422 NATURAL SCIENCE [December 
It is true that exposure of charlatan after charlatan has raised a 
serious prejudice against such truth as does lie in these obscure 
branches of knowledge, while the sensational appeal they make to the 
unbalanced mind of the uneducated must always lead the scientific 
investigator to approach them with a caution and scepticism greater 
even than that which he rightly applies to all subjects of his study. 
But to write this down as a failure is to go too far. Much has been 
attempted and accomplished by trained observers and professional 
medical men, while mention at least should have been made of the 
establishment of the entirely new science of psychology, from the 
critical and experimental study of which far more promising results 
have already been derived than from the not always edifying exhibi- 
tions of mediums and clairvoyants. To judge from the fact that a 
quarter of the book is devoted to it, vaccination is the subject on 
which Mr Wallace feels most strongly. The opponents of this opera- 
tion can hardly say that it was accepted and enforced with unthinking 
speed ; moreover, improvements have been and are constantly being 
made, and we can hardly regard the statistics here collected as appli- 
cable to the vaccination of the future. The concluding chapters deal 
with militarism, the treatment of criminals, concentration of capital 
with its corresponding increase of absolute poverty, followed by the 
deterioration of those brought under its influence, and the spoliation 
of the products of the earth, such as forests, coal, and the fertile soil. 
That in these respects our century is no better, and often far worse 
than its predecessors, is too generally admitted to need emphasis here. 
But, whether or no the remedies to be adopted are those suggested by 
Mr Wallace, we venture to believe that remedies are being sought for 
most earnestly by an increasing number of men and women, and that 
even the nineteenth century may claim more than is here allowed 
to it. Arbitration has made progress, the treatment of criminals has 
improved, co-operation has become more general, schools of forestry 
are held to be essential, even the much-abused Indian Government 
has constructed irrigation works that will be the wonder of ages to 
come, and, as Sir William Crookes lately told us, the chemist is 
prepared to refertilise our worn-out soil. 
Let us not be too pessimistic. No advantage is ever gained without 
a corresponding disadvantage, and we cannot look for advance in all 
directions at once. The evils that we all deplore have been caused 
by those very benefits that we give thanks for, and a recognition of 
the evil is the first step towards its removal. As an honest attempt 
to look things straight in the face, Mr Wallace’s book deserves a 
welcome from men of all opinions. 
GEOLOGY MADE EASY 
GEOLOGY FOR BEGINNERS. By W. W. Watts. 8vo, pp. xviiit+352, with 310 illustra- 
tions. London: Macmillan & Co. 1898. Price 2s. 6d. 
TuIs is one of the best introductions to Geology that we have ever 
seen. Most books of the kind are ship-wrecked on a syllabus ; but 
Mr Watts, though planning his work on the lines of the revised 
syllabus of the Science and Art Department, has managed to steer 
safely through its narrow passages without sacrificing breadth of view 
or originality of treatment. 
