GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE 



Webster's International Dictionary of 

 the English Language. Being the 

 authentic edition of Webster's Un- 

 abridged Dictionary, comprising the 

 issues of 1864, 1879, and 1884, thor- 

 oughly revised and much enlarged 

 under the supervision of Noah Porter, 

 D. D., Iylv. D. With a voluminous 

 appendix, to which is now added a 

 Supplement of twenty-five thousand 

 words and phrases, a Gazetteer of the 

 world containing 25,000 names, etc., 

 etc. W.T.Harris, Ph. D.,LIv.D., ed- 

 itor-in-chief. Pp.2358. 12x9^x4^ 

 inches. Springfield, Mass., U. S. A.: 

 G. & C. Merriam Company. 1904. 

 To the reader of this Magazine the 

 most useful feature of this new edition 

 of Webster's International Dictionary 

 is the completely revised "Pronouncing 

 Gazetteer of 25,000 Place Names." 

 During the past few years thousands 

 of new towns have sprung into promi- 

 nence in the Philippines, China, Siberia, 

 South Africa, etc., many of which it 

 has hitherto been impossible to locate, 

 unless perhaps in some unobtainable 

 official gazetteer. All these names with 

 concise descriptions giving the results 

 of latest geographical discoveries and of 

 the censuses throughout the world in 

 1900 and 1901, have been included in 

 the revised edition, so that for complete- 

 ness and convenience Webster's Gazet- 

 teer is now unequaled. Every one will 

 welcome the uniform spelling of place 

 names, due to the wise adoption by the 

 editors of the rulings of the U. S. Board 

 on Geographic Names, of the Canadian 

 Board on Geographic Names, and of the 

 Royal Geographical Society. All ques- 

 tionable cases were referred to Henry 

 Gannett, Chairman of the U. S. Board. 

 Another indispensable feature of the 

 new edition is the inclusion in the Sup- 

 plement of hundreds of new terms that 

 have arisen in the many branches of 

 geography during the past decade The 



editor for geology and geography was 

 G. K. Gilbert ; for meteorology, Gen. 

 A. W. Greely ; for agriculture, A. C. 

 True. 



The recent rapid changes and addi- 

 tions to the English language have strik- 

 ing evidence in the 25,000 words of the 

 Supplement. These 25,000 names rep- 

 resent 10 years' growth in the English 

 language — the thousands of new words 

 that have come into use, the old words 

 that have changed their meanings, and 

 obsolete words that have been revived. 

 Probably no equal period in the devel- 

 opment of the English-speaking race 

 has received so many new names. One 

 reason that the past decade has been so 

 prolific in creating names is the succes- 

 sion of new discoveries in all branches 

 of sciences and life. Another is the 

 closer union of all peoples, new relations 

 and new conditions which require defi- 

 nition. 



Some idea of the wealth in the vol- 

 ume may be obtained from the state- 

 ment of the publishers that the amount 

 of matter it contains would make 75 

 or more volumes such as are usually 

 sold for $1 each. Notable features of 

 work in addition to the Dictionary, Sup- 

 plement, and Gazetteer are : 



Colored plates of flags, seals, etc. , of 

 the nations and states, 8 pages ; portrait 

 of Noah Webster ; preface by Noah 

 Porter, D. D., LE. D.; memoir of Noah 

 Webster ; prefaces to various editions of 

 Webster's Unabridged Dictionary ; list 

 of authors quoted as authority in this 

 dictionary ; brief history of the English 

 language ; Indo-Germanic roots in En- 

 glish ; explanatory notes on the revised 

 etymologies ; guide to pronunciation ; 

 orthography ; the metric system of 

 weights and measures ; explanatory and 

 pronouncing dictionary of the names of 

 noted fictitious persons and places ; com- 

 pletely revised pronouncing biograph- 

 ical dictionary of 10.000 names; pro- 



