September 8, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



317 



other editions, keeping it abreast with the 

 times. From the brevity of the treatment and 

 the propagandist aim, it results that the 

 statements given are in some cases rather 

 more confident or dogmatic than the facts 

 known to us may warrant. In particular, I 

 should have wished to look a little more 

 cautiously over some of Karl Pearson's re- 

 sults, such as those on the inheritance of men- 

 tal traits and on the greater susceptibility to 

 disease of the first born in a family. Broadly 

 speaking, however, the arguments are sound 

 and well presented, and any non-scientific per- 

 son reading and accepting them as they stand 

 will not go far astray. 



The first chapter, on " the sources and aims 

 of the science of eugenics " begins with a 

 summary of the history of the subject, and 

 , goes on to discuss the relations of biology to 

 sociology, giving some of the sociological 

 data which are important for the " eugenist." 

 The second goes into the biological founda- 

 tions of eugenics, and gives a condensed ac- 

 count of the main facts concerning variation, 

 heredity and kindred matters. In the descrip- 

 tion of the Mendelian phenomena, the first 

 case given is one (the Andalusian fowl) in 

 which the heterozygous form is unlike either 

 of the homozygous ones. This reverses the 

 usual order, with I think distinct advantage, 

 making the matter clearer and showing from 

 the start that dominance is not essential to 

 Mendelism. The third and final chapter is a 

 long one on human heredity and the eugenic 

 program. In it are given many striking hu- 

 man pedigrees, and much other information 

 likely to astonish many readers. On page 

 200, in discussing the inheritance of acquired 

 characters, the " giraffe's neck and the fox's 

 cunning " are classed among these, by some 

 slip or ambiguity. In connection with this 

 matter we may perhaps question the practical 

 limitation of the concern of the eugenist (pp. 

 42-43) to " conditions which affect the innate 

 characteristics of the race," as it is obvious 

 that improved social conditions will tend to 

 bring out or make visible desirable innate 

 qualities, which may then be considered suc- 

 cessfully from the standpoint of eugenics. 



The author rightly insists that a large part 

 of the present eiigenic program is educational. 

 Scientific men who are of this opinion can 

 do something for the cause if they will help 

 to circulate Professor Kellicott's book. 



T. D. A. COCKERELL 



Animal Intelligence. By Professor E. L. 



Thorndike, Columbia University. New 



York, The Macmillan Co. 1911. Pp. 



viii + 297. $1.60 net. 



Students of behavior, biologists and experi- 

 mental psychologists, alike, welcome the vol- 

 ume containing the collected papers on ani- 

 mal psychology of Professor E. L. Thorndike 

 which has just been published in the Animal 

 Behavior Series. 



For some years the most important two of 

 the papers, " Animal Intelligence " and " The 

 Mental Life of Monkeys," published originally 

 as Monograph Supplements to the Psycholog- 

 ical Review, have been out of print. Since 

 Thorndike's studies marked the dawn of the 

 experimental era in animal psychology it is 

 distinctly worth while to have this material in 

 convenient form and available for students for 

 years to come. The historical value of the 

 work, however, is not the chief reason for the 

 publication of the volume. However much 

 the technique and scope of animal psychology 

 may have advanced since the first appearance 

 of Thorndike's work, his penetrating discus- 

 sions of the general nature of animal mind 

 have by no means been outgrown. In looking 

 back upon his work one is struck by the bold- 

 ness and apparent rashness of his general con- 

 clusions, especially in view of the fact that 

 his experimental material was limited; and 

 yet those conclusions in the most essential 

 points have stood the test of twelve active 

 years. J. B. Watson 



QVOTATIONS 



SEVEN years' progress in medical education 

 Those who have been watching the develop- 

 ment of medical education in this country 

 have noted with no little astonishment and 

 gratification the remarkable progress that has 

 been made in recent years and particularly 



