Reviezv of Recent Geological Literature. 191 
crust, and infers great heat a some depth. Why the rocky crust under- 
lying the ocean so far as affected by internal heat should be colder than 
that of the continent he does not explain. Such ocean beds may be, 
and are, several miles nearer the great supply of internal heat than the 
continental areas, and according to the law of downward increase they 
would be expected to be warmer than the continental areas. We have 
read the volume entire with attention and have not found any allusion 
to this greater exposure of the oceanic "deeps" to the heated interior. 
Nor do we find any cause assigned for the assumed migration of tlic 
heated loci. As a hypothesis, however. Mr. Rheade is not required to 
prove its main assumption. 
In the appendix the author gives some very interesting and valuable 
facts and figures as to the rate of denudation of continents, particularly 
the American continent, and on the Atlantic as a geological basin. 
These are from addresses which, as president, he has given before the 
Liverpool Geological Society. American geologists will be glad to have 
them in this form. n. h. w. 
The Planetary System : A Study of Its Structure and Groii.'tli. Fr.wk 
BuRSLEY Taylor, pp. 278. Published by the author. Fort Wayne, 
Ind. London. C. D. Cazenove and Son, 26 Henrietta Streea. Convent 
Garden. By mail, $1.60. 
American geologists may not be surprised that another glacialist has 
found reason to study astronomy. The fascinating book of Mr. Taylor 
needs to be read to be appreciated. He discards the nebular hypothesis 
and argues from the standpoint of growth of planets by accretions of 
meteoric matter from without. He considers Bode's law of the spacing 
of the planets in their orbital distances from the sun one of the greatest 
contributions to theoretical astronomy. He applies it also to the plac 
ing of the satelites. The satelites he assumes are captured comets. The 
planets themselves are comets captured by the sun, 'but later enlarged. 
They never separated from the sun nor from the sun's fire mist by the 
ring method of La Place. When a new planet is added to the sy.stem it 
is placed on an orbit nearest the sun. Mercury is the latest accession 
to the Sim's family. When it took its place all the other planets were 
forced each one step (in Bode's law) further away from the sun. Each 
planet is supposed to have held in succession the orbital position of Mer- 
cury, at the "inner limit of stability," and to have been driven further 
away from the sun by the advent of new planets. When the solar 
system .became "complete," each addition caused the lass of the outer- 
most planet, which wandered off as a comet and may have gone to other 
suns, or as a comet it may have resumed the "first planetary place'' near- 
est the sun, in its own system. 
It was when Jupiter was nearest the sun that a great storm occurred 
— a storm of comets, a veritable rain of fire. When the heavens cleared 
and the usual quiet returned it was found that a group of small planets 
had taken their places within the orbit of Jupiter and made revolution 
about the sun in their individual orbits. Jupiter and all the outer planets 
were forced to enlarge their orl)its and allow the asteroids to occupy 
