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diff --git a/old/53751-0.txt b/old/53751-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9bf311c..0000000 --- a/old/53751-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7793 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Secrets of Earth and Sea, by Ray Lankester - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Secrets of Earth and Sea - -Author: Ray Lankester - -Release Date: December 17, 2016 [EBook #53751] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRETS OF EARTH AND SEA *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Christian Boissonnas and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -SECRETS OF EARTH AND SEA - - -[Illustration: DIMETRODON GIGAS, AN EXTINCT LIZARD, SEVEN FEET LONG] - - - - - SECRETS OF EARTH - AND SEA - - BY - - SIR RAY LANKESTER - K.C.B., F.R.S. - - WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS - - - NEW YORK - THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - 1920 - - - - -PREFACE - - -The present volume is, like its predecessors, "Science from an Easy -Chair" (Series I and Series II) and "Diversions of a Naturalist"—mainly -a revision and reprint–with considerable additions–of articles -published in daily or weekly journals. The first chapter appeared -originally in "The Field." The Chapters VI, XX, XXI, and XXII were -published in the "Illustrated London News," under the title "About a -Number of Things." The rest are some of the articles which, as "Science -from an Easy Chair," I contributed, during seven years, to the "Daily -Telegraph." That, to me very happy, conjunction was, like so many other -happy things, necessarily interrupted by the Great War. - -One result of that terrible cataclysm is that not a few thoughtful -writers have been led to deny the existence of what they call -"Progress," meaning by that word the development of mankind from a -less to a more complete attainment of moral and physical well-being. -The question raised is obscured by the arbitrary use of the word -"progress," since by it any movement from point to point–whether -advantageous and desirable or the reverse–is described, as, for -instance, in the familiar titles given by Bunyan to his book "The -Pilgrim's Progress" and by Hogarth to his pictures "The Rake's -Progress." Those who to-day despair of man's future limit their -outlook on the past to the conventional history of some three or four -thousand years. The only solid ground upon which we can base the -supposition that mankind has moved from a less to a more complete -attainment of moral and physical well-being and will continue to do so, -exists in the ascertained facts of the past history of living things -on this Earth, and of man since his earliest emergence from among the -man-like apes made known to us by his stone-implements and fossilized -bones. That there has been a development from lower, simpler structure -to higher, more complex, more efficient structure is demonstrable, -and so is the proposition that there has been in the human race a -continuous development in the direction of increased adaptation to the -conditions of social life and an increased control by man of those -natural agencies which he can either favour when conducive to his -prosperity, or on the other hand can arrest when inimical to it. "The -continuous weakening of selfishness and the continuous strengthening -of sympathy" (to adopt the words of the American philosopher, Fiske) -are, in spite of numerous lapses and outbursts of savagery, patent -features of the long history of mankind. We have no reason to doubt -their continuation, whilst at the same time we must be prepared for -and accept, without desponding, the ups and the downs, the disasters -as well as the triumphs, which inevitably characterize the natural -process of evolution. One thing, above all others, we as conscious, -reasoning beings can do which must tend to the further development and -security of human well-being: we can ascertain ever more and more of -the truth, or in other words, "that which is." We can discover the -actual conditions of natural law, under which we exist and promote the -knowledge of that truth among our fellows. To do that which is right, -we must know that which is true. To act rightly, we must know truly. - -We possess, a vast heritage of knowledge handed on to us in tradition -and in writings from our father-man in the past. But there are yet -immense fields of knowledge to be explored and yet a greater task to -be accomplished in spreading the knowledge which we possess, and in -persuading all men that it is their right and their duty to acquire it -and to enjoy the power and the pleasure which it gives. All must also -help, directly or indirectly, in the making of new knowledge. Whilst -mankind is still so backward in knowledge and the worship of wisdom, it -is idle to indulge in despair of the future. A chief way to increased -welfare is still open and untrodden. - -These are big speculations and problems with which to preface a small -book. But I am content to offer the small book as a contribution, -however restricted, to the spread of a desire for further knowledge of -the things about which it tells–a possible incitement to serious study -of some one or other among them. - - E. RAY LANKESTER - - _June 2nd, 1920_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. THE EARLIEST PICTURE IN THE WORLD 1 - - II. PORTRAITS OF MAMMOTHS BY MEN WHO SAW THEM 26 - - III. THE ART OF PREHISTORIC MEN 35 - - IV. VESUVIUS IN ERUPTION 55 - - V. BLUE WATER 74 - - VI. THE BIGGEST BEAST 84 - - VII. WHAT IS MEANT BY "A SPECIES"? 92 - - VIII. MORE ABOUT SPECIES 100 - - IX. SPECIES IN THE MAKING 108 - - X. SOME SPECIFIC CHARACTERS 118 - - XI. HYBRIDS 131 - - XII. THE CROSS-BREEDING OF RACES 139 - - XIII. WHEEL ANIMALCULES 157 - - XIV. MORE ABOUT WHEEL ANIMALCULES 165 - - XV. SUSPENDED ANIMATION 173 - - XVI. MORE ABOUT SUSPENDED ANIMATION 182 - - XVII. THE SWASTIKA 191 - - XVIII. THE ORIGIN OF THE SWASTIKA 200 - - XIX. THE TOMOYE AND THE SWASTIKA 209 - - XX. COAL 217 - - XXI. BORING FOR OIL 223 - - XXII. THE STORY OF LIME-JUICE AND SCURVY 229 - - INDEX 239 - - - - -EXPLANATION OF THE FRONTISPIECE - - -This plate shows the restoration of the extinct lizard, Dimetrodon -gigas (Cope), lately made by Mr. Charles W. Gilmore of the United -States National Museum, by whose kind permission it is here reproduced -from the Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, vol. 56, 1919. It is -based upon the study of a very fine skeleton and some hundred bones of -allied species, collected by Mr. Sternberg from "the Permian formation" -exposed in the vicinity of Seymour, Texas, U.S.A. It is selected for -illustration here because its most striking feature–the high dorsal -fin-like crest along the middle of the back formed by the elongation -of the neural spines of the vertebræ–is a puzzle to the conscientious -Darwinian. Professor Case says of it: "The elongate spines were -useless, so far as I can imagine, and I have been puzzling over them -for several years. It is impossible to conceive of them as useful -either for defence or concealment, or in any other way than as a great -burden to the creatures (terrestrial non-aquatic animals) that bore -them. They must have been a nuisance in getting through the vegetation, -and a great drain upon the creature's vitality, both to develop them -and keep them in repair." The reader is referred to pp. 127, 128, -where a brief discussion of such exuberant growths will be found. The -excessive growth of the median fins in the fish Pteraclis allied to the -Dolphin which displays changing floods of surface colour as it dies–and -in the Australian Blenny called Patæcus–both figured on p. 130–should -be compared with that of the strange crest of the grotesque Dimetrodon. - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - DIMETRODON _Frontispiece_ - - FIGS. PAGE - - 1, 2. ENGRAVED CYLINDER OF RED-DEER'S ANTLER, FROM THE AZILIAN - (ELAPHO-TARANDIAN) HORIZON OF THE CAVERN OF LORTET 1 - - 3. _A._ PERFORATED HARPOON OF THE AZILIAN OR RED-DEER PERIOD. - _B._ AND _C._ IMPERFORATE HARPOONS OR LANCE HEADS 3 - - 4. ROLLED IMPRESSION OR "DEVELOPMENT" OF THE ENGRAVING ON THE - LORTET ANTLER 12 - - 5. RESTORATION (OR COMPLETION) OF THE ENGRAVING ON THE LORTET - ANTLER 13 - - 6. FRAGMENT OF A ROUGHLY-PAINTED VASE OF THE DIPYLON AGE - (_CIRCA_ 800 B.C.) FROM TIRYNS 23 - - 7. ENGRAVING OF A MAMMOTH DRAWN UPON A PIECE OF MAMMOTH IVORY 26 - - 8. OUTLINE ENGRAVINGS OF MAMMOTHS ON THE WALL OF THE CAVERN - KNOWN AS THE "FONT DE GAUME," NEAR EYZIES (DORDOGNE) 32 - - 9. SIMILAR ENGRAVINGS FROM THE NEIGHBOURING CAVE OF COMBARELLES 32 - - 10. _A_, SIMILAR ENGRAVING FROM THE CAVE OF COMBARELLES. _B_, - MAMMOTH ENCLOSED BY PLANK-LIKE STRUCTURE–SUPPOSED TO BE - EITHER A CAGE OR A TRAP 33 - - 11. HORSE (WALL ENGRAVING), CAVE OF MARSOULAS, HAUTE GARONNE 43 - - 12. HORSE (WALL ENGRAVING) OUTLINE IN BLACK, CAVE OF NIAUX - (ARIÈGE) 43 - - 13. HORSES: _A_, WALL ENGRAVING (CAVE OF HORNOS DE LA PÉNA). - _B_, WALL ENGRAVING FROM CAVERN OF COMBARELLES. _C_, - ENGRAVED ON REINDEER ANTLER (MAS D'AZIL) 43 - - 14. DRAWING (OF THE ACTUAL SIZE OF THE ORIGINAL) OF A FLAT - CARVING IN SHOULDER-BONE OF A HORSE'S HEAD, SHOWING - TWISTED ROPE-BRIDLE AND TRAPPINGS 45 - - 15. DRAWING (OF THE ACTUAL SIZE OF THE ORIGINAL) OF A FULLY - ROUNDED CARVING IN REINDEER'S ANTLER OF THE HEAD OF A - NEIGHING HORSE 45 - - 16. REINDEER (ENGRAVING ON SCHIST) 46 - - 17. RHINOCEROS IN RED OUTLINE 46 - - 18. BISON FROM THE ROOF OF THE CAVERN OF ALTAMIRA 48 - - 19. BISON: WALL ENGRAVINGS 48 - - 20. BEAR: ENGRAVED ON STALAGMITE, FROM THE CAVE OF TEYJAT NEAR - EYZIES 48 - - 21. BEAR: ENGRAVED ON STONE, MASSOL (ARIÈGE) 48 - - 22. WOLF: ENGRAVED ON WALL OF THE CAVE OF COMBARELLES 48 - - 23. WALL ENGRAVING OF A CAVE LION (COMBARELLES) 48 - - 24. GOOSE: SMALL ENGRAVING ON REINDEER ANTLER 49 - - 25. FEMALE FIGURE CARVED IN OOLITIC LIMESTONE FROM WILLENDORF, - NEAR KREMS, LOWER AUSTRIA (1908) 50 - - 26. DRAWING (OF THE ACTUAL SIZE OF THE ORIGINAL) OF AN IVORY - CARVING (FULLY ROUNDED) OF A FEMALE HEAD 51 - - 27. SEATED FIGURE OF A WOMAN HOLDING A BOVINE HORN IN THE RIGHT - HAND 51 - - 28. MALE FIGURE REPRESENTED IN THE ACT OF DRAWING A BOW OR - THROWING A SPEAR 51 - - 29. A PIECE OF MAMMOTH IVORY CARVED WITH SPIRALS AND SCROLLS FROM - THE CAVE OF ARUDY (HAUTES PYRÉNÉES) 54 - - 30. VESUVIUS AS IT APPEARED BEFORE THE ERUPTION OF AUGUST 24, A.D. - 79 57 - - 31. FIVE SUCCESSIVE STAGES IN THE CHANGE OF FORM OF VESUVIUS - (FROM PHILLIPS' "VESUVIUS," 1869) 61 - - 32. THE UPPER-ARM BONE OR HUMERUS OF THE GREAT REPTILE - (GIGANTOSAURUS) OF TENDAGOROO 88 - - THE GIGANTIC REPTILE DIPLODOCUS ON LAND 91 - - 33. THE RUDIMENTARY GILL-PLUME OF A CRAYFISH FROM THAT PART OF - THE BODY-WALL TO WHICH THE FIRST PAIR OF JAW-LEGS - (MAXILLIPEDES) IS ARTICULATED 122 - - STRANGELY-SHAPED FISHES 130 - - 34. DIAGRAM OF _ROTIFER VULGARIS_–THE COMMON WHEEL ANIMALCULE–ONE - HUNDRED AND TWENTY TIMES AS LONG AS THE CREATURE ITSELF 158 - - 35. THE ROTIFER _PEDALION MIRUM_–SEEN FROM THE RIGHT SIDE, - MAGNIFIED 180 DIAMETERS 161 - - 36. THE ROTIFER _PEDALION MIRUM_–SEEN FROM THE VENTRAL SURFACE 161 - - 37. THE ROTIFER _NOTEUS QUADRICORNIS_–TO SHOW ITS CURIOUS - FOUR-HORNED CARAPACE 163 - - THE LARVAL OR YOUNG FORM OF CRUSTACEA KNOWN AS "THE NAUPLIUS" 164 - - 37 (_bis_). THREE TUBE-BUILDING WHEEL ANIMACULES 169 - - YOUNG STAGES OF GROWTH OR VELIGER LARVÆ OF MARINE SNAILS 181 - - 38. THE SWASTIKA IN ITS SIMPLEST RECTANGULAR FORM 191 - - 39. THREE SIMPLE VARIETIES OF THE SWASTIKA 192 - - 40. FOOTPRINT OF THE BUDDHA 192 - - 41. VASE FROM CYPRUS (MYKENÆAN AGE, _CIRCA_ 1200 B.C.); PAINTED - WITH LOTUS, BIRD AND FOUR SWASTIKAS 194 - - 42. TERRA-COTTA SPINDLE-WHORL MARKED WITH SWASTIKAS 194 - - 43. ORNAMENT FROM AN ARCHAIC (PRE-HELLENIC) BŒOTIAN VASE, SHOWING - SEVERAL SWASTIKAS, GREEK CROSSES AND TWO SERPENTS 195 - - 43 (_bis_). SWASTIKAS IN BRONZE REPOUSSÉ 195 - - 44. SILVER-PLATED BRONZE HORSE GEAR FROM SCANDINAVIA, SHOWING TWO - SWASTIKAS, AND BELOW A COMPLEX ELABORATION OF A SWASTIKA 195 - - 45. ANGLO-SAXON URN FROM SHROPHAM, NORFOLK, ORNAMENTED BY TWENTY - SMALL HAND-MADE SWASTIKAS STAMPED INTO THE CLAY 195 - - 46. PIECE OF A CEREMONIAL BEAD-WORKED GARTER, SHOWING STAR AND - TWO SWASTIKAS 197 - - 47. A STONE SLAB FROM THE ANCIENT CITY OF MAYAPAN (YUCATAN, - CENTRAL AMERICA), ON WHICH (RIGHT SIDE) A CURVILINEAR - SWASTIKA IS CARVED 198 - - 48. DIAGRAM TO SHOW THE DERIVATION OF THE SWASTIKA FROM A GREEK - CROSS ENCLOSED BY A CIRCLE 199 - - 49. THE GREEK KEY PATTERN IN _A_ RECTANGULAR, AND _B_ CURVILINEAR - OR "CURRENT" FORM 202 - - 50. DIAGRAMS OF THE "TRISKELION" 203 - - 51. FOUR STAGES IN THE SIMPLIFICATION OF A DECORATIVE DESIGN–THE - ALLIGATOR 205 - - 52. SIMPLIFICATION (GRAMMATIZING) OF DECORATIVE DESIGN 206 - - 53. SPINDLE-WHORL FROM TROY (FOURTH CITY), WITH THREE SWASTIKAS 206 - - 54. THE "TOMOYE"–THE JAPANESE BADGE OF TRIUMPH 209 - - 55. SYMBOLS OF THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE USED BY THE ANCIENT - CHINESE PHILOSOPHER CHU-HSI 209 - - 56. DIAGRAMS TO SHOW THE POSSIBLE DERIVATION OF THE SWASTIKA FROM - THE INSCRIPTION OF TWO S-LIKE LINES (OR "OGEES") WITHIN - A CIRCLE SO AS TO DIVIDE THE CIRCLE INTO FOUR BENT CONES 209 - - 57. TERRA-COTTA CONE WITH A SEVEN-ARMED SUN-LIKE FIGURE 211 - - 58. SCALLOPED SHELL DISK, FROM A MOUND NEAR NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, - SHOWING IN THE CENTRE A TETRASKELION WITH FOUR CURVED - ARMS 211 - - 59. AN ALTAR-STONE OF PREHISTORIC AGE 213 - - 60. DIAGRAMS OF ARBELI 214 - - - - -SECRETS OF EARTH AND SEA - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE EARLIEST PICTURE IN THE WORLD - - -In Figs. 1 and 2 on the next page a cylindrical piece of the antler of -a red deer is represented of half the natural size. On it are carved -by in-sunk lines certain representations of animals. It was found in -the cavern of Lortet, near Lourdes, in the department of the Hautes -Pyrénées, in the south of France, together with many other remains of -prehistoric man. This cavern was excavated and all its contents of -human origin carefully preserved by M. Edouard Piette in 1873 and the -following years. Drawings of this and other remarkable carved pieces -of bone and antler, many in the form of harpoon heads, and of small -chipped flint implements, all found in this cave, were published by -him.[1] He excavated also several other caverns with great care, and -his collections were bequeathed by him on his death to the great Museum -of National Archæology at St. Germain, near Paris, where I have had the -advantage of studying them. - -[Illustration: FIG. 1. - -FIG. 2. - -FIGS. 1 AND 2.–Engraved cylinder of red-deer's antler, from the Azilian -(Elapho-Tarandian) horizon of the cavern of Lortet. Drawn of a little -more than half the actual size of the specimen.] - -The age assigned to this carving is that called by Piette -"Elapho-Tarandian." At this period the reindeer (Tarandus), which -previously abounded, is giving place to the red deer (Elaphus). The -layer in which this carving was found belongs to the latest of the -Palæolithic cave deposits, and was followed by a warmer period, in -which the red deer and the modern fauna entirely replaced the old -fauna of the Glacial period. The deposits in Pyrenean caves of the -Elapho-Tarandian age are characterized by an abundance of large flat -harpoons serrated on both sides. In this latest horizon of the Reindeer -period the art of engraving in outline on bone and stone had attained -the highest pitch of excellence which it reached in the prehistoric -race of South-West Europe. - -[Illustration: FIG. 3.–_A._ Perforated harpoon of the Azilian or -Red-Deer period, made from antler of red deer, found in quantity in the -upper layers of deposit in the cavern of the Mas d'Azil (Arriège). _B_ -and _C_. Imperforate harpoons or lance heads made from reindeer antler -of the Magdalenian period (Reindeer epoch). _B_ from Bruniquel Cave -(Tarn-et-Garonne). _C_ from a cavern in the Hautes Pyrénées. Same size -as the objects.] - -A very natural tendency among those who hear from time to time -something of what is being discovered about primitive man is to confuse -all the periods and races of prehistoric man together, and so picture -to themselves one ideal "primitive man." My friend Mr. Rudyard Kipling -does this, although it would be no further from a true conception -were he to blend his ancient Britons, his Phenicians, his Romans, -his Saxons, his Normans, and a few Hindoos into one imaginary man -and represent him as taking a coloured photograph of the Druids of -Stonehenge on a piece of Egyptian papyrus. Here is Mr. Kipling's vision -of primitive man: - - Once on a glittering icefield, ages and ages ago, - Ung, a maker of pictures, fashioned an image of snow. - Later he pictured an aurochs, later he pictured a bear– - Pictured the sabre-tooth tiger dragging a man to his lair– - Pictured the mountainous mammoth, hairy, abhorrent, alone– - Out of the love that he bore them, scribing them clearly on bone, - Straight on the glittering icefield, by the caves of the lost Dordogne, - Ung, a maker of pictures, fell to his scribing on bone. - -The fact is that several prehistoric races have succeeded one another -in Western Europe during the immensely long period–amounting to -hundreds of thousands of years–during which man existed before the dawn -of history. The "lost" or "prehistoric Dordogne" was like the present -historic Dordogne in regard to the fact that many races and dynasties -successively held possession of it and left their work in its soil and -caves. - -Passing back through the historic age of iron and the sub-historic -age of bronze, we come to a time, about four thousand years ago, when -there were no men in the west of Europe who made use of metals at all, -although, for a thousand or two years earlier, men were using bronze -and copper in the East. European races immediately before the first -use of metals made beautiful implements of stone (chiefly flint), and -finished them by grinding and polishing them. These men are spoken of -as Neolithic men, or men of the Neolithic period. They had herds and -cultivated crops, and they built after a fashion rough houses in wood -and tombs and temples with great slabs of stone. They made pottery -and woven cloth. The animals and plants of Europe were the same in -those late prehistoric times as they are to-day. The Lake dwellings -of Switzerland belong to this epoch and yield us their remains -as evidence. The men had very nearly the same set of domesticated -animals as we have to-day, but they had no skill in carving outlines -of animals. Their only decorative work consisted of parallel lines, -straight or in zigzags or in circles, graven on the great stone slabs -which they erected. - -We can trace them back to some seven thousand years B.C. and then comes -a huge gap–we do not know how many thousand years–in our evidence as -to what was going on in this part of the world. We find convincing -proof that before this interval the climate was much colder than it is -to-day, and that the land surface of Europe was in many respects very -different from what it became later. Britain was continuous with the -Continent. There were in that remote period human tribes spread over -the less frigid valleys of Europe. They had no fields, no herds; they -fed on the roasted flesh of the animals they chased and on the fish -they speared, and on wild fruits and roots. They dwelt chiefly, if not -wholly, in caves, probably also in skin tents, but they did not build -either in wood or in stone. The age which we thus reach is called the -Palæolithic, or "ancient" Stone age, because men made use of stone, -which they chipped into shape, but, unlike the Neolithic people, never -polished it. We find enormous numbers of these rough or Palæolithic -stone implements both in caves and in the gravels deposited in the -ancient beds of rivers. They are so abundant as to prove the existence -of a very considerable human population in the remote ages when they -were fashioned and used. The changes which have taken place and the -time involved since some of these Palæolithic implements were made and -used may be guessed at (but cannot be definitely calculated) from the -fact that the beds of the rivers which formed the gravel terraces in -which they are found in England were, in many cases, from one to six -hundred feet above the level of the present rivers. The land surface -has risen and the rivers have simultaneously excavated deep and wide -valleys leaving terraces of gravel high up on their sides. These show -where the rivers once flowed. The vastness of the excavation of the -valley from the level of the old river bed 600 ft. up on the sloping -hill-side to its present low-lying bed in the floor of the valley–gives -us some measure of the time which has elapsed in the process. - -No one can tell, at present, the limit in the past of Palæolithic man. -The period of time over which his existence extended, as indicated -by the trimmed flints undoubtedly made by human workmanship, is a -matter of hundreds of thousands of years. In Western Europe races came -and went, succeeded one another and disappeared, either migrating or -absorbed or more rarely destroyed by the later invaders. Naturally -enough, in the later deposits of rivers and in the higher layers of -earth and limestone cake which fill many caves to the depth of 30 or 40 -ft. we find the remains of man's workmanship more abundantly than in -the older deposits. - -We can broadly distinguish in the Palæolithic epoch three (perhaps -four) periods, separated by the occurrence of great extensions of the -northern or arctic ice cap of such a volume as to cover North Europe -and North America, and the simultaneous extension of the glaciers of -the mountains of Europe. This period of the alternating extension -and retreat of the great northern glaciers is known as the Glacial -period, or Ice Age. The _latest_ Palæolithic men are subsequent to -it–that is, post-Glacial. We can distinguish several successive ages -of these post-Glacial Palæolithic men, altogether distinct from and -anterior to the Neolithic men. In the earlier of these ages many of -the great animals of the Glacial period–now extinct or withdrawn to -other regions–still survived in Europe. The mammoth survived, but -was fast dying out in the south and centre of France, and we find -its outline scratched on ivory and on bone by the early post-Glacial -men. The lion still survived in Europe, also the hyena, the bear and -the rhinoceros. The reindeer seems to have been especially abundant, -and to have been associated with the men of this period. The horse -was very abundant, and was largely eaten by the earlier post-Glacial -people. From the first these men show extraordinary artistic skill, and -have left in their caves many carvings on ivory, bone and stone. In -the oldest deposits of the post-Glacial age the carvings are complete -all-round sculptures of small size or carvings in low relief, all -of rough primitive workmanship. Larger life-size sculptures in rock -are also found. In later deposits we find better sculpture and also -engraving on flat pieces of bone and ivory, and also on stone. This -art persisted, and attained its greatest perfection in the latest -deposits of all in which the work of Palæolithic man is found. The -reindeer persisted through this post-Glacial period (hence often called -"the reindeer period") until the gradual increase of temperature and -change of herbage and forest led to its migration northwards and to the -relative abundance of the red deer. It is to this latest period–the -Elapho-Tarandian of Piette–that the engraved antler figured here (Figs. -1 and 2) belongs. - -At an earlier stage of the post-Glacial period men hunted the bison and -other large game in the north of Spain and made coloured drawings of -them on the roofs and walls of their caves, drawings which have been -copied and preserved: whilst the mammoth, the rhinoceros, the cave -lion and bear still inhabited south central France and are pictured on -the walls of caves in that region–as described in Chapter II. Later we -lose all trace of Palæolithic man and his wonderful artistic skill. He -seems either to have migrated or to have been absorbed in the immigrant -Neolithic race–a race singularly devoid of any tendency to artistic -sculpture or engraving. - -The skeletons and skulls of the men of the Reindeer period, or -post-Glacial Palæolithic men, have been discovered here and there. -They indicate a fine, tall people with well-shaped skulls and jaws, -comparable to the nobler modern races. It is convenient to call them -Cromagnards, since good skulls of the race have been described from -Cromagnon, in France. There is evidence (from skulls) that another -race (the negroid so called "Aurignacians") preceded and coexisted to -some extent in Western Europe with them, but we have, at present, no -evidence as to whence or how the Neolithic race or the Cromagnard race -or any of their predecessors came upon the scene! - -When we go farther back and reach the actual Glacial period we find -a very different state of things. The men who then existed in the -caverns are called the Neander men. They were a short, bandy-legged, -long-armed, low-browed people, great workers of flints. They had -the use of fire, and contended with hyenas and bears and lions for -the occupation of their caverns. In their day–the day of European -glaciation–the mammoth was in full occupation of the pine forests on -the edge of the glaciers. But the Neander men made no sculptures, or -carving, or engravings. The gap between them and the Cromagnon men -is much greater than that between an Australian black fellow and an -average Englishman; indeed, the difference is properly expressed by -regarding the Neander man as a distinct species–Homo neanderthalensis. - -Passing again farther back over an immense period of time, we find -Europe warm again; the glaciers have (for a time) gone or retreated -far up the mountains but are found in extension again at a still -earlier date. An inter-Glacial set of animals is now found living in a -comparatively warm climate in Western Europe. Another elephant (Elephas -antiquus) is there (not the mammoth), and another rhinoceros (not -the woolly rhinoceros of the later Glacial period); the hippopotamus -flourished then in Europe and swam in the Thames and Severn, and there -too, at last is the sabre-toothed tiger, which did not exist at all at -a later period! Now was the time when a man, if he could, might have -"scribed" the image of a sabre-toothed tiger on a piece of bone, but, -so far as we know, he did not and could not. This was ages before other -succeeding men walked "on glittering ice fields," and they, in turn, -were ages earlier than the artistic Cromagnards of the Reindeer period. - -The presence of men in the warm inter-Glacial times in Europe is proved -by the association of rough but undisputed flint implements with the -inter-Glacial animals and by the discovery of a most interesting human -jaw (chinless, like that of the Neander men) in what is held to be a -præ-Glacial deposit at Heidelberg. We have very little knowledge of -Glacial and præ-Glacial man except well characterized flint implements -and two skeletons, some detached limb bones, four or five jaws, and -as many skulls.[2] But of post-Glacial Palæolithic man we know the -skeletons of the Cromagnard race, their sepulture, their decorative -necklaces, and their bone and ivory carvings and engravings, and -the coloured rock paintings and other work of earlier races (the -Aurignacians, and others) belonging to successive epochs or eras, -which have been discovered in caves in France, Spain, Belgium, and -Austria. It was long after them that the Neolithic people appeared. - -The preceding remarks will have made it clear that the engraved antler -here figured was carved by a man who was not really at all primitive, -although he lived probably between twenty and fifty thousand years ago. -It will also have been made clear that hundreds of such engravings, -more or less fragmentary, are known. Some are very skilful works -of art, others of a much inferior quality. Many, however, show an -astonishing familiarity with the animal drawn and a sureness of drawing -which is not surpassed by the work of modern artists (see Chapter III). -The interest of the particular engraved antler which I am describing -is that it is the only carving of its age as yet discovered which is -more than a drawing or sculpture of a single animal. It is a "picture" -in the sense of being a composition. It is not, it is true, painted–it -is engraved; but being a composition it is entitled to be called "the -earliest picture in the world." Let me describe it a little more fully -with the help of the illustrations. - -The engraving has been made on a long cylindrical piece of the red -deer's antler. It can hardly be considered as decorative, since the -figures of the animals do not show as such on the cylindrical surface -(Figs. 1 and 2). Pieces of antler, bone, and ivory carved with -spiral scrolls and circles which are really decorative and effective -as decoration are found in these caves (Fig. 29). But often such -pieces as the present are met with. It has been discovered by French -archæologists that the true intent of such engravings may be rendered -evident by rolling the cylinder on a plastic substance (soft wax or -similar material), when the drawing is "printed off" or "developed" -as it is termed. A great number of such line engravings have been -thus printed off or developed, and plaster casts made from the flat -impressions are preserved in the museum of St. Germain, the engraved -lines being rendered obvious by letting them fill with printing ink. -They often give us in this way a "printed" drawing of remarkable -accuracy and artistic quality. The rolled-off print of our specimen is -shown in Fig. 4. The cylinder has been damaged by time, but the print -shows, more or less completely, a vigorous outline drawing of three red -deer, with six salmon-like fish placed in a decorative way above them -and between their legs. Two lozenge-shaped outlines (above the larger -stag) are held by good authorities to be the signature of the artist. -The group of deer is represented in movement. The largest stag is on -the right; his hindquarters are broken away by injury to the cylinder. -He is commencing to advance, and turns his head backwards to see what -is the thing which has alarmed him and his companions; at the same time -his mouth is open, and he is "blowing." The second stag is a younger -and smaller animal, and is retreating more rapidly. The cylinder is -damaged so that, although all the four legs of this second stag are -preserved, the head and neck are gone, though the points of the antlers -are preserved. The same damage has removed all but the hind legs of the -still younger animal who heads the group. The beauty of the drawing of -these hind legs and the extraordinary impression of graceful, rapid -movement given by their hanging pose, side by side, is not surpassed, -even if it be equalled, by the work of any modern draughtsman. It is -clear that the youngest and smallest member of the group is, as is -natural, the most timid, and that he has sprung off with a sudden bound -on the occurrence of the alarm from the rear, which is setting the -whole group into motion with increasing velocity as we pass from right -to left. - -[Illustration: FIG. 4.–Rolled impression or "development" of the -engraving on the Lortet antler.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 5.–Restoration (or completion) of the engraving on -the Lortet antler, as now (1919) suggested by the writer (E. R. L.).] - -The "printed-off," or "unrolled," or "developed" picture given in Fig. -3 is an exact reproduction of a copy of the cast made and preserved -in the Museum of National Antiquities at St. Germain, for which -I am indebted to my friend M. Salomon Reinach, the distinguished -archæologist who is the director of that museum. It is reproduced -here, a little larger than half the size of the original, as are the -representations of the carved cylinder itself (Figs. 1 and 2). In Fig. -4 we have my attempt to restore the damaged portions of the design and -to present it as it was when the Palæolithic man completed it some -20,000 years ago. - -I will return to the question of the correctness of this restoration, -but before doing so I wish to mention some extremely interesting -points as to the probable use of the cylinder of stag's antler and -the purpose of the carving around its axis. In the first place, this -and a few other of the pieces of carving of the post-Glacial period -were certainly the work of highly gifted and practised artists. It is -obvious that this work is far superior both in conception and execution -to the more or less clever, often grotesque, carvings and paintings -made by modern savages or simple pastoral folk. There is no reason to -suppose that the Cromagnards, or men of the post-Glacial or Reindeer -period of West Europe, differed from modern races in being universally -gifted with artistic capacity. This engraving of three stags is almost -certainly the work of a man who belonged to a family or guild of -picture-makers who had cultivated such work for centuries and handed -it on from master to apprentice. This design is probably one which -had been perfected by many succeeding observers and draughtsmen. Its -sureness of line and vivacity of movement are not the outcome of the -sudden inspiration of an untutored savage, but are the result of the -growth, cultivation, and development of artistic perception and the -power of artistic execution in successive generations. - -It seems in the highest degree improbable, if not impossible, that so -excellent a drawing as this should have been cut on the cylindrical -piece of antler by an engraver who never saw the flat or rolled-off -impress of his design. One is driven to the conclusion that he must, -as he worked on the bone, have taken an impress of the growing picture -from time to time, using probably animal fat and charcoal as an "ink" -and printing on to a piece of prepared skin or on to a birch-bark -cloth. How otherwise could he have made his engraving so truly that -when, ages afterwards, we print it off the cylinder, we are astonished -and delighted by its perfection of design and execution? If this be -once admitted–namely, that the artist tested and checked his work by -printing it off as he proceeded with it–we gain what appears to me -to be the probable solution of the question which has been largely -debated, "For what were these carved cylinders or rods used?" Those -which are simple cylindrical rods, such as the present one, must be -distinguished from others which have one or more circular holes bored -in them and others which are curiously bent at an angle. Such specimens -are often carved with small unimportant ornament, not requiring -development or printing. They as well as the present class have been -spoken of as "wands of authority" and "sceptres"; some are considered -to be arrow straighteners; others have been supposed to be "divining -rods" or "rods of witchcraft"; whilst one of those discovered by M. -Piette (others similar to it are known) has been regarded as a "lance -thrower" or "propulsor" (such as modern primitive races use), having -a notch at one end upon which the lance to be thrown is made to rest. -The latest suggestion as to these notch-and-hook-bearing rods, is that -they are large crochet hooks used in making nets. It has also been -suggested that some of these carved rods were used as "fasteners" of -the skins used as clothing. - -I venture to suggest that the elaborately carved cylinder which we are -considering and others bearing similar carvings, which only show up -when a printing of them is taken, were used by the men who made them -for this very same "printing" as an end in itself. The picture could be -thus impressed on skins, birch bark, and other material. This race was -thoroughly familiar with the use of paint formed by mixing grease with -charcoal (to produce black), red ochre (to produce red), yellow ochre -(to produce yellow), and some preparation of limestone or chalk (to -produce white). Coloured pictures representing animals of the chase, -coloured with red, yellow, white, and black and outlined by engraving, -have been discovered on the rock walls of the caves used by them. Such -pictures are found of relatively early as well as of late date within -the post-Glacial Palæolithic period (see Chapter III). The rock picture -of a single animal is usually from two to five feet long. People who -could make those coloured designs and who could draw and compose so -admirably as the author of the "Three Red Deer" would have desired to -"roll off" and to possess printings of their favourite representations -of animal life, whilst we must admit that their skill and ingenuity was -assuredly equal to the task of so printing them. If this carving of the -"Three Red Deer" were never printed it could not have been executed in -the first place, nor seen and admired when completed. If even only half -a dozen or a dozen impressions were taken from it for ornamenting the -skins or other material used by a chief, or a wizard, or a woman, its -production becomes intelligible. It is true that there is nothing known -as to the use of such printing from a cylinder among existing primitive -people, but it is known in very early times (4500 B.C.), since -cylindrical seals were used by the Babylonians. Elaborately grooved -blocks used for printing on cloth are known from Fiji and Samoa, and -the mere practice of printing on to a flat surface is common enough -among savage races in regard to the human hand, impressions or prints -of which obtained by the use of a greasy pigment are found upon rocks -or stones. Sometimes prints of the hand or fingers are taken in clay. - -We must not, however, forget that the primary purpose of savage and -primitive mankind in making images or engravings of animals is that -of influencing the animals by witchcraft or magic, as has been urged -by Reinach. From such magic-working drawings the art of savages has -gradually developed just as religious figures and designs have been the -initial motive of historic European art. - -It seems in any case fairly certain that the artist who engraved our -picture of the three deer on to the stag's antler must have worked from -and copied a completed flat drawing, and probably printed it in some -way on to the prepared antler before engraving its lines thereon and -also checked the work, as he proceeded, by successive trial printings -or "proofs" on to a flat surface. It is possible though it does not -seem very probable, that the drawing was thus committed to perpetual -invisibility on a cylindrical rod–for the purpose of exercising "magic" -with that rod. It seems to me that the Cromagnard owner of the rod -would have wished to see "what the picture really looked like," and so -would have on some occasion and more than once have "printed it off" or -as we say "unrolled it." - -Leaving that question aside I have a few words to say as to the present -attempted "completion" of the picture. My difficulty has been in -realizing the suggestion of a free, graceful "bounding" action given -by the pair of small hind legs which form all that remains of the -smallest of the three deer. I have tried various poses of the calf -indicated by these legs–bucking and jumping, and with fore legs closely -bent to the horizontal or in a more open position. The fact is there is -very little in existing drawings or photographs which can help us to a -decision of the problem, "How did the prehistoric artist complete that -exquisite little pair of hanging legs?" The problem is more obscure -even than that of the pose of the arms of the Venus of Melos. One feels -sure that the man who made this carving was an artist who must keep a -certain rhythm and flow in the action and form of the three successive -animals, and it is clear that he was a wonderful observer of the phases -of the limbs in movement. It is, perhaps, a presumptuous thing to -attempt on such a basis to recall the thought of a man who died twenty -thousand years ago, but I set out to do so with the belief that there -is a necessary figure determined by those hind legs. - -Some years ago, as a step towards a solution of the problem, I -published a "restoration" or "completion" of this picture in the -"Field" (May 13th, 1911), and asked for criticisms and suggestions from -the readers of that journal. I had no difficulty as to the completion -of the biggest stag by drawing in his haunches and hind-legs, but -the completion of the head and antlers of the smaller stag–and still -more the calling into being of the entire calf as an inference from -his or her suspended hind-feet and hoofs alone–were not easy tasks. -I consulted many authorities and some instantaneous photographs, but -I was not satisfied with the pose I finally suggested for the calf -nor with the "points" assigned by my draughtsman to the antlers of -the smaller stag. Some interesting suggestions were made in reply -to my appeal by readers of the "Field." Those which seemed to me of -conclusive weight and value were offered by Mr. Walter Winans, who -combines the qualifications of a great observer of big game with those -of a great artist. In the restoration now given in Fig. 5 I have -profited by Mr. Walter Winans' criticism and have been especially -glad to make use of the spirited sketch made by him for my benefit, -and published in the "Field" of 1911, of a red-deer calf when hopping -along with all the feet together, a movement known as "buck-jumping." -"Of course," writes Mr. Winans, "this is quite different to the -bronco-pony's action when trying to get rid of a rider. In the case -of this kind she does not come down with a jar–but as she lands -bends her knees and hocks simultaneously and then straightens them, -also simultaneously, bounding in the air with bent back, tail curled -tight on back, head thrown back, and ears forward; she never puts -her fore-legs, either knee or fetlock, beyond her shoulder in this -action." These words of Mr. Winans and his outline sketch of the -buck-jumping calf precisely realize what the little hanging legs of -the rubbed-out calf had been, as it were, urging my tired brain to -recall and visualize. I am convinced that Mr. Winans' sketch gives the -completion of the picture as drawn by the artist of the Lortet cavern, -and satisfies the demand made by the gracefully suspended limbs shown -in the incompletely preserved original. And so I have used it in my -final restoration here given in Fig. 5. - -The following letter by Mr. Winans, giving valuable comments on the -Lortet picture, was published in the "Field," and will assist others -in appreciating its significance: it enabled me to get the middle -stag's antlers correctly drawn. I have omitted a few lines referring to -defects in the original restoration–now corrected. - - "SIR,–As Sir Ray Lankester asks for criticism of this wonderful - drawing of three deer, perhaps the following may be of interest. - I have known deer all my life, and lived amongst them the last - twelve years. I agree that the picture is wonderful–better than - anything Landseer or Rosa Bonheur drew, because these latter were - only artists: one can see by their pictures (full of faults as - to attitudes and actions) that they knew nothing of deer. For - instance, Landseer's stags were much too big in the body and - their heads too small, and even the shape of their horns was - conventional.... - - "The Lorthet drawings enable one to know all details about the - three deer (looking at the original mutilated 'development'). - First, the deer have 'got the wind' of an enemy, have come a long - way, and are moving leisurely, the big stag, as usual, bringing up - the rear and taking a last look round before the herd goes out of - sight. The second is the younger stag who generally accompanies - the big stag and acts as his sentinel when he is sleeping, a stag - too small to give the big stag any jealousy as to his hinds. The - third is undoubtedly a calf (Red deer are 'stags,' 'hinds,' and - 'calves,' not 'does' and 'fawns'; the latter terms apply to Fallow - deer and Roe-deer). - - "The deer are typical Red deer, not Wapiti, except that the only - tail showing (that of the middle deer) is the short Wapiti tail, - not the longer tail of the Red deer, and the ears are shorter than - those of any existing species of deer. - - "The horns of the big stag are those of typical park Red deer, - exactly like the Warnham Park big stag: brow, bay, and tray, with - a bunch on top, and the horns are short and straight for their - thickness. - - "Now as to the short tail. I am trying, by crossing the Wapiti, - Red deer, and Altai to get back to the original deer before the - various species got separated, and my 'three-cross' deer show - these very characteristics, as follows: Red deer or Warnham - horns, short Wapiti tail, and the rather Roman nose which this - 'development' print shows. The only difference is the short ears. - Is it not possible that, as the artist is able to draw the horns - in perspective and show the anatomy and proportions so well, that - the ears are meant to be drawn fore-shortened? - - "The stag's mouth is open because he is big and fat and is blowing - (not roaring or bellowing). If it was the rutting season, when - stags roar, the stag would be tucked up in the belly and have a - tuft of hair hanging under the middle of it. He and the stag in - front are moving in the real action (not the conventional action - Rosa Bonheur and Landseer drew, but what the ancient Egyptians - drew sometimes) of a slow, easy canter.... Now as to the middle - stag's horns. I should give him, bearing in mind he is the small - sentry stag, brow, tray, and three on top–a ten-pointer, the thin - points showing in the original drawing indicating that he had thin - horns–in fact, a three-year old. - - "In a Scotch forest a ten-pointer is a comparatively old stag, but - at Warnham and my place, where the feeding is good (and in my case - there is hand feeding all the year round), a spike stag gets six - points and can almost be a royal the next year. - - "All this shows that the deer at the time this drawing was made - must have had very good feeding and come to maturity quickly, - like modern park deer. The big stag would never have allowed a - ten-pointer in his herd if the latter had been an old stag. - - "As to the action of the leading hind. I think she is a hind-calf - by her legs, and is jumping with all four legs together, the - way young deer do when playing, and, being young, is paying no - attention to the danger behind, but is full of life, like a horse - playing about when he is fresh. One often sees the calves of a - herd playing like this if the herd is moving along steadily.... - - "From the position of the hind legs of the little calf I judge - that she is jumping with all four legs together (the jump from - which the expression 'buck jumping' comes); her tail would be - curled up tight over her back like a pug dog carries it, only - without the curl, and her ears pricked forward. The piece of horn - broken off would show the rest of the hinds and calves, led by an - old 'yeld' (_i.e._, barren) hind, who would be leading the herd - up wind with her nose and ears forward to 'get the wind' of any - danger ahead. - - "The day is a hot one in the middle of August, shown by the big - stag blowing and his being with the hinds, instead of with other - stags by themselves, and by his not having 'run' yet, though his - horns are clear of velvet. He is most likely the stag on whose - horn this is engraved. The length of the deer's feet shows that - they live on ground which is soft and not many stones about to - wear down their toes. - - "Maybe the fish indicate that the deer are crossing a shallow - ford, and the salmon are getting frightened and jumping. The - right-hand-most fish is just in the attitude of a hooked salmon - trying to leap clear of the fly.... - - "The picture was most likely first drawn on some flat flexible - surface, skin or bark, in a sticky medium, and then transferred to - the horn by rolling it round the horn and then rubbing it. This - would give a transfer, which would guide the subsequent engraving, - otherwise it would be very difficult to engrave direct on the - horn, and mistakes could not easily be corrected. - - "WALTER WINANS - - "SURRENDEN PARK, PLUCKLEY, KENT" - -With regard to the six fishes in the picture of "The Three Red Deer," I -think that there can be little doubt that they are put in in the same -spirit of exuberance which induced early Italian masters to introduce -a cherub wherever a space for him could be found. The fish represented -are the same in each case, and are undeniably salmonids. Presumably -they are drawn on a larger scale than the deer. Their markings and the -form of the head are deserving of some criticism and comment by those -who are familiar with fish as seen by the fisherman. Probably the -artist's friends at Lourdes captured fish in those days by spearing -them with serrated bone-headed fish spears or harpoons (Fig. 3). No -fish hooks of bone have been found in the cave of Lortet or in others -of like age, although needles and whistles of bone and other useful -little instruments, as well as serrated spear heads and harpoons have -been obtained in several of them. - -The tool used by the prehistoric man in engraving the cylinder of -stag's antler was undoubtedly a suitable chipped-out piece of flint–a -flint graving tool, in fact a "burin," such as are abundant in these -caves. - -[Illustration: FIG. 6.