Agroclimatological Methods

150 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Development Bank, 1969]). Brown’s book gives us a vision of the future and may very well help Asians to realize that future. Neither volume duplicates existing work. Both make significant original contributions. Warren S. Hunsbf.rger* Agroclimatological Methods: Proceedings of the Reading Symposium. Paris·. UNESCO, 1968 (available from Unipub, Inc., P.O. Box 433, New York, N.Y. 10016). Pp. 392. $17.00. Based upon the proceedings of the UNESCO symposium on methods in agroclimatology held at the University of Reading, England, in 1966, the volume is divided into seven sections; “The Use of Available Data,” “Secondary Climatic Effects,” “Associated Factors,” “Macro­ surveys,” “Mesosurveys,” “Additional Papers on Agrometeorology,” and “Conclusions.” Although limited by title to agroclimatology, many of the essays are in the broader field of agrometeorology. The task of the agrometeorologist, according to P. M. Austin Brooks, is “to apply every relevant meteorological skill to helping the farmer to make the most efficient use of his physical environment, with the prime aim of improving agricultural production, both in quantity and quality” (p. 12). Among papers on the work of the climatologist, the definition by A. H. Bunting is of particular interest: “One of our ultimate purposes must clearly be to associate observations on crops and farming systems with observations on weather and climate in such a way as to explain agricultural phenomena and to predict possibilities” (p. 362). The weather, from day to day and from season to season, with limited exceptions, has been a controlling influence on farming from time immemorial to the present. Yet we are just now learning exactly what factors in weather influence crops and livestock and in what ways. In fact, these essays indicate that there is still much research to be done in making these determinations. Controls in one area—by irrigation, for example—seem to lead to greater fluctuations in another. This may affect yield in an entirely unexpected way. Thus, the ability to predict long-range possibilities is a goal still to be realized. Reliable predictions would be of great benefit to all agriculture, but particularly so in plan­ ning the development of large areas. Any attempts to control any aspect of the weather or climate must be considered in the light of other possible effects. The volume as a whole is a mixture of highly technical and somewhat general articles. Obviously, some of the papers have been shortened for publication. This has left some of them intelligible only to the • Dr. Hunsberger, professor of economics at the American University, Washing­ ton, D.C., was a Ford Foundation adviser to Malaysia’s Economic Planning Unit, 1963 -66. He has worked on Asian economic affairs as teacher, scholar, and govern­ ment official since before World War II. TECHNOLOGY ANO CULTURE Book Reviews 151 person who already has a highly specialized knowledge of the subject. In others, results of research are presented with virtually nothing on how the results were obtained. In spite of such reservations, it is possible, through the judicious selection of papers, to acquire from the volume an understanding of the complexities of present-day agrometeorology and agroclimatology. However, in selecting papers, one must rely upon the table of contents. There is no index, nor is there any indication as to the person or per­ sons responsible for editing the book. Most of the papers have bibliog­ raphies, which add to the scholarly value of the volume. The sym­ posium and proceedings are one of a series on natural resources research sponsored by UNESCO. Wayne d Rasmussen# Matupit: Land, Politics, and Change among the Tolai of New Britain. By A. L. Epstein. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969. Pp. xii-(-335; tables, figures, maps. $8.75. Perhaps the most important message of this book for readers of this journal is that technology is not so great a determinant of culture as some might assume. “The puzzle,” says Epstein, “is not so much to un­ derstand change but to explain why change has not been more radical and far-reaching” (p. 294). Matupit is a tiny island (area 300 acres, population 1,400) which is joined by a causeway to the mainland of New

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