ornithology, continue to be numerous, and among them may be mentioned
Keeler’s ‘Bird Notes Afield,’ which introduces us in a pleasant way
to the better-known birds of California, a subject of which Mr.
Keeler is well qualified to treat. Less attractive from a literary
standpoint, but more important from a practical point of view, is
Lange’s ‘Our Native Birds: How to Protect Them and Attract Them to Our
Homes,’ which discusses the various causes for the decrease of birds,
and suggests methods by which this may be prevented. Of a totally
different character is Shelley’s ‘Birds of Africa,’ now in process of
publication, the first part of Vol. II having recently appeared. While
many undescribed forms may be expected from Africa in the future, this
work brings the subject down to date. ‘The Birds of South Africa’ are
described in one compact volume by Arthur C. Stark, and the Australian
Museum is now issuing a new edition of ‘A Catalogue of Nests and Eggs
of the Birds of Australia,’ by Alfred J. North, the original having
long been out of print. It is to be hoped that the first volume of
the new hand-list of birds, ‘Nomenclator Avium tum fossilium tum
viventium,’ by R. Bowdler Sharpe, which was published last fall, may
soon be followed by others, as the completed list will be a boon to all
working ornithologists. Finally, it may not be known to all our readers
that last year Newton’s ‘Dictionary of Birds’ was issued in one volume
at a reduced price.
* * * * *
The second and final part of ‘Insects,’ of the Cambridge Natural
History, by David Sharp, gives us one of the most important, if not
_the_ most important work on entomology that has appeared for a long
time, the two volumes forming a condensed encyclopædia of entomology
that will be needed by all working entomologists. Another useful work
on entomology is Carpenter’s ‘Insects, Their Structure and Life,’ that
portion devoted to the ‘life’ of insects being the best, particularly
the chapter on ‘Insects and Their Surroundings.’ Of a strictly popular
nature is Scudder’s ‘Every-day Butterflies,’ which deals in a charming
way with some sixty species of eastern North America.
_BOTANY._
The beginning of the year has been marked by the appearance of the
usual number of elementary and popular books dealing with some phase of
botany. Among these Professor Barnes’s ‘Outline of Plant Life’ (H. Holt
& Co.) is a simplified edition of a high school text of a year earlier.
Only the gross anatomy of the plant is considered and the ordinary
routine of beginning with the simpler forms and advancing to ones of
successively more complex structure is followed, and the principles
of reproduction and physiology are presented. The student is given an
insight into the adaptive processes of the plant by a study of the
special forms which live in the water, dry soil, deserts, and other
special conditions.
* * * * *
‘Lessons in Botany,’ by Professor Atkinson (H. Holt & Co.) is a
similar edition of a high school text designed to meet the needs of
students in half-year courses. The student is led to an interest in
the plant by a consideration of seedlings and buds, then launched in
a course dealing with types of varying morphological constitution
with attention to physiology and morphology. The taxonomy of some of
the more important families of seed plants is discussed in a special
section. The author pays tribute to the present leaning toward ecology
by chapters on seed distribution, the struggle for the occupancy of
land, zonal distribution, soil formation in rocky regions and moors,
plant communities, and adaptations of plants to climate.
* * * * *
In ‘Nature and Work of Plants’ (Macmillan) Dr. MacDougal approaches
the subject of botany by a study of the functions of the plant, of the
things which it must do to live and adapt itself to its surroundings.
Such an introduction to the subject from the physiological point of
view is a radical innovation in the matter of elementary texts. A
second departure from the practice of current texts is the omission
of illustrations, in order that the attention of the student may not
be distracted from the plant at work by a picture of something it has
done. The technique is simple and the book seems well-fitted to awaken
enthusiastic interest and lead the student further into the subject.
Chapters are devoted to such subjects as: composition and purposes of
plants, the manner in which the different kinds of work are divided
among the members of the body, the way in which new plants arise, and
the relations of plants to each other.
* * * * *
Miss Alice Lounsberry’s ‘Guide to the Trees’ (Stokes & Co.) is an
example of a type of popular books in botany indispensable to the
amateur, and of great value to the working botanist. Nearly two hundred
species, including shrubs, have been described. “Among them are all
those most prominent in northeastern America, and a few distinctive
or rare species from the South and West. Several also that are not
indigenous but which have become identified with the tree life of this
country are presented.” The author has grouped forms of similar habit
together in such manner that sections are devoted to: Trees preferring
to grow in moist soil, lowlands and meadows; trees preferring to grow
near water, in swamps, and running streams; trees preferring to grow
in rich soil, in forests and thickets, and trees preferring to grow in
light, dry soil and upland places. The general notes of information
appended to the technical descriptions add much to the reading value
of the book, which is beautifully illustrated by sixty-four colored
plates, after paintings by Mrs. Rowan, and a hundred sketches in black
and white.
