This study in medical geography is one of the best recent efforts in the great field which Drake raised to such a height in this country. Margarita, or Paraguachoa, to give its Indian name, is a little island of 440 square miles, off the north coast of Venezuela, with a population of about 60,000 Indians, Spaniards and half castes with a touch of negro and Syrian blood. Its chief industry is pearl fishing, which amounts to millions of dollars each year, other industries being goat raising, fishing, and magnesite mining by an American firm. In the first part of the book, dealing with geography, history, ethnology and climatology, the author has sketched a vivid picture of the mild climate, beautiful beaches, tasty tropical fruits, varied fishes and turtles, man-eating sharks, brief storms, arid soil, the peculiar phosphorescent "Turbio" and natural healthfulness, which have gained for Margarita its nickname of "natural