through before a wedding takes place; usually the girl has little to say on the subject, the parents doing the bargaining; very strict rules govern the chastity of a maiden. The Indians are a moral lot; only after mixing with outsiders do they noticeably relax from their strict codes.

For example, in some places it is obligatory for the murderer of a husband or father to sustain the family of the man he has killed until such time as the youngest child is old enough to work, or the youngest daughter married and provision made for the support of the widow. In another place no man or woman outside the tribe is allowed to pass the night within the limits of the village. Some villages prohibit drinking to the state of intoxication, and anybody so inclined must

leave his village and not return until completely sober; in others a girl must give proof of her ability to cook and weave before she is allowed to marry, and while her wedding guests wait, she must grind corn and prepare food for them, which must be exactly to their taste. Otherwise they are allowed to chastise her as they leave.

Whenever Indians reach the top of a high mountain, they simultaneously take off their hats, and deposit floral offerings on a stone altar to the Spirit of the Mountain. Upon reaching a clear brook they will leave stones on which they have placed flowers and pine needles; at a hot spring, however, they leave a bundle of sticks tied together. Indian fiestas are celebrated in a primitive way, music being played on the Indian instruments, the Marimba, Tun, and Chirimía, which

make day and night horrible with their sounds. Symbolic dances, the participants in which wear masks, take place to the different tunes. These dances, mostly of Spanish origin but with a sprinkling of Indian influence, are performed only on special occasions. The Torito and the Moros are of distinct Spanish flavor, while the Gracejo is purely Indian.

Every village has some specialty by which it distinguishes itself, splendid hand-woven textiles, which the inhabitants trade in other markets in Guatemala or even in other countries: woven mats, called tules, made of swamp reeds; string bags of very special design and kind; woolen blankets; embroidered huipiles which the natives trade outside their own territory; pottery in various shapes and sizes; glazed ware famous for its resistance to both heat and cold; water jugs of splendid proportions; or gourds beautifully carved. To obtain a special article made in far off villages, people will wait a whole year for its annual fair. Traders peddle their wares in the different villages on market days, regular routes existing along the mountain. The goods are carried on the Indian's back, suspended by a tumpline across his forehead; if he is wealthy, however, the load will be carried by a mule or a decrepit horse, while his wife and small children trail along on foot.

The descendant of a tribe or race which originally came from Mexico will wait until the dry season, when the roads are passable and traders from Mexico come into the town with their wares, to obtain his particular and distinctive belt and thus be able to show clearly his descent.

But now strange customs are fast dying out and taking with them much of the beauty and picturesque atmosphere which gives Guatemala such an exotic flavor of its own.

Special library science collection.-During the past month the library has added three titles to its special collection of over 40 books on library science in languages other than English. The new acquisitions include Norme per il catalogo degli stampati, published by the Vatican Library in Vatican City; Catalogación y ordenación de Bibliotecas-Instrucciones elementales, por Jorge Rubió, Barcelona, Taber; and Como se forma una biblioteca, por Federico Carlos Sainz de Robles, Valencia, Cuadernos de Cultura, No. 12. The Vatican code of cataloguing rules comprises 400 pages; although it is apparently based on those of the American Library Association, it is a larger publication. It is a work that should prove most useful to librarians in the countries south of the Rio Grande. The book by Rubió, in spite of the fact that it contains only 49 pages, includes very useful instruction for library workers and is illustrated with color plates and drawings of library equipment.

Dr. Harvey Bassler.-A recent visitor to the library was Dr. Harvey Bassler, who has spent many years in the region of the upper Amazon. For the past 10 years he has been especially interested in geological exploration on the eastern slope of the Ecuadorean and Peruvian Andes. During this period he acquired an unusually large library on Latin America-reported to contain more than 60,000 volumeswhich contains one of the outstanding collections of Pan Americana. Doctor Bassler created The Harvey Bassler Foundation, which published in 1931 A survey of Mexican scientific periodicals, by Anita Melville Ker.

Notes from Mexico.-In the supplement of El Libro y El Pueblo, Mexico, May, 1932, appears an interesting list of 138 children's books in Spanish. It was prepared by Miss Juana Manrique de

Lara, a former student at a United States library school. The works cited include translations from English and French and many by Mexican authors.

The same issue also contains the text of new library regulations issued for the guidance of public libraries in Mexico by the Bureau of Libraries of the Department of Public Education. The rules include special arrangements for home lending.

Recent acquisitions.-Books of special interest received during the past month include the following:

Obras de Juan de Castellanos. Edición de Parra León Hermanos en homenaje al Libertador Simón Bolívar con motivo del centésimo aniversario de su muerte. Prólogo del doctor Caracciolo Parra . . . Tomo 2. Caracas, Parra León Hermanos, 1932.

559 p. 4o.