* * * * *
The amount of interest centered in the preservation of the forests of
the national domain, and the establishment of forestry in the courses
of several educational institutions, makes Mr. Bruncken’s ‘North
American Forests and Forestry’ (Putnam & Sons) most timely. The author
discusses the sociological aspects of forestry, and the distribution
of forests in North America. It is of interest to note that the forest
is treated as a living plant formation subject to many vicissitudes
in the struggle for existence with neighboring societies of plants,
particularly with the bog and prairie. The fate of the forest in
front of the advancing pioneer is well delineated, and forest finance
management and protection are most sensibly considered. Perhaps no
other work offers the citizen such a rational presentation of all
aspects of the numerous questions involved in forestry as the one under
discussion.
* * * * *
Sachs’s ‘Physiology of Plants’ has long been a classic among botanists
because of the immense amount of new results which were brought out in
its pages, marking the dawn of a new epoch in the history of botanical
investigation. A large share of its conclusions have become invalidated
by the general advance of the subject, however, and the next most
notable work, Pfeffer’s ‘Plant Physiology,’ is one which is bound to
exert even a more lasting influence in the guidance and furtherance
of research. The first volume issued, dealing with the metabolism
and sources of energy in plants, is cyclopedic in its completeness
of review of investigations in this phase of the physiology without
cumbering its bibliographical lists with titles of unimportant papers.
In general, subjects yet under controversy are set forth with judicial
fairness, and the author has made himself familiar with the work of
Russian, English and American botanists in a manner not practiced by
some of his contemporaries. The translation of this work by Dr. Ewart
(Clarendon Press) has given opportunity for the correction of any
slight omissions in the bibliography, and the completed book must be
regarded as of the greatest value not only to the botanist but to the
animal physiologist who would cover the domain of that illusive subject
known as “general physiology.”
_ANTHROPOLOGY._
Probably the most striking sign of the increasing interest in the study
of primitive man is the organization of well-equipped expeditions for
the investigation of prehistoric remains and particular groups of
existing savages. Of the latter class, the Cambridge expedition to
Torres Straits, under the leadership of Professor A. C. Haddon, has
returned to England, and various preliminary reports of the results of
its work have already appeared. A new departure in the scheme of work
of this expedition was the introduction of psychological observations
under experimental conditions among the natives. The tests which were
made were necessarily simple, but covered a fairly wide field. They
included tests of visual acuteness, color vision and color blindness,
acuteness and range of hearing, appreciation of tones and differences
of rhythm, tactile acuteness and localization, estimation of weights,
simple reaction-times to visual and auditory stimuli, estimation of
intervals of time, memory and a number of tests of a more general
character.
The detailed results have not yet appeared, but it is evident that
there is much of interest to be expected. For example, of about two
hundred and fifty individuals of different tribes tested for color
blindness, not a case was found, except on one island, where three
out of eight subjects suffered from ordinary red-green blindness.
Reaction-times are said to be shorter than among the uneducated
classes of European peoples, but no figures have as yet appeared. A
fact, important if true, is the reported lack of suggestibility among
the natives of the region. This is directly opposed to the general
observations of most ethnographers and seems hardly probable. On all
points the detailed reports are needed.
* * * * *
On this side of the world public attention has been called particularly
to the admirable plans of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, which has
been at work for the past three years on the northwest coast of America
and the opposite coast of Asia. During the year just past the first
published accounts of its results have begun to appear in a series of
handsome monographs from the American Museum of Natural History in New
York. Professor Franz Boas, the director of the expedition, furnishes
the first two memoirs, one on ‘Facial Paintings of the Indians of
British Columbia’ and the other on the ‘Mythology of the Bella Coola
Indians.’ The first named is of importance because of its bearing on
the evolution of decorative designs. The Indians of the northwest coast
differ from most other primitive groups in the matter of decoration
by their failure to develop geometric designs and their tendency to
retain realistic portrayals with certain characteristic modifications.
