Page:Folklore1919.djvu/694

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318
Reviews.

that in which he deals with the fortunes of the Sesodias of Mewār and the Rāthors of Mārwār. Here he is himself to the fullest extent; he enters into his subject con amore, and few readers can escape from the charm of his animated narrative.

The original edition of Rajasthan is scarce and expensive, and the Clarendon Press has done well to bring out this excellent edition. It is well-printed and in a convenient form, and the beautiful illustrations of the original, though reduced in size, are well reproduced.

It would have been impossible to find a better editor than Mr. Crooke, who is admirably qualified by his experience and his knowledge of the races of Northern India to deal with all the difficult points which are found in such a work, and he must be heartily congratulated on the result of his labours.



The Dendroglyphs or “Carved Trees” of New South Wales. By R. Etheridge, Junr. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of New South Wales. Ethnological Series, No. 3. Sydney: W. A. Gullick, Govt. Printer.


The custom of the Australian natives of carving or blazing trees as a memorial has been well known, and has excited much interest among anthropologists. But, until the present work, no systematic account of the practice had been attempted. This work by the curator of the Australian Museum at Sydney, and issued by the Government, aims at supplying the deficiency.

The practice appears to be almost entirely confined to New South Wales, as a map with the sites indicated and numbered, which is appended to the book, will show. Mr. Etheridge, who has devoted much research to the facts and is particularly well qualified for it, divides the dendroglyphs into taphoglyphs, which surround and record graves, and teleteglyphs, which surround the site of a Bora, or initiation ceremony. From their very nature these memorials are liable to disappear by the accidental occurrence of a fire, by wilful destruction, such as no doubt many of them have suffered at the hands of settlers, or