April 1. 1901.1 



KNOWLEDGE. 



iV 



■when faintest it is of inaijuituclo 4^. it is always well 

 within tho iirasi. of the nalioJ-eve ohscrver. 



The Milky Way (lows aiross the S.E. an:;lo of the ooustella- 

 tion, and this, with its daz/.liui; leader, its uunierous pairs, 

 its beautiful fields and woudtu'ful variable, renders it a tine 

 region for the opera-glass observer. To the naked-eye 

 astronomer, it is also noteworthy as the home of the swift 

 meteors of April ^Oth — the Lyrids— their radiant point 

 being just on the boundary line between Hercules and Lyra. 



The constellation is always shown now as an eagle with 

 a harp slung round its ueek, aud the name of the principal 





'CYCNUS 







oR^co 



,*''" 



.•*^ 



^ OAMELOPARDUS 



GEMINI Jj, 







'\ 



cqjONft • ^^'j 



V t >^ 'fit tO"^ 





Tlic Midniglit Sky f.u- L<.iuloii, I'.lOl, Apvil. 



Star, Vega, refers to this design, since it comes from the 

 last word of the Arabic expression, Al nesr al wakl, the 

 "falling" or "swooping eagle"; in contrast to Aqnila, 

 the principal star of which we now call Altair, that is to 

 say, Al )iesr al tair, the "flying," that is, the " soaring 

 eagle." 



The head of Hercules is marked by a beautiful orange 

 coloured star. Alpha Heroulis, Has al gethi, the " head of 

 the Kneeler," forming the southernmost point of a lozenge 

 of which Beta, Zeta and Delta Hercnlis are the other three 

 points. Alpha Herculis is notaljle in the spectroscope as 

 presenting one of the finest examples of the tliinl or 

 banded type of sj^ectrum. 



0.otic t6 of B oofeg. 



'• A TeXtBOOK OF ZOOLOIIY, TP.KATF.D FROM A BlOI.OlWCAL 



Standpoint." By Dr. O. Scbmeil. Translated by R. Rosen- 

 stock, and edited by J. T. Cunningham. P.irt III. (A. and (.". 

 Black. 1900.) Price Ss. 6d. — The two previous parts of this 

 work were noticed in our Xovember issue, where reference is 

 made to the general scope of the work, and the class of readers 

 for whom it is intended. The present part, which treats of 

 Invertebrates, completes the work. Were it not for the un- 

 accountable omission of certain most important groups, such as 

 the Brachiopods and the Tanicates, not to mention that most 

 remarkable worm Balannr/Iossvii, we should have been enabled 

 to bestow higher commendation on this jiortioa of the work 

 than, as matters stand, we feel justified in doing. If, however, 

 we discount these omissions, there is little doubt that the subject 

 as a whole is treated in a satisfactory manner, and in a way 



which c.in scarcely fail to prove attractive to the pu])il. As in 

 the earlier parts, attention is concentrated on pliyaiology and 

 habits rather than on morphology ; and tlio ilcsciiptions of the 

 transformations undergone by insects, as well as of tho mar- 

 vellous developmental liistory of the luimerous kinds of intes- 

 tinal and othir parasitic worms, are all lliat can be desired. The 

 illustrations, too, are well selected, and for the most part satis- 

 factory from an artistic ]ioint of view. At the conelnsion of 

 the descriptive part of tho work, two pages are devoted to tho 

 geographical distribution of animals. While there are many 

 aspects in which it might bc amended with advantage, tlio work 

 as a whole has undoubtedly many merits, and it is a marvel of 

 cheapness. 



"TiiK Cuii.n : .V Study IN I'liK Evonri'KiN' OF Man.'' By 

 A. P. Chamberlain, m.a., I'II.d. (Walter Scott.) Ilbistratecl. 

 (is — Tlie sub-title appears to us to cx[)ress tho scope of tho 

 contents of this book better than tho first two words. The 

 child is described in many of its aspects, but more as a stage in 

 the evolution of man than as a special problem. The book is 

 thus more adapted to the point of view of the student of 

 organic development than that of the kindergarten or other 

 teacher interested in child-study. Broadly speaking, the mental 

 stages through which a person jiasscs in the course of a lifetime' 

 can be represented by similar stages in tho psychological 

 develojnnent of a race. Man begins at the very bottom of the 

 ladder, both as regards body and mind, and slowly crawls to 

 maturity. Dr. Chamberlain traces this progress with particular 

 reference to psychological characteristics, aud shows how it can 

 be interpreted by the ]irinciples of evolution. 'J'he bock is full 

 of material for reflection, and suggestive ideas, but it might 

 have been condensed to half its present dimensions witliout 

 losing any of its force. Much of tijc matter seems to have lieen 

 included more because it was available than because it was 

 relevant to the subject. A teacher of psychology was once 

 defined by a child as " A man who tells us what everyone knows 

 in language which nobody can understand," and to this we may 

 add that many ]isychologists elucidate and classify results which 

 are of little value, even when they are understood. Take, for 

 instance, the drawings which are often described and illustrated 

 as representing the ideas of children. Such sketches of course 

 do not show the images the child wishes to ])ortray, but the 

 movements of a hand as yet unable to trace the workings of 

 the mind. A similar criticism may be apjilied to the answers 

 which some psychologists are fond of obtaining from children, 

 with the view of determining the course of mental development. 

 However, Dr. Chamberlain d(!als with many other uiatters, and 

 his book contains much that is interesting concerning normal 

 and abnormal man, from childhood to old age. 



"Botany, an Ei.f.mkntaky Tkxt foh Schools." By L. II. 

 Bailey. (New York : The Maemillan Company.) ' 19(11 1. 

 Illustrated. — With a clearer understanding of tho imjiortance 

 of scientific methods of elementary teaching, there has 

 arisen a demand for elementary treatises which is far from 

 being satisfied by the works with which, in many brandies 

 of science, teachers liavc still to rest coutent. Wo 

 have no hesitation in saying that Prof. Bailey's elegant 

 and beautifully illustrated volume approaches nearer to onr 

 ideas of what a school-liook of Botany should be tlian .any 

 that we have hitherto met with. No one cloubts now that the 

 beginner should approach tlie study of plants in the field and 

 not in the laboratory, with hand and eye ra'her than by the aid 

 of razor and microscope. That the author fully reaii.-es this lie 

 makes clear in the preface : — " The. pujiil should come to tho 

 study of plants and animals with little more than Ins natural 

 and native powers. Study with the compound micioscopo is a 

 speciali/.ation to be made when the pujiil has bad e.vperience 

 and when his judgment and sense of relationships are trained." 

 The plant is set forth as a living organism, and the pupil is led 

 to study it where and as it grow.s. With this part of the subject 

 the first twenty-five chapters ('2011 pp.) are concerned. If these 

 chapters are read and illustrated in the field, they must impart 

 that living interest in living plants which is essential if the 

 study of Botany is to have that educational value which it 

 ]iosses.ses when directed by a wi.so teacher. Five chapters arc 

 devoted to a consideration of relationships between the plant 

 and its physical and organic surroundings. The economics of 

 plant societies, the groat biological interest of which is the out- 

 come of recent research, are briefly and clearly considered. In 



