SCIENCE. 



FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1887. 



COMMENT AND CRITICISM. 

 ' An interesting case of the failure of heredity 

 is shown in the Greenough family, of which 

 Horatio Greenough, one of our earliest sculptors, 

 whose letters have just been published by Ticknor 

 & Co., is a well-known member. Although several 

 of Mr. Greenough's brothers and sisters displayed 

 an interest in and capacity for art, yet no expla- 

 nation for this love and devotion can be found in 

 either of the parents, nor in the ancestors so far as 

 known. The father was ' a sensible, practical, 

 honorable man ' from Wellfleet, on the Cape. The 

 grandfather had a collegiate education and good 

 talents, and died at the age of thirty-nine. The 

 mother lived to the age of eighty -nine, was pas- 

 sionately fond of nature, and had a facility for 

 writing, and love for reading, but neither knowl- 

 edge nor appreciation of art. Of the brothers and 

 sisters of Horatio Greenough, of whom there were 

 eleven, John, the oldest, was born in 180L He 

 showed when young a love of design, and sup- 

 ported himself for some years in London by paint- 

 ing. Alfred, the fourth son, was interested in 

 art, but never studied it. He afterward entered 

 into business. Richard Saltonstall, the youngest 

 of the sons, born in 1819, distinguished himself at 

 an early age by a portrait bust of Prescott the 

 historian, a fine bronze group of a shepherd-boy 

 and eagle, and the statue of Franklin in School 

 Street, Boston. He has lived in Rome for many 

 years, where his later works are well known. 

 One of the daughters also possessed all the natural 

 gifts requisite for an artist. 



The increasing number of series of mono- 

 graphs on special topics must have attracted the 

 attention of all those who possess any acquaint- 

 ance with current literature. We have an Ameri- 

 can science series, a set of science primers, several 

 sets of literature primers, historical monographs, 

 economic papers, and so on. The development in 

 this direction is a perfectly natural one, and one 

 which results from the increasing specialization 

 in study. It is impossible any longer for even the 

 well-informed man to follow methods and details : 



No. 229 — 1887. 



he must rest content with results, and even those 

 concisely stated. This multiplication of small 

 books on gi-eat subjects has been deprecated, we 

 know, but, as it seems to us, on untenable 

 grounds. When Huxley writes on science in gen- 

 eral. Walker on political economy, Geikie on 

 geology, Martin on biology, and Young on the 

 sun, we may rest assured that the results will be 

 beyond criticism. 



Within a few days, two additions to these series, 

 both of them extremely important, have been an- 

 nounced. The first comes from the faculty of 

 political science of Columbia college, — a body 

 which has already placed the community under 

 obligations to it not only for its admirably organ- 

 ized and conducted course of study, but for its in- 

 valuable Political science quarterly. Each of 

 the professors in this school has undertaken the 

 preparation of a work on his own subject ; and 

 the series will cover the whole field of political 

 science proper, as well as the allied subjects of 

 public law and economics. Nine volumes are in 

 course of preparation, and in each the historical 

 and comparative method will be followed. The 

 nine volumes mentioned are ' Comparative con- 

 stitutional law and politics,' by Professor Bur- 

 gess ; ' History of political theories,' by Professor 

 Alexander ; ' Historical political economy,' by 

 Prof. Richmond M. Smith ; ' Comparative con- 

 stitutional law of the American commonwealths,' 

 by Mr. F. W. Whitridge ; ' Historical and com- 

 parative science of finance,' by Dr. E. R. A. Selig- 

 man ; ' Comparative administrative law,' by Mr. 

 F. J. Goodnow ; ' International law,' by Professor 

 Dwight ; 'Comparative jurisprudence,' by Prof. 

 Munroe Smith ; and ' Literature of political sci- 

 ence,' by George H. Baker. The first of these 

 volumes will be issued in the autumn. 



The second announcement to which we refer 

 will probably attract even more wide-spread at- 

 tention than the first. It is to the effect, that, 

 recognizing the lack of the accurate and scientific 

 treatment, in an accessible form, of educational 

 and pedagogic questions, the Industrial education 

 association of this city will commence in the au- 



