4o8 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIII. No. 329 



to the maternal line of descent " (p. 53). His account, however, of 

 the way in which the maternal line originated is very obscure. 

 Again, it has been a common opinion that the clan was developed 

 out of the family, and the tribe out of the clan, so that the origin 

 of government is to be traced back to the patriarchal rule of the 

 father over his family. This also Mr. Slarcke denies, holding that 

 " the primitive organization of the clan is derived from that of the 

 tribe, and not of the family. . . . The clan differed from the 

 tribe as a part from the whole. . . . The family, on the other 

 hand, is an altogether independent formation which flourishes with- 

 in the tribe or clan. . . . The family does not develop into a 

 clan " (pp. 276, 277). Marriage, in Mr. Starcke's view, arose, not 

 from the sexual instinct nor from the affections, but from the de- 

 sire of the man to have somebody to keep house for him. Many 

 usages connected with the family are to be explained, in our 

 author's opinion, by legal regulations. Thus he thinks thai the 

 names used to designate the various degrees of relationship were 

 " the faithful reflection of the juridical relations which arose be- 

 tween the nearest kinsfolk of each tribe. Individuals who were, 

 according to the legal point, on the same level with the speaker, 

 received the same designation " (p. 207). In the same way he en- 

 deavors to account for exogamy and endogamy by legal regula- 

 tions ; but unfortunately he fails to tell us why the legal relations 

 of persons came to be such as they were, rather than other- 

 wise. 



Such are Mr. Starcke's views on some of the leading topics dis- 

 cussed ; and it is evident that they furnish material for consider- 

 able controversy. We shall not undertake any criticism of them, 

 however, at the present time, but content ourselves with simply 

 setting them forth. But there are certain literary faults in the 

 book which can hardly be passed over. One of these is the 

 obscurity with which some of the author's views are stated, which 

 leaves the reader in doubt as to what he is trying to prove. An- 

 other fault, especially in the earlier chapters, is the excessive 

 amount of detail, which makes us lose sight of the point under 

 discussion in the mass of disconnected facts. In spite of these 

 defects, however, the book will be interesting to all students of 

 primitive society, and none the less so, perhaps, on account of its 

 controversial character. 



Hygiejiic Physiology, with Special Reference to the Use of Alco- 

 holic Drinks and Narcotics. By JOEL DORMAN Steele, 

 Ph.D. New York and Chicago, Barnes. 12°. $1. 



This is a revised edition of the well-known " Fourteen Weeks 

 in Human Physiology," and therefore needs no special comment. 

 The subject of disinfectants occupies but a single page, and is un- 

 fortunately not in accord with the best knowledge that we possess 

 on this important subject. The published reports of the American 

 Public Health Association furnish mor.e reliable information as to 

 methods of disinfection, and we are surprised that in the prepara- 

 tion of this volume they were not consulted, rather than adopting 

 the recommendations of the National Board of Health, which were 

 reliable ten years ago, but are, so far as we know, not followed by 

 any sanitary authorities at the present day. 



A Hand-Book of Ciyptogamic Botany. By ALFRED W. Ben- 

 nett and George Murray. London and New York, Long- 

 mans, Green, & Co. 12'. §5. 



That a text-book on this subject is greatly needed will be 

 readily understood when the statement is made that no general 

 hand-book on cryptogamic botany has appeared in the English 

 language since that of Berkeley in 1857. As the authors of the pres- 

 ent volume truly say, since then this department of botanical science 

 has gone through little less than a revolution. Not only has the 

 number of known forms increased enormously, but additions of 

 great importance have been made to our knowledge of structure 

 by the use of the microscope, and to the genetic connection of dif- 

 ferent forms by the careful following- out of the life-history of par- 

 ticular species. The main object of the present work is to bring 

 within the reach of botanists, and of the public generally who are 

 interested in the study of nature, an acquaintance with the present 

 state of knowledge in this branch of science. The authors recog- 

 nize that the question of terminology is one of the greatest stum- 



bling-blocks to the student of cryptogamy ; and they have, com- 

 mendably we think, simplified the scientific terms whenever possi- 

 ble. Thus they employ throughout the volume " sporange,"" 

 " archegone," " antherid," "cosnobe," " sclerote," " epider.m," etc.,. 

 in place of the Latin and Greek forms hitherto used. The arrange- 

 ment of the subject-matter is admirable, and the illustrations are 

 sufficiently abundant and well executed for the purpose for which 

 they were designed. Of the type and paper, and the general exe- 

 cution of the work, too much cannot be said in the way of praise. 



