BOOK REVIEWS. 



513 



struggle for existence with other animals. Had it continued, man 

 could never have arisen, as the head would have remained ape-like ; 

 whereas, with the development of the human brain, man acquired the 

 power of making an abstraction an object of thought. Such (as Locke 

 maintained) is the fundamental difference between man and animals. 



The reader will find an abundance of interesting and instructive 

 matter, though he may not accept every point of the arguments. 



" Memories of My Life." By Francis Galton, F.R.S. 8vo., 889 pp. 

 (Methuen, London, 1908.) 10s. Qd. net. 



Not only the scientific reader, but all who are interested in travels and 

 experiences in unexplored regions, and studies of human nature, will find 

 this book intensely interesting. Dr. Galton takes us pleasantly through 

 his boyhood, in which we see how " the child was father of the man." 

 Then, too, he discusses medical theories, being much indebted to Sir 

 D. Bowman, the oculist, whom he accompanied to Vienna, where he visited 

 a lunatic asylum, and where, much to his horror, one suddenly embraced 

 him as her "long-lost Fritz " ! 



His passion for travelling seized him in 1840 ; so while studying 

 under Liebig he took a tour in the East, but was back at Cambridge by 

 the October term. He describes his life there, and gives accounts of 

 many friends and Dons. He amusingly refers to Dr. Whewell paying 

 court to the lady who became his first wife, as his behaviour reminded 

 him of a turkey-cock similarly engaged. But the author does not often 

 indulge in comical descriptions. 



Egypt and the Soudan were the next countries visited, when Mehemet 

 Ali was ruler and Shepheard's Hotel looked out upon rice-fields. 



His next journey was to Damaraland, in South- West Africa, where 

 many adventures are described. On his return he married the daughter 

 of the Very Rev. G. Butler, Dean of Peterborough. 



Art, travel, social life, geography, East Africa, and other subjects are 

 admirably dealt with, and the chapters are full of information and 

 interest. It may be mentioned that Galton had much to do with starting 

 the meteorological observations now published daily in the Times, &c. 

 The last five chapters give succinct accounts of his scientific pursuits, 

 and deal with anthropometric laboratories, composite portraits, human 

 faculty, heredity and race improvement. The reader will thus see that 

 the work covers a large field, both autobiographic and scientific ; and few 

 will put it down without reading every page. 



" The New Flora of the Volcanic Island of Krakatoa." By A. Ernst, 

 Ph.D. Translated by A. C. Seward, F.R.S. With two sketch-maps and 

 thirteen photographs. 8vo., 74 pp. (Cambridge University Press, 1908.) 

 4s. net. 



This work deals with visits paid to the island in 1886, 1897, and 1906. 

 After describing the vegetation of the coral island of Edam, near Batavia } 

 and other places the vessel stopped at, the flora of Krakatoa is dealt with. 

 The flora of Krakatoa now includes representatives of all divisions of the 

 plant kingdom. The total number of species has reached 137. A tabulated 

 list is given ; the majority are phanerogams, forming incipient associations 



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