LITERARY NOTICES. 



843 



OuH readers are reminded tliat one 

 of the most important scientific papers 

 that have appeared in "The Popular 

 Science Monthly" since its establish- 

 ment is that by Herbert Spencer, in the 

 present number, on "The Factors of 

 Organic Evolution." It is a popular 

 paper, but it will demand close atten- 

 tion to appreciate its significance and 

 its force. The biological questions dis- 

 cussed are fundamental in organic evo- 

 lution, or the theory of descent v?ith 

 variations, and Mr. Spencer brings into 

 clearness aspects of the subject upon 

 which there has hitherto been much 

 confusion of thought. His root ques- 

 tion is as to the import and value of 

 the principle of natural selection con- 

 tributed by Mr. Darwin, and the decis- 

 ion of which must fix Mr. Darwin's 

 permanent place in relation to the doc- 

 trine of evolution. The need of a thor- 

 ough investigation here is shown, on the 

 one hand, by the confessed unsettledness 

 in regard to the limits of the doctrine 

 of natural selection, and how far it is 

 capable of accounting for evolution phe- 

 nomena — an uncertainty shared promi- 

 neutly by Mr. Darwin himself; and, on 

 the other hand, by the exaggerated and 

 extravagant claims that have been made 

 for this principle as being all there is 

 of evolution, and that Mr. Darwin is, 

 of course, its founder. No man was so 

 capable of dealing with this subject as 

 Herbert Spencer, and it will be a mat- 

 ter of general congratulation that he 

 has seen fit to take it up in the inter- 

 ests of science and of justice. But, 

 quite aside from all personal bearings 

 of the discussion, it will be found of 

 the highest interest as a study in the 

 progress of modern biology. 



Mrs. Rickoff describes in another 

 place in this number an exhibition of 

 hand-work made out of school by chil- 

 dren of from five and six to fourteen 

 years, and draws various suggestive 

 conclusions from the experience. 



Among these is the following remark : 

 " One of the noticeable features of the 

 exhibition was an apparent decline in 

 originality of invention and spontaneity 

 of thought after the first year or two 

 at school." The inference, of course, 

 is that the school exerted an unfavora- 

 ble influence upon the manual practice. 

 This could not well be otherwise, as the 

 ideal of the schools is mental cultiva- 

 tion by books, and not by the exercise 

 of the active powers ; and, as the 

 schools are machines run by verbal 

 methods and backed by old bookish su- 

 perstitions, the child brought under 

 their influence wUl very naturally and 

 very quickly lose any interest it may 

 have previously acquired in manual ef- 

 forts. The two systems are antago- 

 nistic, and we do not believe it is pos- 

 sible to graft any thorough or valuable 

 plan of technical study on our public 

 schools as at present organized. The 

 technical system must be independent- 

 ly developed, and will force its way 

 through or over the narrow, unpracti- 

 cal system that now has the field. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



An Introduction to the Study of Chem- 

 istry. By Ira Remsen, Professor of 

 Chemistry in the Johns Hopkins Univer- 

 Bity. American Science Series. New 

 York: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 387. 

 Price, $1.40. 



This is one of the cases in which the 

 bare announcement of the author's name 

 goes far to establish the character of his 

 performance. Professor Remsen could 

 make no other than an excellent book on 

 the subject of chemistry. He is a master 

 of the subject, thoroughly familiar with its 

 latest developments, a clear thinker, and a 

 lucid writer, and he has besides had much 

 practical experience as a teacher of the sci- 

 ence. 



The method of Professor Rcmsen's work 

 is thus distinctly presented by the author. 

 He begins his preface by remarking: "In 

 preparing this book I have endeavored to 

 keep in mind the fact that it is intended for 

 those who are beginning the study of chem- 



