. BOOK REVIEWS 187 
less jumble of syllables that must be remembered in a certain order in 
order to get a grade. Dr. Cockerell shows what classification is, what 
it means, and why it is used, and when he gets through it is neither 
formidable nor jumbled. The spirit of science is order, but few texts 
give that impression to the person reading them; this fact makes this 
new book stand out as a landmark in zoology texts. 
The discussion of the various groups of animals occupies some 240 
pages, and is clear, reliable, and interesting. The classification used is 
thoroughly modern, and the whole treatment is designed to arouse 
a desire for further information. The chapters on the evolution of 
horses and elephants and man, the descriptions of the various life 
divisions of the earth, of the laws and principles of eugenics, and of 
the work of great zoologists of the last century are fully as satisfactory 
as the systematic portion of the book, and perhaps even more import- 
ant. They not only show the progressive attitude taken by Dr. Cock- 
erell, but make his book of exceptional value to teachers, students, and 
to the interested but untechnical laymen who have never seen the inside 
of a college. 
Oe Og ch 
THE Lire oF Matter. By Arthur Turnbull. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippen- 
cott Co. $3.00. London, Williams and Norgate. 
This book is a puzzle; one cannot tell what the author is trying to 
do.. He says in his subtitle that the book is an “inquiry and adventure.” 
His preface is a curve labeled: “The Valley,” “The Mountain,” and 
“The Outlook,” below which is either a dedication or acknowledgment 
“To the Many Helpers.” There are some pages of unintelligible stuff 
purporting to be a summary, an outline, and something else printed 
in the manner of free verse and meaning nothing at all. Then comes 
two pages of mystical gibberish that are not even grammatical, and 
convey nothing whatever in the way of information. Following this 
burst comes the first clearly sensible thing in the book: a table of the 
elements, with their symbols and atomic weights. 
The first section of the book is headed “The Valley” and presumably 
has some relation to the curve labeled “Preface.” It consists of mul- 
titudinous quotations from various authors, dealing with types and 
properties of natter, and with various phases of living matter. There 
are several pages of clippings dealing with natural selection, and nu- 
merous others on the effects of environment, stimuli, and so on; finally 
the section ends in its 118th page. 
The second section is called “The Mountain’—probably another re- 
ference to the “preface.” Here is a fair sample of its clarity of style: 
THE METHOD OF SEARCH , 
Seek. See. Seize. Follow. Forbear. 
How scale this barrier of rocks and overhanging boulders? Silently 
humble. d 
