to the coastal belt, where sugar-cane-the predominant crop-is extensively grown on the empoldered lands of the former swamps. That the savannas of the interior are suited to live stock has long been known, but the difficulties of communication have prevented their development on any scale. The desirability of a railway line to the interior has often been urged, but this line must wait till after the war. Meantime an expenditure of £12,000 has been authorised for the establishment of a cattle trail. This is to lead from the Berbice river, on which New Amsterdam stands, to the savannas bordering on Brazil. It is to be cut through 120 miles of jungle, and is to have a general width of 32 feet. On its course corrals, cattle enclosures, rest-houses, and so forth are to be provided, with two punts and a launch for the crossing of the Essequibo river. The trail will shorten the time of transit from the interior to the coast from a month to a week, and it is hoped that the work may be completed early this year. There are already 35,000 head of cattle in the district which will be opened up, and it is estimated that these herds will supply 1000 cattle annually for export, while a great increase in the number of the animals is perfectly feasible. In addition, there are 150,000 head of cattle in the Brazilian savannas across the frontier, for which the new trail will also provide an outlet. At present the export trade of this region has to reach the coast by way of Manaos.

GENERAL.

The Scottish Meteorological Society. The general meeting of this Society was held in Edinburgh on December 20. It was stated at the meeting that monthly and annual rainfall figures are available for fully 750 stations in Scotland. The Society has at present 261 members, of whom 81 are life members. The present President of the Society is Professor R. A. Sampson, the Hon. Secretary Dr. E. M. Wedderburn, and the Hon. Treasurer Mr. W. B. Wilson.

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY.

Economic Relations between France and Spain. - During the war period efforts have been made, on both sides of the frontier, to improve the relations between France and Spain. As a part of this campaign the Institute of France sent a Commission, including representatives of the scientific, industrial, and commercial world, to Spain in November last. This Commission included M. Charles Lallemand, who gives an account in La Géographie for September of the experiences and conclusions of the party. Two points of special interest are noted in his article. One is the possible development in the future of a trade in coal between France and Spain. France, as was recently emphasised here, does not produce sufficient coal for her own needs, and before the war imported a considerable amount from Germany. Now there seems reason to believe that in Asturias there occur large deposits of coal of good quality, within easy reach of the port of Musel, recently constructed at Gijon. The product could thus probably be exported at a cheap rate

from this port to Bayonne, Bordeaux, and generally to the south-western region of France.

The other point is in regard to the Spanish railway system. As is well known, Spain suffers much in her intercourse with the rest of Europe from the fact that her railways are of a different gauge than those of continental Europe generally. The proposal that this should be corrected throughout the peninsula has often been made, but it would involve heavy outlay. M. Lallemand suggests that, pending any elaborate scheme, it might be at least possible to facilitate access from France to the towns of Barcelona and Saragossa. Two new tunnels have recently been cut, one at each end of the chain of the Pyrenees, to accelerate the connection between these towns and the French railway system. He suggests that it might be possible, in view of these new tunnels, to continue the European railway system at least to these two towns, and thus obviate the necessity for detrainment in reaching them from France, and this for both passengers and goods. If, further, Bilbao and Hendaye could be similarly connected, the whole of the north of Spain-that is, its most industrialised part-would have quick and effective connection with the rest of continental Europe. It is hoped that the carrying out of such a scheme may be one of the results of the visits of the Commission.

The Forests of Russia. - In La Nature for December 1, M. Charles Rabot presents a series of figures in regard to the forested areas of Russia in Europe and in Asia, leading up to the conclusion that Russia is able to pay the expenses of the war out of the value of her timber alone. The forested area, when that of Siberia is included, is immense, being estimated at not less than 516 million hectares (one hectare = about 2 acres), or nine and a half times the total area of France. Even before the war the Russian export of timber already exceeded that of North America and the Scandinavian States. In 1811 its exports stood at 1,861,000 standards, as against 1,670,000 for Canada and the States, and 1,079,000 for Norway and Sweden. When the possibility of a great post-bellum increase is considered, however, one finds that in this as in many other respects, Russia's apparent wealth is far from being wholly realisable. Siberia is estimated to contain 320 million hectares of wood, but relatively little of this can be exploited owing to the difficulties connected with its export. Even the conversion into wood pulp is scarcely feasible, in view of the general absence of water-power in the country. There still remains, however, the vast coniferous forest of northern European Russia, estimated at 108 million hectares, or twice the area of France. Here exploitation is relatively easy by means of the great rivers, and M. Rabot lays special stress upon the woods of the Petchora region, and the opportunities which that river offers for export.

