Apbil 23, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



661 



bas' seen the petrified stumps and trunks of 

 trees in the Arizona desert and jumps to the 

 conclusion that deserts in general have been 

 steadily invading once forested regions, from 

 remote ages onward. Had he inquired into 

 the recorded facts of geologic history he 

 would have learned that deserts have existed 

 in many parts of the world ever since the 

 earliest periods, wherever the topographic and 

 atmospheric conditions were favorable. It is 

 not probable that our present deserts are more 

 extensive than those of the Permian period, 

 during which the saltest of salt lakes partially 

 covered the site of Germany. 



I think enough' has' been said to show what 

 kind of pseudo-science is here being foisted 

 upon a trusting public. " Mars as the Abode 

 of Life" is avowedly a popular exposition of 

 a science, not a fantasy. Its author is a 

 highly educated man of distinguished connec- 

 tions and some personal fame. He writes in 

 a vivid, convincing style, with the air of au- 

 thority in the premises. The average reader 

 naturally believes him, since he can not, 

 without special knowledge of geology and 

 kindred sciences, discern the fallacies. He 

 has a right to think that things asserted as 

 established facts are true, and that things 

 other than facts will be stated with appropri- 

 ate reservation. This is precisely the same as 

 his right to believe that the maple syrup he 

 buys under that label is not glucose, but is 

 genuine. The misbranding of intellectual 

 products is just as immoral as the misbrand- 

 ing of the products of manufacture. Mr. 

 Lowell can not be censured for advancing 

 avowed theories, however fanciful they are, 

 for it is the privilege of the scientist ; nor for 

 making unintentional mistakes in fact, for 

 that is eminently human. But I feel sure 

 that the majority of scientific men will feel 

 just indignation toward one who stamps his 

 theories as facts; says they are proven, when 

 they have almost no supporting data; and 

 declares that certain things are well known, 

 which are not even admitted to consideration 

 by those best qualified to judge. Censure can 

 hardly be too severe upon a man who so un- 

 scrupulously deceives the educated public, 

 merely in order to gain a certain notoriety 



and a brief, but undeserved, credence for his- 

 pet theories. 



Eliot Blackweldeb 

 Untveesitt of Wisconsin, 

 March 26, 1909 



8GIENTIFI0 BOOKS 

 L'Europe PreJiisiorique. Principes d'Arche- 

 ologie Prehistorique. By Sophus Muller.. 

 Translation from the Danish, by Emmanuel. 

 Philipot. Paris, J. Lamarre, Editeur. 

 1907. Pp. 212, text-figures 161, colored' 

 plates 3. 



There was a time when civilization did not 

 exist. When did it begin to be and whence- 

 came it? Sophus Miiller believes it was trans- 

 planted into Europe from the Orient. The- 

 author has endeavored to confine his work to 

 those elements in prehistoric archeology about 

 which authorities are in accord. 



Not much space is devoted to the paleolithic 

 period. France is taken as a center and as 

 the region that shows to best advantage the 

 various stages of paleolithic culture. The 

 reindeer epoch is lacking in Italy, as one might 

 expect, although specimens of the Solutrean 

 and Magdalenian types are found there. 



The first epoch of the neolithic period in 

 Italy was synchronous with the last epoch of 

 the paleolithic period in Prance; the culture 

 of middle Europe being only the periphery of 

 a civilization more advanced in the south. 



According to Miiller there was in central 

 Europe only one great period of cold after the 

 warm climate of the Chellean epoch when^ 

 man appeared for the first time. The temper- 

 ature dropped during the Solutrean and be- 

 came very cold in the Magdalenian, to grow 

 milder again until the present time. He also- 

 believes the paleolithic period to be much 

 shorter than the time ascribed to it by many 

 geologists, notably Penck. 



A chapter is devoted to the changes that 

 came with the appearance of the neolithic - 

 period in central and northern Europe, espe- 

 cially the differences in the fauna and the 

 similarities among the artifacts. The im- 

 portance of Piette's discoveries of a transit 

 tional industry in the cavern of Mas d'Azil! 



