38 Revieics — Elisee Reclus on " The Earth." 



tlie ages of geological strata in the various countries of tlie world. 

 " Nowhere do they present absolute harmony." His conclusion 

 takes the form of a question, and he asks, " How much [of this 

 want of harmony] is owing to a difference of epoch, and how much 

 to a diversity of climate ? The solution of this problem is one 

 of the great tasks of science." (p. 31.) We are of opinion that 

 De la Beche, Edward Forbes, and Professor Huxley have taught us 

 in England to reduce this " want of harmony " to a principle, which 

 we know as Homotaxis ; and we believe that some way has been 

 made in the endeavour to ascertain the value of each factor in the 

 numberless equations which Comparative Palaeontology presents to 

 us. But would M. Eeclus be " surprised to learn " that this geo- 

 logical variation is harmonious with an astronomical one described 

 by himself ? " The attraction of the moon and the disturbances 

 caused by the vicinity of certain planets are incessantly modifying 

 the curve described in the stp,rry fields of space by the earth's axis, 

 and complicate it with a multitude of spirals, the various periods 

 of which do not coincide with the great period of the swaying of the 

 axis. The successive undulations form a continuous system of inter- 

 woven spirals. 'It is a manifestation of the Infinite.'" (p. 12.) 

 Just as the moon and the planets modify the path of our globe 

 round the sun, so have volcanic, meteorological, and other terrestrial 

 phenomena modified the climate, the depth of the sea, and the 

 distribution of land and water, which have produced the " want 

 of harmony " in geological strata in different parts of the globe. 

 The geologist of the present day who believes in the philosophy 

 of his science looks forward to the time when the history of all these 

 perturbations may be as clearly read by him as the ancient path 

 of the world can be calculated by the astronomer. 



The two volumes which we have received do not complete M. 

 Reclus's work ; but we have refrained from consulting the 

 complete French edition, as we hope on a future occasion to 

 resume our discourse on the sequel, and to show, if possible, how 

 the author gathers up his lines of harmony and rhythm, and connects 

 them by means of a scientific theory with the laws which are known 

 to have produced the varied phenomena which he has hitherto com- 

 pared with each other. 



The translation to which we have confined ourselves was made 

 by the late Mr. B. B. Woodward, M.A. (Queen's Librarian), aaad it 

 has been edited by his brother, Mr. Henry Woodward, F.Gr.S., etc., 

 of the British Museum. The volumes are very well got up, ex- 

 cellently illustrated by twenty-four page-maps printed in colours, as 

 well as by more than two hundred woodcut figures inserted in the text. 

 As a gift-book on Popular Science, we can strongly recommend it, 

 especially to those who expect such publications to interest their 

 friends if opened at random and read for a spare half hour. We 

 cannot say that it is faultless; but when the work is completed we 

 expect to find a table of Errata, in which, for instance, the editor 

 will assure his readers that the word "Crustaceas" is a misprint, and 

 not meant, as a double plural, to be a philological illustration of the 

 author's theory of double continents. — H. M. Jenkins. 



