1918.] 
The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 
249 
REVIEWS AND ABSTRACTS. 
Polynesian Navigators : their Exploration and Settlement of the Pacific, 
by Elsdon Best. Geographical Review , vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 169-82, with 
map ; March, 1918. 
Two years ago Mr. Best contributed to the Transactions of the New 
Zealand Institute an article on Maori voyagers and their vessels, an article 
as valuable from its poetic lire as it is undoubtedly from the scientific 
standpoint. Since then he has completed the manuscript of a proposed 
Museum Bulletin on canoes, the publication of which unfortunately has 
to be held over until after the war. Meanwhile lie has returned to the 
subject in the article under review, and has given American readers a most 
interesting account of the peopling of the Pacific islands by the Polynesian 
navigators, the true Argonauts. No one interested in Maori studies should 
miss this article, of which the following extract is typical 
“ Long centuries before Columbus and his timid crews crept fearfully 
across the Western Ocean, the Polynesian was making voyages of thousands 
of miles in rude vessels on seas unknown to Europeans. He did not waste 
time nor weaken his resolution by fearing unseen dangers, or by whining to 
his gods to keep him from falling over the edge of the world, for he firmly 
believed his gods to be on his side and ever upholding him. Gripping his 
long steering-oar and trimming his lofty sails, he threw the racing leagues 
astern and boldly sailed down into unknown seas in search of adventure 
or a new home. Ignorant of the compass and of charts, he held his prow 
on the heavenly bodies or followed the regular roll of the waves before the 
trade winds. From the far-flung Carolines to the lone outpost of Easter 
Island, from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the south, across seven 
thousand miles of the ocean the Polynesian lifted the rolling water-trails 
of the Pacific. Ever yielding to the lure of Hine-moana, urged on by the 
spirit of adventure, he drove his long boat across many lines of longitude, 
through many degrees of the thermal line.” J. A. T. 
Mosquitoes and their Relation to Disease: their Life-history, Habits, 
and Control, by F. W. Edwards. British Museum, Natural History, 
Economic Series, No. 4, 20 pp., 1916. Price, Id. 
This pamphlet is one of a most valuable series issued by the British 
Museum, dealing with the part played by insects in the spread of disease. 
The series should be in the hands of all public bodies, medical men, sanitary 
inspectors, and householders who aspire to healthy surroundings. The 
pamphlets are all at popular prices, and may be obtained from the Director, 
British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Hoad, London S.W. 
The diseases so far proved to be transmitted by mosquitoes are malaria, 
yellow fever, elephantiasis, dengue fever, and filarial worms. While the 
first four are tropical diseases, and carried by particular species not 
identified from New Zealand, it must be remembered that the mosquitoes 
of New Zealand are still far from being well known, and that -there 
is always the possibility of the introduction of Stegomyia fasciata , the 
Vellow-fever mosquito, from the South Sea Islands. In any case, mosquito- 
control is desirable for its own sake, because of the irritation caused by 
the bite. 
