82 Notes and Comments. 



often valuable, which appear in local publications, are not so 

 easily accessible, and hence it is very desirable that very careful 

 consideration should be given before any new publication 

 is started. As was pointed out in ' Yorkshire's Contribution 

 to Science,' in this county alone, many really valuable public- 

 ations have appeared in comparatively recent years, and these 

 have contained records in various branches of Science ; but 

 unfortunately it rarely happens that the enthusiasm, scientific 

 standing, and finances of a Society, are sufficiently lasting to 

 ensure permanence. 



AND PERMANENCE. 



The result is the periodical ceases to appear, sometimes in 

 the middle of a Volume, and strangely enough, few people seem 

 to bother to preserve their copies. Even in such a publicatioxi 

 as The Naturalist, only one complete set is known to exist. At 

 Bradford, Halifax, Leeds, Barnsley, Hull, York, and other 

 places, useful publications appeared from time to time ; they 

 had their little day and ceased to be. Other Yorkshire towns 

 have commenced publishing literature of this kind, but in many 

 instances, have not succeeded in issuing more than one or two 

 parts. While such publications may satisfy the passing desires 

 of one or two enthusiasts, their multitude seriously handicaps 

 research. While, therefore, we hope that Societies already 

 publishing proceedings regularly, will continue to do so, we 

 trust any others who may have anything of the kind in mind, 

 will very carefully consider their responsibilities in case the 

 publication is not permanent. 



WHAT IS INSTINCT ? * 



The name of the author seems new to us, though his methods 

 of argument seem familiar. According to the prospectus, 

 ' the book opens a new page in nature study and suggests a 

 theory which may illuminate many of the mysteries of animal 

 life.' On the other hand, it may not ; and while a new page 

 may have been opened, it is what is upon the page that matters. 

 The author begins with a quotation from the Daily Mail ! 

 and though he lays no claim to deep scientific learning, he is 

 constrained, in the interests of science, to submit his obser- 

 vations . . . He points out that ' persons having subliminal 

 tendencies are generally described as " gifted." One has the 

 gift of clairvoyance, another the gift of psychometry, whilst 

 a third is endowed with the power of water-finding (divining) 

 and so on.' And he thinks that ' these manifestations should 

 not be considered in the light of special gifts, but rather as 

 fitful recurrences of faculties prevailing in times before the 



* By C. Bingham Newland. London : John Murray. 213 pp., 6s. 

 net. 



Naturalist, 