–Fragment of a roughly-painted vase of the -Dipylon age (_circa_ 800 B.C.) from Tiryns, figured by Schliemann and -cited by Hörnes in his "History of Pictorial Art in Europe." Compare -the fish between the horse's legs with the fish in the Lortet picture -of the Three Deer; also note the lozenge-shaped designs (similar to the -pair above the big stag in the Lortet picture) near the fish and near -the man's head (_d_); and, further, the swastika (_s_).] - -Attention has been drawn by Hörnes in his "History of Pictorial Art -in Europe" to the resemblance of the Lortet picture to a fragment of -a roughly painted vase of the Dipylon age (_circa_ 800 B.C.) found at -Tiryns and figured by Schliemann in his account of excavations made at -that ancient Mykenæan fortress of the Peloponese. The fragment (Fig. -6) shows very roughly drawn figures of a man and of a horse. Between -the fore and hind legs of the horse a large elaborately ornate fish -is represented, reminding us of the fishes between the deer's legs in -the Lortet picture. Two other similar fragments of pottery, showing -a fish in this position, are recorded by Schliemann. The drawing is -conventional and careless. It is of a debased decorative character, and -is very far removed from the careful nature-true work of the Lortet -cave-man. It is not possible to trace by any known line of transmission -a connection between the engraving executed 20,000 years ago in the -caves of the Pyrénées and the figures rapidly knocked off in black -paint on the Tiryns vase some 17,000 years later by the local dealers -in cheap pottery. Yet we cannot avoid the suggestion that there is -some connection between the two designs. For the Tiryns painting shows -not only the curious upright fish between the horse's legs, but also -diamond-shaped figures–one marked _d_ in Fig. 6, another near the -fish's tail, and another between the man's feet–closely resembling -the pair of diamond-shaped figures engraved above the neck of the big -stag in the Lortet picture (see Figs. 4 and 5). As we do not know what -these diamond-shaped figures or "lozenges" are intended to signify -in either case, we do not get, at present, beyond the bald fact of -their coincidence. The Tiryns painting also shows (at _s_ in Fig. 6) -a "swastika" (see Chapter XVII), and below the man's arm a carelessly -drawn bit of the ancient wave-fret or key-pattern. It is, of course, -possible that the tradition of an ancient design–even dating so far -back in origin as many thousands of years–may be preserved in the -use made in the Tiryns decoration of the fish and the diamond-shaped -lozenges, though associated with the swastika and the bit of wave-fret -which are probably of later origin and are not known in the decorative -work of the cave-men. The Mykenæan decorative assimilation of geese to -the ship's barnacle exercised its influence over three thousand years -and led to the mediæval belief in the hatching of young geese from -barnacles attached to floating timber, and even from the buds of trees -(see my "Diversions of a Naturalist": Methuen, 1915). Nevertheless it -must not be supposed that the connection of the Lortet engraving and -the vase-painting of Tiryns is probable or more than a very remote -possibility. The gap in time is too vast, and our present ignorance -of what took place in that interval too complete, to warrant us in -regarding the resemblance as more than a coincidence. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "L'Age du Renne," a posthumous work, with one hundred coloured -quarto plates of objects in the Piette collection, is published by -Masson, of Paris, and gives the complete list of Piette's numerous -earlier papers, issued as his excavations proceeded. - -[2] Seven years ago the ape-like lower jaw and thick walled brain-case -called "Eoanthropus" were discovered in a sparse gravel near Lewes in -Sussex. It is probably of older date than either the Neander men or -the Heidelberg men. See on this subject the chapters on "The Missing -Link" in my "Diversions of a Naturalist" (1915) and those on "The Most -Ancient Men" and "The Cave-men's Skulls" in "Science from an Easy -Chair. First Series" (1910). - - - - -CHAPTER II - -PORTRAITS OF MAMMOTHS BY MEN WHO SAW THEM - - -Some fifty-five years ago pieces of reindeer's antler were discovered -in the cave known as "La Madeleine" in the Dordogne (a department of -France some eighty miles east of Bordeaux), upon which were engraved -the outlines of various animals such as reindeer and horses. They and -the bone spear-heads and needles, and the flint knives found with -them, were the first revelation to later man of the existence of the -prehistoric cave-men. Among the carvings was a piece of ivory which -excited the profoundest interest. Partly hidden by a confused mass -of scratches it showed the well-drawn outline of the great extinct -elephant, thus scratched or "engraved" on a bit of its own tusk (Fig. -7). The engraving was barely 5 in. long, and has been reproduced in -many books. The specimen is now in Paris, and was for long the only -known representation of the Mammoth by the ancient men who lived with -it in Western Europe. - -[Illustration: FIG. 7.–Engraving of a mammoth drawn upon a piece of -mammoth's ivory, found in the cave of La Madeleine in the Dordogne, -in 1864. The specimen is in the Museum of Natural History, Paris. The -engraving is here represented of the actual size.] - -During the last fifteen years, however, our knowledge of the works of -art executed by these ancient men has increased to an extraordinary -extent, chiefly owing to the energy and skill of the French explorers -of the caverns in the south central region of that country. As long -ago as 1879 a little girl, the daughter of Señor Sautuolo–a proud -woman she should be if alive to-day–when visiting the cavern of -Altamira, near Santander, in the north of Spain, with her father, -drew his attention to a number of "pictures of animals," painted on -the rocky vault or roof of the cave. At first no one believed that -these pictures were more than a few hundred years old, whilst some held -them to be modern and made with fraudulent purpose. In 1887 Piette, -the distinguished French investigator of the remains of human work in -the caverns of the French Pyrénées (whose great illustrated book of -carved and engraved portions of reindeer antler, ivory, and stones -discovered by his excavations, is a classic), declared that in his -opinion the pictures of the Altamira cave were of the same age as the -bone and ivory carvings of the Madeleine cave–that is to say, dated -from what "prehistorians" call the later Palæolithic age, an age when -the mammoth, the bison, the cave lion, and the reindeer still existed -in Western Europe, and when the British Isles were not yet separated by -sea from the Continent. The age indicated is probably from 25,000 to -50,000 years ago. Still, the opinion prevailed that the "wall-drawings" -and "roof-drawing" of the Altamira cave were either mediæval or modern -until the French explorers discovered wall-paintings in some of the -caves of the Dordogne. Then they proceeded to a careful investigation -of the Altamira cave, and discovered conclusive evidence of the great -age of the paintings by the removal of some of the undisturbed deposit -in the cave, in which were found flint implements and small engravings -on bone, proving the deposit to be of the late Palæolithic age. When -this deposit was removed, pictures of animals, partly engraved and -partly completed in colour (black, red, yellow, and white), were -found on the wall of the cave previously covered up by the deposit. -M. Cartailhac, who had been a leading opponent of the view that the -Altamira wall-pictures were very ancient, now renounced his former -position and became an enthusiastic investigator and exponent of these -pictures. M. Breuil, who had discovered wall-pictures, including those -of the mammoth, in French caves, and had been met by disbelief and -even suspicion, now received due recognition, and joined Cartailhac -in preparing a complete account of the wall and roof pictures of the -Altamira cave. The Prince of Monaco, who had carried out, with the -aid of French experts, an investigation of the caves on his property -at Mentone, on the Mediterranean "Riviera," undertook the expense -of producing a splendid volume, giving coloured reproductions of -the Altamira pictures. To him the world is indebted, not only for -most important discoveries of human skeletons and objects of human -workmanship in the caves of Mentone (there are no wall-pictures -there), but for the publication in illustrated form of the Mentone -discoveries and of those obtained in the Altamira cave. He has not -rested at this stage of accomplishment, but has produced at his own -expense large volumes by MM. Breuil, Capitan, and Peyrony, illustrating -and describing the discoveries made by them of wall-paintings and -engravings of animals in the cave known as the "Font de Gaume," in -the Dordogne. The Prince has also published a volume, by MM. Breuil, -de Rio, and Sierra, reproducing the drawings found in a whole series -of caves and rock-shelters in various parts of the Spanish peninsula, -where the rock-painting race seems to have persisted to a somewhat -later period and to have painted, more frequently, pictures of human -beings as well as of animals. These, whilst less artistic and truthful -than those of the North Spanish and South French area, yet have -surpassing interest, since they have special similarity to ancient -rock-paintings found in North Africa and to the rock-paintings of the -Bushmen of South Africa. - -The Prince of Monaco has finally established the great study in which -he has played so valuable a part by founding in Paris an "Institute of -Human Palæontology"; that is, "of the study of prehistoric man," which -he has endowed with a magnificent building, comprising laboratories -and residences for professors, together with funds to pay for its -maintenance and the proper publication of results. This he has done in -addition to founding entirely at his own expense a similarly complete -Institute for the study of "oceanography"–the study of the living -contents and history of the great seas. - -The illustrations in this chapter are (with the exception of Fig. 7) -copies, greatly reduced in size, of faithful representations of the -great hairy elephant or mammoth which still survived in southern France -in the days when the caves were occupied and decorated by men. I am -indebted to the valuable little book "Repertoire de l'Art Quatermaire," -by M. Salomon Reinach, for these outlines carefully drawn by him from -various large illustrations by the use of a tracing and reducing -instrument. In the next chapter I have given examples from the same -source of similar drawings of other animals. - -There are five kinds of artistic work of Palæolithic age found in the -caverns of France and Spain; namely (1) small solid carvings (complete -all round) in bone, ivory, or stone; (2) small engravings in sunk -outline on similar material, rarely with relief of the outlined figure; -(3) large stone statues, 2 ft. to 6 ft. across, in high relief, with -complete modelling of the visible surface; (4) rock engravings and -paintings on the walls and roofs of caverns or rock shelters, often -partly outlined by engraving and scraping of the surface, and then -completed in black or red paint or in several colours (black, red, -yellow, white); they are of large size, from 2 to 5 ft. in cross -measurement; (5) models in clay, one side only shown, the other resting -on rock; a few incomplete clay models of this nature representing the -bison of about 2 ft. in length, have recently been discovered in one -of the French caverns, and are the only examples of modelling in clay -by the Palæolithic men yet discovered. - -[Illustration: FIG. 8.–Outline engravings of mammoths on the wall of -the cavern known as the "Font de Gaume," near Eyzies (Dordogne). Each -figure is about 2 ft. long.] - -Our figures of the mammoth are (excepting Fig. 7) all of the -fourth class–namely, rock-paintings in one colour (black or red) -partly engraved and scraped. The originals are from 1½ ft. to 2½ -ft. long. The mammoths given in Fig. 8 are carefully copied from -engravings discovered, reproduced, and described by M. Breuil and his -fellow-workers. They are on the walls of the cavern known as the "Font -de Gaume," in the commune of Tayac in the Dordogne. Those copied in -Fig. 9 and Fig. 10, A, were discovered on the walls of the cave of Les -Combarelles in the same district. - -[Illustration: FIG. 9.–Similar engravings from the neighbouring cave of -Combarelles. The lower figure is an enlargement of the smaller of the -two above it.] - -Fig. 10, B, is from a cave at Bernifal, near les Eyzies, in the -Dordogne, and shows a mammoth enclosed in a triangular design, which is -believed to represent a trap, or else a cage. Such triangular figures -with upright and also bent supports are found in various degrees of -elaboration on both small and large engravings of this period, and are -generally accepted as representing huts or enclosures supported by -wooden poles. They are called "tectiforms" by the French explorers. - -[Illustration: FIG. 10.–_A_, similar engraving from the cave of -Combarelles. _B_, Mammoth enclosed by plank-like structure–supposed to -be either a cage or a trap. (Called tectiform structures, and often -seen in these wall engravings.) From the cave of Bernifal, five miles -from Eyzies.] - -The bones and teeth of the mammoth are very common in the river -gravels and clays of Western Europe and England, and a complete skull, -with its tusks, dug up at Ilford, in the east of London, is in the -Natural History Museum. Frozen carcasses of this animal are found in -Northern Siberia, and two showing much of the skin and hair are in -the museum of Petrograd. There is no tradition or knowledge of the -mammoth among living races of men. The natives of Siberia, who have -from time immemorial done a large trade in the ivory, regard the tusks -as "horns," and have stories about the ghosts of the mammoth, but no -tradition of it as a living beast. The mammoth was closer to the Indian -elephant of to-day than to the African one. It had, as these drawings -show, a pelt of long hair. Indian elephants from upland regions often -have a good deal of hair all over the body: and the newborn young of -both the Indian and African elephant has a complete coat of hair. The -drawings here reproduced are not only of thrilling interest because -they are the work of remotely ancient men who lived with and observed -mammoths in the south of France, but also because they show an -extraordinary skill in "sketching"–in giving the essential lines of the -creature portrayed and in reproducing the artist's "impression." These -artists were "impressionists"–the earliest and most sincere–without -self-consciousness or other purpose than that of making line and colour -truly register and indicate their vivid impressions. It is interesting -to note that (as in other works of art showing true artistic gift) -actual error in drawing (for instance, in the size and shape of -the eye and the placing of the two tusks on the same side of the -trunk–possibly due to the unfinished state of the drawing) sometimes -accompanies the most penetrating observation and skilful delineation of -the characteristic form and pose of the animal. Probably mammoths were -getting rare in the south of France when these drawings were made, and -were not so familiar in all their details to the artist as were bison, -horse, and deer. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE ART OF PREHISTORIC MEN - - -The works of art produced by the cave-men are, as we have already -seen, of five kinds or classes–(1) All-round small statuettes, or -"high-relief" carvings, in ivory, bone, or stone (examples of which are -shown in Figs. 14, 25, 26, 27, 28 of the present chapter); (2) small -engravings on bits of ivory, deer's antler, bone, or stone (examples -are shown in Figs. 15, 16, 20, and 24); (3) large statues, hewn in -rock, and left in place; (4) drawings of large size–two to five feet in -diameter (partly engraved and partly coloured) on the rocky walls and -vaults of limestone caverns (shown in Figs. 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 23, -as well as in the figures of mammoths in the last chapter); (5) models -(high relief) worked in clay. I give reproductions in the present -chapter of several samples of this art, showing how skilfully these men -of 50,000 years ago could portray a variety of animals. - -Who were these men, and why did they make these remarkable carvings -and drawings? First, as to their age. We now know of a long succession -of human inhabitants of this part of the world, namely, Western -Europe. The earliest reach back to an antiquity never dreamed of fifty -years ago. We cannot fix with any certainty the number of thousands, -or hundreds of thousands, of years which is represented by this -succession, but we can place the different periods in order, one later -than the other, each distinguished chiefly by the character of the -workmanship belonging to it, though in a few instances we have also -the actual limb-bones, skulls, and jaw-bones of the men themselves, -which differ in different periods. It is practically certain that these -prehistoric successive periods of humanity do not represent the steps -of growth and change of one single race belonging to this part of the -world, but that successive races have arrived on the scene of Western -Europe from other parts, and it is usually very difficult even to guess -where they came from and where they went to! - -It is convenient to divide the human epoch, the time which has elapsed -since man definitely took shape as man–characterized by his large -brain, small teeth, upright carriage, and large opposable thumb and -still larger and more peculiar non-opposable great toe–into the -historic and the prehistoric sections. In this part of the world -(Europe) the first use of metals (first of all copper, then bronze, -and then iron), as the material for the fabrication of implements and -tools of all kinds, occurs just on the line between the historic and -the prehistoric sections; that is to say, between those times of which -we know something by tradition and writing, and those earlier times -of which we have no record and no tradition, but concerning which we -have to make out what we can by searching the refuse heaps and ruins -of man's dwelling-places and carefully collecting such of his "works" -as have not utterly perished, whilst noting which lie deeper in the -ground, which above and which below the others. - -Practically the men of the prehistoric ages in Europe had not the use -of metals (though our quasi-historical records go back to a less remote -time in many parts of Europe than they do in Greece, Assyria, and -Egypt). The prehistoric peoples are spoken of as the men of the Stone -Age, because they used stone, chiefly flint, as many savage races do -to-day, as the material from which they fabricated by means of deftly -struck blows all sorts of implements. Undoubtedly they also, by aid of -stone knives, saws and planes, made weapons and other implements of -wood and of the horns, bones, and teeth of animals. But these latter -substances are perishable, and have only been preserved from decay -under special circumstances, such as their inclusion in the deposits on -the floors of caverns. - -The Stone Age is itself readily and obviously divisible into two -periods. The latter is a comparatively very short and recent period, -when great skill in chipping flints and other stones was attained, -and the implements so shaped were often rubbed on large stones of -very hard material (siliceous grit), so as to polish their surfaces. -This is the "Neolithic," or later Stone, period, and extends back -in Europe certainly to 7000 B.C., and probably a few thousand years -further. Passing further back than this, we leave what are called -"recent" deposits, and come to those associated with great changes -of the earth's surface. We enter upon "geological" time, and vastly -changed climatic and geographical conditions. We are in the older Stone -period, called the "Palæolithic period." It is not really comparable -to the "Neolithic," since it comprises many successive ages of man, -and, although called the "Palæolithic" or "ancient Stone" period, has -no unity, but, whilst readily divisible into several sub-periods or -epochs of comparatively late date, stretches back into immense geologic -antiquity indicated by flint implements of special and diverse types, -which are found in definitely ascertained geologic horizons. - -The Pleistocene strata–the latest of the geologists' list–are the -river gravels of existing river valleys, the deposits in many caves, -and the sands and clays piled up by ice action during the repeated -glacial extensions or epochs of glaciation which alternated with milder -climate for many thousands of years over north and middle Europe. It -is identical with the Palæolithic period, which, however, probably -extends beyond it into the Pliocene and even further back. In the -later deposits of the Pleistocene, which necessarily have been less -frequently disturbed and re-deposited than the older ones, we find -more numerous remains of man's handwork, and in less disturbed order -of succession, than in the older deposits. Lately we have obtained in -East Anglia beautifully-worked flint implements–the rostro-carinate, or -eagle's beaks–from below shelly marine deposits–the Red Crag of Suffolk -and the Norwich Crag–the oldest beds of the Pleistocene. They were made -by men who _lived_ in the Pliocene period, and carry the ancient Stone -period of man back to a much earlier period than was admitted nine -years ago. - -The Pleistocene series or "system" of strata–also called the -"Quaternary" to mark its distinction from the underlying long series -of "Tertiary" strata–does not comprise the actual surface-deposits -in which the remains of Neolithic man are found. It is usual, though -perhaps not altogether logical, to separate these as "Recent" and -to begin the long enumeration of "geologic" strata after a certain -interval when the relative levels of land and sea and the depth of -river-valleys were not precisely what they are to-day, and the human -inhabitants of Western Europe were hunters using rough unpolished flint -implements–in fact, when the "Palæolithic" period of human culture had -not given place to the "Neolithic," which was after some ten thousand -years itself to be superseded by the age of metals. "Prehistorians," -the students of prehistoric man–divide the Pleistocene series of -deposits with a view to a systematic conception of the successive -changes of man and his surroundings during the period occupied by -their deposition, into an upper, a middle and a lower group–and -further have distinguished certain successive "horizons" in these -groups–characterized by the remains of man and animals which they -contain. They are exhibited in the tabular statement here given in -the ascertained order of their succession, and are represented in the -southern part of Britain as well as in France. - - -HORIZONS OR EPOCHS OF THE PLEISTOCENE OR QUATERNARY SYSTEM - - _A._ UPPER PLEISTOCENE (post-glacial; also called epoch of the - Reindeer). - - 1. _The Azilian:_ (Elapho-Tarandian of Piette) nearest to - the Neolithic section of the Recent Period and more or less - transitional to that period; named after the cavern of the - Mas d'Azil in the department of the Ariège. The Reindeer had - largely given place to the great Red Deer (Cervus elephus). - - 2. _The Magdelenian:_ named after the cave of La Madeleine in the - Dordogne. - - 3. _The Solutrian:_ after Solutré near Macon. - - 4. _The Aurignacian:_ after the grotto of Aurignac in the Haute - Garonne. - - - _B._ MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE (period of the last great extension of - glaciers). - - 1. _The Moustierian:_ so named after the cave of Le Moustier in - Dordogne; the epoch of the Neander men. Also called the - "epoch of the Mammoth," whilst the upper Pleistocene is - called the epoch of the Reindeer, though the Mammoth still - survived then in reduced numbers. - - - _C._ LOWER PLEISTOCENE (inter-glacial and early glacial, also - called period of the Hippopotamus and of Elephas antiquus - and Rhinoceros Merckii). - - 1. _The Chellian:_ named after Chelles on the upper Seine, river - gravels and sands earlier than the Moustierian. Large - tongue-shaped flint implements, flaked on both surfaces–the - later and better-finished classed as "Acheulæan," after St. - Acheul, near Amiens. - - 2, 3, 4 ... various fluviatile and lacustrine gravels, sands and - clays divisible into separate successive horizons, as well - as marine deposits, some of glacial origin–including the - mid-glacial gravel, the boulder clays and shelly Red Crag - and Norwich Crag (but _not_ the underlying "Coralline" Crag, - which must be classed with the Pliocene). The relations of - the marine deposits to the older river-gravels and - fresh-water deposits, and to the earlier periods of glacial - extension indicated by the glacial moraines of central - Europe, have not been, as yet, satisfactorily determined. - -The amount of the sedimentary deposits of the earth's crust belonging -to the Pleistocene or Quaternary Period–about 250 feet in thickness–is -exceedingly small, and represents a surprisingly short space of time -as compared with that indicated by the vast thickness of underlying -deposits. It has nevertheless been possible to study and classify -the "horizons" of this latest very short period minutely because the -deposits are easily excavated, and having been more recently "laid -down" have not suffered so much subsequent breaking up and destruction -as have the older strata; and further, because they embed at certain -levels and in favourable situations an abundance of well-preserved -bones and teeth of animals and the implements and carvings in stone and -bone made by man. It is worth while to look at this matter a little -more exactly. - -The total thickness of sedimentary deposits–that is, deposit laid down -by the action of water on the earth's surface, and now estimated by -the measurement of strata lying one over the other in various parts of -the globe–tilted and exposed to view so that we can trace out their -order of super-position–is about 130,000 feet. The lower half of this -huge deposit contains no fossilized remains of the living things -which were present in the waters which laid it down; they were soft, -probably shell-less and boneless, and so no fossilized trace of them -is preserved. Thus we divide the sedimentary crust into 65,000 feet of -"archaic" non-fossiliferous deposit, and an overlying 65,000 feet of -fossil-containing deposits. - -The earliest remains of living things known are not very different -from marine creatures of to-day; they are the strange shrimp-like -Trilobites and the Lingula-shells found in the lower Cambrian rocks of -Wales. Over them lie 65,000 feet of sedimentary deposit teaming with -fossils–the petrified remains of animals and plants. The Trilobites -and the Lingulas must have had a long series of ancestors leading up to -them from the simplest beginnings of life–for they are highly organized -creatures. But no trace of those ancestors is preserved in the 65,000 -feet of sedimentary rock underlying the earliest fossils. - -This great basal mass of non-fossiliferous deposit is called "the -Archæan series." The 65,000 feet of deposit _above_ it are divided by -geologists into three very unequal series. The first and lowest is the -Primary or Palæozoic series, occupying the enormous thickness of 52,000 -feet; above these we have the Secondary or Mesozoic series of 10,000 -feet, and lastly, bringing us to recent time, we have the Tertiary or -Cainozoic of only 3000 feet. These three series amount in all to 65,000 -feet. The Palæozoic series is more than five times as thick as the -Mesozoic, and these two taken together are twenty times the thickness -of the Tertiary. Each series is divided by geologists into a series -of systems, distinguished by the fossils they contain, which, on the -whole, indicate animals of a higher degree of evolution as we ascend -the series. - -The Palæozoic series include the vast thicknesses of the Cambrian, the -Ordovician, the Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian systems. -The first "trilobite" is found in the lowest Cambrian rocks, and the -last or most recent existed in the Permian period–after 50,000 feet -of rock had been deposited. None are known of later age. The first -fossil remains of a vertebrate are found in the uppermost beds of -the Silurian–in "beds" (that is to say, stratified rocks) which are -just _half-way_ in position so far as the measurable thickness of the -deposits are concerned, between the earliest Cambrian fossils and the -sediments of the present day. To put it another way, 34,000 feet of -fossiliferous rock precede the stratum (upper Silurian) in which the -earliest remains of vertebrates are found. These first vertebrates to -appear (others soft and destructible preceded them) are fishes–a group -which, apart from this fact, are shown by their structure to present -the ancestral form of all the vertebrate classes. In later Palæozoic -beds we find the remains of four-legged creatures like our living newts -and salamanders. The Secondary or Mesozoic series is divided into the -Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous systems. It ends with the familiar -chalk deposit of this part of the world, and is often called the age -of Reptiles, because large reptiles abounded in this period. The -Tertiary or Cainozoic series are divided into the Eocene, Oligocene, -Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene systems. The huge reptiles disappear -and their place is taken by an endless variety of warm-blooded, hairy -animals–the Mammals–small at first, but in later beds often of great -size. As we pass upwards from the Eocene we can trace the ancestry of -our living Mammals such as the horse, rhinoceros, pig and elephant in -successive forms. Complete skeletons are preserved in the rocks and -show a gradual transition from the more primitive Eocene kinds–through -Miocene and Pliocene modifications–until in the Pleistocene strata -many of the species now inhabiting the earth's surface are found. A -number of horizons, characterized by the special mammalian and other -animal remains preserved in them, are distinguished by geologists in -each of the "systems" of sands, clays and harder beds known as Eocene, -Oligocene, Miocene and Pliocene. At last we arrive at the latest -or most recent 250 feet of deposit, consisting of sand, clay and -gravel. This is called "Pleistocene." It is only a very small fraction -(¹/₂₆₀th) of the thickness of the whole fossil-bearing sedimentary -crust of the earth–about the proportion of the thickness of a common -paving-stone to the whole height of Shakespeare's cliff at Dover. This -Pleistocene or post-glacial Tertiary–often now called Quaternary–has -been so carefully examined that we divide it as shown on page 39 into -upper, middle and lower, and each of these divisions into successive -horizons (only a few feet thick) characterized by the remains of -different species of animals and often by the differing implements and -carvings as well as the bones of successive races of men. - -When we are concerned with written history, ancient Egypt seems to -be of vast and almost appalling antiquity; on the other hand, if we -study the cave-men, ancient Egypt becomes relatively modern, and the -first cold period and extension of glaciers, which 500,000 years ago -marked the passage from Pliocene to Pleistocene, becomes our familiar -example of something belonging to the remote past–beyond or below -which we rarely let our thoughts wander. That is a natural result of -concentration on a special study. But it has had the curious result, -in many cases, of making students of ancient man unwilling to admit -the discovery of evidences of the existence of man at an earlier date -than that which belongs to the deposits and remains to which their -life-long studies have been confined and upon which their thought is -concentrated. The last 500,000 years of the earth's vicissitudes, which -resulted in the 250 feet of "Pleistocene" deposit and the marvellous -treasures of early humanity embedded in them, form but a trivial -postscript to the great geological record which precedes it. - -[Illustration: FIG. 11.–Horse (wall engraving), cave of Marsoulas, -Haute Garonne. The drawing suggests the Southern less heavy breed as -compared with Figs. 12 and 13.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 12.–Horse (wall engraving) outlined in black, cave -of Niaux (Ariège).] - -[Illustration: FIG. 13.–Horses: _A_, wall engraving (cave of Hornos de -la Péna). _B_, wall engraving from cavern of Combarelles. _C_, engraved -on reindeer antler (Mas d'Azil). Note the halter in _A_ and in _C_; -also note the heavy head and face of _B_ like that of Prejalvski's -horse.] - -No estimate can be made of the time represented by the 65,000 feet -of fossiliferous strata known to us and the same thickness of -non-fossiliferous deposit which precedes them. There are no facts known -upon which a calculation of the related lapse of time can be based. -But most geologists would agree that whilst we have good ground for -assigning half a million years to the formation of the Pleistocene -strata, it is not an unreasonable supposition that the period required -for the formation of the fossiliferous rocks which precede them in -time, is not less and probably more than five hundred million years. - -[Illustration: FIG. 14.–Drawing (of the actual size of the original) -of a flat carving in shoulder-bone of a horse's head, showing twisted -rope-bridle and trappings. _a_ appears to represent a flat ornamented -band of wood or skin connecting the muzzling rope _b_ with other pieces -_c_ and _d_. This specimen is from the cave of St. Michel d'Arudy, and -is of the Reindeer period. This, and others like it are in the same -museum of St. Germain.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 15.–Drawing (of the actual size of the original) of -a fully rounded carving in reindeer's antler of the head of a neighing -horse. The head resembles that of the Mongolian horse. This is one of -the most artistic of the cave-men's carvings yet discovered. It is of -the Palæolithic age (early Reindeer period), probably not less than -50,000 years old. It was found in the cavern of Mas d'Azil, Ariège, -France, and is now in the museum of St. Germain.] - -The pictures and carvings with which we are for the moment concerned -all belong to the _later_ Pleistocene or Reindeer epoch. None have been -found in the middle and earlier Pleistocene, though finely-chipped -flints of several successive types are found in those earlier beds. -So that it is clear that many successive ages of man had elapsed -in Western Europe before these pictures–immensely ancient as they -are–were executed. The men who made these works of art had ages of -humanity, tradition, and culture (of a kind) behind them. Yet they -were themselves tens of thousands of years earlier than the ancient -Egyptians! - -[Illustration: FIG. 16.–Reindeer engraving on schist, small size -(cavern of Laugerie basse).] - -[Illustration: FIG. 17.–Rhinoceros in red outline (2½ feet long), -drawn on the wall of the cavern of Font de Gaume.] - -Our illustrations show a variety of drawings and carvings. It appears -probable that the primitive intention of ancient man in depicting -animals was "to work magic" on those which he hunted. This is the case -at the present day among many "savage" races. The drawings of bisons -in Fig. 19 are from the walls of the cavern of Font de Gaume, in the -Dordogne, and are about 5 ft. long, partly engraved and scraped, partly -outlined in black, and coloured. The body is often coloured in red, -white and black, so as to give a true representation of the masses -of hair and surface contours. A specially well preserved painting of -this kind–from the cavern of Altamira–is shown in Fig. 18, where the -colours of the original–black, red, and brown, and white are indicated -by the varied shading. These drawings, like those of the mammoths -figured in the last chapter, are found in the recesses of caverns where -no daylight reaches them, and must have been executed and viewed by -aid of torch or lamp-light. They probably were exhibited as part of a -ceremony connected with witchcraft and magic. These, like the mammoths -and all the specimens figured here, were executed in the Reindeer, -or later Pleistocene period. The exact "horizon" of each is, as a -rule, well ascertained, but there is uncertainty as to whether some -specimens should be attributed to the Aurignacian or to the Magdalenian -horizon–and as to whether work by men of the Magdalenian race is not -in some cases associated in the cave deposits with that by the earlier -negroid Aurignacians. - -[Illustration: FIG. 18.–Bison from the roof of the cavern of Altamira: -engraved, and also painted in three colours (5 feet long).] - -[Illustration: FIG. 19.–Bison: wall engravings (5 feet long) filled in -with colour (Font de Gaume).] - -[Illustration: FIG. 20.–Bear: engraved on stalagmite, from the cave of -Teyjat near Eyzies. (Small size.)] - -[Illustration: FIG. 21.–Bear, engraved on stone, Massol (Ariège).] - -[Illustration: FIG. 22.–Wolf, engraved on wall of the cave of -Combarelles.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 23.–Wall engraving of a Cave Lion (Combarelles).] - -The horses shown are from various caves. Fig. 12 is drawn in black on -the wall of a cave at Niaux (Ariège), and Fig. 11 is a similar drawing -from a cave in the Haute Garonne. Both are remarkable for the exact -representation of natural poses of the horse. Figs. 13, A and B, are -also from the walls of caves. The latter is remarkable for the large -head, short mane, and thick muzzle, which closely correspond with the -same parts in the existing wild horse of the Gobi desert in Tartary (to -be seen alive in the Zoological Gardens in London). The horse drawn in -Fig. 11 seems to belong to a distinct race, suggesting the Southern -"Arab" horse rather than the heavier and more clumsy horse of the Gobi -desert. Fig. 13, C, is engraved of the size here given, on a piece of -reindeer's antler. It is remarkable for the halter-like ring around the -muzzle. A similar cord or rope is seen in Fig. 12 and in Fig. 13, A. - -[Illustration: FIG. 24.–Goose: small engraving on reindeer antler -(Gourdan).] - -The most remarkable horses' heads obtained are those drawn (of the -actual size of the carvings) in Figs. 14 and 15. Fig. 14 is from the -cave of St. Michael d'Arudy, engraved on a flat piece of shoulder-bone. -It shows what can only be interpreted as some kind of "halter," made -apparently of twisted rope (_b_, _c_, _d_), disposed about the animal's -head, whilst a broad, flat piece ornamented with angular marks is -attached at the regions marked "_a_." This and other drawings similar -to Fig. 13, C (of which there are many), go far to prove that these -early men had mastered the horse and put a kind of bridle on his head. -Fig. 15 is a solid all-round carving in reindeer's antler from the -cave of Mas d'Azil, Ariège (France). The original is of this size, and -is supposed to be one of the oldest and yet is the most artistic yet -discovered, and worthy to compare with the horses of the Parthenon. - -In Fig. 20 we have a wonderful outline of a bear engraved on a piece -of stone, from the cave of Teyjat, in the Dordogne; Fig. 22, the head -of a wolf on the wall of the cave of Combarelles, Dordogne; Fig. -23, lion (mane-less), engraved on the wall of the same cave; Fig. -21, small bear, engraved on a pebble; Fig. 24, a duck engraved on a -piece of reindeer's antler (Gourdan, Haute Garonne); Fig. 17, the -square-mouthed, two-horned rhinoceros, drawn in red (ochre) outline on -the wall of the cavern of the Font de Gaume. This drawing is 2½ ft. -long. In successful characterization the bear (Fig. 20), the wolf (Fig. -22), and the feline (Fig. 23) far surpass any of the attempts at animal -drawing made by modern savages, such as the Bushmen of South Africa, -Californian Indians, and Australian black fellows. - -[Illustration: FIG. 25.–Female figure carved in oolitic limestone from -Willendorf near Krems, Lower Austria (1908). Half the size (linear) of -the original.] - -Fig. 27 is an outline sketch of a rock-carved statue, 18 in. high, -proved by the kind of flint implements found with it to be of -Aurignacian age. It was discovered on a rubble-covered face of a -rock-cliff at Laussel, in the Dordogne, by M. Lalanne. The woman -holds a bovine horn in her right hand. The face is obliterated by -"weathering." Four other human statues were found in the same place, -one a male, much broken, but obviously standing in the position taken -by (Fig. 28) a man throwing a spear or drawing a bow.[3] Near these -were found a frieze of life-sized horses carved in high relief on the -rock. These are the only statues of any size, executed by the Reindeer -men, yet discovered. - -The representations of men are rare among these earliest works of art, -and less successfully carried out than those of animals. But several -small statuettes of women in bone, ivory, and stone of the early -Aurignacian horizon are known. They suggest, by their form of body, -affinity with the Bushmen race of to-day (Fig. 25). The all-round -carving of a female head (Fig. 26) also suggests Ethiopian affinities -in the dressing of the hair. Some regard this hair-like head-dress as -a cap. Here and there badly executed outline engravings of men, some -apparently wearing masks, have been discovered. - -[Illustration: FIG. 26.–Drawing (of the actual size of the original) -of an ivory carving (fully rounded) of a female head. The specimen -was found in the cavern of Brassempouy, in the Landes. It is of the -earliest Reindeer period, and the arrangement of the hair or cap is -remarkable.] - -The fact that the "Reindeer men" were skilful in devising decorative -design–not representing actual natural objects–is shown by the carving -drawn in Fig. 29 and in many others like it. - -[Illustration: FIG. 27.–Seated figure of a woman holding a bovine horn -in the right hand; high relief carved on a limestone rock; about 18 -inches high. Discovered at Laussel (Dordogne) in a rock-shelter in -1911, by M. Lalanne.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 28.–Male figure represented in the act of drawing -a bow or throwing a spear. Carved on limestone rock; about 16 inches -high. Discovered by M. Lalanne with that drawn in Fig. 27.] - -The later horizons of the Reindeer period or Upper Pleistocene yield -some beautiful outline engravings of red deer and reindeer (Fig. 16) -on antler-bone, as well as of other animals. One celebrated carving I -have described in the first chapter of this book. It is now regarded -as probable that whilst the art of the Aurignacians persisted and -developed in the South of France and North-West of Spain until and -during the time of the Magdalenian horizon, yet a distinct race, -with a different style of art, spread through South-East Spain -and also from Italy into that region, and affected injuriously the -"naturalistic" Aurignacian art, and superseded it in Azilian and -Neolithic times. We find late drawings (Azilian age?) in some of the -east Spanish caves of a very much simplified character, small human -figures armed with bow and arrow, and others reduced to geometric or -mere symbolic lines derived from human and animal form (see Fig. 52, p. -206). The latest studies of Breuil on this subject tend to throw light -by aid of these simplified inartistic and symbolic drawings on the -migrations of very early races in the south and south-east of Europe, -and to connect them perhaps with North African contemporary races. The -subject is as difficult as it is fascinating. Those who wish to get to -the original sources of information should consult the last ten years' -issues of the invaluable French periodical called "L'Anthropologie," -edited by Professor Marcelin Boule. - -[Illustration: FIG. 29.–A piece of mammoth ivory carved with spirals -and scrolls from the cave of Arudy (Hautes Pyrénées). Same size as the -object.] - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[3] M. Reinach relates ("Repertoire de l'Art Quatermaire") that two of -these statues were in 1912 deliberately stolen by the German Verworn -professor of Physiology in Bonn, who repaid the hospitality of M. -Lalanne by bribing his workman and secretly carrying off these valuable -specimens to Germany, where (it is stated) they were sold to the museum -of Berlin for a large sum. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -VESUVIUS IN ERUPTION - - -At intervals of ten to twenty years the best-known volcano in the -world–Vesuvius, on the Bay of Naples–has in the last two centuries -burst into eruption, and the probability of the recurrence of this -violent state of activity, at no distant date, render some account of -my own acquaintance with that great and wonderful thing seasonable. -We inhabitants of the West of Europe have little personal experience -of earthquakes, and still less of volcanoes, for there is not in the -British Islands even an "extinct" volcanic cone to remind us of the -terrible forces held down beneath our feet by the crust of the earth. -In regions as near as the Auvergne of Central France and the Eiffel, -close to the junction of the Moselle with the Rhine, there are complete -volcanic craters whose fiery origin is recognized even by the local -peasantry. They are, however, regarded by these optimist folk as the -products of ancient fires long since burnt out. The natives have as -little apprehension of a renewed activity of their volcanoes as we have -of the outburst of molten lava and devastating clouds of ashes and -poisonous vapour from the top of Primrose Hill. Nevertheless, the hot -springs and gas issuing from fissures in the Auvergne show that the -subterranean fires are not yet closed down, and may at any day burst -again into violent activity. - -Such also was the happy indifference with which from time immemorial -the Greek colonists and other earlier and later inhabitants of the -rich and beautiful shores of the Neapolitan bay before the fateful year -A.D. 79, had regarded the low crater-topped mountain called Vesuvius -or Vesbius, as well as the great circular forest-grown or lake-holding -cups near Cumæ and the Cape Misenum, at the northern end of the -bay–known to-day as the Solfatara, Astroni, Monti Grillo, Barbaro, and -Cigliano–and the lakes Lucrino, Averno, and Agnano. These together with -the Monte Nuovo–which suddenly rose from the sea near Baiæ in 1538 and -as suddenly disappeared–constitute "the Phlegræan fields." Vesuvius was -loftier than any one of the Phlegræan craters, and the gentle slope -by which it rose from the sea level to a height of nearly 3700 ft. -had, as now, a circumference of ten miles. It did not terminate in a -"cone," as in later ages, but in a depressed, circular, forest-covered -area measuring a mile across, which was the ancient crater. A drawing -showing the shape of the mountain at this period is the work of the -late Prof. Phillips of Oxford (Fig. 30). The soil formed around and -upon the ancient lava-streams of Vesuvius appears to have been always -especially fertile, so that flourishing towns and villages occupied -its slopes, and the ports of Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiæ were -the seats of a busy and long-established population. The existence of -active volcanoes at no great distance from Vesuvius was, however, well -known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The great Sicilian mountain, -Etna–more than 10,000 ft. in height, rising from a base of ninety -miles in circumference–and the Lipari Islands, such as Stromboli and -Volcano, were for many centuries in intermittent activity before the -first recorded eruption of Vesuvius–that of A.D. 79–and great eruptions -are recorded as having occurred in the mountain mass of the island of -Ischia, close to the Bay of Naples, in the fifth, third, and first -centuries B.C. - -[Illustration: FIG. 30.