[879-J 
Notices of Books. 571 
vho are the most abjecft slaves of superstition, we read here — 
{ I never could discover anything among them approaching to 
religion.” 
As one of the attributes of the Aborigines we learn that bodily 
deformity, in its various phases, is among them substantially 
unknown. Since we find, however, that deformed and weakly 
children are invariably destroyed, the absence of physical imper- 
fection is not wonderful, 
The author, if we misunderstand him not, seems to consider 
the “ black fellow ” as superior to the Malay, the Polynesian, the 
Chinese, and to the dark races generally. Thus he writes : — 
! ‘ In talking to a clever Australian native one feels that one is 
speaking to a person who has all the faculties (though unde- 
veloped) of a European ; but the Polynesian, the Malay, and some 
Dthers, have always seemed to me to belong to races having little 
ir nothing in common with the European.” Yet whilst thus 
idmitting racial peculiarities, he quotes, with seeming approval, 
[ohn Stuart Mill’s outburst of abuse against the dodtrine of 
leredity. 
A very remarkable physical characteristic is put on record. 
Ad the Coranderrk Station children from six to ten years of age 
dave “ hair on their backs one inch long and more, and as close 
is it can sit.” The absence or scantiness of hair on the human 
lack has been advanced by high authorities as a difficulty in the 
vay of admitting the descent of man from the anthropoid apes. 
But if the above account is fully verified the difficulty is greatly 
reduced. 
A new light is also thrown on the origin of the dingo, or wild 
log. It has generally been considered to have sprung from 
stray dogs introduced by the first English settlers, and Mr. 
Wallace hesitates to recognise it as truly indigenous. The 
uithor, however, informs us that bones of this species have been 
bund at the depth of more than 120 feet, beneath beds of clay 
)ver which lay volcanic ash. At Lake Timboon its remains 
lave also been found in company with extindt species, such as 
Macropus Titan and M. Atlas. The presence of a truly native 
ilacental animal in that quarter of the globe is certainly a 
luzzling anomaly. 
It will be seen that the chief merit of this work is as being a 
ich storehouse of facfts and observations. When the author 
ittempts to generalise he is less happy. 
We cannot conclude this brief notice without calling attention 
:o the munificence of the Vicftorian Colonial Government in 
endowing the learned world with a book so admirably got up 
md so profusely illustrated. 
