1882. 
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ANALYSES OF BOOKS. 
Cameos from the Silver Land , or the Experiences of a Young 
Naturalist in the Argentine Republic. By Ernest William 
White, F.Z.S. In Two Vols., Vol. I. London : Van 
Voorst. 
Every one must admit that the La Plata territory, now gene- 
rally called the Argentine Republic, is, practically speaking, an 
unexplored region. Its flora, its fauna, its climatology, and its 
geological and mineralogical details are almost a sealed book, 
which, when opened, will be well worth reading. One reserva- 
tion must indeed be made : the old Spanish government of this 
vast and important region is known to, have made a careful 
survey of its mineral wealth. Of this important document a 
single copy only is known to exist, and it is unfortunately in the 
hands of a person who refuses to allow its publication. A country 
so extensive, and so rich in unrecorded objects of interest, would 
furnish admirable scope for the labours and researches of a 
Wallace, a Belt, or a Bates, and we therefore opened the volume 
before us with impatience. Our hopes, based as they were upon 
the title of the book, have been gratified only in part. The 
author, though evidently a zoologist and a botanist, and though 
enjoying ample opportunities for observation, seems to have 
given his attention more to the manners and customs of the 
inhabitants, to the state of society in the towns, the places of 
amusement, the promenades, and the markets, rather than to 
the fauna and the flora. Turning to the table of contents we 
read such headings as “ Jealousy of Portenos — Naturalisation 
— Compulsory Military Service — Papeletas — Mixed Races — 
Manana— Patriotism a Shibboleth — Capacity of Bonaerenses 
Alta Metafisica — Physique of Bonaerenses — Padre Pulpero, Hijo 
Caballero — Love of Parents — Formation of Character — Morale 
— Smoking — The Ladies — Madame Rachel — Musical Capacity, 
&c. — we might almost add usque ad nauseam . Such subjects 
have, of course, their interest for many, but they are hardly 
what we expedt to find forming the bulk of the “ Experiences of 
a Young Naturalist.” There is, however, matter much more 
worthy of attention. The Eucalyptus, it appears, has been 
introduced, and succeeds well, but we find the complaint that 
it “ sterilizes the ground completely.” We should like to learn 
whether a similar result has been observed in other countries 
and upon what it depends ? Forest trees, as a rule, do not 
exhaust the soil nearly so much as do field crops. The author 