–Vesuvius as it appeared before the eruption of -August 24, A.D. 79. From a sketch by Prof. Phillips, F.R.S.] - -Nevertheless, the outburst of Vesuvius in A.D. 79 and its re-entrance -into a state of activity came upon the unfortunate population around it -as an absolutely unexpected thing. At least a thousand years–probably -several thousand years–had passed since Vesuvius had become "extinct." -All tradition of its prehistoric activity had disappeared, though -the learned Greek traveller Strabo had pointed out the indications -it presented of having been once a seat of consuming fire. From -A.D. 63 there were during sixteen years frequent earthquakes in its -neighbourhood, which, as we know by records and inscriptions, caused -serious damage to the towns around it, and then suddenly, on the night -of Aug. 24, A.D. 79, vast explosions burst from its summit. A huge -black cloud of fine dust and cinders, lasting for three days, spread -from it for twenty miles around, streams of boiling mud poured down -its sides, and in a few hours covered the city of Herculaneum, whilst -a dense shower of hot volcanic dust completely buried the gay little -seaside resort known as Pompeii. Many thousand persons perished, -choked by the vapours or overwhelmed by the hot cinders or engulfed in -the boiling mud. - -The great naturalist Pliny was in command of the fleet at Cape Misenum, -and went by ship across the bay to render assistance to the inhabitants -of the towns at the foot of Vesuvius. Pliny's nephew wrote two letters -to the historian Tacitus, giving an account of these events and of -the remarkable courage and coolness of his uncle, who, after sleeping -the night at Stabiæ, was suffocated by the sulphurous vapours as he -advanced into the open country near the volcano. The friends who were -with him left him to his fate and made their escape. The younger Pliny -had prudently remained, out of danger, with his mother at Misenum. - -The alternating periods of activity and of rest exhibited by volcanoes -seem to us capricious, and even at the present day are not sufficiently -well understood to enable us to discern any order or regularity in -their succession. Vesuvius is a thousand centuries old, and we have -only known it for thirty. We cannot expect to get the time-table of its -activities on so brief an acquaintance. Strangely enough, Vesuvius, -having, after immemorial silence, spasmodically burst into eruption -and spread devastation around it, resumed its slumber for many years. -There is no mention of its activity for 130 years after A.D. 79. Then -it growled and sent forth steam and cinder-dust to an extent sufficient -to attract attention again; its efforts were thereafter recorded once -or so in a century, though little, if any, harm was done by it. In A.D. -1139 there was a great throwing-up of dust and stones, with steam, -which reflected the light of molten lava within the crater, and looked -like flames. And then for close on 500 years there was little, if any, -sign of activity. The "eruptions" between that of A.D. 79 and that of -A.D. 1139 had been ejections of steam and cinders, unaccompanied by -any flow or stream of lava. Then suddenly the whole business shut up -for 500 years, and after that–also quite suddenly–in 1631, a really big -eruption took place, exceeding in volume the catastrophe of Pliny's -date. Not only were columns of dust and vapour ejected to a height of -many miles, but several streams of white-hot lava overflowed the edge -of the crater and reached the seacoast, destroying towns and villages -on the way. Some of these lava-streams were five miles broad, and can -be studied at the present day. As many as 18,000 persons were killed. - -There were three more eruptions in the seventeenth century, and from -that date there set in a period of far more frequent outbursts, which -have continued to our own times. In the eighteenth century there were -twenty-three distinct eruptions, lasting each from a few hours to two -or three days, and of varying degrees of violence–a vast steam-jet -forcing up cinders and stones from the crater into the air, usually -accompanied by the outflow of lava, from cracks in sides of the crater, -in greater or less quantity. In the nineteenth century there were -twenty-five distinct eruptions, the most formidable of which were those -of 1822, 1834, and 1872. All of the eruptions of Vesuvius in the last -280 years have been carefully described, and most of them recorded -in coloured pictures (a favourite industry of the Neapolitans), -showing the appearance of the active volcano both by day and night and -its change of shape in successive years. Sir William Hamilton, the -British Ambassador at the Court of Naples at the end of the eighteenth -century (of whose great folio volumes I am the fortunate possessor), -largely occupied himself in the study and description of Vesuvius, -and published illustrations of the kind mentioned above, showing the -appearance of the mountain at various epochs. Since his day there has -been no lack of descriptions of every succeeding eruption, and now we -have the records of photography. - -The crater or basin formed by a volcano starts with the opening -of a fissure in the earth's surface communicating by a pipe-like -passage with very deeply-seated molten matter and steam. Whether the -molten matter thus naturally "tapped" is only a local, though vast, -accumulation, or is universally distributed at a given depth below the -earth's crust, and at how many miles from the surface, is not known. -It seems to be certain that the great pressure of the crust of the -earth (from five to twenty-five miles thick) must prevent the heated -matter below it from becoming either liquid or gaseous, whether the -heat of that mass be due to the cracking of the earth's crust and the -friction of the moving surfaces as the crust cools and shrinks, or is -to be accounted for by the original high temperature of the entire mass -of the terrestrial globe. It is only when the gigantic pressure is -relieved by the cracking or fissuring of the closed case called "the -crust of the earth" that the enclosed deep-lying matter of immensely -high temperature liquefies, or even vaporizes, and rushes into the -up-leading fissure. Steam and gas thus "set free" drive everything -before them, carrying solid masses along with them, tearing, rending, -shaking "the foundations of the hills," and issuing in terrific -jets from the earth's surface, as through a safety valve, into the -astonished world above. Often in a few hours they choke their own path -by the destruction they produce and the falling in of the walls of -their briefly-opened channels. Then there is a lull of hours, days, -or even centuries, and after that again, a movement of the crust, a -"giving" of the blockage of the deep, vertical pipe, and a renewed rush -and jet of expanding gas and liquefying rock. - -The general scheme of this process and its relations to the structure -and properties of the outer crust and inner mass of the globe is -still a matter of discussion, theory and verification; but whatever -conclusions geologists may reach on these matters, the main fact of -importance is that steam and gases issue from these fissures with -enormous velocity and pressure, and that "a vent" of this kind, -once established, continues, as a rule, to serve intermittently for -centuries, and, indeed, for vast periods to which we can assign no -definite limits. The solid matter ejected becomes piled up around -the vent as a mound, its outline taking the graceful catenary curves -of rest and adjustment to which are due the great beauty of volcanic -cones. The apex of the cone is blown away at intervals by the violent -blasts issuing from the vent, and thus we have formed the "crater," -varying in the area enclosed by its margin and in the depth and -appearance of the cup so produced. At a rate depending on the amount -of solid matter ejected by the crater, the mound will grow in the -course of time to be a mountain, and often secondary craters or -temporary openings, connected at some depth with the main passage -leading to the central vent, will form on the sides of the mound or -mountain. Sometimes the old crater will cease to grow in consequence -of the blocking of its central vent and the formation of one or more -subsidiary vents, the activity of which may blast away or smother the -cup-like edge of the first crater. - -[Illustration: FIG. 31.–Five successive stages in the change of form -of Vesuvius (after Phillips' "Vesuvius," Oxford, 1869). In the oldest -(lowest figure) we see the mountain with its still earlier outline -completed by the cone drawn in dotted line. Within the period of -historic record that cone had not been seen. The mountain had, so far -as men knew, always been truncated as shown here and in Fig. 30. The -next figure above shows the further lowering of the mountain by the -first eruption on record–that which destroyed Pompeii in A.D. 79. The -commencing formation of a new ash-cone is indicated by a dotted line. -In the three upper figures we trace the gradual growth of the new cone -from 1631 to 1868. In 1872 the top of the new ash-cone was blown away, -and the mountain reverted to the shape of 1822. Now (1920) the cone has -accumulated once more and is higher than it was in 1868.] - -Such a history has been that of Vesuvius shown in outline in Fig. 31. -In geologic ages–perhaps some thousands of centuries ago–Vesuvius was -probably a perfect cone (its outline is shown at the bottom of p. 62) -some 7000 ft. high, rising by a characteristically accelerated upgrowth -from a circle of ten miles or more in diameter to its delicate central -peak, hollowed out at the summit by a small crater a couple of hundred -yards across. Its eruptions at that time were neither excessive nor -violent. Then came a period of greatly increased energy–the steam-jet -blew with such violence that it shattered and dispersed the cone, -lowering the mountain to 3700 ft. in height, truncating it and leaving -a proportionately widened crater of a mile and a half in diameter. -And then the mountain reposed for long centuries. We do not know how -long this period of extinction was, for we do not know when it began, -but we know that this was the state of the mountain when in A.D. 79 -it once more burst into life. In recent years–that is, since the -seventeenth century A.D., a curious change took place in the mountain: -the vent or orifice of the conducting channel by which eruptive -matters were brought to the surface ceased to be in the centre of the -wide broken-down crater of Pliny's time, and a vent was formed a few -hundred yards to the south of the centre of the old crater, nearer to -the south side of the old crater's wall. From this ashes or cinders -issued, and were piled up to form a new cone, which soon added 600 ft. -to the height of the mountain and covered in the southern half of the -old crater's lip, whilst leaving the northern half or semicircle free. -This latter uncovered part was called by the Italians "Monte Somma," -and the new cone low down in the southern side of which the rest of -the old crater-lip could be traced, was henceforth spoken of as "the -ash-cone" and sometimes misleadingly as "the true" Vesuvius. Clearly -it was not "the true Vesuvius" since it was a new growth. The original -old Vesuvius was crowned by a crater formed by the cliffs of Monte -Somma and their continuation round to the south side, now more or less -completely concealed by the new ash-cone. - -In the course of various eruptions during the last two centuries the -new ash-cone thus formed was blown away more or less completely, and -gradually grew up again. During the nineteenth century it was a -permanent feature of the mountain, though a good deal cut down in 1822, -and later grew so high as to give a total elevation from the sea-level -of 4300 ft. The crater at the top of the ash-cone has varied during -the past century in width and depth, according to its building up or -blowing away by the central steam jet. In 1822 it is reported to have -been funnel-like and 2000 ft. deep, tapering downwards to the narrow -fissures which are the actual vent. At other times it has been largely -filled by débris, and only 200 ft. deep. Molten lava has often issued -from fissures in the sides of the ash-cone, and even lower down on the -sides of the mountain, and a very small secondary crater has sometimes -appeared on the side of the ash-cone 100 ft. or 200 ft. from the -terminal crater which "finishes off" the cone. - -Such was the condition of the mountain when I first saw it in the -autumn of 1871. Six months later I witnessed the most violent eruption -of the nineteenth century. Vesuvius kept up a continuous roar like that -of a railway engine letting off steam when at rest in a covered station -only a thousandfold bigger. Its vibrations shook with a deep musical -note, for twenty-four hours, the house nine miles distant in Naples in -which I was staying. My windows commanded a view of the mountain, and -when the noise ceased and the huge steam-cloud cleared away, I saw a -different Vesuvius, the higher part of the ash-cone was gone, and a -huge gap in it had been formed by the blowing away of its northern side. - -In October 1871, when I joined my friend Anton Dohrn at Naples in order -to study the marine creatures of the beautiful bay, Vesuvius was in the -proud possession of a splendid cone, completing its graceful outline. -A little steam-cloud hung about one side of the cone during the day, -and as night came on Vesuvius used, as we said, to "light his cigar." -In fact, a very small quantity of molten lava was at that time flowing -from the side of the ash-cone, about 100 ft. from its summit, and this -gave a most picturesque effect as we watched it from our balcony high -up on Pausilippo, when the sun set. It was a friendly sort of beacon, -far away on the commanding mountain's top, which was answered by the -lighting up of a thousand lamps along the coast, and by innumerable -flaming faggots in the fishermen's boats moving across the bay, drawing -to their light strange fishes, to be impaled by the long tridents of -the skilful spearmen. That little beacon light on Vesuvius increased -in volume in the course of three weeks, and was supplemented by other -flaming streams and by showers of red-hot stones from the crater. This -small "eruption" was the precursor by six months of the great eruption -of the end of April 1872, and I spent a night on Vesuvius during its -progress, and looked into the crater from which the glowing masses of -rock were being belched forth. - -Not long before I went, in 1871, to Naples I had spent some weeks in -visiting the extinct volcanoes of the Auvergne and of the Eiffel, and -I was eager to examine the still living Vesuvius. In the first week -of October I made an excursion to the crater of Vesuvius in company -with the son of a Russian admiral, whose name, "Popoff," was under the -circumstances unpleasantly suggestive. We examined some black slaglike -masses of old lava-streams, and struggled up the loose sandy ash-cone -(there was no "funicular" in those days), and prodded with our sticks -the few yards of molten lava which emerged from the side of the cone -about 100 ft. from the summit. On Nov. 1 my friend Anton Dohrn (who was -then negotiating with the Naples Municipality for a site in the Villa -Nazionale on which to erect the great Zoological Station and Aquarium, -now so well known) was with me and some Neapolitan acquaintances -looking at Vesuvius across the bay from Pausilippo, where we had -established ourselves, when we noticed that a long line of steam was -rising from the lower part of the ash-cone and that puffs of steam were -issuing at intervals from the crater. "Dio mio! Dio di Dio!" cried the -Neapolitans in terror, and expressed their intention of leaving Naples -without an hour's delay. As night fell a new glowing line of fire -appeared far down near the base of the ash-cone, whilst what looked -in the distance like sparks from a furnace, but were really red-hot -stones–each as big as a Gladstone bag–were thrown every two or three -minutes from the crater. - -We hired a carriage, drove to Resina (built above buried Herculaneum), -and walked up towards the Observatory in order to spend the night -on the burning mountain. We found that two white-hot streams, each -about twenty yards broad at the free end, were issuing from the base -of the cone. The glowing stones thrown up by the crater were now -separately visible; a loud roar accompanied each spasmodic ejection. -The night was very clear, and a white firmly-cut cloud, due to the -steam ejected by the crater, hung above it. At intervals we heard a -milder detonation–that of thunder which accompanied the lightning which -played in the cloud, giving it a greenish illumination by contrast with -the red flame colour reflected on to it by red-hot material within -the crater. The flames attributed to volcanoes are generally of this -nature, but actual flames do sometimes occur in volcanic eruptions by -the ignition of combustible gases. The puffs of steam from the crater -were separated by intervals of about three minutes. When an eruption -becomes violent they succeed one another at the rate of many in a -second, and the force of the steam jet is gigantic, driving a column -of transparent super-heated steam with such vigour that as it cools -into the condition of "cloud" an appearance like that of a gigantic -pine-tree seven miles high (in the case of Vesuvius) is produced. - -We made our way to the advancing end of one of the lava-streams (like -the "snout" of a glacier), which was 20 ft. high, and moved forwards -but slowly, in successive jerks. Two hundred yards farther up, where it -issued from the sandy ashes, the lava was white-hot and running like -water, but it was not in very great quantity and rapidly cooled on the -surface and became "sticky." A cooled skin of slag was formed in this -way, which arrested the advancing stream of lava. At intervals of a -few minutes this cooled crust was broken into innumerable clinkers by -the pressure of the stream, and there was a noise like the smashing -of a gigantic store of crockery ware as the pieces or "clinkers" fell -over one another down the nearly vertical "snout" of the lava-stream, -whilst the red-hot molten material burst forward for a few feet, but -immediately became again "crusted over" and stopped in its progress. -We watched the coming together and fusion of the two streams and the -overwhelming and burning up of several trees by the steadily, though -slowly, advancing river of fire. Then we climbed up the ash-cone, -getting nearer and nearer to the rim of the crater, from which showers -of glowing stones were being shot. The deep roar of the mountain at -each effort was echoed from the cliffs of the ancient mother-crater, -Monte Somma, and the ground shook under our feet as does a ship at -sea when struck by a wave. The night was very still in the intervals. -The moon was shining, and a weird melancholy "ritornelle" sung by -peasants far off in some village below us came to our ears with strange -distinctness. It might have been the chorus of the imprisoned giants of -Vulcan's forge as they blew the sparks with their bellows and shook the -mountains with the heavy blows of their hammers. - -As we ascended the upper part of the cone the red-hot stones were -falling to our left, and we determined to risk a rapid climb to the -edge of the crater on the right or southern side, and to look into it. -We did so, and as we peered into the great steaming pit a terrific -roar, accompanied by a shuddering of the whole mountain, burst from it. -Hundreds of red-hot stones rose in the air to a height of 400 ft., and -fell, happily in accordance with our expectation, to our left. We ran -quickly down the sandy side of the cone to a safe position, about 300 -ft. below the crater's lip, and having lit our pipes from one of the -red-hot "bombs," rested for a while at a safe distance and waited for -the sunrise. A vast horizontal layer of cloud had now formed below us, -and Vesuvius and the hills around Naples appeared as islands emerging -from a sea. The brilliant sunlight was reassuring after this night -of strange experiences. The fields and lanes were deserted in the -early morning as we descended to the sea-level. On our way we met a -procession of weird figures clad in long white robes, enveloping the -head closely but leaving apertures for the eyes. They were a party of -the lay-brothers of the Misericordia carrying a dead man to his grave. -Then we found our carriage, and drove quickly back to Naples and sleep! - -In the following March I acted as guide to my friend Professor Huxley -in expeditions up Vesuvius, now quiescent, and to the Solfatara. Then -suddenly, in April, the great eruption of 1872 burst upon us. On the -first day of the outbreak some imprudent visitors were killed by steam -and gas ejected by the lava-stream. By the next day the violence of -the eruption was too great for any one to venture near it. The crater -sent forth no intermittent "puffs" as in the preceding November, but -a continuously throbbing jet which produced a cloud five miles high, -like an enormous cauliflower in shape, suspended above the mountain -and making it look by comparison like a mole-hill. Showers of fine -ashes, as in the days of Pompeii, fell thickly around, accumulating to -the depth of an inch in a few hours even at my house in Pausilippo, -nine miles distant across the bay. I was recovering at the time from an -attack of typhoid fever, and lay in bed, listening to the deep humming -sound and wondering at the darkness until my doctor came and told me -of the eruption. I was able to get up and see from the window the -great cauliflower-like cloud and the vacant place where the ash-cone -was, but whence it had how been scattered into the sky. (It has been -gradually re-formed by later eruptions, of which the last of any size -was in 1906.) I could also see steam rising like smoke from a long line -reaching six miles down the mountain into the flat country below. It -was the great lava-stream which had destroyed two prosperous villages -in its course. - -After ten days I was able to get about, and drove over to one of these -villages and along its main street, which was closely blocked at the -end by what looked like a railway embankment some 40 ft. high. This -was the side of the great lava-stream now cooled and hardened on the -surface. It had sharply cut the houses, on each side of the street, -in half without setting them on fire, so that the various rooms were -exposed in section–pictures hanging on the walls, and even chairs and -other furniture remaining in place on the unbroken portion of the -floor. The villagers had provided ladders by which I ascended the steep -side of the embankment-like mass at the end of the street, and there a -wonderful sight revealed itself. One looked out on a great river seven -miles long, narrow where it started from the broken-down crater, but -widening to three miles where I stood, and wider still farther on as -it descended. This river, with all its waves and ripples, was turned -to stone, and greatly resembled a Swiss glacier in appearance. A foot -below the surface it was still red-hot, and a stick pushed into a -crevice caught fire. It was not safe to venture far on to the pie-crust -surface. A couple of miles away the campanile of the church of a -village called Massa di Somma stood out, leaning like that of Pisa, -from the petrified mass, whilst the rest of the village was overwhelmed -and covered in by the great stream. - -The curious resemblance of the lava-stream to a glacier arose from -the fact that it was almost completely covered by a white snow-like -powder. This snow-like powder, which often appears on freshly-run -lava, is salt–common sea salt and other mineral salts dissolved in -the water ejected as steam mixed with the lava. The steam condenses, -as the lava cools, into water and evaporates slowly, leaving the salt -as crystals. Often these are not white, but contain iron salt, mixed -with the white sodium, potassium, and ammonium chlorides, which gives -them a yellow or orange colour. Salts coloured in this way have the -appearance of sulphur, and are often mistaken for it. The whole of the -interior of the crater of Vesuvius when I revisited it in 1875 was thus -coloured yellow, and I have a water-colour sketch of the scene made -by a friend who came with me for the purpose. As a matter of fact, -though small quantities of the choking gas called "sulphurous acid" -are among the vapours given off by Vesuvius, there is no deposit of -sulphur there. Some large volcanoes (in Mexico and Japan) have made -deposits of sulphur, which are dug for commercial purposes; but the -sulphur of Sicily is not, and has not been, thrown out or volatilized -by Etna. It occurs in rough masses and in splendid crystals in a -tertiary calcareous marine deposit, and its deposition was probably due -to a chemical decomposition of constituents of the sea water brought -about by minute plants, known as "sulphur bacteria." Whether the -neighbouring great volcano had any share in the process seems to be -doubtful. - -It is generally supposed that sea-water makes its way in large quantity -through fissures connected with volcanic channels, and is one of the -agents of the explosions caused by the subterranean molten matter. -Gaseous water, hydrochloric acid, carbonic acid, hydrofluoric acid, and -even pure hydrogen and oxygen and argon are among the gases ejected by -volcanoes. - -The molten matter forced up from the bowels of the earth and poured -out by volcanoes is made up of various chemical substances, differing -in different localities, and even in different eruptions of the same -volcano. It consists largely of silicates of iron, lime, magnesium, -aluminium, and the alkali metals, with possible admixture of nearly -every other element. Some volcanoes eject "pitch" or "bitumen." When -the molten matter cools, interesting crystals of various "species" -(_i.e._, of various chemical composition) usually form in the deeper -part of the mass. The lavas of Vesuvius frequently contain beautiful -opaque-white twelve-sided crystals of a siliceous mineral called -"leucite." I have collected in the lava of Niedermendig, on the Rhine, -specimens embedding bright blue transparent crystals (a mineral called -Haüynite) scattered in the grey porous rock. The lava-streams, and -even the "roots," of extinct volcanoes which are of great geologic -age, sometimes become exposed by the change of the earth's surface, -and extensive sheets of volcanic rock of various kinds are thus laid -bare. Basalt is one of these rocks, and it not unfrequently presents -itself as a mass of perpendicular six-sided columns, each column 10 -ft. or more high, and often a foot or more in diameter. The "Giant's -Causeway," in the North of Ireland, and the "Pavée des Géants," in -the Ardêche of Southern France, are examples both of which I have -visited. It is not easy to explain how the molten basalt has come to -take this columnar structure on cooling. It has nothing to do with -"crystallization," but is similar to the columnar formation shown by -commercial "starch" and occasionally by "tabular flint". A theoretical -explanation of its formation has been given by Prof. J. Thompson, -brother of the late Lord Kelvin. - -The varieties of volcanoes and their products make up a long story–too -long to be told here. There are from 300 to 400 active craters in -Existence to-day–mostly not isolated, but grouped along certain great -lines, as, for instance, along the Andean chain, or in more irregular -tracks. If we add to the list craters no longer active, but still -recognizable, we must multiply it by ten. Vesuvius is the only active -volcano on the mainland of Europe–Hecla, Etna, Stromboli, Volcano, -and the volcanoes of the Santorin group are on islands. The biggest -volcanoes are in South America, Mexico, Java, and Japan. Volcanoes and -the related "earthquakes" have been most carefully studied with a view -to the safety of the population in Japan. The graceful and well-beloved -volcano, Fujiyama, is more than 12,000 ft. high, but, unlike others in -those islands, it has been quiescent now for just 200 years. The most -violent volcanic eruptions of recent times, with the largest "output" -of solid matter, are those of the Soufrière of St. Vincent in 1812, -of the Mont Pelée of Martinique in 1902, and of Krakatoa in 1883. A -single moderate eruption of the great volcano Mauna Loa, in Hawaii, -nearly 14,000 feet high, throws out a greater quantity of solid matter -than Vesuvius has ejected in all the years which have elapsed since the -destruction of Pompeii. Many hundred millions of tons of solid matter -were ejected by Mont Pelée in 1902, when also a peculiar heavy cloud -descended from the mountain, hot and acrid, charged with incandescent -sand, and rolling along like a liquid rather than a vapour. It burnt -up the town of St. Pierre and its inhabitants and the shipping in the -harbour. In the eruption of the volcano of St. Vincent in 1812 three -million tons of ashes were projected on to the Bahamas Islands, 100 -miles distant, besides a larger quantity which fell elsewhere. The -great explosion at Krakatoa, lasting two days, blew an island of 1400 -ft. high, into the air. A good deal of it was projected as excessively -fine needlelike particles of pumice with such force as to carry it up -thirty miles into the upper regions of the atmosphere, where it was -carried by air currents all over the world, causing the "red sunsets" -of the following year. The sky over Batavia, 100 miles distant, was -darkened at midday so completely that lamps had to be used–as I heard -from my brother who was there at the time. The explosions were heard -in Mauritius, 3000 miles away. A sea wave 50 ft. high was set going by -the submarine disturbance, and reaching Java and neighbouring islands -inundated the land and destroyed 36,000 persons. This wave travelled -in reduced size over a vast tract of the ocean, and was observed and -recorded at Cape Horn, 7800 miles distant from its seat of origin. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -BLUE WATER - - -Most people know and admire the splendid expanse of blue colour offered -by the clear sea water on many parts of our coasts, and by that of -lakes at home and abroad. I find that there is still a sort of a fixed -determination not to believe that this colour is due (as it is) to the -actual blue colour of pure water. Pure, transparent water is blue. -Those who think they know better will point to a glass of pure water, -hold it up to the light, and affirm that it is colourless. But this -apparent colourlessness is due to the small breadth of water in the -glass through which the light passes. It is definitely ascertained that -if water as pure and as free from either dissolved or suspended matter -as it is possible to make it (by distillation and the use of vessels -not acted upon by water) be made to fill an opaque tube 15 ft. long, -closed at each end by a transparent plate, and then a beam of light be -made to traverse the length of the tube, so that the eye receives the -light after it has passed through this length of 15 ft. of water, the -colour of the light is a strong blue. Water is blue in virtue of its -own molecular character, just as sulphate of copper is. Liquid oxygen, -prepared by the use of intense cold, is also transparent blue, and the -peculiar condensed form of oxygen known as "ozone" is, when liquefied, -of a darker or stronger blue than oxygen. - -At one time (some thirty years ago) there was still some doubt as to -whether water was self-coloured blue, or whether its blue colour was -due to the action on light of excessively minute solid white particles -of chalk suspended in the water. Such fine suspended particles in some -cases act on the light which falls on to them so as to reflect the -blue rays. This occurs in certain natural objects which have a blue -colour. But these can be distinguished from transparent self-coloured -blue substances by the fact that whilst the light reflected from their -surface is blue, the light which is made to traverse them (when they -are held up to the light so that they come between one's eye and the -sun's rays) is brown. This is the case with very hot smoke, and can be -well seen when a cigar is smoked in the sunlight. The smoke which comes -off from the lighted end of the cigar is very hot, and its particles -are more minute than those of cooler smoke. The hot smoke shows a -bright blue colour when the sunlight falls on it and is reflected, -but when you look through the smoke-cloud at a surface reflecting the -sunlight, the cloud has a reddish-brown tint. As the smoke cools its -particles adhere to one another and form larger particles, and the -light reflected from the cloud is no longer blue but grey, and even -white. Thus the smoke which the smoker keeps for half a minute in his -mouth is cooled and condensed, and reflects white light–is, in fact, a -white cloud–when he puffs it out, and contrasts strongly with the blue -cloud coming off from the burning tobacco at the lighted end of the -cigar. The blue colour of the sky is held by many physicists (though -other views have been of late advanced) to be due to the same action -on the part of the very finest particles of watery vapour, which are -diffused through vast regions of our atmosphere above the condensed -white-looking clouds consisting of larger floating particles of water. - -Vapours are given off by many liquids, and even by some solids, varying -in their production according to the heat applied in different cases. -They are gases, and quite transparent and invisible at the proper -temperature, like the atmospheric air. Thus water is always giving -off "water-vapour," which is quite invisible. When water is heated to -the boiling point it is rapidly converted into transparent invisible -vapour. Steam, as this vapour is called, is invisible, and we all -habitually make a misleading use of the word "steam" when we apply it -both to this and to the slightly cooled and condensed cloud which we -can see issuing from the spout of a kettle or from a railway engine. -It seems that the fault lies with the scientific writers, who have -applied the word "steam" to the invisible water vapour or gas before it -has condensed to form a cloud. The old English word "steam" certainly -means a visible cloudy emanation, and not a transparent invisible -gas. A cloud is not a vapour, but is produced by the coming together -or condensation of the minute invisible particles of a vapour to form -larger particles, which float and hang together, and reflect the light, -and thus are visible. - -By the examination of other vapours or gases than that which is gaseous -water, namely, the vapours of bodies like chloroform and ether, it has -been shown that "cloud" forms in a vapour not merely in consequence of -the cooling of the vapour, but in consequence of the presence in the -air (or in the tube in which the vapour is enclosed for observation) of -very fine floating dust particles. They act as centres of attraction -and condensation for the vapour particles. When there are no dust -particles present clouds do not form readily in cooling vapours, or -only at lower temperatures, and in larger mass. Tyndall made some -beautiful experiments on this subject, obtaining clouds of great -tenuity in vapours enclosed in tubes, which reflected the most vivid -blue tints when illuminated by the electric arc-lamp. Later Aitken, -of Edinburgh, showed that the "fog" which forms in smoke-ridden towns -is due to the condensation of previously invisible watery vapour as -"cloud" around the solid floating particles of carbon of the smoke. -Aitken further used this property of solid floating particles, namely, -that they cause the formation of fog and cloud in vapours–to test the -question as to whether the excessively minute odoriferous particles -which affect our noses as "smell" are distinct solid floating particles -as often supposed, or are of the nature of gas and vapour. He admitted -strong perfumes such as musk into tubes containing watery vapour, at -such a temperature that the vapour was in a "critical" state–just ready -to condense and precipitate as "cloud." If he had admitted fine solid -particles such as a minute whiff of smoke, or some "dusty" air–the -cloud would have formed. But the admission of the perfume had no such -effect Therefore, he concluded that the odoriferous emanations used by -him are not distinct particles like those of smoke or dust, but are -gaseous. - -The beautiful blue tint of the semi-transparent "white" of a boiled -plover's egg is due to a fine-particled cloud dispersed in the clear -albumen. London milk used to be "sky-blue" for a similar reason, -before the recent legislation against the adulteration of food. The -blue eyes of our fair-haired race and of young foxes are not due to -any "pigment"–that is to say, a separable self-coloured substance–but -to a fine cloud floating in a transparent medium which reflects blue -rays of light as blue smoke does. The iris of the eye can and often -does develop a pigment, but it is a brown one. When present in small -quantity it produces a green-coloured iris, the pale yellow-brown -being added to the blue cloud-caused colouring. When present in larger -quantity the same pigment gives us brown and so-called "black" -eyes. The blue colours in birds' feathers and insects' wings are -produced without blue pigment by special effects of reflection, and -where green is the colour it is often due to the addition of a small -quantity of yellow pigment to what would otherwise look blue: though -some caterpillars and grasshoppers have a real green pigment in their -skin. Flowers, on the other hand, have true soluble blue "pigments," -and green ones too, notably that called leaf-green or chlorophyll. -The little green tree frog has no blue or green pigment in its skin; -only a yellow pigment. Sometimes rare specimens are found in which -the yellow pigment is absent altogether, and then the little frog is -turquoise-blue in colour. But there is no blue pigment in the skin; -only a finely-clouded translucent film overlying a dead-black deep -layer of the skin, and the result is that the frog is of a wonderful -pure blue. Sometimes the commoner large edible frog is found with a -similar absence of yellow pigment (I found some in a garden near Geneva -six years ago), and then all the parts of its skin which usually are -green show as brilliant blue. - -It is at first difficult to believe that such fine, smoothly-spread -turquoise blue as that of the blue frog is due merely to a "reflection -effect," and that there is no blue pigment present which would show -as blue if light were transmitted through it, or could be separated -and dissolved in some medium. Yet this is undoubtedly the case. The -nearest experimental production of such a blue surface without blue -pigment is obtained by first varnishing a black board, and when the -varnish is nearly dry passing a sponge wetted with water over it. -Some of the varnish is precipitated from its solution in the spirit -(or it may be turpentine) as a fine cloud, and until the water has -evaporated it looks like blue paint, as the poet Goethe found when -cleaning a picture. It would be interesting to know more precisely the -precautions to be taken in order to get the blue colour in this way in -fullest degree. - -It appears that when light is reflected from a cloud of fine colourless -particles so as to give a predominant blue colour, the light so -reflected is affected in that special way which physicists describe -as being "polarized." It is possible by the use of certain apparatus -(the polariscope) to distinguish polarized from non-polarized light, -so that it should be possible to decide (or at any rate to gain -evidence) whether blue water–a sheet of blue water–owes its colour to -fine particles suspended in it or to the self-colour of the water. An -admirable case for making this simple experiment is presented by the -great tanks–some 20 ft. cube–which are used by the water companies -which draw their water supply from the chalk, for the purpose of -precipitating the dissolved chalk–"Clarking" the water, as it is -called, after the inventor of the process–and so getting rid of its -excessive "hardness." Such tanks are to be seen by the side of the -railway near Caterham. The water in these tanks is of such a brilliant -turquoise blue that many people suppose that copper has been added -to the water to free it from microbes! Such, at any rate, was the -conviction expressed by a friend in conversation with me only a few -weeks ago. The water in these tanks, when seen from the railway, looks -like a magnificent blue dye, and a very important point for those (not -a few) who believe that the blue colour of seas and lakes is due to the -reflection of the blue colour of the sky overhead is that the water -in the tanks looks just as blue when the sky is overcast with cloud -as when there is blue sky. The blue colour of water has, as a rule, -nothing to do with the reflection of the sky, though it is the fact -that a shallow film of water may at a certain angle reflect the sky to -our eyes, just as a mirror may. The effect is quite unlike that due to -light passing through deep water when reflected from below it. If we -examine the tanks in question we find that they have been filled with -water pumped from the chalk, and that then lime has been added to the -water in order to combine with the carbonic acid dissolved in it and -form chalk or carbonate of lime–which is insoluble in pure water and -falls as an excessively fine white powder to the bottom of the tank. -But the important fact is that water having carbonic acid dissolved -in it can dissolve carbonate of lime or chalk to a certain amount: -and this water pumped from the chalk, having carbonic acid naturally -dissolved in it, has consequently also dissolved a quantity of chalk. -It is this which gives the chalk-spring water the objectionable -quality of "hardness." When lime is added to the chalk-spring water -as pumped into the tanks, the carbonic acid in it is taken up by the -lime, and the chalk previously dissolved by the carbonic-acid-holding -water is, so to speak, "undissolved," and thrown down as a very fine -white powder, together with the chalk newly formed by the union of the -lime and the carbonic acid. These large tanks are used to allow the -fine powder of chalk to settle down and leave the water clear. The -brilliantly white chalk sediment accumulates not only on the floor -of the tank, but on its sides. Any light which falls on the tank is -refracted and reflected from side to floor and from floor to side, and -eventually emerges from the tank, a great deal of it having traversed -the 20 ft. breadth and depth many times. Most of its red, yellow, and -green rays are quenched by the many feet of blue water through which -it has passed, and it issues as predominantly blue. This is largely -due to the fine reflecting surface furnished by the "white-washed" -or chalk-coated floor and sides and the great purity of the white -reflecting material–no yellow or brown matter being present to give a -greenish tinge to the result I remember being taken to see "Clark's -process" in use, and the splendid blue colour of the water in the -"softening" tanks at Plumstead, when the process was first used by the -North Kent Water Company, sixty-four years ago. - -It is, I think, still a possible question as to whether the fine -floating particles of precipitating chalk act in any way as a -"cloud"–in short, as the blue clouds of smoke, egg-white, milk, and -varnish. There is no evidence that they do, but no one, so far as I -know, has ever taken the trouble to settle the question. It could be -done by examining the blue light from the tanks with a polariscope, -and also by sinking a black tarpaulin into the tank to cover the white -floor and hanging others at the sides. Then if the blue colour were due -to light reflected from the white floor and sides traversing repeatedly -the clear self-coloured blue water, the blue colour should no longer -be visible, for the reflecting surfaces would be covered by the black -tarpaulin and little light sent up through the water. But if it were -due to a cloud of greatest delicacy in the water–like fine smoke -reflecting the blue light rather than the other rays–then the colour -should be as intense or more intense when the black background is -introduced. I am surprised that some inquirer, younger and more active -than I am, does not put the matter to the test of experiment. - -On the whole, practically all the facts which we know about "blue -water" are consistent with the blue self-colour of water, and not with -that of a "blue cloud" in the water. Now that we have porcelain baths -of the purest white and of large size, one may often see the strong -blue colour of water of great purity in the bath, especially where -waves or ripples send to our eyes those rays of light which have taken -a more or less horizontal course from side to side of the bath, and -have thus been through a large thickness of the pale-coloured fluid. -Great masses of clear ice, such as one may study in glaciers, are -blue; the "crevasses" which transmit light which has passed through -a considerable thickness of ice (as, for instance, in an ice cave), -are deep blue; there is no question of a reflection from suspended -particles. The green colour which some glaciers show at a little -distance is due to the yellow rust–iron oxide–blown on to the surface -of the ice and dissolved. Many glaciers or parts of glaciers are quite -free from it, and of a splendid indigo blue in their deeper fissures. -So, too, as to the sea and lakes. The Blue Grotto or Cavern of the -island of Capri, near Naples, is a case in point. All the light which -enters it comes through the sea-water and is blue. I was taken to it -in a boat rowed by two men. As the boat enters the low mouth of the -cavern you have to bend down to avoid knocking your head against the -rock. Then you find yourself floating in a vast and lofty chamber the -white rocky floor of which is some twenty feet below the surface of the -clear water. No light enters the cavern by the low part of the entrance -above water. Below the surface it widens and the strong Southern sun -shines through the clear water and its light is reflected up into the -cave from the bottom. It is blue, and everything in the cave above as -well as below the water is suffused with a blue glow–a truly wonderful -and fascinating spectacle. In order to get the best effect you must -choose an hour when the sun is in a favourable position. Where there -is a white bottom at a depth of fifty or a hundred feet, the sea has -a fine ultra-marine colour, so long as it is clear. It is often made -green by yellow-coloured impurities, either fine iron-stained sediment -or by minute living things in the water. The colour of the water of -either sea or lakes, when it is clear and overlying great depths (200 -fathoms and more), tends to be dark indigo owing to the deficiency of -reflected light. But there are enough white particles as a rule to send -some of the light, which penetrates the water, upwards again. Even the -great ocean has a dark purplish-blue colour, but never the bright blue -of clear water in shallow seas with light-coloured or white bottom. - -One of the most beautiful exhibitions of the colour of clear water in -various thicknesses which I know, is at the entrance of the Rhone into -the Lake of Geneva. The thick pale-coloured brownish-white sediment -of the river shoots out for a quarter of a mile or more into the dark -blue waters of the deep lake, and on a bright sunny day as it subsides -reflects the light upwards from different depths through the clear -water. Where it has sunk but little the colour is green, owing to the -influence of the yellow mud. Farther on it is ultra-marine blue, and -then, where it has sunk deeper, we get full indigo tints. The movement -of the water and its churning up by the steamers' paddles add to the -variety of effects, since the foam of air-bubbles submerged throws -up the light through the water. It is not possible to doubt as one -watches the admixture of the river and the lake, and the eddies and -hanging walls of sediment, that one is floating over a vast depth -of magnificent blue self-coloured fluid which is traversed by the -sunlight in ways and degrees varying according to its depth and the -volume of the pale mud of the in-rushing Rhone and the abundance of -fine air-bubbles "churned" into the water by the paddle-wheels of the -steamer. