HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



"5 



The Late Professor David Page. — We regret 

 to have to announce the death of this well-known 

 geologist, on Sunday, March 9, at the age of sixty- 

 five. Although not distinguished for discoveries in 

 the field, few men have done more to make English 

 geology so popular and extensively studied as Pro- 

 fessor Page did by the numerous admirable books of 

 which he was the author, and many readers will hear 

 of his death with unfeigned regret. 



The Geology of Northumberland. — Professor 

 G. A. Lebour, of the Newcastle College of Physical 

 Science, has just published a neatly got up brochure 

 having the above title. It was intended originally 

 for use in his own geological class, but there cannot 

 be a doubt that it admirably fills a want, for we know 

 of no trustworthy description of the geology of that 

 part of England. The "glacial beds are especially 

 interesting, and the Permian, Carboniferous, Silurian, 

 and Igneous rocks frequently occur under peculiar 

 circumstances. On all these Mr. Lebour has written 

 in a style at once accurate and readable. The book 

 may be obtained of H. Sotheran & Co., 78 Queen 

 Street, London, E.C. 



CONODONTS FROM CAMBRO-SlLURIAN, AND DE- 

 VONIAN Strata in Canada and the United 

 States. — A paper on this subject was recently read 

 before the Geological Society, by Mr. G. Jennings 

 Hinde, F.G.S. After a sketch of the bibliography of 

 the subject, the author described the occurrence of 

 Conodonts. In the Chazy beds they are associated 

 with numerous Leperditise, some Trilobites, and 

 Gasteropods ; in the Cincinnati group with various 

 fossils ; and in the Devonian strata principally with 

 fish-remains : but there is no clue to their nature 

 from these associated fossils. They possess the same 

 microscopic lamellar structure as the Russian Cono- 

 donts described by Pander. The various affinities 

 exhibited by the fossil Cono lonts were discussed ; and 

 the author is of opinion that though they most re- 

 semble the teeth of Myxinoid fishes, their true 

 zoological relationship is very uncertain. 



Annelid Jaws from the Cambro-Silurian, 

 Silurian, and Devonian Formations in Canada, 

 and from the lower carboniferous in scot- 

 LAND. — This was another paper read by the same 

 author. After referring to the very few recorded 

 instances of the discovery of any portions of the 

 organisms of errant Annelids, as distinct from their 

 trails and impressions in the rocks, Mr. Hinde 

 noticed the characters of the strata, principally 

 shallow-water deposits, in which the Annelid jaws 

 described by him are embedded. A description was 

 given of the principal varieties of form, and of the 

 structure of the jaws. They were classified from 

 their resemblances to existing forms under seven 

 genera, five of which are included in the family 

 Eunicea, one in the family Lycoridea, and one among 



the Glycerea. The author enumerated fifty-five dif- 

 ferent forms, the greater proportion of which are 

 from the Cincinnati group. 



Geology of Essex, &c. — We have received one 

 of the "Memoirs of the Geological Survey," giving 

 an explanation of sheet 27 of the one-inch map of the 

 Survey of England and Wales. It deals with the 

 Geology of the north-west part of Essex and the 

 north-east part of Herts; with parts of Cambridgeshire 

 and Suffolk. The survey is under the direction of 

 Mr. W. Whitaker, with whom are associated Messrs. 

 W. H. Penning, W. H. Dalton, and F. J. Bennett. 

 Not one word of commendation on our part is needed 

 to introduce this brochure to our readers, but we are 

 glad to call attention to its issue, nevertheless. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Intelligence in Man and Animals. — Your 

 correspondent, Mr. H. D. Barclay, in the January 

 number very truly and properly remarked that " the 

 great difficulty in the investigation of the minds of 

 animals appears to be that man, instinctively and un- 

 consciously, unless checked by reflection, explains 

 their actions by his own modes and laws of thought." 

 This appears to me to contain the whole gist and 

 difficulty of the subject, if he means, as I understand 

 it, that the unguided impulse of man is to draw 

 instant conclusions (if I may say so) of the cause of 

 actions in animals by analogy to the cause which 

 would have actuated him under like circumstances. 

 If it could be proved that we were justified in so 

 concluding, the hypothesis that instinct and reason 

 are different only in degree would be sufficiently sub- 

 stantiated, but as yet nothing worth the name of proof 

 has been offered, and I believe it to be incapable of 

 proof for the simple reason that the opposite propo- 

 sition, viz. that we cannot judge by such analogy, is 

 abundantly proved to every one having the most 

 rudimentary knowledge of the actions of animals. 

 We know that animals can and do do highly "reason- 

 able " things intuitively and without reason and 

 reflection, and that it is necessary to the order of 

 their existence, but the very opposite of this holds 

 good with reference to man ; he cannot do reasonably 

 anything without reasoning and reflection, and these 

 faculties are just as necessary in him to the order of 

 his existence, as they are unnecessary in animals to 

 the order of theirs. 



Take for instance such actions of animals, as birds 

 building their nests, young birds opening their mouths 

 to be fed, the admirable way in which they keep 

 their nests clean, the hen warning her chicks of the 

 presence of the hawk, the chicks flying to their 

 mother for protection, young ducks taking to water, 

 &c. These instances are sufficient to effectually 

 negative the proposition that we are to judge of the 

 actions of animals by analogy with the same laws 

 that govern the actions of man. If not, where is the 

 analogy in these cases, and if in these cases we cannot 

 so judge why are we to do so in others ? Or, in other 

 words, if we are to judge of some of the actions of 

 animals by the law of pure instinct as differing in 

 kind from reason, where are we to commence to 

 judge of them by a law of instinct not so differing ; 

 or again, the above instances proving, as I believe 

 they do, that there is an instinct differing in kind 

 from reason, are we to believe that animals are 



