270 Revieirs — Henry R. Knipe — Evolution in the Pad. 



the lapse of many ages, present little or no interest, but Mr. Knipe 

 has given so lucid and realistic a representation of the appearance and 

 life-history of the inhabitants of our globe in earlier times that he 

 may be expected to make numerous converts to the belief that there 

 is no more fascinating study than that of the earth's former 

 inhabitants, including man himself, and one, moreover, in which 

 many secrets remain to be unravelled and many mysteries yet 

 await elucidation. 



Tiie book is well and clearly planned, a distinct necessity to ensure 

 success for such a comprehensive undertaking ; the author passes in 

 review the successive phases of animal, and more brieflj^ vegetable, 

 life as it has appeared on the earth and is represented by the very 

 earliest known, remains until the present-day order of things had been 

 reached. First of all a Chronology of the Earth is given, with 

 a necessary footnote proclaiming that all dates are conjectural though 

 based on the thickness of the various strata, and these will no doubt 

 appeal to many readers who like to reduce all things to terms 

 applicable to the personal life of to-day. This is followed by an 

 introduction giving a simple and brief review of the doctrine of 

 evolution, and a chapter suggesting the probable conditions and 

 n",anner in which the earliest forms of life appeared on the earth 

 during the 'foundational ages'. 



The succeeding sixteen chapters of varying length are each devoted 

 to tlie description of the inhabitants of the earth during each of the 

 similar number of periods from the Cambrian to that of the present 

 day. The various phases and predominant forms of different epochs 

 are passed in review and provide a clear picture of their several 

 stages and the gradual transformation of the fauna, from the days 

 when invertebrates held unchallenged sway until the time came when 

 Man through his gradually awakening intelligence acquired power 

 for good or evil over all other creatures of land or sea. That man's 

 rise in power has been accompanied by a corresponding decline in the 

 fortunes of mammals of less highly developed brain power is undoubted, 

 and on p. 114 the author draws a pathetic picture of these failing- 

 fortunes when he says, "This decline commenced probably in the 

 Pliocene Period, was accelerated in the Pleistocene, and has con- 

 tinued ever since. To-day, brute life, except in a domesticated 

 condition, is at a very low ebb. This long continued downward 

 course is doubtless in part ascribable to climatic changes and disease ; 

 but in its later stages it has beyond question been brought about 

 by man." 



The numerous full-page plates portraying dominant and peculiar 

 forms, the fossil remains of which have been discovered in deposits of 

 the various periods, form an invaluable complement to the letterpress. 

 These restorations have been prepared with the greatest care and are 

 as reliable as the available material renders possible, and convey 

 a sufficiently accurate impression of the appearance of these extinct 

 species. Five of these plates have already appeared in Nehila to Man, 

 but the remaining fifty-one have been specially drawn for this work. 

 Six by Mr. Bucknall show prevailing forms of vegetation which, 

 playing such an important part in the making of scenery, are helpful 



