XXII 



TilS Gl" I UK TO NATURE 





A DRESSED-UP CHIMPANZEE. 



From "The American Natural History" by William 



T. Hornaday, Sc. I). 



mendable work by one of our most accom- 

 plished naturalists has been enlarged to four 

 volumes, has been revised, and the text 

 brought up-to-date. The volumes are pro- 

 fusely illustrated, the type is large and easily 

 legible, the text is entertaining. The publish- 

 ers have done their part well. They have pro- 

 duced a book to delight the numerous lovers 

 and students of animal life. 



Behavior of the Lower Organisms. By H. S. 



Jennings. New York : The Columbia Uni- 

 versity Press; The Macmillan Company, 

 Agents. 



Natura, maxime miranda in minimis. — Fab- 

 ricius. ( Nature is most to be admired in those 

 works which are the least.) 



More and more in recent discoveries in 

 microscopical biology the truth of the old-time 

 saying by Fabricius is becoming evident. Here 

 is a book that sets forth from beginning to 

 end the marvelous qualities of various kinds 

 of microscopic life. In no other work that 

 has come to the reviewer's desk are, for ex- 

 ample, the Amoeba and Paramecium so well 

 set forth. After reading this entrancing book, 

 in which one is sure that all observations have 

 been recorded not in fancy but accurately, the 

 reader feels much the same sentiment for 

 these tiny creatures and for others similar 

 that one has after reading modern popular 

 books on birds and quadrupeds. Certainly the 

 Amoeba, however slow of movement, exhibits 

 antics as interesting as those of partridge or 

 of fox. It is astonishing to see how this tiny 

 bit of jelly is adapted to its surroundings, how- 

 it rolls along, may be driven along, and how, 

 most astonishing of all, it chases its food, 

 although this pursuit is not done with light L 

 ning-like rapidity. The animal lias no legs, 

 but it accomplishes its purpose successfully 

 without them. 



It is natural to ask the question, "Are these 

 interesting performances the outcome of con- 

 sciousness?" That the author cannot answer 

 because, as he well says: 



"It is clear that objective evidence cannot 

 give a demonstration either of the existence 

 or of the non-existence of consciousness, 

 for consciousness is precisely that which 

 cannot be perceived objectively. No state- 

 ment concerning consciousness in animals 

 is open to verification or refutation by 

 observation and experiment. There are no 

 processes in the behavior of organisms 

 that are not as readily conceivable without 

 supposing them to be accompanied by con- 

 sciousness as with it." 



The book is designed in the main for ad- 

 vanced students but parts of it are more in- 

 teresting than a novel and will be read with 

 delight by every one that uses a microscope 

 in the study of those fascinating aquatic mi- 

 croscopic animals. 



Pets and How to Keep Them. By Frank 

 Finn, B. A., F. Z. S., Etc. New York: 

 Frederick A. Stokes Company. 

 This book, like most of our equally good 

 and similar books, is from England, but for- 

 tunately it describes many animals that are 

 kept as pets in this country. The author tells 

 us that the chief reason why so few people 

 keep pets as compared with those that keep 

 plants is because the knowdedge of animals 

 is not so widely disseminated as is that of 

 plants, and because the difficulties in taking 

 care of animals are greater than with plants; 

 but with proper attention and reasonable 

 knowledge the care of animals, he assures us, 

 affords the greater pleasure. 



Half- Hours in Southern History. By Jno. 

 Leslie Hall, Ph. D. Richmond, Virginia : 

 B. F. Johnson Publishing Company. 



There are two sides to every question, and 

 from the standpoint of each side, that side 

 is right. The better the North understands 

 the South, and the better the South under- 

 stands the North, the stronger the country as 

 a nation. It seems late in the day to talk- 

 about North or South, yet we fear there are 

 some teachers of civil history in the North 

 who do not fully appreciate the southern 

 point of view. This book undoubtedly will 

 be useful to the southern teacher in inspiring 

 the boys and girls with patriotism for every 

 part of the country, but we believe it will be 

 even more important in leading the northern 

 teacher to see that justice is done to southern 

 sentiment. One does not need to live long in 

 the South nor meet many of the people there 

 before he realizes that many in the North have 

 not in the past done justice to the South, and 

 that the error has not yet been entirely cor- 

 rected. For a convenient handbook from the 

 southern point of view, I have not seen any- 

 thing more concise and interesting than this 

 little book. Every true patriot should be 

 proud of the whole country and this book is 

 designed to inspire one with such broad, 

 liberal patriotism. It would be but well for 

 the country's future if this little book should 

 be adopted as a part of the course in history 

 in every northern school. 



