NATURE 



48: 



THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1913. 



RACES OF MANKIND. 

 Homo Sapiens. EInleitung zu einem Kurse der 



Anthropologie. Autorisierte Ubersetzung- aus 

 . dem Italienischen. By Dr. Giuffrida-Ruggeii. 



Pp. viii+198. (Vienna and Leipzig: A. Hartle- 



ben, 1913.) Price 5 marks. 

 '"r^HE author of this work, who holds the chair 

 J. of anthropology in the- University of 

 Naples, has come in recent years to occupy a place 

 among the leading anthropologists of Europe. 

 He has taken a part in every one of the 

 recent international discussions relating to the 

 origin of man and the separation of mankind 

 into modern races. On every occasion he has 

 shown himself to possess a wide and intimate 

 knowledge, a clear and simple style, and an ex- 

 ceedingly well-balanced judgment. 



The present work, which has been honoured by 

 a translation into German, is marked by all these 

 virtues, and will serve as an excellent and sys- 

 tematic introduction to all those problems which 

 at present occupy the attention of anthropologists. 

 The chief problem concerns the single or multiple 

 origin of modern races of mankind. The author, 

 after discussing all the evidence produced in 

 favour of a multiple origin — the facts produced by 

 Klaatsch, by Kollmann, by Ameghino, by his 

 colleague Sergi, who fills the chair of anthropo- 

 logy in Rome, comes to the conclusion that all 

 modern races are descendants of a common stock 

 and are single in their origin. Modern races all 

 belong to the one species. Homo sapiens, but it 

 is a species made up of a collection of well-marked 

 varieties, each variety being, in his opinion, a 

 potential species. The characters revealed by the 

 fossil remains of extinct races convince him that 

 in the past there have been several species o' 

 mankind, Homo sapiens being the only surviving 

 species. As regards the number of varieties or 

 subspecies of modern races of mankind, the 

 Neapolitan professor quotes with approval the 

 statement of Prof, von Luschan, of Berlin, "That 

 it is as difficult to give their number as it is to 

 estimate how many angels could dance on the 

 point of a needle " ! 



The principles which underlie the knowledge we 

 apply to the evolution of man must rest on the 

 laws of heredity. Hence in the first chapter of 

 this book, which has the merit of very moderate 

 dimensions, Prof. Giuffrida-Ruggeri discusses 

 the problems of heredity and seeks to apply 

 Mendel's law to man, depending especially in this 

 chapter on the writings of Bateson, Davenport 

 and Hurst. He is apparently inclined to belie\e 

 NO. 2253, VOL. 90I 



that mutation has been an active factor in the 

 differentiation of modern races, but is sceptical 

 of convergence having played any part in human 

 evolution. 



It would take us too far afield to summarise the 

 remaining chapters of the book ; it is sufficient 

 to state again that the work is the best introduc- 

 tion yet published to the modern problems of 

 man's origin. A. K. 



IRRITABILITY OF PLANTS. 

 Die Reisbewegungen der Pfianzen. By Dr. Ernst 

 G. Pringsheim. Pp. viii + 326. (Berlin : Julius 

 Springer, 1912.) Price 12 marks. 



DR. PRINGSHEIM disarms criticism by 

 stating in his preface that he is writing 

 rather for the layman than for his professional 

 colleagues. We fancy, however, that there will 

 be few plant physiologists who will peruse the 

 book without gathering something from it, here 

 and there an out-of-the-way fact, or a new 

 impression — the result of skilful handling of his 

 material on the part of the author. 



It is true that the book does not, perhaps, add 

 much that is new to our stock of knowledge, and 

 that sometimes one is disposed to dissent from 

 the conclusions to which Dr. Pringsheim arrives. 

 But there is a freshness about the whole work, 

 coupled with a sense of first-hand acquaintance 

 with the experimental evidence under review, 

 which lifts it far above the level of a mere com- 

 pilation. 



Indeed, it is open to question, perhaps, whether 

 the book, as a whole, will not appeal rather to 

 the physiologist than to the non-botanical reader, 

 in spite of the intention conveyed by its author. 

 Some of the pages dealing with geotropism are 

 good reading, and really provide an excellent 

 summary of the principal results at present 

 attained. The layman, however, will probably 

 want to know what Piccard's methods (p. 49) of 

 investigation on geotropism were, and it is not 

 easy, without a previous familiarity with the 

 apparatus, to follow the discussion of Haberlandt's 

 investigations on similar lines. The statolith 

 theory of geotropic perception is very briefly dis- 

 cussed, and some of the difficulties in the way of 

 its acceptance are pointed out ; the judicial con- 

 clusion is reached that we have not yet heard the 

 last word on it. 



The treatment of periodic movements is interest- 

 ing, but perhaps more open to criticism than most 

 of the rest of the book. The distinction between 

 truly irritable movements and growth, which may 

 accompany them, seems scarely to be kept in sight 

 sufficiently. 



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