Spreading fear,communicating trust: writing letters and telegrams during the Panic of 1873

Abstract

This article analyses how journalists and businessmen used and perceived the Atlantic cable following the failure of New York banking house Jay Cooke & Co. in September 1873, an event which sparked stock markets panics in Vienna and Berlin. It is argued that while bankers successfully used telegraphic cables to communicate intelligence such as price information, letters proved superior as a medium for establishing personal trust, as the case of New York banker George Opdyke shows. Journalists, too, were critical of the telegraph’s performance, blaming the paucity of information available on the technology’s supposedly inherent deficiencies. This criticism, it is argued, was ultimately based on the ‘imagined reception’ of cables by their senders, as well as on the persistence of earlier imagined uses of telegraphy. These, I argue, continued to inform contemporary expectations of telegraphy’s performance.     

Grazing was not mining: managing Victoria's goldfields commons

The great land rush of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw vast swathes of temperate grazing land around the world pass into private hands. Commons and common lands, however, provided a vital interim mechanism in this shift from state control to private property ownership. Commons ensured continued and widespread access to natural resources, including water, minerals, soil, grass, and timber, that was integral to the colonial settler project. The gold rush in nineteenth‐century Victoria sheds important light on this process, where almost 250,000 ha of Crown land were set aside as goldfields commons. These reserves maintained auriferous or gold‐bearing land in public hands and provided access to extensive tracts of grazing for the sheep and cattle of gold miners. In this paper, we examine how the traditional English notion of common lands was transferred to a New World environment and draw on the work of economist Elinor Ostrom to evaluate the use and function of Victoria's goldfields commons in terms of management, regulation, and sustainability.     

Local area farming Plans — a common reality for farmers and conservationists in the Scottish Highlands?

This paper supports the need for new policy developments to produce farm conservation plans specific to local areas. It explores attitudes to land management for conservation and economic goals, and presents views of fanners and local conservationists, who are directly involved in agri‐environmental and farm woodland schemes, in three regions of the Highlands of Scotland. It reviews the current state of Scottish agri‐environmental schemes, and presents results of on‐farm workshops conducted with farmers and conservationists and discusses common management plan approaches for environmental action. It concludes that farmers and conservationists are already considering the advantages of local area planning at a local area level and agree that there should be focus on addressing local site specific issues which take into account both the whole farm and its wider environment.     

Books received in 1972

GREAT BRITAIN

Patterns of Highland Development. By David Turnock, 8.9 × 6.3, xiii + 272 pages, 32 figures, 32 plates. Macmillan, London, 1970. £8.

Soil Survey of Scotland, Bulletin No. 1: The Soils of Candacraig and Glenbuchat. By R. E. F. Heslop and C. J. Brown. 9 1/2 × 6, 116 pp., 13 tables, 3 maps (2 loose, folded), appendices, references, Index. Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, Aberdeen, 1969.

Southwest England. By A. H. Shorter, W. L. D. Ravenhill and K. J. Gregory. 15.5 × 23.5 cm. xii + 340 pp., 95 maps and diagrams, 3 tables, 55 plates, 1 folded map, selected references, index. Nelson, London, 1969. £5.25.

Land and Leisure. By J. Allan Patmore. 8 3/4 × 5 3/4, 322 pp., 26 plates, 84 illustrations and maps. David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1970. £4.20.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

The Value of Weather. By W. J. Maunder. 9×5 3/4, 388 pp. Methuen, London. £3.75; also University Paperback. £2.00.

The Periglacial Environment. By Troy L. Péivé. McGill‐Queen's University Press, 1969. £11.25.

Glacier Surveys in British Columbia: Vol. 1 English System; Vol. 2 Metric System. By I. A. Reid and J. Shastal. Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Canada, Report series No. 10. 1968.

Coasts and Beaches. By J. A. Steers. 7×4 1/2. 136 pp. Illustrated. (Contemporary Science Paperback). Oliver &; Boyd,. Edinburgh, 1969. 37 1/2p.

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Urban Analysis. A Study of City Structure with Special Reference to Sunderland. By B. T. Robson. Cambridge Geographical Studies, No. 1. 9 1/4 × 6 1/4. 302 pp. Maps and Tables. Bibliography. Cambridge U.P., London, 1969. £4.00

The Harsh Lands. By David Grieg. 8 3/4 × 5 3/4, 321 pp., 24 figures, 30 tables. Macmillan, London, 1970. £3.50. Paperback, £1.75.