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE BIGGEST BEAST - - -There is a prevalent notion, encouraged by the fanciful exaggerations -of newspaper gossips, that the animals of past ages, whose bones are -from time to time dug out of rocks and sand quarries, were many of -them much bigger than any at present existing, and that we are living -in an age of degeneracy. It is true that the mammoth and the mastodon -were enormous creatures, but they were _not_ bigger than their living -representatives, the great elephants of Africa and India. The African -elephant often stands 11 ft. high at the shoulder, and occasionally -attains 12 ft. - -Some eighty years ago Dr. Gideon Mantell became celebrated by his -discovery of the bones of huge reptiles–far bigger than any existing -crocodile or lizard–nearly as big as elephants, in the Wealden rocks of -Tilgate Forest in Sussex. He and Sir Richard Owen distinguished several -kinds–the Iguanodon, the Megalosaurus, the Hylæosaurus, and others. -Models of these creatures as they appeared when clothed in flesh and -hide were carefully made, and placed picturesquely among the ponds and -islands of the gardens of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham when it was -first opened to an enchanted public in the fifties. As a small boy I, -at that time, fell under their spell. - -The passing years have brought to us more complete knowledge of these -strange beasts–now classed as the "Dinosauria"–and new kinds and -complete skeletons of those already known have been discovered in the -United States and in Belgium. The leg bones and vertebræ of one of -the biggest were found near Oxford, and are in the Oxford Museum; it -received the name Cetiosaurus. Only a few years ago a very complete -skeleton of a creature closely allied to Cetiosaurus was with great -labour and skill dug out of the Jurassic rocks of Wyoming, U.S.A., by -Dr. Holland, at the charges of Mr. Andrew Carnegie. It was known as -Diplodocus (referring to certain bones in its tail), and a wonderful -cast of the completely reconstructed skeleton was presented to the -Natural History Museum in London, when I was Director, by Mr. Carnegie. -The skeleton is 84 ft. long; but we must not be mis-led as to the -animal's actual bulk by this measurement, for the tail is 46 ft. long -and whip-like, whilst the neck is 23 ft. long and carries a small head -not bigger than that of a cart-horse. The jaws were provided with -small peg-like teeth, showing that the beast fed on soft vegetable -matter. The body, apart from neck and tail, was really only a little -bigger than that of a large elephant, and the limb-bones longer in -the proportion of about six to five. Another reptile very similar to -these and also found in the mesozoic rocks of the U.S. America is -Brontosaurus. - -The fact is that, if we wish to make an intelligent comparison of -the sizes of different animals, we have carefully to ascertain not -merely the length measurements, but the _proportions_ of the various -parts, and the actual bulk and probable weight of the beasts under -consideration. Also (and this is a very important and decisive matter) -we must know whether the beasts were terrestrial in habit, walking with -their bodies raised high on their legs, or whether they were aquatic -and swam in the lakes or seas, their bodies buoyed up and supported by -the water. By far the biggest animals of which we have any knowledge -are the various kinds of whales still flourishing in the sea. A -mechanical limit is set to the size of land-walking animals, and that -limit has been reached by the elephant "Flesh and blood," and we may -add "bone," cannot carry on dry land a greater bulk than his. He is -always in danger of sinking by his own weight into soft earth and bog. -His legs have to be much thicker in proportion than those of smaller -animals–made of the same material–or they would bend and snap. His feet -have to be padded with huge discs of fat and fibre to ease the local -pressure, and his legs are kept straight not bent at the joints, when -he stands (a fact to which Shakespeare makes Ulysses refer), so that -the vast weight of his body shall be supported by the stiff column -formed by the upper and lower half of the limb-bones kept upright in -one straight line. A well-grown elephant weighs five tons. Compare his -weight and shape with that of a big whale-bone whale! No extinct animal -known approaches the existing whale in bulk and weight. He is 80 to -90 ft. long, and has no neck nor any length of tail. His outline is -egg-like, narrower at the hinder end. He weighs 200 tons–forty times as -much as a big elephant–and is perfectly supported without any strain on -his structure by the water in which he floats. There is no such limit -to his possible size as there is in the case of land-walking animals. -But it seems probable that he too is limited in size by mechanical -conditions of another kind. Probably he cannot exceed some 90 ft. in -length and 200 tons of bulk on account of the relatively great increase -of proportionate size and power in the heart required in order to -propel the blood through such a vast mass of living tissue and keep -him "going" as a warm-blooded mammal. The original pattern–the small -dog-like ancestor of the whale–cannot be indefinitely expanded as an -efficient working machine, though its limit of growth is not determined -by the same mechanical causes as those which limit the bulk of the -terrestrial quadruped. - -These considerations make it clear that we should compare as to -"bigness" terrestrial animals with other terrestrial animals, and -aquatic animals with aquatic ones. It seems probable that Diplodocus -was an aquatic reptile, and never raised himself on to his four legs -on dry land as the Carnegie skeleton at the Natural History Museum is -doing. His legs and feet are quite unfitted to support his weight on a -land surface; on land he would have rested on his belly, as a crocodile -does, with much bent legs on each side. But submerged in 20 ft. -depth of water, he could have trotted along, half-floating, with his -feet touching the bottom and his head raised on its long neck to the -surface, slowly sucking the floating vegetation into his moderate-sized -mouth. (See drawing on p. 91.) - -Diplodocus and Cetiosaurus have huge thigh-bones and upper-arm -bones–respectively 5 ft. 9 in. and 3 ft. 2 in. in length–until lately -the biggest known _limb_-bones, although the lower jaw-bone of a Right -Whale grows to be 18 ft. in length. But a thigh-bone (femur) of a -reptile similar to Diplodocus has been found in Wyoming, 6 ft. 2 in. -in length. This reptile was named Atlantosaurus, and a cast of the -huge bone–the biggest known when it was placed there–stands in our -museum gallery. However, its glory has departed, for we now know "than -this biggest bone, a bigger still." The bones of several individuals -of a huge reptile similar to Diplodocus, but actually twice as big in -linear dimensions, were found by Dr. Fraas at Tendagoroo, fifty miles -from the coast in German East Africa, and brought safely to Berlin in -1912, though they have not yet been mounted as a complete specimen. -They were lying in a sandy deposit of the same geologic age as our -Sussex Wealden. A special expedition of 500 negroes was sent–not by -the Government, but by the Berlin "Society of the Friends of Natural -History" (we need such a society in England), at a cost of £10,000, -to fetch the bones. They were of many individuals, and had to be -skilfully dug out and packed. Dr. Fraas calls this biggest of all -quadrupeds "Gigantosaurus." A cast of the humerus, or upper-arm bone, -is now exhibited in the Natural History Museum. It is over 7 ft. in -length. The femur, or thigh-bone, was still bigger–it was over 10 ft. -in length. Alas for the glory of Atlantosaurus! This enormous creature -was, of course, like Diplodocus, aquatic. Its bulk was much less than -that of a big whale, but extinct aquatic reptiles may yet be found of -greater size. Ichthyosaurus, the extinct whale-like reptile, does not -exceed 30 ft. in length. Our engraving (Fig. 32) shows the relative -size of the humerus of man, the elephant,[4] and the Gigantosaurus. How -puny is that human arm-bone! And yet...! - -When stretched on the shore, resting on the belly, the body of the -great lizard of Tendagoroo bulked like a breakwater 12 ft. high, and -his tail like a huge serpent extended 80 ft. beyond it; whilst his head -and neck reached 40 ft. along the mud in front. - -[Illustration: FIG. 32.–The upper-arm bone or humerus of the great -reptile (Gigantosaurus) of Tendagoroo–compared with that of man and of -an Indian elephant.] - -An important limitation to great size in an animal is, it must be -remembered, often imposed by the nature of the animal's food. Ten -individuals each weighing a hundredweight will more easily pick up -and swallow the amount of food required to nourish ten hundredweight -of the species than will one individual responsible for the whole -bulk, provided that the food is scattered and not ready to the mouth -in unlimited quantity. A creature which has unlimited forest or grass -or seaweed as its food will be at no disadvantage owing to its size. -But a carnivor or a fish-eater or one depending on special fruits and -roots not offered to him by nature in mass has to search for, and -sometimes to hunt, or at any rate to compete with others, for the -scattered and elusive "bits" of food. So it is that we find that the -fruit-eating apes are not very big, and that terrestrial carnivors are -small, though powerful and swift, as compared with cattle, deer, and -vegetarian beasts. Ten carnivors weighing each ten stone will with -their ten mouths "pick up" more prey than one carnivor weighing a -hundred stone and having only one mouth. Even the carnivorous Dinosaurs -such as Megalosaurus and Tyrannosaurus were much smaller than the -vegetarian Iguanodon, Diplodocus, Brontosaurus and Triceratops on -which (or on the like of which) they preyed–just as a tiger is smaller -than a buffalo, and a wolf smaller than a horse. It is owing to causes -of this nature that the life of some animals, and consequently their -growth, is limited in duration. Occasionally the common lobster lives -to a great age, and grows to be more than 2 ft. long. But he is doomed -by his size; the smaller lobsters "go quickly around" and get all -the food (carrion of the sea), and the big fellow has to starve. The -whale-bone whales, it is true, take animal food; but it occurs in the -form of minute sea-slugs and shrimps, which fill the surface waters in -countless millions over hundreds of miles of ocean. Hence the whales of -this kind have only to swim along with their mouths open through an -unlimited supply of luscious food. The size of terrestrial animals is -also, it appears, definitely related to the natural water-supply. There -are very few small quadrupeds in the interior of Africa. On account of -frequent "drought," the mammals have often to run a hundred miles or -more in search of water. Only animals as big as the larger antelopes -and the zebra can cover the ground. The smaller kinds die (and have, in -fact, died out in past ages) in these regions of sudden drought. - -[Illustration: The gigantic reptile Diplodocus on land.] - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[4] The elephant, the thigh-bone of which, measuring nearly 3 ft. in -length, is drawn in Fig. 32, is a large Indian one. This species is -exceeded in size by the African. See "Science from an Easy Chair," -Second series, p. 123.–The largest elephant the bones of which are -known is the Elephas antiquus of the Pleistocene, bigger than either of -the living species and bigger than the mammoth, Elephas primigenius. -The arm-bone (humerus) of one of this species (Elephas antiquus) lately -dug up near Chatham and now in the Natural History Museum, is 4 ft. 3 -in. in length. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -WHAT IS MEANT BY "A SPECIES"? - - -Those who take an interest in natural history must find it necessary -to know what the naturalist means by "a species" of animal or plant. -What does he mean when he says: "This is not the same species as -that," or "This is a species closely allied to this other species," -or "This is a new species"? What are the "species" concerning the -origin of which Darwin propounded his great theory? There is really no -English word which can be exactly used in place of the word "species." -I often have to use the word when writing about plants or animals, -and should like once for all to say what is meant by it. One might -suppose that a "kind" is the same thing as a species. And so it often -is; but, on the other hand, by the word "kind" we often mean a group -including several species. For instance, we say the "cat-kind" or -the "daisy-kind," meaning the "cat-like" animals or the "daisy-like" -plants. The expression "the cat-kind" includes the common cat and the -wild cat, and even leopards, lions, and tigers, each of which is a -species of cat. And by the "daisy-kind" we understand a group including -several species of daisies, such as the common daisy, the ox-eye daisy, -the camomile daisy, the michaelmas daisy, and others. Hence we cannot -translate species simply by the word "kind." "Kind" is the same word -as "kin"–"a little more than kin and less than kind," runs Hamlet's -bitter pun. "Kind" means a group held together by kinship, and it may -be a larger or a smaller group held together by a close kinship or -by a more distant one. "Sort," again, will not serve our purpose as -an English translation of "species." For, although "a sort" implies -a certain selection and similarity of the things included in the -"sort," the amount of similarity implied may be very great or it may be -indefinitely vague and remote. Hence naturalists have to stick to the -word "species," and to use it with a clear definition of what they mean -by it. - -Suppose we get together a large unsorted collection–many hundred -"specimens" or individuals–of the common butterflies of England. Then, -if we look them over, we shall find that we can pick out and arrange -the specimens into definite groups, according to their colour-pattern. -We find that the kinds which we readily distinguish are called in -English the swallow-tails, the whites, the sulphurs, the clouded -yellows, the tortoise-shells, the peacocks, the red admirals, the -painted ladies, the gatekeepers, the meadow browns, the heaths, the -coppers, and the blues. There might be others in such a collection, but -that is enough for our purpose. On examining the specimens closely, we -find that the colour-markings and "venation" or network by which the -wings are marked and the shape of the wings, body, and legs of all the -specimens of the swallow-tails are almost exactly alike, and unlike -those of any of the others. We shall find if we have a dozen or two -specimens that there is a slight difference in the pattern, size, and -colour of wing of some of the swallow-tails, dividing them into two -groups, which we soon ascertain to be the males and females; but this -is so small a difference that we may ignore it. The swallow-tail is -obviously and at once distinguished from any of the other butterflies -in the collection by its colour-pattern and shape. So also with the -others, there will be many specimens in each case agreeing in colour -and pattern, and recognizable and distinguishable from the rest by -the colour-pattern and by the "venation" or "nervures" of the wings. -If we collect butterflies again in other years and in other parts of -the country, we find the same set of shapes and patterns exactly, -corresponding to what we have learnt to call swallow-tails, whites, -sulphurs, clouded yellows, tortoise-shells, etc. There are, we thus -learn, several distinct, unchanging kinds of butterfly, which are -common in this country, and appear every year. Similarly we may go into -a meadow in spring, and gather a number of flowers, and a naturalist -will roughly arrange our bouquet into "kinds"; there will be the -buttercups, the daisies, the clovers, the dead nettles, the poppies, -the roses, the orchids, etc. - -If, now, we look more carefully at our collection of butterflies, -sorted out roughly into kinds or species, we shall find that the -"whites," although holding together by a close similarity in -having merely white wings edged and spotted with black, yet differ -amongst themselves, so that we distinguish a larger kind, the large -garden-white, and a smaller, commoner kind, the smaller garden-white, -and we distinguish also the green-veined white, and possibly the -rare Bath white, each of them differing a little in their spots as -well as their size. These different sorts of "whites" can, once our -attention is drawn to the matter, be readily distinguished from one -another, and constantly are found in our collections. We thus arrive -at the conclusion that, though the whites are much alike, and are a -kind distinct from the other kinds of butterflies, yet the "whites" -themselves can be divided into and arranged as several kinds distinct -from one another. In fact, we discover (and an illustrated book on -butterflies confirms us in the conclusion) that there are several -ultimate kinds of whites which cannot be further separated into -groups. These are what are called "species." The whites are therefore -not a single species, as are our British swallow-tails, but a group of -species, closely related to one another. We find the same thing to be -true with regard to the blues. Though they are much alike, agreeing in -a variety of details of spotting and colour, yet we can distinguish the -chalk-hill blue, the common blue, the azure-blue, the Adonis blue, and -others, as distinct "species" of blues. Then, again, when we carefully -examine our English specimens of tortoise-shells, we find that there -are two distinct "species"–the greater and the smaller–differing not -only in size, but in pattern; and when we compare with these the -painted lady and the peacock and the red admiral, we find that there -is a certain agreement of wing-pattern (venation and outline) and -details of shape among them all, although their tints and the shape of -the spots and bands of colour differ. These different species "hold -together" just as the whites do and just as the blues do. Naturalists -have met the need for expressing this similarity of a number of -distinct species to one another by introducing the term "genus" for -such a group. In fact we arrange several species into a "genus." -The "genus" is a "kind," but a more comprehensive "kind," than is a -species. The species is an assemblage of _individuals_ closely alike to -one another; the genus is a group of _species_ which are more like to -one another than any of them are to other species. - -Naturalists give to every genus a name, and also a name to each species -in the genus. Since we naturalists want to know what butterflies or -other species of animals and plants are found in other countries, and -to be sure that we all (whatever our native language may be) mean the -same thing by a name, Latin names are given to the genera and the -species, and are necessarily used when one wishes to be sure that -one is understood. The greatest trouble is taken to make certain -that the name used is applied only to the original species and the -original genus to which it was applied, for only so can one be sure -that a writer in America or one in Italy or France means the same -thing by a name as we do here in England. This is rendered possible -and is actually brought about by the preparation of catalogues in -which the species are described and figured, especially with regard to -obvious points of detail which are constant, and are called "specific -characters." These are chosen for special description, not haphazard, -but with a view to their being recognized with certainty by those -who study other specimens. Another extremely important proceeding -in connection with this purpose of uniform naming, which involves -vast labour and expense, is the maintenance of great collections of -preserved animals and plants by the State in all civilized countries. -In these collections either the original specimens to which names were -given by recognized describers (called "type-specimens" or "the type") -are preserved, or else specimens which have been compared with those -original described specimens, and authoritatively ascertained to be the -same as the "type." The maintenance of accuracy and agreement in regard -to the names of all the "species" of plants and animals is a big task. -It is now carried out by international councils, in which the skilled -naturalists of the world are represented. Certain principles have been -agreed upon as to the method of determining the priority of one name -over others which have been employed for one and the same species -by naturalists of different countries and at different times, and a -general agreement as to what names are to be used has been arrived -at. It is a matter which has involved a great deal of uncertainty -and dispute, and still causes difficulty. By the exercise of good -sense, and in consequence of the existence of an urgent desire really -to understand one another, there is now every year an increasing -uniformity and agreement among naturalists about the exact name to be -applied to every species of living thing. - -Returning to our collections of butterflies and meadow flowers, we -may take the names of some of the species and genera as an example -of the system of naming in use by scientific naturalists. The common -swallow-tail is assigned to the genus Papilio. Its "specific name" is -"Machaon," given to it by Linnæus, hence it is spoken of as Papilio -Machaon. It is found in various parts of Europe as well as in England. -But in Central Europe (often seen in Switzerland) there is also -another species of swallow-tail, which only occurs as a rare accident -in England. This is the pale swallow-tail, differing, not only by its -paler colour but by definite spots and markings of the wings, from the -English species. Its species name, or "specific name," is "Podalirius," -and so it is known as Papilio Podalirius. Species of Papilio are found -all over the world; more than 500 are known. Our two commonest whites -belong to the genus Pieris–they are called respectively Pieris brassicæ -(the larger) and Pieris rapæ (the smaller). The green-veined white is -Pieris napi. Each of these three is called after the plant, cabbage, -rape, or turnip, on which its caterpillar feeds. The rare Bath white is -Pieris daplidice. Its caterpillar feeds on mignonette. There are dozens -of species in other parts of the world allied to our "whites," which -naturalists have carefully distinguished and characterized by their -marks. - -Several of our most beautiful species of English butterflies which are -much alike have been enrolled in one genus–the genus Vanessa. This -genus includes the great tortoise-shell, called Vanessa polychloros; -the smaller tortoise-shell, Vanessa urticæ; the peacock, Vanessa Io; -the painted lady, Vanessa cardui; the red admiral, Vanessa Atalanta; -and the comma butterfly, Vanessa C-album. There are other European, -Asiatic, and American species of Vanessa. - -In the same way we find with our meadow plants that what we at -first thought was a single kind, "_the_" buttercup really bears a -name applicable to a genus in which are several common species. The -genus is called Ranunculus, and there are several common English -species with yellow flowers, but distinguished from one another by -definite characters. They are Ranunculus acris, Ranunculus flammula, -Ranunculus bulbosus, Ranunculus arvensis, Ranunculus ficaria (the -lesser celandine). And then there is the white-flowered Ranunculus -aquatilis–a common pond plant. Clover, again, is by no means the name -for a single species. The clovers form the genus Trifolium, and in any -English meadow we may come across the white clover, Trifolium repens; -the red clover, Trifolium pratense; the hop clover, Trifolium agrarium: -the strawberry clover, Trifolium fragiferum; the haresfoot clover, -Trifolium arvense. So it is with the plants which at first sight we -distinguish merely as "daisies." There are several distinct genera of -daisies–Aster, Bellis, Chrysanthemum (ox-eye), Anthemis (camomile), and -others, with several distinct species in each genus. - -Enough has been said to show the reader that the mere notion of "kinds" -does not carry the same meaning as "species," but that there are a -number of regularly occurring definite forms of both animals and plants -which can be arranged in groups consisting only of individuals which -are very nearly identical with one another. A group of living things of -this degree of likeness is called "a species," and receives a name. A -less degree of likeness holds together a number of species to form what -we call a genus, and the name of the genus is cited together with the -name of the species when we wish to speak of the species with clearness -and certainty. This system of double names we owe to the great Swedish -naturalist of the eighteenth century, Linnæus. He proposed also that -the relationships of living things to one another should be further -expressed by grouping like genera into "families," then like families -into "orders," and like orders into "classes." And since his day we go -further and group classes into "phyla" or great stems of the animal -pedigree. In this way a complete hierarchy or system of less and more -comprehensive groups has been established, and is the means by which -we indicate the natural groups of the family-trees of plants and of -animals, what, in fact, is called the "classification" of each of these -great series of living things. Linnæus compared his system of groups to -the subdivisions of two armies. Thus, the one army represents the whole -animal series, the other the whole vegetable series. An army is divided -into (1) "legions," these into (2) "divisions," "divisions" into (3) -"regiments," regiments into (4) battalions, and battalions consist of -(5) companies, consisting of individual soldiers. According to Linnæus, -we may compare the legions to classes, which are divided into orders, -comparable to divisions; these into families, comparable to regiments; -these into genera, comparable to battalions; and these into species, -comparable to companies, or ultimate groups of individual units or -soldiers. - -Just as the legions, divisions, regiments, battalions and companies -of an army have each their own name or at any rate a distinctive -numeral assigned to them in order that they may be cited and -directed, so are names given to each class, order, family, genus and -species of the classification or enumeration of the kinds of animals -and plants. Here, for instance, are the names of the greater and -smaller groups in which our common "white" finds itself enrolled. -_Class_–Insects. _Order_–Lepidoptera. _Family_–Pieridæ. _Genus_–Pieris. -_Species_–brassicæ. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -MORE ABOUT SPECIES - - -I wrote in the last chapter of the recognition of that degree of -"likeness" or kinship in animals and plants which we point to by the -word "species," and of the grouping of several similar species to -form a "genus," and of several genera to form a family, of families -to form orders, and of orders to form classes–and of the giving of -names to all these groups. Whilst the making of this or that lot of -species into a distinct _genus_, and giving it a new name is a mere -matter of convenience for the indication of more or less important -agreements and divergences, and is to a large extent arbitrary or an -expression of opinion–it has always been recognized among naturalists -that the group called "a species" is not a mere convention, but has -a real natural limitation. It is true that the actual things which -we see in studying natural history are so many units or individuals. -But the possibility of arranging these by pattern, colour and shape -into ultimate companies of which all the units are alike and differ -from all the units of another company, has been regarded as a natural -fact of primary importance and not a mere convention or convenience. -The conception of the "naturalness" of a species depends really upon -a further qualification of great importance as to what we naturalists -understand by it. - -We find by rearing plants from seed and by causing animals to breed -under actual observation that the individuals of a species pair -with one another, and not with individuals of other species, and -further, that the young which they produce are like the parents–show -themselves, in fact, to be of the same "species." The species -continually year after year reproduces itself with little variation, -though some variation does occur. The faculty of pairing only within -the group, of never naturally breeding with members of other groups, -has accordingly been adopted as a test of species. Hybrids between -two species do not occur, except in very rare cases, in the state of -nature. It is not always the case that the members of two species -cannot possibly pair together, but it is the fact that they do not do -so. Man sometimes brings about such crossing or hybridization, and -it is a curious fact that the hybrids are often infertile or give -rise only to weakly offspring, which could not survive in the natural -struggle for existence. Sometimes, however, when the two hybridized -species happen to come from regions of the world remote from one -another, the resulting hybrids establish a vigorous race. There are -real obstacles (of which I will say more below) in natural conditions -to hybrid-breeding between any two species which occur naturally in -the same territory. Thus the idea of a species is expanded so as to -be not merely "a group of individuals of constant likeness in form -and characteristics," but we add to that definition a living or -constitutional quality expressed by the words, "which produce fertile -offspring by pairing with one another, but do not pair with the members -of other species." - -This enables us to distinguish the conception of a "species" from that -of a "variety" or a "race." We find occasionally peculiarly-marked -examples of a species of plant or animal, or even local races of -peculiar form; but we do not regard them as "distinct species" if -we find that they breed as a rule with the ordinary members of the -species. The decisive test is the breeding. If the variety is found -not to breed with the regular species, but to keep apart and breed -only with other individuals like itself, then we say, "This is no mere -variety! It is a distinct species!" Unfortunately we have vast series -of animals, insects, and others, from all parts of the world, collected -and preserved in our museums, of which we know only the dead preserved -specimens. So that we cannot be sure in doubtful cases whether a series -of forms differing a little from the ordinary members of a species -indicate distinct species, as defined and tested by breeding. We have -in such a case to note the difference, and record it either as a -variety or as a species by a guess at the probabilities one way or the -other. Naturalists really _intend_ by the word "species" to designate -a form represented by numerous like individuals, which, in the -present natural conditions of the region they inhabit, have attained -a certain "stability" of distinctive form and character (not without -some variability within definite limits) and constitute a more or less -widely distributed population, the members of which inter-breed but do -not produce offspring with other allied species. - -A good case by which to exhibit further our conception of a species is -that afforded by the species which are united in the genus Equus–the -horse-genus. There are living at the present day several wild kinds -of Equus–namely, the wild horse, or Tarpan, of the Gobi desert of -Mongolia, called after the Russian explorer Przewalski; two kinds of -Asiatic wild ass, called the Kiang and the Onegar; the African wild -ass, and two or three kinds of zebra. There are, besides, many kinds -of domesticated horses, ranging from the Shetland pony to the Flemish -dray horse, and from the Shire horse to the Arab. Then there are many -kinds of fossil extinct horses known, some of which clearly must be -placed in the genus Equus with the living kinds; others which have to -be separated into special genera (Hippidium, Onohippidium, etc.). Now, -as to the living forms or form-kinds of the genus Equus–which are we -to regard as true species, and which are only varieties and races of -lower significance than species? The answer is clear enough in regard -to several of them. The wild Mongolian horse and all the domesticated -horses are varieties, races, or breeds of one species, judged not only -by such marks as the possession of callosities on both the hind and -the fore legs, but also by the test of breeding. They breed together -and produce persisting races. But the asses and the zebras, though -they will form mules with the horse, do not in a state of nature -freely breed with it. When an ass or zebra is mated by man with the -horse it will produce hybrids, called "Mules," but will not in "a -state of nature" _establish_ a hybrid race. The asses and the zebras -are distinct from the horse, not only in markings and certain details -of shape and hair, but in the fact that they cannot be fused into one -race with him. There are no sufficient experiments on the aloofness -of zebras and asses from one another in regard to breeding, although -it seems that they cannot establish a mixed race, and are, therefore, -distinct species judged by that test as well as by their form and -marking. It is not known whether the so-called species of wild ass–the -Asiatic and the African–would prove to produce fertile or infertile -mules if intercrossed, nor has the test been applied to the very -differently-marked local races of the African zebras–Grevy's zebra, -Burchell's zebra, and the mountain zebra. It is likely enough that the -three or more "species" distinguished among zebras on account of their -being differently striped, and existing in different localities, would -be found to breed freely together, and prove themselves thus to be -entitled to be regarded as local "varieties" or "races," but not as -fully-separated true species. - -Thus one sees how difficult it is to have knowledge of the breeding -test, even in regard to large animals. It is obvious that the -difficulty of obtaining it in regard to the thousands of kinds of -minute creatures is much greater. Yet when they say, "This is a -distinct species," naturalists do mean that it is not only marked -off from other animals or plants most like to it by a certain shape, -colour, or other quality or qualities, but that it breeds apart with -its own kind and does not naturally hybridize with those other forms -most like to it. - -Although the kind of naturalist called a "systematist" who makes -it his business to accurately describe and record and distinguish -from one another all the existing species of some one group–say, of -antelopes, of mice, of flowering plants, of fishes, or of fleas–has -only a knowledge in a few instances of the breeding of the organisms -which he describes as "distinct species," he yet does know, in regard -to some one or more of his species in most groups, the facts of pairing -and reproduction, and what are the limits of variation in the markings -and other characteristics of at least one or two species definitely -submitted to the "breeding test," that is to say, ascertained to be -"true physiological species," kept apart by deep-seated chemical -differences in their blood and tissues. Hence it is legitimate for -him, by careful balancing and consideration of all the facts, to -determine–not absolutely, but by analogy–the value to be assigned -(whether as indicating true species or merely varieties capable -of pairing with the main stock) to points of difference among the -specimens of a dead collection brought from some distant land or from -some position in which it would be impossible to make observations -with regard to "pairing" and "breeding true." - -Some 400 species of fleas have been described, and we are certain as -to the value of the characters relied on to distinguish those species, -owing to what we know of the breeding of some common species of fleas. -The flea of the domestic fowl, that of the domestic pigeon, that from -the house-martin, and that from the sand-martin–used to be considered -as one species until they were carefully examined twenty years ago. In -reality each of them has its own peculiar "marks," and they do not mix -with one another. The nests of the sand-martin yield only one species -of flea, namely that peculiar to the sand-martin. The hen-house, -the dove-cote, and the nests of the house-martin yield each their -flea maggots, which can be reared and become in each case a distinct -species with definite recognizable "characters." On the other hand, -the flea of the rabbit gives an opportunity of studying the limits of -variation in a "good" species. Rabbit warrens swarm with the rabbit -flea, and often a great number are found on one rabbit, the individual -fleas "varying"–"differing" from one another to a slight extent. The -"systematist" thus gets to know what organs are variable within the -limits of an undoubted physiological species of flea, and what are -comparatively constant–so that he can form a reasonable opinion about -the claim of other specimens which he may receive without full history -of their habits, to be regarded as true distinct species. - -The fact that most important chemical differences of the blood and -digestive juices often accompany the small external differences -which enable us to distinguish one species of animal or plant from -another, makes it obvious that the knowledge of species is a very -valuable and necessary thing. One species of flea, the Pulex Cheopis, -habitually carries the plague bacillus from animals to man, and is -a cause of death; other species, extremely like it in appearance, -but distinguishable by a trained observer, do not carry the plague -bacillus, but if they swallow it, destroy it by digestion. One species -of gnat, the common grey gnat, digests and destroys malaria germs when -it sucks them up with blood; in an allied species, the spot-winged gnat -or Anopheles, the chemical juices of the gut allow the germ to live in -it and multiply, and so to be carried to men by the gnat's bite. So -with many other flies and parasites the recognition of the dangerous -species is of vital importance, and that recognition often depends on -minute features of form and colour not at once obvious to an ordinary -observer. - -But this recognition of distinct species is, from the point of view of -the study of Nature, only a preliminary to the question, "How did these -species come about? How is it that there are so many species, some very -like one another, forming genera, and these genera grouped into related -families, these into larger groups, and so on, like the branches of -a family tree?" The answer to these questions given by Linnæus was: -"There are just so many species as the Infinite Being created at the -beginning of things, and they have continued to propagate themselves -unchanged ever since." The answer which we give to-day is that the -appearance of a huge family tree which our classification of animals -takes is due to the simple fact that it really is neither more nor less -than a family tree or pedigree–the "tree of life," of which the green -leaves and buds are the existing species. Further, we hold that the -existing species of a genus have "come into existence" by natural birth -from one ancestral species, its offspring having slightly varied (we -are all familiar with this individual variation in our own species, in -dogs, cats, trees, and shrubs), and that the varieties have wandered -apart and become continuously emphasized and selected for survival by -their fitness or suitability to the changed conditions around each of -them. Meanwhile a natural destruction, or failure of intermediate forms -to survive, has gone on. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -SPECIES IN THE MAKING - - -A series of important conceptions are implied in the word "species," as -used by naturalists. Some of these we have noted in the last chapter. -There is first, as a starting-point, the conception that a species -is a number or company of individuals, all closely and clearly alike -(though presenting some minor individual variations), and capable of -sharp separation by certain "characters" from other similar groups or -companies. Then follows the addition (2) that the species is constant -if the conditions of life are not changed, or but little changed, and -that year after year it reproduces itself without change. It has a -certain stability (but not permanent immutability) greater in some -species than in others. Next we find (3) that the species constitutes -a group of individuals which have descended by natural breeding from -common parents, not differing greatly from the present individuals. -They are, in fact, one "stock." Then (4) that the species is a group, -the individuals of which pair with one another in breeding, but do not -pair with the individuals of another species, and that this is due to -various peculiar and inherent chemical, physiological and (in higher -animals) psychological characteristics of the species. - -We have now further to note that species have their special -geographical _centres of origin_ from which most spread only a small -distance, whilst others have a wonderful power of dispersal, and -have become cosmopolitan. Moreover, we find that some species are -numerically very abundant, others very rare; that rare and abundant -species have often invaded each other's territory, and exist side by -side. - -Whilst we often find a number of species, fifty or more, so much alike -that we unite them in a single genus (as, for instance, in the case -of the cats, lions, tigers, leopards, which form the genus "Felis," -and the hundred or more species of the hedge brambles or blackberries, -which form the genus "Rubus"), there are many species which to-day -have, as it were, lost all their relatives and stand alone, the -solitary species in a well-marked genus, or have perhaps only one -other living co-species. And sometimes (curiously enough) that one -co-species is an inhabitant of a region very remote from that inhabited -by the other. Thus the two living mammals called tapirs (genus Tapirus) -inhabit, the one the Malay region, and the other Central America. This -is explained by the fact that tapirs formerly existed all over the -land-surfaces of North Europe, North Asia, and North America, which -connect these widely-separate spots. We find the bones and teeth of -the extinct tapirs embedded in the Tertiary deposits of the connecting -regions. - -Once we have gained the fundamental conceptions as to what is meant by -a "species," we are able intelligently to consider innumerable facts -of the most diverse kind as to their peculiar structure and colours, -their number, localities, their interaction and dependence on other -living things, their modifications for special modes of life, their -isolation or their ubiquity. We can discuss their genetic relations -to one another, and to extinct fossil species, which have all been to -a very large extent "accounted for" or "explained" by Mr. Darwin's -theory of the origin of species by the natural selection of favoured -races in the struggle for existence. But there is always more to be -made out–difficulties to be removed, new instances to be studied. The -classification of the genera of plants and animals, with their included -species into larger groups, helps us to state and to remember their -actual build and structure, and to survey, as it were, the living -world, from the animalcule to the man, or from the microbe to the -magnolia tree. Every one interested in natural history should carry -in his mind as complete a scheme of the classification of animals and -plants as possible. - -The older naturalists held that species were suddenly "created" as -they exist, and have propagated their like ever since. Darwin has -taught us that the present "species" have developed by a slow process -of transformation from preceding species, and these from other -predecessors, and so on to the remotest geologic ages and the dawn -of life. The agents at work have been "variation"–that is to say, -the response to the never-ceasing variation of the surrounding world -or environment–and the survival in the struggle for existence of the -fittest varieties so produced. - -There is nothing surprising or extraordinary in the existence of -variation. The conditions of life and growth are never absolutely -identical in two individuals, and the wonder is not that species vary, -but that they vary so little. The living substance of animals and -plants is an extremely complex chemical substance, ever decomposing and -ever being renewed. It is the most "labile" as it is by far the most -elaborately built-up chemical body which chemists have ever ventured to -imagine. It differs, chemically, not only in every species but in every -individual and is incessantly acted upon–influenced as we may say–by -the ever-changing physical and chemical conditions around it. At the -same time it has, subject to the permanence of essential conditions, -a definite stability and limitation to its change or variation in -response to variations of its environment. That part of the living -substance which in all but the lowest plants and animals is set aside -during growth to form the eggs and sperms by which they multiply or -"reproduce" themselves, is called the "germ-plasm," and is peculiarly -sensitive to variations in (that is a _change_ in) the environment of -the plant or animal. - -New conditions of life (locality and climate)–unusual food or -reproductive activity–act often in a powerful way upon the germ-plasm -and cause it to vary–that is to say, they alter some of its qualities, -though not necessarily disturbing in any way the general living -substance of the organism so far as to produce any important change -perceptible to the human eye. In consequence, the young produced after -such disturbance of the germ-plasm are found to differ more from their -parents than in cases where no such disturbance has been set up by the -natural never-ceasing variation of the surrounding world. This fact -is well known to horticulturists and breeders, and is made use of by -them. When a gardener wishes to obtain variations of a plant from which -to select and establish a new breed, he deliberately sets to work to -disturb–to shake up, to act upon in a tentative, experimental way–the -germ-plasm of one or more parent plants by change of soil, climate, -food and often by cross-fertilizing them with another breed or variety. -In this way he to some extent "breaks" the constitutional stability of -the germ-plasm of the plant and obtains abundant "variations" in the -offspring. These are not precisely foreseen, and show themselves in all -parts of the new generation. But some of them are what the gardener -wants, and are "selected" by him for retention, rearing and breeding. - -The response of the germ-plasm of organisms to the stimulus of new -environmental conditions has been compared to that of the well-known -pattern-producing toy–the kaleidoscope. The bits of glass, beads and -silk which you see in a kaleidoscope, forming by reflection in its -mirrors a beautiful and definite pattern, are changed by a simple -vibration caused by tapping the instrument into a very different -pattern, the coloured fragments being displaced and rearranged. The -apparent change or variation is very great though produced by slight -mechanical disturbance, and the new pattern is altogether without any -special significance–the fortuitous outcome of a small displacement -of the constituent coloured fragments. We can imagine that similarly -slight disturbances of the organic molecules of the germ-plasm may -produce considerable and important variations in it and the new growth -to which it gives rise: and, further, that these variations may prove -to be either (1) injurious, or (2) of