Maech 29, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



499 



Bulletin 301 of the U. S. Geological Survey, 

 and includes approximately 6,400 titles. This 

 certainly speaks well for the industry, at least, 

 of American geologists. In glancing through 

 the pages of the book one is struck with the 

 large number of papers relating to economic 

 geology. At the same time the amount of 

 ■work done in paleontology, petrology, and the 

 various abstract branches of the science, seems 

 to have been only relatively and not actually 

 less than in any preceding period of equal 

 length. The bibliography follows in style 

 Mr. Weeks's previous and well-known annual 

 contributions. 



The second report constitutes Bulletin 6 of 

 the new (fourth) series of the Ohio Geological 

 Survey. It consists in the main of a subject 

 index to the publications of the various geolog- 

 ical surveys of Ohio and is the work of Alice 

 Greenwood Derby. It is supplemented by a 

 brief and incomplete bibliography of publica- 

 tions relating to the geology of Ohio, other 

 than those of the State Geological Survey, 

 prepared by Mary Wilson Prosser. There is 

 an unusually interesting preface prepared by 

 the late state geologist, Edward Orton, Jr. 



The Ohio bibliography differs entirely in 

 character and scope from Mr. Weeks's paper 

 noticed above. It is none the less well con- 

 ceived and will be exceedingly useful. It is 

 one of the unfortunate features of state geo- 

 logical survey work that the investigations 

 are rarely continuous, and the publications 

 are issued in various different forms and 

 series from year to year. It is exceedingly 

 difficult to keep track of them, and even more 

 difficult to secure complete sets. In Ohio pub- 

 lication began in 1836, and there have been 

 four successive and distinctly organized sur- 

 veys. The reports have been prepared, printed 

 and distributed under laws which have been 

 changed from time to time, and despite the 

 large aggregate sum spent in publications, 

 many important libraries find it impossible to 

 purchase full sets of the reports. Under the 

 circumstances a complete index of the reports 

 is particularly welcome. If it had included 

 even brief abstracts, such as Mr. Weeks in- 

 cludes in his bibliographies, it would have 



been even more welcome. As it is, the bulle- 

 tin will be of great service pending the publi- 

 cation of a complete dictionary catalogue, 

 which will doubtless be some time necessary. 

 H. F. Bain 

 Uebana, III., 



February 19, 1907 



Mars and its Canals. By Percival Lowell. 



Illustrated. New York, The MacmiUan 



Company. 1906. Pp. xv + 393. 8vo. 



' To G. V. Schiaparelli, the Columbus of 

 a new planetary world, this investigation upon 

 it is appreciatively inscribed' — so reads the 

 dedicatory page of this handsomely printed 

 volume, which is a storehouse of observa- 

 tion and theorizing concerning those features 

 whose study Schiaparelli was so instrumental 

 in inspiring. Whatever may be any astron- 

 omer's opinion regarding the degree of credi- 

 bility to be assigned to various observations 

 of the surface features of Mars, and whatever 

 may be that astronomer's opinion of the valid- 

 ity of Lowell's deductions from those observa- 

 tions ; no reader of this book can fail to recog- 

 nize the serious earnestness of its author and 

 his sincere belief in the scientific conclusive- 

 ness of all the varied arguments advanced to 

 account for surface markings and phenomena 

 that they present. 



While this book is published as a popular 

 exposition of the most recent investigations, 

 it presents practically all that is known, or 

 thus far suspected^ presumably, concerning^ 

 this planet and its inhabitants. It is divided 

 into four parts. 



Part I. is a description of its natural fea- 

 tures, i. e., those bearing closest resemblance 

 to the earth in form and development. Here 

 are outlined the advantages of good-seeing 

 and the need to go to out-of-the-way parts of 

 the earth to find transparent atmosphere: a 

 bird's-eye view of past Martian discovery; a 

 description of the polar caps, the white spots, 

 the climate and weather, mountains and 

 clouds, color-tinted areas, and vegetation. 

 This part closes with a summary, occupying 

 pages 159-170, in which are explicitly laid 

 dovm and numbered ' thirty-nine articles of 

 Martian scientific faith ' presented as definite. 