ATLASES AND MAPS

The National Atlas of Disease Mortality in the United Kingdom. Revised and extended edition. By G. Melvyn Howe on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society. 11 1/4 × 8 3/4, 197 pp. Nelson, London. £5.25.

Maps for Books and Theses. By A. G. Hodgkiss. 8 3/4 × 5 1/2, 267 pp., 8 plates, 88 illustrations. David &; Charles, Newton Abbot, 1970. £2.75.

>EDUCATION

Landscape Studies—An Introduction to Geomorphology. By K. E. Sawyer. 10 3/4 × 8 1/2, x + 148 pp., 28 map extracts, 52 photographs, 124 field sketches, sketches, diagrams. Edward Arnold, London, 1970. £200.

Water for Power and Irrigation. By J. M. Pritchard. 9 3/4 × 6, 36 pp., 18 maps, diagrams. Dent, London, 1970. 30p.

Britain and World Trade. C. W. Park. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2, 176 pp., 46 diagrams and maps, 10 plates, tables, index. English Universities Press, London. 65p.

Ethiopia in Pictures. By Alfred Allotey Acquaye. Iraq in pictures. By Jon A. Teta. Visual , Geography Series. 10i x 6|, 64 pp. The Oak Tree Press Ltd., 1970. 95p.

World Population and Food Supply. J. H. Lowry. 9 3/4 × 7 3/8, 112 pp., charts, tables, diagrams, maps, plates. E. Arnold &; Sons Ltd. 1970. £1.00.

Landscape Studies Series. (7 titles). Edited by W. K. Birrell. 7 × 9 1/2. approx. 50 pp. Jacaranda Press, 1969. 49p.each.

Jackdaw Publications. No. 76 Volcanoes, by G. Jefferies. No. 77 The Motor Industry by G. Jefferies. No. 79 Dairy Farming by J. L. Jones. Folder 9 × 13 1/2. Jonathan Cape, 1969. 60p.each.

Field Studies for Schools. Volume 4. Field Excursions in North Wales. Edited by F. E. Clegg. 7 1/4 × 4 1/4, 174 pp., 8 plates, 25 maps and diagrams. Rivingtons, London, 1969. 90p.

Field Studies for Schools. Volume 3. Field Excursions in Eastern Scotland. Edited by R. B.. Salmon. 7 1/4 × 4 3/4, 8 plates, 18 maps and diagrams. Rivingtons, London, 1969. 90p.

Modern Geography Series, Book VIII, Africa: By A. W. Coysh and M. E. Tomlinson. 7 3/4 × 5 1/4, 226 pp., plates, maps and diagrams. University Tutorial Press, London, 1970. 67 1/2p.

Mauritius: A Geographical Survey. By T. Ramdin. 9 3/4 × 7 1/2. 64 pp. 7 full page maps in colour. Many photographs and sketch‐maps. Examination questions and bibliography. University Tutorial Press, London, 1969. 45p.

New Secondary Geographies: ‘Asia and North America’. By R. A. Beddis. 192 pp., 6 3/8 × 8 3/8 University of London Press. 90p.

Focal Points in Geography: ‘Asia and North America’. By R. A. Beddis. 9 3/4 × 7 3/8, 80 pp. University of London Press. 65p.

Europe in Maps. By R. Knowles and P. W. R. Stowe. 96 pp., 19 maps, 22 photographs, 23 figures. Longmans, London, 1969. £1.50.

Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. By H. Tolley and K. Orrell. 9 3/4 × 7 1/2. 96 pp., 94 figs. Geography of the British Isles Series. Cambridge U.P., London, 1970.65p.

Basic Geography. By D. C. Money. 10 × 7 1/2, 162 pp. University Tutorial Press, London, 1970. £1.10.

The Earth's Surface. By D. C. Money. 7 1/2 × 10, 168 pp. Evans Bros., London, 1970. £1.25. These two books by Mr. Money overlap in subject matter but the scope and treatment are rather different.     

