New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-01

| development Of this peculiar lung fish" Con
corning oyiparous mammals" likewise no de-
| velopmental facts were known but that or their
laying eggs and interesting observation
| about the teeth of the young Ornithorhynchus
| The knowledge of full-Rrown animals was also
| deficient. and the anatomy and Development OF
| marsupials had not been in any way suff,ciehuy
| studied" This statement outlines pretty clearly
! the scope Of his labors and the materials OF MS
| book though the latter IL far hcm being
| heavily scientific. for II Is envened by multl-
| tudinous and interesting comments on all the
aspects of nature and man that came under the
authors observation In a somewhat extended
tour through Eastern Australia. New-Guinea.
! Java and othec islands
| His particular game. the Ceratodus. which
| now inhabns only the Mary and Burnett rivers
! in Queensland. is. like so much else in the Aus
| tralian fauna survival Of forms once widely
| distributed THE genus inhabited the
wide world. Remains OF it's teeth have been
! found in Europe. America Asia and Africa and
fossil records prove that II extended over far
greater portion Of Australia than nowadays"
! How this ample domain happened to shrink to
It's present little measure Is a knotty problem at
the solution Of which DR. Semon only guesses.
He was more fortunate in discovering the use OF
the creatures so-called lung" or lunglike air
bladder II has been asserted that the Cerato-
dus like some other fishes is able to travel on
! land and that It's lung IL then Of service ito
| Gills being naturally useless in the air This.
| however Ike many other assertions about the
! fish found in the textbooks. our author declares
| to he pure fiction. 1t actually its Jung.
az well as It's Eills for breathing. but only in the
water our Of which II cannot stir. II seems.
| however that the lung is essential 10 its ex-
| istence under certain circumstances. When.
! namely. a dry season has reduced the streams
to mere staenant pools the water becomes so
! foul that the fish which collect IN them die in
! great numbers. The CeratOdus however. being
able to fill its lung with fresh air AZ the
| face. is able to keep in good health until the
| rain comes again
In most directions Professor Semons collect
ing was prosecuted with vlgor and success. but
in one it led him upon questionable ground
| He desired. among other things. 70 obtain n
series OF native skulls. and supposed that they
could be easily obtained. For It seems that
| when the stupid savages do not know how to
distinguish between a marsupa and a pla-
GENITAL animal and spear a calf or a in
stead Of kangaroo. the white man takes re-
| venge for this deed by systematically killing all
the blacks that come before his gun. This
/
into his back when he rides through the bush. or
| invade his house when he Is absent. killing his
| family and servants. Then arrive the native
| police. troop of blacks from another district.
| headed by white officer They know the tricks
| OF their race. and take a special pleasure in
hunting down their own countrymen, and they
avenge the former deed by killing all the blacks
| Of the neighbOrhood. sometimes also their wives
and children" This being. according TO DR..
Semon. Typical NJ the progress Of COLOMBIA
ton" It was natural 10 suppose that skulls
would he lying about galore and had only TO
be picked mp. on asking about them, however.
he found that the local method Of collecting
was somewhat different. 1T is q pity" his in
formant said. that II. is dead: he would have
procured YOU many skulls you might have
wished for" II asked how r. would have
managed this and received the cool answer oh.
he would have shot them" He properly re-
marks that "naturalists have TO be very care
full Of this kind Of collecting, The chapters on
New Guinea and Java are OF especial value and
interest.
In Australia the step from brute to man
native man. at least-is a short one The Aus
tralian aborigines. however not the COM
plete beasts they are sometimes represented TO
be. II one must choose between savages one
might perhaps prefer them TO the African bush
men and even to some Mongols. Certain II u.s. at
any rate. that the Australians present both in
their physi,1 and mental characteristics and
in their customs an exceedingly interesting
subject OF study The former are dealt with
instructvely by Or. Semon, and the latter are
very exhaustively treated by Professor Spencer
and Mr.. Gen. Their volume Is not only one
OF exceptional merit as an essay in ethnoogy
but II has also special interest from the fact
that IL IS a study OF dying race Contact
with the white man is producing It's usual eff
fects. and it will not DO long before the native
Australians are extinct. like the Tasmanans
| or have wholly lost their Inherited customs and
traditions. The opportunity to record their Gus
toms and characteristics from actual observa-
tics IL passing away. and II is important that
It houd he utilized thoroughly. since the ex-
listing literature the subject IS in many re-
spects highly defective. This our authors have
done. and their work can be recommended with
out qualification az the best that has been
written on any OF the Australian tribes. II is a
book that is likely to become a classic in its
department Their Investigations re-
stricted 10 the abOrignes Of the central portion
OF the continent. but within these LIFTS they
cover all the details OF social organization Gus
toms. ceremonies. beliefs and so on with re-
markable completeness and scientific and lit
erary skill Their discussion Of the interesting
subject OF totemsm Is exceptionally valuable
and interesting Striking reproductions Of pho
tographs of physical types. Of ceremonial cos
tunes and acts and Of localities associated with
them add greatly to the attractiveness and
utility OF the book.
Turning from nature and the natives to
civilized man. find in Mr.. Walkers Aus
tralan Democracy" some rather sketchy yet
instructive chapters on the political life Of the
J, colonies. Each OF these communities has to
face special political problems and attempts to
solve them by political methods which are the