16 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[January 1, 1901. 



energy. The sum of matter and the sum of force in the 

 universe are unchangeable. The law of energy holds true in 

 physiology. The growth, sensation, and movement of living 

 organisms depend on the conversion of the potential energy 

 stored in their food into kinetic energy. We now proceed to the 

 monistic cosmogony. " The world (i.(., apparently, the universe) 

 has no beginning and no end." The world and all living 

 organisms upon it have been evolved. There is an absolute 

 unity of nature. We cannot deny the affinity of the organic to 

 the inorganic : the elements contained in both are the same. 

 This monistic [ihilosophy leads inevitably to Pantheism. 



Even in Prof. Haeckel's statement of the theory of evolution 

 there is much to criticise. He has not got rid of Lamarckism. 

 Without even discussing the subject he decides that instincts 

 are due to inherited habit, appealing to Darwin, though Darwin 

 maintained that most instincts had quite a different origin. 

 Moreover, we want to know on what lines evolution is pro- 

 ceeding among civilized races ; whether, for instance, .science 

 and wealth are bringing about physical degeneration. On this 

 he is silent. Intellectual freedom, he maintains, would bring 

 about pi'iH/ress in science and civilhatiim, but as to further 

 evohttion he is silent. He exaggerates the achievements of 

 science. We know nothing about the origin of matter ; yet he 

 stoutly maintains that the universe has had no beginning. In 

 the concluding pages, however, he speaks more reasonably : 

 " We grant at onee that the innermost character of nature is as 

 little understood as it was by Anaximander." One more 

 criticism. He attacks religion with an acrimony that is out of 

 place in a scientific work. His hatred of it blinds him to the 

 fact that the evolution of civilized man (of Professor Haeckel 

 himself, with Lis strong love of truth and justice) would not 

 have been possible without the alliance of religion with morality. 

 A life of controversy has left its mark on Professor Haeckel. 

 There are subjects on which he cannot touch without losing his 

 patience, and sometimes even his dignity. 



"The Royal Observatory, Greexwicii : A Glance at its 

 History and Work." By E. Walter IMaunder, f.h.a.s. (Re- 

 ligious Tract Society.) Illustrated. .5s. — To the public at 

 large the Royal Observatory is forbidden ground, and we are 

 therefore esjiecially grateful for this authoritative account 

 of our national observatory and its work. The story of the 

 foundation and development of the Observatory forms an 

 imjiortant chapter in the history of science, and it is here 

 admirably told from first-hand sources in a popuLar manner, 

 but with sufficient fulness to form a valuable work of reference. 

 Commencing with the pathetic figure of Flamsteed — without 

 assistance or instruments other than he chose to provide out of 

 his meagre salary of £100 a year — the gradual acquisition of 

 buildings, instruments, and staff under the rule of succeeding 

 Astronomers-Royal is traced step by step ; and, finally, the 

 reader is conducted through the various departments as they 

 exist to-day. Doubtless many who believe that to be a pro- 

 fessional astronomer is to sit at the eye-end of a telescope and 

 admire the glories of the heavens will be disillusioned on reading 

 this book. The busy hive of workers, mostly employed in 

 laborious calculations at their desks, forms quite another picture, 

 but the author, who is so well known to our readers, has the skill 

 to reveal the inner beauties of even this very serious side of 

 astronomical work. It is made quite clear also that it is not to 

 such an institution as that at Greenwich that we must look for 

 " discoveries " in astronomical science, the aim being more especi- 

 ally to cultivate those branches of work which demand continuous 

 observations extending over many years, and which cannot 

 therefore be left to the efforts of amateurs. It is well to recall 

 the fact that the Royal Observatory was founded primarily, and 

 has since been maintained, for the strictly jjractical purpose of 

 assisting navigation, by obtaining a better knowledge of the 

 motions of the moon and of the positions of the stars for appli- 

 cation to the determination of longitude at sea. Expansion in 

 various directions, however, was inevitable, but assistance to 

 navigation has always been the first object of the work of the 

 Observatory. The book is brightly written throughout, and 

 gives much valuable information in an unobtrusive way, not 

 only with reference to this jiarticular observatory, but on a 

 great variety of astronomical subjects. It is beautifully illus- 

 trated, with ])ortraits of the eight Astronomers-Kojal, and 

 many photographs of instruments and observatories. To those 

 interested in astronomy the book is an excellent substitute for 



a personal visit to the Observatory, and even those who may 

 obtain the great privilege of a visit will find that they will see 

 a great deal more by having first learned what to look for. 