life-saving value, or often -enough (3) of no consequence whatever although bulking largely in our -human eyes and thereby misleading our judgment of them. - -There is no reason to doubt that the same sequence of events occurs -in nature apart from man's interference. Changes occur in the earth's -surface, or the organism is transported by currents of water or -air into new conditions. The germ-plasm is "disturbed," "shaken" -or "shocked" by those new conditions, and a variation, in several -structures and qualities of the offspring subsequently produced, -follows. Then also follows the selection of one of the new varieties by -survival of the fitter to the new conditions into which the organism -has been transported or have developed in the region where it was -previously established. - -This process of germ-variation is obviously as necessary and constant -a feature of the living organism as is the variation in the contour -of land and sea and in the extent of the polar ice-cap–a necessary -feature of the physical conditions of the terrestrial globe. But it -is the fashion with a certain school of writers nowadays to declare -that "variation" in organisms is a "mystery" unsolved. Another very -common and almost universal error is to overlook the fact that -variation is constitutional and affects whole systems of organs and -their deeply related parts, and is _not_, as it is so frequently and -erroneously assumed to be, a mere local affair of patches and scraps -visible on this or that part of the surface of an animal or plant. -These superficial "marks," readily seen and noted by the collector, -are rarely of any life-saving importance: they are but the outward and -visible signs of deep-lying physiological or constitutional change or -variation. The varying organism has, like Hamlet, "that within which -passeth show" and the superficial variations (like his "inky cloak" -and other customary features of mourning) are but "the trappings and -the suits" of a deep-lying change. Variation is not an inexplicable -mystery, nor, on the other hand, are "varieties" sufficiently dealt -with and their nature appreciated when one or two surface peculiarities -are enumerated by which the collector can recognize them. A deeper -study of the varying organism is both possible and needed. - -If the gradual formation of new species from ancestral species is a -true account of the matter, we must expect to find, at any rate here -and there, if not frequently, traces of the process–for instance, -gradations, or series of intermediate forms, connecting new, -well-established species with the ancestral form or with one another. -We do find such gradations–sometimes more, sometimes less, completely -persisting over a wide tract of country, or discoverable in the -fossiliferous deposits containing the remains of extinct animals. - -For instance, when we look at the butterflies of a much larger region -than our little island–namely, at those of a great continent like -Africa or South America–we find that there are species which show -gradations. Thus at a series of points, A, B, C, D, separated by some -hundreds of miles from each other, we find a corresponding series of -butterflies which are apparently closely similar species of one genus, -differing by a few spots of colour, or darker and lighter tint, much -as our Large White, Garden White, and Green-veined White differ. But -when the butterflies are caught which occur at points intermediate -between A and B, B and C, C and D, we find intermediate varieties, and, -in fact, if we get a very large number from intermediate regions, we -can, in some instances, arrange them in line so that they constitute -a graduated series of forms, each being scarcely distinguishable from -the one before or the one behind it, yet differing clearly from one a -dozen places away. In such cases there is often evidence to show that -the variety found at A breeds with that found at B, that of B with that -of C, of C with D, so that they form an inter-breeding group, though -perhaps the varieties at D will not pair with those at A, or even -with those at B. Then sometimes we find in such a series, otherwise -complete, a gap. Let us suppose it is between the butterflies of B and -C. We find the series of gradations nearly complete, but some natural -condition–such as the encroachment of the sea, or the slow elevation -of a mountain range, or the climatic destruction of the necessary -food-plant–has "wiped out" a few forms somewhere between those of B -and C. They no longer exist. The series is no longer connected by -inter-breeding forms; those occurring from A to B and some distance -beyond are one "species" varying in the direction of the series C -to D, but abruptly broken off from the latter. The series C to D is -also a "species" with graduated varieties, but distinct; it is cut -off from the lot once in continuity with it by the destruction of -the intermediate forms inhabiting an intermediate area. Thus the one -species becomes two, and these may again break up, and, having become -thus disconnected and stabilized, they may spread over one another's -territory–fly side by side and yet remain distinct forms which do not -pair together–although originally they were varieties spreading from a -common centre, where the ancestral species lived and multiplied. - -Other similar gradational series of an interesting character have -been noticed in the case of fresh-water fossil snail-shells. In the -layers of clay and marl exposed by digging a railway cutting or a -pit we may find that the successive layers represent a continuous -deposit of 100,000 years or more, and we find sometimes that a form of -snail-shell (not a species living to-day) occurs in the lowest stratum -very different from that occurring in the highest stratum–the lowest -being short and spherical, the highest elongated and of differing -texture. In the intermediate layers, each 6 or 12 ins. thick and -occupying perhaps altogether 30 ft. of vertical thickness, we find a -graduated series of snail-shells leading almost imperceptibly from -the oldest lowest form to the latest uppermost form. Such cases are -known. But it is an exceptional thing to find these graduated series -either spread over an area of the earth's surface, or following one -another in successive strata. When they came into existence they were -rapidly superseded and destroyed as a rule, and have left only one -or two widely-separated examples of the intermediate forms. This we -should naturally expect by analogy from what we know of the successive -traces of human manufactures in the deposits on the site of some of the -great cities of the ancient world which have been carefully excavated -layer by layer. But still we have the important fact that here and -there such gradational series have been found, and we are justified -in considering a few isolated intermediate forms (which often occur -connecting two greatly-differing species) as survivors of a former -complete graduated series of intermediate forms, which came into -existence by slow modification of an ancestral stock, and may, when -the stock was widely spread over a continental area, not merely have -succeeded one another in time, but actually coexisted in neighbouring -regions. - -There are many remarkable facts bearing upon the origin of "species," -the description of which fills volumes written by such men as Darwin, -Wallace, Poulton, and others, and become interesting to every one who -has gained a correct notion of what naturalists mean by a "species." I -will cite one in order to illustrate this. The bird which we call the -red grouse, or nowadays simply "grouse" (the old Scotch name for it -was "muir-fowl"), is one of twenty-four birds (among the 400 species -of birds which live in the British Islands), including several kinds -of titmouse, the goldfinch, bullfinch, song-thrush, stonechat, jay, -dipper, and others which are very closely similar to species of birds -living in Continental Europe, yet show some definite and constant -marks, such as small differences in the colour of a group of feathers, -enabling us to distinguish the British from the Continental forms. Are -these twenty-four British forms to be regarded as distinct species? - -The red grouse is placed in a genus called "Lagopus," of which there -are several species in the northern hemisphere. In Scotland the red -grouse, which is distinguished as Lagopus Scoticus, is accompanied by -a rarer species of Lagopus, which lives in high, bare regions. This is -the bird called by the Celtic name "ptarmigan"; it differs in several -points from the red grouse, and acquires white plumage in the winter, -which the latter bird does not; it is called Lagopus mutus. Now in -Norway we find also two species of grouse or Lagopus, called "rypé" -(pronounced "reeper") by the Norwegians. One is the same bird in every -respect as the Scotch ptarmigan, and is known as "the mountain rypé." -The other is very close to our red grouse, and is called "the common -or bush rypé," and by English naturalists the "willow grouse," and -by ornithologists "Lagopus salicetus." It agrees in habits, voice, -eggs, and anatomical detail with our red grouse, but the back of the -cock-bird of the red grouse and the whole plumage of the hen-bird -have a darker colour. Moreover, the willow grouse, like the ptarmigan -or mountain rypé, turns white–acquires a white plumage–in the winter -which the red grouse does not. Are the red grouse and the willow grouse -to be regarded as distinct species? Our British red grouse lives on -heather-grown moors; the willow grouse prefers the shrubby growths of -berry-bearing plants interspersed with willows, whence its name. Their -food differs accordingly. Formerly the red grouse lived on the moors -of the South of England, and when in Pleistocene times England was a -part of the Continent of Europe the willow grouse and the red grouse -were one undivided species inhabiting all the north-west of Europe. It -is probable, though the experiment would be almost impossible to carry -out, that were the eggs of a number of willow grouse now brought to -Scotland and hatched on the moors, they would tend to keep apart from -the native red grouse, and not inter-breed with them, in which case we -should say that the Scotch form is a "species on the make," or, even, -a completed and distinct species. On the other hand, it is possible -that the two forms would freely pair with another, and that the colour -and winter coat of the one (probably that of the Scotch form if the -experiment were tried in Scotland) would predominate, and after some -generations no trace of the other strain would be observable. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -SOME SPECIFIC CHARACTERS - - -An interesting case, showing that qualities which are life-preserving -under certain severe conditions exist in some varieties of a species -and not in others, was recorded some eight years ago. After a very -severe "blizzard" 136 common sparrows were found benumbed on the ground -by Professor Bumpus at Providence, United States. They were brought -into a warm room and laid on the floor. After a short time seventy-two -revived and sixty-four perished. They were compared to see if the -survivors were distinguished by any measurable character from those -which died. It was found that the survivors were smaller birds (the -sexes and young birds being separately compared) than those which died, -and were lighter in weight by one-twenty-fifth than the latter. Also, -the birds which survived had a decidedly longer breastbone than those -which died. - -Similarly, the late Professor Weldon found that in the young of the -common shore-crab, taken in certain parts of Plymouth harbour, those -with a little peculiarity in the shape of the front of the shell -survived when those without this peculiarity died. Many thousands were -collected and measured in this experiment. It is not necessary to -suppose that the distinguishing mark of the survivors in such cases -is "the cause" of their survival. Such marks as the breadth of the -front part of the crab's shell and the length of a bird's breastbone -very probably are but "the outward and visible signs of an inward and -(physiological) grace." - -The marks, little peculiarities of colour and proportionate size, -or some peculiar knob or horn, by which the student of species -distinguishes one constant form from another, can rarely, if ever, be -shown to have in themselves an active value in aiding or saving the -life of the species of plant or animal. The mark or "character" is an -accompaniment of a chemical, nutritional, physiological condition, -and is in itself of no account. It is what is called "a correlated -character." Such, for instance, is the black colour of the skin -of pigs which in Virginia, U.S., are found, as stated by Darwin, -not to be poisoned by a marsh plant ("the paint-root," Lachnanthes -tinctoria), whilst all other coloured and colourless pigs are. The pigs -which are not black develop a disease of their hoofs which rot and -fall off, causing their death when they eat this special plant "the -paint-root." The colour does not save the pig–it cannot correctly be -called the _cause_ of the pig's survival–but is an accompaniment of the -physiological quality which enables the pig to resist the poisonous -herb. So, too, with white-spotted animals. They are known to breeders -as being liable to diseases from which others are free. Fantail pigeons -have extra vertebræ in their tails, and pouter pigeons have their -vertebræ increased in number and size. But the vertebræ were never -thought of and "selected" by the breeders. They only wanted a fanlike -set of tail feathers in the one case, and a longer body in the other. -Some varieties of feathering maintained by pigeon breeders lead to the -growth of abundant feathers on the legs (as in Cochin-China fowls), and -it is found that these feather-legged pigeons always have the two outer -toes connected by a web of skin. If it were a stabilized wild form we -should separate it as a species on account of its webbed toes, yet the -real selection and survival in the hands of the breeder had nothing to -do with the toes or their web, but was simply "caused" by these pigeons -having feathers of "survival or selection value" in his judgment. Male -white cats with blue eyes are deaf. If deafness were ever an advantage -(a difficult thing to imagine), you would get a species of cat with -white hair and blue eyes, and be led to distinguish the species by -those characters, not by the real cause of survival, namely, deafness. -Not enough is yet known of this curious and very important subject -of correlation, but its bearing on the significance of "specific -characters" is sufficiently indicated by what I have said. - -An interesting group of species, three of which are to be purchased -alive through London fishmongers, are the European crayfishes, not to -be confused with the rock-lobster or Langouste (Palinurus), sometimes -called "crawfish" in London, nor with the Dublin prawn (Nephrops). -The little river crayfishes are like small lobsters, and were placed -by older naturalists in one genus with the lobsters. Now we keep the -European species of crayfishes as the genus Astacus, and the common -lobster and the American lobster have been put (by H. Milne-Edwards) -into a separate genus (Homarus). You can buy in London the "écrevisses -à pattes rouges" of French and German rivers, which is called Astacus -fluviatilis, and differs from that of the Thames and other English and -European rivers (which you can also buy) called A. pallipes ("pattes -blanches" of the French), by the bright orange-red tips of its legs, -and by having the side teeth of the horn or beak at the front of the -head larger and more distinct. The English crayfish grows to be nearly -as large as the "pattes rouges" in the Avon at Salisbury, though it has -nearly disappeared about Oxford. You can also sometimes buy in London -the big, long-clawed Astacus leptodactylus of East Europe. There are -two or three other species, named and distinguished, which do not come -into the London market. - -Crayfishes, lobsters and the like have groups of plume-like gills -(corresponding in the most ancient forms to the number of the legs -and jaw-legs) overhung and hidden by the sides of the great shield or -"head" of the animal. The common lobsters and crayfishes retain most -of these in full size and activity, but have lost in the course of -geologic ages the original complete number. These plume-like gills–each -half an inch or so in length–are attached, some to the bases of the -legs and some to the sides of the body above the legs. In the ancestral -form there were thirty-two plumes on each side, twenty-four attached -to the bases of the legs, and eight placed each at some distance above -the connection of one of the eight legs with the side of the body. It -is those on the side of the body which have suffered most diminution -in the course of the development of modern crayfishes (and lobsters) -from the ancestral form provided with the full equipment of thirty-two -gill-plumes on each side. In fact, only one _well-grown_ gill-plume, -out of the eight which should exist on each side of the body-wall, -is to be found–and that is the one placed above the insertion of the -hindermost or eighth of the eight legs (eight when we reckon the -three jaw-legs as "legs" as well as the five walking-legs). In front -of this the side or wall of the body is bare of gill-plumes though -they are present in full size on the basal part of most of the legs. -Nevertheless, when one examines carefully with a lens the bare side -of the body overhung by the head-shield or "carapace," one finds in a -specimen of the common English "pale-footed crayfish" a very minute -gill-plume high above the articulation of the seventh leg and another -above the articulation of the sixth leg. They are small dwindled -things, as though on the way to extinction, and are the mere vestiges -of what were once well-grown gill-plumes, and still are so in the rock -lobster and some prawns. In the red-footed crayfish of the Continent -(Astacus fluviatilis) yet another minute vestige of a gill-plume is -found, farther in front, on the body-wall above the fifth leg on -each side of the animal. This furnishes a definite mark or character -by which we can distinguish the red-footed crayfish from the common -English pale-footed one. But these three rudimentary gill-plumes in the -red-foot species, and two in the pale-foot species are all that until -lately were recorded. The region of the body-wall above the fourth, -third, second, and first of the legs was declared to be devoid even of -a vestige of the branchial plumes which were there in ancestral forms, -and have been retained more or less in some exceptional prawn-like -creatures allied to the crayfish. - -Zoologists take a special interest in the crayfish because it is found -to be a most convenient type for the purpose of teaching the principles -of zoology to young students, and with that end in view was made the -subject of a very beautiful little book by the great teacher Huxley. -The conclusions above stated in regard to the gills are set forth in -that book with admirable illustrative drawings, and the striking fact -of the dwindling and suppression of the various gill-plumes is clearly -explained. - -[Illustration: FIG. 33.–The rudimentary gill-plume of a crayfish -from that part of the body-wall to which the first pair of jaw-legs -(maxillipedes) is articulated. Found in the red-footed crayfish -(Astacus fluviatilis) but in no other species of Astacus. It is -one-fifteenth of an inch long. Drawn by Miss Margery Moseley in 1904. -("Quart. Journal of Microscopical Science," vol. 26 (1904-5).)] - -And now we come to an interesting discovery in this matter of the -gill-plumes of crayfishes. Some fifteen years ago the daughter of my -friend and colleague–Professor Moseley–was a member of the class of -Elementary Biology at Oxford. She had to examine and identify these -and other points in the structure of the crayfish. The class was -supplied with specimens of the French red-footed crayfish "Astacus -fluviatilis," as it is more readily obtained from fishmongers than -our own "pale-foot" or "Astacus pallipes." She found in her specimen -far forward on each side of the "head" a very minute gill far away -from the others and previously unknown. The demonstrator in charge of -the class refused even to look at her discovery. So she confirmed it -by examining three other specimens–made drawings of the tiny branched -gill (as shown in Fig. 33) and their position, and sent them to me -in London. It was at once clear that she had discovered in this much -studied little animal a very interesting pair of gills (right and -left)–unknown to Huxley and the rest of the zoological world. She -proceeded to examine specimens of A. fluviatilis from various rivers of -Germany and France and always found the new gill-plume. She also showed -(I supplied her with specimens at the Natural History Museum) that it -was, on the other hand, absent from A. leptodactylus, A. pallipes, -and all the foreign species (some from Asia) which are known, and she -published an illustrated account of it in the "Quarterly Journal of -Microscopical Science." This tiny gill-plume is placed very far forward -on each side of the body, the farthest point forward at which any -gill-plume is found in any kind of prawn, shrimp or lobster, namely -in the region where the first pair of jaw-legs is attached, so that -there are three empty spaces between it and the rudimentary gill over -the fifth pair of legs, already known in the red-footed crayfish. It -is only two millimetres long–about one-fifteenth of an inch! But its -presence serves very distinctly to separate the red-footed crayfish, -Astacus fluviatilis of French and German rivers, thus discovered -to have four pairs of rudimentary gill-plumes, from the Astacus -leptodactylus of the Danube basin and East Europe, which has only three -pairs, and still more to emphasize the difference between it and our -British species, the "white-foot" or Astacus pallipes, which has only -two! - -This little history is noteworthy, firstly, because it shows that a -young student may, to use an appropriate term, "wipe the eye" of an -expert observer and rightly venerated teacher (who would have delighted -in the little discovery had he been alive), as well as the eyes of -tens of thousands of students and teachers (including myself) who have -studied the red-foot crayfish year after year, and missed the little -gill. It is also interesting as showing us a good sample of a specific -mark or character which has no survival value; that is, could not -advantage the crayfish in the struggle for life. The fact is, that this -one particular very minute forward pair of gill-plumes is like the -other rudimentary gills–a survival in a reduced condition of a pair of -gill-plumes which were well-grown, useful plumes aerating the blood, -in the prawn-like ancestors of all crayfishes, lobsters, shrimps, and -prawns, and is, owing to circumstances of nutrition and growth which we -know nothing about but can vaguely imagine, retained by the red-foot -species of crayfish, but lost by all other crayfishes, lobsters, -common prawns and shrimps, and, in fact, only retained besides by a -very few out-of-the-way kinds of marine prawns. That is the sort of -thing which frequently has to serve as "a specific character" or mark, -distinguishing one "species" from another. - -A more ample discussion of the origin of species is not within the -scope of this book. But I may say that until recently the conception -that _every_ organ, part and feature of a plant and animal _must_ -be explained, and can _only_ be explained, as being of life-saving -value to its possessor, and accordingly "selected" and preserved in -the struggle for existence, was held by many "Darwinians" in too -uncompromising a spirit. This conception was, really from the first, -qualified by the admission that the life-saving value and consequent -preservation of a structure must undoubtedly in some cases have been -in operation in ancestors of the existing species, and is no longer -operative in their descendants although they inherit the structure -which has now become useless. Moreover, the operation of those subtle -laws of nutrition and of form which are spoken of as the "correlation -of parts in growth and in variation" (mentioned on p. 119) was pointed -out by Darwin himself as probably accounting for many remarkable -growths, structures and colour-marks which we cannot imagine to be -now, or ever to have been in past ancestry, of a life-saving value. -Nevertheless, the old "teleology," according to which, in pre-Darwinian -days, it was held that every part and feature of an animal or plant has -been specially created to fulfil a definite pre-ordained function or -useful purpose, still influenced the minds of many naturalists. Natural -selection and survival of the fittest were reconciled with the old -teleological scheme, and it was held that we must as good Darwinians -account for every structure and distinctive feature in every animal and -plant as due to its life-saving value. Herbert Spencer's term, "the -survival of the _fittest_," conduced to the diffusion of this extreme -view: Darwin's equivalent term, "the preservation of _favoured_ races," -did not raise the question of greater or less fitness. - -The extreme view is now, however, giving place to the recognition -of the fact that the actual tendencies to variation–accumulated in -the living substance of the various stocks or lines of descent and -handed on during an immense succession of ages of change by hereditary -transmission–counts for more in the production of new species and -strange, divergent, even grotesque forms of both animals and plants -than had been supposed. - -Undoubtedly selection or survival of the fittest mainly accounts for -the colouring and adaptive shaping of living things, and so for those -several great types of modelling which arrest the eye and have excited -the interest of inquisitive man. But there seems to be no justification -for the assumption that in all cases a variation–that is to say, an -increase or a diminution of the volume of some existing structure in -proportion to other coexisting structures in the body of a living plant -or animal–must be _either_ favourable, that is, conducive to survival, -_or_ injurious, that is, tending to the defeat and destruction of its -possessors or their race. On the contrary, it is the fact that there -are vast areas and conditions related to countless myriads of living -creatures in which variations of those creatures of large and imposing -kind and degree are neither advantageous nor disadvantageous, but -matters of _absolute indifference_, that is to say, without any effect -upon the preservation or survival of their race or stock. Nature is -far more tolerant than some of us were inclined to assume. In certain -restricted conditions of competition and in regard to some special -structures and components which are often so minute and obscure as -to be not yet detected by that recent arrival, the investigating -biologist–though sometimes, fortunately for him, large enough to -jump to his eyes–it is undeniable that there must be a "survival" or -"favouring" of individuals presenting a variation in increase, or it -may be decreased, of this or that special feature of its "make-up" or -structural components. But it is a more correct statement of the case -to say that natural selection or survival preserves _not the fittest_, -but _the least fit possible_ under the circumstances–namely, all those -which, however great their divagations and eccentricities of variation -in other respects, yet at the same time attain to a minimum standard -of qualification in those structures (or inner chemical qualities) -essential for success in the competition for safety, food and mating -determined by the particular conditions in which the competition is -taking place. Consequently forms which are meaningless so far as -standards of utility or "life-saving" are concerned, and are rightly -described as grotesque, monstrous, gigantic or dwarfed–excessive (as -compared with more familiar kinds) in hypertrophy or atrophy of their -colouring and clothing, or of out-growths such as leaves of plants and -limbs, jaws or other regions of the body of animals–are found existing -in various degrees of eccentricity in every class of both plants and -animals. Among animals such tolerated "exuberances of non-significant -growth" are more striking than in plants. The group of fishes seems -to be especially privileged in this way. They are freely variable in -the position of the fins, the suppression or exaggeration of them, as -well as of the scales on the surface of the body (_e.g._ leather carp -and mirror carp). Take, for example, the mackerel and the salmon as -standards of utilitarian adaptation of the body to an active life in -sea or river, and then compare with theirs the astounding proportions -of the sun-fish (Orthagoriscus) like a cherub "all head and no body," -or the almost incredible Pteraclis–with its little body framed -immovably between a huge dorsal and a huge ventral fin (see figures -on p. 130). The fin-like crest of enormous size on the back of the -great extinct lizard Dimetrodon of the Permian age supported by long -bony spines is a similarly excessive and useless outgrowth. (This -astonishing creature is shown in our Frontispiece.) Such exuberant -products may be ascribed to an unrestrained "momentum" of growth -which once set going by fortuitous variation has been _tolerated_ -but not _favoured_ by natural selection. Or (as supposed by some) -their excessive development may be due to the _persistence_ of some -nutritional condition which at first resulted in a moderate growth of -the fin-like crests in question as a serviceable structure, but has -persisted and increased long after the fin or crest has attained a -sufficient size–simply because its increase though of no life-saving -value–yet was not harmful and so did not bring its owner under the -guillotine of natural selection. Such disproportionate exuberance of -growth due to innate variability, tolerated but not specially favoured -by natural selection, will account for many strange and grotesque forms -of living things. From time to time in the long process of change, such -exuberances may suddenly become of service and be, so to speak, taken -in hand by natural selection, or they may become dangerous and lead -to the extermination of the stock in which they have been previously -tolerated. - -Before my reader turns–as I hope he or she will do–to some handbook of -zoology in which the genealogical tree or classification of the species -of animals and of plants is treated at length, I will endeavour to -give some estimate of the immense numbers of "species" which exist. As -to mere individuals, it is impossible to form any estimate, but when -we reckon up the teaming population of a meadow or forest in England, -the hundreds of thousands of plants, including the smallest mosses and -grasses, as well as the larger flowers, shrubs, and trees, the still -greater number of insects, spiders, snails, and larger animals and -birds, feeding on and hiding among them, and when we remember that in -the ever-warm tropical regions of the earth life is ten or twenty -times more exuberant than with us,–then the immensity of the living -population of the land and water of the globe becomes as difficult to -realize as are the figures in which the astronomer tells of the number -and distances of the stars. On the other hand, some idea of the number -of distinct species of animals and plants which have up to this date -been recognized and described by naturalists as at present existing, -may be formed by a statement of those which have been described in -some of the more familiar groups. About 10,000 species of mammals have -been described; about 14,000 of birds; 7000 of reptiles; 15,000 of -fishes; 500,000 of six-legged insects; 14,000 of crustacea (shrimps, -lobsters, crabs); 62,000 of molluscs (snails, mussels, etc.); 15,000 -of star-fishes and sea-urchins; 5000 of corals and polyps; 3000 of -sponges; and 6000 of microscopic protozoa. In all about 800,000 species -of animals have been recorded, and probably as many more remain yet to -be recognized and described. - -The total number of described species of plants has never been -estimated, but some idea of it may be formed from the fact that 1860 -species of flowering plants alone have been distinguished in Britain, -17,000 in British India, and 22,000 in Brazil, not to mention those of -Africa and Australia! These figures do not include the vast numbers of -flowerless plants, the ferns, mosses, sea-weeds, mushrooms, moulds, -lichens, and microscopic plants. - -And then we have to add to these enumerations of living species the -extinct species of successive geological ages, the remains of which are -sufficiently well preserved to admit of identification. Those which are -known are only a few thousands in number, and a mere fragment of the -vast series of species which _have_ existed in successive past ages of -the earth. They are a few samples of the predecessors of the existing -species, and some of them were the actual ancestors of those existing -to-day. The larger number of them have left no direct issue, but -represent side branches of the "tree of life" which have died out ages -ago. - -[Illustration: STRANGELY-SHAPED FISHES.–1. The Coffer-fish (Ostracion); -2. Pteraclis, an oceanic fish allied to the so-called Dolphins; 3. The -Sun-fish (Orthagoriscus); 4. An Australian Blenny Patæcus.] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -HYBRIDS - - -The subject treated in this and the next chapter is one of the most -interesting to mankind, and is surrounded by extraordinary prejudice, -sentiment, and ignorance. It is one upon which really trustworthy -information is to a very large extent absent–and difficult to obtain. -I cannot profess to supply this deficiency, but I can put the matter -before the reader. - -It is a well-established fact that the various "kinds" of animals and -of plants do not breed promiscuously with one another. The individuals -of a "species" only breed with other individuals of that "species." -They do not even, as a habit, breed with the individuals of an allied -species. So nearly universal is this rule that it was for a long time -held by naturalists to be an absolute definition of "a species," that -it is a group of individuals capable of producing fertile young by -breeding with one another and incapable of producing fertile young by -mating with individuals of another such group, which were, therefore, -held to constitute a distinct species. The practical importance of this -definition was that it could, in a large number of instances among -animals, and still more amongst plants, be made use of as a test and -decided by experiment. - -It is a curious fact that popular belief amongst country-folk and -those who have opportunities of coming to a conclusion on so simple -and direct a question has never accepted this law of the limitation -of species in breeding as more than a general rule to which it has -always been supposed that frequent exceptions occur. I mention this -not in order to add that "there is always some basis of truth in -these popular beliefs," but on the contrary to point out that popular -beliefs on such matters are very frequently altogether erroneous, and -though their origin can sometimes be explained, it is rare to find -that they are due, in however small a degree, to true observation and -inference. Where the subject under consideration has the obscurity -and strong fascination for the natural man which all that relates to -the processes of life, growth, and reproduction possess, we find that -traditional fancies of the most unwarrantable kind are current, and -hold their ground with tenacity even at the present day. Some 250 years -ago, and earlier–in fact, before the commencement of that definite -epoch of "the New Philosophy" marked by the foundation of the Royal -Society of London–any queer-looking animal brought from remote lands, -and any misshapen monstrosity born of cattle, sheep, dogs, or men, was -"explained," and confidently regarded as a "hybrid," the result of a -"cross" or irregular coupling of two distinct species of animals to -which the "monster" presented some fanciful resemblance. Whole books -were devoted to the description and picturing of such supposed examples -of mis-begotten progeny. - -The belief in the existence of such extraordinary hybrids is still -common among so-called "well-educated" people. I have with difficulty -avoided causing annoyance and offence to a friend, a celebrated -painter, by refusing to admit that a deformed cat, of which he gave me -an account, was a hybrid between a cat and a rabbit. A very eminent -person whom I was conducting some years ago round the galleries of the -Natural History Museum, declared, as we stood in front of the specimen -of the Okapi of the Congo Forest, that it was clearly a hybrid between -the giraffe and the zebra. He insisted that it was obvious that such -was its explanation, and pointed to its striped haunches and legs, and -its cloven hoofs and giraffe-like head. I failed to change his opinion. - -It is the fact–ascertained by careful observation of natural -occurrences and by experiment–that, in spite of the almost absolute -law or general truth to the effect that the members of a species -(whether of plant or animal) only produce fertile offspring by mating -with members of that same species, yet there are rare instances -known in which individuals of two distinct but allied species have -mated and produced fertile offspring. The cases in which such unions -have resulted in the production of offspring, but in which the -offspring so produced prove to be infertile–that is, incapable of -producing offspring in their turn–are much more numerous. An important -distinction has also to be made between cases of either fertile or -infertile hybrid-production which occur spontaneously in nature, and -those in which man by separating the parent animals or plants from -their natural conditions of life, or by bringing about impregnation (as -in "pollinating" one flower with the pollen-dust of another) succeeds -in obtaining a "cross" or "hybrid," whether fertile or infertile, not -known to occur in "wild" (that is, not humanly controlled) nature. -The rarest case would be that of the production of fertile hybrids -in uncontrolled natural conditions. Such possibly occur in the case -of some fishes in which the fertilization of the eggs takes place in -water, the fertilizing microscopic sperms passing from the males like -dust into the water and thus reaching the eggs laid by the females. -Occasionally hybrids are thus produced between some common fresh-water -fishes–species of the same genus–and between species of flat-fish, -such as the turbot and the brill, though it is difficult to be sure -that the rare hybrids so produced are fertile even if they attain -to maturity. The same is true as to certain small flowering plants -having distinct regions of natural distribution and occurrence. -At the confines of the regions proper to two such allied species, -insects passing from one to the other do sometimes effect a reciprocal -fertilization of the two species, and a natural hybrid is the result. -Here, again, it is difficult to follow the subsequent history of the -hybrids, but it is believed that in some instances they are fertile, -and that the hybrid race is only gradually merged by subsequent -crossing into one or other of the parent species. Not a single instance -is on record of the production of a "natural" hybrid (that is to say, -one produced in natural conditions without man's interference), whether -fertile or infertile, between two species of the larger animals (such -as between horse and ass or zebra and ass, or between lion and tiger -or any of the species of cats, or between species of bears) or birds -(such as pheasants of various species, including the jungle cock, the -wild original of our domestic fowl, or between various species of -ducks, various species of geese, or between various species of the -grouse-birds). - -Nevertheless, in conditions brought about by man–that is to say, -confinement in cages or paddocks, or at any rate removal from their -native climate and home–all the groups of species just cited commonly -and frequently produce hybrids _inter se_, that is, one or more species -of the horse group thus inter-breed with one another, so will certain -species of cats, certain species of bears, many species of pheasants, -also of ducks, of geese, and of grouse. In nearly every case the -hybrids so produced are infertile; they will not mate with a similar -hybrid, and even when mated with one of the parent species rarely -produce offspring, though they sometimes do so. The best cases of the -production of fertile hybrids are between species of flowering plants -brought to this country from widely separated regions. The surprising -and instructive result has been obtained that a cross between two -allied species (that is, of one and the same "genus") which will fail -altogether or "come to nothing" as infertile hybrids–if the two species -crossed are from the same or contiguous regions–yet will yield readily -vigorous fertile hybrid offspring when the two species (always, of -course, of one and the same genus) have their native homes in widely -separate parts of the world–as, for instance, the Indian Himalaya range -and the South American Andean range. - -This has been found in crossing species of rhododendrons, of orchids, -and of many other plants with which horticulturists occupy themselves -for commercial purposes. It is in some ways the reverse of what one -might expect. It would be reasonable to suppose that allied species -from the same climate and geographical region would have more affinity -and be more readily hybridized than species from widely remote and -physically differing regions. But the reverse is the case, many -thriving hybrid stocks which duly fertilize and set their seed are now -in cultivation, having been produced by the union of parent species -from "the opposite ends of the earth." - -The consideration of this case throws some light on the significance -of the non-occurrence of natural hybrids and of the very remarkable -and curious fact that hybrids are so usually sterile. When we come -to think of it, the natural preliminary assumption should be (as is -that of unsophisticated humanity) that any animal or plant might, so -far as possibilities go, breed with any other; and the questions to -be answered are: (1) What advantage to a species is it not to be able -to hybridize with other species, and (2) how–that is to say, by what -structure or by what subtle chemical differences or other features in -their make-up and habit–are they prevented from so hybridizing? Then we -come on further to the question, Why should a hybrid, once produced, -fail to bear healthy eggs or sperms according to its sex, although it -grows up to full size and is to all appearances mature? And why should -hybrids between parents of origin locally remote from one another not -show this failure, but behave like ordinary healthy organisms? - -In the full solution of these inquiries we should get very near to some -of the most important secrets of the living body which have still to -be searched out. But a reply to these questions which is probably in -large measure true, and serves to help us in the further collection -and examination of facts, is as follows: First, the production and -maintenance of "species" of plants and of animals by survival of -favourable variations in the struggle for existence (Darwin and -Wallace's theory of the origin of species) requires the maintenance of -the purity of the favourable stock which survives in the struggle. If -it were continually liable to hybridization by other species it would -never establish its own distinctive features. It would deteriorate -by departing from those characteristics which have been "naturally -selected" and have rendered it a successful "species." Thus the -breeder, when he has selected a stock for propagation which approaches -the standard at which he is aiming, keeps it apart, and does not allow -it to be "crossed" by other stock. One of the qualities "naturally -selected" in "the wild" is the power of resistance to fertilization by -neighbouring species. - -This power of resistance or immunity to fertilization by other species -may be attained by several different methods. Amongst these are (1) -a difference in the season of breeding or sexual ripening; (2) the -production of secretions (whether by plant or by animal) which poison -or paralyse the fertilizing sperms of allied and locally associated -species, but are harmless to those of the secreting species; (3) the -mechanical differences of size, etc., which prevent the fertilizing -material of a strange species from gaining access to the egg-cells; -(4) psychical activities (antipathies) in the case of animals or mere -attraction and repulsion by odoriferous substances, which serve to -repel a strange species, but are attractive to individuals of the same -species; (5) finally, a chemical and physiological incompatibility -between the sperms of one species and the germs of another (as distinct -from the attraction or repulsion of the entire living individual), -which, even when all other difficulties are absent or have been -overcome, may be, and frequently is, present, so that the spermatozoon -cannot penetrate the egg-cell even when resting upon it, but may be -paralysed or repelled, and in any case is not guided and drawn into the -aperture of the egg-covering, called the micropyle, or "little entry," -so as to fuse with and fertilize the egg. - -The operation of these hindrances to hybrid fertilization and breeding -have been ascertained in several different instances. It is not always -possible, and certainly not easy to ascertain, which is at work in -any and every case. But we can well conceive that one or other of -these agencies have been developed and accentuated by survival of -the fittest, so as to protect a species against fertilization by a -neighbouring species, and thus to enable it to maintain its own "bundle -of characteristics" free from the swamping effects of "mixture" (that -is, "hybridization") with another species. It is also thus intelligible -that an allied species from a distant land against which our native -species and its closer ancestry–struggling for purity of race–have had -no occasion or opportunity to develop a repelling protection–will have -no such difficulty in effecting the fertilization of the native species -as have those adjacent species against whose intrusions the latter is -specifically moulded and selected by long generations of severe natural -selection. - -The failure of hybrids generally to ripen their ova and sperm so as to -reproduce themselves is a subject upon which, considering its enormous -importance and significance, singularly little has been done in the -way of investigation. Fifty years ago it was usually taught that the -mule, between the horse and the ass, so largely produced under human -superintendence for transport service, was unable to breed owing to -some deformity in the reproductive passages. Even now no adequate study -of the subject has been made, but it appears that whilst a female mule -can be, and sometimes is, successfully mated to a horse or an ass, -giving birth to a foal, the male mule does not produce fully-formed -spermatozoa. What precisely is the nature of this failure, what the -ultimate microscopic condition of the sperm cells in infertile male -mules, or in any other infertile male hybrids, has not yet been -properly worked out by modern cytological methods. It would be a matter -of vast interest to determine what is the difference in the structure -of the sperm-cells of a fertile and of an infertile male hybrid. At -present, so far as I know, this has not been done. - -So far what I have written applies to hybridization–the inter-breeding -of distinct species. A similar but by no means identical subject is -that of the inter-breeding of distinct races or varieties of one -species, and the production of "mongrels." "Mongrels" are to races what -"hybrids" are to species. To this branch of the subject belongs the -study of the effects of intermarriage between distinct races of men. