1142 Recent Literature, | November, 
touches in so many ways upon the science of geology, thata 
brief, compendious, general treatise like this, without the mathe- 
matics, is useful to the geologist. He will be interested in the 
chapters relating to the moon and particularly the tides and their 
effects upon the earth’s rotation, since these subjects are now so 
much discussed by speculative geologists, So also the chapters 
on meteors, and especially the last chapter on cosmogony, in- 
_ cluding the statement of the nebular hypothesis, will be valuable 
as giving the opinions and conclusions of one of the leading 
astronomers of the day, while the concluding paragraph will be 
of interest as showing how the subject is treated: : 
“Tt must be understood that the nebular hypothesis, as we hart 
explained it, is not a perfectly established scientific theory, but 
only a philosophical conclusion founded on the widest study o 
nature, and pointed to by many otherwise disconnected facts 
The widest generalization associated with it is, that so far aswe 
5 
can see, the universe is not self-sustaining, but is a kind of orgat- 
going. It must have had a beginning within a certain nun” i 
years which we cannot yet calculate with certainty, but — 
not much exceed 20,000,000, and it must end in a chaos of 0- 
dead globes at a calculable time in the future, when weve : 
stars shall have radiated away all their heat, unless it be re: ae 
by the action of forces of which we at present know fe 
Nature Srupies.'—This is a compact reprint of essays bys 
of the leading English popular-science writers W. rich ad | 
in Knowledge. They are light, readable and timely pape i 
vastly superior to much of the literature sold in DOO” ie 
railroad cars. As for being “studies,” however, one pee 
when we find Mr. Proctor who, we believe, started as an ® vas 
mer, writing, very pleasantly to be sure but perhaps 2%% pni 
who do 
ce tO 
the ! 
seem to be over strong evolutionists, appear 1n aes ” 
question whether some of the facts stated under 
pleasantly written, though he is a compiler, and his » the G 
‘Nature Studies. By GRANT ALLEN, ANDREW WILSON, p & Wage 
WARD CLopp, and RICHARD A. Procror. New York, Fun gee 
dard Library No. gt. 12mo, pp. 252. 25 cents. 
