Hare, F. Kenneth

English

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R E V I E W S  THE CLIMATE OF CENTRAL CANADA. By W. G. KENDREW and B. W. CURRIE. Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1955.  91 x 64 inches;  ix + 194  pages; S plates,  numer- ous charts, diagrams and tables. $1.00. Some  time  ago  a series of research monographs on the  climate of certain Canadian  regions  was  prepared  in  various Canadian  universities. These  studies  were originally commissioned by  the  Defence Research  Board,  under  funds  adminis- tered by the Department of Transport. The  reports-five in all-were considered too  detailed  for  publication,  and  the Department of Transport set about the preparation of condensed  and revised versions. The  present volume, based in part on one of these studies (by B. W. Currie), is the first revision to be published. It is the work of W. G. Kendrew, the well- known British  climatologist,  who has not only revised Currie’s original study that originally  covered  only  the  Mackenzie Basin and  Keewatin,  but has extended it to include also the Prairie Provinces. There is a  general  introduction,  and  this is followed by a detailed description of the screen-level climate of a series of arbitrarily defined climatic regions. Ex- tensive tabulations ,of climatological  aver- ages, including station tables, make the book  very useful for  reference  purposes. The  choice of climatic parameters is traditional and unventuresome. The  re- duction of temperature  to mean  sea-level on  the  monthly  maps is hard  to  defend, since in the north the temperature lapse rate of the  lower  atmosphere is normally inverted  in  the  cooler  months;  reduction to a standard pressure surface, such as 1,000 or  900 mb., might have obviated this  difficulty. There is some  disagree- ment between the other maps and those recently published in the Climatological Atlas of Canada, issued by  the same De- partment. Nevertheless the book fills a real need,  and  will be welcome to all who travel in the northwest. One hopes for  early  publication of the  remaining volumes. There  are  some  editorial slips, of which photograph 2, p. 96, is the best example. The view shown is of a locality on the upper  Thelon  River,  above  Beverly Lake,  not  Wager Bay, as the  legend indicates. F. KENNETH ARE MAMMALS OF Tc’ORTHERN ALASKA O N   T H E   A R C T I C  SLOPE. By JAMES W. BEE and E. RAYMOND HALL. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press, 1956. (Museum of Natural  History,  University of Kansas, Misc. Publ. No. 8 ) .  9  x 6 inches; 309 pages; col. frontis- piece; 4 plates, 127 numbered figures, 5 tables.  Cloth  $4.00,  paper  bound $1.00. This book represents the first attempt to  provide a definite  account of the mammals occurring on the  Arctic  Slope of Alaska. It is based on specimens col- lected  and  observations  made  by  the authors and their assistants during two summers  (July  %September 6, 1951; June  14-September 12, 19S2), and on material  in  the  collections of nine museums  inthe  United  States  and Canada. A coloured  frontispiece  by R. P. Grossenheider  depicts  the five  species of microtine rodents and the three species of shrews considered in the book. Al- though well executed by the artist, the subtle  shades of colour seen in  the  living animal  are  not  accurately  portrayed. The  book consists of a short introduction, a check  list of the species considered,  a dis- cussion of these mammals, a hypothetical list of species for  which  records  are  lack- ing, a key  to  the mammals of the  Arctic 208 

The Climate of Central Canada, by W.G. Kendrew and B.W. Currie

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The Climate of Central Canada, by W.G. Kendrew and B.W. Currie

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