5 2 The National Geographic Magazine 



above all we should not admit any man 

 of an unworthy type, any man concern- 

 ing whom we can say that he will him- 

 self be a bad citizen, or that his children 

 and grandchildren will detract from, in- 

 stead of adding to, the sum of the good 

 citizenship of the country." 



PROGRESS IN CHINA 



MR WIU.IAM K. CURTIS in his 

 public letter of December 12 

 says that cable dispatches from China 

 bring the news that the empress dow- 

 ager has issued an edict requiring all 

 of the soldiers in the army to wear 

 European dress and cut off their queues. 

 Her orders have already been obeyed 

 in the province of Honan. The viceroy 

 of Honan, who has been so prompt in 

 carrying out these instructions, has a 

 son being educated in the United States, 

 and the youngster had not been six 



weeks in this country before he cut off 

 his own queue to escape the teasing 

 of his schoolmates. The viceroy was 

 greatly shocked when he heard the 

 news, because a young man without a 

 queue in China is quite as conspicuous 

 as a young man with one would be in 

 the United States. It was difficult to 

 reconcile the old gentleman to the situa- 

 tion, but he seems to have obeyed impe- 

 rial orders in that respect very promptly. 



OBITUARY 



FREDERICK MAY DETWEILER, 

 of the firm of Judd & Detweiler„ 

 printers, who have printed the Na- 

 tional Geographic Magazine for 15 

 years, died at his home in Washington, 

 November 9, 1904, at the age of 74. 

 Mr Detweiler was elected a member of 

 the National Geographic Society in 

 1889. 



GEOGRAPHIC 



New Physical Geography. By Ralph 

 S. Tarr. Illustrated. Pp. xiii + 457. 

 New York : The Macmillan Co. 1904. 

 $1.00. 



Starting with the earth as a planet, 

 Professor Tarr, in successive chapters, 

 treats the physiographic features of our 

 globe, finally winding up with man, 

 whose advance he very rapidly sketches 

 down to the period of civilization. Being 

 intended for secondary classes, the au- 

 thor very properly confines his effort to 

 stating in clear, simple language the 

 main results that have been generally 

 agreed upon by the majority of investi- 

 gators. He avoids the great disputed 

 questions or very briefly considers both 

 sides. His general aim is descriptive 

 rather than philosophical or theoretical ; 

 for instance, he does not attempt to ex- 

 plain that distressingly difficult subject 

 of high tides on opposite sides of the 

 earth at the same time. In the main 



literature 



his statements are lucid and direct, and 

 the whole book is most admirably suited 

 for the grade of pupils that it appeals to. 

 The "summaries," of which there are 

 several hundred, should every one be 

 stricken out. Predigested food is disas- 

 trous for developing powers of thought. 

 There are several appendixes and a very- 

 useful index. C. M. 



The Non-Metallic Minerals* Their oc- 

 currence and uses. By Geo. P. Mer- 

 rill. Illustrated. Pp. xi + 414. New 

 York : John Wiley & Sons. 1904. 

 $4.00. 



Although our author necessarily uses 

 scientific symbols, his language is so* 

 simple and clear in the descriptive por- 

 tions, that he has furnished a very in- 

 teresting and valuable book that appeals 

 to both the educated general reader as 

 well as to the specialist. Usually he 

 gives the scientific formula and compo- 