" Photoguams of the Year 1900." Compiled by the Editors 

 and Staff of the PJiofoiji-ain assisted by A. C. R. Carter. 3s. 

 (Dawbarn and Ward.) — This comprehensive annual should be 

 in the hands of every photographer, both for his pleasure and 

 his profit. In its well-arranged pages are produced not merely 

 a good display of all sorts of prints, but also articles by 

 writers who are entitled to speak with authority. These articles 

 are selected with the object of exemplifying opposite views of 

 photography. Hence we have one writer, Herr Ernst Juhl, full 

 of praise for " gum " printing, and expatiating on its possi- 

 bilities in the hands of certain German workers. And, in direct 

 antagonism, an article by Dr. P. H. Emerson, in which he 

 vigorously condemns, not only " gum " printing but also 

 " faking," and he apparently would allow no handwork at all. 

 To this lack of agreement among experts we may obviously 

 assign the variety of grotesque photographs which are accorded 

 prominence in the annual exhibitions. Photographs which 

 arrest the eye solely because they startle, are so frequently held 

 up to admiration for their originality that the multitude of 

 unhappy productions of this kind have already made " artistic 

 photography " the laughing stock of artists. No better instance 

 is wanted than that of a production labelled " In the Marshes," 

 on page 15 of P/intoi/rains of the Year. But perhaps the fact 

 that but few such prints are given in this book is a sign of 

 increasing sanity in photography. 



" Studies in Fossil Plants." By Dukinfield Henry Scott, 

 M.A., PH.D., F.R.s. Illustrated. (Black.) 7s. (jd. — Botanical readers 

 have long since learned that anything which proceeds from Dr. 

 Scott's pen demands their best attention. The volume before 

 us, the latest addition to the rapidly increasing literature 

 of " Fossil Botany," is, in every respect, up to the high 

 standard which the author has attained in his previous works. 

 Fossil plants, until recently, have received but slight atten- 

 tion from the botanist, and for the geologist they have had but 

 little interest, except as characteristic marks by which certain 

 strata can be recognised. Among living English botanists 

 who have studied these records of the plant life of past 

 ages, perhaps none have done more important work 

 than the author of this volume, and he is, therefore, 

 peculiarly qualified to present us with an account 

 of the present condition of our knowledge of the subject. 

 Taking for his text the classic phrase in which Count Solms- 

 Laubach staled the object of the study of fossil plants, " the 

 completion of the natural system," Dr. Scott records " those 

 results of paheobotanical enquiry which appear to be of funda- 

 mental importance from the point of view of the botanist." 

 These are found almost entirely in the two sub-kingdoms 

 ' Pteridophyta " and " Gymnospermoe," which alone ai-e dealt 

 with. The fossils considered are such as are " well- 

 characterised " ; more doubtful specimens being wisely dis- 

 regarded. The treatment of the subject is exceedingly clear, 

 and the work cannot fail to be of absorbing interest to the 

 student of living plants who desires a stereoscopic view of the 

 vegetable life of the globe. The capital illustrations which 

 abound, show the remarkable fidelity with which even minute 

 details of the structure of vascular plants have been preserved 

 by petrifaction, and add considerably to the value of the work 

 to the palaeobotanical reader. 



"Report op the Kite Observations of 1898 by the 

 Dli'art.ment of Agru'UlturEjU.S.A." — The observations were 

 made with Box Kites, at seventeen stations in North America. 

 The mean rate of diminution of temperature with increase of 

 altitude, as determined from 1217 ascensions and 3838 observa- 

 tions, taken at elevations of 1000 feet or more, was 5.0° for each 

 lOOfl feet. The largest gradient, 1A° per 1000 feet, was found 

 up to 10(10 feet, and thereafter there was a steady decrease up to 

 5000 feet, the rate of decrease becoming less as the altitude 

 increased. The relative humidities at and above the earth's 

 surface differed little except at 7000 feet, where the surface 

 humidity w.as 11 per cent, less than that above. There was a 

 steady but by no means uniform decrease of vapour pressure 

 with increase of altitude. 



