Geographic Literature 



33 



the people. Many new points of the 

 inner side of the social conditions of the 

 Hindoo family are depicted in a vivid 

 manner. Chapters devoted to The Re- 

 cent Famine, The Classes of Society, 

 The Missions, etc., describe in an in- 

 teresting and instructive manner the 

 observations of a personal tour of the 

 far regions qf country by the mission- 

 ary author. 



Bird Life, a Guide to the Study of Our 

 Common Birds. By Frank M. Chap- 

 man. 8vo, pp. xii -f- 195, with Ap- 

 pendix, with 75 colored plates and 

 25 text cuts. Third edition. New 

 York: D: Appleton & Co. 1902. 

 The study of birds has become popu- 

 lar and, let us hope,' not a fad or a craze, 

 to run its course and disappear, but a 

 permanent feature of the rising interest 

 in science; for no more delightful inter- 

 est can be added to life than the study 

 of our feathered neighbors, making their 

 personal acquaintance, familiarzing our-" 

 selves with their home life, their house- 

 keeping methods, their loves, and their 

 hates. 



Mr Chapman has given the public one 

 of the best of man}' volumes which have 

 been called into being to minister to this 

 interest. The first part is devoted to 

 feathered creation in general — describ- 

 ing the bird's anatomy, colors, and 

 change of color, migrations, songs, and 

 nesting seasons. Popular descriptions 

 of common species follow, and are illus- 

 trated with colored plates. Without 

 depreciating the text in the least, the 

 colored illustrations are the most valu- 

 able feature of the work. Well drawn 

 and well reproduced, they alone aid the 

 amateur more in identifying species than 

 any amount of description could do. It 

 would be better if the colored figures 

 were placed in juxtaposition with the 

 related text, instead of being widely 

 separated from it. 



The book closes with an appendix for 

 the use of teachers. H. G. 



Practical Forestry — For Beginners in 

 Forestry, Agricultural Students, 

 Woodland Owners, and others de- 

 siring a general knowledge of the 

 nature of the art. By John Gifford. 

 8vo, pp. xiv + 284, with 35 illustra- 

 tions. New York : D. Appleton & 

 Co. 1902. 



Part I opens with a collection of ex- 

 cellent definitions, and the succeeding 

 chapters treat in turn of the relation 

 of silviculture to the broad subject of 

 agriculture, the forest canopy and floor 

 and the wood mass, the geographic dis- 

 tribution of forests and their geographic 

 effects. Part II is devoted to the forma- 

 tion and tending of forests, Part III to 

 their industrial importance, the wood 

 industries, etc., while the concluding 

 part, after listing the forest reserves, 

 describes the principal forest trees. 



Among the numerous books on For- 

 estry recently published, this will de- 

 servedly stand high. Where there is. 

 so much to praise, it seems almost cap- 

 tious to criticise. Certain of the meth- 

 ods of restoring forests here described — 

 i. e., to restore forests by replanting 

 trees — is a method that will not be fol- 

 lowed in this country on any considera- 

 ble scale for centuries, however appli- 

 cable it may be to the countries of 

 Europe. The author confuses the 

 plains and the prairies, and is still 

 among the agnostics concerning the in- 

 fluence of forests on rainfall. H. G. 



A Ride in Morocco Among Believers 

 and Traders. By Frances Macnab. 

 8vo, pp. 367, with 10 illustrations and 

 1 map. New York : Longmans, 

 Green & Co. 1902. 

 This is a narrative of a journey down 

 the coast of Morocco to Mazaglan, and 

 thence south to the city of Morocco 

 (Marakesh), returning to the coast at 

 Mogadon Miss Macnab is an experi- 

 enced traveler and observer, and her 

 journal and the accompanying observa- 

 tions on the country and people are 