In the adaptation of the decorations to the human face the problem has
been difficult and a large number of examples are given showing the
method of solution. The memoir on Bella Coola mythology is the first
account of the complex conceptions of these Indians which can lay any
claim to completeness. The Bella Coola conception of the universe is
interesting. They believe in five worlds, one above the other, of
which the middle one is the earth. Above this are spanned two heavens
and beneath, two underworlds. In the upper heaven resides the supreme
deity, who interferes little with the affairs of men; in the lower
heaven dwell the Sun and all the other deities who are more intimately
connected with mankind. The first underworld is inhabited by ghosts
who may rise to the first heaven and be sent again to earth, and in
the second underworld dwell the ghosts of those who have died a second
death; from this there is no return. Other memoirs in the series are
‘The Archæology of Lytton, B. C.,’ by Harlan I. Smith, descriptive
of the work of the expedition in that line; ‘The Thompson Indians of
British Columbia,’ by James Teit, which is an exhaustive ethnographical
account of that tribe, and ‘The Basketry Designs of the Salish
Indians,’ by Livingston Farrand, in which is shown the development
of geometric designs from realistic forms among the Indians of the
Salish stock, a development which contrasts sharply with that of the
neighboring stocks described by Boas.
* * * * *
With the results of field-work pouring in and the constant
modifications of theory brought about thereby, it becomes a task
practically impossible to write a general ‘Anthropology’ which will not
be out-of-date before it issues from the press. Nevertheless, from time
to time the attempt is made and one of the latest ventures is ‘Man,
Past and Present,’ by Mr. A. H. Keane (University Press, Cambridge).
It is a general classification and description of the races of man
which is open to the same objections as to validity of classification
as can be offered to any work on the subject at the present stage of
knowledge. At the same time it contains much information in compact
form, is not technical and will doubtless be useful. Of similar
scope is ‘The Races of Man,’ by J. Deniker, which has just appeared
in English form (Scribner’s Contemp. Sci. Series). This work, also
compact, is somewhat more technical than Keane’s and also more
accurate. It contains an appendix, with brief tables of measurements
and indices adapted for quick reference.
* * * * *
Of more special studies, unquestionably the most important work of the
year is Messrs. Spencer and Gillen’s ‘The Native Tribes of Central
Australia’ (Macmillan). This extraordinarily minute account of the
customs of the tribes with which it deals has already begun to attract
the attention which it deserves. The problems upon which it throws
light are numerous, but probably that of most general interest is
Totemism, with its many social and religious bearings. The origin of
this well-known savage custom has been a puzzle and heretofore not
even a plausible suggestion has been made toward its solution. Messrs.
Spencer and Gillen’s account of the totemic ceremonies of the Arunta
tribe, however, points irresistibly toward a definite economic origin,
an attempt to preserve and increase the totemic animals and objects for
the good of the tribe. The underlying relation between the clansman and
his totem, as well as the social relations between the members of a
clan, with the rules regarding marriage and the resultant modification
of the family organization, are all analyzed with quite exceptional
skill and in this and other fields the book is destined to become a
classic.
THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE.
Dr. Wolcott Gibbs presented his resignation from the presidency of the
National Academy of Sciences at the recent Washington meeting, and the
occasion permits the publication of his portrait and a few words in
reference to his great contributions to science. Born in New York City
in 1822, Dr. Gibbs graduated from Columbia College fifty-nine years
ago. He studied abroad under Liebig, the founder of the first chemical
laboratory, occupied a chair in the College of the City of New York,
and was for twenty-four years Rumford professor at Harvard University.
He became professor emeritus in 1887, and established a private
laboratory at Newport, where he has continued his researches. Dr. Gibbs
is one of the great chemists of the world. He is the only American
honorary member of the German Chemical Society. Among other important
ideas, his suggestion that the electrolytic deposition of copper be
used as a means of quantitative analysis is one which has grown to a
remarkable extent. There are now a number of volumes devoted solely
to the amplification of this idea, which has been applied to numerous
substances. Many other methods of quantitative analysis have been
improved and simplified under his guidance, but perhaps his greatest
work is his extended experimental study of complex salts, especially
the cobaltamine compounds, and a great number of singularly complicated
bodies, containing some of the rarer elements. Most of these substances
are of no practical value, but they are of great theoretical interest,
because they are only partially explained by the present theories
of molecular structure. While the resignation of Dr. Gibbs from the
presidency of the Academy is doubly regretted because it is owing to
the fact that his health no longer permits the strain of the office,
chemical science will profit all the more from his exclusive devotion
to research.
