Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/402

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THE ZOOLOGIST.

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.


Insects, their Structure and Life: a Primer of Entomology. By Geo. H. Carpenter, B.Sc.Lond.J. M. Dent & Co.

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