Geographic Literature 



9' 



of interest changes and fastens upon 

 the hardships of this little band of al- 

 most naked men in their weary marches 

 through the tropical jungle. Without 

 shelter from the tropical rains, with 

 no food but occasional game and wild 

 fruits, with fever-racked and emaciated 

 bodies, and with discontent and mutiny 

 among them, they dragged their way, 

 aided by the remaining small canoe, 200 

 miles through the forest toward the out- 

 skirts of civilization. Twenty-six days 

 can seem a lifetime and proved to all but 

 six of the party of fourteen their closing 

 days. 



But it would be a mistake if I were 

 to give the idea that the book is a 

 gloomy account of hardships. On the 

 contrary, it is full of a sparkle of inci- 

 dent and vividness of description that 

 makes it stand out from the common- 

 place of ordinary works of travel and 

 worthy of a place on the same shelf of 

 honor of a naturalist's library with 

 Darwin's and Humboldt's travels, Wal- 

 lace's " Malay Archipelago," and Belt's 

 " Naturalist in Nicaragua." 



David Fairchild, 



Agricultural Explorer. 



THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1493-1898 



IT is strange that Messrs Arthur H. 

 Clark Co., of Cleveland, Ohio, have 

 not received better support for their 

 magnificent series of volumes on the 

 Philippine Islands. The history of the 

 islands during the first three centuries 

 after their discovery is buried in letters 

 and manuscripts which were inaccessi- 

 ble until the Clark Co. began their pub- 

 lication under the editorship of Miss 

 Blair and Mr Robertson. As to under- 

 stand the Filipinos we must understand 

 their complex past, the publication is 

 patriotic as well as enterprising in plan. 

 The publishers have issued the follow- 

 ing statement : 



"The support accorded our publication, 

 ' The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898,' has been 

 so inadequate that we are facing a serious 

 financial loss upon it. We have issued the 



work faithfully from month to month, and ex- 

 pect to complete it and fulfill our obligation to 

 those who have supported it, even at a loss to 

 ourselves. Thus far less than 100 sets have 

 been placed in this country, although a larger 

 number have been placed in the important 

 libraries of Europe, India, Australia, the Far 

 East, and the Philippines. Of the sets in this 

 country nearly all are in public institutions ; 

 the remainder are in large private collections, 

 which are not likely to come into the market 

 for many years, if ever. 



" With much regret we are now compelled 

 to limit the edition to the number of sets act- 

 ually ordered. Beginning with volume 22, to 

 be published February 1, 1905, only enough of 

 each volume will be printed to fill orders re- 

 ceived before that date Of the volumes al- 

 ready issued the excess above the subscribed 

 number will then be destroyed, and the work 

 will never be reprinted. 



" The series is the only work making these 

 sources available in any language, and its use- 

 fulness and importance to public men, stu- 

 dents, and in large private libraries must in- 

 crease from year to year, particularly when the 

 current volumes cover more recent years and 

 when the index volumes make the sources 

 moie easily available. 



" Our interest in the islands must grow 

 greater year by year because of the complex 

 oriental problem, the conflicting claims of 

 other nations in the Far East, the Chinese 

 problem and race question, both in the South 

 and Far East, the educational and religious 

 situation, the failure of Philippine tariff sys- 

 tems of the last four centuries, the comparison 

 of Spanish, British, and American colonial 

 policies, etc. 



" This set furnishes the final sources indis- 

 pensable for a proper understanding of these 

 problems. Few subjects are discussed so 

 widely, yet so ignorantly, as matters relating 

 to the Philippines. 



" Only seven sets exist outside of public in- 

 stitutions, and all free sets for review must be 

 discontinued." 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



Along the Nile with General Grant. 



By Elbert E. Farman. Pp. 339. 

 8^x5^ inches. New York : The 

 Grafton Press. 1904. 

 Out of the Northland. By Emilie Kip 

 Baker. Pp. 165. 5^ x \% inches. 

 Mew York : The Macmillan Com- 

 pany. 1904. 25 cents. 



Select List of Books Relating to the Far 

 East* Compiled under the direction 

 of Appleton Prentiss Clark Griffin. 



