512 GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE 



not a mere question of humanity ; it is also an economic question AVith 

 proper education the deaf and dumb can be fitted for almost any walk in 

 life. Ail the range of intellectual achievement is open to them. They 

 can become authors ; they can become painters ; they can become jour- 

 nalists ; they can discharge a number of valuable and wealth-earning 

 functions. There are actually forty newspapers and periodicals in the 

 United States written and edited by deaf mutes, chiefly for the use of 

 their fellow-unfortunates. We spend four million yen annually upon the 

 education of our deaf and dumb, but we find that their contributions to 

 the wealth of the country after they are educated exceed that amount, so 

 that, instead of being a burden to the state, they become a factor of pros- 

 perity. You see what interest this problem has from every point of view, 

 and you will agree with me, I am sure, that what Japan is doing is sadly 

 inadequate, and that, instead of only two schools in the whole empire, 

 you should have at least a school in every province, as we have schools 

 in every State of America. You of the press are the eyes and ears of 

 society, and you can also be its leaders. I know the immense influence 

 you can exercise upon public opinion, and I trust that you will exercise 

 it in this noble and useful cause. 



J. H. 



GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE 



Cuba and Porto Rico with the Other Islands of the West Indies. Their Topog- 

 raphy, Climate, Flora, Products, Industries, Cities, People, Political 

 Conditions, etc. By Robert T. Hill, of the United States Geological 

 Survey. Pp. xxviii + 429, with 2 maps and 79 plates. New York : 

 The Century Company. 1898. $3.00. 

 This is one of the books of the year. It is made notable by timeliness, 

 and still more by breadth of view and strength of grasp. The author is 

 a well-known geologist and geographer, a leading authority on the struc- 

 ture and development of the Antillean region as well as Central America, 

 Mexico, and southern United States ; yet this latest publication is his 

 magnum opus, and displays his ability to deal with scenic features, social 

 problems, questions of statecraft, historical events, and softer literature 

 no less efficiently than with the technical problems of his special science. 

 The work of the publishers is equally creditable ; no more tasteful and ele- 

 gant specimen of book-making has ever left the DeVinne press and Century 

 house. Most of the abundant illustrations are delicately tooled halftones, 

 and the cover is a work of art ; the lists of contents and illustrations are 

 full, the introduction is germane, and the index is adequate. The 



first chapter is devoted to the geographic relations of the West Indies ; the 

 second to the West Indian waters, including submarine con figuration and 

 conditions ; the third to the geographic classification of the West Indian 

 islands; and these form an admirable summary of current knowledge, 

 illumined and interpreted by personal observation. The fourth chapter 

 is an original description of the Greater Antilles in terms of physical and 

 political characters, with constant reference to natural resources and social 



