Book Reviews. 



123 



"Under the Sky To many people, who, from a very reasonable dis- 

 In California."* trust of their physical hardihood have denied 

 themselves the coveted experience of life in the 

 open, this readable volume, "written out of the personal experience of 

 man and wife of very hmited physical strength," may prove an in- 

 spiration and an example. Desert, Sierra, and Coast Range alike 

 offered a field to these mildly adventurous sightseers. Traveling 

 sometimes afoot, sometimes horseback, oftener in a wagon, these 

 Easterners became better acquainted with out of doors California than 

 is one native born Californian in a hundred. The Mission pilgrimage 

 is entertainingly described, and ''Springs Days in a Carriage" were 

 devoted to traversing Ramona's country. The chapters on the Deserts 

 and the Mountains include most of the camp experiences. In the main 

 the advice offered the more sybaritic type of camper is excellent ; but 

 we, who must needs plead guilty to that "general soiled air of wildness" 

 in our woodland hours that Mr. Saunders so deplores, may yet venture 

 to take issue with him on some of his refinements of "comfort." The 

 use of silver spoons and white linen napkins while camping as a 

 solace to one's self-respect hardl}'- seems to justify the additional sense 

 of responsibility they entail. One of the great benefits of camp life, 

 particularly to a woman, is the emancipation it offers from the thou- 

 sand petty, shackling details that go to make up her average day at 

 home. Let even the most luxurious camper beware then how he im- 

 ports the thralldom to externals into the free life of the open. How- 

 ever, as Mr. Saunders very justly remarks, "Only time and experience 

 can show each camper the exact measure of his or her own needs." 



M. R. P. 



"The Climate and Fev/ visitors to the Sierra Nevada return to the 

 Weather of San lowland regions without a new conception of 

 Diego, California." t and interest in the beauty of cloud scenery, 

 there most gloriously manifested. It is a beauty 

 that dwellers in cities may enjoy no less than their more beauty-blessed 

 brethren of country or sea-coast districts. In this admirable book on 

 San Diego climatic conditions, written by a Sierra Club member, 

 several intensely interesting chapters are devoted to cloud formations. 

 Though deahng specifically with San Diego, many of the subjects 

 touched upon are of general as well as local interest. Among these 

 may be mentioned "Mirage, Halo, and Aurora," "Ocean Currents and 

 Weather Conditions," and Meteorological Myths." The San Diego 

 region has long been noted for its delightful and equable climate and 



* Under the Sky in California. By Charles Francis Saunders. McBride, Nast 

 & Co., New York. 1913. Illustrated from photographs mainly by C. F. and E. H. 

 Saunders. 299 pages. Price, $2.00. 



t The Climate and Weather of San Diego, California. By Ford A. Carpenter, 

 Local Forecaster. The J. Horace McFarland Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

 1 91 3. Published by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. Illustrated with photo- 

 graphs and charts by the author and others. 118 pages. 



