lUhUogrdjilncal Notices. 331 



ment on p. 28 tluit Dnrwin prophesied the existence of a butterjly 

 in Madagascar with a proboscis 11 inches long; that "the only 

 ugly aTiinials are the products of domestication and human inter- 

 ference on tlie one hand, or of disease on the other " (p. 17) ; and 

 that the term " balance of nature " is " very generally used to 

 dcsciibe the mutual dependence of plants and animals" (p. lU). 

 Further, Seitz's observations on the general tendency of the insects 

 in a certain Brazilian region to become blue, and in an adjacent 

 region red, have nothing whatever to do with the question of 

 "resemblance to surroundings" (p. 49). Is the statement on 

 p. 313, that all the annual progeny from one Aphis, if they survived 

 and multiplied at the same rate as the parent, " would weigh down 

 500,OUU,OUO stout men,"' the result of an actual calculation or simply 

 a metaphorical «'ay of stating that they would weigh a large 

 number of pounds ? If it is numerically true, the details of the 

 calculation should be given. Taking the weight of a " stout man " 

 as 150 lb., it will be found that the total Aphis progeny according 

 to the above figures would weigh 33,-182,143 tons. 



Among the most favourable specimens of the author's power of 

 exposition is the chajjter on Heredity (Chap. XX. p. 320), in which 

 the main facts and principles of this all-important subject are 

 discussed and presented in a very lucid manner. The Darwinian 

 doctrine is herein rejected in the following terms : — 



" I am certainly unable to reconcile myself to the opinion that the pro- 

 gress of life is due to the action of n.itural selection on fortuitous, indefi- 

 nite, spontaneous variations. 



" I believe that the conclusion of the whole matter should be an 

 emphatic * not proven ' on either side, while the practical corollary is that 

 we should cease to talk so much about possibilities (in regard to which 

 one opinion is often as logically reasonable as another), and betake our- 

 selves with energy to a study of the facts.'" 



No doubt this is sound advice ; but it is remarkable that the 

 author, who is sceptical with regard to natural selection, should 

 declare with respect to the far more obscure problem of the origin of 

 life (p. 136) that " the first stuff that was complex and unstable 

 enough to be properly described as living was almost certainly 

 formed in water, long ago, when the conditions of greater heat, and 

 consequently greater mobility of all substances, made chemical 

 changes more active." 



The list of " best books " which the student is referred to in 

 Appendix II. is simply appalling ; we think some judicious pruning 

 is required here, unless some means can be found for considerably 

 prolonging the life of the biologist of the future. 



We regret that we are unable to recommend this new work of 

 Mr. Thomson's in higher terras ; it is not altogether without merit, 

 but it is fanciful in parts and occasionally mystical to the verge of 

 incotnprehensibility. The would-be student of animal life will find 

 himself better off if he selects a few of the "best books'' recom- 

 mended by the author. 



