354 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[February, 1906. 



Answ^ers to Correspondents. 



Altitude of the Sun. In the note in the Januar)' number the 

 decUnation should.of course, read 23- 3' 28" instead of 28° 3' 28", 

 which alters the calculation. 



B. Lomax. " Baily's Bt-ads." Just before a total eclipse of 

 the sun, and when but a very narrow rim of the sun is visible, 

 this thin line suddenly becomes broken into detached spots 

 of light caused by the irregular (mountainous) surface of the 

 moon. This phenomenon was first noted by Francis Baily in 

 1836. 



J. H. The resistance of the air to a surface moving against 

 it is not quite as you put it. The formula should read : 

 P = X' X 

 when P = Pressure in lbs. per square foot. 

 V = Velocity in miles per hour. 

 X = A constant which varies according to different 

 experimenters, but may be taken at about 

 ■003. 

 It is very generally supposed that a bird gains a certain amount 

 of lift even during the upstroke of the wings. There are, unfor- 

 tunately, a large number of inventors anxious to obtain funds for 

 constructing their models, but, considering the very great 

 amount of time and money which, without doubt, must be 

 expended before a successful flying machine can be con- 

 structed, our advice to those not having such commodities at 

 their disposal is to leave the matter alone. 



REVIEWS OF BOOKS. 



Nebula to Man, by Henry R. Knipe (Dent and Co. : price £1 is. 

 net). — This is a fine work — original, poetic, and sublime. It 

 treats of the history of our planet from its very birth, and the 

 evolution of life-forms down to mau. Such a subject, so vast 

 in its magnitude, yet so hypothetical in its nature, is appro- 

 priate to verse, and accordingly this history of an eternity 

 forms a great poem, descriptive of what we know, or presume 

 we know, of ages long gone past. The interest and attractive- 

 ness are greatly added to by the profusion of well-designed 

 and well-executed illustrations. Many of them are coloured 

 plates, and represent various scenes in bygone times, from 

 views of nebulie and landscapes in the different geological 

 periods, queer denizens of the earth and waters, down to pre- 

 historic man. yuite a number of artists have contributed to 

 this interesting collection. If the whole is naturally to some 

 extent fanciful, the facts introduced are well authenticated, 

 and the notes at the end of the book supply references to the 

 sources whence these facts are culled. To give some idea of 

 how such a subject is treated in verse, we may quote a few 

 of the opening lines, and if the poetry be not of the highest 

 order, it is, at all events, well-worded and pleasing — 



A glowing mist, through realms of space unbounded. 

 Whirls on its way. by starry bests surrounded, 

 Dim is its lustre, as compared with theirs, 

 And more the look of stars dissolved it wears. 



The following, too, may exemplify some of the apposite ideas 

 included — 



Perchance descended from ihose gauze-winged flies, 

 That flitted joyous 'neath Devonian skies, 

 In places now some butterflies are seen, 

 Gay colours bringing to the sombre green. 



How great and varied. Nature, are thy powers ! 



Those monster reptile forms, those flying flowers ! 



And can it be that in some far back age 



In one life-form both had their parentage ? 

 We hope this is a correct quotation, although there is an 

 evident misprint in the book in the fifth of the lines quoted 

 above. 



The Uses of British Plants.— By an oversight we omitted to 

 mention in our last number that this book is by the Rev. 

 Prof. G.Henslow, M.A., and is published by LovclC Reeve and 

 Co. ; price 4s. f)d. net. 



The Nature and Origin of Living Matter, by H. Charlton 

 Bastian, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., &c. With 245 illustrations from 

 photomicrographs. Medium, Svo. (Fisher Unwin ; 12s. 6d. 

 net).— Dr. Charlton Bastian has produced a work replete with 

 interest. The views expressed, and the conclusions drawn, 

 are not seldom unorthodox ; yet, the author has great respect 

 for the opinions of others, in spite of — and not unnaturally — a 

 decided leaning towards his own, missing no link in the chain of 

 reasoning which will convince the reader of their soundness. 