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE CROSS-BREEDING OF RACES - - -We have seen that there is no simple rule as to the "mating" of -individuals of a species with individuals of another closely allied -but distinct species. Such mating very rarely comes about in natural -conditions, but man by his interference sometimes succeeds in procuring -"hybrids" between allied species. Hybrids between species belonging to -groups so different as to be distinguished by zoologists as distinct -"families" or "orders" are quite unknown under any circumstances. -Such remoteness of natural character and structure as is indicated by -the two great divisions of hoofed mammals–the even-toed (including -sheep, cattle, deer, antelopes, giraffes, pigs and camels), and the -odd-toed (including tapirs, rhinoceroses, horses, asses and zebras) -is an absolute bar to inter-breeding. So, too, the carnivora (cats, -dogs, bears and seals, and smaller kinds) are so remote in their nature -from the rabbits, hares and rats–called "the rodents"–that no mating -between members of the one and the other of these groups has ever been -observed, either in nature or under artificial conditions. - -Even when individuals of closely allied species mate with one another -it is a very rare occurrence that the hybrids so produced ripen their -ova and sperms so as to be capable of carrying on the hybrid race, -though sometimes they do ripen them and breed. The great naturalist -Alfred Wallace, in his most valuable and readable book called -"Darwinism," expressed the opinion that the apparent failure of hybrid -races to perpetuate themselves by breeding was to a large extent due -to the small number of individuals used in experiments on this matter, -and the in-and-in breeding which was the consequence. One of the great -generalizations established by Darwin is that in-and-in breeding is, -as a rule, resisted in all animals and plants, and leads when it -occurs to a dying-out of the inbred race by resulting feebleness and -infertility. A large part of Darwin's work consisted in demonstrating -the devices existing in the natural structure and qualities of plants -and animals for securing cross-fertilization among individuals of the -same species but of different stock. Both extremes seem to be barred -in nature–namely, the inter-breeding of stocks so diverse in structure -and quality as to be what we call "distinct species," and again the -inter-breeding of individuals of the same immediate parentage or near -cousinship. What seems to be favoured by the natural structure and -qualities of the plant or the animal is that it shall only breed within -a certain group–the species–and shall within that group avoid constant -self-fertilization or fertilization by near cousins. Thus we find -numerous cases in which, though the same flower has both pollen and -ovules, and might fertilize itself, the visits of insects (specially -made use of by mechanisms in the flower) carry the pollen of one flower -to the ovules of another and to flowers on separate plants growing -at a distance. It is necessary to note that there are, nevertheless, -self-fertilizing flowers, and also self-fertilizing lower animals, -the special conditions of which require and have received careful -examination and consideration, upon which I cannot now enter. - -In relation to the question of the possibility of establishing hybrids -between various species experimentally, I must (before going on to the -cognate question of "mongrels") tell of an interesting suggestion made -to me by my friend Professor Alphonse Milne-Edwards not long before he -died, and never published by him. He was director of the Jardin des -Plantes in Paris, where there is a menagerie of living beasts as well -as a botanic garden and great museum collections and laboratories. -He held it to be probable, as many physiologists would agree, that -the fertilization of the egg of one species by the sperm of another, -even a remotely related one, is ultimately prevented by a chemical -incompatibility–chemical in the sense that the highly complex molecular -constitution of such bodies as the anti-toxins and serums with which -physiologists are beginning to deal is "chemical"–and that all the -other and secondary obstacles to fertilization can be overcome or -evaded in the course of experiment. He proposed to inject one species -by "serums" extracted from the other, in such a way as seemed most -likely to bring the chemical state of their reproductive elements into -harmony, that is to say, into a condition in which they should not -be actively antagonistic but admit of fusion and union. He proposed, -by the exchange of living or highly organized fluids (by means of -injection or transfusion) between a male and female of separate -species, to assimilate the chemical constitution of one to that of the -other, and thus possibly so to affect their reproductive elements that -the one could tolerate and fertilize the other. The suggestion is not -unreasonable, but would require a long series of experiments in which -the possibility of producing such "assimilation," even to a small -extent and in respect of less complex processes than those ultimately -aimed at, would have to be, first of all, established. My friend did -not live to commence this investigation, but it is possible that some -day we may see the obstacle to the union of ovum and sperm of species, -which are to some extent allied, removed in this way by transfusion or -injection of important fluids from the one into the other. - -We must not lose sight of the fact, in the midst of these various -and diverging observations about the fertilization of the ova of one -species by sperms of another species, that there is such a thing as -"parthenogenesis," or virgin-birth. In some of the insects and lower -forms of animals the egg-cell habitually and regularly develops and -gives rise to a new individual without being fertilized at all. And in -other cases by special treatment, such as rubbing with a brush, or in -the case of marine animals by addition of certain salts to the water -in which the eggs are floating–or, again, in the case of the eggs of -the common frog by gently scratching them with a needle–the eggs which -usually and regularly require to be penetrated by and fused with a -spermatozoon or sperm-filament before they will develop, proceed to -develop into complete new individuals without the action upon them -of any spermatozoon. In such marine animals as the sea-urchins or -sea-eggs it has been found that the eggs deposited in pure sea-water, -though they would die and decompose if left there alone, can be made to -develop and proceed on their growth by the addition to the sea-water of -the sperm filaments of a star-fish (the feather star or comatula). The -spermatozoa or sperm-filaments do not, however, in this case fuse with -the egg-cells. They mechanically pierce the egg-coat, but contribute no -substance to the embryo into which the egg develops. They have merely -served, like the scratch of a needle on the frog's egg and the brushing -of insects' eggs, to start the egg on its growth, to "stimulate" it and -set changes going. It appears thus that the fertilizing sperm-filaments -of organisms generally have two separate and very important influences -upon the egg-cells with which they fuse. The one is to stimulate -the egg and start the changes of embryonic growth; the other is -to contribute some living material from the male parent to the new -individual arising from the growth and shaping of the egg-cell. The -first influence can be exercised without the second, as is seen in -the case of the eggs of some sea-urchins stimulated to growth by the -spermatozoa of some star-fishes. It happens that these marine animals -are convenient for study and experiment because their eggs are small -and transparent and that they and the spermatozoa are freely passed -into the sea-water at the breeding season, in which the fertilization -of the eggs takes place. - -When these facts are considered we have to admit that in the mating -of two species which will not regularly and naturally breed together, -there may be a limited action of the spermatic element which may -stimulate the egg to development without contributing by fusion in -the regular way to the actual substance of the young so produced, -or only contributing an amount insufficient to produce a full and -normal development of the hybrid young. Such cases not improbably -sometimes occur in higher animals, though they have not been, as yet, -shown to exist except in the experiments with sea-urchins' eggs and -feather-star's sperm. - -In all animals and plants, but especially in domesticated and -cultivated stocks or strains, varieties arise which, by natural or -artificial separation, breed apart, and give rise to what are called -"races." Such races in natural conditions may become species. Species -are races or groups of individuals, which, by long estrangement (not -necessarily local isolation) from the parent stock and by adaptation -to special conditions of life, have become more or less "stable"–that -is, permanent and unchanging in the conditions to which they have -become adapted. They acquire by one device or another the habit of -not breeding with the stock from which they originally diverged–a -repugnance which may be overcome by human contrivance or by natural -accident, but is, nevertheless, an effective and real quality. -Distinct forms, which have not arrived at the stability and separation -characteristic of species, are spoken of as "races," or "varieties." -It is very generally the case that the "races" of one species can -inter-breed freely with one another, and with the original stock, when -it still exists. Comparatively little is known as to the behaviour -of wild or naturally-produced "races." Practically all our views on -the subject of "races" and their inter-breeding are derived from our -observation of the immense number and range of "races" and "breeds" -produced by man–as farmer, fancier, and horticulturist. It has been -generally received as a rule, that the various races produced in the -farm or garden by breeding from a species, will inter-breed freely, and -produce offspring which are fertile. A special and important series of -races, in which human purpose and voluntary selection necessarily have -a leading part, are the races of man. - -The offspring of parents of two different races is called a mongrel, -whilst the term "hybrid" has been of late limited, for the sake of -convenience, to the offspring of parents of two different species. -Mongrels, it has been generally held, are fertile–often more fertile -than pure-bred individuals whose parents are both of the same race, -whilst "hybrids" are contrasted with them, in being infertile. We have -seen that infertility is not an absolute rule in the case of hybrids, -and it appears that there is also a source of error in the observations -which lead to the notion that "mongrels" are always fertile. The fact -is that observations on this matter have nearly always been made with -domesticated animals and plants which are, of course, selected and -bred by man on account of their fertility, and thus are exceptionally -characterized by fertility, which is transmitted in an exceptional -degree to the races or varieties which are experimentally inter-bred, -and, consequently, may be expected to produce fertile mongrels. Alfred -Russel Wallace insisted upon this fact, and pointed out that in a few -cases colour varieties of a given species of plant have been found to -be incapable of inter-breeding, or only produce very few "mongrels." -This has been established in the case of two dissimilarly-coloured -varieties of mullein. Also the red and the blue pimpernel (the poor -man's weather-glass, Anagallis), which are classed by botanists as two -varieties of one species, have been found after repeated trials to -be definitely incapable of inter-breeding. Wallace insists in regard -to crossing, that some degree of difference favours fertility, but a -little more tends to infertility. We must remember that the fertility -of both plants and animals is very easily upset. Changed conditions of -life–such as domestication–may lead (we do not know why) to complete -or nearly complete infertility; and, again, "change of air," or of -locality, has an extraordinary and not-as-yet-explained effect on -fertility. - - "Oh, the little more and how much it is! - And the little less, and what worlds away!" - -Infertile horses sent from their native home to a different climate -(as, for instance, from Scotland to Newmarket) become fertile. A -judicious crossing of varieties or races threatened with infertility -will often lead to increased vigour and fertility in the new -generation, just as change of locality will produce such a result. -Physiological processes which are not obvious and cannot be exactly -estimated or measured are then, we must conclude, largely connected -with the question of sterility and fertility. Mr. Darwin has collected -facts which go far to prove that colour (as in the case of the black -pigs of Virginia, which I cited in Chapter X.), instead of being -a trifling and unimportant character, as was supposed by the older -naturalists, is really one of great significance, often correlated -with important constitutional differences. It is pointed out by Alfred -Wallace that in all the recorded cases in which a decided infertility -occurs between varieties (or races) of the same species of plants (such -as those just cited), those varieties are distinguished by a difference -of colour. He gives reasons for thinking that the correlation of colour -with infertility which has been detected in several cases in plants may -also extend to animals in a state of nature. The constant preference -of animals–even mere varieties of dog, sheep, horses, and pigeons–for -their like, has been well established by observation. Colour is one of -the readiest appeals to the eye in guiding animals in such selection -and association, and is connected with deep-seated constitutional -qualities. "Birds of a feather flock together" is a popular statement -confirmed by the careful observation of naturalists. Thus we arrive at -some indication of features which may determine the inter-breeding, or -the abstention from inter-breeding, of diverse races sprung from one -original stock. The "colour bar" is not merely the invention of human -prejudice, but already exists in wild plants and animals. - -We now come to the questions, the assertions, the beliefs, and the acts -concerning the inter-breeding of human races, to the consideration of -which I have been preparing the way. The dog-fancier has generally a -great contempt for "mongrels." Breeders generally dislike accidental -crosses, because they interfere with the purpose which the breeder -has in view of producing animals or plants of a quality, form, and -character which he has determined on before-hand. This interference -with his purpose seems to be the explanation of beliefs and statements, -to the prejudice of "mongrels." Really, as is well known to great -breeders and horticulturists, a determined and selective crossing of -breeds is the very foundation of the breeder's art, and there is no -reason to suppose that a "mongrel" is necessarily, or even probably, -inferior in vigour or in qualities which are advantageous in the -struggle for life in "natural"–that is to say, "larger"–conditions -of an animal's or plant's life; not those limited conditions for -which the breeder intends his products. Indeed, the very opposite -is the case. In nature, as Mr. Darwin showed, there are innumerable -contrivances to ensure the cross-breeding of allied but distinct -strains. Dog-owners who are not exclusively bent upon possessing a -dog which shows in a perfect way the "points" of a breed favoured by -the fashion of the moment, or fitting it for some special employment, -know very well that a "mongrel" may often exhibit finer qualities -of intelligence, or endurance, than those exhibited by a dog of -pure-bred "race." And the very "races" which are spoken of to-day as -"pure-bred," or "thoroughbred," have (as is well known) been produced -as "mongrels"–that is to say, by crossing or mating individuals of -previously-existing distinct and pure breeds. The history of many such -"mongrel breeds," now spoken of as "thoroughbred," is well known. -The English racehorse was gradually produced by the "mongrelizing," -or cross-breeding, of several breeds or races–the English warhorse, -the Arab, the Barb. A very fine mongrel stock having at last been -obtained, it was found, or, at any rate, was considered to be -demonstrated, that no further improvement (for the purposes aimed -at, namely, flat-racing) could be effected by introducing the blood -of other stock. The offspring of the "mongrels" Herod, Matchem, and -Eclipse accordingly became established as "the" English racehorse, and -thenceforward was mated only within its own race or stock, and was kept -pure or "thoroughbred." Another well-known mongrel breed which is now -kept pure, or nearly so, is that of the St. Bernard's dog, a blend of -Newfoundland, Bloodhound, and English Mastiff. - -Often the word "mongrel" is limited in its use to signify an -undesired or undesirable result of the cross-breeding of individuals -of established races. But this is not quite fair to mongrels in -general, since, as we have seen, the name really refers only to the -fact they are crosses between two breeds. When they happen to suit -some artificial and arbitrary requirement they are favoured, and made -the starting-point of a new breed, and kept pure in their own line; -but when they do not fit some capricious demand of the breeder they -are sneered at and condemned, although they may be fine and capable -animals. No doubt some mongrels between races differing greatly from -one another, or having some peculiar mixture of incompatible qualities -the exact nature of which we have not ascertained, are wanting in -vigour, and cannot be readily established as a new breed. In nature -the success of the mongrel depends on whether or not its mixture of -qualities makes it fitter than others to the actual conditions of its -life, and able to survive in the competition for food and place. In -man's breeding operations with varieties of domesticated animals and -"cultivated" plants, the survival of the mongrel depends upon its -fitting some arbitrary standard applied by man, who destroys those -which do not suit his fancy, and selects for survival and continued -breeding those which do. - -What is called "miscegenation," or the inter-breeding of human races, -must be looked at from both these points of view. We require to know -how far, if at all, the mixed or mongrel offspring of a human race A -with a human race B is really inferior to either of the original stocks -A and B, judged by general capacity and life-preserving qualities in -the varied conditions of the great area of the habitable globe. And -how far an arbitrary or fanciful standard is set up by human races, -similar to that set up by the "fancier" or cultivator of breeds of -domestic animals. The matter is complicated by the fact that what we -loosely speak of as "races" of man are of very various degrees of -consanguinity or nearness to one another in blood, that is, in stock or -in ultimate ancestry. It is also complicated by the fact that we cannot -place any reliance upon the antipathies or preferences shown by the -general sentiment of a race in this (or other matters) as necessarily -indicating what is beneficial for humanity in general or for the -immediate future of any section of it. Nor have we any assurance that -what is called "sexual selection"–the preference or taste in the matter -of choosing a mate–is among human beings necessarily anything of -greater importance–so far as the prosperity of a race or of humanity in -general is concerned–than a mere caprice or a meaningless persistence -of the human mind in favouring a choice which is habitual and -traditional. I have referred to this point again in the last paragraph -of this chapter. - -In regard to marriage between individuals of different European -nationalities, a certain amount of unwillingness exists on the part of -both men and women which cannot be ascribed to any deep-seated inborn -antipathy, but is due to a mistrust of the unknown "foreigner," which -very readily disappears on acquaintance, or may arise from dislike -of the laws and customs of a foreign people. English, French, Dutch, -Scandinavians, Germans, Russians, Greeks, Italians and Spaniards have -no deep-rooted prejudices on the subject, and readily intermarry when -circumstances bring them into association. Though the Jews by their -present traditional practice are opposed to marriage with those not -of their faith, there is no effective aversion of a racial kind to -such unions, and in early times they have been very frequent. During -the "captivity" in Babylon and again after the "dispersal" by the -Romans, the original Jewish race was practically swamped by mixture -with cognate Oriental races who adopted the Jewish faith. So far from -there being inborn prejudice against intermarriage of the peoples above -cited, it is very generally admitted that such "miscegenation" leads -frequently to the foundation of families of fine quality. The blend is -successful, as may be seen in the number of prominent Englishmen who -have Huguenot, German, Dutch, or Jewish blood in their veins. - -But when we come to the intermarriage of members of the white race of -Europe with members of either the negroid (black) race or of the yellow -and red mongoloid race, a much greater and more deeply-rooted aversion -is found, and this is extended even to members of the Caucasian race -who, possibly by prehistoric mixture with negro-like races, are very -dark-skinned, as is the case with the Aryan population in India and -Polynesia. It is a very difficult matter; in fact, it seems to me not -possible in our present knowledge of the facts, to decide whether -there is a natural inborn or congenital disinclination to the marriage -of the white race, especially of the Anglo-Saxon branch of it, with -"coloured" people, or whether the whole attitude (as I am inclined to -think) is one of "pride of race," an attitude which can be defended -on the highest grounds, though it may lead to erroneous beliefs as to -the immediate evil results of such unions, and to an unreasonable and -cruel treatment both of the individuals so intermarrying and of their -offspring. There is little or no evidence of objection to mixed unions -on the part of the coloured people with whites, no evidence of physical -dislike to the white man or white woman, but, on the contrary, ready -acquiescence. - -A curious aversion to marriages with whites on the part both of North -American Indians and of negroes is, however, recorded from time to -time in the official reports of the United States Government. - -Two beliefs about such unions are more or less prevalent among white -men in the regions where they not infrequently occur. Neither of these -beliefs is supported by anything like conclusive evidence. The one -is that such unions lead to the production of relatively infertile -offspring; the mixed breed or stock is said to die out after a few -(some seven or eight) generations. It is, however, the fact that the -circumstances under which this occurs suggest that it is not due to -a natural and necessary infertility. The other assertion is that the -offspring of parents–one of white race and the other of black, yellow -or brown–tend by some strange fatality to inherit the bad qualities of -both races and the good qualities of neither. This is a case to which -must be applied the saying, "Give a dog a bad name and hang him." -The white man in North America, in India, and in New Zealand desires -the increase and prosperity of his own race. Like the fancier set on -the production of certain breeds of domesticated animals, he has no -toleration for a "mongrel." In so far as it is true that miscegenation -(marriage of white and coloured race) produces a stock which rapidly -dies out–this is due to the adverse conditions, the opposition and -hostility to which the mixed race is exposed by the attitude of the -dominant white race. To the same cause is due the development of -ignoble and possibly dangerous characteristics in the unfortunate -offspring of these marriages more frequently than in those who find -their natural place and healthy up-bringing either in the white or -the coloured sections of the community. The "half-breed" is in some -countries inexorably rejected by the race of his or her white parent -and forced to take up an equivocal association with the coloured race. - -That some, at any rate, of the evils attributed to "miscegenation" are -due to the baneful influence of "pride of race" is evident from the -fact that the Portuguese (with the exception of a small aristocratic -class) have not since the early days of the fourteenth century, -perhaps in consequence of established association with the Moorish -and other North African races, shown that pride of race and aversion -to mixture with dark-skinned races which is so strong a feature in -the Anglo-Saxons, their successors and rivals as colonists. The -long-standing admixture of black blood in the Portuguese population -before the colonization of South America, has led to a toleration on -the part of the Portuguese colonists of "miscegenation," both with -Indians and the liberated descendants of imported negro slaves. The -consequence is that in Brazil there is no condemnation of black blood; -children of mixed parentage and of coloured race attend the same -schools as those of European blood, and freely associate with them. -There is no notion that that portion of the population which is of -mixed negro, Indian, and white blood is less vigorous or fertile than -the unmixed, nor that vice and feebleness are the characteristics of -the former, whilst virtue and capacity belong to the latter. - -The determined hostility of the Anglo-Saxon race in North America and -in British India to "miscegenation" is in the case of the United States -to be explained by the peculiar relation of a large slave population -in the Southern States to a pure white slave-owning race: whilst in -India we have a handful of white men temporarily stationed as rulers -of millions of "natives," but never accepting India as their home. The -attitude of the Anglo-Saxon race to the North American Indians, and -also to the Maoris of New Zealand, has never been so extreme in the -matter of miscegenation as it has been to negroid people and to the -very different though dark-skinned people of the East. In support of -that opinion may be cited the fact that some of "the first families of -Virginia" are proud of their descent from Pocahontes, the Algonkian -"Princess" who married the Englishman Rolfe. In New Zealand there are -many families of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Maori blood. Though they are not -ostracized, as are the half-breeds of negro blood in the United States, -there is a firm tendency to relegate the half-breeds in New Zealand -to the Maori section of the population, which it must be remembered -includes some of the richest and most prosperous landowners in the -colony. - -It may be questioned whether there is in this matter a greater "pride -of race" among Anglo-Saxons than among other Northern European peoples. -Neither the French nor the Germans have established great colonies -like the English, nor undertaken the administration of a huge Eastern -Empire, and have, therefore, not shown what attitude they would adopt -under such circumstances. The tolerance and easy-going humanitarianism -of the French in relation to "miscegenation" in their dependencies in -past times has never had the significance or practical importance which -it would have possessed in the English Colonies and in the great Indian -Empire. - -There is, on account of the sporadic and exceptional occurrence of -modern instances, no information of any value as to the results of -mixture of other races of man. In early times and among more primitive -or less civilized peoples there appears to have been, when immigration -or conquest gave the opportunity, no obstacle to a free intermixture of -an incoming race with the natives of an invaded territory. The "pride -of race" has, nevertheless, throughout historic time been a frequent -factor in the adjustment of populations of diverse races, and though -"colour" has been a frequent "test" or symbol of the superior and -exclusive race, it has not been the only characteristic exalted to such -importance. Such "pride of race" has frequently excluded the members of -a closely allied but conquered racial group from intermarriage with the -conquerors, and has only disappeared after centuries of persistence. -The term "blue blood" is interesting in this connection. It is the -"saing d'azure" of the Gothic invaders, the conquerors of the Iberian -and Moorish people of Spain. It refers not to any "blueness" of the -blood itself, such as distinguishes veinous from arterial blood, but -to the blue colour of the veins as seen through the colourless skin of -a northern race (the Goths), as compared with the invisibility of the -veins when the skin is rendered more or less opaque by a brown pigment, -as in the Moors and the swarthy Iberians. - -Among the people of Western Europe marriage has assumed more and more -a character which is almost unknown in the rest of the world. Whatever -the future may be in regard to this matter, there is no doubt possible -that the place given to women in Western Europe by the ideals of -chivalry and the practice of the northern race (which has so largely -displaced the traditions of the Roman Empire) has established a -relation of the sexes in which marriage and consequent parentage have -ceased to be regarded as a mere regularization of animal desire and -appetite. The accepted, but not always consciously recognized, view -of marriage in Western Europe is that the union so sanctioned and the -families thereby produced should be the result not of the mere physical -necessity of irresponsible victims of an impulse common to all animals, -but the outcome of the deliberate choice of man and woman attracted to -one another by sympathy, understanding and reciprocal admiration, based -upon knowledge of character, mental gifts and aspirations, as well as -upon bodily charm. A rarely-expressed but none the less deeply-seated -conviction exists that from such unions children of the finest nature, -nurtured in circumstances most likely to make them worthy members of -the community, will be born and reared. It is this conviction which -leads to, or at any rate endorses, the exclusiveness which is described -as "pride of race." The Anglo-Saxon man and equally the Anglo-Saxon -woman (as well as the allied races of neighbouring nationalities) -recognize a responsibility, a race duty, resulting from accumulated -tradition, the heirloom of long ages of family life, which causes the -man to be ashamed of, and the woman to shrink with instinctive horror -from, union with an individual of a remote race with whom there can be -no real sympathy, no intimate understanding. That seems to me to be the -explanation and the justification of the "colour bar." - -In relation to the probable effectiveness of sexual selection among -uncivilized peoples in favouring and maintaining a particular type or -form of features, hair, etc., characteristic of the race, independently -of the life-preserving value of such qualities, I may mention, before -quitting this difficult but strangely fascinating subject, a fact -observed by a traveller in Africa, and related to me by him. Other -similar facts are on record. Among the negroes employed as "porters" -by my friend, some thirty in number, was one who had a narrow aquiline -nose and thin lips. He was as black and as woolly-haired as any of -them, but would if of fair complexion have been regarded by Europeans -as a very handsome, fine-featured man. Such cases are not uncommon -in parts of Africa, where probably an unrecognized mixture with Arab -or Hamite blood has occurred. My friend expected this man to be a -favourite, on account of what to him appeared to be "good looks," with -the girls of the villages at which he camped during a three months' -journey. At every such village, as they journeyed on, the travellers -were received with joy and good nature. The negro porters were fêted -and made much of by the young women. But one alone was unpopular and -regarded with ridicule and dislike. This was the handsome negro with -the fine, well-modelled nose and beautiful European lips. The black -beauties turned their backs on him, in spite of his amiable character -and kindly overtures. They invariably and by open confession preferred -the men with the thickest lips, the broadest noses, and the most -thoroughly (as we should say) degraded prognathous appearance and -disgusting expression. Hence no doubt the young negresses were likely -to perpetuate in their offspring the features which are characteristic -of their race, and hence it is probable that mere capricious sexual -selection of individuals most completely conforming to a preferred -type–irrespective of the value of the features preferred–may have great -effect in both the selection and the maintenance of the peculiarities -of the type. Dark skin may thus have been selected, until it became -actually black; a slight curling of the hair, until it became woolly; -thickish lips and broadish nose, until they became excessive in -thickness and breadth. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -WHEEL ANIMALCULES - - -Two hundred years ago the Dutch naturalist Leuwenhoek, who made -many discoveries with the highly magnifying lenses which he himself -ground and mounted, wrote to the Royal Society of London that he had -"discovered several animalcula that protrude two wheels out of the -forepart of their body as they swim, or go on the sides of the glass -jar in which they are living." He says that "the two wheels are thick -set with teeth as the wheel of a watch," and he sent to the society -for publication drawings of these wonderful little creatures. This -was the first account of the Wheel Animalcules. Since then they have -been studied by many microscopists, especially by Ehrenberg, who -figured many in his great book on animalcules in 1838. Fourteen years -later the delightful English naturalist, P. H. Gosse, who studied -and illustrated the "sea-anemones" so ably–and, by his example and -charming descriptions, made the keeping of these beautiful things in -marine aquaria a favourite occupation among people of leisure, blessed -with a "curiosity concerning the things of nature"–published some -microscopical studies on Wheel Animalcules, and continued throughout -his life to make them a special subject of his investigation. - -The microscope was greatly improved–in fact, reached its present -state of perfection–during Mr. Gosse's lifetime, and a wonderful -amount was added to our knowledge not only as to the various kinds -of wheel animalcules (which now number not less than 900 species), -but also with regard to the minutest details of their structure, -their growth from the egg, and their habits. Another English lover -of these minute creatures, Dr. C. T. Hudson, of Clifton (Bristol), -began his observations a few years later, and also discovered many -wonderful kinds. It was my good fortune to bring these two devotees of -the Rotifera, or Wheel Animalcules, together, and to induce them to -write a conjoint work on their favourites–after, as they say in their -preface, they had each continued their studies almost daily for thirty -years, and had made innumerable drawings from living specimens, which -are reproduced in the many hundred (mostly coloured) figures engraved -in the thirty-four quarto plates of their monumental book. This was -published in 1889, a year after Mr. Gosse's death at the age of 78. My -friend, Mr. Edmund Gosse, the distinguished man of letters, is the son -of the naturalist; the microscope, the aquarium, and the rock-pools of -the seashore were the familiar delights of his boyhood, as of mine. - -In Fig. 34 I have sketched the common Rotifer or wheel animalcule. It -is about the one-fortieth of an inch long. The two specimens drawn -in Figs. 34, A and B, are seen to be clinging by the forked tail-end -of the body to a piece of weed (drawn in dotted lines). The body is -stretched in these specimens to its full length. It can be shortened by -a "telescoping" or pulling in of either end, so as to make the animal -a mere oval particle. The four narrower joints or segments at the -tail-end can be pulled in like the segments of a telescope, whilst the -two wheels and adjacent parts can be drawn down into the body as shown -in Fig. 34, C, where the two wheels (W) are seen showing through the -skin by transparency. - -[Illustration: FIG. 34.–Diagram of _Rotifer vulgaris_–the common -wheel animalcule–one hundred and twenty times as long as the creature -itself. _A_, front view. _B_, side view. _C_, head showing eyes _S_, -and retracted wheel apparatus _W_. The letters in _A_ and _B_ have the -following signification: _M_, mouth. _W_, wheel or ciliated disc. _S_, -eye spots on head. _T_, spur or tentacle. _G_, gizzard. _St_, stomach. -_Int_, intestines. _V_, vent: aperture of intestine.] - -The common rotifer can walk like a looping caterpillar or a -leech–fixing itself by its tail, then stretching out the head and -fixing that, whilst letting go the tail and bringing it up by -"telescoping" it, near to the head region. The tail is forked, and in -the side view (Fig. 34, B) it is seen to have a soft branched process, -which helps it to cling. The letter V in Fig. 34, A, points to the vent -or opening of the gut at the fork of the tail. The mouth, marked M, is -seen between the two "wheels." The two "wheels" are really two discs, -the edges of which are beset by coarse "cilia," or vibrating hairs of -protoplasm.[5] These cilia "lash" and straighten again one after the -other, so that the optical illusion is produced of the toothed edge of -the disc being in movement like a wheel. They may be "focused" with the -microscope so that the groups or "bunches" of them look like stiff, -motionless "teeth," although they are really, all the time, lashing and -beating in regular rhythm. When the animal is fixed by its tail, the -lashing of the cilia on the wheels causes currents in the water which -set with great strength to the mouth and bring floating food particles -to it. It is thus that the Rotifer feeds. When the tail is not -grasping a support, the movement of the cilia on the wheels causes the -animal to swim forward through the water, so that it has two modes of -locomotion–the leech-like crawling method and the free swimming method. - -The various internal organs of a Rotifer are readily seen through its -transparent skin (Fig. 34, A). It has a nervous system, many bands of -contractile muscles and a pair of little tubular kidneys or nephridia, -besides reproductive germs (the eggs). I have here sketched only the -digestive canal. The mouth leads through a gullet to a very curious -organ called the "gizzard," marked G. All the wheel animalcules have -this gizzard, but its teeth, shown as two oval bodies in the drawing, -differ a great deal in shape and complexity in the different kinds. -Whilst the Rotifer is feeding by bringing currents of water to its -mouth, the two halves of the gizzard are kept in rapid movement by -muscles, causing them to rub against one another and to grind up the -food particles which reach them through the gullet. The gizzard (G) -is followed by the digestive stomach (St), and that by the intestine -(Int), which opens at the vent (V). The side (or three-quarter profile) -view of a similar specimen (Fig. 34, B) shows only the surface of -the little animal, and is intended to show especially the snout-like -head-lobe (S), with its two eye-spots, which are red in colour. -Standing out backwards from this is a finger-like process (T), which is -called the spur, or tentacle. It has hairs at its tip, and is a sensory -organ. - -[Illustration: FIG. 35.–The Rotifer _Pedalion mirum_–seen from the -right side, magnified 180 diameters. _w.a._, wheel apparatus or -"ciliated" margin of the cephalic disc. _r.e._, right side eye-spot. -_m._, mouth. _p._, tactile process. _d.l._, median dorsal limb (as it -is seen in profile, only three of the fringed hairs at its extremity -are seen). _v.l._, the great ventral limb (only five of its fan of -eight fringed hairs are seen). _l.l._^1, dorso-lateral, and _l.l._^2, -ventro-lateral limbs of the right side: they show the complete fans of -eight fringed hairs. _x._, the pair of posterior processes tipped with -vibratile cilia, better seen in Fig. 36.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 36.–The Rotifer _Pedalion mirum_–seen from the -ventral surface. Letters as in Fig. 35. The complete fan of eight -fringed hairs terminating the great ventral limb are seen, and the -three spine-like processes on each side of it. The fringed hairs of the -two ventro-lateral limbs, _l.l._^2, are omitted; they are fully shown -in Fig. 35, and are the same in number and disposition as those forming -the "fan" of the great ventral limb. Compare these hairs with those of -the "Nauplius" Crustacean larva drawn as a tail-piece to Chapter XIII.] - -In some wheel animalcules there is a pair of these spurs, and the very -remarkable wheel animalcule drawn in Figs. 35 and 36 has six large -processes which, though much bigger, appear to be of the same nature. -Of these four are seen in Fig. 35, namely, _d.l._, the dorsal limb, -_v.l._, the great ventral limb, and _l.l._^1 and _l.l._^2, the two -lateral limbs of the right side, all of them carrying fanlike groups -of fringed hairs. They are moved by very powerful muscles, and strike -the water with energetic strokes, so as to cause the little owner to -dart through it. This jumping or darting wheel animalcule is called -"Pedalion," and was discovered and described by Dr. Hudson. It is so -astonishing and wonderful a little beast, that when Dr. Hudson sent me -some alive in a tube by post in 1872, soon after he had discovered -it, I could not believe my eyes, and thought I must be dreaming. It -is very like the young form of Crustaceans known as a "Nauplius" (see -tail-piece to the present chapter) in having (what no other wheel -animalcule has) great hollow paired limbs moved by _striated_ muscular -fibre, carrying fringed hairs only known before in Crustaceans (crabs, -shrimps and water fleas), and striking the water violently just as do -those of the Nauplius. And yet all the while it has on its head a pair -of large ciliated wheels which serve it just as do those of the common -Rotifer. No Crustacean, young or old, has this "wheel-apparatus" nor -any vibratile "cilia" on the surface of its body. Pedalion possesses an -astounding "blend" of characters. Fig. 35 shows, besides the "paddles" -or "legs" (of which two on the other side of the animal are not seen), -the broad and large wheel-apparatus W (within which the right eye-spot -_r.e._ is seen), and a little lobe (_p_) called the "chin" lying just -below the mouth (_m_). The big leg (_v.l._) and the pair on each side -(_l.l._^1 and _l.l._^2), of which that on the right side only is seen, -end in beautiful fringed hairs, which are only seen elsewhere in the -Crustacea (water-fleas and others). Those on the lateral limbs and the -great ventral limb (Fig. 36) are set in two groups of four on each side -of the free end of the limb, whilst those on the dorsal leg (_d.l._) -are apparently not so numerous. I have corrected the drawings, Figs. -35 and 36, by reference to actual specimens kindly given to me by Mr. -Rousselet. - -[Illustration: FIG. 37.–The Rotifer _Noteus quadricornis_–to show its -curious four-horned carapace–from which the wheel apparatus, _wa_, -emerges in front, and the tail, _t_, behind; somewhat as the head and -tail of a tortoise emerge from its protective "box" or carapace. The -ridges on the horney covering of the Rotifer recall the horney plates -of the tortoises and turtles.] - -The 500 different species of Wheel Animalcules or Rotifera differ from -one another in the exact shape of the wheel-apparatus, in the jointing -of the body and its general shape, and in the development, in some, -of a hard skin or shell like a turtle's or tortoise's shell (Fig. 37) -over that broadest region of the body in which in our Fig. 34, A, -the stomach marked "St" is placed. They differ also in the shape of -the gizzard's teeth, in the presence of paddles or legs (in Pedalion -alone), and in the presence in some of longer or shorter projecting -movable rods or bristles in pairs or in bunches. Many build for -themselves tubular habitations of jelly or of hard cemented particles. -They are all minute (from the ¹/₁₂ to the ¹/₅₀₀ in. in length). They -are divided into five principal groups, which are (1) the crawlers, -like the common Rotifer (Fig. 34), which can crawl like a leech and -also swim freely by aid of their wheel-apparatus; (2) the naked free -swimmers, which do not crawl, but move only by swimming; (3) the -turtle-shelled free swimmers (Fig. 37) like the last, but provided with -strong, often faceted, angular, and spike-bearing shells or "bucklers," -from which head and wheel-apparatus project in front and narrow tail -behind; (4) the rooted or fixed forms (Figs. 37 _bis_); these never -swim when full grown, but each forms and inhabits a protective tube or -case; (5) the skipping or darting forms. Of these there is only the -Pedalion mirum (Figs. 35 and 36), which is quite unlike all the other -wheel animalcules in having limbs like those of the minute water-fleas -(Nauplius, Cyclops) which strike the water and are fringed with -feather-like hairs. - -[Illustration: The larval or young form of Crustacea known as "the -Nauplius." This is the "Nauplius" of a kind of Prawn. The three pairs -of branched limbs are well seen. Much magnified.] - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[5] For some account of "cilia," see "Science from an Easy Chair," -Figs. 29, 33, 40 and the accompanying text. