414 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[April, 1906. 



White, Col. Hawker, and Charles Kinjjsley ; while the ob- 

 servations of others of the older but less famous residents in 

 the county are often no less interesting^. This is, notably, 

 the case with the records which have been selected by the 

 authors from the published works of -Sir Richard Worsley, 

 W. Gilpin, and J. R. Wise. We had imagined that nothing; 

 new of Gi!b<rt White's now remained for publication, but 

 this is not so, for the authors have succeeded in addinpf to 

 this volume a certain amount of hitherto unpublished matter 

 from M.S. in the British .Museum. The writers have in- 

 cluded particulars of some 294 species, omiltinpf such as are 

 o( doubtful occurrence, or have been introduced. Another 

 feature of this book is the beautv of the illustrations, 

 which have either been drawn by Mr. E. E. l.odi^e, 

 or are reproduced from photopfraphs ; while the printinij, 

 paper, and binding; show that the publisher is jealous of his 

 reputation. — W. P. P. 



Cloud Studies, by .Arthur W. Clavden (J. Murray, 12s. 

 net). — The study of cloud forms is certainly a most im- 

 portant subject, since it enables us to g^ain some idea of the 

 meteorological conditions of the upper atmosphere, other- 

 wise very difficult to obtain. Meteorolo£jists are apt to rely 

 almost entirely on the condition of the air within a very few 

 feet of the tjround, and to ignore that vast space of manv 

 miles high above our heads. Yet it is in the latter regions 

 that rain and snow are formed, that the main winds pre- 

 vail, often differing in strength and direction to those under- 

 currents close to earth, and that temperatures mav varv and 

 precede changes on the ground level. Bv carefullv ob- 

 serving the shapes and distribution of clouds much mav be 

 learnt of their conditions. The author of this book takes 

 pains to classify clo.id-shapes by the various names, and 

 asks, " Is it not time that Ihe international names were re- 

 garded as those of cloud genera, and to add specific names 

 for those varieties which seem to imply some difference in 

 kind? " It may be so, although it seems to us that clouds 

 cannot be classified the same as beetles or orchids. There 

 .ire too many cross-breeds, and entirely new species would 

 often be observed, but never to occur .again. .Altitude is 

 probably one of the principal factors in the variable appear- 

 ance of clouds, and this, as the author points out, involves 

 a complicated and difTicult process of obser\-ation. The 

 book is profusely illustrated with very good reproductions of 

 ])hotographs of clouds. 



Marine Boilers. Based on the work by L. E. Berlin, 

 translated and edited by Leslie S. Robertson. Second edi- 

 tion (John Murray, 21s. net). — The first edition of this 

 important work, by the Director of Naval Construction to 

 the French Navy, was issued in 1898, since which time much 

 progress has been made. The most not.able additions to 

 the present volume are a chapter on Liquid Fuel, bv 

 Engineer-Lieutenant H. C. .Austev, and the reports of the 

 .Admiralty Committee on Tvpes of Boilers issued in 1900 and 

 1904. 



Some Elements of the Universe, Hitherto Unexplained. 



Part IL, by A. Balding. (King, Sell, and Olding, Ltd., 

 pp. 32, IS. 6d. net). — Notwithstanding our unfavourable re- 

 ception of Part L, the author sends us Part II. , w'ith an 

 intimation that eight more parts are contemplated. Part I. 

 was at least amusing, though perhaps unintentionallv so. 

 Part II. is almost entirely devoid even of this saving grace, 

 consisting in great measure of scores and scores of diagrams 

 illustrating the progressive motion of the moon's apside 

 through a whole revolution. The effect is wearisome, and 

 is not lightened by the harshness of the description. It is 

 of course possible to find the L.C.M. of large numbers by 

 trial, or to compute logarithms for oneself. We prefer the 

 ordinary method, and even Mr. Balding does not venture 

 to apply his alleged " discovery " to the correction of the 

 moon's admittedly defective ephemeris, but simpiv gets his 

 " computed places " from the Nautical Almanac. It would 

 have been braver and more consistent to have gone further 

 into the future. As to the alleged " discovery " to which 

 we have before referred in connection with Part L, we 

 wonder if Mr. Balding really imagines that when he is 

 travelling the hands of his watch actuallv describe ellipses 

 instead of circles. We would remind him that guarded 

 abuse and thinly veiled sneers at the alleged short-comings 

 of Newton and Laplace, as compared with Balding, are not 

 argument, and that even if his notions were less obviouslv 



faulty, his attitude, which is not uncommon, tends to pre- 

 judice his case in the eyes of thinking men, who are inclined 

 to ignore even strong arguments when presented with such 

 questionable taste. 



