CURRENT PERIODICALS _
AMONG the serious periodicals of special rather than general interest is always to be found some very good reading. The current number of the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Manchester—published in Manchester by University Press, 2s. 6d.—for instance, contains a learned and arresting article by Di. Rendel Harris " On the Stature of Our Lord." A re- cently found Syriac document is, it appears, considered by scholars to throw a sidelight upon the appearance of Christ in the days of His flesh, suggesting that He was very small. Dr. Rendel Harris declares " that we have now three witnesses from the second century who agree in the belief that our Lord was of small stature." It is, of course, possible that this belief takes its origin from Isaiah's description of the expected Messiah. Dr. Rendel Harris himself, however, concludes in the light of the new evidence that the tradition has a historic foundation. He even inclines to the belief that the words in the Gospel apparently referring to the small stature of Zacchaeus may refer instead to the stature of our Lord.
In The Antiquaries' Journal (Oxford University Press Quarterly, 5s.) we find a charming article on " The Transition from the Mosaic to the Enamel Method of Painting on Glass," by Mr. John A. Knowles, and a "Report on The Excavations at Stonehenge During the Season of 1924," by Lieut.-Colonel Hawley.
We welcome the first number of Word Lore, a small magazine (Folk Press, 9d.), " a Recorder of Dialect, Folk-Song Ballad, Epigram, Place-Name Phrase and Folk-Lore." Mr. Thomas Hardy wishes • success to the Editor's venture, and allows him to republish a little poem of his called "The Pity of It" upon his first page.
The Journal of Parliaments of the Empire is a very useful periodical of reference which inaugurated in January its seventh volume. It contains succinct summaries of the pro- ceedings of all the Parliaments of the Empire session by session. It is " issued under the authority of the Parliamentary Association, and the price to non-members is 10s."
Speculum, a Journal of Mediaeval Studies, published quarterly by the Mediaeval Academy of America. This journal is new. The first number lies before us. It is designed to be the mouthpiece of a society called the Mediaeval Academy of America, whose object is to further the study of Mediaeval Latin and to reflect from many angles new glimpses of mediaeval history, philosophy, letters and art. The Editor hopes to see scholarly essays " arranged so far as possible in a pleasing form."
A new weekly devoted to migration within the Empire is called Emigration (price 4d.). The early numbers are good, with illustrations of settlers on their way overseas, typical scenery, etc. Such a publication deserves support.
The International Labour Review (published monthly by George Allen and Unwin, price 2s. 6d.) contains, among a vast quantity of informative statistics, one or two articles of great interest to the general public, notably one on Vocational Guidance in the United States of America, where great efforts are being made by means of Vocational Counsellors to help boys leaving school to get the work for which they are fitted.
Agricultural Progress (Ernest Berm, 5s.). The journal of the Agricultural Education Association appears yearly. The present volume treats of such subjects as " The Place of Cereal Growing in British Agriculture," " The Economic Value of Poultry on the Farm," " The Problem of Pest Control in an Intensively Cultivated Area," &c.
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