LITERARY NOTICES. 



563 



Why the epigastric organs should be moral 

 while the thoracic are mental is another 

 philosophic mystery. 



Not less perplexing than this tripartition 

 is the use made of the word thermometer. 

 We learn that there are six physical ther- 

 mometers the larynx, wrist, shoulder, el- 

 bow, eyebrow, and thumb. The eyebrow is 

 the thermometer of the mind, from which we 

 might infer that Shakespeare wrote in all 

 seriousness of " a woful ballad " to that im- 

 portant feature. However, judgment is de- 

 clared to be " the lowest form of intellectu- 

 ality," and in the dim light above it, or 

 without it, little incongruities, such as have 

 been noticed, may not appear. 



In a sketch of Francois Delsarte, prefixed 

 to this work, it is expressly stated that he 

 died in 18*71. Were it not for this, we 

 might conclude that he nourished some 

 seven hundred years earlier, and that we 

 had stumbled upon a manual of the old 

 scholastics, who tortured facts into accord- 

 ance with arbitrary symbols and "ground 

 the air in metaphysic mills." 



Are the Effects of Use and Disuse in- 

 herited? By William P. Ball. Na- 

 ture Series. London and New York : 

 Macmillan & Co. Pp.156. Price, $1. 



This is obviously and avowedly a con- 

 troversial book. The author takes the nega- 

 tive side of his question, in opposition to 

 Darwin and Spencer, and argues it with 

 much ability and in an admirably courteous 

 tone. He is not, however, alone in his posi- 

 tion, for he is able to name Weismann, Wal- 

 lace, Poulton, Ray Lankester, and Francis 

 Galton as disagreeing in greater or less 

 measure from the two great leaders just 

 named. The author examines in detail the 

 examples of Spencer and those of Darwin 

 cited on the affirmative side of this ques- 

 tion and replies to them. He next dis- 

 cusses the inheritance of injuries, and then 

 passes to certain miscellaneous considera- 

 tions. In conclusion, he affirms that use- 

 inheritance is supported by insufficient 

 evidence, while "the adverse facts and 

 considerations are almost strong enough to 

 prove the actual non-existence of such a law 

 or tendency." But, he says, "It will be 

 enough to ask that the Lamarckian factor of 

 use-inheritance shall be removed from the 

 category of accredited factors of evolution 



to that of unnecessary and improbable hy- 

 potheses. The main explanation or source 

 of the fallacy may be found in the fact that 

 natural selection frequently imitates some 

 of the more obvious effects of use and dis- 

 use. ... As depicted by its defenders, use- 

 inheritance transmits evils far more power- 

 fully and promptly than benefits." It is to 

 natural selection, without the doubtful aid 

 (as he deems it) of use-inheritance, that he 

 trusts to save the race as a whole from de- 

 generation. 



Astronomy : Sun, Moon, Stars, etc. By 

 William Durham, F. R. S. E. Edin- 

 burgh: Adam & Charles Black, Pp.133. 

 Price, 50 cents. 



The character of this book is indicated 

 by the name of the series in which it is the 

 second volume Science in Plain Language. 

 The author states that it is not a treatise on 

 astronomy, but that it " merely describes in 

 plain language some of the more interesting 

 facts and speculations connected with that 

 science." The divisions of the subject which 

 he makes are, the sun and moon ; the earth ; 

 stars, nebulae, etc. ; planets ; astronomical 

 speculations as to the formation of the 

 heavenly bodies, and the contents of space ; 

 the tides, etc. The various topics are treated 

 in an attractive style, free from mathemat- 

 ics, but in such a way as to impart as full 

 a knowledge of astronomy as most cultivated 

 people require. 



Derivation of Practical Electrical 

 Units. By Lieutenant F. B. Badt and 

 Prof. H. S. Carhart. Chicago: Elec- 

 trician Publishing Company. Pp. 56. 

 Price, *75 cents. 



How did certain electrical units come to 

 be called ampere, ohm, farad, etc. ? must 

 have been asked by many persons, know- 

 ing more or less of electrical science. To 

 answer this question is the task that Mr. 

 Badt undertakes in the little volume before 

 us. He gives in an introductory chapter the 

 general reasons for adopting the system of 

 practical units now in use, with a table show- 

 ing the names and symbols of the several 

 units, the quantity to be measured by each, 

 comparative values, remarks, etc. This is fol- 

 lowed by biographical sketches and portraits 

 of the eminent electricians whose names have 

 been given to these units. The list includes 



