1915.] . 333 



their success in other respects was very great, some of them having gone throiagh 

 many editions and having been adopted as the text-books of the French public 

 schools. These works extend over the whole range of science — mathematics, 

 physics, chemistry, astronomy, zoology, botany, geography, cosmography, 

 mechanics. Besides these scientific books there were others on management — 

 domestic and agricultural — as well as elementary works for young children. 

 And whatever he treated he adorned with his inimitable simplicity and truthfid 

 language, so that the influence of these various educational series on the 

 existing generation of our neighbours must have been very great. One of these 

 elementary works is now before the writer, and is the most charming child's 

 book he lias ever seen, called " Les petites filles, premier livre de lecture " ; this 

 work is really perfect for its purpose, and the illusti-ations are wonderful ; twenty 

 years ago it was in the 13th edition. Nattirally Fabre was appreciated by 

 French ministers of ediication, and it is pleasing to find that they did something 

 to alleviate the " grinding poverty " under which he laboured. 



To us, as entomologists, Fabre is bcist known by his writings on the habits 

 and instinct of insects ; and considerable interest has been attached to these 

 productions on account of the fact that he has been supposed to be an opponent 

 of the doctrine of " Evolution." As to this, current ideas are not quite adetpate. 



The early " evolutionists " were, perhaps, a little too much satisfied with 

 their position,* though the developments of modern science show that the ideas 

 then prevalent were distinctly crude. This was largely due to imperfect notions 

 as to the age of the earth and as to the rapidity of changes in the organic 

 world. However little we know, even at present, on these points, there is no 

 doubt whatever that post-Darwinian discoveries tend to teach us that important 

 changes are very much slower than was at first realized. 



Fabre opposes what he calls " transformism " — that is, the idea of rapid 

 change. And in all probability he was right in his perception of the 

 improbability of such changes. It is true that some of his arguments were 

 futile ; but still, his main position that we must not believe in "transformism " 

 maybe correct. The real state of the question being that, though change does 

 occur as "evolution" postulates, yet it is so extremely slow that, in connection 

 with current affairs, we may reason and act as if it were non-existent. Hence 

 when Fabre concluded that the instinct of a Sphex is aetiologically a fixed 

 quantity, he was right as to all the questions connected with it that we can 

 deal with by observation and experiment. 



This is a very inadequate view of Fabre's work in this department of 

 science, but we hope it may suffice to remove the notion that his ideas were 

 altogether erroneous. As a man Fabre can only be reproached with being too 

 xinselfish. Had he really tried to acquire funds for the purchase of a few books 

 there is no doubt he would have succeeded ; but he would sacrifice nothing of 

 his unselfish ideas, and when we recollect that he was born amidst poverty so 

 gi-eat that he had, as a child, to be sent from home so as to make one mouth less 

 to feed, we may well believe that he fortified himself with the idea that he was 

 doing fairly well, " passing rich on forty pounds a year." All honour to his name. 

 Would that more of us resembled him. — D. S. 



• The writer may count himself among their number, as he was greatly interested in the subject 

 before Spencer, Darwin, or Wallace jjublished their works on it. 



