LITERARY NOTICES. 



133 



tion of no intermarriage of kinsfolk) less 

 than one part in 16,000,000 to the consti- 

 tution of a man of the present day." He 

 deems three generations far enough to go 

 back for hereditary information, except that 

 any distinctly alien element of race or dis- 

 ease, which has been introduced earlier, 

 should be noted. Mr. Galton holds that 

 " the natural gifts of each individual being 

 inherited from his ancestry, it is possible to 

 foresee much of the latent capacities of a 

 child in mind and body, of the probabilities 

 of his future health and longevity, and of 

 his tendencies to special forms of disease, 

 by a knowledge of bis ancestral precedents. 

 When the science of heredity shall have be- 

 come more advanced, the accuracy of such 

 forecasts will doubtless improve ; in the 

 mean time we may rest assured that fewer 

 blunders will be made in rearing and edu- 

 cating children, under the guidance of a 

 knowledge of their family antecedents, than 

 without it." As a stimulus to the making 

 of these records, Mr. Galton has offered £500 

 in prizes " to those British subjects resident 

 in the United Kingdom who shall furnish 

 him before May 15, 1884, with the best ex- 

 tracts from their own family records." 



The "Life-History Album" is arranged 

 to contain the biological experience of one 

 person, and is to be begun by the parents 

 of a child and continued by the person him- 

 self from the time that he becomes old 

 enough. It is expected to prove of service 

 in the following ways : " 1. It will show 

 whether, and in what way, your health is 

 affected by the changes that take place in 

 your residence, occupation, diet, or habits. 

 2, It will afford early indication of any de- 

 parture from health, and will thus draw 

 attention to conditions which, if neglected, 

 may lead to permanent disorder. ... 3. A 

 trustworthy record of past illnesses will en- 

 able your medical attendants to treat you 

 more intelligently and successfully than they 

 otherwise could, for it will give them a more 

 complete knowledge of your ' constitution ' 

 than could be obtained in any other way. 

 ... 4. The record will further be of great 

 value to your family and descendants; for 

 mental and physical characteristics, as well 

 as liabilities to disease, are all transmitted 

 more or less by parents to their children. 



and are shared by members of the same 

 family." 



The first page of the " Album " is for 

 a " Description of Child at Birth," and there 

 is a leaf each for a " Record of Life His- 

 tory," " Record of Medical History," " An- 

 thropometric Observations," and "Photo- 

 graphs " for each five years of life up to 

 seventy-five. There are also charts on 

 which to record the stature and weight — 

 one for each five years up to twenty-five, 

 another for a summary of these five ; one 

 for the years from twenty-five to fifty, and 

 one for the years from fifty to seventy-five. 

 On each chart except the last are printed 

 curves showing the average stature and 

 weight of the male and female population 

 of the United Kingdom, so that the indi- 

 vidual may compare the curves which he 

 constructs for himself with these. The ap- 

 pendix contains tests of vision, notes on ap- 

 paratus, etc. 



Clavis Rerum (The Key of Things). Nor- 

 wich : r. A. Robinson & Co. Pp. 142. 

 Price, $1. 



This book embodies the conclusions of 

 its author in regard to the plan of the uni- 

 verse. He names six modes of being as 

 elements in which the universe subsists, 

 viz., matter, force, life, soul, spirit, and 

 God, defining soul as " that mode of being 

 which is characterized by intellect and will," 

 and spirit as " that mode of being which 

 is characterized by consciousness of God." 

 In his closing chapter, " Consummation," 

 he says: "Matter, force, life, soul, and 

 spirit, came forth from God in order that, 

 by the interior operation of their several 

 laws, they might be fitted to return to him. 

 . . . The return of the extrinsic universe, 

 through human nature, into God, is accom- 

 plished by the incarnation of the Word, and 

 by the personal union with him of all other 

 perfect individual men." 



Bleaching, Dyeing, and Calico-Printing. 

 With Formulae. Edited bv John Gard- 

 ner, r. I. C, F. C. S. Philadelphia : P. 

 Blakiston, Son & Co. Pp. 203. Price, 



In the chapter on " Bleaching," after a 

 brief historical review, cotton, linen, woolen 

 goods, silk, feathers, paper materials and 

 paper, straw, and wax, are successively 



