124 NATURAL SCIENCE. August. 



counter to certain recognised authorities. The future will show 

 whether he has really proved some of his positions ; in the meantime, 

 we may give him credit for attempting to make the most of his 

 special knowledge in this department. We venture to think, how- 

 ever, that a considerable portion of Part I. might have been omitted, 

 as bearing more upon " special anthropology " and archaeology, and 

 the space thus saved might have been devoted to the main object of 

 the book as suggested by its title. But the marrow of the book, " la 

 grande synthase," is the construction of a phylogenetic tree of the 

 human race, complete to its minutest twigs. The attempt, even were 

 it less successful, would be of value, and the fact that it is in many 

 places open to criticism chiefly shows how much opinions still differ 

 on important points. In this part, chapter xii., on "■Homo Mongolicus,'' 

 is the most interesting, as giving us a discussion of the Finno-Tatar, 

 Chuckchi, Japanese, and Malay racial problems, with the author's 

 original views. 



In the preface, Mr. Keane apologises for dogmatism ; but there 

 are two ways of being dogmatic, one is to take decided views and go 

 straight to the point on their assumptions, the other is to lose the 

 point in abundance of controversy and criticisms of those who think 

 differently. It is the latter method that is here adopted, and it does 

 not put the reader into a good temper. Surely it was unnecessary to 

 labour the point of evolution as against the " dens ex inachind view " ; 

 or to pass from an attack on Dryopithectis to criticism of unorthodox 

 theologians, de Quatrefages, and the " Dauertypus." The student 

 wants his synthesis, right or wrong ; he is only puzzled by this 

 abundance of learning, and by the arguments against all the other 

 synthetists. Nevertheless, the book fills a gap, and its second 

 edition, with the obvious errors set right, will doubtless come nearer 

 the ideal of the author and of the University. 



Cephalopods of the North Atlantic. 



Resultats des campagnes scientifiques accomplies sur son yacht par 

 Albert I^r, Prince souverain de Monaco, Fascicule IX. Contribution 

 a I'etude des Cephalopodes de I'Atlantique Nord. Par Louis Joubin. Pp. 63, 

 6 plates. Monaco, 1895. 



The present memoir treats of eighteen species of cephalopods, three 

 of which are indeterminable and five new. All were captured between 

 5° and 45° W. long, and 37° and 49° N. lat., principally in the Bay of 

 Biscay and in the neighbourhood of the Azores ; in fact, the seas 

 surrounding these islands have furnished so large a percentage of the 

 ■collection that Dr. Joubin has devoted the first section of his work to 

 a statistical discussion of their cephalopod fauna, from which it 

 appears that fifteen species have now been recorded, two of which 

 here appear for the first time. Most of them are widely distributed 

 forms, so that their occurrence in this particular locality does not call 

 for special comment. 



Passing to the systematic portion of the work, we note that 

 fragments of an example of the rare Alloposns mollis were found upon 

 the surface, where the animal appeared to have been attacked by a 

 number of cetaceans, whose movements directed attention to the spot. 

 It was perfectly fresh, and plate 6 shows its natural colours after a 

 sketch by the Baron de Guerne. The softness of its tissues was such 

 that it would probably have passed in fragments through an ordinary 

 trawl. Some fragments of this specimen and of another suitably 

 preserved enabled the author to make some observations on its 



