January 29, 1903J 



NA TURE 



295 



arguing, and his own reasoning is not unfrequently 

 vicious. Thus it is hardly fair to the advocates even of 

 the crudest form of the "design" hypothesis to meet 

 Paley's argument about the traveller who finds the watch 

 in the desert with the retort that the argument assumes 

 the desert at least to be "undesigned." All that is as- 

 sumed is that the desert, whether "designed" or not, 

 does not, like the watch, exhibit design of a specific kind 

 recognisable by the traveller. And Mr. Robertson's own 

 chief argument against theistic design, that an infinite 

 series, such as the " totality of events," cannot have any 

 specific predicates beyond the one predicate of " in- 

 finity," is surely very doubtful. If I can make predications 

 about the infinite series of the natural numbers (such as, 

 e.g., that every member of it has a next term, that every 

 member is commensurable with every other), why not 

 of the infinite series of "events?" Similarly, the argu- 

 ment used in discussing psychological determinism, that 

 no one predicate, such as, e.g., "free," can be applied to 

 all volitions, since they are an infinite series belonging to 

 no wider species, is really fallacious. For in psychology 

 the very need of a precise definition of a volition compels 

 us to distinguish volitions from other psychical states, 

 such as impulses, cravings, resolutions, and volitions 

 thus come to be an infinite series, no doubt, but an 

 infinite series of which the law of formation is known. 

 The infinity of such a series in no way excludes specific 

 predication about it. Mr. Robertson presumably thinks 

 that the "totality of events " is a series of which we do 

 not know the formative law. But this is just what he 

 has to prove against the theist. He is not entitled to 

 assume the point at issue as if it were a self-evident 

 axiom of thought. 



It is much to be regretted that the author allows him- 

 self to exhibit a zeal which too often degenerates into 

 partisan rancour against his " religious " opponents. A 

 man is not necessarily either dishonest or stupid because 

 he holds opinions on these subjects other than those of 

 Mr. Robertson, and Mr. Robertson does not strengthen 

 his case by writing as if he were so. A. E. T. 



Electi o-plating and Electro-refining. By A. Watt and 

 A. Philip. Pp. xxiv + 680. (London : Crosby Lock- 

 wood and Co., 1902.) Price 12s. bd. net. 



The late Alexander Watt's book on electro-deposition 

 was well known as a standard work on the subject, but 

 for some time it has been out of date both in subject- 

 matter and in method of treatment. Mr. Arnold Philip, 

 in editing and largely rewriting a new edition, has per- 

 formed a service which was much required, but it is to 

 be regretted that he has not been sufficiently thorough in 

 his work of revision. Perhaps this is due to a desire on 

 his part to retain as far as possible the form of the 

 original book, but there can be little question but that 

 by entirely recasting it and putting the vast amount of 

 useful information it contains in a form more suited to 

 modern ideas and developments he would have been 

 performing a more valuable service. It is, for example, 

 ralher out of date to give instructions for carrying 

 out different operations in terms of Wollaston, Smee, 

 Daniell or other batteries. We hope that the number 

 of electro-platers using such sources of electricity is at 

 the present day small, but even if it is considerable it is 

 eminently desirable that a book such as this should make 

 use of scientific units. To take one other example, we 

 were surprised to find that the section devoted to nickel- 

 ing bicycles described the operations to be performed in 

 taking to pieces an old-fashioned "ordinary" and en- 

 tirely disregarded the existence of the modern safety or 

 pneumatic tyres. Such a fault as this, possibly not of 

 much importance in itself, has the grave defect of de- 

 stroying the reader's confidence in the rest of the work ; 

 how is the student to feel sure that the numerous recipes 



NO. 1735, VOL. 67] 



and instructions are not as much things of the past as 

 the solid-tyred ordinary? 



Mr. Philip has, however, done much to improve Watt's 

 book, especially in the chapters which he has added. 

 Chapters ii. and iii. of the second part, dealing with the 

 cost of electrolytic copper refining and with the many 

 important details of that industry, are particularly to be 

 commended. Taken altogether, this new edition is, like 

 the older ones, a good and valuable book, and our only 

 cause of complaint against Mr. Philip is that he has 

 somewhat missed the opportunity of bringing it properly 

 up to date. M. S. 



The Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the Secondary 



School. By Alexander Smith, B.Sc, Ph.D., and 



Edwin H. Hall, Ph.D. Pp. xiii + 377. (London : 



Longmans, Green and Co , 1902 ) Price 6j-. net. 



THIS book, which belongs to the American Teachers 



Series, is well worthy of the attention of those who are 



engaged in the teaching of chemistry and physics, 



whether in schools or universities. It contains an able 



and temperate discussion of nearly every important 



question of method that arises in connection with the 



teaching of chemistry and physics, and it has the great 



merit of being neither wordy nor pedantic. It will be a 



surprise to many English teachers to see how thoroughly 



this subject is being handled in America. 



It is, unfortunately, not possible in the limits set to this 

 notice to give illustrations of the treatment of the subject 

 by the two American professors. If the book is read in this 

 country as it deserves to be, it will tend to induce a more 

 philosophical attitude towards the extremely difficult and 

 important question of teaching physical science in the 

 earlier stages. A. Smithells. 



Index Zoologicus. By C. O. Waterhouse. Edited by 

 D. Sharp. Pp. xii + 421. (London : Zoological 

 Society, 1902.) 

 For the last twenty years, the " Zoological Record " has 

 contained an appendix of the new generic and subgeneric 

 names recorded annually in its pages. These lists have 

 been combined, with the addition of such names of 

 earlier date as were omitted from Dr. Scudder's " No- 

 menclator Zoologicus," published in 1882, and the result 

 is the present volume, which includes the period from 

 1880 to 1900. The value of such a compilation to work- 

 ing zoologists cannot be overestimated, and the author 

 and editor, as well as those gentlemen by whom they 

 were assisted, by the completion of their laborious task 

 have earned a debt of gratitude beyond the power of 

 thanks to repay. The present volume includes about 

 40,000 names, of which some 6000 belong to the period 

 before 1S00; an idea may therefore be formed of the 

 enormous rate at which new names are growing. Many 

 of these, like those in earlier lists, are, of course, syno- 

 nyms, but the editor is of opinion that some 80,000 

 generic and subgeneric names are actually used in 

 zoology. A glance at almost any page in the volume 

 before us will show that much still remains to be done 

 in purging the list on account of the same name being 

 used for two or more groups, but this did not come 

 within the province of the compilers. 



How near the list approaches completeness must 

 depend to a great degree on the thoroughness, or other- 

 wise, with which the various contributors to the "Zoo- 

 logical Record " have done their work. Personally, the 

 writer feels responsible for at least one omission — the 

 genus Dinocynops, proposed by Ameghino in 1898 — and 

 probably he is not the only offender. Such omissions 

 detract, however, in no way from the careful and pains- 

 taking manner in which the compilers have executed 

 their task, and we can but repeat our sense of the 

 obligation under which they have placed all working 

 naturalists. R. L. 



