Jantjaey 3, 



-1 



SCIENCE. 



29 



It would also have been well to have avoided 

 positive statements concerning facts or theories 

 still in debate, especially such an one as that the 

 skull is no doubt partially made up of vertebrte, 

 or that the pisiform is an ossified tendon. 

 Neither do we know that an insect gets a 

 mosaic picture of an object, while, had Mr. 

 Headley heard the question of the sense of 

 smell in Cathartes discussed, he might not be so 

 certain that vultures do not scent carrion from 

 afar, although neither that nor the contrary is 

 yet proven. In discussing flight too much 

 stress is laid on the importance of the clavicle. 

 As the author states, the bone is rudimentary 

 in parrots which fly exceedingly well, while 

 any one who has dissected humming-birds will 

 be morally sure, from its shape and insignifi- 

 cant proportions, that these birds could dis- 

 pense with the bone. We are told that the 

 wing serves as a parachute to sustain the bird 

 between the strokes of the wing and, but for this, 

 the drop would be greater than it is. A more 

 obvious explanation would seem that there is 

 not sufficient time for gravity to overcome the 

 inertia of onward movement, for it is very evi- 

 dent that unless a bird is falling more rapidly 

 than the wing is being raised, the wing can 

 afford no support. Many other things might be 

 said — did space allow — concerning the chapter 

 on flight, but it will suffice to remark that there 

 is as yet no proof that the muscles of birds 

 exert any unusual power; on the contrary, birds 

 which like the larger petrels have mastered the 

 problem of sailing flight, not only have small 

 wing muscles, but have very little strength in 

 them, and it was pleasing to obtain from Prof. 

 Moseley's notes corroborative evidence of the 

 inability of the Cape Pigeon (Daption) to rise 

 from the water after a hearty meal. 



A word or two on another point. Why does 

 Mr. Headley confuse the reader by calling both 

 the leg of a man and the Aving of a bird the 

 homologue of the arm, when a better and 

 clearer expression would be that the fore limb 

 is the homotype of the hind ? 



But in spite of blemishes, some of which 

 have been cited to warn the reader to be on 

 his guard, and to use a pinch of salt now and 

 then, the 'Structure and Life of Birds' is a most 

 interesting book and a welcome addition to 



ornithological literature. Many of the errors 

 may be ascribed to the fact that the author is 

 so brimful of his subject that, writing as he 

 does calaino currente, his ideas outstrip his pen 

 and are incorrectly recorded. The style is 

 bright, clear and readable, the illustrations 

 illustrate and are not thrown in, while the 

 numerous bibliographical references are not 

 only a boon to the reader who would like to 

 know how he may best extend his knowledge, 

 but to him who would like to know on whose 

 authority some of the statements are made. 

 The book is evidently based on much observa- 

 tion and experiment, supplemented by a vast 

 amount of reading, and it will give the general 

 reader, and many a one who considers himself 

 an ornithologist, a good idea of many of the 

 facts and problems concerning birds. The 

 reader will learn why the perching bird does 

 not fall from the bough, even when asleep, will 

 flnd full details of the wonderful air sacs with 

 which the body is permeated, and much infor- 

 mation as to how a bird breathes and how his 

 blood circulates. He will gather that the colors 

 of feathers are due to a variety of causes, and 

 learn that they correspond to the scales of 

 snakes as well as much of their growth and 

 mode of shedding and renewal. 



The chapter on flight is particularly full and 

 interesting and this difficult matter is well 

 treated, and it is to be hoped that the conclud- 

 ing chapter may stimulate some, at least, of its 

 readers to address themselves to some of the 

 many branches of ornithology which lie ready 

 to their hand. Lastly, but by no means least, 

 the book is well indexed. 



F. A. Lucas. 



The Beginnings of Writing. By Walter James 



Hoffman, M. D. With an introduction by 



Prof. Frederick Starr. New York, D. 



Appleton & Co. 1895. Pp. xiv+209. 



In this latest volume of the 'Anthropological 



Series ' Dr. Hoffman has attempted to present 



in brief and popular form the results up to date 



of the researches into the origin of the art of 



writing. 



The development of the use of conventional 

 signs is traced from pictographs through sym- 

 bols, mnemonic signs, etc., to alphabets, and 