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -MORE ABOUT WHEEL ANIMALCULES - - -Microscopic as the wheel animalcules are they yet have been watched -and examined by their admirers to as great a point of intimacy as that -reached by the devotees of insects or of birds. A remarkable fact -about them is that in about 130 different species (out of the 500 -known) it has been found that the males are diminutive creatures, about -one-tenth the size of the females, and devoid of digestive canal; in -fact, little more than minute swimming sacs full of spermatozoa. In -one group, that of the crawling Rotifers, to which the common wheel -animalcule, figured in the last chapter, belongs, no male at all has -ever been discovered. They are all females. They are precisely those -wheel animalcules which are known to microscopists for their power of -surviving (like the little water-bears or tardigrades and some other -minute animalcules) the desiccation, or "drying-up" of the water in -which they were living, swimming, and crawling (see Chapters XV. and -XVI.). And it is quite probable that this power of resistance to the -adverse conditions of changing seasons has, in the crawling Rotifers, -taken the place of the production of eggs fertilized by a male. For, -as in the case of the crustacean water-fleas (and of the terrestrial -plant-lice, or aphides and gall-flies), it is found that the female -Rotifers or wheel animalcules, which hatch from fertilized eggs, are -themselves "parthenogenetic," and lay eggs which develop without -fertilization by males–that is to say, are "impaternate." In the case -of the water-fleas these are called "summer eggs," and after one or -more generations of such fatherless females a proportion of males are -produced which fertilize the females hatched at the same period. The -eggs so fertilized acquire a thick shell and are called "winter eggs." -They remain dormant for some months and resist the injurious influences -of winter cold, or, it may be, of drying up and conversion of the -pond-mud into dust, but hatch out when warmer and wetter conditions -return. - -This, however, is just what the adult crawling kind of Rotifer can do -in the full-grown state by drawing up her body into the shape of a ball -and exuding a jelly-like or horny coat. So that she has no need of -"winter eggs," and the whole process of forming them and of males to -impregnate them has "dropped out" of the life-history of this special -kind of resistant Rotifers. The minute insignificant males and the -eventual disappearance of males altogether in some races is a subject -which may well occupy the attention of our human "suffragettes." That -the males are minute creatures, less than the thousandth part of -the size of the females, is a fact also ascertained in the case of -some curious marine worms (called Bonellia and Hamingia). The only -other instance of such degradation of the male sex is in some of the -barnacles (discovered by Darwin), in which the big individuals are -of double sex (hermaphrodite). Adhering to the shells of these are -found minute dot-like "supplemental males." It is to be observed that -these are instances where the inferiority of the male is an obvious -measurable fact. In the mammals, the group of vertebrate animals to -which man belongs, the male possesses measurably greater activity and -size than does the female, and is provided with more powerful natural -weapons, such as teeth and horns. He entirely dominates and controls -the female, or a whole company of females, and in no case is there -equality of the sexes, or any approach to it, still less inferiority of -the male. It is, perhaps, a question whether "by taking thought" this -natural inferiority of the mammalian female can be changed. - -The survival of Rotifers, especially of a pink-coloured species -(called Philodina roseola), after long drying or "desiccation," has -been experimentally studied. It is found that if the water in which -some are swimming is placed in a watch-glass and allowed to dry up -rapidly the Rotifers are killed, none reappear when after a few hours -fresh water is poured into the watch-glass. But if a few grains of -sand or particles of moss are present from the first in the water the -final drying up takes place more slowly and the Rotifers find their -way between the sheltering fragments, where the water remains long -enough to give them time to form a little gelatinous case, each for -itself. When thus encased they survive, motionless, for months. The -experiment has often been made, and is not in doubt. According to -trustworthy statements, Philodina can thus survive even for so long as -five years. The processes of life are arrested, but the drying has not -proceeded to the extent which is called chemical drying or dehydration. -The tiny Rotifers are still of soft consistence: the protoplasm is -not chemically destroyed. When one is watched with the microscope as -water is allowed to flow round it after several months of dust-like -aridity, it is seen to emerge from its protective case and at once -to commence swimming and searching for food by means of the currents -directed towards its mouth by its so-called "wheel-apparatus." I may -just say that in the case of the slime-mould called "flowers of tan" -the protoplasm dries to the consistency of hard wax, and I have kept -it for years in that state and then revived it by moisture into full -activity and growth. I used also at one time to keep in my laboratory -a supply of the dried yellow lichen from apple-trees, in which one -could always rely upon finding the animalcules called "Macrobiotus" or -"water-bears" ready to be revived from a desiccated condition, after -three or four years passed in that condition. - -Many of the Rotifers carry their eggs when ripe extruded from the -body in two bunches or clusters, as is the habit also of the little -microscopic shrimps known as Cyclops. There is a whole group of -Rotifers which fix themselves by the tail, when full grown, to some -solid support. Each then forms a protective tube or case around -itself, from the mouth of which it puts forth its wheel-apparatus -and into which it can retire for protection. Some of the largest and -most beautiful of the wheel animalcules belong to this group of fixed -or sedentary Rotifers. The crown animalcule (Stephanoceros) is one -of these, having what are discs edged with vibrating hairs in the -common Rotifer–here drawn out into a circlet of tapering lobes like -the points of a coronet (Fig. 37 (_bis_), B). Another is the floscule -(Floscularia), in which the wheel-apparatus has the form of five knobs -arranged on a pentagonal disc around the mouth (A in same figure). Each -knob has a bundle of excessively fine, long, stiff, motionless hairs -spreading out from it ready to entangle food particles which may drift -into contact with them. I used to find the stems of the fresh-water -polyp (Cordylophora) of Victoria Dock a sure source of supply of these -fine little creatures. When seen under the microscope as brightly -illuminated glassy florets on a black ground (by what is called "dark -ground illumination") their strange delicacy and beauty cannot be -surpassed. A rare species of floscule (which I have never seen) has -extra-long and fine filaments, each of which shows a fine streaming -current in its substance, and is, in fact, a naked filament of living -protoplasm like one of the ray-like filaments of the sun-animalcules. - -[Illustration: FIG. 37 (_bis_).–Three tube-building wheel animalcules. -_A_, Floscularia campanulata. _B_, Stephanoceros Eichhornii. _C_, -Melicerta ringens.] - -The most curious of the tube-building Rotifers are those which form -their tubes of little, equal-sized pellets of solid matter–as it were, -"bricks"–which they first form by compacting fine particles in a -special pit on the head and then build them up and cement them together -in rows to form the tube, adding row after row as the animal itself -increases in length (Fig. 37 (_bis_), C). These are known as Melicerta; -and, though some kinds use any minute particles to make their bricks, -one kind is frequent which uses its own excrement for this purpose. -By feeding the little creatures first with food coloured with carmine -and then with blue-stained material, one can obtain alternate rows of -pink and blue pellets, carefully manufactured and laid in position -to build up the growing length of tube. Melicerta has certainly an -extraordinary and economical way of disposing of that refuse which we -larger creatures carefully remove from our habitations and should be -very unwilling to employ as building material. The individuals of one -rare and interesting kind of the tube-builders, after swimming freely -in the youngest stage, settle down together and form their gelatinous -transparent tubes side by side, to the number of fifty or more, in -such a way as to produce a perfect sphere, a twentieth of an inch or -more in diameter, built up of fused jelly-like tubes radiating from a -common centre. The inhabitant of each tube is quite separate from and -independent of his neighbours, but they all protrude their vibrating -wheel-apparatus simultaneously, and cause the glass-like ball to rotate -and travel through the water. Many years ago I found this beautiful -little thing in a small moss-pool (not more than 3 ft. wide), high up -the sloping-side of the north-west section of Hampstead heath, above -the "Leg of Mutton Pond." The well-meant care of the public guardians -of the heath has now drained this region, and my little moss-pools and -the "bog," in which grew the Drosera, or Sun-dew, and the Bog-bean and -such plants, have gone for ever. But we must console ourselves with the -fact that the same progressive expansion of the great city has given -us electric railways, tubes, and tramways by which we can go farther -afield than Hampstead in a few minutes, and still find moss-pools and -the undisturbed glories of ancient swamps and bog-land. - -Many of the Rotifers have a pair of ruby-red eyes, and in some of them -there is a minute crystalline lens overlying the red sensitive spot, -which receives the fibres of the optic nerve coming from the brain–one -on each side. It is almost incredible that so minute a creature–often -only the one-fiftieth of an inch long when full grown–should have a -nervous system and special organs of touch (sensory hairs) as well as -eyes, and on the other hand muscles running from one attachment to -another and called into activity by nerves connected with this same -central brain. The pair of branched tubes, which end internally in -flickering "flame-cells" and open externally far back at the vent, are -kidneys. Similar tubes called "nephridia" or little kidneys are found -in many of the smaller animals; the earthworm has a pair in each ring -of its body. - -There is little doubt that the wheel animalcules are related in -pedigree to the primitive ancestors of the marine segmented or annulate -worms, which also gave rise to the ringed leg-bearing jaw-footed -creatures with hard skin, called Crustacea, Arachnids and Insects (the -Arthropods). The wheel-apparatus or cilia-fringed discs of the Rotifer -is seen in the young stages of many marine worms, and also in the -young of marine snails, known as the "veliger"–"velum" or "sail" being -the name given to the wheel-apparatus of the young snails (see the -drawing on p. 181). There are very minute marine annulate or segmented -worms (Dinophilus and others), which come near to the Rotifers in many -features, whilst the ringed or segmented character of the body is -obvious in the common wheel animalcule. - -The Rotifers are so small that they are built up of very few "cells" -or nucleated units of protoplasm. Many of them are of smaller size -than some of the big infusorian animalcules, which consist of a single -cell. The Rotifers are probably a dwindled pygmy race descended from -ancestors of ten or a hundred times their linear measurement. It -is an important fact that in the possession of a toothed gizzard, -in the hard body-case or cuirass of some kinds, and in Pedalion's -rapidly-moving legs or paddles, fringed with plumose hairs and moved -by that peculiar variety of muscular tissue which is called "striped -muscular tissue," the wheel animalcules give evidence of relationship -to the Crustacea–that is to say, it appears to be probable that they -were derived from the common ancestor of marine worms and Crustacea -before those two lines of descent had diverged. - -Rotifera or wheel animalcules are found all over the world, in the -tropics, the temperate zones, the Arctic and Antarctic, and many -species have a world-wide distribution. They occur in fresh waters -and in the sea, in great lakes, in gutters which dry up, in pools in -the polar regions and on high mountains which are solid ice for the -greater part of the year. A few are parasitic, some living on the legs -of minute Crustacea. One which I discovered in 1868 in the Channel -Islands lives in crowds on the skin of a remarkable sea-worm (Synapta), -which burrows in the sand, exposed at low tide. It holds on (as I found -and figured) by a true sucker, which replaces the forked tail of other -commoner Rotifers. It was named "Discopus" by Zelinka, who searched for -it in consequence of my description, and gave a very detailed account -of it. Others are parasitic inside earthworms, and one is found inside -the globe animalcule Volvox! Another causes the growth of warts or -"galls" in a curious kind of Alga called Vaucheria. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -SUSPENDED ANIMATION - - -Our leading newspapers, with rare exceptions, never report the -discoveries announced at our scientific societies. But they often -seek to astonish their readers with silly stories of monsters said to -have been seen in tropical forests, ghostly "manifestations" and such -rubbish transmitted to them at a high price by crafty "newsmongers," -and do much harm to themselves and to the public thereby. On the other -hand, foreign newspapers do occasionally report the proceedings of -their local Academies–and then "our own correspondent" telegraphs to -London with a flourish, a confused report of what he has read and -ignorantly imagines to be "a startling discovery" because he knows -nothing whatever of the subject. Thus shortly before the recent -war–the confirmation by a French experimenter of the fact, long since -demonstrated, that the seeds of plants can survive exposure to very low -temperature, was announced with ridiculous emphasis by one of these -"fat boys" of journalism _pour épater le bourgeois_. - -A temperature very near to that of the total absence of that molecular -movement or vibration which we call "heat," can now be attained by the -use of liquid hydrogen, which enables us, by its evaporation, to come -within a few degrees (actually three!) of that condition known as the -"absolute zero." We divide into one hundred equal steps or degrees the -column of liquid (mercury, spirit, or other liquid) of a thermometer -as it expands from the shrunken bulk which it occupies when placed in -freezing water to the full length which it attains when the water is -heated to boiling point. This is called the centigrade scale, or scale -of a hundred degrees. But, as we know by the records of travellers in -the Arctic regions and by the experiments made in laboratories, there -are "degrees" of coldness or diminution of heat which are much below -that of freezing water, and can be measured by the further shrinking of -the column of liquid in the thermometer, so that we record "degrees -below zero centigrade," each of the same length as those above it and -corresponding to the same "quantum" of decrease or increment of heat. -As we pass from the temperature at which water is solid to that much -lower or diminished state of hotness at which mercury becomes solid, -the shrinking column of the thermometer (in which a liquid is used not -rendered solid by this amount of cooling) falls through 39 degrees of -the centigrade size, so that we say that mercury freezes at minus 39 or -at 39 degrees below zero of the centigrade scale. The conclusion has -now been reached that the absolute zero or cessation of all heat in a -body is represented by a fall of no less than 273 degrees below zero -on the centigrade scale. Hydrogen gas becomes a liquid at 252 degrees -below zero centigrade, and a solid at 264 degrees. If we start our -counting of those degrees or increments of heat, of which there are -100 between the freezing and boiling points of water, at the absolute -zero or condition of total absence of heat, we must say that hydrogen -"melts"–that is, passes from the solid to the liquid state–at 11 -degrees (absolute), and boils at about 20 degrees (absolute), whilst -water does not melt until 273 degrees (absolute) of temperature are -reached, and boils at 373 degrees above the absolute zero. - -It is the fact that, from the year 1860 onward, numerous observers have -experimented on the influence of very low temperatures upon seeds, and -have uniformly shown that the power of germination and healthy growth -of the seeds is not destroyed by exposure to very low temperatures. The -celebrated Swiss botanist, De Candolle, published the first careful -observations on this subject in conjunction with Raoul Pictet, who had -devised an apparatus for producing exceedingly low temperatures. Pictet -in 1893 exposed various bacteria and also seeds to a temperature of -nearly 200 degrees below zero centigrade without injury to them. They -"resumed" their life when gradually restored to the normal temperature. -Pictet concluded that since all chemical action of the kind which goes -on in living things requires a certain degree of temperature for its -occurrence, and that this is demonstrably considerably higher than -minus 100 degrees centigrade, we must suppose that all chemical action -in living things (as in nearly all other bodies) is annihilated at 100 -degrees below zero centigrade. Accordingly he maintained that what we -call "life," or "living," is a manifestation of chemical forces similar -to those shown in other natural bodies, and liable to interruption and -resumption by the operation of unfavourable or favourable conditions -as are other chemical processes. In 1897, Mr. Horace Brown and Mr. F. -Escombe published, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, -an account of experiments in which they exposed seeds of twelve plants -belonging to widely different natural orders to a temperature varying -from 183 degrees to 192 degrees below zero centigrade for a period -of 110 consecutive hours (about four days and a half). As a result -the germinative powers of the seeds showed no appreciable difference -from that of seed not subjected to cold, and they produced healthy -plants. The low temperature was obtained by the use of liquid air -in a vacuum-jacketed flask (like the well-known "thermos" flasks), -into which the seeds were introduced in thin glass tubes. Professor -M'Kendrick had previously shown that the putrescence of meat, blood -and milk by bacteria infesting them was temporarily arrested, but -not permanently so, by exposing those substances for one hour to a -temperature of 182 degrees below zero centigrade. It appeared that the -putrefactive bacteria present in those substances were not destroyed -by that degree of cold, but returned to a state of activity when the -normal temperature was restored. Professor M'Kendrick also showed that -seeds would germinate after exposure to like treatment. - -All this is ancient history, twenty years and more in the past. The -experiments of a French observer, mentioned at the beginning of this -chapter as foolishly trumpeted in a London paper, were of service as -confirming the extensive and careful work of his predecessors. It is -only when our old well-bottled discoveries have, however tardily, been -brought before the Paris Academy of Sciences and sent back to us by -the Paris correspondents of news agencies as "startling novelties" and -"amazing discoveries" (twenty years old), that any attempt is made to -mention them in the London daily Press. And then they are announced -without any reference to their true history. This habit of culling -stale morsels of information from the proceedings of foreign academies -points to the fact that there is incompetence both in the purveyor and -publisher of such scraps. If our newspaper editors must publish scraps -about scientific novelties, they should employ educated assistants -to see that they do not make themselves ridiculous. The scraps which -come round to our newspapers from Paris are usually plagiarized from a -French newspaper by some one who has a very imperfect knowledge of the -subject to which they refer, and adds his own blunders to those of the -original reporter. - -The action of extreme cold in arresting life in such minute organisms -as plant seeds and bacteria without destroying the possibility of -the resumption of those chemical and physical changes when warmth is -restored, is dependent on the fact that those chemical changes can -only proceed in and by the aid of liquid water. When thoroughly frozen -the chemical constituents of minute organisms and seeds–which until -frozen were living and undergoing continuous, though perhaps slow, -change–become solid, and can no longer act on one another or be acted -on by surrounding chemical bodies equally reduced in temperature. -They may be compared to the solid dry constituents of a Seidlitz -powder–one an acid, the other a carbonate. So long as they are dry -they remain–when mixed and shaken together–inert, without action -on one another. Even if one is dissolved in water and then frozen -solid and mixed in a powdered state with the other at an equally low -temperature the mixture remains dry and inert. Nothing happens so long -as the low temperature is maintained. But if we raise the temperature -above the freezing-point–so as to liquefy the solution–chemical action -will immediately ensue. With much fizzing and escape of gas the two -chemicals will unite. The effect of cold on living matter is of this -nature. It is a real "suspension" of the changes which were–however -slowly and quietly–going on before complete solidification of the -protoplasm by freezing. A frozen seed and frozen bacteria are in a -state of "suspended animation." - -It is not the fact that absolutely all chemical union and change -whatsoever is prevented–that is to say, arrested or suspended–by -extreme cold, although the union with oxygen and other such changes of -the essential material of living things, which we call "protoplasm," -and most other chemical changes are thus arrested or suspended. The -most striking exception is that of the most active of all elements, -the gas fluorine, which becomes a liquid at 210 degrees below zero -centigrade, and in that condition attacks turpentine if brought into -contact with it at the same low temperature with explosive force. Even -solid fluorine combines with liquid hydrogen with violent explosion. -It seems certain, however, that elements or chemical compounds brought -into the solid (not merely liquid) condition by extreme cold cannot act -chemically upon other bodies in the same solid condition, even when -they would at normal temperatures so act with the greatest readiness, -because they are then either liquid or gaseous. - -The conception of an arrest of the changes in organisms, which we call -life, followed by their resumption after a greater or less interval of -suspense, was long ago suggested and discussed before we had knowledge -of the action of low temperatures. The winter-sleep of some animals -and the "comatose" condition sometimes exhibited by human beings -had led to the notion of "suspended animation." But a careful study -of hybernating animals and of human instances of prolonged "coma" -satisfied physiologists nearly 100 years ago that the processes of -life–the beating of the heart and the respiration–were not actually -and absolutely suspended in these cases, but reduced to a minimum. The -chemical processes connected with life were still very slowly carried -on. - -Again, a great deal of interest and discussion was excited in the last -century by the drying up of delicate yet complex aquatic animalcules, -such as the Rotifers (the wheel animalcules described in our last -chapter) and Tardigrades (bear animalcules), and the fact that after -their preservation as mere dust for many months dried on a glass-slip -they could be revived and made to return to life by wetting them with a -minute drop of water, whilst the whole process of revival was watched -under the microscope. Letters were published in the "Times" in the -"fifties" by the Rev. Lord Sydney Godolphin Osborn, describing his -observations and experiments on these animalcules. - -The yellow slime-fungus called "flowers of tan," after creeping as -a naked network of protoplasm over the "spent tan," thrown out from -tan-pits, will in dry weather gather itself into little knobs, each -of which is as hard and brittle as a piece of sealing-wax. Yet (as I -have repeatedly experienced in using material given to me by the great -botanist, de Bary) a fragment of one of these hard pieces, if carefully -guarded in a dry pill-box for two or three years, will when placed on -a film of water at summer-heat gradually absorb moisture and expand -itself into threads of creeping, flowing protoplasm, nourish itself, -and grow and reproduce. It was formerly suggested in regard to these -cases of resuscitation after drying, as also in the case of seeds which -germinate after being kept in a dry condition for many years, that -really they were not thoroughly dried, but were sufficiently moist to -allow of very slow oxidation and gas exchange, which it was said was -so small in amount as to escape observation. There was a plausible -comparison of the condition of these dried organisms to that of -hybernating mammals, desiccated snails, and comatose men. It was held -that here, too, the life-processes were not absolutely arrested, but -reduced to an imperceptible minimum. - -This view of the matter was connected, no doubt, with a traditional -assumption that life was an entity–an "anima animans"–which entered a -living body, kept it continually "going" or "living," and if driven -out from it could not return. Curiously enough, Mr. Herbert Spencer -seems to have been (perhaps unconsciously) affected by this traditional -view, since he defined life as "the continuous"–that is the important -word–"adaptation of internal to external relations." This definition -prejudiced the view of some distinguished physiologists on the question -of "suspended animation," and I remember a very warm dinner-table -discussion with Michael Foster and other friends, some twenty-five -years ago, when I put forward the view that so long as the intimate -structure–in fact, the chemical structure–of the protoplasm of a living -thing is not destroyed, it does not "die" though all chemical change in -it may be arrested. I compared the dried seed and dried animalcule–as -I would now compare the frozen seed and the frozen bacteria–to a well -wound watch which is stopped by the intrusion of a needle between the -spokes of its balance wheel, or, better, by the cooling on the wheel of -a tiny drop of soft wax so as to clog it. The works of the watch are -rendered absolutely motionless, but it is not "dead." As soon as the -needle is removed or the tiny speck of wax melted by a gentle warmth -it resumes its movement. It is, as we say, "alive again." So, too, -the frozen or dried organism is absolutely motionless. No chemical -movements can go on in it. They are stopped by the solidity set up by -freezing, or in the case of simple "desiccation," by the absence of the -moisture necessary for bringing the chemical molecules into contact. -If protected from destructive agents, the mechanism remains perfect -for just so many years or centuries as that protection lasts. Whenever -the frozen organism thaws or the dried organism becomes wet, the -life-processes are resumed, the seed germinates, the bacteria grow and -multiply. - -Thus we see what are some of the points of interest and importance -raised by the old experiments of Pictet, M'Kendrick, and Horace Brown, -the results of which were the same as those announced as Parisian -novelties. I have yet to say a few words as to the reason why we cannot -produce "suspended animation" in higher organisms or in man by the -application to them of extreme cold. Further, the influence of extreme -cold on the possible passage, through space, of living germs from -other worlds to this earth–a possibility suggested by the late Lord -Kelvin–requires some consideration in connection with the striking -experiments with phosphorescent bacteria described ten years ago by Sir -James Dewar. - -[Illustration: Young stages of growth or Veliger larvæ of marine -snails, showing the ciliated band or velum which is identical with the -wheel apparatus of the Rotifers or Wheel animalcules.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -MORE ABOUT SUSPENDED ANIMATION - - -I gave some account in the last chapter of the experiments made within -the last twenty years, which have shown that, in certain very simple -organisms and in seeds, all chemical change can be stopped by the -application to them of methods of freezing. The continuous changes -which go on in these living things under ordinary circumstances are -arrested by the solidification of what was more or less "moist" -material. Water in the liquid state, though it may be in extremely -minute quantity, is necessary for the chemical combinations and -decompositions which go on in living things. Hence not only the -solidification of all moisture, in or having access to the living -bodies experimented on, arrests those chemical combinations and -decompositions, but very thorough drying also has this result. Yet -either on thawing the frozen liquid or supplying moisture to the "dried -up" organism, the previously continuous chemical and physical changes -are resumed as though no arrest or suspension of them had occurred. No -limit is known to the length of time during which this arrest may be -continued, and yet a resumption of living changes occur when the cause -of arrest–namely, either solidification by cold or else dryness–is -removed. The apparatus–the exact structure and the exact chemical -materials–of the seeds or the bacteria remains uninjured and unchanged -by either freezing or drying carefully applied. It is, of course, -impossible to guarantee that no accident, no unforeseen change in the -surroundings, shall take place and destroy in one way or another the -experiment. But the arrest of all change, such as goes on in life, has -been, in many experiments, maintained under careful supervision and -protection for several months, and yet life has been resumed when the -cause arresting chemical change has been removed. The presumption, -then, is in favour of the possibility of the arrest being maintained -for an unlimited period, and yet at any time being resumed when the -arresting cause (cold or dryness) is removed. - -Before what we may call "the suspensory action" of very low -temperatures had become generally known, the question occurred as to -whether seeds kept in a dry condition for several months, or even -years, and yet capable of germination when placed in moist earth, -are during their dry condition undergoing any chemical changes. The -matter presented itself in this way. The dry seeds can germinate when -sown, therefore they are not dead, but living. According to various -physiologists and philosophers (_e.g._, Herbert Spencer), life is -a continuous adjustment of internal to external relations. Burdon -Sanderson, the Oxford professor of Physiology, declared that "life is -a state of ceaseless change." If this is a correct conception, and if -by "living" we mean, as the great Oxford English Dictionary tells us, -"manifesting the property called life," then the seeds which, though -dry, are still "living" or "alive" or "endowed with life," should yield -some evidence of the "ceaseless change" (by which is meant chemical -change) of which, as things not dead but living, they are supposed -to be the seat. The late Dr. George Romanes published in 1893 some -experiments on this matter. We know that free oxygen is very generally -(though not universally) necessary for the continual chemical changes -which the minutest as well as the largest plants and animals carry on. -Romanes enclosed a quantity of dry seeds in glass tubes, from which he -pumped out all gas as completely as possible–that is to say, all except -one-millionth of the original volume. He also expelled all oxygen by -replacing it by other gases. As a result of this treatment, continued -for as much as fifteen months, he found that neither a high vacuum nor -subsequent exposure for twelve months in separate instances to oxygen -or to hydrogen, or nitrogen, or carbon monoxide, or carbon dioxide, -or hydrogen sulphide, or the vapour of ether or of chloroform, had -any effect on the subsequent germinative power of the seeds employed. -These experiments proved that anything like respiration by ordinary -gaseous exchange with the atmosphere was _not_ going on in the seeds, -and that if they are the seat of "ceaseless change" because not dead, -the changes must be chemical interactions of some kind or other within -their protoplasm. - -The keeping of seeds and also of bacteria for days and even months–at -temperatures as low as 100 degrees below zero centigrade–and their -subsequent resumption of life, has removed the possibility (not -excluded by Romanes) of the occurrence of chemical interactions within -the substance of these organisms preserved during long periods of -time, and yet not ceasing to be what is ordinarily called "alive," -or endowed with "life." It is time that we should definitely abandon -Herbert Spencer's and Burdon Sanderson's definitions or verbal -characterizations of "life." The word "life" is commonly and properly -used to designate the condition of a "living thing" or a thing which -is "alive." A thing which has lost life–that is, which was living, but -is so no more, and cannot be "restored to life" or resuscitated–is, in -correct English, said to have "died," or to be "dead." The motionless, -unchanging frozen seed or bacterium, which resumes its living -activities when carefully thawed, has _not_ "died." The mere fact that -it can be resuscitated justifies the application to it, according to -correct English usage, of the word "alive"–it is still "alive." It is -not possible to alter the significance of the words "life," "living" -and "alive," so as to retain the definitions of Herbert Spencer and -Burdon Sanderson as correct. They are incorrect. Life is not continuous -or ceaseless change. It is a property of the more active substance of -plants and animals which has special structure and definite chemical -constituents. The property is, no doubt, usually manifested under -normal conditions of temperature, light, moisture, pressure, chemical -and electrical surroundings in a continuous series of changes, both -chemical and physical. But at exceptionally low temperature, and in -other arresting circumstances these changes can, in a few exceptional -organisms, be absolutely stopped, though the organism in which the -changes cease is uninjured as a mechanism. It still possesses "the -property of life"–is still "alive" although motionless and unchanging. -Its life is in suspense, as is that of a clock with arrested pendulum. - -The unjustified conception of "life," or "living," or being "alive," -and not dead, as necessarily a state of incessant chemical and -other change, is bound up with the old fancy that life is not to be -considered as a state or motion of a special and complex structure -called protoplasm, but is a thing, a spirit or an essence, which takes -possession of organic bodies and makes them "live." According to Sir -Oliver Lodge, if chemists could build up the chemical materials which -constitute protoplasm, the protoplasm so made by them would not live. -It would (he stated at the meeting of the British Association in -Birmingham in 1912) have to receive a charge or infusion, as it were, -of this thing suggested by the word "life." It cannot live itself -(according to the suppositions of Sir Oliver), but serves as the -vehicle, the receptacle, for this supposed intangible entity "life." In -the same imaginative vein, our grandfathers used to say that heat was -due to the entity or "fairy" "caloric" which could be enticed into or -driven from material bodies, making them "hot" by its presence and cold -by its greater or less exclusion. The suspended animation of frozen -germs and their return to life when warmed could thus be represented -as an affection or affinity between the fairy "Vitalis" and the fairy -"Caloric," the former fleeing from the body and waiting near when the -latter deserts his place, but returning to happy union with "Caloric" -when he again, however feebly, pervades once more the vehicle provided -for "Vitalis." Such imaginary essences are not of any assistance to -us in arriving at a knowledge of the facts, and so far from helping -us to a comprehension of the ultimate nature of things (which we -have no reason to suppose that it is possible for us to attain) -their introduction tends to the substitution of imaginary causes and -unverified assumptions for the carefully-tested and demonstrated -conclusions of science. - -In 1871 Lord Kelvin, when president of the British Association, -suggested that the origin of life as we know it may have been -extra-terrestrial, and due to the "moss-grown fragments from the -ruins of another world," which reached the earth as meteorites. It -was objected to this that the extreme cold–very near to the absolute -zero–which prevails in interstellar space would be fatal to all germs -of life carried by such meteoric stones. But twenty years later Sir -James Dewar showed that this objection did not hold, since at any -rate some forms of life–certain bacteria–could survive an exposure of -several days to a temperature approaching the absolute zero. Later Sir -James made some very striking experiments by exposing cultivations of -phosphorescent bacteria to the temperature of liquid hydrogen (252 -degrees below zero centigrade). These bacteria may be obtained by -selective cultivation from sea-water taken on the coast, in which a few -are always scattered. A rich growth of these bacteria in gelatine broth -gives off a brilliant greenish light when shaken with atmospheric air -or otherwise exposed to oxygen. The light is so intense that a glass -flask holding a pint of the cultivation gives off sufficient light to -enable one to read in an otherwise dark room. The emission of light -is dependent on the chemical activity of the living bacteria in the -presence of oxygen. In the absence of free oxygen they cease to be -luminous. As soon as they are killed the light ceases. When they are -frozen solid the light ceases, even in the presence of free oxygen -gas. When a film consisting of such a culture is frozen solid it will -remain inactive if the low temperature be maintained for months, though -exposed to free oxygen gas, and then, as soon as it is liquefied by -a gentle rise in temperature, the active changes recommence, and the -phosphorescent light beams forth. Sir James Dewar exposed such films -to the low temperature of liquid hydrogen for (so far as I remember) -six months, and obtained from them at once the evidence of their living -chemical activity, namely, their "phosphorescence," as soon as they -were thawed. In the frozen state, at a temperature of minus 250 degrees -centigrade, nothing, it appeared, could injure these phosphorescent -bacteria. No chemical can "get at them" at that temperature, the most -biting acid, the most caustic alkali cannot touch them when, like them, -it is in a hard, solid condition. Powdering the film by mechanical -pressure has no effect on the bacteria. They are too small to be -crushed by any mill. Such germs would, it seemed, surely be able to -travel through interstellar space, as suggested by Kelvin. - -Then it occurred to Sir James that light–the strangely active -ultra-violet rays of light–might be able to disintegrate and destroy -the bacteria, even when frozen solid at the lowest temperature. He -exposed his frozen cultures to strong light, excluding any heat-giving -rays, and found that the bacteria no longer recovered when subsequently -the culture was thawed. Light, certain rays of light, can, it thus -appears, penetrate and cause destructive vibrations in chemical bodies -protected from all other disintegrating agencies by the solidity -conferred by extreme cold. I am not able to say, at the moment, how -far this important matter has been pursued by further experiment, nor -whether what are called the "chemically active" rays of light and -other rays such as the Röntgen rays can effect chemical change in -other bodies (besides living germs), upon which they act at normal -temperatures, but in regard to which they might be expected to be -inoperative when the bodies in question are brought into the peculiar -state of inactivity produced by extreme cold. Since light is far more -intense outside our atmosphere than within it, it seemed, at first, -that the demonstration of its destructive action on frozen germs puts -an end to Kelvin's theory of a meteoric origin of life. It must, -however, be remembered that minute living germs could conceivably be -protected from the access of light by being embedded in even very -small opaque particles of meteoric clay. So Lord Kelvin's suggestion -as to the travelling of life on meteoric dust cannot be set aside as -involving the supposition of the persistence of life in conditions -known to be destructive of it. - -The great interest in former times in relation to "suspended -animation" has naturally been in relation to the occurrence of this -condition in man and the possibility of producing it in man by this -or that treatment. There is no doubt whatever, at the present day, -that "death-like" trances, whether occurring naturally or after the -administration of drugs, in the case of man and of higher animals, -are not due to that complete suspension of living changes which we can -produce, as I have here related, in certain lower forms of life. These -death-like trances are merely cases of reduction of the living changes -to a very low degree.[6] - -The bodies of all but the simplest animals and plants are too large and -too complex to survive the bursting and disruptive action of extreme -cold, due to the unequal distribution of water within them and its -irresistible expansion when frozen. Their living mechanism is broken, -mechanically destroyed by this expansion. We cannot hope to apply -cold to man so as to produce "suspended animation." It is true that -experiments are on record in which fish and even frogs have survived -enclosure within a solid mass of ice by the freezing of the water in -which they were living. But careful experiments are wanting which -would demonstrate that these animals were actually frozen through and -through, and that either fish or other cold-blooded animals can survive -a thorough solidification by freezing of their entire substance. Such -survival cannot be pronounced to be impossible, but it has not been -demonstrated in any cold-blooded animal–even shell-fish or worm or -polyp–let alone a warm-blooded mammal. It appears that, apart from -disruptive effects, the protoplasm of even very minute and simple -organisms, such as the Protozoa, does not in all kinds, even if in any, -survive exposure to great cold. The toleration of great cold and return -to living activity after thorough freezing is, it appears, a special -quality attained by the living material of vegetable seeds and by many -kinds of bacteria. A similar special toleration of high temperatures, -a good deal short of the boiling point, but high enough to kill most -plants and animals, is known to characterize certain bacteria and -allied Schizophyta found in hot springs. It is a matter of common -knowledge that many animals and plants are killed by a temperature -(whether too high or too low for them) which allows others to flourish -and may be necessary for their life. Minute organisms (flagellate -monads) have been cultivated experimentally in a nourishing liquid, the -temperature of which was raised daily by one or two degrees until the -liquid was so hot that the same species of organism was at once killed -by it when abruptly transferred to it from liquid at ordinary summer -temperature. - -The true "suspended animation" of many vegetable seeds and of many -kinds of bacteria under the influence of cold is not an exhibition of -a general property of living things, but is due to a special quality -of resistance gradually attained by natural selection of variations a -little more tolerant of cold or of drought than are the majority. It is -of life-saving value and a cause of survival to the species of plants -and bacteria concerned. No doubt there is need of further experiment on -the subject of the "killing" or destructive effect exerted by different -degrees of diminution of temperature upon the protoplasm of all kinds -of organisms, and with the knowledge so obtained we shall be able to -frame a conception of the actual mechanical and chemical peculiarities -of the protoplasm of those bacteria and of those vegetable seeds -which can be exposed to the extreme of cold for many months or for an -indefinite period and yet subsequently recover or live again. Probably -in order to survive freezing, protoplasm must be, not absolutely dry, -but free from all but a minimum of moisture. - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[6] See the chapter on "Sleep," in my "Science from an Easy Chair," -Methuen, 1909. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE SWASTIKA - - -[Illustration: FIG. 38.–The swastika in its simplest rectangular form. -It may turn to the right, as here, or to the left, a less usual thing, -but without significance.] - -A good many people have never heard of the Swastika. It is an emblem -or device such as is the Cross or the Crescent. Here it is (Fig. 38) -in its most simple and most common form. In India it is in common use -at the present day, and has been so for ages. It is the emblem of good -luck. The name "Swastika," by which it is widely known, is a Sanskrit -word meaning "good luck." The word is composed of Su, the equivalent -of the Greek _eu_, signifying "well" or "good," and asti (like the -Greek _esto_), signifying "being," whilst ka is a suffix completing -the word as a substantive. The sign or emblem called Swastika must -have existed and been largely used in decoration of temples, images, -swords, banners, utensils, and personal trinkets of all sorts long -before this name was given to it. It has a name in many widely separate -languages. It is often referred to by English writers as the fylfot, -the gammadion, and the "crux ansata," also as the "croix gammée." It is -often found more roughly drawn (on pottery or cloth) as shown in Fig. -39. Often the arms of the cross are bent rigidly at right angles as -in Fig. 38, but they are often only curved as seen in Fig. 39, C, or -curled spirally as in B, when it is called an "ogee." The arms of the -Swastika are sometimes bent to the right as in Fig. 38, and sometimes -to the left as in Fig. 39. This difference does not appear to have any -symbolic significance, but to depend on the fancy of the artist. - -[Illustration: FIG. 39.–Three simple varieties of the swastika. -_A_, the normal rectangular. _B_, the ogee variety (with spiral -extremities). _C_, the curvilinear or "current" variety.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 40.–Footprint of the Buddha, from an ancient Indian -carving, showing several swastikas. (Fergusson and Schliemann.)] - -In Figs. 40 to 45 a few examples are shown of the Swastika from various -places and ages. It was in use in Japan in ancient times, and is -still common there and in Korea. In China, where it is called "wan," -it was at one time used, when enclosed in a circle, as a character -or pictograph to signify the sun. It has been employed in China from -time immemorial to mark sacred or specially honoured works of art, -buildings, porcelain, pictures, robes, and is sometimes tattooed on -the hands, arms, or breast. In India it is widely used in decoration -by both Buddhists and Brahmins; children have it painted on their -shaven heads, and it is introduced in various ceremonies. The gigantic -carved footprints of Buddha from an Indian temple drawn in Fig. 40 show -several Swastikas on the soles of the feet and on the toes. In the -Near East and in Europe the Swastika is no longer in use: it is not, -in fact, popularly known. But in ancient and very remote times it was -in constant use in these regions, especially by the Mykenæan people -and those who came under their influence, and also by the people of -the Bronze Age–before the use of iron in Europe. Fig. 41 shows a vase -of Mykenæan age (about 1200 years B.C.) from Cyprus ornamented with -Swastikas. Hundreds of terra-cotta "spindle-whorls" like Fig. 42 were -found by Schliemann in excavating Hissarlik and the site of ancient -Troy, and some of them date from 3000 B.C. in layers of different ages. -The vase on which is painted the ornament shown in Fig. 43 is from -Bœotia, and belongs to the same early period–the "Mykenæan" or "Ægæan" -before that of the Hellenes. It still survives in the pottery of the -Dipylon period (_circa_ 800 B.C.), as is seen in the fragment drawn -in Fig. 6, Chapter I. The later Greeks of the great classical period -(Hellenes) did not use the Swastika. Nor has it been found on the works -of art of the ancient Egyptians, nor in the remains of Babylonia, -Assyria or Persia. It, in fact, seems to have belonged especially to -that ancient "Minoan" civilization, the remains of which are found -in Crete and the other Greek islands. The same culture and the same -race is revealed to us by the discoveries of Schliemann at Mykenæ and -other spots in Greece, and at Hissarlik, the seat of ancient Troy. The -Mykenæan art seems not to have been transmitted to the post-Homeric -Greeks, nor to Egypt, nor to Babylonia and Assyria. The Swastika seems, -like the "flying gallop" of Mykenæan art, to have travelled in very -ancient times by a north-eastern route to the Far East. I have given -some account of the latter, with illustrations, in "Science from an -Easy Chair," Second series. Like the representation of the galloping -horse, with both fore and hind legs stretched and the hoofs of the hind -legs turned upwards, the Swastika is found in the remarkable metal work -(Fig. 43 _bis_) discovered in the necropolis of Koban, in the Caucasus, -dating from 500 B.C. The Swastika and the "flying gallop" probably -travelled together across Asia to China and the Far East, and so -eventually to India on the one hand and Japan on the other–the Swastika -thus escaping altogether, as does the pose of the "flying gallop," the -Near East and later Greece. This is a very remarkable and interesting -association. - -[Illustration: FIG. 41.–Vase from Cyprus (Mykenæan Age, _circa_ 1200 -B.C.); painted with lotus, bird and four swastikas (Metropolitan -Museum, New York City).] - -[Illustration: FIG. 42.