5 JUNE 1909, Page 29

In the series of "Little Guides" (Methuen and Co., 2s.

6d. net) we have Monmouthshire,by G. W. Wade, D.D., and J. H. Wade, M. A. It is arranged in alphabetical form, and will be found service- able. Surely the authors are a little hard on " commercial " Monmouthshire, a propos of which they quote, "only man is vile." Man has to spoil landscapes when he mines or manufactures, and we who burn coal and wear clothes must not blame him.—Prom Land's End to the Lizard, by A. G. Folliott Stokes (Greening and Co., Is. net), will serve as a guide-book, though it aims at and reaches something more. It is a very pleasant, readable account of Cornwall.—Guide to Avebury, by R. Hippisley Cox (E. Stanford, 2s. net), comes with a preface from that excellent authority whom wo call the "eponymous hero." Mr. Cox thinks that Avebury, situated as it is in the parting-place of the three great watersheds of the country, was once a populous centre, possibly the capital of the island. He gives a highly interesting account of the place and its remains. The pamphlet should certainly be in the hands of any one visiting this wonderful town.—With these we may mention the Handbook of Cyprus (same publisher, 2s. 6d. net). The exports from the island are, we see, growing. The value rose from .8368,276 in 1900 to 4035,055 in 1907. But for the tribute (nearly £100,000) the finance would be prosperous.