28 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIX. No. 992 



conclusions of Professor W. H. Pickering, and 

 others, regarding a slight atmosphere and vari- 

 ous changes of the lunar surface. The author 

 evidently has little confidence in these obser- 

 vations, since they, if trustworthy, would be 

 of exceptional interest to the " ordinary 

 reader." The different members of the solar 

 system are taken up in order and briefly but 

 clearly described. Probably no other astron- 

 omical subject is of such popular interest as 

 the question of the presence of intelligent life 

 on Mars. The author states : " We conclude 

 that neither by visual nor by photographic 

 evidence has the existence of an artificial net- 

 work of markings been proven, or even ren- 

 dered highly probable. Therefore the time has 

 not yet come when we shall have to inquire 

 whether geometric lines indicate the presence 

 of intelligent inhabitants: that time will ar- 

 rive if the lines themselves are ever shown to 

 possess a real or even a highly probable exist- 

 ence." This view is doubtless shared by the 

 great majority of astronomers at the present 

 time. 



Throughout the book Professor Jacoby calls 

 attention to the familiar celestial phenomena 

 of life, such as the rising of the sun and moon 

 and their summer and winter paths. In call- 

 ing attention to such facts and explaining 

 them in a popular manner he has done a real 

 service to the readers of his book. Even 

 among educated people few can answer 

 promptly the question, " Where does the moon 

 rise ? ", and its changing path during the 

 month and year is either not noticed or re- 

 garded as a mystery. 



The volume is attractive in form, appears to 

 be free from errors, and is admirably, if not 

 profusely, illustrated. Many lines of recent 

 astronomical advance have been lightly re- 

 ferred to, if at all, but this is inevitable in a 

 popular treatise of such wide scope. The para- 

 mount importance of photography in research 

 at the present time might well have been 

 emphasized somewhat more strongly. On the 

 whole, the book is exceptionally well written, 

 and as a popular exposition of the whole field 

 of astronomy is unexcelled. 



S. I. Bailey 



ELLIOT S REVIEW OP THE PRIMATES 



For many years the Primates have been in 

 need of systematic revision. The last general 

 work on the order, Forbes's " Handbook," was 

 published in 1894. Study of the group since 

 then, particularly in Berlin, London and Wash- 

 ington, has resulted in a great increase in the 

 number of recognized forms and in the modi- 

 fication of previously accepted views regarding 

 many of those earlier known. In no one of the 

 chief centers of activity is the material exten- 

 sive enough to form the basis of a general 

 review of the order, and in no two has a 

 common standard of work existed. The result- 

 ing confusion was such that the understanding 

 of relationships and the identifying of speci- 

 mens had become in the larger genera im- 

 possible. To remedy these conditions and to 

 establish a foundation for new work are the 

 main objects of Dr. D. G. Elliot's " Eeview of 

 the Primates."^ This book is one of the most 

 elaborate monographs ever devoted to a single 

 order of mammals. By its publishing the out- 

 look on the primates has been altered in a 

 way that can be appreciated by those only who 

 have for some time been actively occupied in 

 the study of monkeys. In its 1,351 quarto 

 pages may be found a complete review of the 

 work done in the past by the author himseK, 

 his contemporaries and predecessors. It con- 

 tains descriptions of all the known species 

 drawn up by one person from direct examina- 

 tion of the specimens in all the principal mu- 

 seums of the world. Finally the series of 

 photographs reproduced in 111 of the plates is 

 so well selected and so fine in quality that it 

 might be said almost to exceed in general use- 

 fulness the specimens hitherto existing in any 

 one museum. 



The inception and plan of the work are thus 

 described by the author (Preface, pp. iii-ix) : 



1 " A Review of the Primates, ' ' by Daniel 

 Giraud Elliot, D.Sc, F.R.S.E., etc. Monographs of 

 the American Museum of Natural History, Vols. 

 1-3. Three volumes, quarto, with 169 plates (28 

 colored). New York, published by the American 

 Museum of Natural History (1912), June, 1913. 

 Price, $30. 



