May 1, 1896.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



111 



God, and the firmament sheweth Hia handiwork." This 

 appears to have been the text which Mrs. Aldis had in 

 mind when preparing the book before us. Taken altogether 

 the Biblical quotations aptly illustrate the points in con- 

 nection with which they are employed, and the book loses 

 nothing by their use. We have carefully gone through the 

 test, and have come to the conclusion that it is admirably 

 and accurately composed. The chief criticism we have to 

 offer applies not only to this book but to others of a similar 

 kind ; it relates to the practice of using without acknowledg- 

 ment the ideas of other authors. Anyone famihar with 

 astronomical literature will have no dititiculty in naming 

 the sources from which Mrs. Aldis has drawn much of her 

 information. For instance, an impressive word-picture 

 drawn by Young to convey an idea of the intensity of solar 

 radiation is used on page 50 without a line of credit to the 

 originator ; and there are many similar cases. We think 

 that the authoress should have given references to the 

 works of a modern philosopher like Young, just as much as 

 she does to those of the prophets of old. A half-dozen 

 or so excellent illustrations brighten the pages of the book, 

 but the remainder of the twenty-nine are either old friends 

 or line diagrams, and are not worthy of the text. Taken 

 as a whole, the book is a remarkably clear and easy guide 

 to astronomy, and one for which we anticipate a successful 

 career. 



Evolution, and Man's Place in Nature. By Prof. Henry 

 Calderwood, LL.D., F.R.S.E. 2nd Edition. (Mac- 

 millan.) Illustrated. 10s. The Present Erolution of Man. 

 By G. Archdall Reid. (Chapman and Hall.) 7s. 6d. 

 The first edition of Prof. Calderwood's book appeared in 

 1893, and though it received some adverse criticisms from 

 materialistic reviewers, it secured the approval of many 

 readers and thinkers interested in the philosophical aspects 

 of evolution. The present edition is practically a new 

 work, for, in order to meet the demand for a detailed 

 statement of the evidence upon which his conclusions are 

 based. Prof. Calderwood has rewritten almost the whole 

 of the matter, and has added nine new chapters. The 

 purpose of the volume is to show that the history of mind 

 is distinct from the history of organism. We cannot do 

 better than give the authors own words to define his 

 position : — 



" The erolutiou of brain," he says (p. 293), "as represented in the 

 successive stages of the monkey, the ape, and man, has proceeded in 

 accordance with the history of cvohition in the lower order of 

 vertebrates. Tliese three higher stages, in so far as they ilhistrate 

 continuity of organic life, are accounted for by the cosmic process 

 whicli has had constant application to animate life. The marked 

 superiority of the human brain arises in part from the erect jiosture, 

 with disuse of tlie fore limbs for locomotion and their application 

 to industrial effort ; in part from use of the organ for fulfilment 

 of rational purpose. Intellectual activity, unexplained by organic 

 functions, has given a new develoijment to human organism, making 

 brain the organ of mind, and effecting a combination of forces, 

 physical and intcHcctual, found nowlicrc else in nature." 



There ai-e many who believe that the rational and moral 

 nature of man has not been evolved in the same way as the 

 bodily organism and the lower mental nature ; and they 

 will find pleasure in going through the mass of evidence 

 brought forward in support of that view. " The grand 

 distinction of human life," to again quote the author, " is 

 self-co7itrol in the jiAd of action," and in that fact lies the 

 key to the elevation of mankind. To readers used to 

 concise statements, the author's diffuse style will be 

 annoying ; but in spite of this they will find that the 

 volume will considerably broaden their views of life, and 

 show them the reality of processes not referable to proto- 

 plasm. 



Dr. Reid's volume is somewhat similar to Prof. 

 Calderwood's, inasmuch as it deals not only with man's 



physical evolution but also with his mental evolution. 

 The work is divided into two parts : one dealing with 

 the problem of evolution Ln general, and the second 

 applying the conclusions arrived at to the problem of 

 man's present evolution. P'oUowing Weismann, Dr. 

 Reid holds that acquired traits, both physical and 

 mental, are never transmitted, and he brings forward 

 many original arguments in defence of his position and 

 against the views of Mr. Herbert Spencer. Students of 

 biology, broadly understood, and psychologists will find 

 the first section of the volume well worth reading, 

 and general readers will derive from it a fund of informa- 

 tion on many biological problems of the present day. As 

 to the second part, we think that the theory advanced 

 therein is undoubtedly valuable. From the conclusion 

 that men perish mainly by disease, the inference is drawn 

 that man's present evolution must be principally against 

 disease. To take an example : we are able to live in a 

 climate which is fatal to the inhabitants of much the 

 greater part of the world, while, on the other hand, the 

 west coast of Africa is an unhealthy region for us. 

 The explanation of this is, pace Dr. Reid, that our race, 

 which is able to persist under conditions adverse to other 

 races, has undergone an evolution in relation to tuber- 

 culosis fully equal to the evolution against malaria under- 

 gone by the West Africans ; in other words, races become 

 acclimatized by natural selection to the conditions of the 

 areas in which they live. The immunity thus gained is 

 held to result solely from inborn variations. Besides 

 diseases there are agencies, such as alcohol, opium, hashish, 

 and other narcotics, all of which assist in the elimination 

 of the unfit. Dr. Reid exhibits the effects of each of these 

 causes on " the present evolution of man," and points to 

 the lessons they teach as to the directions of development 

 in the future. We have read his work with pleasure, and 

 pronounce it worthy the attention of all who are interested 

 in the teachings and consequences of evolution. 



Manual of Lithology. By Prof. Edward H. Williams, 

 jun., E.M., F.G.S.A. (John Wiley i^- Sons : Chapman i^ 

 Hall.) Illustrated. In this second and very considerably 

 enlarged edition of a valuable manual of lithology, the 

 principles of the science are treated with special reference 

 to megascopic analysis. The engineer and prospector 

 could hardly desire a more systematic and practical hand- 

 book to the rocks than this, and, in our opinion, no 

 student should devote himself to the study of petrography 

 before he is familiar with the facts herein contained. 

 Work with the unaided eye (megascopic analysis) should 

 always precede the microscopic analysis of mineral 

 constituents of rocks ; in other words, lithology is the 

 natural introduction to petrography, spite of the separation 

 brought about between them by the microscope. Before 

 dealing with Uthology proper, which treats of rocks as 

 mineral aggregates, the author touches upon that branch 

 of the subject — mineralogy — which is concerned with 

 individual components, by devoting a chapter to rock- 

 forming minerals. An excellent collection of definitions 

 relating to the association in nature (geological), minera- 

 logical and physical states of rocks, and a brief statement 

 of theories of rock formation from fluid magmas introduce 

 the section on primary or eruptive rocks. Secondary and 

 metamorphic rocks are successively dealt with in two other 

 sections of the volume. Finally there is a chapter on 

 minerals as rocks, and one on the economic value of rocks ; 

 while six plates exhibit the megascopic structure of the 

 surfaces of thirty-six rock specimens. To the student of 

 structural geology, and to practical men, Prof. Williams' 

 manual can be confidently recommended. 



