238 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIV. No. 



ticular idea as to vitality with an acrimony which makes it unbe- 

 coming for any biologist to speak slurringly of the odiu7n the- 

 ologicum. Now, Professor Weismann leads attention back to sci- 

 entific sobriety as regards these wide-reaching problems about 

 fundamentals, and thereby renders a most welcome service ; for, 

 after all, it is pleasant to leave \.\\efeux folleis for the sake of gen- 

 uine light and real safety. 



One is obliged to dissent from many of Professor Weismann's 

 views, which are marked by that vagueness that is so characteristic 

 of German philosophic generalizations. Some of his conclusions we 

 already know to be deficient and even erroneous. This is notably 

 the case with his conception of death, to which he recurs fre- 

 quently, for he fails to make the obvious distinction between the 

 death of a unicellular and that of a multicellular organism. A 

 colony is not homologous with its units, and the breaking-up of a 

 colony is not homologous with the destruction of an individual ; 

 yet Professor Weismann makes it so. But the value of a book lies 

 not in its faults or deficiencies ; and, though these need to be noted 

 as making its limitations, a book is to be judged by its merits. 



The book before us is one of many and signal merits. The first 

 essay, on the duration of life, was originally presented to the world 

 in the form of an address to the German Naturforscherversamm- 

 lung at Salzburg in September, 1881, and was shortly after pub- 

 lished in pamphlet form at Jena. It deals with the duration of life, 

 and constitutes the basis of the subsequent essays of the series. 

 The second essay, on heredity, followed two years later, and com- 

 pletes in outline the author's theories. The remaining six essays 

 serve essentially to elaborate and supplement the first two. The 

 most important contribution to thought is the defence of the theory 

 of germinal continuity against Darwin's theory of pangenesis as an 

 explanation of heredity. The hypothesis of germinal continuity 

 was originated by Moritz Nussbaum, to whom the first credit be- 

 longs : but Weismann has so identified himself with its defence and 

 amplification, that we may say that the gradual acceptance of the 

 hypothesis in place of that of pangenesis is due principally to his 

 teaching. He has adduced numerous facts, and numerous inter- 

 pretations in favor of his position ; and it is, we believe, not too 

 much to say that within a short time the new theory of heredity 

 must find general acceptance. Those, therefore, who wish to keep 

 abreast with the tendencies of biological advance must read Weis- 

 mann, and musi not only on account of the theory we have 

 specially referred to, but also on account of other fresh thoughts 

 and ideas which vivify his interesting pages. 



European Schools. By L. R. Klemm. New York, Appleton. 

 12". $2. 



This book is the latest issue in the International Education 

 Series, in which it well deserves its place. The author spent a year 

 or so in visiting the schools of Germany and France, with short 

 trips to Switzerland and Vienna. Most of his attention was given 

 to the German schools, and his account of these is full and inter- 

 esting. He is evidently a keen observer, and studied the schools 

 he visited with great care and diligence. The matters of which he 

 treats are generally of great interest, though manual training and 

 drawing are accorded altogether too much space in proportion to 

 their importance. These subjects and some others are largely 

 illustrated from drawings by the author himself. Mr. Klemm re- 

 ports nothing of special interest from France or Vienna, while in 

 Switzerland he seems to have been almost disgusted with what he 

 saw. He condemns the Swiss schools in unmeasured terms as ill 

 furnished and worse taught, and it is only in Germany that he finds 

 much that he regards as an improvement on what we have in 

 America. 



The difference of method between the German schools and ours 

 is indeed great ; but whether we should do well to abandon our 

 methods for theirs is questionable. The distinctive characteristic 

 of German teaching as described in this book is the absence of 

 text-books, the instruction being conveyed orally by the teacher. 

