June 7, 1007] 



SCIENCE 



909 



time, that the flowers of Drosera and Nepen- 

 thes are carnivorous, and that the problem of 

 cross-fertilization is 'normally insoluble.' 

 Here, also, obsolete terminology is perpetuated 

 in the expression ' fertilization of the stigma,' 

 and obsolete interpretation in referring to the 

 stigma as the ' female organ,' and to the sta- 

 mens as the ' male organs ' of the flower. 



The fact, stated in the first article, that the 

 Virginia creeper or the convolvulus will begin 

 to twine about the handle of a rake, tempo- 

 rarily laid against a wall, does not seem, in 

 the author's mind at least, at variance with 

 the clear ' perspicacity,' ' intelligence ' and 

 'prudence' with which plants in general are 

 attributed elsewhere in the articles. One 

 wonders, though, why the convolvulus did not 

 ' set its thought to working,' as did the Silene 

 Italica, mentioned a few lines farther on. 

 But doubtless we have failed to enter into the 

 spirit of the author, for later he implies intel- 

 ligence to the mountains, the seas and the 

 stars. 



' The flowers,' we are told, ' came upon our 

 earth before the insects." This ' geologically 

 incontestable fact ' is, alone, ' enough to estab- 

 lish evolution ' ! 



But the discoveries of recent science sadly 

 pale in comparison with the root-intelligence 

 described in a foot-note to the first article, 

 and credited to Brandis. Thus: 



This root, in penetrating into the earth, had 

 come upon an old boot sole: in order to cross this 

 obstacle, which, apparently, it was the first of its 

 kind to find upon its road, it subdivided itself 

 into as many parts as there were holes left by the 

 stitching needle; then, when the obstacle was over- 

 come, it came together again and reunited all its 

 divided radicles into a single and homogeneous 

 tap-root. 



Of course no one could state, a priori, that 

 such a marvelous feat was impossible, but it 

 is the kind of tale to which one more readily 

 gives credence if substantiated by photo- 

 graphic evidence. Without such evidence the 

 event, as narrated, is absolutely incredible to 



^ That insects appeared in Silurian times, and 

 that there is no certain evidence of angiosperms 

 earlier than the Cretaceous, are facts of paleon- 

 tology too well known to be dwelt upon here. 



any botanist. But even if such an act were 

 common for roots, by what stretch of the 

 imagination could one infer that a root could 

 have preconceived and reasoned out the plan 

 so deftly executed? 



There is much in these articles of interest, 

 and of scientific accuracy, and the apparent 

 appreciation, in the last one, of the value of 

 the experimental study of variation is very 

 gratifying. 



" All that we observe within ourselves," says 

 Maeterlinck, " is rightly open to suspicion ; 

 and we are too greatly interested in peopling 

 our world with magnificent illusions and 

 hopes." Perhaps this explains the impossible 

 botany of the articles, but it can not excuse 

 it. 0. Stuart Gager 



New Yobk Botanical Garden, 

 April 30, 1907 



CONCERNING LEFT-HANDED ABORIGINES 



A RECENT article in Science requested 

 people in charge of Indians to find the pro- 

 portion of left-handed aborigines to the right- 

 handed ones. Acting upon that request, tha 

 writer has been investigating the subject 

 among the Hoh and Quileute Indians, and, 

 out of a population of 231, five left-handed 

 people were found: How-withlup (male), Wa- 

 lo-thlu (male), Hick-sh (male), Thle-ba-tolch 

 (male), Hi-yie-to-utl (female). 



Albert B. Eeagan 



La Push, Wash. 



UPLIFT increases RAINFALL, DENUDATION 

 DIMINISHES IT 



It has long been known to students of geog- 

 raphy that in most parts of the world more 

 and more rain and snow is observed to fall as 

 one examines greater and greater heights on 

 the slopes of hills and mountains up to very 

 considerable elevations. Hellmann's new rain- 

 fall map of Germany shows this to be true 

 even of the very flat hills on the plains of 

 northern Prussia. At any point on this plain 

 the hills are a little wetter and the valleys 

 drier than the ground about. Dr. Kassner has 

 suggested in the February Petermann that in 

 regions of subdued mountain form there must. 



