Geographic Literature 



427 



1803. The writers were mainly sol- 

 diers, government officials, and ecclesi- 

 astics of the various orders. Some of 

 the letters are personal and others ad- 

 ministrative reports and recommenda- 

 tions. Five volumes have been pub- 

 lished, and others will follow monthly. 

 These five alone contain much informa- 

 tion about the early conditions on the isl- 

 ands that cannot be obtained elsewhere. 

 The Spaniards in the Philippines from 

 the very first conceived a great contempt 

 for the Chinese across the China Sea. 

 One general offered, with less than 60 

 good Spanish soldiers, to march from 

 Canton to Peking and subdue the whole 

 empire, though there were " many very 

 populous cities on the way" and the 

 king was " well prepared for war and 

 the frontiers are well fortified with many 

 forts with artillery and garrisons wherein 

 strict watch is kept." Other generals 

 repeatedly urged the conquest of the 

 Chinese Empire, and every one guar- 

 anteed to do it with less than 2,000 or 

 3,000 men. This was during the last 

 half of the sixteenth century when Spain 

 was too much occupied with her Euro- 

 pean designs to spare the men or money 

 to enter China. 



The Training of Wild Animals. By 

 Frank C. Bostock, edited by Ellen 

 Velvin. Illustrated. Pp. xvii + 256. 

 5x7 inches. New York : The Century 

 Co., 1903. 



A book on this subject by the cele- 

 brated trainer, Frank C. Bostock, is 

 not only interesting, but gives much in- 

 sight about the characters of the larger 

 animals. Temperaments and disposi- 

 tions differ as much among lions or 

 tigers or other animals as among men. 

 Cruelty is useless as well as dangerous 

 in training the great beasts. Intelli- 

 gence, pluck, vigilance, and patience 

 are the requisites of a trainer. 



' ' There are three essentials in the care 

 and feeding of wild animals — -good food, 

 cleanliness, and exercise. Food and 

 cleanliness come first, but exercise is 



nearly as important, and this is one of 

 the main reasons why animals in travel- 

 ing shows are so much healthier and 

 stronger than .those kept in zoological 

 pai ks. In the parks they get food and 

 cleanliness, but little exercise ; for wild 

 animals are proverbially lazy, and, un- 

 less compelled by hunger or force of cir- 

 cumstances, will not exert themselves 

 in the least, preferring to lie about and 

 sleep rather than even to walk round 

 their cages." 



In a chapter on " How Wild Animals 

 are Captured," Mr Bostock tells how 

 the natives in India catch tigers : 



"The leaves of the sycamore and 

 large plantain are smeared with a sticky 

 substance and left in the trail of the 

 tiger. The moment the animal puts 

 his foot on one of these leaves he im- 

 mediately rubs it over his head in order 

 to get rid of it. This naturally makes 

 his head sticky and uncomfortable, 

 which causes him to roll on the ground. 

 By doing this he becomes covered with 

 the leaves, and when he is mad with 

 rage the natives come cautiously up and 

 cover him with strong nets and sack- 

 ing." 



Texas. By George P. Garrison. With 

 map. Pp. v+320. 5x7 inches. Bos- 

 ton: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1903. 

 $1.10 net. 



The book is a disappointment, or per- 

 haps it would be more just to say the 

 title is a misnomer. The romantic his- 

 tory of the great territory is well told, 

 but the author stops there. A single 

 chapter of 12 pages is all he has to say 

 of the tremendous development of the 

 state since 1876. A few paragraphs 

 only are devoted to describing what 

 Texas is today. There is hardly a word 

 about her unrivaled natural resources, 

 which are going to make her the great- 

 est producer among the states. The 

 reader wants to know not only how the 

 Texan won his freedom, but how he 

 developed the state after it was won 

 and what the state is now. 



