Letts's Complete Popular Atlas. (Letts, Son, and Co., Limited.)— 'his
is an unusually complete popular atlas, with many definite merits and a few patent defects. The maps, to begin with, are printed on faced linen, which will not tear,—an immense advantage, as all who use maps constantly well know. Then there are a great many of them, the object being to give minute as well as general maps of each country. Thus there are no less than twelve maps of India, in one of which the reader will find every State of Rajpootana, with its boundaries, and in another the counties of Eastern Bengal. Most of the maps are very clear, while the plans of the great cities, -which are inserted as maps, are often exceptionally good. To each map, moreover, are added great quantities of statistical informa- tion as to areas, populations, and trading resources, the two for- mer being especially valuable and well arranged The reader, for instance, who wishes to study the map of the United States will tad, in addition to all that is usually given, complete statistics of the area and population, electoral rights, and railway mileage of each State, and gain thus a much-wanted notion of its relative importance. How many who read about America are aware that Texas is nearly five times the size of England and Wales, or that New York is 15,000 square miles larger than Ireland, or that Massachusetts is only one and a half Yorkshires, or that most of the new Western States and 'Territories are double the size of England 7 The information is brought up to the latest date, is closely packed, and clearly printed, the only fault, if any, being that • it is redundant. We do not care -ourselves for statistics of imports and exports on a map, and when we want to know where esparto grass comes from should seek information 'elsewhere than in an atlas. Facts of that kind, moreover, fluctuate a little too rapidly, and one cannot always be buying new atlases. On the other hand, one or two of the maps are by no means clear, e.g., 114, the Statistical Map of the Dominion, in which it takes fine eyes to find anything ; the counties in the United States have, after an American fashion, been made annoyingly prominent ; and in Map 101, otherwise very clear and good, the statistics of exports have been put down in the middle of Eastern Arabia in the moat confusing fashion, the effect being that the reader loses the whole geographical effect of the huge mass of Arabia. These are details, however, and Messrs. Letts's Atlas may be pronounced a durable and exhaustive one, full of maps, clearly drawn, clearly printed—e.g., Map 103—and very boldly coloured.
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