548 NATURAL SCIENCE. sept.. 



scope of the distinctively Darwinian theory to be relevant to Mr. 

 Romanes' book. 



The volume concludes with an appendix and notes, of which the 

 former is a criticism of objections to evolution on palasontological 

 grounds. 



After noticing the salient features of the book at such length, 

 it is unnecessary to add much concerning it as a whole. I will, 

 therefore, simply finish with the opinion that while it is scarcely to 

 be recommended to the unscientific reader as an introduction to the 

 general philosophy of biology, it contains, notwithstanding its defects, 

 much that is interesting and suggestive to the biologist. 



J. T. Cunningham. 



An Exploration of Dartmoor and its Antiquities. By John Lloyd W. Page. 

 Third Edition. Pp. xvii. and 316. With Map and lUustrations. London: 

 Seeley and Co., 1892. Price 7s. 6d. 



Considering its proximity to one of the most tourist-haunted 

 areas in England, and the ease of access to it both by road and rail, 

 it is surprising that Dartmoor remains one of the least-known of 

 British moorlands. Doubtless this is largely due to the villainous 

 reputation of its weather, originally established by the rhymes of 

 local poets and the lamentations of French prisoners, and still main- 

 tained by the Princetown rain-gauge. This, however, cannot be a 

 sufficient explanation while the Lake District continues to be visited 

 by hordes of rain-soaked tourists, and the lack of popular literature 

 has probably more to answer for. While the geolog}' of Wales, the 

 scenery of the Yorkshire moors, the literary associations of the Lakes, 

 and the antiquities of the Wiltshire Downs have received constant 

 description and discussion, the bibliography of Dartmoor has remained 

 comparatively limited. Since Rowe's " Perambulation " in 1848, there 

 has been no general work of merit on the area, except the 

 admirable article by R. J. King in Murray's Guide, or the same 

 author's "Dartmoor Forest and its Borders," until the publication of 

 the present work ; the issue of three editions in two years shows that 

 it was needed. 



The chief merit of the work is one which is its own reward, 

 being sure to bring success ; it consists not only in the author's 

 knowledge of Dartmoor, but in his love for it. He is full of the 

 stories and traditions of the moors, and of the legends of the demons 

 that dwell among its granite tors, or of the pixies that skip about 

 the boggiest of its bogs ; he knows well the peculiar manners and 

 customs that till recently survived in the seclusion of its dales ; and 

 he goes into raptures over the scenery, alike of the bare rounded hills 

 of the central moorland, of the weird rocks along its margin, and of 

 the picturesque valleys on its outskirts. His genuine enthusiasm for 

 his subject in all its moods and aspects is contagious, and does much 

 to disarm criticism. 



The book is divided into five sections, one dealing with the 

 general features of the moor, and the others treating particularly of 

 the north, south, east, and west divisions. The especial sections are 

 obviously based in the main on the author's journal, as he takes us 

 along the lines of his different visits, pleasantly telling us of what he 

 saw. The directions given, however, are quite insufficient for any- 

 one to find the way by them, and the book thus combines the disad- 

 vantages of a topographical instead of a subject classification, without 



