lady Anne Barnard. 

 New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. 

 Lady Anne Barnard was the wife of 

 the first secretary of Cape Colony. She 

 was a clever, observing woman, in the 

 habit of writing to her friend, the Sec- 

 retary of State at home, her manner of 

 life in South Africa. Her letters are 

 published in this volume, but are rather 

 disappointing, as they have more to say 

 about the garrison life of her set than of 

 the people of the Cape. 



History of Geology and Palaeontology. 

 By Karl Alfred Von Zittel, translated 

 by M. M. Ogilvie Gordon. Illus- 

 trated. London: Walter Scott. 1901. 

 $1.50. 

 A scholarly work, designed for the 



specialist and of doubtful interest to 



any one else. 



Macmillan's Guides, J90J. — Italy. With 

 51 maps and plans $2.50. 



The Eastern Mediterranean. With 

 27 maps and plans. $2.25. 



The Western Mediterranean. With 

 21 maps and plans. $2.25. 



Palestine and Egypt. With 48 maps 

 and plans. $2.50. 



These excellent guide books are spe- 

 cially noteworthy for their many beau- 

 tifully engraved maps and for their 

 convenient size. The editors have given 

 particular attention to the historical, 

 archaeological, and artistic features of 

 the countries, and have also included at 

 the end a list of standard books about 

 each country. 



