Abstract
(1) IT would be difficult to conceive a greater divergence in character and scope between two books, nominally dealing with cognate subjects, than between the two first-named on our list, Prof. Bonney, in his metaphorical use of the word “building,” follows popular usage, for how many, when speaking of a building, whether it be cottage or cathedral, ever think of anything but the superstructure, the material or methods of construction, the outward form, or the internal plan? And so Prof. Bonney deals with the Alps. Commencing with the materials of which they are made, he goes on to deal with the processes by which they were raised, and the carving of their outward form by rain, rivers, and glaciers, winding up with the vegetation that clothes their surface, the animals that wander over them, and the humanity which frequents them, whether as permanent inhabitants or temporary visitors. Attractively got up and pleasantly written, it gives Prof. Bonney's views on all these subjects—views which, as he mentions in the preface, are by no means universally accepted, but which, we may add, are none the less deserving of respectful attention—and will prove of interest not merely to the geologist, but to every intelligent and observant traveller in the Alps.
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References
(1) “;The Building of the Alps.” By Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S. Pp. 384. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1912.) Price 12s. 6d. net.
(2) Survey of India. Professional Paper No. 12: “On the Origin of the Himalaya Mountains: a Consideration of the Geodetic Evidence.” By Colonel S. G. Burrard, F.R.S. Pp. ii + 26. (Calcutta, 1912.)
(3) Survey of India. Professional Paper No. 13. “Investigation of the Theory of Isostasy in India.” By Major H. L. Crosthwait, R.E. Pp. iii + 14. (Dehra Dun, 1912.)
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The Mountains and their Roots 1 . Nature 90, 703–705 (1913). https://doi.org/10.1038/090703b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/090703b0