Last" Words on Evolution, by Ernst Ilaeckel, translated 

 by J. McCabe (London : A. Owen and Co., 1906, pp. 127, 

 may be hoped most of us — do not accept Prof. Haeckel's 

 illustrated ; price 6s. net). — .Although manv of us — it 

 views on evolution and religion in their entirety, it is satis- 

 factory to have a well-written and concise expression of 

 these views in wdiat we are told is to be their final form. 

 In the preface the aged Professor states, indeed, that this 

 will be his last address to the public; and in this respect it 

 must have a special and in some degree a pathetic interest. 

 For, however much we m.ay differ from the more extreme 

 portions of the author's views, none, we hope, will fail to 

 admire a man who has been so true to his own opinions, 

 and who has maintained them so consistently against all 

 opposition, as h:is Prof. Haeckel. The present volume is 

 practically a report of two lectures delivered by the author 

 in Berlin in the spring of 1905, and contains a full summary 

 of all his views on evolution. It is a pity that in some 

 places the book is marred by careless editing, as on page 

 5;?, where we find the date of Lamarck's first work given as 

 1899. Wiirtzburg on one page and Wiirzburg on another 

 is a second example of such carelessness. 



The British Woodlice : A Monograph of the Terrestrial 

 Isopod Crustacea Occurring in the British Isles. By W. M. 



\\'< lib .md C. Sillem. (London: Duckworth and Co., 1906, 

 pp. X -f 54, 15 plates. Price 6s. net). — Most of us who are 

 not specialists on the subject (and these, we presume, must 

 be few), will be surprised on taking up this beautifully 

 turned-out little work, to learn what a number of species of 

 woodlice and " pillmillepedes " are to be found in our 

 islands. LTp to the present time it appears that those 

 desirous of making themselves acquainted with what is 

 known with regard to British Woodlice, have had to consult 

 a foreign work, and one which, by the way, is not easy of 

 access. This is not as it should be, for if there is one 

 thing British naturalists ought to insist upon, it is the pub- 

 lication of complete monographs of the whole of the British 

 fauna. In having accomplished this work for the group 

 in question, Messrs. Webb and Sillem deserve the sincere 

 thanks of their fellow naturalists. Mr. Sillem, it appears, 

 has drawn all the illustrations ; and drawn them, too, in a 

 manner it w"ould be diflicult to surpass. 



Darwinism and the Problems of Life : A Study of 

 Familiar Animal Life. By C. Guenther. Translated by 

 I. McCalie. (London: .\. Owen and Co., 1906, pp. 436. 

 Price I2S. 6d. net). — That a book of this class should have, 

 within a comparatively short period reached a third edition 

 in its native country is, of itself, almost a sufficient reason 

 why it should be translated into English. And when we 

 (ome to consider matters more fully, there is ample reason 

 for confirming this prima facin view. As a matter of fact, 

 there is no reallv trustworthy work on Darwinism — that is 

 to sav, natural selection — in this countr\-, composed on tho- 

 roughly popular lines; and as Professor Guenther's book 

 has been written for the express purpose of meeting such 

 a want in Germany, there seems every- reason to suppose 

 that it has a place to fill in England. One feature we are 

 especially glad to notice, to wit, the omission from the text 

 of the names of authorities. Too many scientific books are 

 hopelessly marred by the continual introduction of names 

 of persons of whom the public know nothing, and for whom 

 they care less. Of course, we do not agree with all Pro- 

 fessor Guenther's views ; but in the main he seems to have 

 expressed himself fairly and judgmatically. We may also 

 add a word of praise for the translator, although we rather 

 wonder what animal he means by a " fitchet weasel " — 

 mavbe a polecat? 



Experiences of a Naturalist in the Pacific, Between 1896 

 and 1899. \'ol. IL, Plant Dispersal. By H. B. Guppy 

 (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1906, illustrated. Price 

 2 IS. net). — So long ago as 1884, when surgeon on board 

 H.M..S. Lath, in the .Solomon Islands (when he had the 

 good fortune to discover the second largest species of frog 

 known), the .lulhor took an active interest in the modes by 



