SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Under this heading we notice such Books of the seek as have not been reserved for review in other forms.] Guide to the Great Siberian Railway. Edited by A. I. Draitriev- Ilamonov and A. F. Zdzitirski. (E. Stanford. 18s. net.)—This is an official account of Siberia, past and present, of the various plans proposed for the construction of the railwa.y, of the work as it was actually carried out, its extent and cost; many particulars, commercial, geographical, and ethnological, concerning the country traversed and its inhabitants are added. The whole line, with branches, already constructed or in course of construc- tion, measures about three thousand five hundred miles, and the cost, including rolling stock and working capital, may be put down at £45,000,000. (It is, we should say, a single track.) The more remote the section the greater the proportionate cost. About seventy miles, for instance, on the Nikolsk Chinese frontier cost £1,300,000, or something less than £20,000 per mile, while the West Siberian portion, reaching to eight hundred and thirty-three miles, cost about £8,500. This is much less than the rate in England; but then land costs much less than it does here. The volume is handsomely and copiously illustrated throughout. The types of the various tribes inhabiting Siberia are especially noticeable. So also are some of the social statistics. One curious thing is the enormous proportion of taverns and wine- shops of various kinds. Even the advertisements may be profit- ably studied. "Table wine prepared of rectified spirit" is, if not an absolute novelty to the well-informed, at least very candid. If the official history of the railway is interesting, what would the non-official be? Our readers might consult Mr. Fraser's "The Real Siberia," noticed on May 24th.
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