NOVEMBEE 28, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



779 



The Meaning of Evolution. By Samuel 



Christian Schmucker, Ph.D. New York, 



The Macmillan Company. 1913. 12mo. 



Pp. 298. 



This is a very readable book upon what is 

 no longer a new theme. Following a literary 

 " foreword " the pre-Darwinian history of evo- 

 lution is sketched as a background for Dar- 

 win and Wallace. The historical chapter 

 about Darwin presents the essentials of his 

 career in a charmingly vivid and sympa- 

 thetic manner. Then follows the " Underly- 

 ing Idea " of natural selection as the method 

 of evolution illustrated largely by means of 

 the English sparrow, of which the author in- 

 cidentally says (p. 84) : " This pestiferous 

 creature should be exterminated . . . but per- 

 sonally I am taking no share in his destruc- 

 tion ... I confess that it would be with re- 

 gret ihatTl should see him disappear from the 

 landscape." 



Chapters IV. and V. deal with adaptation 

 for the individual and for the species. The 

 general attitude toward Lamarck is occasion- 

 ally rather more conciliatory than the mili- 

 tant Weismannian would approve of, but this 

 is not to be wondered at in one who is proud 

 of having been a student of Professor Cope. 

 It seems to be very easy to drop into La- 

 marckian explanations for adaptation. For 

 instance (p. 89) : " The modern scientist feels 

 sure not only that the animal is fitted to his 

 work, but that he has been so fitted by the 

 work." It will probably always be a bone of 

 contention whether the exercise of an organ 

 determines its structure or the structure of 

 an organ sets the limits to its exercise. 



With respect to protective coloration and 

 sexual selection the author proposes to retain 

 the Darwinian interpretation until something 

 better arises in spite of the recent loss of con- 

 fidence in the adequacy of these explanations. 



The three succeeding chapters upon " Life 

 in the Past," " How the Mammals Devel- 

 oped," and " The Story of the Horse " mar- 

 shal in review some of the classified evidence 

 in support of animal evolution, while Chapter 

 IX. takes up " Evolutionary Theories Since 

 Darwin." 



In this last chapter Weismann, whose 

 name will doubtless be correctly spelled in 

 subsequent editions, is justly given promi- 

 nence because his " work has made us cau- 

 tious and prevented our lightly accepting a 

 belief in the influence of the environment." 

 Moritz Wagner and Romanes with their iso- 

 lation theories and the orthogenists receive 

 attention, and finally Hugo deVries with mu- 

 tation closes the chapter. 



The book could have been written fifteen 

 years ago so far as any analysis of the signifi- 

 cant bearing which Mendelism or the pure- 

 line theory of Johannsen has upon the ques- 

 tion of evolution. 



Chapter X. turns optimistically to the 

 " Future Evolution of Man " and is sociolog- 

 ical rather than biological in its treatment, 

 while the final chapter, " Science and the 

 Book " gives the impression that the professor 

 has stepped out of the class room and is 

 speaking to a church audience and speaking 

 withal extremely well. 



The word " Evolution " has lost most of its 

 incendiary character of a generation ago yet 

 there are no doubt many in whose minds it 

 still stands contrasted with religion and the 

 Bible as a faith-destroying invention of god- 

 less scientists. To all such persons this book 

 is a welcome message of reassurance and peace 

 while to others who no longer need to be con- 

 vinced of the essential truth of the evolution- 

 ary processes, the pages will be turned with 

 approving delight. 



Dr. Schmucker has stated the facts of the 

 case in clear non-technical language with 

 much literary grace and with scientific ac- 

 curacy, consequently the book is well adapted 

 to a wide range of readers even outside the 

 biologically initiated. 



H. E. Walter 



Brown Univeesity 



Animals of the Past. By Frederick A. Lucas. 

 American Museum of Natural History, 

 Handbook series No. 4. New York. 1913. 

 Pp. XX + 266, with a frontispiece and 50 

 full-page and text figures. 

 This volume is an exact reprint of Lucas's 



