562 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



acquaintance with the subject, which made 

 him the fii'st choice as successor to Prof. 

 Baird in the office of Commissioner of Fish 

 and Fisheries. Uis own work, too, has been 

 supplemented by that of the late Commis- 

 sioner, and of Dr. Jordan, Dr. Bean, Capt. 

 Collins, Mr. Earll, and Mr. Stearns. The 

 classification followed is the system elabo- 

 rated and advocated by Dr. Gill. 



The Story of Creation : A Plain Account 

 OF Evolution. By Edward Clodd. Illus- 

 trated. Loudon and New York : Long- 

 mans, Green & Co. Pp. 2-12. Price, 

 $1.'75. 



The purpose of this book is to give a 

 view of the doctrine of evolution throughout 

 the realm of Nature, and of the kind of evi- 

 dence which supports it. The book is di- 

 vided into two parts — descriptive and ex- 

 planatory. In the former, the relations of 

 matter and power in the universe, and the 

 chief features of the solar system are touched 

 upon, while the past life - history of the 

 earth and an account of the present life- 

 forms are given more at length. In the ex- 

 planatory part, much the same order is fol- 

 lowed. Beginning with the universe, the ac- 

 cepted theory of its becoming and growth is 

 stated ; then follows a discussion of the ori- 

 gin of hfe, after which the question of the 

 origin of species is taken up, and the proofs 

 of the derivation of species are given. Fi- 

 nally, the author enters the field of social 

 evolution, and shows the application of the 

 doctrine to psychology, society, language, 

 art, science, morals, and theology. He in- 

 sists on a distinction between morals and 

 theology, but does not Join issue in the vexed 

 question of the relations of science and re- 

 ligion. The style of the text is popular and 

 picturesque, and the volume is abundantly 

 illustrated. 



Thk Geological Evidences of Evolution. 

 By Prof. Angelo Heilprin. Illustrated. 

 Philadelphia : The Author. Pp. 99. 



In this brief sketch, which is extended 

 from a discourse delivered at the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Prof. 

 Heilprin presents a popular view of some of 

 the evidences in support of organic transmu- 

 tation afforded by geology and paleontology. 

 He shows first that in geologic time " there 

 has been a steady advance in the type of 



structural organization from first to last — not 

 a necessary elimination of forms of low de- 

 gree, but an overbalancing of these by forms 

 of a more complicated or higher grade of 

 structure." He then traces back the history 

 of several groups of animals, showing that 

 by gradual modification they are derived 

 from ancestral forms which are connected 

 also with other and very dissimilar modern 

 groups. In the greater part of this discus- 

 sion, data drawn from the vertebrate ani- 

 mals are used, but the author adds, in clos- 

 ing, a few cases drawn from the mollusks, 

 which present equally striking proofs of 

 modification. The book is exceedingly well 

 adapted to promote a general intelligent be- 

 lief in the doctrine of evolution. 



In Nesting Time. By Olive Thorne Mil- 

 ler. Boston : Houghton, Mifflin & Co, 

 Pp. 275. Price, $1.25. 



This volume belongs to a class which is 

 happily becoming more common than for- 

 merly, namely, accounts of observations of 

 nature. The habits and actions of birds, 

 both free and in confinement, form the sub- 

 ject of the book, and the modest introductory 

 note claims for the sketches only that they 

 are genuine studies from life, not that the 

 facts are all new to science. The glimpses 

 at bird-life which the author gives have a 

 freshness and sprightliness that make them 

 intensely fascinating reading, while they have 

 also an instructive value due to their revela- 

 tions of bird habits and character. 



A treatise on The Fundamental Princi- 

 ples of Chemistry has been written by Prof. 

 Robert Galloway^ of London (Longmans), 

 which differs widely from the common text- 

 books on chemistry. The author holds that 

 the ordinary chemical works intended for 

 beginners follow too much the cyclopaedic 

 plan of great reference books, and he quotes 

 Prof. J. P. Cooke as saying of such works : 

 " To the great mass of learners the study of 

 these text-books is uninteresting and profit- 

 less, for before the student is made familiar 

 through long laboratory practice with the 

 materials and processes described, such a 

 book is little more to him than a catalogue 

 of names, to which he attaches no signifi- 

 cance." The present volume is more like 

 Prof. Cooke's " New Chemistry " than any 



