Evening star., 1933-11-12


- HE earlier edition of Reptiles of the
World" by the curator of mammals
and reptiles of the New York Zoologi-
cal Park, has for some years been
recognized standard work ON the
subject This new edition contains
revised nomenclature and classification and con-
siderable new material 1t is authoritative and
excellent text book. 1t is also popular Cthe
general reader may be permitted to skip the
classification tables because of its interesting
concrete material and many anecdotes of indi-
vidual reptiles and of specimen hunting. OBJ
servation of the collection in the famous reptile
house of the New York Geological Park has
yielded to DR.. Ditmars much Of the specific
information for which he would otherwise have
been obliged to scour the world. Many of the
200 illustrations, from photographs, most of
them taken by the author, are also from speci-
mems in the reptile house. For any one inter-
ested in natural history this book would form
good start for natural history library.
"The Forest of Adventure" is something of a
variation from DR.. Ditmar's usual type of writ
ing which is descriptive of animals usually
reptiles. and his own explorations over the
world in search of rare types. Such are his
Snakes of the World, !" Thrills of NaturalistS
Quest and Reptiles of the World" He here
attempts a story, scientific exploration
thriller, for young and old; for all who would
enjoy exploring on their own account and for
those who much prefer to read about snakes
instead of hunting for them and catching them
A party Of entirely unprofessionaI explorers
Gone Of them Is named lBabbt) leaves New York
in yacht reconditioned for museum purposes
for the tropical forests and waters of the West
Indies and Central and South America. For
amateurs they seem unusually intelligent in
their exploring and collecting but that Is be-
cause DR.. DitmarS, as author, is guiding their
activities. They are temporarily lost in the
jungle between the Amazon and the Orinoco.
There are only two instances of danger from
wild beasts-one from peccaries or wild swine:
the other from lurking bushmaster, one of
the most poisonous of serpents. The excitement
of the story could have been augmented by
more dangers, but DIR. Ditmars is a sane un-
sensational naturalist and deals in probabilities
AS fiction THE Forest of Adventure" is not
remarkable. 1t is frst-rate book Of travel, of
the type made so popular by william Beebe
LONG PENNANT. BY Oliver La Fargo. Bos-
ton: Houghton Mif1in Co.
A READER who, remembering Oliver La
Farge's Pulitzer prize novel Laughing
Boy takes up Long Pennsnt" expecting some
thing more about the Indians of the Southwest
Will be disappointed. There will be compensa-
tion, however, for the reader who loves a thrill
ing sea story, with pirates, typhoons, wrecks and
AcSclt SOdSIS VI lSLdillS. Mr. La Fafge, whose
summer home Is in Rhode Island has chosen
a haroor OF that little sea-bound and sea-
lndented State as the point of departure for
MS private armed brig Glimpse From Chog's
Cove r. L. under command of Jonas DODGE
VINO ori1ts into piracy without really intending
1t Cor does hep, sails the Glimpse and for
three years scours the Atlantic expertly dodging
British men-of-war. As the story opens. the
Glimpse is headed toward home with a nrize CO
rich that 1t frightens some of the seamen.
Even the goddess master is uneasy as he sits
IN the dark cabin of the captured sloop rum
mag1ng through batch of documents Of
course, it would be wiser to scuttIe the sloop
put vanity makes him long to take her into
Chog's Cove; SO he mans her with few seannen
and sends her into the storm
Mr.. La Farges method of telling his tale is
unconventional and seems skillfully designed for
suspense After an account of the brig herself
ana ner devious doings up to the time of the
capture of the Spanish sloop he tells in turn
the story Of each of the principal seamen-
oamuei waterman, able seaman; jeremiah Dis
ney, ordinary seaman; Ezekiel Nyas uuartermas-
ter; Jonas Eliot Dodge esq, master; Roger Hail
HaSVer gunner; Ephraim Brown, boatswains
mate, and John Disney mate The last chapter
Is All Hands" Roger Hall and Ephraino
Brown, sent with the sloop, have the most
intricate and long continued adventures. are
given up for dead. but finally return to Rhode
Island The stupid Jeremiah Disney who takes
MS prize money and signs off at New Orleans
accioentaiiy takes also the manifest of the
captured soop. which reveals its identity. This
episode provides nice little mystery including
plackmall, at the end. Long Pennant" is a
gooo sea story, In which plenty happens. II
possesses, in addition individualized characters
more difhcult to create than action
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
BY Vincent Starrett New York The Mac
milan Co.
a NTHONY TROLLOPE said that he killed
Mrs Proudie. the famous fighting wife of
tne meek pisnop, In his Barchester series of
nevels, because he did not want anv other rrite-