Early Zooarchaeological Evidence for Mus musculus in Australia

A recent discovery at the 19th‐century Hyde Park Barracks Destitute Asylum in Sydney provides the earliest securely recorded zooarchaeological evidence for the house mouse (Mus musculus) in Australia. While M. musculus probably arrived with the first European settlers in the late 18th century, securely dated examples from the colonial period are rare. Our find consisted of a wooden matchbox containing the well preserved skeletal remains of three mice, in a context dating to the period 1848–1886. The material is noteworthy for the excellent preservation of the bones, which include skulls, articulated vertebrae, ribs, innominates (pelvis) and distal hindlimb. This paper briefly describes the evidence for the arrival of M. musculus in Australia; the archaeological and historical context of the find; the nature and condition of the mouse skeletons; and possible interpretations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reviews

Joseph Rykwert, The Dancing Column. On Order in Architecture, Cambridge, Mass. and London: The MIT Press, 1996. xviii + 598 pp., 316 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–262–18170–3. £49.95.

Janet Lang and Andrew Middleton (eds.), Radiography of Cultural Material, Oxford: Butterworth‐Heinemann, 1997. xii + 193 pp., 23 col. and 157 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–7506–2621–6. £45.00.

Chris Rojek and John Urry (eds.), Touring Cultures: Transformations of Travel and Theory, London and New York: Routledge, 1997. x + 214 pp., 11 b. & w. illus. and 1 fig. ISBN 0–415–111225–0. £13.99.

Peter Mandler, The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997. viii + 523 pp., 99 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–300–06703–8. £19.95.

Susan M. Pearce (ed.), Experiencing Material Culture in the Western World, London and Washington: Leicester University Press, 1997. xiv + 274 pp., 1 b. & w. illus. ISBN 9–7185–0022–9. £18–99.

Steven Parissien, Station to Station, London: Phaidon, 1997. 240 pp., 191 col. and 146 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–7148–3467‐X. £39.99.

David Phillips, Exhibiting Authenticity, Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1997. xi + 234 pp., 61 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–7190–4797–8. £16.99.

Phillip Lindley (ed.), Sculpture Conservation: Preservation or Interference?, Aldershot, England: Scolar Press, 1997. xxxii + 237 pp., 18 figs., 97 b. & w. and 65 col. illus. ISBN 1–85928–254–7. £35.00.

George (Rip) Rapp Jr. and Christopher L. Hill, Geoarchaeology: the Earth‐science Approach to Archaeological Interpretation, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998. xiii + 274 pp., 80 figs. ISBN 0–300–07075–6. £28.00.

Brian J. Shaw and Roy Jones (eds.), Contested Urban Heritage: Voices from the Periphery, Aldershot, Brookfield USA, Singapore, Sydney: Ashgate, 1997. ix + 205 pp., 19 figs, 42 b. & w. illus. ISBN 1–85972–554–6. £37.50.

Dianne Sachko Macleod, Art and the Victorian Middle Class: Money and the Making of Cultural Identity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. xx + 530 pp., 8 col. and 76 b. & w. illns. ISBN 0–521–55090–4. £65.00.

Nicholas Barton, Stone Age Britain, London: B. T. Batsford in association with English Heritage, 1997. 144 pp., 7 figs., 16 col. and 113 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–7134–6846–7. £15.99.

Paul Bidwell, Roman Forts in Britain, London: B. T. Batsford in association with English Heritage, 1997. 128 pp., 12 col. and 80 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–7134–7100‐X. £15.99.

Peter Marsden, Ships and Shipwrecks, London: B. T. Batsford in association with English Heritage, 1997. 128 pp., 11 col. and 85 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–7134–7536–6. £15.99.

Trevor Rowley, Norman England, London: B. T. Batsford in association with English Heritage, 1997. 144 pp., 12 col. and 94 b. & w. illus. ISBN 0–7134–8060–2. £15.99.     

Climax and Structure in Odyssey 8.492-520: Further Reflections on Odysseus and the Wooden Horse

The significance of Demodocus' reference back in time to Odysseus' device of the Wooden Horse and its rôle in the sack of Troy is examined. In keeping with recent work on story-telling in Homer, the reference's details and emphases are shown to be subtly programmatic for Odysseus' presentation in the remainder of the epic.