236 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 164. 



new book upon plants. It need not be said 

 to those who have read his books that this 

 is not like other books on plants. It is new 

 in matter, in illustrations and in method. 

 We cannot make out whether or not it is 

 to be used as a text-book. It is too full of 

 suggestions for the humdrum of the ordi- 

 nary class-room use. Perhaps its greatest 

 value will be in aifording stimulating sug- 

 gestions to both teacher and pupil in 

 primary and secondary schools. 



The titles of the chapters are not so dif- 

 ferent from those in the familiar text-books 

 of a generation ago. Thus we have 

 ' Studies of Twigs and Buds, ' ' Studies of 

 Leaves and Foliage,' ' Studies of Flowers,' 

 etc. , but when we look at the treatment we 

 find a newness and freshness which tell of 

 the master who wrote the suggestive pages. 

 The illustrator (Professor Holdsworth) and 

 the publishers (The Macmillan Company) 

 have done their share to give the book an 

 attractive appearance. 



Charles E. Bessey. 



CUBBENT NOTES ON ANTHBOPOLOGY. 

 ETHNOLOGIC MATERIAL FROM INDIA. 



The distinguished ethnologist Professor 

 Bastian, after celebrating his seventieth 

 birthday with eclat in Berlin two years ago, 

 took a fresh start in his studies by going to 

 India and adjacent regions, where he has 

 been ever since, collecting most industri- 

 ously all sorts of valuable knowledge. 

 Many of his observations he has given out 

 in a plain form in two volumes called ' Lose 

 Blatter aus Indien,' published at Batavia. 

 These are new contributions to the psy- 

 chical ethnology which he has so earnestly 

 advocated. I may dare to translate (no 

 easy matter) from his preface to show the 

 meaning of these • studies : " The whole 

 intellectual wealth of mankind, up to the 

 most transcendental speculations, can be 

 reduced to a minimal quantity of elementary 



thoughts, each potentially pregnant with 

 magical powers, unfolding into the most 

 varied national mental products, and satis- 

 fying the physical longings in every direc- 

 tion, under the correlation of cosmical har- 

 monies, with which the processes of thought 

 themselves are in necessary union." 



In this spirit Professor Bastian takes up 

 the mythology and philosophy of the far 

 East, its ethics, its legends and its religious 

 rites, throwing new light on what is old, 

 and adding much that is novel and strik- 

 ing. To the reader who likes hard reading 

 and deep thinking, the work may be com- 

 mended as sure to satisfy. 



ANCIENT VARIETIES OF DOGS. 



The first domesticated mammal seems to 

 have been the dog. In the Swiss Society 

 of Natural History, last year. Professor 

 Studer read a paper on ancient European 

 dogs. The oldest variety was the so-called 

 peat dog. It belongs to the neolithic period. 

 There were four other varieties known in 

 the bronze period, and in that of the lake 

 dwellings. Direct descendants of these are 

 the German hunting hounds, the shepherd 

 dog and the poodle. 



In America there is little evidence that 

 any dog was trained for hunting. In the 

 far north the Eskimo dog was a beast of 

 draught, the only one known to the Eed 

 Race. The dogs of Mexico and Central 

 America seem to have been principally 

 raised for food or ceremonial sacrifices. In 

 Peru there were several varieties under 

 domestication, two of which have been 

 clearly distinguished. 



It is noteworthy that although in many 

 American tribes the dog was a sacred or 

 mythical animal in the legends, he was not 

 regarded with affection, but with dislike 

 and aversion, a fact strongly brought out. 

 by von Tschudi. 



D. G. Brinton. 



University of Pennsylvania. 



