54« 



NATURE 



[June 30, 192 1 



make us pause, e.g. the suggestion (after reject- 

 ing all others known to the author) that the bio- 

 logical significance of the stag's antlers is to 

 divert the attention of enemies from the hinds. 

 Sometimes we wish the author had been a little 

 more bookish, for his remarks on the correlation 

 between antlers and reproductive organs are far 

 from being up to date. We are sorry that he has 

 no contribution to make to our knowledge of the 

 method of the ermine's assumption of its white 

 dress, the precise mode of which seems still uncer- 

 tain. Was Prof. MacGillivray right or Mr. 

 Aplin, or were both right? Sometimes the 

 author's generalisations pull us up with a start : 

 " There is no logic in the ways of Nature." But 

 we thought that Darwin proved there was ! The 

 fact is that Mr. Mortimer Batten is stronger on 

 the side of natural history than on the side of 

 biology. He rather scoifs at the protective value 

 of the whiteness of the mountain hare in winter, 

 but he does not mention the other utilitarian inter- 

 pretation — in relation to body-temperature. He 

 says of the common hare : ' ' Wherein lies the 

 secret of the hare's survival? In its fecundity, 

 and there alone." Yet the preceding pages make 

 it perfectly clear that this is not the case. Again, 

 to take a more concrete point, it is surely in a 

 metaphorical sense only that we can speak of the 

 hedgehog's fat serving " as sustenance during the 

 foodless days of sleep." It is interesting to 

 notice that the author occupies a Lamarckian posi- 

 tion as regards the mental endowment of the sub- 

 jects of his studies : — " All these things the water- 

 voles of to-day do not, probably, reason out for 

 themselves ; the knowledge of them has been in- 

 herited from countless generations of forefathers 

 who, atom by atom, grain by grain, have profited 

 by their experience, and, acting accordingly, have 

 handed their lessons on to their children, thus 

 establishing such life habits and customs of the 

 species that we have to-day a water-vole that can 

 hold its own." But we are afraid there is no 

 plane-sailing for this theory. 



We have often thought that great benefit might 

 result to science if a field-naturalist like Mr. 

 Mortimer Batten were to test biological theories 

 in the light of the everyday life of the creatures 

 he knows. If, however, this is to be of avail, 

 the field-naturalist must first sit at the feet of the 

 biologists, and he will not do this because they do 

 not know a badger's track. Thus the possibilities 

 of a mutually profitable partnership are lost. We 

 must not forget, however, that this book was 

 meant, not for biologists, but for ordinary folk 

 interested in the country, especially for those who 

 can understand and sympathise with the author's 

 plea for the pine-marten. To such the book is 

 NO. 2696, VOL. 107] 



strongly to be recommended. It is first-hand 

 material, vividly presented, abounding in pic- 

 turesque and essential detail, and making a reso- 

 lute attempt to see each of these wild mammals 

 as an individuality with a character and tempera- 

 ment of its own. 



Forestry in France. 



Studies in French Forestry. By T. S. Woolsey^ 

 jun. With two chapters by W. B, Greeley. 

 Pp. xxvi + 550. (New York : John Wiley and 

 Sons, Inc. ; London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 

 1920.) 365. net. 



MR. T. S. WOOLSEY, who is well known 

 as an expert in and an authoritative writer 

 on forestry, has given to American and British 

 foresters in his " Studies in French Forestry " a 

 means of gaining a deep insight into the theory 

 and practice of forestry in France. The material 

 for the present book was collected largely in 1912, 

 but administrative work at home and service 

 with the U.S. Corps of Engineers during the war 

 prevented earlier publication. That is, we 

 think, a fortunate thing, because the author has 

 been able to include much information regarding 

 the wonderful organisation of the French Forestry 

 Service and the Allied Forestry Corps in main- 

 taining an adequate supply of timber. Many 

 forests had to be clear-felled, and others were so 

 depleted of growing stock that " normal " pro- 

 duction cannot be secured for a century or more. 

 There are more than a million acres of French 

 soil to be restored to productivity, and the re- 

 habilitation of innumerable forests — 300,000 acres 

 — the growing stocks of which have been cleared 

 or seriously depleted, must be brought about by 

 the strictest economy at a time when the economic 

 demands for wood products will be at least double 

 the normal consumption. 



The attitude of public opinion in France in 

 regard to the rdle of the forest in national 

 economics is reflected in the extremely stringent 

 regulations contained in the National Forest 

 Code. The common law alone is regarded as in- 

 adequate for the protection of forests in France ; 

 therefore the special forest code provides not only 

 against wilful damage, but also against damage 

 due to carelessness or ignorance in dealing with 

 forests and forest lands. Still, it is not by these 

 means that France has established her State, com- 

 munal, and privately owned forests. She has in 

 actual practice relied more on methods of example 

 and co-operation in building up and establishing 

 for all time her excellent forest reserves and 

 systems of management. 



The influence of the forest or its indirect value 



