The Zoologist/4th series, vol 3 (1899)/Issue 698/Notices of New Books
NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.
Darwinism no longer flows an undivided stream into the evolutionary ocean; its banks are submerged and offshoots abound, all ultimately reaching the same goal, but by different channels. These reproduced lectures must be read by all who try to keep in touch with the ever-increasing literature of this engrossing subject. Mr. Hutton states that, "in 1887, when the first of these lectures was given, Darwinism was a compact body of doctrine, obscured only by the writings of certain philosophers who imagined that natural selection was a cause of variation." ... "In 1899 things are different. The confusion alluded to has much increased. Conceptions totally irrelevant to Darwinism have been fastened on it, and all kinds of misconceptions have grown up. Indeed, things have fared so badly since Darwin's death, that I have seen it stated that his flock has scattered, and that the great theory he so successfully reared is in danger of falling to pieces."
Mr. Hutton does not belong to the school of Wallace, which enunciates the all-sufficiency of natural selection, but is a "Neo-Darwinian," accepting Darwin's teaching, and supplementing "the theory of natural selection with methods of isolation, which had been either overlooked or had not been brought into sufficient prominence by Mr. Darwin," thus more or less embracing the views of Moritz, Wagner, and Romanes. He joins forces with the pure Darwinians in his position as an opponent of the teaching of the "Neo-Lamarckians."
The reader will notice without surprise the recrudescence of much pure teleology, which is now far from uncommon. Thus we are told, "there are a number of elementary substances in the world which appear to be of no use except to man; for example, gold, silver, lead, zinc, &c. These must have been intended for his use, for they were useless in the economy of nature until a sufficient amount of intelligence had been reached. Not only were these made for man, but they appear to have been made as rewards for the exercise of his intellect." Again, Mr. Hutton, in discussing "non-utilitarian" characters in animals, has proposed a motive in the evolution of man, whereby the "contemplation of the beauty seen in nature has stimulated his sluggish soul, and has developed his æsthetic and religious faculties." Hence it is a logical sequence to our author that the goal of psychical evolution—for physical evolution in man may be considered as finished—"does not seem to lie in this world." We have attempted to give an outline of the main thesis of these lectures, and, however much we may withhold our assent to many of the propositions, the volume is worth the study of all zoologists who interest themselves in the problems and paradoxes of animal life.
Among the very many works of this description which now appear with a certain regularity, the above will hold its place as a compilation conducted with discrimination and written with care. All such works are necessarily more or less compilations; no entomologist of the present day has a complete grasp of the whole subject, and must open an account with the writings of other workers. The high-water mark was reached by Westwood in his 'Modern Classification of Insects,' which, presumably by an oversight, is not included in Mr. Carpenter's reference to 'General Works on Insects.' But since the date of that publication the field of study has been enormously enlarged, not only by the vast accumulation of new facts, but also by what may be now clearly recognized as the evolutionary method. To bridge the chasm that now divides us from Westwood, and to bring his book in line with the knowledge of the day, should be the motive and action of a book we are all awaiting.
For those who wish to possess a handy volume of reference on entomology, which if not alogether encyclopædic shall be at least trustworthy, and in touch with the knowledge of the day, we can heartily recommend this inexpensive publication; and its writer clearly has the potentiality of producing a yet larger and more exhaustive work on the same subject.
Passer domesticus is now fully convicted as a pestilent marauder to the crops of our fields and gardens. The verdict is almost unanimous by a competent jury that includes many ornithological authorities once inclined to the non-proven theory. For an absolute acquittal one might appeal in vain to any experienced farmer or horticulturist. It is a purely human parasite. "No Sparrow's nest is ever to be found a quarter of a mile from a human habitation." Its enemies are actual sufferers by its depredations; it is defended by sentiment combined with an utter ignorance of its life-history. This small volume is an excellent review and summary of the reasons that are procurable, and can be multiplied, for an authorized diminution of its numbers by justly incensed agriculturists and gardeners. An appendix by Miss E.A. Ormerod supplies the particulars of the monthly toll it levies on our fields and gardens. In America it is reported by the United States Department of Agriculture "as one of the greatest pests which could have been introduced" into that country.
We are surprised to find, from a perusal of this "pamphlet"—to follow the designation of the author—that no fewer than 322 species are recorded as inhabiting this district, of which an excellent definition is given in the preface. "This is altogether a very clearly marked and well-defined faunal area, and particularly rich in its avi-fauna, from the fact that off the mouth of the Humber the two main lines of the autumn immigratory flights converge and overlap." This publication is, however, much more than a "List"; as regards the time of specific appearances it is a veritable manual. The information is concise, and, we need scarcely say, thoroughly authenticated. We will quote the note appended to the Great Bustard (Otis tarda): "The last Lincolnshire Bustard was shot in 1818, in Thoresby Field, near Louth, by Mr. Elmhirst, and sent as a present to Sir Joseph Banks.... The last two eggs of the Bustard, as the late Sir Charles Anderson, of Lea, told me, were taken in 1835 or 1836, on his father's property at Haywold, near Driffield, on the Yorkshire wolds. On November 11th, in 1864, a dead female Bustard, still warm, was picked up at sea, in Bridlington Bay." A note is attached to every species, and each note will probably afford a subsequent quotation.
In our last volume (1898, p. 514) we noticed the third part of this very useful publication. The fourth, devoted to the "Mammifères," has just reached us, in which 209 figures are distributed in a space of 84 pages.
The synoptical method is again pursued, and we know of no other work of a similar size where structural characters can be so easily appreciated and used for differential purposes. The illustrations are somewhat coarse, but their help will be appreciated by the young zoologist, and the information afforded is not exclusively for one side only of the English Channel.
We all hear and, as a rule, enjoy the cries of wild birds; but how few recognize them; how seldom are they analyzed; how much more infrequently are they understood! Mr. Witchell endeavours to act the part of interpreter, to give us the reason for these avian cries and call-notes. Now and then a Capt. Burton appears, who can quickly master any human dialect and make it his own, but how little we still know of the languages used by the other living creatures who are our contemporaries! Probably sound is not alone their method of communication, but that the gesture-language common to primitive man and mutes may be very largely used by non-human creatures. This little book is worth the study of all lovers of natural life; it is an insight into the loves, hates, and fears of the birds around us. Whether their cries can be rendered by musical symbols is at least open to doubt, but we are very thankful for the attempt. We are glad to be interested in our friendly nuisance the Sparrow. "The male Sparrow, when perched comfortably in sunshine, often rehearses his vocabulary, in a way which indicates an attempt at song. If reared under birds of another species in a cage, the Sparrow has their notes and not Sparrow-notes, though he retains the Sparrow tone of voice, and he may then become quite a pleasant singer."
The title of this little book is not quite a happy one, though its contents are a series of clippings from various sources which may be said to be "all about birds." Unfortunately, many of these bear no reference to their authority, and hence possess little value. They likewise appear to be somewhat undigested and ill-arranged, the same heading appearing in different parts of the book with contrary information. Thus: "The rarest existing Bird" appears on pp. 67 and 158; on the first we are told it is the "Horned Screamer"; on the second it is described as "a certain kind of Pheasant from Annam." The information as to "the Great Auk" on pp. 108 and 155 does not agree in details. The remarks as to the Sparrow on p. 52 seem a "little previous," and a perusal of Mr. Tegetmeier's book (ante, p. 375) might possibly produce some qualification of assertion.