May 26, 1 9 10] 



NATURE 



36: 



I'.Iso of great value. The first three chapters, and 

 some later ones, give a good account of the life- 

 histories of the oyster, the clams (Mya and Venus), 

 and the scallops (Pecten). One chapter deals with the 

 ciliar\' mechanisms in some of these animals, and, 

 being based on original obser\'ations, contains much 

 that will probably be new to most zoologists. There 

 IS also an interesting chapter on bivalve molluscs in 

 relation to human disease. Prof. Kellogg's book mav 

 confidently be recommended to all biologists interested 

 in the economic side of their science. J. J. 



THE FXL'yX OF CEYLON. 



L'ber die Geschichte der Tierwelt von Ceylon. By 

 F. Sarasin. Zool. Jahrbucher, suppl. 12, part i. 

 Pp. 160. (Jena :r{Q<i Fischer, 1910.) Price 7 marks. 



SINCE this elaborate piece of work embodies the 

 results of the biological investigations under- 

 taken by the Messrs. Sarasin in Ceylon during a 

 protracted period, it has good claim to rank as the 

 most authoritative attempt to explain the origin and 

 relationships of the fauna of that island yet published. 

 It is, however, really more than this, as it embraces a 

 survey of the relationships and probable migrations of 

 the faunas of south-eastern Asia generally, and their 

 connection with that of Africa. Very valuable are 

 the details given with regard to the geographical 

 range of the various genera of mammals, reptiles, 

 molluscs, planarians, and worms constituting the 

 Ceylon fauna. Ceylon, which long formed a portion 

 of " Gondwanaland," and is thus of great antiquit)', 

 appears to have been isolated from the Indian main- 

 land during the whole or the greater portion of the 

 Pleistocene period. 



From this antiquitj- — in which the island presents a 

 striking contrast to Celebes — the fauna of Cevlon 

 displays unmistakable evidence of a very mixed 

 origin, both as regards space and time. Not fewer 

 than three epochs of connection between the Oriental 

 region and Africa have left their impress on the 

 Ce\lonese fauna, one of these periods of union being 

 pre-Cenomanien, while a second was Siwalik. Special 

 emphasis is laid by the author on the part played 

 during the Eocene in the evolution of the fauna of 

 Ceylon by the irruption of the Deccan traps, which 

 for a considerable period formed an impassable belt, 

 dividing the peninsula into a southern area, including 

 Ceylon, and a northern area. Even after the cessa- 

 tion of volcanic activity, communication between these 

 two areas was greatly restricted, consisting of one 

 track on the western and another on the eastern 

 side of the peninsula, and even then practicable only 

 to animals capable of withstanding a considerable 

 amount of drought. The Siwalik connection the 

 author considers took place by way of Baluchistan, 

 Persia, Arabia, and Syria, or possibly to the south 

 of Arabia by way of Socotra ; and the author agrees 

 with Dr. Arldt that the connecting area was origin- 

 ally clothed with forest, and that the affinity of the 

 faunas of the African forest-zone, the Malav countries, 

 and southern India and Ceylon may be accounted for 

 by the subsequent deforestation of the tract, and the 

 NO. 2 I I 7, VOL. 83] 



retreat of the animals to districts where suitable con- 

 ditions still remained. 



Dr. Sarasin likewise admits a former connection 

 between Ceylon and eastern Africa and Madagascar ; 

 but considers that a chain of islands will explain the 

 facts of the case, and that recourse to a continental 

 " Lemuria " is quite unnecessary'. He likewise accepts 

 a connection with the Malay islands, probably by way 

 of the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, and has 

 also something to say with regard to the South 

 American affinities of the Indo-African fauna. In 

 Ceylon itself the older forms of life, such as plana- 

 rians, worms, and molluscs, have a very different dis- 

 tributional history from those of the later mammals, 

 and thereby present another contrast to Celebes, 

 where the advent of all was synchronous. A valuable 

 digest of the previous literature concludes this excel- 

 lent piece of work. R. L. 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF EXPERIENCE. 

 The Principles of Pragmatism : a Philosophical Inter- 

 pretation of Experience. By H. Heath Bawden. 

 (Boston and New York : Houghton Mifflin Co., 

 1910.) Price 1.50 dollars net. 



THLS is an altogether admirable exposition of 

 the views which are usually associated with the 

 names of Peirce, James, and Dewey in America, and 

 Schiller in England. It does not claim to construct 

 a svstem,. but only to show how we may establish 

 the basal conceptions of a new philosophy of experi- 

 ence. 



Pragmatism is the reaction from a speculative 

 philosophy which was out of touch with the affairs 

 of men. The practical man follows with interest the 

 development of a working hypothesis in science, but 

 is impatient of speculations on the infinite and eternal. 

 He values thinking, but he insists that thought shall 

 keep close to experience. He has no use for empty 

 abstractions. The metaphysician has spun a universe 

 out of his own inner consciousness, and tries to make 

 the facts fit his system. The pragmatist seeks the 

 cooperation of the man of science in constructing a 

 philosophy which shall be accurate in method and 

 shall fit the facts. 



Philosophy must start, not with a great First Cause 

 or absolute, but with concrete, workaday human 

 life. It must tr>' to understand experience here and 

 now, and from that as a basis proceed to work out- 

 ward to the metaphysical problems. All the problems 

 of origin and destiny need to be re-stated in terms of 

 present experience. Such a procedure, if it does not 

 much reduce the number of mysteries which lie about 

 us, will at least save us from multiplying them un- 

 necessarily. 



The question of immortality, for instance, turns on 

 the nature of individuality. In spite of all the argu- 

 ments — theological, intuitional, revelational, ethical, 

 and what not — most persons find their faith in a 

 future life scarcely more than a wish. Why? Because 

 the self for whose immortality they hope is an unreal 

 abstraction. 



"The self is conceived as a particularistic entity, 

 with barriers to other selves. While, in societv, indi-- 



