64 THE NA TU RE- STUD Y RE I VEIV U: 2 _ ¥RBmt I9oS 



sufficient mechanical explanation of descent, stand today seriously 

 discredited in the biological world. On the other hand, it is also fair 

 truth to say that no replacing hypothesis or theory of species-forming 

 has been offered by the opponents of selection which has met with any 

 general or even considerable acceptance by naturalists." 



But in all this change of minor theories it must not be forgotten that 

 Darwinism may fall completely without seriously affecting the theory 

 of evolution. "While many naturalists doubt whether Darwinian selec- 

 tion theories satisfactorily explain descent, organic evolution, that is, 

 the descent of species, is looked on by biologists to be as proved a part of 

 their science as gravitation is in the science of physics or chemical affinity 

 in that of chemistry. Doubts of Darwinism are not, then, doubts of 

 organic evolution." 



After careful critical discussion of the various facts for and against 

 natural selection, Professor Kellogg concludes: "Darwinism as the 

 natural selection of the fit, the final arbiter in descent control, stands 

 unscathed, clear and high above the obscuring cloud of battle. But 

 Darwinism, as the all-sufficient or even the most important causo-mechan- 

 ical factor in species-forming and hence as the sufficient explanation of 

 descent, is discredited and cast down." It is interesting to note that 

 Darwin's friends and followers, not Darwin himself, claimed allmacht 

 (all-sufficiency) for his theory of natural selection. 



Birds Every Child Should Know. By Xeltje Blanchan. New York: 

 Doubleday, Page* and Co., 1907. $1.00. This well-illustrated book 

 has sixty-three pages of good photographs from life, and the descriptions 

 of each bird is full of sympathetic interest. There are no minute des- 

 criptions as to size and color; but the author has selected those character- 

 istics which will help to identify the birds in the fields, as well as give a 

 glimpse of their "personality." The book can not fail to be very valuable 

 to children or grown-ups who are trying to become acquainted with 

 our most common birds. A. N. B. 



NATURE-STUDY AND SCIENCE NOTES 



[Editor's Note. This department will be conducted by Chester A. 

 Mathewson, of the High School of Commerce, New York City. Notes 

 and suggestions may be sent to him in care of the editor of The Review.] 



Forestry. The preservative treatment of railroad ties and piling has 

 been practiced commercially for a number of years. About fifty treating 

 plants are now being operated in this country, and the number increases 

 each year. The treatment of telephone and telegraph poles has made no 

 such progress, yet there is a strong desire on the part of progressive users 

 to find a satisfactory method for prolonging the life of poles. From 

 time to time experiments have been conducted by various telephone, 

 telegraph, and railroad companies, but either the treatment was faulty or 

 insufficient records of the treated poles were kept, and, as a result, neither 

 reliable data nor satisfactory conclusions have been obtained. The 

 Forest Service is actively engaged in experiments with treated ploes. 



