630 NATURAL SCIENCE. oo-.. 



characters and of a tendency to certain diseases that invests the 

 temperaments witli their importance. Some such behef influences us 

 all in our dealings with our fellow-men ; the stage faithfully mirrors 

 it in its tradition that the hero must be of sanguine, the villain of 

 bilious temperament (the low comedy is generally lymphatic). Stage- 

 types, however, are rare in real life, and it is the ]irevalence of 

 organisations in which the elements (to use Shakespeare's phrase) are 

 mixed, that is, of compound temperaments, which raises difficulties to 

 the practical application of the theory. It is on the discrimination of 

 these mixed types that Mr. Stewart lays particular stress. He claims 

 to have rendered the study more easy by the ascription of form, as 

 well as colour-characters, to the chief temperaments. Since, however, 

 the form-characters of the sanguine, bilious, and lymphatic tempera- 

 ment are all the same, it does not appear that this indicates any great 

 advance. 



Still, as of old time, the great battle is being fought between 

 matter and spirit. Is it really true that every mental and moral trait 

 of an individual is indissolubly bound up with the structure of his flesh 

 and blood ? Nay, more, that the connection is so great that from the 

 outer we could, with but a little more knowledge, predicate the 

 inner man ? Does a man enter on life with ready-made work§, a 

 given motion, and a spring that will work so long and no longer — the 

 only thing that can modify his action mere external circumstances ? 

 These are questions of supreme importance, but they will not be 

 answered by vague generalities. The great want in Mr. Stew^art's 

 book consists in facts. A few are quoted from Mr. Francis Galton 

 and Dr. Beddoe ; but beyond the author's own statement, we can 

 find no indication that he has studied the subject in a scientific 

 manner. 



The book, however, is an interesting compilation and contains 

 some sensible, if rather obvious, remarks on education, the choice of 

 a profession, and the duty of biographers. Apropos of the remarks on 

 the last subject, we may complain that Mr. Stewart does not tell us 

 what his own temperament is. We infer, however, that he is sanguine, 

 since he seems to have the following mental .characteristics : — 

 " Favourable conclusions thoughtlessly drawn," " Equally happy in 

 the pursuit of little as of great ends," " Not minutely informed." 



Woodwork. By S. Barter. Pp. 343. London : Whittaker & Co., 1892. Price 7s. 6d. 

 Manual of Instruction in Woodwork. By George Wood. Pp. 104. Leeds : 

 E. J. Arnold, 1892. Price 5s. 



Circular 44, issued by the Science and Art Department in 1890, 

 contains several suggestions respecting the course of manual instruc- 

 tion in elementary schools. Paragraph 5 suggests that " clear ideas 

 respecting the growth and structure of woods may be given by means 

 of a small collection of the diff"erent descriptions of timber used in 

 carpentry." Writers of books on Manual Training in Woodwork, 

 with this suggestion in view, have thus included one or more chapters 

 dealing with the purely scientific aspect of the subject, but it is to be 

 regretted that authors capable of giving valuable information on the 

 best methods to adopt in manual training classes did not secure 

 some competent co-worker to write the strictly botanical part of the 

 book. If it is necessary to carry out all the Department's suggestions 

 in one book, there is a clear case for collaboration. The astounding 