 The earlier chapters will repay attentive perusal, as leading 

 up to what might be thought the more fascinating problems 

 of " Spontaneous Generation " and the Heterogenetic origins. 

 Dr. Bastian rightly lays stress on the " Uniformity of Nature," 

 as the basis of the hypothesis of evolution, for without this 

 " Uniformity " our knowledge of the past, and insight of the 

 future, would be indefinite and futile. 



Certainly, Aristotle did not hold this view, nor could it be 

 expected that he should, since it is time alone that has driven 

 " Chance " and " Spontaneity " from their position in nature 

 to be replaced by law and order. 



Evolutionists generally are not at one with the author's 

 more advanced views on the occurrence of Archiebiosis. The 

 belief of the majority is that living matter came into being 

 once only, and that in the distant geological past. Dr. Bastian 

 has Haeckel and Carl Niigebi with him in the belief that Archie- 

 biosis has been repeated times without number, and also that 

 it arises de novo now. 



How the formation of organic material from the inorganic 

 is, or was, brought about may remain a profound mystery, 

 whichever view be held. It must be admitted that Dr. 

 Bastian's researches into the natural origin of living matter, 

 from their inherent difficulties, have not, with any certainty, 

 convinced us that spontaneous generation does take place, 

 although his arguments and conclusions, founded on his prac- 

 tical investigations, help us to realise that its existence is not a 

 myth. To hold a biassed opinion on this question, Riicker has 

 well said, is " to beg the whole question at issue ; to decide the 

 cause before it has been heard." Pasteur was convinced of 

 the impossibility of " life existing without an anterior and 

 similar life, " having failed to find proof of it after twenty years' 

 labour. Dr. Bastian is equally positive that Heterogenesis is 

 a reality. Thirty years ago he turned his thoughts to the 

 doctrine of Heterogenesis; the evidence brought forward in its 

 favour, is that of a mature observer, working in Nature's 

 laboratories in quest of her secrets. The conclusions drawn 

 harmonise with the accumulation of evidence arising from ob- 

 servation and experiment, and all that is expected is that they 

 be the subject of impartial consideration. The views advanced 

 do not postulate any inexplicable departure froin the uni- 

 formity of Nature. Before us is a volume which will make 

 thinkers ponder the more, and should stimulate scientists to 

 fresh endeavour to emulate the author in attempting to solve 

 the problem of the nature and origin of living matter. — S. G. M. 



The Bontoc Igorot, by Albert Ernest Jenks, Department of 

 the Interior U.S. Ethnological Survey Publications; Vol.1. 

 The United States Government is preparing to consolidate its 

 dominion over the Philippine Islands by a scientific survey, 

 not alone of the physiographic aspects of the new territories, 

 but of the anthropological attributes of the peoples who are to 

 be governed. It is an example which may be commended to the 

 notice of the British Government, and the first of the publica- 

 tions of the new survey is in many respects a model publica- 

 tion. The Bontoc Igorots, who are a tribe living in the 

 interior of the northern island of Luzon, were selected for 

 examination; and Mr. Jenks, the Chief of the Ethnological 

 Survey, accompanied by his wife, spent some six or seven 

 months among these primitive people, photographing, measur- 

 ing, observing ; and learning their language. The results are 

 embodied in the work before us, a heavy volume — though 

 heavy only in the physical sense — well illustrated by between 

 one and two hundred photographs, diagrams, figures, and plans. 

 The Bontoc Igorots are a simple race, industrious agricul- 

 turists, with hardly any vices, no pastimes to speak of beyond 

 the stimulating sport of head hunting, and remarkably few 

 beliefs or prejudices. They are good natured, kindlj- and 

 generous ; and they are, one would say, a race well fitted to 

 live long. They are of good physical development, neither 

 tall nor short, fat nor emaciated, and suffering from no organic 

 diseases. Yet — such are some of the paradoxes of the simple 

 life ! — they grow old at forty-five, they are quite old at fifty- 



