LITERARY NOTICES. 



623 



record of his normal structures, oste- 

 ology, and nervous system, with all the 

 deviations, rudimentary, excessive, or 

 abnormal, that methodical observation 

 might furnish. lie demanded that man 

 shall be inductively studied throughout 

 his whole nature; and he classified his 

 history with the history of the organic 

 world, as, by unity of organization, con- 

 nected with all life, past, present, and 

 to come. Dr. Knox took the ground, 

 bold ground half a century ago, of the 

 vast antiquity of man, and, though hold- 

 ing to the Cuvierean view of the immu- 

 tability of species, he shrank from no 

 opprobrium of beliefs denounced at that 

 time as spurious science, immoral in 

 their influence and destructive of re- 

 ligion, lie defended these unpopular 

 views with pungency and power, as 

 was his wont, and as a matter of course 

 called down upon himself the reproach- 

 ful epithets of " infidel " and " atheist." 

 Where sufficient mud is thrown, some 

 of it is sure to stick. The doctor be- 

 came obnoxious to the theologians, and 

 was looked upon with dread by the 

 people on aocount of his horrible opin- 

 ions ; and, when the occurrences took 

 place which are described elsewhere in 

 our pages, he became the ready victim 

 of malignant aspersion. Nearly half a 

 century has now passed since the Edin- 

 burgh excitements; "Knox the incom- 

 parable," as he was styled by his ad- 

 miring students, has been years in his 

 grave, and the time has at length come 

 when justice should be done to his 

 memory. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



The Aerial World. A Popular Account 

 of the Phenomena and Life of the At- 

 mosphere. By G. IIartwig, M. & P. D. 

 New York; D. Appleton & Co., 1875. 

 Price, $6.00. 



As a compend of interesting and valua- 

 ble information concerning the atmosphere 

 and its phenomena, this book deserves fa- 

 vorable mention. The reading public is 

 familiar with previous publications by Dr. 



Hartwig, in which he has succeeded in pre- 

 senting the results of inquiry in several de- 

 partments of science in a manner at once 

 popular, entertaining, and instructive. It 

 is quite evident that his success as a writer 

 lies in the judicious selection and arrange- 

 ment of facts and incidents in science 

 rather than in original investigation ; and 

 that he is doing excellent service in this 

 direction will be conceded by all acquaint- 

 ed with his books. The time seems to have 

 not yet arrived when scientific knowledge 

 is sought by the general reading public, un- 

 less it be made attractive by skillful manip- 

 ulations. 



The present volume is a popular expo- 

 sition of the science of meteorology, with- 

 out being a scientific treatise on that. sub- 

 ject. The amount of information in it is 

 immense, but it is classified with excellent 

 judgment, and, so far as we have examined 

 it, is accurate in its science. The style is 

 easy, perspicuous, sometimes florid, but al- 

 ways appropriate and pleasing. 



The chapters on " Clouds," " Colors of 

 the Sky." " Aerial Navigation," " The St. 

 Elmo's-Fire," "Snow," and some others, are 

 brilliant with descriptive passages. Chap- 

 ters relating to topics of especial scientific 

 interest are those on " The Magnitude, 

 Pressure, and Ingredients of the Atmos- 

 phere," " The Propagation of Sound through 

 it," "Echoes," "Winds," "Fogs," "Dew," 

 " Rain," " Thunder-storms," " Aerolites," 

 etc. 



The volume is handsomely illustrated 

 with plates and woodcuts, and a meteoro- 

 logical map. 



To the specialist in the science of me- 

 teorology, this work may be of compara- 

 tively little value. It is not designed for 

 such, and the author modestly observes 

 that his aim has been less ambitious, and 

 that he will not consider his time ill-spent 

 if the perusal of it awakens in the mind of 

 the reader a keener interest in the pages of 

 Nature. 



On British Wild-Flowers, considered in 

 Relation to Insects. By Sir John Lub- 

 bock, Bart., F. R. S. With numerous 

 Illustrations. London : Macmillan & 

 Co., 18 75. Price, $1.50. 



This is the seventh volume in " Nature 

 Series," and is a product of a wondcrfullV 



