unsatisfactory to the English people. The hill-fighting, however, turned out to be so much more severe than the English expected, and the tribesmen proved such formidable foes, that they were glad to make peace on whatever terms they could.

To punish the natives as they had intended would have taken such a large sum of money, and employed such a number of troops, that the Government finally decided that the wisest thing was to put a speedy end to the difficulty.

The Soudan campaign has also been brought to a close.

The English people are also indignant about this.

They think that the Government ought not to have allowed such a good opportunity for punishing the Mahdists to slip through its fingers.

With a little more perseverance, the lower Soudan would have been opened up to the world and Gordon avenged.

As it was, no decisive battle was fought; the Mahdists, under Osman Digna, steadily retreated before the advance of the British.

After the brilliant reconnoitring trip to Khartoum, and the shelling of the city by the two little gunboats, it was expected that something decisive was about to be done. But no advance has been made by the main army, and now it is positively stated that no further steps will be taken until January.

People are wondering why the soldiers were sent to the Soudan, if they are only to camp on the banks of the Nile and contemplate the Mahdists from a distance.

After building their railroad, and making such excellent preparations for a brilliant campaign, it seems astonishing that the troops should be allowed to sit down and wait, without striking a blow.

It is, however, rumored that the English Government does not wish to spend more money pushing the campaign further, and that more troops are needed to bring the campaign to a successful termination.

Whatever the reason, nothing more is likely to be done in the Soudan for the present.

The committee which was appointed to find out just how much it would cost to make armor-plate, has sent in a report which will be presented to Congress at the earliest opportunity.

It appears that it will cost over three and a half million dollars to build an armor-plate factory capable of making the amount of armor required by the Government.

It has not yet been decided whether the factory shall be built, but the Secretary of the Navy is going to advertise for offers to build it so that he can lay the whole matter before Congress at one time.

The Carnegie and Bethlehem steel companies have not been idle while the Government has been making its inquiries.

Krupp, the German gun-maker, has recently invented a process for manufacturing armor-plate which is said to make a plate that is still more durable and better than that manufactured by the Harvey process.

The Carnegie and Bethlehem companies no sooner heard of the Krupp process, than they sent experts to examine it, and finding it to be all that was represented, they purchased the sole right to use the process in this country.

The Government, of course, wants the best possible armor for its ships, and if the Krupp is the best, they must have Krupp armor-plate.

The cleverness of these two firms has, however, made it impossible for the Government to manufacture this kind of armor for itself. If it is to be used, it must be bought from the Carnegie or Bethlehem people.

The Secretary of the Navy does not approve of the Government spending so much money in building a factory of its own. It is said that when he lays the matter before Congress, he will recommend that the armor be bought of the Carnegie or Bethlehem firms.

It is stated that he expects to get the armor for $425 a ton.

The Carnegie Company are, however, masters of the situation. With the Bethlehem works, they own the right to manufacture this new and excellent armor, and if the Government must have it for its ships, the company will ask what price they please. Their excuse will no doubt be that they have had to pay so much money for the right that they are obliged to make the price high.

G.H. Rosenfeld.

WANTED—A RECIPE FOR A BOOK.

Your editor had an interesting talk a few days ago with one of our best-known naturalists, who said: "Boys and girls are the keenest observers, if they are interested in anything. We naturalists get much of our most valuable information through their quick eyes and minds."

"And," he added, "the more they see, the more they want to see and know, and they are constantly coming to me for facts, asking me why I do not write good books."

"Well, why don't you?"

"I'll tell you why. It is because I want to write a book which will tell them just what they want to know, and I do not know what our boys and girls are interested in. If I write about pets, what kind of pets are they most interested in—dogs or cats, horses or birds, squirrels or fishes? If I write about wild animals, must it be about their homes and what they do, or about the best ways to hunt and trap them? Then, again, I am not sure if they are not more interested in hunting for beautiful and curious things on the seashore—shells, crabs, sea-anemones, and such things."

Your editor believes in asking the boys and girls to say for themselves what they want, and then to give that to them in the best possible way. Therefore he answered: "Ask the boys and girls what they want. Do not ask one or two, but just ask one or two thousand, and give them just what they ask for—no more and no less." As he cannot write a letter to you all, will you not, each one of you, write a letter addressed to "Naturalist, care of Editor of Great Round World, 5 West 18th Street," and in this letter say just what you would like: a book about birds, pets, bees, wild animals, shells, fishes, or snakes—for he knows all about these things, and can write a book on any or all of these subjects, or, indeed, anything that has to do with woods, fields, or ocean, and the wonderful and interesting things found in them. We hope that our promise to this naturalist, that our boys and girls can and will tell him what he wants to know, will not lead to a disappointment.

INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.

If any of our boys and girls have found their bicycle saddles as uncomfortable as your editor has found his, they will be delighted to learn that there is to be had a sensible as well as most comfortable saddle. The pleasure of riding your wheel for miles without feeling your saddle can only be appreciated by those who happen to have a saddle which fits; the great trouble is that very few people fit the average saddle; and as the saddle cannot be adjusted, perfect comfort is not obtainable. With this new saddle the case is different, for it can be adjusted to fit a large or small person exactly. It also has a contrivance which permits the parts to move up and down so that there is no friction whatever. Our attention was called to it by one of the officers of the navy, who has proved himself an expert in wheel contrivances, and a careful test bears out all of his statements. The saddle is well made and inexpensive ($3.50).

BOOKS RECEIVED.

We have received a very attractive little book called "Uncle Robert's Visit," which is the third part of the series of books called "Uncle Robert's Geography." It is published by the Messrs. Appleton in their series of Home-Reading Books, and presents nature study and