Geographisches Jahrbuch

Abstract

WE lately had occasion to speak in terms of high commendation of Vivien de St. Martin's Année Geographique, and we can award equal praise to Behm's corresponding work, which is the more elaborate of the two, and consequently the less agreeable to the ordinary reader. It is divided into four parts, devoted respectively to Geographical Chronology, Geographical Statistics, Essays on the Progress of Geographical Knowledge, and Tables of use in Mathematical Geography. The first part consists of a geographical calendar, stating the date of the discoveries of various countries, of the birthdays and deaths of great geographers, &c. (for example, on the day on which we are now writing, April 22nd, J. Richer arrived at Cayenne, 1672; the island of Rea or Wallis was discovered by Maurelle, 1781; Reao was discovered by Duperry, 1822; Denham arrived at India (Mandara) 1823; and the Novara sailed from Singapore, 1858); and it treats of the manner in which time is calculated in certain countries. The second part is extremely valuable, but is very dull; any information that may be required as to the state of the population of any country, of the number of houses and inhabitants in a square mile, &c., may be readily found here. The Jhird part consists of extremely valuable memoirs by Baeyer, on the progress lately made in the measurement of the degree; by Griesbach, on the Geography of Plants; bv Schmarda, on the progress of our Knowledge of the Distribution of Animals; by Seligmann, on the Progress of Ethnology; by Müller, on Linguistic Ethnography in Relation to Anthropology; by Fabricius, on the Progress of our Knowledge of National Statistics; by Sporer, on the History of Geography; by Neumann, on the Products. Merchandise, and Currency of Different Nations; and byBehm, on the most important Geographical Travels during the years 1868-69. Behm's memoir, which extends over more than a hundred pages, is unquestionably the most valuable portion of the book, and next in order of interest, at all events to the naturalist, we should place the essays of Schmarda and Griesbach. The last part of the volume is purely numerical, and requires no comment. Everyone desirous of keeping himself up to the existing level of geographical knowledge should purchase both the German and French annuals. For those who must content themselves with a single volume, we should say the French one was the better.

Geographisches Jahrbuch.

III. Band, 1870. Unter Mitwirkung von A. Anvers, J. Baeyer, A. Fabricius, A. Griesbach, Fr. Müller, Fr. Neumann, L. K. Schmarda, F. R. Seligmann, J. Spörer, H. Wagner.:—Herausgegeben von E. Behm, Mitredakteur von Petermann's Geogr.Mittheilungen, 1870. (Gotha: Perthes. London: Williams and Norgate.)