SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Under this heading we notice such Books of the wec:: as hate not been reserved for review its other forms.] Canada, the Land of Hope. By E. Way Elkington. (A. and C. Black. 3s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Elkington feels to the full the attraction which the great spaces and large atmosphere of Canada exercise on the visitor. But if he is enthusiastic, he does not fail to dis- criminate, and sees clearly and describes plainly the things which are not as they should be. There is, for instance, the Canadian's
unfortunate propensity to boom everything with grotesque exaggeration. This habit is so patent that it does not do much harm ; but it is a more serious matter when the Government agent follows suit. His word naturally carries weight, and it is much to be regretted that so little control is exercised over his statements. The English immigrant is accustomed to trust the State official, and he ought to be able to do so in safety. Mr. Ellington saw something of most of the Canadian industries, but his impressions seem to us a little confused. As far as literary quality is concerned, he is at his best when he takes us with him into old Quebec or Montreal. Of the practical advice that he has for his reader, the most important concerns the taking up of land. It may be succinctly expressed—Look round and don't be in a hurry : above all things, beware of the man who wants to sell his farm. He is to be found, doubtless, in all Colonies, but in the vastness of Canada he is as frequent, and, we might say, as destructive, as the locust. Mr. Elkington was much disappointed in the Kootenay district ; it would have been well if he had gone to the Okanagan to satisfy himself as to the real status of British Columbian fruit-farming.
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