CURRENT LITERATURE. 
BOOK REVIEWS. 
The origin of species and varieties by mutation. 
Proressor DEVriks' has hit upon a method for presenting his experiments 
and theories to the English-reading public that is as happy as it is unique. Itis 
commonly the fate of an epoch-making work, such as Die Mutationstheorie has 
proved itself to be, to undergo a translation into other tongues in the course of 
three or four years, without alteration except for some inevitable changes for the : 
worse. DeVries has taken into his own hands the preparation of the : 
exposition of mutation, and we have as a result a book that is written for a very 
different audience, couched in different language, and prepared in the light of 
the experiments and discussions of the past four years. The investigator who 
desires the minutiae of DeVries’ experimental results will still have recourse 
for the most part to the earlier volumes, but as investigators are supposed to i 
conversant with the German language and with the technical terminology thet 
employed, no difficulty results. The investigator, however, will requite 
present volume for the broader viewpoint, and for the contributions that have 
appeared since 1901. The great and undisputed field for the present bce 
the presentation of mutation to the large and important audience of intelligent 
people to whom German is a foreign language, and technical terminology ete 
sO 
gree 
Dp. T. Mac 
The volume under consideration is based on a course of lectures 
University of California in the summer of 1904, and was edited by 
OUGAL of the New York Botanical Garden, whose experiments and 
tions have done so much to make Americans conversant with the work of Der a. 
One of the most valuable and interesting of his lectures is the prewm'™ . 4 
dealing with theories of evolution and methods of investigation. Here sae a 
an excellent portrayal of the relation that exists between his con ib 
those of others; and it is at once clear that the work of DARWIN is a it | 
but supplemented and strengthened; DaRwIN’s comparative sul ms - : 
im the accumulation of a vast array of material, while DeVries’ work esis 
tematized this material, and has given us an experimental basis for the a 
evolution. It is to be hoped that the perusal of this volume will p 
~ — so widely circulated.in the newspapers, that DEVRIES 8 . 
of Darwinism : 
pen Cout Fa 
s * DeVries, Huco, Species and varieties; their origin by 
- T. MacDoveat. 8vo., pp. xviii+847. Chicago: The O 
905. 
148 
