4« 



The National Geographic Magazine 



Even our theaters in large cities show 

 the superiority of the blonde in the au- 

 dience. The lower class houses are 

 filled largely with brunettes every 

 evening, while the better ones appeal 

 to the blonde. 



But there are gaps in Dr Woodruff's 

 logic. He is confused on the origin of 

 the blondes. He does not explain why 

 the Japanese are yellow, though they 

 live up in the olive latitudes. As an 

 offset he is very ingenious in account- 

 ing for the golden hue of the Esquimo, 

 on the ground that they receive extra 

 light from the glare of the snow. 

 Again he flies in the face of authority in 

 denying the existence of Aryans in 

 India today, but not a shadow of proof 

 does he offer for his flat contradiction 

 of the general view. He speaks of the 

 negroes suffering so much from pulmo- 

 nary troubles, oblivious of the fact that 

 in slavery days they were almost free 

 from those diseases. He points out the 

 deterioration of families in Maryland, 

 but says nothing about the vigor of 

 those in Virginia. He calls attention 

 to the weakness of physique in the 

 lower south, forgetting the strength 

 and virility of those same people forty 

 years ago in the Civil War. 



It is a most stimulating, even dis- 

 quieting, investigation. Traditions are 

 forcibly assailed, conclusions that are 

 almost axioms among educated people 

 are contemptuously tossed aside. Dr 

 Woodruff may be right in his icono- 

 clasm, but he should be more logical 

 and more systematic in the arrange- 

 ment of his evidence. 



C. Meriwether. 



Extinct Animals. By E. Ray Lan- 

 kester, M. A., LL.D., F. R. S. Illus- 

 trated. Pp. 331, 218. New York: 

 Henry Holt and Company. 1905. 

 This book is the best popular descrip- 

 tion of an obscure realm of science in 

 existence. With the simplicity of lan- 

 guage, and clearness of arrangement, 



suited for lectures to a juvenile au- 

 dience, Mr Lankester combines enough 

 technical knowledge to make his sub- 

 ject highly interesting to educated 

 adult readers. Besides entertaining 

 accounts of animals lately extinct, we 

 have representative types of the great 

 families, such as elephants, horses, rep- 

 tiles, birds, and fish. There are more 

 than 200 well-executed illustrations and 

 a most comprehensive index. C. M. 



In the Land of the Strenuous Life. By 

 Abbe Felix Klein. Illustrated. Pp. 

 387. Chicago: A. C. McClurg and 

 Company. 1905. $2.50 net. 



Just about three years ago this emi- 

 nent professor from the Catholic Uni- 

 versity of Paris reached America, and 

 then for the next nine months or so was 

 very active in traveling over the upper 

 eastern half of the United States and 

 a part of Canada, observing life among 

 us and gathering data for the impres- 

 sions he has given us in the above vol- 

 ume. Naturally for an ecclesiastical 

 teacher, two special fields interested 

 him — religion and education. Remark- 

 ably for a student, he has embodied 

 very interesting accounts of business 

 and industries. Most properly he en- 

 larged considerably upon his Washing- 

 ton experiences, and notably his ac- 

 quaintance with President Roosevelt. 



He is very cheerful about the work 

 and prospects of his own church in the 

 United States. He finds here a more 

 earnest spirit than in Europe among all 

 nationalities except the Italians, who 

 are very slack in their faith. He has 

 much praise for our schools and col- 

 leges. There is a very lively and en- 

 thusiastic account of a visit he made to 

 the colored high school of Washington. 

 He is really amazed at the progress 

 made by that race in learning from 

 books, but he is very profound in his re- 

 flections upon the destiny of those dark 

 people in this land. There is no short 

 road to culture for them, as there was 