* * * * *
The meetings of the National Academy of Sciences held annually at
Washington during the third week of April, pass without the general
attention that they deserve. For the Academy meets not only to listen
to special scientific papers, but also as the official scientific
adviser of the Government. As knowledge increases in range and
exactness, it is evident that expert advice becomes more and more
necessary, both for the enactment of legislation and for carrying it
into effect. It may, indeed, be fairly claimed that the advisory or
expert department of the Government should rank coördinate with its
legislative, executive and judicial branches. The National Academy
has on occasion been called to investigate scientific questions--thus
it has recently presented a report to the Department of the Interior
on a policy for the forested lands of the United States--but it has
been of less service in this direction than was intended by the act
of incorporation or than sound policy dictates. This limitation to
the usefulness of the Academy seems to depend in part on the small
membership, and the fact that it consists of the most eminent rather
than the most efficient men of science of the country. The Academy
has less than one hundred members, only one fourth as many as the
Royal Society. Professor Jastrow shows in the present number of this
journal that men of science do not become eminent until rather late in
life, and the members of the Academy are apt to be somewhat lacking
in initiative. University professors are now selected chiefly from
younger men of promise, who are expected not only to attain scientific
eminence, but also to possess executive ability and to exert personal
influence. The National Academy needs a membership of this character,
and has fortunately to some extent obtained it within recent years.
Thus the members elected at the present meeting are Prof. James E.
Keeler, director of the Lick Observatory; Prof. Franz Boas, of Columbia
University and the American Museum of Natural History; Prof. Henry F.
Osborn, also of Columbia University and the American Museum, and Prof.
Samuel L. Penfield, of Yale University.
* * * * *
There is perhaps no objection to regarding the National Academy of
Sciences as a _quasi_ hereditary upper house, whose functions are
largely conservative, while the active duties on behalf of science
devolve on a more democratic body--The American Association for the
Advancement of Science. This association meets at Columbia University,
New York City, during the last week of the present month, and with
it some fifteen special societies devoted to different sciences.
The association celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in Boston two
years ago, when about half of its nearly two thousand members were
present, and there is every reason to hope that the New York meeting
will be as largely attended. The members will be welcomed by Governor
Roosevelt and President Low, and after listening to addresses by the
vice-presidents, will divide into nine sections, before which special
papers will be presented. The address of the retiring president, Mr.
G. K. Gilbert, of the United States Geological Survey, will be given
at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday evening, while
the president, Prof. R. S. Woodward, of Columbia University, will
preside at the general sessions. The American Association has during
its long history performed a useful service in bringing men of science
together and in attracting the attention of the general public to
scientific work, but in some respects it has been less influential
than its sister associations in Great Britain, Germany and France.
This has been in some measure due to the large area of the country
and the heat of the summer, making it difficult for men of science
to come together, but it probably represents chiefly a certain lack
of organization of science in America. With the growth of university
centers and of scientific work under the Government, the number of
men of science has greatly increased, while with the establishment
of special societies and journals their means of intercommunication
have improved. There is every reason for the support of an association
which can represent the whole body of scientific men and forward the
scientific movements that are of such importance to the country.
The membership of the association is of two classes, fellows and
members. The former are selected from those who are actively engaged
in advancing science, while all those who are interested in science
are eligible for membership. Those who would like to have their names
proposed for membership may address the local secretary of the New York
meeting, Prof. J. McKeen Cattell, Columbia University, or the permanent
secretary, Dr. L. O. Howard, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.
C.
* * * * *
A very ambitious project is on the stocks for the foundation of an
‘International Association for the Advancement of Science, Arts
and Education.’ It will be remembered that there was last year an
interchange of visits between the British Association meeting at
Dover and the French Association meeting at Boulogne. Arrangements
were then made resulting in the appointment of general committees for
Great Britain and France, and it was decided to hold an international
assembly at Paris during the Exposition. Prof. Patrick Geddes,
secretary of the British Group, has since visited the United States,
and a general committee has been formed with Dr. W. T. Harris,
United States Commissioner of Education, and Prof. R. S. Woodward,
president-elect of the American Association, as vice-presidents. M.
Bourgeois, late French Minister of Education, is the general president,
and M. Gréard, rector of the University of Paris, is president of the
French Group. The plans for the Assembly this summer are based directly
on the Paris Exposition. It is proposed to establish headquarters on
the grounds of the Exposition, in the buildings of the University of
Paris and at other places, where those interested in the scientific
aspects of the Exposition and in the scientific and educational
congresses may meet and receive information and guidance. Special
visits to the Exposition and other excursions, special lectures and
entertainments, special summaries of the work of the congresses, etc.,
are promised. The Association is not, however, limited to the Paris
Exposition, but proposes a permanent organization for the holding of
assemblies and the organization of relations between men of science of
different nations. Those interested in the Paris Assembly may secure
further information from Mr. Ely, secretary of the American Group, 23
East Forty-fourth street, New York City.
* * * * *