August i i, 1923] 



NA TURE 



199 



ance of social factors as contrasted with all others " is 

 duly noted, and he " fails to do justice to the con- 

 tribution of the individual to religious experience." 

 He also disagrees with certain aspects of Levy-Bruhl's 

 views, and with Rivers in his criticisms thereon ; he, 

 like others, cannot accept Freud's Cyclopean family or 

 his conception of totemism. 



The last chapter on early life and thought is an 

 admirable constructive effort on the part of the author, 

 m which he ranges himself on the side of the French 

 and German psychologists as opposed to British 

 anthropologists. 



As Dr. Goldenweiser freely criticises others, he cannot 

 object to having a few of his own shortcomings pointed 

 out. Buganda lies north and north-west of the 

 Victoria Nyanza ; we are told that " maize is perhaps 

 the principal staple food " of the Baganda (p. 83), but 

 Roscoe says no grain is grown and that plantains 

 furnish their staple food. There are more varieties of 

 Australian canoes than the two bark ones he refers to, 

 and the dingo is not a wolf, but allied to the Indian 

 dog. The decorative art of Australia is more varied 

 than he imagines, and ceremonies for the multiplication 

 of totemic animals are not confined to the Aranda, 

 as he seems to imply (pp. 109, 281). Pile dwellings 

 and tree houses have a more extended range than is 

 indicated (p. 135). The great stone images of Easter 

 Island are not " wooden idols " (p. 306). It is 

 incorrect to describe Elliot Smith as a " follower " 

 of Rivers ; if anything, the reverse is nearer the 

 mark. The statements are erroneous that " Man 

 has never used man as a regular article of diet . . . 

 we do not hear of the eating of relatives " (p. 396). 

 Throughout the book the term " etching " is used 

 for engraving or incising : etching is a definite technical 

 process. A. C. Haddon. 



Sir Alfred Yarrow. 



Alfred Yarrow : his Life and Work. Compiled by 

 Eleanor C. Barnes (Lady Yarrow). Pp. xv + 328 + 78 

 plates. (London : E. Arnold and Co., 1923.) 

 10s. 6d. net. 



LADY YARROW has given us a most interesting 

 and genial account of the life and work of 

 Sir Alfred Yarrow and has successfully portrayed, 

 in happy and engaging style, a character which Smiles 

 would assuredly have been glad to utilise in his examples 

 of " Sell Help," and to have included in his "Lives 

 (it the I'ji^^incers." She has succeeded in showing 

 not only the shrewd business capacity of Sir Alfred, 

 but also his remarkable ability to apply science to 

 the needs of the great industry with which he was 

 chiefly associated, especially in those branches in 



NO. 2806, VOL. I 12] 



which he was in the front rank of pioneers for a very 

 long period. His admiration for the attainments and 

 discoveries of the man of science stands high, but it 

 is equalled by his appreciation of the sound sense 

 and fertility of resource of the skilful manual worker ; 

 and a perusal of the book will indicate the reasons for 

 his being in the forefront of those who have derived 

 advantage from the happy combination of the two. 



Lady Yarrow shows that Sir Alfred, equipped with 

 an abundance of scientific and general knowledge, 

 was quick to perceive when the teachings of science 

 or of handicraft, or both, could be brought to the aid 

 of his problems, and, soon satisfying himself of the 

 accuracy of his premises (generally by the help of 

 homely but convincing experiment), he rapidly pro- 

 ceeded to successful solution, mostly with satisfactory 

 and frequently with far-reaching results. 



It has fallen to the good lot of many to have been 

 associated with Sir Alfred in some portions of his 

 comprehensive work ; few, if any, can have been 

 connected with the whole of the developments in ship- 

 building and marine engineering in which he has 

 taken such a prominent part, and this story of his 

 life consequently contains much of interest that must 

 be new to every individual reader, however intimate 

 his acquaintance for a period may have been. To 

 all such the book will be highly reminiscent, and 

 naval engineers in particular will recall many exciting 

 incidents of the trying times which marked the 

 endeavour to get better than their best from the 

 coal-fired boiler and the high-speed reciprocating 

 engine, each in its special pandemonic environment. 

 As described in the book, these experiences con- 

 stituted a phase provoked by the demand for high 

 speeds which necessitated the use of extremely light 

 machinery, and they had to be endured to prepare 

 the way for the engine-room conditions that we now 

 enjoy — perfect peace with oil-fired boilers and turbines. 



Sir Alfred Yarrow's part in the development of 

 high-speed craft is generally well known, but the full 

 extent of the part he took during the War is perhaps 

 not so widely known. The chapters devoted to this 

 portion of his work do not disclose the whole of his 

 efforts, so remarkable in one of his advanced years, 

 but they are sufficient to reveal his high sense of 

 patriotic duty, and the versatility and value of his 

 vigorous endeavours. Lie enjoyed the confidence of 

 Lord Fisher in his work for the Navy, and amply 

 proved that the confidence was justified. 



But, in addition to his high professional reputation, 

 Sir Alfred is esteemed for his kindly disposition coupled 

 with more than an ordinary desire to help his fellow-men. 

 The author's note at the end of the volume delineates 

 this side of Sir Alfred's character in touching words, 