 This is the case, for instance, in geography, physics, and natural 

 history ; and it is obvious that the introduction of such teaching 

 into American schools would amount to a revolution. But the 

 method of question and answer employed by the German teachers, 

 of which Mr. Klemm gives many interesting examples, is unques- 



tionably of great value, being fitted not only to test the pupil's 

 knowledge, but also to make him think. Object-lessons, it appears, 

 have gone out of favor in Germany ; but, on the other hand, draw- 

 ing is employed to illustrate every subject that requires such illus- 

 tration. A particular account is given of a " school for dullards " 

 at Elberfeld, which has proved a very useful institution. 



Mr. Klemm attributes the excellence of the German schools 

 largely to the careful training of the teachers, and accordingly de- 

 votes some space to a description of the normal schools. He re- 

 ports, however, that there is at present a scarcity of teachers in the 

 kingdom of Prussia, — a fact which he attributes to the low salaries 

 paid, it being easy for intelligent men to get higher pay in other 

 employments. The teacher.s, nevertheless, are enthusiastic in their 

 work, and, though subject to strict rules, show a good deal of in- 

 dividuality in their teaching. Women teachers are comparatively 

 rare in Germany, and there is a strong prejudice against them ; but 

 this will doubtless disappear in the course of time. We cordially 

 commend Mr. Klemm's book to the attention of American teachers. 



The Key to Theosophy. By H. P. Blavatsky. London, Theo- 

 soph. Publ. Co.; New York, W. Q. Judge. 12°. 

 This work is intended as an introduction to theosophy, and is 

 written in the form of a catechism. It gives some account of the 

 character and objects of the Theosophical Society, and then goes 

 on to expound the leading doctrines that theosophists believe in — 

 or pretend to believe in. The doctrines chiefly dwelt on in this 

 book are pantheism and metempsychosis ; but we think the reader 

 will understand them less after perusing Mrs. Blavatsky's account 

 of them than he did before. The practical aims of theosophists, it 

 seems, are virtually identical with Christian charity, and it is only 

 on speculative questions that the new sect antagonizes the world. 

 It is very unfortunate that the real esoteric doctrines of the sect are 

 so profound, that, as we are told, only a very few persons can com- 

 prehend them ; and we are sorry to say that we are not among the 

 favored few. Indeed, we should incline to characterize much of 

 this book as rank nonsense, if we were not solemnly assured by the 

 authoress that " theosophy is synonymous with everlasting truth." 

 She refers feelingly to the fact that the Society for Psychical Re- 

 search had employed a man to investigate some of her statements, 

 and had characterized her as " the most accomphshed impostor of 

 the age," and says that she regards them with contempt, and that 

 she will not abandon her principles because they have been at- 

 tacked by " a flock of stupid old British wethers, who had been led 

 to butt at them by an over-frolicksome lambkin from Australia." 

 Evidently theosophy and modern ideas don't agree well together, 

 and we fear that Mrs. Blavatsky and her co-religionists will have a 

 hard task to convert the world to their views. 



Iron and Steel Manufacture. By Arthur H. Hiorns. London 

 and New York, Macmillan. 16°. $1. 



Beginners in the study of metallurgy will find this an excellent 

 little work from which to gain a knowledge of the fundamental 

 principles of the various processes employed in the manufacture of 

 iron and steel. They will also find it a compendium of the various 

 properties of those metals, so far as those properties can be treated 

 in an elementary manner. 



The book, of course, will not supersede any of the larger and 

 more exhaustive manuals on the subject, nor is it intended by the 

 author that it should do so. It is designed merely as an elemen- 

 tary treatise to prepare the student for a more advanced course of 

 study, though manufacturers and workmen connected with trades 

 in which iron and steel are used will find much of its contents of 

 value to them. For the convenience of those having but a limited 

 knowledge of chemistry, a chapter is devoted specially to a discus- 

 sion of chemical principles and changes, so far as they have a bear- 

 ing upon the subject of which the volume treats. The book is 

 fully illustrated, and furnished with a very complete index. 



AMONG THE PUBLISHERS. 



The Elder Publishing Company, Chicago, have nearly ready 

 " Birds and Butterflies," a book for boys and girls, by M. G. Mus- 

 grave. 



