May 13, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



743 



7. Clearly stating, and securing general rec- 

 ognition of the difference between the origin 

 of a character and its selection. 



8. Formulation of the working hypothesis 

 of pangenesis. This was the parent-idea of 

 the entire mutation-theory. 



9. Elaboration of the mutation-theory. 



10. The unfolding of new problems and of 

 entire new fields of research. The influence of 

 the mutation-theory (like Darwin's " Origin ") 

 amounts to little less than a rejuvenescence of 

 all biological science. 



The English translation has had the ad- 

 vantage of the author's careful revision and 

 correction, and embodies certain changes made 

 necessary by Nilsson's work on the selection 

 of cereals. 



The second volume of the German original 

 is in process of translation and will be eagerly 

 awaited. Some of the more technical chapters 

 of this volume, relating to hybridization, will 

 be omitted and their translation published 

 separately. 



English-speaking botanists and zoologists 

 owe a debt of sincere gratitude to Professor 

 Farmer and Mr. Darbishire for rendering so 

 invaluable a book into their native language. 

 The press work is also commendable, and we 

 should appreciate the willingness of the pub- 

 lishers to undertake the publication of so ex- 

 tensive a work of this character. It is easier 

 to get this done in almost any other country 

 than in the United States. 



C. Stuaet Gagee 



Depaetment of Botany, 

 University of Missouri 



The Story of the Submarine. By Colonel 



Cyril Field, E.M.N.I. 



This is a popular review of the history and 

 traditions of submarine warfare and naviga- 

 tion from the earliest ages to the present day. 

 The manner of presentation is well conceived 

 and the illustrations are sufficient, without 

 going too far into detail. The traditional 

 part appears to be dravra from medieval mar- 

 vel mongers who never missed a good story 

 nor spoiled it by leaving out picturesque de- 

 tails. But by the second chapter the author 

 takes up his history in which he is precise 



and conscientious. In the middle of the sev- 

 enteenth century real submarines were built 

 and navigated, but the progress was slow and 

 intermittent, since they were almost all made 

 of wood and propelled by hand, even so late as 

 the middle of the nineteenth century. The 

 form of the submarine and the difficulties of 

 submarine navigation were by that time fairly 

 well understood, but the lack of mechanical 

 propulsion made the increase of size of little 

 avail. 



The author's strict adherence to chronolog- 

 ical order fails to throw into relief the really 

 essential features of the development of sub- 

 marines, such as the chemical generation of 

 oxygen by Payerne, the application of steam 

 power by Garrett and the introduction of the 

 storage battery by Goubet. In the same way 

 the development of the submarine in France 

 and in America loses connection from the fact 

 that first one and then the other comes up for 

 discussion. 



The modern submarines appear to be pos- 

 sible on account of the combination of the 

 internal combustion engine (used by Hol- 

 land), the storage battery, together with de- 

 vices for controlling direction and submer- 

 sion. Each of them is described in its proper 

 place, but the reader is left to recognize the 

 combination. In like manner the submarine 

 torpedo is described as the proper weapon of 

 the submarine, but its direct influence on the 

 development of the submarine, due to the per- 

 fection of control of the torpedo, is not men- 

 tioned. 



The author's description of the submarine 

 of to-day is sufficient for his " man in the 

 street," and one may charge to official 

 secrecy and rapidity of development his fail- 

 ure to distinguish clearly between submarines 

 and submersibles and why the latter have been 

 developed to such a displacement of 1,000 tons 

 with a speed of sixteen knots at the surface. 

 His conservative estimate of the importance 

 of the submarine and of its use for other than 

 warlike purposes must be respected. 



C. H. Peabody 

 Massachusetts Institute 

 OP Technology 



