960 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 129. 



fer of its name to the doctor who employs it," 

 and that ' ' it has been suggested, however, that 

 the term was applied rather by way of anal- 

 ogy." Again, in reading of the intelligence of 

 the land-leeches of Ceylon we learn that ' ' they 

 may ascend herbs and shrubs to gain a better 

 outlook when they are aware of an approaching 

 footstep." The most valuable part of Mr. Bed- 

 dard's account of the Hirudinea is his discus- 

 sion of their relationships with the Oligochseta. 



The chapters of Mr. Shipley on the Gephyrea 

 and Phoronis are among the best in the book, 

 and his treatment of the aflSnities of these 

 troublesome forms is most full and impartial. 

 The account also includes a table of genera and 

 species. 



The excellent final chapter by Mr. Harmer 

 on the Polyzoa is restricted to British forms, 

 and concludes with a detailed table for the de- 

 termination of British genera. 



As a whole, the work is to be most highly 

 commended and is the best general account of 

 ' worms ' that has appeared. If the scope of 

 the book had been somewhat more extended so 

 as to include, in all classes, other than British 

 forms, its value and usefulness would have 

 been much enhanced. In criticism it can be said 

 that the book is not altogether well balanced 

 as to the space alloted to the diiferent classes, 

 and that a general introduction on affinities and 

 classification in addition to the tables which pre- 

 cede the text would have been of value for the 

 student. The illustrations, with a few excep- 

 tions, are of the highest order and include 

 many new ones; as exceptions may be men- 

 tioned Figs. 8 and 14, which are little more 

 than caricatures. 



W. McM. "WOODWOETH. 



The Swastika. By Thomas Wilson. Washing- 

 ton, Government Printing Office. 1896. 

 This extensive monograph of about 250 

 pages, with 25 full plates and 374 figures in 

 the test, is from the report of the National 

 Museum for 1896. The avithor is the Curator 

 of the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology 

 in the Museum, and well known to students in 

 that branch./- His subject is the hooked cross, 

 that figure called in English the ' fylfot ' (four 

 footed), and in the East Indies, swastika. This 

 the author, in his sub-title and throughout his 



volume, claims as 'the earliest known symbol,' 

 and prepares to point out its ' migrations. ' 



The subject is by no means a new one, as 

 Mr. Wilson's appended bibliography abun- 

 dantly shows ; but there have been so many 

 explanations of the origin and significance of 

 this figure, and so many claims made for it as 

 of historic value in indicating early migrations 

 or relations of tribes, that it was quite desirable 

 that a calm survey and clear analysis of them 

 should be made. Mr. Wilson, by his wide 

 reading and acquaintance with prehistoric 

 archaeology, is eminently qualified to accomplish 

 this task ; but by reason of his general theories 

 on the origins of culture has, it must be said, 

 failed in his presentation. 



Not that his volume lacks in thoroughness, 

 or that it is not of very high value to anyone 

 who would trace the prevalence of this figure 

 in both the Old and the New World. In these 

 respects the work is satisfying ; it overflows 

 with quotations, and is accurate and attractive 

 in its numerous illustrations. But all this 

 wealth of resource is, in the opinion of many 

 'close students of the topic, seriously injured by 

 two hypotheses of the author which continu- 

 ally interfere with the accuracy of his perspec- 

 tive. 



These are, first, that the swastika is always 

 to be regarded as a symbol ; and, secondly, that 

 it ' migrated ' from one or two centers and was 

 in some sense a racial or ethnic figure. 



Both of these hypotheses have been shown 

 to be unquestionably erroneous by the latest 

 researches in the decorative art of both hemi- 

 spheres. The ' fylfot ' in American, Polynesian 

 and Asiatic art has been proved by Von den 

 Steinen, Stolpe, Kegnault and others to be as 

 purely decorative as it is in modern wall paper. 

 It has been found in Semitic and Egyptian art, 

 whence scholars of Mr. Wilson's school have 

 tried to exclude it. Like other simple linear 

 figures, its origin is not single but multiple ; 

 and both as a picture and a symbol it has stood 

 for widely diverse objects. The mysteriousness 

 which has been thrown about it disappears on 

 an examination of its origins and meanings in 

 many different tribes wide apart in geographic 

 location ; and had the author of the volume 

 before us, so excellent in many respects, sur- 