Outlines of Lessons in Botany, for the Use of Teachers, or Moth- 

 ers sttidying with their Children. By Jane H. Newell. 

 Boston, Ginn. 16°. 

 These lessons are suitable for children of twelve years and up- 

 ward, and are arranged after the plan of Gray's " First Lessons "^ 

 and " How Plants Grow," and are intended to be used in connec- 

 tion with either of those books. The author's aim has been tO' 

 prepare such outlines as will aid teachers in fostering in their pu- 

 pils the power of observation and clear expression. The volume 

 deals with plants and their uses as food, clothing, fuel, and in the- 

 purification of the air. Directions are given for the raising of the 

 morning-glory, sunflower, bean, and pea in the schoolroom or at 

 home, and what to observe in the roots, stem, buds, branches, and 

 leaves of these and other plants. Twenty-five well-drawn figures- 

 aid the text very materially. 



AMONG THE PUBLISHERS. 



TiCKNOR & Co. have in preparation Pfeiffer's " American Man- 

 sions," a series of designs by Mr. Carl Pfeiffer for dwelling-houses- 

 of various classes, with all their details, both decorative and con- 

 structive, carefully worked out. 



— Charles Scribner's Sons will publish shortly the second vol- 

 ume of Professor Charles W. Shields' " Philosophia Ultima; " and 

 " Progress of Religious Freedom as shown in the History of the 

 Toleration Acts," by the Rev. Dr. Philip Schaff. 



— Roberts Brothers published on the 14th the second division 

 of Renan's " History of the People of Israel," from the reign of 

 David up to the capture of Samaria. 



— D. Appleton & Co. have ready " The Primitive Family in its 

 Origin and Development," by Professor C. N. Starcke of the Co- 

 penhagen University, which forms Vol. LXV. of the International 

 Scientific Series ; Part V. of Vol. III. of Roscoe and Schorlemmer's- 

 " Treatise on Chemistry," covering " The Chemistry of Hydrocar- 

 bons and their Derivatives ; " and " How to Study Geography," by 

 Francis W. Parker, which forms Vol. X. of the International Edu- 

 cation Series. They have in preparation " An Epitome of Herbert 

 Spencer's Synthetic Philosophy;" "Stellar Evolution," by Dr. 

 James CroU ; " European Schools in 1S88," by Dr. L. R. Klemm ; 

 " A Dictionary of Terms in Art ; " and the annual volume for 1888 

 of " Appletons' Annual CyclopEedia." 



— The J. B. Lippincott Company will publish next week, by 

 subscription, the first volume of " The Cyclopedia of the Diseases 

 of Children," by American, British, and Canadian authors, edited 

 by John M. Keating, M.D. 



— Professor John F. Genung of Amherst College has published 

 through Messrs. Ginn & Co. of Boston a " Handbook of Rhetorical 

 Analysis," intended to be a companion to his treatise on rhetoric. 

 It consists of extracts from some twenty English writers, mostly of 

 the present century, with notes and questions designed to lead the 

 student to a properappreciation of the qualities of style and thought 

 which they exhibit. Most of the extracts are excellent, some of 

 them being chosen for their style, and others for the depth of 

 thought or power of invention shown in them. The editor's notes 

 and questions are very numerous, and sometimes very suggestive, 

 and we should think the volume would be quite useful to students 

 of style and composition. 



— As evidence of the wide interest that has been taken during 

 the past year in the contents of The Forum, is cited the fact that 

 in that period more than three thousand editorial articles suggested 

 by Forum articles were printed in American and English papers. 



