158 



The Review of Reviews. 



WHICH IS THE FINEST RACE? 



Under this title the February Strand publishes a 

 symposium. The late Lord Leighton said the nearest 

 approach to the Greek female type is the modern 

 Englishwoman of the upper and middle classes. 

 With the men it is different. Professor Bergmann, 

 of Munich, says the natives of Samoa are probably 

 the most beautiful race in the world. The Swiss and 

 Scandinavian, as well as the Italians and Turks, he 

 would put above the English. Mr. Marcus Stone 

 says, "The Italian is a typical human creature. 

 Our inarticulate and incomplete type of form 

 is more marked in women than in men." Mr. 

 Hamo Thornycroft challenges any country in 

 the world to show a type nearer to the Hellenic 

 standard than the English type. Mr. Frank 

 Uicksee certainly does not regard the_ English race as 

 beautiful. Mr. Briton Riviere agrees with Lord 

 Leighton. Sir William Goscombe John, R.A., believes 

 that the Southern Italians are probably the finest race 

 in the wodd. Mr. H. N. Hutchinson thinks that the 

 men and women of England belonging to the upper 

 middle classes are a better type physically than those 

 of any other European country of the same class. 

 Dr. Harrison Petrie awards the palm for men to the 

 Spanish peasant, and for women to the lower class 

 Venetians. Mr. Sandow, in the power of accomplish- 

 ment, pronounces the Englishman to be superior to 

 other races ; ne.\t comes the agile, hard-trained, and 

 energetic Japanese. Professor Meredith Clease says 

 that at the last Olympic Games, when the athletes of 

 a dozen different countries marched before the King, 

 " the unanimous opinion was that the British con- 

 tingent was by far the poorest specimen present, both 

 in physique and deportment." It looked very much 

 undersized. Mr. Arthur Diosy thinks that the 

 average Italian of Central Italy comes nearer to the 

 Hellenic standard. He would award the prize for 

 manly beauty to the Sikhs and Rajputs ; for female 

 beauty of face to Irishwomen, and of form to the girls 

 of Samoa. Sir Ernest Shackleton, wlio says he has 

 visited every country in the world, from China to the 

 South Seas, says the chances are — taking even Italy — • 

 that when one sees a beautiful woman walking along, 

 she is either English or American. Sir Sven Hedin 

 says that in physical accomplishment no race in 

 Europe can be compared with the Swedes and 

 Norwegians. The editor sums up : — 



Broatlly spc.iking, tlic niajotily of votes for pliysic.il bcaiily 

 go to the Italians, especially .is regards the men. So far, how- 

 ever, as women only are concerned the beauties of the liritish 

 Isles carry off the palm, although not by any means without 

 opposition. The Scandinavian nations stand high up in the 

 list as regards both sexes, and the Turks and P'rcnch are 

 selected more than once. On the other hand, the Germans arc 

 never mentioned, except in disparagement ; while, save for the 

 Spanish, the other nations of Europe arc prattically ignored. 

 Americans will be pleased to see that thov arc picked out by 

 one of the highest authorities as the most fast-improving race on 

 the face of ihe globe. 



THE GREATEST COURT IN THE WORLD. 



Under this title the February Strand gives an 

 interesting account of the Judicial Committee of the 

 Privy Council and of its official habitat. The writer 

 says : — 



If you would seek the inner shrine of Empire you must climb 

 a pair of stairs in a narrow street otT Wliitehall, cross a threshold, 

 push aside a pair of red-baize curtains, and find yourself in — 

 not a scene of imposing splendour ; far from it — but, neverthe- 

 less, in the greatest Court in the world. 



There is no human tribunal to approach this one in great- 

 ness. All other human Courts are petty in comparison. The 

 Supreme Court of America pi \A\y cl.aims that it is the final 

 Court of Appeal for nearly one hundred millions of people. 

 This Court that you have entered possesses jurisdiction over four 

 hundred and fifty millions. Vet never did greatness so ape 

 huinility. The bare, panelled room ; the arresting, almost dis- 

 concerting silence ; the unrobed figures at the two tables behind 

 the barrier — who would dream that it was here that Britannia was 

 seated on her throne, balancing the scales of justice amongst 

 White and Black, Hindu, Mohammedan, and Buddhist — from 

 the Channel Islands to Hong Kong, and from Johannesburg to 

 Hudson's Bay ? 



The writer tells an amusing story of a case from 

 India being finally settled by the mighty power 

 Judish-al-Komiti, who stands above the Kaisar-i- 

 Hind and all subordinate grades of government, and 

 whotn some of the Indians worship as a god, the new 

 god who rules the Etnperor. 



CANARY-TAUGHT SPARROWS. 



In Harper's for F'ebruary Mr. J. B. Watson gives 

 an account of some interesting experiments and 

 observations on instinctive activity in animals. After 

 touching on action/ that are purely instinctive and 

 automatic, he passes to consider those that are due to 

 social influence : — 



That social influence, in the form of imitation, rivalry, or in 

 whatever other ways social influence may exert its effect, doe- 

 play a lole in shaping the early responses of certain othti 

 animals comes out clearly in the work oT Conradi at Clail, 

 I'niversity. This investigator reared English sparrows in th.- 

 presence of canaries, keeping them from birth separate from 

 their own kind. The first sparrow was captured when one day 

 old, and was reared by a canary foster-mother. During the 

 growing period this sparrow was isolated from all other sparrows 

 and placed in a room containing about twenty canaries. The 

 native characteristic "chirp" first developed. As time went 

 on this was given less and less, being gradually replaced by the 

 "peep" which is natural to the canaries. The sparrow im- 

 proved in his vocal eftorts by this kind of training ; gaining the 

 confidence finally to chime in when the canaries would burst into 

 song. .\ second sparrow was captured when tHo weeks old, and 

 w.as reared in a room with the canaries. The regular sparrow 

 chirp had, of course, already dcvcluped by this time. After being 

 with the canaries for a time he developed a song which more or 

 less rescmbleil that of the canaries — it was certainly something 

 very different from the ordinary song of the sparrow. Dr. Conradi 

 says : " .\t first his voice was not beautiful ; it was hoarse; It 

 sounded somewhat like the voice of the female canaries when 

 they try to sing, lie sang on a lower scale; he often tried to 

 reach higher notes, but did not succeed. Later he learned to 

 trill in a soft, musical manner.'' In both these cases the call 

 notes of the canaries were adopted. These two sparrows were 

 then taken from under the luteLige of the canaries and placed in 

 a room where they could hear the song and call-notes i;f 

 adult sparrows. Eor the first two or three weeks the integrity 

 of the song and call-notes learned from the canaries was 

 maintained. M the end of the sixth week, however, they 

 had lost practically every vestige of the acquired canary song. 



