X 



Supplement to Nature, March 21, 190 r 



household articles, such as brackets, ^oo^s and bolts^ 

 I have seen steamer after steamer disgorge this paying 

 Ind usefufballast at Shanghai. Another revelation is 

 ?he commercial capacity of the Bombay yarn • • .of 

 which Japan also, who now sends her own yarn and 

 See goods to China, for some years imported annually 

 Sne mSn sterling's' worth. The trade m arms and 

 ammunition has enormously expanded, chiefly in tne 

 Ws of the Germans, who are now receiving an un- 

 pfeasant reminder that this particular activity is apt to 

 cut both ways." 



Mr Parker speaks, and speaks justly, of the honesty 

 of the Chinese merchants, and has somethmg to say 

 for the honesty of the people generally. But, like the 

 sale of arms, his argument on this subject cuts both 

 ways. He assures us that he never lost anything of 

 value while in China. This may perhaps be accounted 

 for by the facts that he always kept his safe locked, 

 and that he possessed no jewellery but that which he 

 Tabituany wore on his person He incident^ly mentions 

 also that on one occasion he asked his "boy how it 

 was that so many of his forks had a stain^ To which 

 his "boy" replied that it had been done by 

 "various coolies or underservants, each of whom m 

 succession invariably tested the electro on his own 

 account, merely as a businesslike act. 



On another occasion, when he wished to lock up the 

 same electro box, he (the " boy ") said :- 



" Not at all ; if you lock it up, some one will mistake the 

 contltstr siWer!and carrythe whole box awa^ 

 it ooen • whereas, if you leave it open, each thiet will oe 

 able ?o ascertain for himself that it is not worth stealing. 

 The only time, he tells us, that he suffered any 

 depredation was when a thief, at an mn, earned him 

 and his bed to a convenient spot, and extracted a 

 valuable fur coat from beneath him, without disturbing 

 his slumbers. Altogether his chapter on the national 

 characteristics of Chinamen is amusing reading, and 

 all the more so since, quite unconsciously, ^e assumes 

 throughout his remarks on the subject the attitude of the 

 " Devil's Advocate." 



ANTHROPOLOGY IN ITS SCIENTIFIC AND 



EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS. 

 Anthropologie ah Wissenschaft und Lehrfach. By Dr. 



Rudolf Martin. Pp. 30. (Jena : Fischer, 1901.) 

 T^HE inaugural lecture delivered by Dr. Martin on 

 i the occasion of his appointment to the newly 

 founded chair of anthropology in the University of 

 Zurich may be described as a survey of the present 

 state of anthropological science, together with some most 

 •opportune suggestions regarding anthropology as an in- 

 strument of education. After a few remarks on the 

 gradual process by which anthropology has acquired a 

 position of independence among other sciences, the 

 author turns to the range of subjects now studied under 

 .the title of anthropology, and, in the first place, draws a 

 strong line of distinction between the physical and the 

 psychical aspects of that science. With the former are 

 placed the sciences of physiology and pathology, while 

 ^he latter division is taken as applying, m the hrst in- 

 stance, not so much to the psychology of the ^dividual 

 as to that of various groups of humanity judged by their 

 culture and social status. With the latter, the psychical, 

 NO. 1638, VOL. 63] 



division there must be ranked the studies of archeology 

 and of prehistoric anthropology. The distinction of the 

 classifications of mankind based on the two great divisions 

 of anthropology respectively is strongly insisted upon and 

 the methods of anthropologists call ^^ .^^^^ f^lrl 

 warning in this connection. The aims laid before future 

 workers by Dr. Martin are, so far as regards the methods 

 to be employed, a rational, systematic and uniform use 

 of numerical data; at the same time, we are reminded 

 of instances that have occurred in past years of mis- 

 apprehension of the true significance of the results of 

 such methods, and are warned of the -cessity of exer^ 

 cising the greatest care in judgmg similar results m the 

 to! With particular reference to the classification 

 of human races on physical grounds, the necessity o 

 employing, not a single character, but a combination of 

 fe^ures f the criterion of differences is dwelt upon at 

 some length, and the urgent need for immediate action 

 nThe cafe ^f primitive races now fast dying out is also 

 clearly expressed. The first part of the essay con- 

 cludes' with suggestions as to the lines of -vestigations 

 to be pursued in the case of mixed races, and ^th a firm 

 insistence on the importance of an intimate knowledge of 

 he anatomy of the mammals of the order Primates, to 

 those who work at the physical side of anthropology. 



Dr. Martin then proceeds to discuss the place of 

 anthropology in University teaching, and while consider- 

 C hat it must be studied in connection with what we 

 may call unapplied sciences (his Pre^'se expression is 

 "he mathematical and scientific section of the Philoso 

 nhical Faculty," for which we have no exact equivalent in 

 Sghlh univ J;sities), he is well aware of the advantages 

 conferred upon those working at the physical side of 

 anthropology by a knowledge of the elements of 

 meS sc?e'nce,'and, above all, of human anatomy as 

 studied in the dissecting room. A place 1. therefore 

 lafmed for anthropology in the edu-Uon of eve^y 

 professional man, but more particularly for those who 

 teach in the higher schools, for medical men, and la.t, 

 but not least, for those who hold administrative or other 

 no ts in colonial possessions. The application of anthro- 

 po ^g ical methods to the identification of criminals is 

 ^'mentioned. Finally, there are pointed ou the 

 claims of anthropology to figure as ^^^' f ^J^^^^ 

 education, independently of any P-fessional application 

 of its results, and we are reminded of the deep signi 

 ficance of the attempt to realise, in its fullest sense, 

 " man's place in nature." 



The foregoing notes will, it is hoped, convey an idea o 



the scope fnd purport of Dr. Martin's 1-..- J -: 



he mentioned that Dr. Martin, besides being the autho 



o^mpornt contributions to anthropology both in tb 



aboXy and in the field, is deeply versed mp^^^^^ 



^onhical studies. His opinions on the methods an. 



Zs of antopology will be received with aU the greate 



consideration by those who are interested in the futu 



of that science In a single lecture it was manifest) 



ipt ible to'do more thfn indicate the clnef points 



and we think that Dr. Martin has not overlooked any c 



.reat importance. From this point of view we t^ 



^hat the essay constitutes a valuable survey of the subjec 



and that" Ippea- very opportunely at the commenc 



ment of the twentieth century. w 1.. • • 



