111.1, GEOLOGIST IN ARMENIA.
A Treatise on the Geology of Armenia. By Felix Oswald. (Published by the Author at Iona, Beeston, Notts. .21 Is. net.)— Dr. Oswald's admirable treatise on the geology of Armenia has a double interest. Not only is it a valuable contribution to the library of regional geology, but it is, so far as our knowledge goes, a unique piece of book-making, which ought to appeal strongly to the instincts of the collector. Dr. Oswald has not only written his book, but he has done all the rest of the work necessary to produce it with his own hands, with the sole exception of the binding. His book was originally intended as a thesis for the degree of D.Sc. at the University of London,—which it successfully earned him. It was the outcome of a journey in which the author accompanied Mr. H. F. B. Lynch in 1898 through Armenia. "The requirements of the University and the impossibility of having the book published at my own expense," Dr. Oswald writes, "impelled me to invest in a hand- press and the necessary type and to print it myself page by page.
Any misprints or irregularities in the impressions will, I hope, be regarded with some indulgence as the work of a novice in this mechanical and laborious process." As a rule, the amateur printer does not embark on so extensive an enterprise as the pro- duction of this volume of five hundred and sixteen pages, and we heartily congratulate Dr. Oswald on the successful completion of what must have been a labour of love. The printing is extremely clear and free from mistakes, and if there is a slight irregularity occasionally visible in the appearance of the pages, we are bound to say that we greatly prefer this sign of a welcome individuality to the stereotyped correctness of the ordinary book. Dr. Oswald has only produced a hundred copies of his work, and we should not be at all surprised if fifty years hence they figure at a very high price in the catalogues of the second-hand bookseller, because there is no instance within our memory in which a modern author has been his own printer and publisher on so imposing a scale. Applied to the production of a worthless book, such industry as Dr. Oswald's would provoke a pitying smile. Its value is enhanced by the plain fact that his work fills a space hitherto empty in the library of the English geologist. Not since Abich has any geologist made so thorough a study of the physical formation of Armenia. This country presents many features of peculiar interest owing to its position as the bridge between Europe and Asia, the end of the long chain of plateaux, or huge earth-wrinkle, which extends from the confines of China to the Aegean Sea. Political circumstances have made it difficult for the geologist to study Armenia with any thoroughness, and there was much room for Dr. Oswald's excellent book. It is of too technical a nature to be reviewed at length in our columns, but we may draw attention to the fact that it includes many original discoveries, such as that of one of the largest volcanic craters in the world on the summit of the Nimrud Dagh, beside Lake Van. No previous survey of this brigand-haunted spot had been made, and it was reserved for Dr. Oswald to discover the huge crater-lake, nearly five miles in diameter—far larger than the famous craters of Hawaii—which occupies the old volcanic vent. In many other respects Dr. Oswald's work has added very considerably to our knowledge of Armenian geology. We sincerely trust that some publisher will now see the desirability of bringing this work within the reach of a wider circle of readers. Every scientific library ought to possess it, and a home-made edition of a hundred copies will not go very far to supply thia demand. It would be a thousand pities if so good a piece of work were to be withheld from the numerous students who must desire to consult it, or if Dr. Oswald were prevented from reaping even that modest reward which is nowadays allotted to the author of a scientifie book.
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