ie) 
i) 
NAL ORE 
| Marcu 26, 1914 
popular to-day as it was with primitive man. 
The author of ‘Mad Shepherds” is an artist. 
Possibly he is a “believer” (the term always im- 
plies materialistic belief) in spirits. His stories of 
“Panhandle and the Ghosts,” ‘All Men are 
Ghosts,” and ‘Farmer Jeremy,” are fine art, 
showing an obsession by, and yet a scientific con- 
trol of, the ghost idea. 
““May it not be that Primitive Religion is the 
only religion that has ever existed, or will exist, 
in the world?’ 
‘ Panhandle,’ I cried, ‘ you are a ghost !’ 
“Hush!’ he answered, ‘we never use that 
term in addressing one another. 7 
“The Magic Formula” is an entirely charming 
story of child psychology. 
(4) Certain exigencies of commission make Mr. 
Handcock’s readable account of archeological 
discovery in Palestine, Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, 
and Syria into a popular illustration of the Hebrew 
tradition. Thus we find such statements as “the 
life of Gilgamesh, the hero of Babylonian folk- 
lore, whose history presents parallels to many 
ideas expressed or implied in the Old Testament.” 
“Khammurabi, probably the Amraphel of the 
Book of Genesis”; “the cause of Israel’s migra- 
tion to Egypt.” It has still to be proved that 
Israel ever was in Egypt; that Khammurabi, and 
many other historical persons, are really men- 
tioned in the Hebrew books; and that the cosmo- 
gony of Genesis is anything more than a digest of 
the Babylonian. The book is an excellent intro- 
duction to Mesopotamian and Egyptian archzo- 
logy, though its particular bias may lead the novice 
to a wrong perspective. The author is fair 
enough; the monuments, he admits, ‘do not do 
more than mention a few isolated facts out of 
all that are recorded in the Bible.’’ With the 
exception of the statement cf Menephthah that 
“Israel is desolated,” the first event in the history 
of Israel or its ancestors certainly attested by the 
inscriptions is “the invasion of Judah by Shishak 
under Rehoboam, and the first Israelites whom 
they mention by name are Omri and Ahab.” 
(5) Mr. Allen Upward has insight, and has 
written a suggestive book on the development 
of religion. The main idea—the Divine Man or 
Genius—and the stages of his career from medi- 
cine man to Messiah, are adaptations from “The 
Golden Bough” ; but the author has had personal 
experience of savage thought and custom in 
Nigeria. He has also a sound knowledge of 
modern thought in general and of the “higher 
criticism” in particular, and his work, though 
eccentric in parts (lexicographers will dispute some 
derivations), has value as an attempt to trace the 
genesis of Christianity. The central theme, the 
NO. 2817, svo20 44) 
idealisation of man and tne practical work of 
prophet, priest, and king, is an interesting inter- 
pretation of history. But that it has been a pre- 
dominant factor in the development of culture 
remains to be proved. A. E.. CRAWLEY. 
OUR BOOKSHELF, 
A Manual of Petrology. By F. P. Mennell. Pp. 
iv+256. (London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 
iiss): Price 7s. 6d. mem 
THE writing of a clear and concise introduction to 
the study of petrology is fraught with extreme 
difficulty owing to the fact that the phenomena 
exhibited by rocks and rock-minerals are seldom 
capable of simple explanation, and thus the author 
is often led to assume a wider knowledge of cog- 
nate subjects on the part of the elementary 
student than is likely to be possessed. This book 
is framed upon a previous work by the same 
author, entitled, ‘““An Introduction to Petrology ” ; 
in fact, a large portion may be regarded as a 
reprint. The author, however, has rejected much 
that was in the older publication, and has added 
new, well-selected matter, but the discussion of 
the phenomena presented by mineral sections 
when viewed in polarised light still leaves much to 
be desired. 
Chapters i. to iii. are elementary in character, 
and deal with the general properties of minerals; 
the introduction of several tables, such as those 
dealing with specific gravity, colour, and refrac- 
tive index, will be helpful to the student. 
In chapters iv. to vil. the general characters of 
the rock-forming minerals are given, and often 
some simple means of differentiating any one from 
others which it resembles superficially. |The 
number of species described, however, is slightly 
larger than is needed in a work of this kind. 
The greater portion of the book deals with the 
classification of igneous rocks and their nomen- 
clature, but mainly with the description of rock- 
types. The nomenclature has been reduced to its 
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portant variations have been avoided. The 
igneous rocks are followed by a brief account of 
sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. 
The book is illustrated with 124 text-figures. 
Many of the illustrations are excellent, but a few 
of the figures, such as 66,77, $6, 119, and =x235 
might be discarded without prejudice. The book 
may be described as well planned and methodi- 
cally carried out ; and it gives a good idea of the 
general nature and scope of the science. 
Logging: the Principles and General Methods of 
Operation in the United States. By Prof. R. C. 
Bryant. Pp. xviiit+590. (New York: John 
Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and 
Hall}-Ltd.,,.1913.),, Priceless amet. 
Tus text-book on forest utilisation, well printed 
and fully illustrated, is a very useful addition to 
the scanty literature on the subject in the English 
language. The author, who is a professor in the 
