FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



137 



as tbe law of mind, in contradistinction to 

 the process or principle according to which 

 evolution in general takes place, and which 

 the author calls the law of Nature ; not that 

 telesis is not also a natural law ; but it is 

 utterly unlike the other law, came forward 

 at a late stage in the history of cosmic evolu- 

 tion, and seems to have inaugurated a new 

 order of things. In dealing with the animal 

 world the law of Nature is replaced by that 

 of reason in destroying the tendencies of the 

 wild state and substituting complete sub- 

 mission to man's will, or domestication. By 

 a process of artificial selection, which sup- 

 plants that of natural selection, those quali- 

 ties which are most useful to man are ren- 

 dered more and more prominent until most 

 domesticated animals undergo profound 

 physical modifications in the direction of 

 utility. These modifications are not always 

 also in the line of natural evolution, but, so 

 far as the particular qualities selected are 

 concerned, they usually are so, and in many 

 cases careful breeding improves the whole 

 animal, so that man becomes a powerful 

 ally of evolution itself. This is not disproved 

 by the fact that such improved races usually 

 revert more or less to their original condi- 

 tion when human influence is withdrawn ; 

 but the fact establishes another law of biol- 

 ogy; viz., that natural selection does not 

 secure the survival of tbe fittest in the strug- 

 gle for existence. It merely fixes the exact 

 position which each species is capable of 

 holding in the general competition. This is 

 far below what it might attain if competition 

 were removed. Exactly what man does is 

 to remove this competition, and the immense 

 progress that every species makes is shown 

 in the improvement of the stock under man's 

 intelligent care. Substantially the same re- 

 sults have attended the operation of the 

 telle power on the vegetable kingdom. The 

 display of individual telesis on inanimate 

 objects and natural forces has been the 

 mainspring of human progress ; and the defi- 

 nition of civilization is reached that it is the 

 utilization of the materials and forces of 

 Nature. 



DecoratlTC Art of the IVorthwestern In- 

 dians. — The decorative art of the Indians of 

 the North Pacific coast — the subjects of 

 which are almost exclusively animals — is 



characterized by Mr. Franz Boas as differing 

 from other arts in that it is less convention- 

 alized and geometrical, and the parts of the 

 body may still be recognized as such, al- 

 though liberties have been taken with their 

 size and arrangement. The objects deco- 

 rated are always of practical use, and the 

 carvings are subordinated to them and limit- 

 ed by their shape. Carving is done mostly 

 in wood, but also in stone and horn, and is 

 usually in the round, in bas-relief, or, al- 

 though more rarely, in high relief. In con- 

 sequence of the adaptation of the form to 

 the decorative field, the native artist can not 

 attempt an artistic representation of the ob- 

 ject, but is compelled to indicate only its 

 main characteristics. In consequence of the 

 distortion of the animal body due to its adap- 

 tation to various surfaces, the animal meant 

 would be hardly recognizable if the artist did 

 not emphasize what he considers its charac- 

 teristic features, and these in many cases be- 

 come its symbol. Yet, while the symbolism 

 develops a tendency to suppress parts of the 

 animal, we find in the efforts of the artist to 

 adapt the form of the creature to the deco- 

 rative field a desire to preserve, as far as is 

 feasible, its whole figure ; and with the ex- 

 ception of a few profiles, we do not find a 

 single instance that can be interpreted as an 

 endeavor to give a perspective and therefore 

 realistic view of the animal. The represen- 

 tations are combinations of symbols of the 

 various parts of the body, arranged in such a 

 way that if possible the whole animal is 

 brought into view. A tendency is manifest 

 to exaggerate the symbols at the expense, of 

 other parts of the subject. 



The Chinese Oil Tree.— We find the fol- 

 lowing interesting information in the Con- 

 sular Reports, vol. liv. No. 203 : The wood- 

 oil tree (Aleurites cordata) belongs to a 

 family very common in China, known as the 

 Tmtg. It is mentioned in some of the oldest 

 books of the Chinese, where it is praised for 

 its beautiful flowers and for the peculiar 

 value of its wood in the manufacture of lutes. 

 The leaves, bark, and flowers of certain va- 

 rieties are used in medicine. The variety 

 from which the oil is obtained is known as 

 the ying tzu tung, so called from the shape 

 of its fruit — ying means a jar. Oil is said to 

 be derived from other varieties, but it is the 



