170 
NATURE 
[JUNE 22, 1899 
in Australia ; but Howitt wrote fifteen years ago (Journ. 
Anth. Jnst., Xiil. p. 459), “I venture to assert that it can 
no longer be maintained that they have no belief which 
can be called religious.” It is probably more correct to 
say that religion is intimately connected with nearly 
every act of the daily life of the Australian aborigine 
than to deny its existence. 
While Dr. Semon gives a vivid account of the natives 
on the coast of British New Guinea from Yule Island to 
South Cape, he inadvertently falls into a few errors. It 
is true that the cranium of the Papuan is decidedly 
dolichocephalous in certain regions, but along the coast 
visited by Dr. Semon brachycephalism is almost as 
common as the other extreme. On more than one occa- 
sion the petticoats of the women are said to be made of 
coco-nut fibre, whereas this is never employed ; the 
shredded leaf of the sago palm, however, is a very 
favourite material. 
In the account of the murder of George Hunter by his 
native wife and her accomplices, the impression is given 
that the wife was entirely to blame. There is another 
version to this story, which is supported by the petition of 
the white ladies residing at Port Moresby for the free 
pardon of the wife. Although, as Dr. Semon is aware, 
the bow is not used by natives south of Port Moresby, 
he speaks (p. 373) in general terms for the “whole of 
South New Guinea” of birds of paradise being killed 
by “well-directed arrows.” But on the whole there are 
few mistakes, and only a small number of verbal mis- 
prints. The general impression created by the book is 
correct, and the author’s personal attitude towards the 
natives is most commendable. He refers in a kindly 
spirit to the excellent missionaries of varied creed, and is 
justly loud in his praises of the administration of Sir 
William Macgregor. 
The illustrations, as a rule, are not particularly good, 
the views being reproduced from touched-up photo- 
graphs; but for this there is a valid excuse, as the 
camera Dr. Semon took out with him did not stand 
the climate. Most of the figures of animals are evi- 
dently process blocks from pen and ink drawings, and 
they are somewhat hard and flat. There must neces- 
sarily be some defects in a book of travels, and especially 
in one which embraces so many subjects as this does ; 
but the present writer would rather insist on the real 
excellence of the book, which has recalled happy 
memories of many similar experiences. 
AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY. 
Chapters on the Natural History of the United States. 
By R. W. Shufeldt. Pp. 480. Illustrated. (New York : 
Studer Brothers, 1897.) 
NE THOMEN bearing on its title-page the date 1897, 
for some reason or other copies of this work appear 
only recently to have been received in this country ; and 
in reading the volume it is important that the date of 
publication should be borne in mind, as otherwise certain 
statements might be taken to indicate that the author 
was somewhat behind the time. 
As a technical worker in several branches of zoology, 
Dr. Shufeldt has attained a well-merited reputation on 
both sides of the Atlantic ; but, like many other naturalists 
NO. 1547, VOL. 60] 
of position, he is not above putting the results of 
some of his investigations and studies in popular form 
for the benefit of the “man in the street.” And the 
present handsome and beautifully illustrated volume is 
in the main a reproduction of popular articles on various 
branches of natural history which appeared in American 
periodicals. Whenever he considered it necessary, the 
author has, however, made corrections and additions to 
the original text in order to bring it up to date. Although 
the greater portion of the matter relates to birds, the 
work naturally covers a wide field. We have, for in- 
stance, in addition to those on ornithology, chapters on 
the methods of study of natural history, classification of 
mammals, crayfish and crabs, sawfish, rays, and sharks, 
whales and manatees, various rodents, and bats and 
their habits. And in each and all of these the same level 
of interest, combined with instruction, that characterises 
the first is fully maintained. 
Over many of his fellow naturalists, at least in Europe, 
Dr. Shufeldt has a very great advantage from the fact 
that he is an accomplished artist, both with the pencil 
and the brush, while he also makes full use of the camera. 
And in the first chapter of the volume he urges the ex- 
treme importance of the artistic power in the making of 
a good naturalist. Possibly he may lay an undue stress 
on the value of this capacity, but there can be no ques- 
tion that the “artistic eye” affords a guide in the 
correct diagnosis of allied animals that nothing else can 
replace. 
And here it may be well to draw attention to the 
thoroughness of the author’s methods of research, and 
the importance attached by him to observations in the 
field. The following, for instance, he gives as the method 
of procedure for a naturalist to adopt in describing an 
animal :— 
‘“‘ Having obtained all the possible light upon its habits 
in nature, and its geographical distribution, and every 
fact and fiction that has appeared in regard to it in. 
literature—then seize upon all the material obtainable, 
enough in any event in order to fully exhibit the extremes 
of variation in size; the sexual characters; the eggs, 
embryos, and young at all stages ; the fossil forms, if any 
are known ; and finally, an abundance of similar material 
representing all the apparent allies of the particular form, 
either near or remote.” 
Then the specimens are to be examined anatomically, 
both macroscopically and microscopically. 
“ Having accomplished all this, we are prepared to use 
our laboratory notes in writing out an account of the 
species ; naming it if the form be unknown to science ; 
and suggesting a place for it in the system.” 
With such detail in his mode of working, Dr. 
Shufeldt, it is almost needless to say, is not a “species- 
maker.” 
And in this connection his opinion in regard to the 
species-making now going on in the States should 
certainly be quoted. When writing of the common 
chipmunk, for instance (p. 405), he says : 
“Some of the other forms resemble it quite closely, 
while others depart more or less from it in the matter 
of size and coloration; some are distributed over a 
considerable geographical area, others being more or 
less restricted in their ranges, thus offering descriptive 
zoologists abundant opportunities to describe the fine 