The subject was also discussed by Mr. Stebbing, in his recent lecture to the Society, on the basis of a personal visit. This lecture will be printed in a later issue of the Magazine.

NEW BOOKS.

EUROPE.

Real Russians. By SONIA E. HOWE. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co.,

Ltd., 1917. Price 6s. net.

The author, the wife of an English clergyman, went to Russia in the summer of 1916, in order to plead with the authorities the cause of the administrative exiles that is to say, the persons sent into exile without trial, on suspicion of holding undesirable political opinions. In this venture she had some measure of success at the time, and the promise of a much wider remission of sentences. But in all probability it needed the cataclysm of 1917 to realise the fulness of her aim, and it is through it that she is enabled to dedicate her book "to all Russian political exiles, now happily free."

Incidentally, while in Russia, Mrs. Howe was able to be of service to the large numbers of soldiers who had escaped from prison camps in Germany. These men had simply been overlooked by their military authorities, an instance of the terrible lack of organisation which prevailed. The stories of torture brought back by them from their confinement-torture not only physical but mental, such as seeing their home letters flung into a furnace instead of delivered to them-have banished the glamour that all things German formerly had in the eyes of the people.

In the course of her errand of mercy Mrs. Howe had interviews with the Russian Prime Minister and many other persons in power. She, however, scornfully refused to meet the monk Rasputin, thenat the height of his noxious influence, and showed a determination and aplomb which proved her an admirable envoy. But to the general reader the value of the book consists in the vivid but uncoloured sketches of the people and country as she saw them. Herself of Russian birth, she could mingle freely with the peasants and discuss their circumstances and views. She was able to realise the benefits resulting from the abolition of vodka, the universal expectation of great things coming to the people after the war, their present helplessness, the "rings" and "corners" which were the curse of the country. Mrs. Howe visited several hospitals, including the Anglo-Russian Hospital in Petrograd, the chief depôt of the Red Cross, a magnificent institution, also some of the world-famous shrines and monasteries. She shows intense appreciation of the beauty of the forests and country scenes of her native land, and those persons who are unable to contemplate a trip to Russia in the meantimeand they are many-will find much intimate information in her pages. The illustrations are well selected.

British Rainfall, 1916. On the Distribution of Rain in Space and Time over the British Isles during the year 1916. By HUGH ROBERT MILL, Director, and CARLE SALTER, Assistant Director, of the British Rainfall Organisation. London: Edward Stanford, 1917. Price 10s.

This, the fifty-sixth annual volume, appeared somewhat later than usual, and in slightly reduced size, but these are the only apparent effects of the war, a result upon which the Director and his staff are to be warmly congratulated. The number of returns included is practically 5200, the reduction being only 4 per cent. as compared with the previous year, and the difficulties incident upon reduced income and the loss of all assistants of military age have been successfully over

All plans for improvement or extension of the scope of the work have necessarily had to be postponed, but both the scientific world and the public at large should be grateful to Dr. Mill and his assistants for their unremitting labours, and for the skill and patience with which they have met the obstacles due to present conditions. It is, as the Director remarks in his annual report, "a marvellous thing that the work has survived three years of war distractions and restrictions," and we extend to the volume a hearty welcome.

Trois Aspects de la Révolution russe. Par ÉMILE VANDERVELDE. Paris: Berger-Levrault, 1918. Prix, 2 fr. 50 c.

M. Vandervelde was a member of a party of three Belgian Socialists who paid a visit to Russia during the period May 7-June 25 last year. About a fortnight was spent in Petrograd, another at the front, while M. Vandervelde and one companion also visited Moscow. The "three aspects" of the title refer to the fact that the book discusses the Revolution from the industrial, political, and military points of view. Since the time of the visit both the military and political situation have undergone great changes, so that these sections have now largely a historical interest. The discussion of the effect of the revolution on industry, on the other hand, seems to us to contain much that is fresh, and we shall speak chiefly of this part of the book.

