is known-little though that knowledge is of the mysterious forces writhing under the earth's crust. The coal strike in the United States has aroused an interest of a different character-an inquiry as to what coal is and how it happens to be stored in certain localities and not in others as well. The prolonged and successful agitation for irrigation in the West and for forest reservations has also had its share in arousing the public to other questions relating to physical geography, as, for instance, weathering and soils, forests and rainfall. Therefore a book about Physical Geography, written in a simple and interesting manner and not loaded down with innumerable technical terms which are of value to the specialist but not to the general public, is especially welcome. Such a volume has recently been written by Messrs G. K. Gilbert and A. P. Brigham, and published by Messrs D. Appleton & Co., of New York. The authors modestly call the work "An Introduction to Physical Geography." It is planned especially as a text-book for schools and has already gained much success. A second edi From Gilbert's and Brigham's "Introduction to Physical Geography." D. Appleton & Co. Figure No. 1-Watkins Glen; a Gorge Carved from Beds of Shale From Gilbert's and Brigham's "Introduction to Physical Geography." D. Appleton & Co. Figure No. 2.-A Pebbly Rock Carved by Rain; Russian River, California. subject is opened with a type case, illustrated by a picture of some graphic example. About one-half of the book is given to the lands. The relation of organisms to the earth is introduced wherever appropriate. Two hundred and sixty-three illustrations, all very well chosen and admirably engraved, accompany the text. By permission of the publishers, six typical illustrations are reproduced in this Magazine. chasm is at the head of Seneca Lake, New York, from which, winding and curving abruptly, it penetrates Glen Mountain for a distance of three miles. Figure No. 2 is a graphic example of the effect of rain wash. Rain has soaked and softened the rock; then little rills have started, and have gradually worn deep channels of their own, making the high pinnacles. Figure No. 3 illustrates the different kinds of rock, some hard and some From Gilbert's and Brigham's "Introduction to Physical Geography." D. Appleton & Co. Figure 3.-Rock Edges (limestone and sandstone) and Waste Slopes (concealing shale). Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, Arizona From Gilbert's and Brigham's "Introduction to Physical Geography." D. Appleton & Co. Figure 4.-The Last House in Riggs, Oregon, a Village Overwhelmed by Dunes. Attempts to hold the sand back by fences were unsuccessful soft, of which almost every mountain is made. Figure No. 4, an example of wind work, shows a substantial house in Oregon nearly buried by drifting sand. In Chinese Turkestan, Sven Hedin has recently discovered the ruins of great temples where flourished 2,000 years ago cities with a high degree of culture and civilization. Here in the heart of Asia populous cities and lakes have been buried beneath drifting dunes. Figure No. 5 shows how some of the people of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, check the advance of the sand by planting grass, which binds the sand and keeps the wind from lifting it. Common oleanders are used for this purpose in Bermuda. Where no effort has been made to check its advance, a dune has been known to migrate as much as 70 feet in one year. The authors of "An Introduction to Physical Geography" are very well From Gilbert's and Brigham's "Introduction to Physical Geography." D. Appleton & Co. Figure No. 5.-Planting Grass to Stop the Drifting of Sand, near Provincetown, Cape Cod, Mass. |