PILCHUCK,

by Harry W. Higman (1906)and Earl J. Larrison. Superior PublishingCo., Seattle. 288 pp. $3.50.

This book should appeal to Dartmouth men. It is a popularly-written account of the wildlife and environs of Pilchuck, a mountain on the edge of Washington's Cascade Range. Although the book contains much scientific material, it has none of the dryness of a straight ecological report. Human interest and variety are achieved by introducing this material in the form of experiences and conversations of three latter-day "mountain men,"—an ecologist, a conversationalist, and a practical woodsman. Harry W. Higman should be identified as the conversationalist and Larrison as the ecologist.

The book is capable of standing alone as an interesting narrative of experiences on Mt. Pilchuck, but its serious contribution is the excellent portrayal of the complex interbalances of natural forces which we frequently and erroneously think of as the "harmony of nature." Pilchuck graphically illustrates the importance of environment upon wildlife (and life in general), and emphasizes the need for more knowledge in a variety of fields before the great predator, man, can successfully attempt rearrangement.

Higman and Larrison have written an interesting and sensitive book. It is gratifying to find that the use of the scientific approach does not prevent the authors' appreciation of such unique experiences as hearing at one time the songs of the varied, hermit, and russet-backed thrushes. One may hope that Pilchuck will stimulate further interest in the important field of regional ecological studies. Dartmouth undergraduates interested in the College Grant, please note.