230 
NATURE NOTES. 
the handling of natural phenomena affords may perhaps be seen in the book 
itself. The following passage, taken almost at random, would hardly have been 
written by a practical naturalist : — “ In plant-life we have the whole race of fungi, 
which instead of getting wholesome nourishment from the free air of heaven and 
the bosom of Mother Earth, are dependent upon organic material, animal and 
vegetable. Some, it is true, are useful, as the edible mushrooms ; some are beauti- 
fully coloured, but most fungi have something repulsive about them, and few ap- 
proach either in use or beauty those plants which have taken a different course.” 
Science or Romance? by the Rev. John Gerard. 21, Westminster Bridge 
Road, S.E. [8vo, pp. 136. Price is.] We noticed Father Gerard’s Science 
and Scientists at some length in Nature Notes for April, 1S90, and the 
present volume may be considered as a continuation of that work. The present 
volume is composed of six essays. In the first, “A Tangled Tale,” the author 
reviews the ideas promulgated by Dr. Oscar Schmidt, Mr. Grant Allen, and 
other extreme evolutionists ; and a feather, with its wonderful structure, is 
the text for an able discourse. Father Gerard aims at showing how improb- 
able is the theory that such a marvellous structure should have come into 
existence by natural selection alone ; and that, reason how we may, we are 
compelled to fall back on a final cause. In “The Game of Speculation” we 
have a delightful essay — a true naturalist’s paper— on the habits and structure 
of the water ousel, which serve as a peg on which to hang much that is instruc- 
tive and interesting. “The New Genesis” deals with Mr. Edward Clodd’s 
Story of Creation , which is somewhat severely criticised. The other essays are 
similar in style, and deal with kindred subjects. The evolutionist will find much 
material for thoughtful study in this little volume, and will allow that whilst the 
author unflinchingly asserts his own, he at the same time shows a kindly consi- 
deration for the opinions of those from whom he differs. 
In The Moral Teaching of Science (London : E. Stanford, 3s. 6d.) Mrs. 
Fisher, who is better known under her maiden name of Arabella B. Buckley, 
maintains that in physical science properly understood we have a sure and 
intelligible basis of moral teaching on which we can take our stand in the 
work of life. Thus in the motion of the stars she finds the constancy and 
stability which are the foundation of all confidence. “As a child in moments 
of terror looks into its parents’ face, and seeing their calm and courage, trusts 
confidently that all is well, so man, in moments of depression and helpless- 
ness, must surely find rest in the starry heavens — an earnest to him of the great 
truth that caprice and uncertainty have no place in the universe.” The moral 
bearing of the evolution of the vegetable kingdom is treated at some length. 
Fungal parasites answer to the debased and criminal classes, and these humble 
plants “have their counterpart too among higher plants, just as dishonest and 
unscrupulous adventurers are found in good society.” In these depredators of the 
plant world “ the dark thread of evil appears as the converse of the healthy 
struggle out of which the higher forms arise ; ” but among plants as with man, self- 
preservation and mutual help secure success. In the ever-progressing evolution 
the slightest spark of good must survive, since it is of value to all ; while evil must 
be eliminated as injurious to all, and thus the pessimism induced by contempla- 
ting the ills of this life is replaced by a patient optimism. With all her knowledge 
of nature, and her lucid style of exposition, we cannot discover in Mrs. Fisher’s 
suggestions efficient causes for moral action to the mass of mankind, who know' 
nothing of gravitation and natural selection. If men are to live moral lives and 
advance the welfare of their fellows, they must draw' their inspiration from other 
sources than those propounded by our gifted author. 
Just a year ago Mr. J. L. Otter contributed to Nature Notes an interesting 
article on H. D. Thoreau, the poet-naturalist of Concord, Massachusetts, the 
friend of Emerson and lover of nature. Mr. Walter Scott has issued in his 
admirable Camelot Classics three volumes of Thoreau’s writings. The first, Wal- 
den, is that by which he is most generally known ; the second contains A Week 
on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers , while the third includes Miscellaneous 
Essays, with letters and poems. Mr. Otter’s sketch will prepare readers un- 
