November 2)0, 1893] 



NATURE 



99 



acquaintance with the writings of Nansen is necessary 

 before it is seen that he possesses a flexibility of mind 

 and deep sympathies which enable him to enter into 

 peculiar touch with a race of this character. 



Chapter xiii. deals with the religious ideas and myths 

 of the Eskimo. This part of the volume is necessarily 

 second-hand ; but so far as the facts are concerned, 

 nothing remains to be desired. It seems to us, however^ 

 that there is too great a tendency to look upon these 

 legends and tales as matters derived from foreign in- 

 fluence, notably that of the early Scandinavian explorers, 

 from the time of Erik the Red (986 a.d.) to about 

 1400 A.D. There is some similarity between the legends 

 of the Scandinavian and the Eskimo, but Dr. Nansen, in 

 dealing with the origin of those possessed by the latter, 

 does not apparently allow enough for the possibility of 

 spontaneous growth of the same idea in two widely 

 separated races. The Vikings have had little influence 

 upon the daily life of the Greenlander, and it is very 

 improbable that the latter would borrow recondite 

 philosophy, or lore of any kind, from the former. 



If true similarity does exist in such cases, it is more 

 likely to be due to the inherent similarity of the powers 

 of the human mind to invent explanations for incorrectly 

 understood phenomena. 



In the concluding chapters are given the results which 

 have been achieved since the introduction of Christianity 

 1 50 years ago. The first European settlement found a 

 people who were nearly blameless, full of practical 

 socialistic sentiment, generous and open-hearted, truthful, 

 private property almost unknown, poverty non-existent, 

 able to live peacefully and contentedly in surroundings 

 in which Europeans, with all modern resources, are taxed 

 to the utmost to exist through winter, healthy and full 

 of patience. To-day disease, poverty, and distress are 

 abundant. These changes, which must be looked upon 

 as bad for the Eskimo, whatever the intentions of the 

 settlers may be, are brought about by causes which are 

 to a large extent obvious, and Dr. Hansen's advice to all 

 those who have the welfare of the native race at heart, is 

 to leave the country, and allow the people to make the 

 shortest cut back again to their pristine state. 



The translator's work has been admirably done. 



J. P. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



La Voie Lactee dans I'He'jmsphere Boreal. By C. Easton. 

 With a preface by Prof. H. G. van de Sande Bak- 

 huyzen. (Paris: Gauthier Villars et Fils, 1893.) 

 The Milky Way, "that broad and ample road, whose 

 dust is gold and pavement stars," almost defies accurate 

 delineation. Its irregular outlmes and indefinite struc- 

 ture tease the eye of the artist, and renders his task 

 most difficult. In all probability the largest amount of 

 information with regard to this celestial zone " pow- 

 dered with stars" will be obtained from photo- 

 graphs taken by means of portrait lenses having a 

 wide field, similar to that employed by Prof. Bar- 

 nard for his beautiful pictures. There is much to be 

 gained, however, by the multiplication of maps such as 

 those of M. Easton, in which the aspect of the Galaxy to 

 an observer having normal eyesight is shown. The maps 

 are finely drawn and reproduced, and well show the 

 delicate gradations of galactic light. A detailed descrip- 



NO. 1257, VOL. 49] 



tion and historical notice give the atlas additional 

 interest, while a catalogue of the patches and streams of 

 luminosity, and the dark regions, will be of use to those 

 who theorise on the structure of the stellar universe. A 

 comparison of the maps with those drawn by Boeddicker 

 reveals many differences, but it cannot be said on this 

 account that either of the observers is wrong. No two 

 observers have eyes exactly alike, or are favoured with 

 precisely the same observing conditions, hence drawings 

 of the Milky Way, like those of nebulae, simply represent 

 the appearances presented to certain visions, and are 

 only approximations to the truth. M. Easton'smaps are 

 published in a very handy form, and may be added with 

 advantage to every astronomical library and observatory. 

 An Elejnentary Treatise on Analytical Geotnetry. By 



W. J. Johnston, M.A. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 



1893-) 

 In these 400 pages Mr. Johnston has ably succeeded 

 in producing a very excellent treatise which leads the 

 beginner by easy stages from the first principles of the 

 subject to the more complicated theorems in trilinear 

 coordinates. In the first ten chapters the student is 

 made thoroughly familiar with the properties of the 

 Ellipse, the Parabola, and the Hyperbola, after having 

 been well exercised in the more preliminary parts of the 

 subject as regards co-ordinates, the straight line, loci, &c. 

 In these chapters it seems that the beginner can hardly 

 fail to obtain a thorough grip of their contents, unless 

 indeed he goes out of his way to do so, for more details 

 could hardly be added. The numerous worked-out 

 exercises should also be valuable, as they show him how 

 to apply the knowledge gained from the various 

 theorems learnt as book work. The next three chapters 

 deal with the general equation of the second degree, con- 

 focal conies, and abridged notation, the last-mentioned 

 including a large number of miscellaneous exercises; in 

 these may be mentioned some additional methods of 

 tracing a conic whose Cartesian coordinates are given, 

 and an investigation of the equation of a diameter due to 

 Prof. Purser. The remaining chapters treat of trilinear 

 coordinates, envelopes, and methods of transformation. 

 Here may be noticed Prof. Genese's proof of Feuerbach's 

 theorem, Pascal's theorem, and many others of interest. 



As an elementary book one may say that, from a be- 

 ginner's point of view, we have here a sound and clearly 

 written volume that will be sure to find favour with 

 students and teachers. Perhaps it may be better for those 

 commencing the subject to pursue the limited course 

 recommended to them by the author, but a little more of 

 an insight will show them what to read. Advanced 

 students will also find much of interest in the latter 

 chapters, and to them we can specially recommend the 

 working out of some of the numerous and well-chosen 

 examples. 



Zur Kenntniss der Postembryonalen Schiidelmetamor- 

 phose7i bei Wiederkauern. By H. G. Stehlin. (Basel: 

 Benno Schwabe, 1893). 

 This publication deals with a branch of osteology which 

 up to the present time possesses no special literature 

 of its own, and is an attempt to trace the changes 

 which take place in the skulls of ruminants from the time 

 of birth up to adult age. The skulls of Bos, Capra, and 

 Portax are stuoied in a most exhaustive manner at 

 different ages, and comparisons drawn ; elaborate 

 measurements being given in every case. Special 

 attention is paid to the effects produced by the develop- 

 ment, final size, .ind position of the sinuses, teeth, and 

 horns ; also, the differences between the skull at birth 

 and at adult age are considered in relation to rate of 

 growth of the animal, and its lenj.th of life. In the last 

 chapter the three types. Bos, Capra, and Portax, are con- 

 trasted with each other, and a number of other forms 

 described, their relations to these types being indicated. 



