+5« 



The National Geographic Magazine 



supply is generally thought to be lim- 

 ited. The fur trade is no longer of 

 serious account, and there remains only 

 the petroleum springs, whose true value 

 has not yet transpired. Having regard 

 to its present population of criminals 

 and ex-convicts, the island can not be 

 said to exercise any great allurement. 



South American Republics. Part 2 : 

 Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Vene- 

 zuela, Colombia, Panama. By Thos. 

 C. Dawson. With maps and illus- 

 trations. Pp. 513. s}4 by 8 inches. 

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

 1904. 



Since the first volume was published, 

 describing Brazil and Argentine, and re- 

 viewed in this Magazine several months 

 ago, Mr Dawson has been transferred 

 from Rio Janeiro, where he had been 

 the American Consul General for a 

 number of years, to the post of United 

 States Minister to Santo Domingo. This 

 second volume, like the first, contains 

 much more history than geography, 

 very little descriptive of the peoples or 

 of the actual resources of the coun- 

 tries being included. Speaking of the 

 new era which has begun in Colombia 

 since the inauguration of General Reyes, 

 Mr Dawson says : "It will be under 

 his able guidance that Colombia will 

 start on the tedious road leading to in- 

 ternal peace and regeneration, to finan- 

 cial rehabilitation, and to the recon- 

 cilement of those fierce factions whose 

 wars have drenched their country's soil 

 with blood for so many decades. ' ' With 

 the completion of the Panama Canal, 

 a new era will begin for the entire west 

 coast of South America. 



The Kingdom of Siam. Edited by A. 

 Cecil Carter. With 50 full-page illus- 

 trations. Pp. 272. 5 by 7^2 inches. 

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

 1904. 



All the chapters in this exceedingly 

 interesting and handsomely illustrated 

 little volume were written by high offi- 



cials in different departments of the gov- 

 ernment service of Siam, and we may 

 therefore accept them as authentic. 



Siam equals in size the States of Cal- 

 fornia and Oregon combined and has a 

 population of about 5,000,000. The 

 Siamese are addicted to chewing, but 

 they chew tea, not tobacco. The tea is 

 not used as a beverage, but made into 

 balls of a suitable size to fit into the 

 hollow of the cheek comfortably. The 

 Siamese are of smaller stature than the 

 Chinese or Indians, but taller than 

 the Japanese and Malays. They have 

 straight black hair, which is worn cut 

 short by both sexes ; beards are little 

 developed and complexion a light brown, 

 like the races of southern Europe. The 

 people are polite, courteous to strangers, 

 and have a high sense of self-respect. 

 "Slavery has never existed in Siam, 

 though bond-serfdom, ending with the 

 restitution of the debt, was formerly 

 common, and although abolished as a 

 legal institution still exists in outlying 

 provinces, though only as a bona fide 

 agreement between master and man." 

 The position of women is high in Siam. 

 They enjoy, both in business matters 

 and social life, a great independence. 

 Nearly every male can read and write. 



Rice "constitutes not merely the 

 principal, but almost the sole food of 

 every one, from the highest noble to 

 the lowliest plebeian ; horses, cattle, 

 dogs, cats, and all other domestic ani- 

 mals live on it ; it is used for making 

 beer and spirits ; it enters largely into 

 all ceremonials, and the superstitious 

 observances in connection with it pro- 

 vide the people with their most frequent 

 occasions for holiday-making. " It is 

 rice which forms the cargoes of the 

 thousands of boats ever passing up and 

 down the River Menam. Skill in plant- 

 ing rice seedlings vastly enhances a 

 girl's chances in the marriage market, 

 while a youth who ties the bundles 

 clumsily stands small chance of getting 

 a bride in his own village. In 1885 

 Siam exported 217,000 tons of rice ; in 



