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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the largest extent the outcome of Mr. Dar- 

 win's own subsequent work. The track of 

 the voyage and its principal features are 

 well known to all persons who are conver- 

 sant with the scientific literature of the last 

 half-century, for hardly any book has been 

 more frequently referred to in that litera- 

 ture. The places visited were not as famil- 

 iar then as they have since been made, and 

 of the natural life of many of them hardly 

 anything was known. So Mr. Darwin en- 

 joyed the advantage of being one of the 

 first visitors and often the first scientific 

 observer. Much of the book is, there- 

 fore, the original record by a discoverer 

 of his discovery. Of the manner in which 

 that record has been composed, we need 

 say no more than quote Mr. John Mur- 

 ray's remark in the Prefatory Notice to 

 the present edition, that " the extraordinary 

 minuteness and accuracy of Mr. Darwin's 

 observations, combined with the charm and 

 simplicity of his descriptions, have insured 

 the popularity of this book with all classes 

 of readers, and that popularity has even in- 

 creased in recent years." Not only are Mr. 

 Darwin's observations as a rule accurate and 

 anticipatory of much that has since been es- 

 tablished ; they also comprehend nearly every- 

 thing that should fall under the ken of a thor- 

 ough-going investigator. Seeing all that the 

 experienced traveler sees and a great deal 

 more than most of this class think of looking 

 for, he portrays the scenery with a few well-de- 

 fined traces ; studies the geology ; looks after 

 the animal and vegetable life, with an eye that 

 discerns as much in a few hours of sojourn 

 at a place as duller observers might hardly 

 discover after months of study ; peers with 

 equal keenness into the habits and most 

 trifling actions of the animate world ; takes 

 note of the human life, of society, of man- 

 ners and customs, the conditions of civiliza- 

 tion, and of the prospects for the future of 

 the countries he visits ; and interweaves the 

 whole with pertinent yet undogmatic specula- 

 tions as to the meaning of the various feat- 

 ures that came under his eye such as mark 

 all the man's work— most of which have 

 been verified, or are in course of verification 

 by investigations to which he gave the start 

 and on lines of research which he himself 

 marked out. Perhaps the point to which 

 the present interest is attached is embodied 



in his observations on coral reefs, which 

 have come under discussion again in con- 

 sequence of the new results obtained by the 

 Challenger Expedition. Some of his ob- 

 servations — in cases where the aspect is 

 affected by the progress of human settle- 

 ment — are in more or less striking contrast 

 with what is to be seen now. One of the 

 strongest contrasts, perhaps, is offered in 

 the picture of New Zealand, where the na- 

 tives at the time of his visit lacked the 

 charming simplicity of the Tahitians, and 

 the greater part of the English were "the 

 very refuse of society." But in the more 

 detailed fillings of even this picture we find 

 foreshadowings of the higher civilization 

 that has overtaken the Maoris, and the pros- 

 perity that has attended the English colony. 

 The present edition of Mr. Darwin's narra- 

 tive is illustrated by views not in the pre- 

 vious editions, most of which were made on 

 the spot by Mr. R. T. Pritchett with the book 

 by his side, and others are taken from en- 

 gravings which Mr. Darwin himself had se- 

 lected for their interest as illustrating his 

 voyage. 



North American Geology and Paleontol- 

 ogy. For the Use of Amateurs, Students, 

 and Scientists. By S. A. Miller. Cin- 

 cinnati. Pp. 664. 



This work includes a summary of the 

 general principles of geology, with defini- 

 tions of the principal formations represented 

 in North America, and a manual of Paheo- 

 zoic paleontology. The first chapter, on 

 the "Definitions and Laws of Geology," 

 concisely presents the principles of geologi- 

 cal theory, including the agencies by which 

 the structure and appearance of the super- 

 ficial crust of the earth are affected ; expla- 

 nations of the more general terms used in 

 geology, and remarks on the principles of 

 nomenclature. For the systems, the gener- 

 ally accepted names are used. In choosing 

 between the methods that have been fol- 

 lowed in naming the groups, a preference is 

 expressed for calling each group after the 

 place in which the strata were first studied 

 and described, because a name thus formed 

 is sufficiently technical ; it can not be used for 

 any other purpose ; and it indicates the typi- 

 cal locality of the exposure. On the other 

 hand, names founded on the mineralogical 



