426 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (VoL. XXXIII. 
and the fact pointed out that it has probably been the cause of the 
occupancy of the Arctic regions by the Eskimos — has determined the 
distribution of the race. It is peculiarly the property of the women, 
and “a woman without a lamp” is an expression which betokens, of 
all beings, the most wretched among the Eskimo. Owing to the 
soot thrown off, the lamp renders it impossible for the Eskimo to be 
at all cleanly in the igloos. The lamp fulfills several functions, one 
of the most important of which is to melt snow and ice for drinking- 
water. There are three kinds of lamps: house lamp, traveler’s lamp, ` 
and mortuary lamp. About a dozen types are described, from the 
East Greenland lamp to that from Siberia. In both the Labrador 
and the Mackenzie River type it would seem to us that the author 
has attempted to establish a “type” from too small a series. The 
Peabody Museum of Harvard University contains several large 
Labrador lamps from Hopedale, which have divided bridges, and 
thus differ somewhat from the two types accredited to that region. 
But the significance of the paper lies in its demonstration of the 
effect of a technic art upon a hunting race; it is a contribution to 
the final “ Weltgeschichte.” ER. 
Chess and Playing Cards.'— Though it has developed from a 
simple catalogue and purports to be but a preliminary work, this 
memoir of 263 pages, by Stewart Culin, contains a valuable store 
of information concerning games and divinatory processes. In the 
words of the author, “ The object of this collection is to illustrate the 
probable origin, paige and development of the games of chess 
and playing cards.” ‘The basis of the divinatory systems from 
which games sie arisen is assumed to be the classification of all 
things according to the four directions. This method of classifica- 
tion is practically universal among primitive people both in Asia and 
America. ` In order to classify objects and events which did not in 
themselves reveal their proper assignment, resort was had to magic. 
Survivals of these magical processes constitute our present games. 
The identity of the games of Asia and America may be explained 
upon the ground of their common object, and the identity of the 
mythical concepts which underlie them. These concepts, as illus- 
trated in games, appear to be well-nigh universal. In the classifica- 
tion of things according to the four quarters we find a numerical 
ratio was assumed to exist between the several categories. The dis- 
1 Culin, ‘Stewart. Chess and Playing Cards, Report of the U.S. National 
Museum for 1896, pp. 665-942. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1898. 
