December 26, 1901] 



jVA TURE 



173 



tions can be made on a uniform plan, the more accurate 

 will be the results obtained. 



In February 1897, M. Rabot published the first part of 

 the present work on the variations of the lengths of 

 glaciers in the temperate and Arctic regions, and since 

 that time the subject has been taken up by several other 

 enthusiastic workers, so that now important information 

 has accumulated. Thus Prof Erich von Drygalski has 

 made a study of the glaciers in Greenland, Prof. E. 

 Richter has worked at the glaciers in Norway, while 

 Mr. Israel Russell has confined his attention to North 

 America. 



In the book before us M. Rabot brings together all 

 the data concerning the measures and appearances of 

 the glaciers in the Arctic and temperate regions, giving 

 references in each case to the original source of informa- 

 tion. In the last chapter he brings together the conclu- 

 sions to which he has arrived, but the reader must be 

 referred to the book itself for a full account of them. 

 The main results may, however, be here briefly e.xpressed, 

 and they are as follows : — 



Prior to the eighteenth century, glaciers were much 

 less extensive than they are to-day. During the 

 eighteenth century and up to the first years of the nine- 

 teenth, an enormous increase, surpassing the amplitude 

 of a single variation, occurred. Glaciers invaded terri- 

 tories which had never been previously occupied. This 

 increase was general and affected all those in the northern 

 hemisphere. During the nineteenth century the variation 

 was indecisive. In some regions a considerable increase 

 followed by a slight diminution in glaciation was noted, 

 while in others the glaciers, after having remained at a 

 maximum up till nearly the end of the century, diminished 

 slightly. In no part was there such a considerable re- 

 gression observed as that recorded in the Alps during 

 the last fifty years. 



With regard to the question of the oscillations of the 

 lengths of glaciers in consequence of the variations of 

 climate, which Prof. Richter has indicated does occur in 

 the case of the Alpine glaciers, M. Rabot suggests that 

 our knowledge is at present too incomplete to settle such 

 a point with certainty. 



Before bringing these remarks to a conclusion it may 

 be added that this important work adds much to the 

 advancement of our knowledge of the secular variations 

 of the lengths of glaciers, and M. Rabot is to be con- 

 gratulated on the important part he has so successfully 

 played in its production. 



Experime7ital Hyfficiic. By A. T. Simmons, B.Sc, and 

 E. Stenhouse, B.Sc. Pp. viii-t-322. (London: Mac- 

 millan and Co., Ltd., 1901.) Price zs. 6d. 

 In their preface the authors state that the value of an 

 introduction to the scientific method in the school train- 

 ing of both sexes is now recognised. That is so ; but 

 the scope and treatment of this scientific matter is the 

 subject of a considerable amount of controversy at the 

 present time among different authorities. Certainly no 

 more suitable means exist of illustrating physical and 

 chemical laws than by demonstrating their operation in 

 the ordinary every-day occurrences with which the 

 student is familiar. 



It is no exaggeration to say that without some scien- 

 tific knowledge the intelligent appreciation of the 

 principles of hygiene and domestic economy is im- 

 possible. The writers of the work are therefore to be 

 congratulated on having undertaken it with so excellent 

 a motive, and one turns with considerable interest to the 

 subject-matter to see how far they may be judged to 

 have attained their object. 



By the authors' scheme each subject is dealt with by 

 first describing a few simple experiments and their 

 results, then the physical and chemical principles re- 

 sponsible for those results are explained, and lastly it is 



NO. 1678, VOL. 65] 



pointed out how these principles are applied, or how they 

 serve to explain certain every-day occurrences. At the 

 end of each chapter there is a brief summary of the facts 

 therein dealt with, and a series of exercises are then set 

 out for the student. The book is well balanced through- 

 out in its treatment of a large variety of scientific facts, 

 and the matter is sound and well selected. The sole 

 instance which we have noted in which exception may 

 be taken to the teaching has reference to a simple means 

 of filtering water. On pp. 148-149 the student is advised 

 to clean a flower-pot and plug the hole at the bottom 

 with a piece of sponge, then to place sand, with pebbles 

 or charcoal, into the pot. Such a filter would not be 

 efficient, and the householder would be safer if in his 

 wisdom he preferred to drink the unfiltered water rather 

 than make use of it. 



The book concludes with an excellent chapter upon 

 micro-organisms, where, in only nine pages, an account 

 is given of those interesting growths which well meets 

 the requirements of such a work. It is, in short, just 

 sufficient to give the student an intelligent appreciation 

 of what germs are. The book can be confidently 

 recommended. It is of a handy size and well printed 

 and bound. 



Dictioniiry of PJiilosopliy and Psychology. Edited by 

 J. M. Baldwin. Vol. i. Pp. xxiv-F644 (A — Laws of 

 Thought). (New York : The Macmillan Co. London: 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1901.) Price 2i.y. net. 



This long-promised work will be of the highest value to 

 every worker in fields which are in any way touched by 

 psychological or philosophical thought. The contri- 

 butors are almost all men of the highest eminence in 

 their subjects, and the general editor has long been 

 known as one of the ablest of the younger -■American 

 psychologists. Some of the longer articles {e.g. " Brain ") 

 are really scientific treatises in miniature ; where brevity 

 is possible the articles are most laudably brief. A par- 

 ticularly valuable feature of the work is the series of 

 monographs on philosophical terminology (arts. " Greek 

 Terminology," " Hegel's Terminology," " Kant's Termin- 

 ology "), by Prof Royce, of Harvard. The outward ap- 

 pearance and the typography of the book reflect the 

 greatest credit on the publishers and the Oxford Uni- 

 versity Press. 



The end of the alphabet is to be reached in vol. ii., and 

 vol. iii. will consist of a series of full bibliographies of the 

 various departments of philosophical and psychological 

 literature. A. E. T. 



Die Vogehuelt dcs A>nazo7tcnstr'6mes j Ensiatiden als 



Atlas zu dent Werke '"'' Aves do Brazil." Von Dr. 



Emil A. Goeldi (1894-1900). Part i. (Zurich : Poly- 



graphischen Institut, 1900.) 



We have received from the Polygraphischen Institut of 



Zurich a copy of the first part of this atlas, which is 



merely a replica in German of the one noticed in our 



issue of August 22, 1901, under its Portuguese title of 



"Album de Aves Amazonicas." In fact, it is only the 



cover that has been altered, the descriptions of the 



plates themselves remaining in the original Portuguese. 



We have nothing to add to the remarks made in the 



notice referred to, except that the plates are excellent 



examples of three-colour printing. 



Tlie Bettestvorth Book. Talks with a Surrey Peasant. 

 By George Bourne. Pp. vi -f 325. (London : Lamley 

 and Co., 1901.) Price 5^. net. 



From a scientific point of view there is little of interest 

 in this book, but as a realistic record of the thoughts and 

 experiences of a Surrey labourer, reproducing more or 

 less the dialect of the county, the conversations are cer- 

 tainly worth preserving. There is no attempt at fine 



