June 22, 191 1] 



NATURE 



551 



The author collected masks, though Andree and 

 Mthers have denied this occurrence in Greenland, which 

 are probably used for magico-religious purposes, as 



1 Alaska. He unduly emphasises the similarity of 



ype occasionally found between Eskimo and American 

 Indians, which he attributes to kinship of race. The 

 low stature of the Eskimo he regards as an adaptation 

 to the climate of the far north, as the strong storms 

 do not permit tall plants to grow, and sug-g^ests that 

 the lack of hair on the face of the pure Eskimo is 

 consequent on the inconvenience caused by the forma- 

 tion of icicles ! West Greenlanders are for the most 

 part of mixed Eskimo and Danish origin ; in fact, 

 the largest "colony" boasts of onlv one pure-bred 

 Eskimo. 



The seal plays a very large part in the life of the 

 Eskimo, and Dr. Trebitsch grives some interesting 

 details of the methods employed in capturing it. The 

 kayak is provided with a square white sail, almost 

 concealing the hunter, which the seal is supposed to 

 mistake for an iceberg. The seal is first shot with a 

 rifle, and then harpooned, so that the harpoon float 

 may prevent it from sinking. In winter two men use 

 a harpoon with a composite shaft some 6 metres long. 

 A very large and a small hole are bored in the ice ; 

 one hunter lies down peering into the former, and 

 when he catches sight of a seal he moves the harpoon 

 point to and fro in the small hole, which attracts the 

 seal. At the right moment both men thrust the 

 harpoon with all their might. This mode of hunting 

 is called "he looks through a hole." In East Green- 

 land bait is employed. The mainland Eskimo, how- 

 ever, always wait for a seal to come up to a breathing 

 hole. 



Native social customs are considerably in abeyance 

 among the Christianised Eskimo, but the author was 

 sometimes able to secure traces of the past; for in- 

 stance, one missionary allowed the performance of one 

 of the old native dances. The songs and stories, of 

 which a large collection of phonographic records was 

 taken, are in many cases modern, but some are mani- 

 festly old, and refer to cannibalism, exchange of wives, 

 and the mating of girls with animals. Many of the 

 songs have a homely vein. In some cases the distri- 

 bution of the folk-tales is discussed. There is an 

 ethnological appendix by Dr. M. Haberlandt, who 

 describes the objects collected by Dr. Trebitsch for the 

 Vienna Museum. A. C. Haddon. 



A VETERAN ANTHROPOLOGIST. 

 Memories of Eighty Years. Bv Dr. John Beddoe, 

 F.R.S. Pp. xi + 322. (Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith ; 

 London : Simpkin, Marshall and Co., Ltd., 1910.) 

 Price 7.9. 6d. net. 



DR. BEDDOE has followed the example of another 

 distinguished anthropologist, the late Sir 

 Francis Galton, in writing the memories of his life. 

 This practice is to be commended, as it furnishes not 

 only pleasant reading with a great deal of human 

 interest, but also valuable material for the future 

 historian of anthropology. 



Dr. Beddoe, who may well be regarded as the 

 founder of field anthropology, since he began making 

 NO. 2173, VOL, 86] 



observations on hair and eye colours seventy years 

 ago, records in this book the leading events of a 

 long and active career. Born in 1826, on the English 

 side of the Welsh border, he started life as a student 

 of law, but soon abandoned that for the more con- 

 genial study of medicine. He acquired his medical 

 knowledge at University College, London, and the 

 LTniversity of Edinburgh. 



In 1854 he went out to the Crimea as a member 

 of a civil medical staff, where, though he had very little 

 medical service to perform, he had the opportunity 

 of making observations on many Oriental races. 

 After his return from the Crimea, he decided to com- 

 plete his medical studies at Vienna, and he gives an 

 interesting account of his journey through Holland. 

 Germany, and Bohemia, with many valuable and 

 original observations on the ethnological features of 

 the races he encountered on the way. He met van 

 der Hoeven in Holland, and Virchow at Berlin. In 

 Vienna he found the upper classes were of the Ger- 

 manic tvne, and the lower orders very mixed, with a 

 large Slavic element. 



On leaving Vienna he returned to England through 

 Italy and France, adding much to his knowledge of 

 the races of those countries, which at that date were 

 unexplored fields for the anthropologist. He finally 

 settled down as a medical practitioner in Bristol. 



The long list of anthropological papers published 

 by Dr. Beddoe shows how persistently the rest of his 

 life has been devoted to his favourite science. 



In 1867 he was awarded a prize of 100 guineas 

 by the Welsh National Eisteddfod for the best essay 

 on the origin of the English nation, which was after- 

 wards embodied in his classical book on the " Races 

 of Britain." 



He was the proposer of the first anthropometric 

 committee of the British Association, and also the 

 initiator of a separate section for anthropology at the 

 B.A. In i88q he was president of the Anthropological 

 Institute, and he gives many interesting details about 

 the amalgamation of the two older anthropological 

 societies to form the institution which at present re- 

 presents anthropology in this country. 



Even now, in his eighty-fifth year, Dr. Beddoe's 

 mental keenness and activity would put to shame 

 that of most younger men. 



PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. 

 Introduction to Physical Chemistry. By Prof. J. 



Walker, F.R.S. Sixth edition. Pp. xii + 417. 



(London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1910.) Price 



10s. net. 



A FTER a useful life of eleven years, this well- 

 -iV known text-book appears in a thoroughly revised 

 edition, in whicii, no doubt, it will continue to be a 

 standard work. At first sight it appears as if the 

 size of the work had remained sensibly constant — to 

 use a favourite term of physical chemistry — actually 

 there has been an increase of 27 per cent., and the 

 additional chapters on alloys, hydrates, colloidal solu- 

 tions, dimensions of atoms and molecules, neutrality 

 and salt hydrolysis, electromotive force, polarisation 

 and electrolvsi^;, nrd radio-active triuT^formations have 



