360 JOURNAL OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES VOL. 11, NO. 15 



There are not many hard and fast lines of division in science, but 

 there is one that so far has not been wiped out — the line between 

 "living" and "dead" matter. For the rest of our booklist we shall 

 be dealing with sciences not primarily concerned with organic life. 

 The first general group of these is comprehended under the term 

 "geology," including all the sciences which are concerned with the 

 Earth as a whole, with the constitution and structure of its surface 

 and its interior, and with the existing evidences of its past history : 



DwERRYHOUSE, Arthur R. Geology. 301 pp. ("Romance of Reality" 

 Series. T. C. and E. C. Jack, London and Edinburgh, about 1917.) This 

 up-to-date book is attractively written in clear and simple language for 

 the general reader by a competent geologist. The larger part of it is de- 

 voted to the description of an imaginary geological excursion to a hypothetical 

 country. Thus the book loses something of its force from the fact that its 

 descriptions are not taken from actually known and named localities. In 

 the course of the supposed excursion many interesting geologic facts are 

 brought out and are made to bear directly upon the history of the country 

 and upon the development of its natural resources. Methods of field study 

 are also shown. 



Seely, H. G. The story of the Earth in past ages. 190 pp. (Appleton 

 and Co., New York, 1910.) An elementary little book, with references 

 mostly to British geology, but containing much matter of general interest. 



Cole, Grenville A. J. The changeful Earth. 223 pp. (Macmillan 

 and Co., Ltd., London, 1911.) "Inspiration rather than information" 

 is the keynote of the series of which this little book is a member, and it is 

 most effectively carried through, yet without sacrifice of accuracy. 



Lull, R. S., and others. The evolution of the Earth and its inhabitants. 

 208 pp. (Yale University Press, New Haven, 1918.) A very readable 

 book, well illustrated, and written by a group of skilful and inspiring lecturers 

 (Barrell, Schuchert, Woodrufi", Lull, and Huntington). 



Ball, Robert S. Time and tide. Third edition. 192 pp. (Society 

 for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, 1895.) Justly described as 

 a "Romance of the Moon." Two lectures in popular language devoted to 

 the evolution of the Earth-Moon system. 



Spurr, J. E., Editor. Political and commercial geology and the world's 

 natural resources. 562 pp. (McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1920.) The 

 political and commercial aspect of Earth-science is usually put under the 

 heading of "geography." This book is in that sense a geographic book, 

 for it tells of the location and accessibility of the world's mineral supplies 

 rather than of their origin and geologic relationships. Mr. Spurr is well fitted 

 to present this readable and accurate account of the subject by his training 

 as an editor, mining geologist, and member of the Government's boards on 

 war minerals. 



Brigham, Albert P. Geographic influences in American history. 285 

 pp. Chautauqua Home Reading Series. (Chautauqua Press, Chautauqua, 

 New York, 1903.) A popular account by a well-known American geographer. 

 The treatment is unbiased and scientific ; the presentation is orderly, thorough 

 and mainly accurate, though weak in some details; the style readable, not 

 catchy, but attractive and stimulating. 



