Natural History, Sport, and Travel

Abstract

MONGHYR is a large district in Bengal, divided into two nearly equal portions by the Ganges. Here Mr. Lockwood has spent many years as magistrate, and during that period had the inclination and the capacity to gather much knowledge of the district and its people. He laments in his preface that during twenty years' service he met only one Englishman (a Professor of Botany) who could identify the most common trees and plants. This is certainly lamentable, especially for the ignorant themselves, who thus miss a great and constant source of enjoyment and a fine opportunity of adding to a knowledge of the productions of one of our most important dependencies. This modest little volume is a good example of what may be done by a man who makes no pretensions to have more than a “desultory” knowledge of natural history. Mr. Lockwood is a very good observer, and his book contains many valuable notes on the animals and plants to be met with in the district of Monghyr. He has much also to tell us about the people and their mode of life, the places of interest in the district, sporting experiences, and the various kinds of culture carried on. Altogether his volume is interesting and a distinct addition to our knowledge of the district over which its author ruled.

Natural History, Sport, and Travel.

By Edward Lockwood. (London: Allen and Co., 1878.)