M. Vandervelde repeats, in the first instance, the usual statement that Russia is predominantly agricultural. He gives the percentage of the population which depends upon the cultivation of the land or the exploitation of the forests for a livelihood as 85 of the total. But he proceeds to emphasise a point which is probably much less familiar. This is that, despite the small total of factory workers, the factories themselves tend to be large, exceedingly well-appointed and up-to-date, and, an important point, are as a rule under the control of foreign managers and foremen. He does not mention, what we believe to be the case, that the capital is also chiefly foreign. The presence, especially in Petrograd, of these large modern establishments introduces a strong western note into the orientalism of Russia. Further, the workmen of these factories are recruited, especially since the war, from all parts of the vast empire, and are for the most part peasants who have but recently left the land. This condition has been greatly accentuated since the outbreak of the war by the removal of most of the skilled and experienced workmen, who have been drafted into the artillery or into other branches where their special skill and experience are valuable. The newcomers who have taken their place have no experience of political liberty, and very little even of trade organisation. Under the old régime trade unions were discouraged in every possible way, and though, since October 1905 they have no longer been absolutely prohibited, yet every obstacle has been put in the way of their development.

Finally, the natural leaders, of the workmen no less than of the other sections of the community, were, under the old government, either exiled or compelled to expatriate themselves to avoid this fate. The latter section, in Switzerland especially, but in other parts of the western world also, were not only out of direct touch with Russian conditions, but from the nature of the case were thrown chiefly into the society of "advanced" thinkers of other nationalities. Upon them the Social Democracy of Germany especially has exercised a profound influence. All these facts M. Vandervelde clearly recognises, and, rather by implication than by direct statement, for he speaks throughout as a Socialist and sympathiser with the Revolution, he admits that they have had unfortunate consequences. One of these, as he points out, is that the workmen and their representatives have everywhere seized power without recognising responsibility, and, from want of political training, have misused that power.

The account given suggests that it is hardly a paradox to say that the Russian

VOL XXXIV.

F

revolution is in part the long-expected German revolution, which has thus taken place, as it were, extra-territorially. In other words, the watchwords of the leaders, the conditions against which they are reacting, are not Russian but western. M. Vandervelde himself states that the last word must be with the Russian peasant, and it seems as if we may in the future have to regard the early stages of the revolution, especially in its industrial aspects, as merely an interlude, the necessary pause before the curtain goes up for the real drama, still preparing behind the scenes. But that this interlude may be disastrous to the nascent industries of Russia appears even through M. Vandervelde's carefully turned and veiled phrases. His book, as will appear from the above account, is one of much significance, and deserves careful consideration even by those who do not share his views.

In regard to the section of the book devoted to the army, we shall mention one point only. The party visited the occupied part of Galicia, and discovered, much to their astonishment, that, despite the fact that the area had been successively overrun by the opposing armies, food was abundant, war devastation insignificant, and, most surprising of all, the greater part of the adult, indigenous male population was in peaceful occupation of the land, or carrying on its usual avocations in the few towns. The Russian occupation here is stated to have been of extreme mildness; not only were all the old Austrian emblems left, but some of the townspeople openly expressed pro-Austrian sentiments, even in the presence of Russian troops. The presence of the men was explained by the fact that many Austrian troops surrendered on condition that they were allowed to return to their fields, as these were invaded by the Russians. The abundance of food was due to the fact that agriculture was going.on as usual, and that as export into Russia was impossible on account of transport difficulties, and into Austria owing to the trenches, all food produced had to be locally consumed. The army of occupation was at the time of the visit only large enough to raise prices, without affecting the supplies available for the civilian population. M. Vandervelde states that the bulk of the rural population seemed "uninterested" in the war, accepting the alternate Austrian and Russian occupations with philosophy, and concerned only with local affairs. The Jews and Germans of the towns seemed to him anti-Russian and pro-Austrian. The facts are worth note, for it is possible that among the relatively unorganised populations of Eastern Europe this indifference to political destiny, except in so far as it directly affects local affairs, is more widely spread than theorists are willing to admit. It is obvious that it must introduce difficulties in connection with the "principle of self-determination" of which so much is now being heard.

ASIA.

The Village Gods of South India. By the Right Reverend HENRY WHITEHEAD, D.D., Bishop of Madras. Oxford: Humphrey Milford, 1916. Price 2s. 6d.

This is one of a series of small books to be devoted to the Religious Life of India, and gives an interesting account of a decaying cult. The volume contains a number of striking illustrations, a glossary of Indian terms, an index of the gods, a geographical index, and a general index. It is well got up, is arranged in a clear and simple fashion, and the series as a whole should fulfil its purpose of giving the general public here an idea of the salient features of Indian religious life, and thus promoting a fuller understanding of the peoples of that country.

The author brings out clearly that the worship of the village gods is both very ancient and is now in a state of decay. The original Dravidian inhabitants of