134 



NATURE 



[Dec. 14, 1876 



existed, but has failed also to make it in any the least 

 degree probable that it ever existed " (p. 449). 



I will, in reply, content myself here with quoting one 

 authority only for the existence of my first stage, an 

 authority for whom I have the highest respect, namely, 

 Mr. McLennan himself :— " I conceive," he says, " that 

 marriage was at first unknown ;" in fact, the initial state 

 in his system is practically the same as in mine ; the dif- 

 ferences between our views lie in the subsequent stages. 



In his last essay Mr. McLennan discusses Sir Henry 

 Maine's views on the Ancient Irish Family. The ques- 

 tion is very complex, and those who have not Sir Henry's 

 work by their side for reference will not find this chapter 

 very easy to follow. 



The Irish family " was anciently divided into four 

 groups known as the 'geilfine,' ' deirbfine,' ' iarfine,' and 



'indfine' divisions Within the family seventeen 



members were organised in four divisions, of which the 

 junioi class, known as the ' geilfine ' divisions, consisted 

 of five persons ; the ' deirbfine ' the second in order, the 

 * iarfine ' the third in order, and the ' indfine ' the senior 



of all, consisted respectively of four persons If 



any person was born into the ' geilfine ' division, its 

 eldest member was promoted into the 'deirbfine,' the 

 eldest member of the ' deirbfine ' passed into the ' iarfine,* 

 the eldest member of the ' iarfine ' moved into the ' indfine,' 

 and the eldest member of the ' indfine ' passed out of the 

 organisation altogether." 



A co7nplete family therefore would be composed as follows : — 



On many points, however, Mr. McLennan dissents 

 from the views of Sir H. Maine. 



Sir Henry Maine, for instance, says, *' The Brehon 

 writers speak of its (the geilfine division) consisting of a 

 father, son, grandson, great-grandson, and great-great- 

 grandson, which is a conceivable case of geilfine relation- 

 ship, though it can scarcely be a common one." Mr. 

 McLennan, on the contrary, thinks that " it was, actually 

 or constructively, the only one — when the division was 

 full — i.e., when all its possible members were in being." 



Again, Sir Henry Maine considers this strange 

 arrangement to be " a monument of that power of the 

 father which is the first and greatest landmark in the 

 course of legal history." 



Mr. McLennan entirely dissents from this, and indeed 

 after discussing Sir Henry Maine's views with ingenuity 

 and erudition, he concludes that the objections he has 

 brought forward " are fatal to Sir Henry Maine's account 

 of the system. He has failed to throw light either on its 

 purposes or its principles. He has made no single feature 

 of it clear in the light of Roman law, and, after all his 

 ingenious reasonings, has left its main features as myste- 

 rious as he found them." 



Whatever conclusions on these subjects may ultimately 

 be arrived at, everyone who reads Mr. McLennan's book 

 must feel that he brings to the inquiry an immense 



amount of learning, and has stated his views with great 

 ingenuity. All students of early history will hope that he 

 may have leisure and health to pursue his studies. 



John Lubbock 



OUR BOOK SHELF 



Science in Sport made Philosophy in Earnest. Edited by 

 R. Routledge, B.Sc, F.C.S. (London : Routledge and 

 Sons, 1877.) 



The title of this book at once recalls Dr. Paris' *' Philo- 

 sophy in Sport made Science in Earnest." The author, 

 however, tells us in his preface, that the reason he has 

 adopted so similar a title is that his original design was to 

 re-edit Dr. Paris's well-known, but now antiquated, book ; 

 finding, however, that mere patchwork would not bring 

 the book into harmony with the present state of science, 

 he determed to treat the subject afresh, and the volume 

 before us is the result of that determination. The inver- 

 sion of the title is, we think, wise, though some will 

 object to the use of the word philosophy in the sense 

 meant by the author, and will contend that the term 

 physics should have been employed. The graver question 

 is whether, under any circumstances, science should be 

 taught by sugar-sticks. Our own opinion is decidedly 

 against all books of this kind, and there can be little doubt 

 intelligent children prefer not being trapped into the study 

 of any subject, but like work openly and honestly put 

 before them. Such books as the original editions of Mrs. 

 Marcet's " Conversations in Chemistry," or the altogether 

 admirable '' Chapters on Sound," and other little books 

 by Miss C. A. Martineau, are the best kind of reading to 

 put into the hands of children who wish to learn the rudi- 

 ments of natural knowledge. Nevertheless, Mr. Rout- 

 ledge has done his work extremely well. Those who like 

 science and a story running together, will here find a 

 trustworthy, clear, and accurate introduction to the study 

 of physics. W. F. B. 



Mushrooms attd Toadstools. By Worthington G. Smith. 

 (London : Hardwicke and Bogue.) 



This is a reprint in a separate form of the descriptions 

 illustrative of two large sheets of figures of edible and 

 poisonous fungi, with the addition of two key-plates. 

 Not having been written and designed for separate 

 publication, it is consequently not so complete as it might 

 otherwise have been, and we doubt whether by itself it 

 will prove of much service in the discrimination of good 

 and bad fungi. Mr. Worthington Smith may be accepted 

 as a safe and trustworthy guide, having himself suffered 

 on one or two occasions from reckless indulgence in 

 doubtful species ; he is desirous of sparing others like 

 sufferings, and approaches the subject fortified by expe- 

 rience. In conjunction with the plates this key is ad- 

 mirably suited to fulfil its purpose ; as a separate work, 

 we doubt whether the author himself would feel wholly 

 satisfied. If this reprint leads to a wider acquaintance 

 with the diagrams, which ought to find a place in every 

 schoolroom, its reproduction in this form will fully justify 

 the step which the publishers have taken. M. C. C. 



Between the Danube and the Black Sea; or, Five Years 

 in Bulgaria. By Henry C. Barkley, C.E. (London : 

 John Murray, 1876.) 



This book has not been written to take advantage of the 

 interest in Bulgaria excited by the present crisis. Mr. 

 Barkley really spent twelve years in Turkey — the first five 

 commencing shortly alter the Crimean war, and the other 

 seven at a subsequent period. He was employed as an 

 engineer in connection with a Bulgarian railway, and had 

 ample opportunities of becoming well acquainted with the 

 country and ^the people. These opportunities he took 

 good advantage of, and in the volume before us has re- 

 corded his impressions and adventures in simple and 