Memoria de la cuestion de limites entre México y Guatemala y de los trabajos ejecutados en la frontera de ambos países por la comisión mexicana de reconocimiento de dicha frontera primero, y después por la comisión mexicana de límites para el trazo de la línea divisoria entre ambas repúblicas. Por el ingeniero Alberto Amador. Tomo 1. México, Imprenta de la Secretaría de Relaciones 683 p. ilus. maps. 4o.

Exteriores, 1931.

La iniciación de la república. Contribución al estudio de la evolución política y social del Perú. [Por] Jorge Basadre. Tomo 1-2. Lima, Librería Francesa Científica y Casa editorial Rosay, 1929-30. 8°. 2 vols.

Cubagua. [Por] Enrique Bernardo Núñez. Paris, Editorial "Le Livre Libre,” 1931. 138 p. 8°.

Hostos: ciudadano de América. [Por] Antonio S. Pedreira. de Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1932. 264 p. 8o. José Antonio Saco fué en caracter. grafía Molina y cía., 1931. 80 p. 8°.

Madrid, Talleres

[Por] Federico Cordova. Habana, Tipo

[Por] Manuel Romero

48 plates. 8°. 1-2. [Por] J.

Encuadernaciones artísticas mexicanas, siglos XVI al XIX. de Terreros. Monografías bibliográficas mexicanas número 24. México, Imprenta de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 1932. xxvii, 25 p. El Ecuador en cien años de independencia 1830-1930. Tomo Gonzalo Orellana. Quito, Escuela Tipográfica Salesiana, 1930. 4o. 2 vols. Inter-American congress of rectors, deans, and educators in general, Habana, Cuba, February 20-23, 1930. Report of the chairman of the delegation of the United States of America. Washington, Govt. print. office, 1931. 136 p. 8°. (Publications of the Department of State, conference series, No. 8.)

Equivocaciones: ensayos sobre literatura penúltima. [Por] Jorge Basadre. Lima, Casa editora "La Opinión Nacional," 1928. 56 p. 8°.

Se han sublevado los Indios. . . [Por] Luis Alberto Sánchez. Lima, Casa editora "La Opinión Nacional," 1928. 69 p. 8°.

La multitud, la ciudad y el campo en la historia del Perú. [Por] Jorge Basadre. Lima, Imprenta A. J. Rivas Berrio, 1929. 234 p. 4o.

Los gobernadores de Guayaquil del siglo XVIII. (Notas para la historia de la ciudad durante los años de 1763 a 1803.) [Por] Abel-Romeo Castillo. Madrid, Imprenta de Galo Sáez, 1931. 397 p. 4o.

Derecho internacional público. (Curso universitario.)

Por Alberto Ulloa ....

Tomo 1-2. Lima, Impresores Sanmartí y cía., 1926–1929. 8°. 2 vols.

El fallo arbitral del presidente de Estados Unidos de América en la cuestión de Tacna y Arica. Por Alberto Ulloa. Lima, Imp. Seminario y cía., 1925.

.

110 p.

8o.

Escola moderna: conceitos e praticas. [Por] Maria dos Reis Campos. Rio de Janeiro, Est. Graphico Fernandes & Rohe, 1932. 284 p. 12o.

New magazines and periodicals received for the first time during the past month are as follows:

Revista Orto. (Órgano del Grupo Universitario.) Apartado 638, Quito, Ecuador. (Monthly.) Año 1, No. 2 y 3, marzo-abril, 1932. 116 p. 6 by 81⁄2 inches. Boletin del Consejo de Salud Pública. Montevideo, Uruguay. (Monthly.) Año 1, No. 1, enero, febrero, marzo de 1932. 247 p. 61⁄2 by 91⁄2 inches.

Pan American News. Bogotá, Colombia. (Weekly.) Year 1, No. 2, July 2, 1932. 4 pages, illus. 10 by 14 inches.

74 p.

Gaceta Jurídica Trimestral. Apartado de Correo No. 58, San Cristóbal, Estado Táchira, Venezuela. Año 1, No. 1, julio-setiembre de 1932. 61⁄2 by 91⁄2 inches.

Inter

Index Translationum. (International Bibliography of Translations.) national Institute of Intellectual Cooperation, 2, rue de Montpensier (Palais Royal), Paris, France. [Vol. 1], No. 1, July 1932. 57 p. 8 by 1034 inches. Revista Panameña de Contabilidad. (Revista publicada por el Instituto Panameño de Contadores.) Apartado 361, Panama, Panama. Vol. 1, No. 1, julio de 1932. 48 p. 6 by 91⁄2 inches.

Diario de los Debates del Congreso Constituyente de 1931. Lima, Peru. (Daily.) 18 de abril de 1932. 42 p. 91⁄2 by 124 inches.

Boletim de Educação Publica. (Publicação trimestral da Directoria Geral de Instrucção Publica do Districto Federal.) Rio de Janeiro. (Quarterly.) Anno 1, No. 3, julho-setembro, 1930. 173 p. ilus. 6 by 9 inches.