–Terra-cotta spindle-whorl marked with -swastikas. Troy, 4th city (Schliemann).] - -The Mykenæans and their island relatives obtained the Swastika either -from the ancient Bronze-age people of Europe or else gave it to them, -since it is very nearly as common as a decoration or symbol on the -bronze swords, spear-heads, shields, and other metal work of these -prehistoric people of the middle and north of Europe (also occurring -in the pottery of the Swiss Lake dwellings), as it is in the islands -and adjacent lands of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Swastika is also -found abundantly on the early work of the Etruscans, but disappeared -from general use in Italy, as it did from the rest of Europe, before -historic times, although occasionally used (as in the decoration of -the walls of a house at Pompeii). All over Germany, Scandinavia, -France, and Britain it is found (Fig. 44) on objects of the Bronze -period–sometimes on stone as well as on bronze utensils, ornaments, -and weapons. A few objects of Anglo-Saxon age are ornamented with -it–especially remarkable is a piece of pottery of that age from Norfolk -(Fig. 45). - -[Illustration: FIG. 43.–Ornament from an archaic (pre-Hellenic) Bœotian -vase, showing several swastikas, Greek crosses and two serpents (from -Goodyear).] - -[Illustration: FIG. 43. (_bis_).–Swastika in bronze repoussé, from the -necropolis of Koban, Caucasus (after Chantre "Le Caucase"), about 500 -B.C.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 44.–Silver-plated bronze horse-gear from -Scandinavia, showing two swastikas, and below a complex elaboration of -a swastika. (Bronze Age, about 1500 B.C.)] - -[Illustration: FIG. 45.–Anglo-Saxon urn from Shropham, Norfolk, -ornamented by twenty small hand-made swastikas stamped into the clay. -(British Museum.)] - -The history of the "Swastika" would be remarkable enough if it ended -here with the disappearance of its use in Europe in prehistoric times -and its continued use in the Far East and India. But the most curious -fact about it is that we find it as a very common and favourite -decoration and device among the native tribes in North America and -Mexico, and exceptionally in Brazil. It is found in use among the -Indians of Kansas and other tribes–as a device in pottery, in bead-work -(Fig. 46), patch-work, quill-embroidery, and other decorative fabrics. -The Indians called Sacs, Kickapoos, and Pottawottamies, who worship -the sun (which is associated with the Swastika in China), call it by -a native name signifying "the luck." It is also found as a decorative -design in the most ancient remains of man in America, dating (so far as -can be guessed) from a thousand years or more before Columbus (Fig. 47). - -[Illustration: FIG. 46.–Piece of a ceremonial bead-worked garter, -showing star and two swastikas made by the Sac Indians, Cook County, -Kansas. (Modern.)] - -It is generally held that the Swastika must have been introduced into -America in prehistoric times by early redskin immigrants from Asia. The -question has been raised as to whether this introduction was before or -after the worship of Buddha in Asia. It is only amongst Buddhists that -the Swastika has a religious or sacred character. Elsewhere it seems to -have been a mark or sign carrying "good luck." A representation of a -sitting human figure incised on shell has been found in a prehistoric -burial-mound in Tennessee, which has remarkable resemblance to the -Asiatic statues of the Buddha. Shell ornaments have also been found -here decorated with sharply-cut Swastikas, and in a mound in Ohio thin -plates of copper were found cut into simple Swastika shapes like that -of Fig. 38, four inches across. Modern Mexican Indians make brooches of -gold and turquoise in the form of the Swastika, and it is a favourite -device among the Indians of neighbouring territory. Swastikas occur as -decorations or lucky marks on the small terra-cotta "fig-leaf," which -was worn by the women of some of the aboriginal tribes of Brazil, and -have also been found on native pottery from the Paraguay River. - -Some students of this subject have held the opinion that the "Swastika" -has been invented independently at different times in different -parts of the world. It is a fairly simple device, it is true; but -the view which is accepted at present is that it has spread from -one centre–probably European in the late Stone period–through the -Mykenæans, across Asia, and so with early immigrants across the Pacific -into the American continent. - -[Illustration: FIG. 47.–A stone slab from the ancient city of Mayapan -(Yucatan, Central America), on which (right side) a curvilinear -swastika is carved. (From the American Antiquarian Society, 1881.)] - -Apart from this problem, there is an interesting question as to how -the device probably took its origin. The "Swastika" is sometimes -called the "gammadion," because it may be regarded as four individuals -of the Greek letter gamma (which has this shape [Greek: G]) joined -at right angles to one another. The old English name for it, dating -from Anglo-Saxon times, was fylfot–an old Norse word of doubtful -meaning, which has no currency at the present day. - -A method of making the Swastika by piling up sand or grain on a flat -surface, actually in use at the present time in India, is shown in Fig. -48. The artist makes first of all a circle with a cross drawn within it -(A). Then the circle is rubbed out or cut away at four corresponding -points where the arms of the cross touch the circle, and so we get -B. Then by the straightening of the curved pieces we get the correct -rectangular Swastika, C. It is not probable that this is the way in -which the Swastika was originally devised, though it is not possible to -arrive at any certainty on the subject. - -In these matters concerning the origin of simple ornamental patterns, -designs, and symbols, we always have to deal with certain natural -opposing tendencies on the part of the artist-draughtsman or designer, -one or other of which may be variously called into prominence by the -softness or hardness or other quality of the material he has to use, -or by the individual fancy for elaboration or for simplification which -exists in him. I will call four of these tendencies which concern us -in regard to the Swastika: 1, the rectilinear as opposed to 2, the -curvilinear, and 3, the grammatizing as opposed to 4, the naturalizing -tendency, and will show what bearing they may have on the origin of the -device known as the Swastika. - -[Illustration: FIG. 48.–Diagram to show the derivation of the swastika -from a Greek cross enclosed by a circle. In India the swastika is -actually modelled in this way–in native ceremonies with rice-grain -spread on the ground. The successive figures drawn above are produced -by moving the rice with the hand.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE ORIGIN OF THE SWASTIKA - - -The Swastika is, we have seen, a very early device or symbol in -use among ancient races in Europe, Asia and America. Though it has -been found on an ingot of metal in Ashanti it was of late foreign -introduction there, and is not known in Africa, nor in Polynesia and -Australia, nor among the Eskimos. How did it as a mere matter of -shape and pattern come into existence? One might suppose that such -combinations of lines as the simple cross and this modified cross, -with the arms bent each half-way along its length to form a right -angle, would be very natural things for a primitive man–or a child–to -make when trying to produce some ornamental effect by tracing simple -rectilinear and symmetrical figures. No doubt such a "playing with -lines" is a common phase or stage of the human search for decorative -design. It leads by gradual steps to very complex line-decoration in -early pottery and woven work, which is sometimes called "geometrical -design." - -It is, however, the fact, and a very interesting one, that the -tendency to make geometrical design is not so pronounced in the very -earliest examples of human drawing and ornament known to us, as is -the tendency to copy natural objects. And this would appear to be -especially the case where the drawing is to be a symbol or significant -badge. In the earliest art-work known to us–that of the cave-men of -the late Pleistocene period in Western Europe (see Chaps. I., II. -and III.)–the artists were busy with attempts (often wonderfully -successful ones) to present the outlines of familiar animals (and -sometimes plants) by incised carving on bone or painting on the rock -walls of caves–preceded, it is true, by a period in which "all-round" -sculpture in bone or stone or modelling in clay was the method -employed. The extensive use of lines–concentric or parallel, like -those on the finger-tips–as decoration of stone work is not known -until the later or Neolithic period.[7] On one at least of the incised -bone drawings of the Palæolithic cave-men two little diamond-shaped -lozenges are engraved. They are seen in the cave-men's drawing of a -stag figured on pp. 12, 13 of this book. These lozenges are supposed to -be the "signature" of the artist, and, if so, are not only the first -examples of a geometrical rectilinear figure as ornament, but the -earliest examples known of the use of a badge or symbol as a means of -identification. - -When we compare the simpler decorative designs made use of by the -less cultivated races of men, we find that there are certain distinct -and opposed tendencies the predominance of which is of importance -in helping us to explain the origin of the design. The tendency to -make straight lines and rectilinear angles, which we may call the -"rectilinear habit," is found in work executed on hard stone by a -graving tool, and in work where square-cut stones are set together or -flat pieces of wood or straw are interlaced, and in coarser kinds of -weaving, bead-work, and basketwork. The opposite tendency is found in -work executed with a brush and fluid paint on pottery or cloth, or even -with a graver on soft clay or bone. - -The contrast is well shown in the two renderings of one and the same -"pattern," shown in A and B of Fig. 49. A is the rectilinear angular -decorative design which is known as the "Greek key pattern," whilst the -scroll below it is the "curvilinear" treatment of the same subject. -The first takes its rectilinear character from a structure built up of -hard blocklike pieces; the other is the flowing, easily moving line of -a brush laying on paint, or of a style moving over clay or soft wax. -The contrast is the same as that of the capital letters of the Roman -alphabet, as used in print, with their equivalents in "copper-plate," -cursive handwriting. - -[Illustration: FIG. 49.–The Greek Key pattern in _A_ rectangular, and -_B_ curvilinear or "current" form.] - -Another pair of tendencies opposed to each other which have much -significance in the explanation of decorative design is the tendency -to convert the simple lines of an original design into a drawing -representing some animal or plant shape. At the end of the last chapter -I distinguished this as the "naturalizing" tendency, contrasting it -with the grammatizing or simplifying tendency. A good example of it -is seen in Fig. 50. In A of that figure we see a circle divided into -three cones by curved lines; this is a known design. It is called a -"triskelion" (meaning a three-legged figure), or is more correctly -termed "a three-branched scroll." The curves are converted into angles -and straight lines in B, and then the stiff rectilinear "triskelion" -is subsequently developed into three human legs, as shown in C, Fig. -50. It is naturalized. Were the change to proceed in the other way from -the three human legs to the simple lines, we should have an example of -the opposed tendency, namely, that of converting drawings of natural -objects–by a degenerative or reducing process–to the simplest lines -representative of them. This tendency, which we call "grammatizing" -(from gramma, the Greek for a line), is far commoner in early art than -the naturalizing tendency which sets in when the artist is exuberant, -self-confident, and imaginative. We see a "naturalizing" tendency -in the flamboyant and arabesque decorative work of the renascence, -but it is also found among the happy Minoan, or Ægæan, island folk -who decorated great pots and basins in Cyprus and Crete with forms -suggested by birds, sea-creatures, and climbing plants, and worshipped -the great mother Nature as Aphrodite, the sea-born goddess. - -[Illustration: FIG. 50.–Diagrams of the "triskelion" or figure formed -by the division of a circle into three equal bent cones as in _A_. _B_ -is the rectangular form derived from it. _C_ is a "naturalized" form -derived from it, namely, the three conjoined legs used as the badge of -Sicily and of the Isle of Man.] - -The triangular island of Sicily (called also Trinacria) had in ancient -times (even as far back as 300 B.C.) the conjoined three legs (shown -in Fig. 50, C) as its badge or armorial emblem. An ancient Greek vase -found at Girgenti has this badge painted on it. Ancient Lycia had a -triskelion formed by three conjoined cocks' heads stamped on its coins. -Though it has no direct connection with the Swastika, the introduction -of the "three legs" as the armorial emblem of the Isle of Man is worth -relating, as it is not known to most of those who are familiar with -the device, with its motto, "Quocunque jeceris stabit" on the copper -pence minted for that island up to as late a date as 1864, and current -in Great Britain. King Alexander III of Scotland expelled the Norse -Vikings from the Isle of Man in A.D. 1266, and substituted for their -armorial emblem in the island, which was a ship under full sail, the -three legs of Sicily. Frederick II, King of Sicily, married Isabella, -the daughter of Henry III of England. Alexander III of Scotland married -Margaret, another daughter of Henry, and Henry's son, Edmund the -Hunchback, became King of Sicily, in succession to his brother-in-law -Frederick. Alexander of Scotland was thus brother-in-law both of -Frederick II and of Edmund, successive kings of Sicily. It was in this -way that he was led, when he added the Isle of Man to his kingdom, to -replace the former Norse emblem of the island by the picturesque and -striking device of that other island–Sicily–with which he had so close -a family connection. - -The tendency for drawings of men and animals when used as decorative -designs to degenerate, in the course of time and repetition, into -more and more simple lines, to become more and more "grammatized" -and simplified, till at last their origin is hardly recognizable, -is both a very remarkable and a very usual thing. The process of -degeneration, step by step, can often be traced, and curious remnants -of important parts of the original drawing are found surviving in the -final simplified design. The paddles and other carvings of some of the -South Sea Islanders show very curious "degenerations" of this kind. -A carved human head with open mouth becomes by repeated copying and -simplification a mere crescent or hook, which is the vastly enlarged -mouth of the original face. It alone survives, and is of enormous -size, when all other features and detail have been abandoned. In some -carvings of a face the tongue is shown projecting as an indication of -defiance. In course of simplification in successive reproductions the -face becomes a mere curved surface with a large pointed piece standing -out from it; it is the tongue. That one significant thing–suggesting -defiance–alone persists. The study of this process in human art -covers a very wide field, including all races and all times. An -excellent example is that given in Fig. 51. It shows the step by step -"grammatizing" of a favourite decorative drawing–that of an alligator, -as painted by the Chiriqui Indians of Panama on pottery. We start in -Fig. 51, A, with an alligator, already considerably "schematized" -or conventionalized. The Indians could do better than that, but it -served for pottery decoration. The figures B, C, D show three stages -of further "grammatizing" of the design (from different parts of -the surface of a pot) till, in D, we get the alligator reduced to a -yoke-like line and a dot! - -[Illustration: FIG. 51.–Four stages in the simplification of a -decorative design–the Alligator–as painted on pottery by the Chiriqui -Indians. (Holmes.)] - -Familiar modern examples of this reduction of an animal figure to one -or two lines, with mysterious-looking branches (representing limbs or -horns), are seen in the scattered devices on the Turkey carpets so -largely used at the present day. A comparison of various examples of -such carpets of different age and locality reveals the true nature of -these queer-looking patterns as representations of animals! Another -familiar instance of the grammatizing of an animal form is that -shown in Fig. 52, D, which is the common symbol in modern European -art for a flying bird. Fig. 52 shows, however, some more important -simplifications of animal form. The series marked E are a few examples -from hundreds painted on the walls of caves in Cantabria (Spain) by -prehistoric men. They start with a clearly recognizable figure of -a man–many such, an inch or two high, occur on some parts of the -cave-walls–and then we have all sorts of simplifications and deviations -from the more naturalistic initial design, as shown by the rest of the -series, ending in a T–a primitive symbol often arrived at by savage -decorative artists in various parts of the world by reducing and -grammatizing the human figure. The letters of many alphabets have been -simplified in this way from original picture-like signs or pictographs. - -[Illustration: FIG. 52.–Simplification (grammatizing) of decorative -design. _A_, a stork walking. _B_, a stag. _C_, a stork with wings -spread for flying–resulting when fully "grammatized" in a curvilinear -swastika. _A_, _B_, and _C_, from spindle-whorls found at Hissarlik. -_D_, conventional representation of three flying birds. _E_, -grammatized human figure from the walls of caverns in Cantabria.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 53.–Spindle-whorl from Troy (fourth city), with -three swastikas–two resembling "stylized" storks (see Fig. 52, C). -(Schliemann.)] - -The drawings lettered A, B and C in Fig. 52 represent accurately -figures scratched on the clay "spindle-whorls" (before baking), so -abundant in the remains of the ancient cities on the hill of Hissarlik -(Troy), found by Schliemann (see Figs. 42 and 53). These heavy, -bun-like spindle-whorls have retained their use and shape since -Neolithic times (they are found in the Swiss lake-dwellings) to the -present day. Similar whorls were made of modern porcelain, variously -decorated, in France in the last century and sold to the peasants for -giving weight and rotatory stability to the spindle used in spinning, -and are still used wherever the spindle survives, as among the Indians -of Central America. A "grammatized" profile representation of a stork -(Fig. 52, A) is one of the designs on these Hissarlik spindle-whorls, -and so is the linear representation of a stag (Fig. 52, B). And now we -come back to the Swastika. The four figures in a row, marked C in Fig. -52, are a few of the representations of "flying" storks on these same -spindle-whorls; one so marked is drawn in Fig. 53. They are of various -degrees of simplification, and the last but one on the right hand side -is identical with a Swastika! It must be carefully remembered that -these clay spindle-whorls from Hissarlik are very commonly inscribed -with undoubted well-shaped Swastikas, as shown in Fig. 42. The Swastika -is quite a common and usual decorative lucky badge in the household art -of that locality and age. Hence it is not surprising that M. Solomon -Reinach, of Paris, has suggested that the Swastika may have originated -thus–by the "stylizing" or "grammatizing" of a favourite and sacred -bird–the stork. Once thus suggested and drawn in the simple Swastika -shape the emblem (it would be supposed) became fixed, and made as -rectilinear and simple as possible. Thenceforward it was accepted as an -emblem of good luck, which has been transmitted throughout the ancient -world of Europe, Asia and America. This theory has a plausible aspect, -but I understand from M. Reinach that he no longer attaches importance -to it. I do not know what theory, if any, of the origin of the Swastika -now commends itself to him, nor whether he thinks it has originated -independently in several times and places, or holds that it has one -common origin. I am inclined to favour the theory that the Swastika -has been started by the copying of the form of a natural object on the -part of a primitive race of men, and that this form has lent itself to -the invention of other badges and symbols besides that known as the -Swastika. I will explain this in the next chapter. - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[7] But spiral and leaf-like decorative designs engraved on bone (see -Fig. 29, p. 54) are found in caves associated with other carvings made -by cave-men of the Reindeer or late Palæolithic period. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE TOMOYE AND THE SWASTIKA - - -[Illustration: FIG. 54.–The "Tomoye"–the Japanese badge of triumph.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 55.–Symbols of the history of the universe used by -the ancient Chinese philosopher Chu-Hsi. _A_, The original "void." _B_, -The great monad. _C_, The monad divides into two, male and female. _D_, -The halves in rotatory movement, suggested by the S-like bending of the -dividing line or diameter of the circle.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 56.–Diagrams to show the possible derivation of the -swastika from the inscription of two S-like lines (or "ogees") within a -circle so as to divide the circle into four bent cones. _B_ and _C_ are -ogee and rectangular swastikas easily produced by modification of the -encircled figure.] - -Fig. 54 represents a remarkable design which is a sort of national -emblem, a universally accepted badge of triumph and honour in Japan, -and is called "Tomoye"–meaning "triumph." The black and white portions -are in that country painted respectively red and yellow. It is simply -a circle divided into two equal cone-like figures by the inscription -within it of a doubly-curved line like the letter S. Where and how did -the Japanese get this badge? Who invented it, or from what natural -object is it copied? A modified Tomoye with the cones dislocated is -used as the national flag of Korea. A single one of these curious, -tapering, one-sided cones is closely similar to the cone-like figures -sometimes called "pines" which one sees on Indian shawls. The origin -of these is sometimes said to be a copying of some fruit or vegetable -growth, but is really not ascertained–and is possibly half of a Tomoye! -A great circular altar-stone has been found in Central America, 5 ft. -across, divided by a deep S-shaped groove into two equal one-sided -cones (Fig. 59) like the Tomoye. The figure formed by an S within a -circle is found in the writings of the ancient Chinese philosopher -Chu-Hsi. He gives a series of symbols representing (according to -him) the history of the universe. They are shown in Fig. 55, and are -explained as follows. The empty circle A represents the original -"void"–the boundary line is conventional. After untold æons the great -monad appeared. It is represented by B. Then we get the division of -the great monad (now called "Tai-I") into two, shown in C of our -Fig. 55–singularly recalling the division of the nucleated cell or -protoplasmic unit of animal and vegetable structure. The two halves, -however, in this case represent the feminine called "Yin" and the -masculine called "Yang." The last drawing, D of Fig. 55, shows the -Yin and the Yang in rotatory motion. This is indicated by the S-like -bending of the diameter, and the consequent formation of a figure like -the Tomoye. By this motion the visible universe is supposed–by the -philosopher Chu-Hsi–to be produced. The figure marked D is described -as a "cosmological symbol." It does not help us to the origin of the -figure showing the division of the circle as in the Tomoye, for it -dates only from about the twelfth century of our era. - -If we suppose the circle divided, as in the Tomoye, to be a very -ancient badge or device, dating from prehistoric man, then it is -probably derived from a natural object. And this object was probably -a ground-down transverse section across a whelk-shell, for if one -makes such a section just above the mouth of the shell at right angles -to its length, one gets two adjacent chambers of the spirally-coiled -shell separated by an S-like partition, the resulting figure given -by the slice across the shell being that of the "tomoye," with its -paired, one-sided, cone-like constituents. Shells are amongst the -chief ornaments used by prehistoric and modern savage man. Large -ones are ground down to make armlets. The perception of the spiral -as a decorative line is almost certainly due to the handling and -grinding-down of snail shells, and, indeed, we find spirals and -reversed spiral scrolls engraved on bone by the Pleistocene cave-men -(see Fig. 29). - -[Illustration: FIG. 57.–Terra-cotta cone with a seven-armed sun-like -figure engraving on it. Troy. (Schliemann.)] - -The Ægæan people of the Greek islands (of whom the Mykenæans are -a part) copied a variety of forms of marine animals in their -decorations of pottery, and, in fact, natural shapes were the basis -of their decorative art. They simplified and "grammatized" their more -nature-true designs into badges and symbols. - -[Illustration: FIG. 58.–Scalloped Shell Disk, from a mound near -Nashville, Tennessee, showing in the centre a tetraskelion with four -curved arms, about four inches in diameter, made of polished shell. -(Peabody Museum.)] - -We find in early work discovered in the ancient mounds of North America -decorative circles (Fig. 58) in which two S-like lines at right angles -to one another are inscribed as shown in Fig. 56, and we find also -that these curved rays may be prolonged as a marvellous enveloping -spiral coil or helix–especially in the painting of pottery. When the -curved rays are many in number, as in Fig. 57, the design has been -interpreted by some archæologists as symbolizing the sun, and it is -important to remember that the Swastika itself was used in China as -the pictograph of the sun. A single curved S-like line has been found -cut on a great circular slab, an ancient altar-stone (Fig. 59) in -Honduras (Copan)–so as to divide the circle as is done in the Japanese -Tomoye. It is obvious that the exact geometric character of the S-like -division is of great significance in these designs and requires careful -study and explanation. I have briefly discussed this matter at the -end of the chapter. In the common "ogee Swastika," Fig. 56, B, the -more or less elaborately helicoid arms are merely careless flourishes -of the painter's brush. The simple four-rayed figure, shown in Fig. -56, A, is often spoken of as a "tetraskelion," or four-legged scroll, -and is associated with the three-legged figure or triskelion which I -wrote of in the last chapter. If the curvilinear "tetraskelion" be -angularized–that is to say, rectangles substituted for semicircles, -we get the correct fully developed Swastika, Fig. 56, C. And if, -abandoning the circle, the draughtsman rapidly drew with a brush or on -soft clay lines like an S crossing one another at right angles, he -produced what is common enough wherever the more formal rectangular -Swastika is found, namely, the curvilinear or "ogee Swastika," Fig. 56, -B. - -It is not possible with our present knowledge to penetrate into -the remote past and really ascertain the origin of the shape or -device called a Swastika. But it is, I think, quite likely that in -manipulating the "tomoye" symbol (whether copied from a section of -shell or originating by more independent invention and "trying" -of lines and curves and circles), very early man duplicated the -symmetrical S by which he had divided a circle and produced the -tetraskelion seen in Fig. 56, A. The conversion of this into the -rectangular Swastika and into varieties of the ogee and menander (which -I have not found space to describe) would be an easy and natural -sequence. - -[Illustration: FIG. 59.–An altar-stone of prehistoric age. The circular -surface is cut into by a trough of S-shape, which divides it so as to -resemble the Japanese "Tomoye." From Copan, Honduras.] - -At the same time, I have no conviction that this is the real origin of -the Swastika, and await further evidence. The "flying-stork theory," -which was put forward by Reinach, is very attractive. Birds as badges -and "totems" are frequent among primitive mankind, and certain species -are often regarded as sacred and bringing good luck. The stork is one -of these. If the artists who marked the very ancient clay-pottery of -Hissarlik with the Swastika and also with outlines of the flying stork, -strongly resembling a Swastika, did not derive the Swastika from the -stork, but had received it from some independent source, then it is -probable that they purposely drew the flying stork, so as to make it -resemble as much as possible a Swastika. - -When we take account of the apparently arbitrary passage of human -decorative design from the naturalistic to the linear, and from the -linear to the naturalistic; from the curvilinear to the rectilinear, -and from rectilinear to curvilinear; when we also reflect that some -races and populations of men have been prone to seek for the forms -of their decoration in the natural forms of plants and animals, -whilst others have made use of mere mechanical patterns of parallel -or interlacing lines, we must conclude that by the appeal to one or -other of these various tendencies it is easy to invent a large variety -of more or less plausible theories as to the origin of the Swastika. -The truth of the matter can only be decided, if ever, by more direct -and conclusive evidence than we at present possess. Nevertheless, it -is a legitimate and fascinating thing to speculate on the origin of -this wonderful world-pervading emblem coming to us from the mists of -prehistoric ages, and to endeavour to arrive, if possible, at possible -points of contact between it and other "devices" and "symbols," even -though they may be of equally obscure birth.[8] - -[Illustration: FIG. 60.] - -The accurate division of a circle into two equal comma-shaped areas -of the special shape presented by the "Tomoye" of the Japanese (Fig. -54) and the rotating "Great Monad" of Chinese cosmogony (Fig. 55), -is effected by describing within a given circle two circles each -having its diameter equal to a radius of the enclosing circle. The -two inscribed circles touch one another at the centre of the latter, -but do not overlap. The area of the enclosing circle is thus divided -into four areas, _a_, _b_, _c_ and _d_ (see Fig. 60, A). The areas -_a_, _b_ are the two inscribed circles. Each of the residual areas -_c_, _d_ is called (as Sir Thos. Heath, F.R.S., kindly informs me) an -"arbelus" by ancient Greek geometricians–a name used for a rounded -knife used by shoemakers. The comma-shaped bent cone or pine is -formed by the fusion of one of the two small circles with one of the -adjacent arbeli (Fig. 60, B). The figure so formed which to-day is -loosely spoken of as a "bent cone," a "pine," or a "comma," has never, -so far as I can ascertain, received a name in geometry, nor in the -language of decorative design or pattern-making. Nor has the S-like -line made by the two semicircles separating the contiguous "pines" -or "commas" received any designation though vaguely indicated by -the word "ogee." The comma-like areas might conveniently be called -"streptocones," and their S-like boundary "a hemicyclic sigmoid." As -shown in Fig. 56, by drawing a second hemicyclic sigmoid of the same -dimensions at right angles to the first, the circle is divided into -four smaller streptocones. By using sigmoids or half-sigmoids of a -curvature of a different order from that of the hemicyclic one, but -of a precisely defined nature, the circle may be divided into three, -six, eight or more equal "streptocones" of graceful proportions, some -of which have been used either in series as borders in metal work -(for circular dishes and goblets) or as detached or grouped elements -in pattern-designs (stone-work tracery, embroidery, woven and printed -fabrics). - -Apart from this development of the "streptocone" as an important -feature in decorative work, it is not without interest in connection -with the probable importance and significance of the Japanese double -streptocone, as we may call the Tomoye, to note some of its geometrical -features. Referring to the Fig. 60, it is obvious that each of the -paired streptocones is equal in area to half the enclosing circle, -also that each of the two inscribed circles (_a_, _b_) has an area of -one-fourth of that of the enclosing circle–and that each arbelus (_c_, -_d_) has also an area one-fourth that of the enclosing circle and is -equal in area to each of the inscribed circles (_a_, _b_). Each of the -two constituent "streptocones" is made up of a _complete_ circle capped -by an "arbelus" equal in area to it (namely, one-quarter of that of -the big circle). It is obvious that the area of the arbelus formed in -a semicircle by two enclosed semicircles which are contiguous and of -equal base as in Fig. 60, is equal to that of a circle the diameter -of which is the vertical line drawn from the apex of the arbelus to -the arc of the semicircle (Fig 60). This is true whether the enclosed -contiguous semicircles have chords of equal or unequal length (Fig. -60). This fact was known to the Greek geometricians, as I am informed -by Sir Thos. Heath. - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[8] I am indebted for the figures (not the diagrams) illustrating -Chapters XVII., XVIII., XIX. to the report by Mr. Thomas Wilson on the -Swastika–in the Smithsonian Reports, 1894. Those interested in this -subject will find a vast store of information in that report. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -COAL - - -Coal is so much "a matter of course" in our daily life that most people -are only now, when its supply is becoming precarious, anxious to know -something of its nature and history. By the word "coal," or "coles," -our ancestors understood what we now distinguish as "charcoal," -prepared from wood by the "charcoal-burner," or "charbonnier," as -the French call him. What we now call "coal" was known to them as -"sea-coal," and, later, as "black" or "stone cole," to distinguish it -from "brown coal," known nowadays as "lignite," though the name "stone -coal" is locally applied in England to that very hard kind of black -coal also called "anthracite," of which jet is only an extremely hard -and dense variety found in small quantities in the oolitic strata of -Whitby, Spain, and other localities. - -It is on record that in the year 1306 a citizen of London was tried, -condemned, and executed for burning "sea-coal." This severe treatment -was held to be justified by the poisonous and otherwise injurious -nature of the smoke produced by fires of sea-coal. I have not met with -any records of the earliest digging for and trade in "sea-coal," but -presumably it was obtained near the coast in the North of England and -brought to London by ship–hence its name. The coal-trade of Newcastle -began in the thirteenth century, but, owing to an Act of Parliament -in the reign of Edward I forbidding the use of sea-coal in London, -did not become important until the seventeenth century. It came very -gradually into use, and we find that Evelyn (the diarist) in 1661 -noted the withering and bad condition of rose-bushes and other plants -in London gardens, which he attributed to the pestilential action -of the smoke given off by the newly introduced "sea-coal" which was -increasingly used as fuel in London houses. The sea-coal was not yet -largely, if at all, used in the production of iron; and Evelyn as a -forest-owner and lover of trees, has much to say about the necessity -for attention to the cultivation of our forests in connection with the -iron industry which then flourished in the Weald of Sussex; charcoal -procured by the slow burning or roasting of wood being the fuel used -in the smelting furnaces, whilst the ore was the orange-brown wealden -sand. It was during the eighteenth century that what we now call simply -"coal" came rapidly into use–not only for domestic heating, but for -furnaces of all kinds employed in industrial enterprise, and, at a -later date, for the earlier and later forms of steam-engines. The smoke -of the new coal was everywhere regarded as a terrible nuisance, and -a source of injury to both animal and vegetable life. The poisonous -action of coal-smoke is not due to the finely divided black particles -of carbon of which it largely consists, but to the sulphuric acid -derived from the small quantities of sulphur present in coal. It is -calculated that more than sixteen million tons of coal are annually -used in London alone for heating purposes, and that 480,000 tons of -black carbon powder are discharged over London by its chimneys every -year, together with very nearly the same weight of poisonous sulphuric -acid! - -What, then, is this "sea-coal" or "coal" of our modern life? We all -know its black, glistening appearance, and more or less friable -character. Its nature and origin are best conveyed by the statement -that it is very ancient "peat," compressed and naturally changed by -chemical action and retaining little or no trace of its original -structure. Peat, as we know it from the low land of English and French -river valleys and the bogs of Scotland and Ireland, is formed by the -annual growth and death of "mosses" of several kinds and of other -accompanying vegetation. It retains the woody forms of the vegetable -growths which constitute it, and they are often but loosely adherent to -one another. Peat may be merely a growth of the past five years, but is -sometimes many thousand years old. Older than peat, and more caked and -compressed, is lignite, or brown coal, which occurs on the Continent of -Europe, also in South Devon and elsewhere, in geological strata newer -than those which yield our black coal. Then we have the most important -class of black coals which are known as "bituminous coals," because -they soften when heated and form hydrocarbons of both viscid and -gaseous nature. They are used for domestic purposes, and wherever flame -is desired. They are, in fact, the "lumps of coal" familiar in our -scuttles. The "bituminous coal" with the greatest amount of hydrogen -in it is the cannel or candle coal, so called from its bright flame -when burning. This kind is especially valuable for gas-making, and of -smaller value as fuel. The term "anthracite" is reserved for a hard, -stone-like coal which is very nearly pure carbon (ninety per cent). -This class of coal burns with a very small amount of flame, gives -intense heat, and no smoke. It is used in drying malt and hops. - -Like all woody matter, that from which peat is formed consists of a -combination of the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen; and these -remain in somewhat changed chemical union in the brown coal, bituminous -coal, and anthracite. The carbon and a varying and small proportion of -the original hydrogen of the woody peat, are the important elements in -coal; and we may well ask how they come to be produced as a black or -dark brown mass from dead vegetable growths which are often bleached -and colourless. It is true that vegetable refuse does not necessarily -blacken when left to itself. We know that by roasting or charring wood -(or animals' flesh or bone) we can drive off the elements oxygen and -hydrogen and nitrogen (if there), and obtain a black mass of carbon -(so-called charcoal). That blackness is the actual true tint of carbon. -The dead weeds and leaves at the bottom of a stagnant pond break down -and form a pitch-black mud. They would not, and do not, go black -if exposed to the oxygen of the atmosphere; but at the bottom of a -stagnant pond or in a refuse heap they are excluded from the air, and -a microbe–a bacterium which has been carefully studied, and is of a -kind which can only flourish in the absence of free oxygen–attacks the -dead weeds, producing by change of their substance marsh-gas and black -carbon, the black mud emitting bubbles of gas which one may stir up -with a pole in such a pond. This chemical attack by anaërobic bacteria -goes on in the deeper layers of all marshes and stagnant pools, remote -from the oxygen of the air; and it is fairly certain that the black -coal which we find in strata of great geological age was so produced -by the action of special kinds of bacteria upon peat-like masses of -vegetable refuse. Indeed, by studying microscopic sections of coal, -numerous forms of bacteria have been recognized which might be capable -of effecting such chemical changes. On the other hand, we must remember -that it is not possible to conclude by form alone as to what subtle -chemical work a bacterium or bacillus or micro-coccus may be, or may -have been, carrying on. The peat-like deposits which became carbonized -and so formed the "coal" were probably masses of algæ, mosses and soft -aquatic plants, which were brought down and accumulated in swampy, -forest-covered ground about the mouths of rivers, the deposit being -covered in owing to rapid oscillations of level by beds of sand or -clay, followed by new growth and deposit. - -Our British coal and a good deal of foreign coal is found in certain -stratified rocks of the earth's crust known as "the Carboniferous -System," about 12,000 ft. thick, consisting chiefly of very dense -limestone. The "seams," or stratified beds of coal, occur in sandy -rock known as the "Coal Measures," and vary in thickness from a mere -film to 40 ft. Above the Carboniferous System are later deposits, some -14,000 ft. in thickness–the Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, -and Tertiary strata. Below them we find stratified deposits containing -fossilized remains of plants and animals, to a depth of another 40,000 -ft.: they are the Devonian, Silurian, and Cambrian "systems" or series -of strata. Coal of a workable nature is found in many parts of the -world in the beds or strata of later age than our Coal Measures–namely, -those of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary age. - -Coal is so valuable and used in such vast quantities by modern man -that, though procured at first from beds lying at or near the surface, -it has been found remunerative to mine far into the depths of the -earth's surface, where its existence is ascertained, in order to -procure it. A depth of 4000 ft. is apparently the limit set to such -mining by the increase of temperature in mines which penetrate to -that extent below the surface. In 1905 the annual output of British -coal-mines was in round numbers 230,000,000 tons. It is certain that -there is a limit to this production, but not possible to calculate what -that limit may be, owing to the uncertainty as to the future working of -coal-fields as yet unexplored. - -Such questions have been, and are being, considered by experts on -behalf of the Government. A matter of interest of another kind is -that in and associated with the coal seams of our Coal Measures, -fossilized remains of peculiar fern-like trees, ferns, and other -strange plants, and of very peculiar, extinct newt-like animals (as -large as crocodiles) are found in great variety. The notion that the -toads occasionally found embedded in the black mud of a coal-yard or -even in a fractured lump of coal are survivals from the time–many -millions of years past–when the plants and animals of the Coal Measure -swamps were living, is a baseless fancy. The toads so found are of the -kind or species now living on the earth–totally different from those -whose bones occur in the Coal Measures, and the presence of such modern -toads embedded in black slime, in coal-heaps in store-yards, or even in -coal-scuttles, is only what may be expected to occur and does occur in -damp quarries and other places where these familiar little beasts love -to hide. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -BORING FOR OIL - - -Closely similar to coal in chemical matter–that is to say, consisting -chiefly of definite chemical compounds, called hydrocarbons, built -up of only two elements, carbon and hydrogen, and of no other–is a -very remarkable class of mineral substances known to the ancients -as "bitumen." In its widest sense, it includes "natural gas," the -variously mixed liquids called "petroleum" and the solid "asphalts." -In ancient times the more fluid kinds of petroleum issuing from the -ground in South Russia and Persia were called "naphtha," and that -name is still applied to the more volatile hydrocarbons obtained by -the distillation of such substances as coal-tar (the residue of the -extraction by heat of commercial gas from coal), bituminous shale, -petroleum, wood and some other bodies which owe their existence to the -activity either of living or of long-extinct and "fossilized" plants -and animals. - -The bitumens, together with coal, present in their natural state a -very large variety of inflammable constituents–gaseous, liquid, and -solid hydrocarbons; but, when "distilled" at various temperatures and -under conditions determined by the manufacturing chemist, they yield a -still larger series of pure separable bodies, which have been minutely -studied and classified according to their chemical constitution. -They are produced in great chemical factories in large quantities -for use in the most diverse ways invented by human ingenuity. Thus -natural gas–superseded by distilled coal-gas–has served for fuel and -for illumination: refined petroleum serves not only for those uses -in general, but as the special source of power in the engines of -motor-cars and aeroplanes. A wonderful solid crystalline wax-like -substance, paraffin, as white as snow, is distilled in enormous -quantities (nearly three million tons a year) from "bituminous -shale" or "oil-shale" in this country alone. It can be obtained in -soft (vaseline) and liquid forms, and in fact the "paraffin series" -recognized by chemists starts from the gas "methane," or marsh-gas, -and comprises some thirty kinds, leading from gas to volatile liquids, -thence to viscid liquids, to butter-like solids, and up to hard -crystalline substances which melt only at the temperature of boiling -water. Endless chemical manufacturing industries–_e.g._, those of -dye-stuffs and explosives–depend upon the chemical treatment of these -paraffins and of various bodies obtained as secondary products in their -preparation. Benzine and aniline are chiefly obtained from coal-tar. -The oils and waxes of quasi-mineral origin have a great advantage over -vegetable and animal oils in many uses, since they are not liable to -become "rancid"; that is to say, to decompose owing to the action on -them of bacteria. A marked difference between the paraffins (often -distinguished, together with the "olefines," as "mineral" oils) and the -oils and fats found in living plants and animals is that they do not -"saponify"; that is to say, they do not form those combinations with -alkalis and other bases which are called "soaps," nor can they serve as -food to man or any other animal. They are not acted on by the digestive -juices. - -From ancient times natural deposits or outpourings of "bitumens" -have been known and used by mankind. The Assyrians and other early -peoples of the East used "asphalt" (translated by the word "slime" -in the English version of the Bible) in place of calcareous mortar -in building; and to this day it is used largely in this country as a -"damp-course" in walls built of brick. Great deposits of asphalt are -found in Central America and some of the West Indian islands, and -"quarried" for commercial purposes. The great pitch-lake of Trinidad -yields an abundant supply. In the Val de Travers, in the Canton of -Neuchatel (Switzerland), a rich deposit is worked which, mixed with -earthy material, forms a road-making concrete, largely used in London -and other cities, and also for main roads in country districts. The -ancient Egyptians used asphalt for embalming the dead. But the ancients -also knew natural springs of liquid bitumen–that which nowadays we call -petroleum–some of them freely flowing like water, which would take -fire and burn for long periods, and were described as fountains of -"burning water." We find, as we pass from the Middle Ages to the days -of geographical exploration, records of such springs of inflammable -oil and of natural inflammable gas in all parts of the world–Japan, -China, Burma, Persia, Galicia, Italy (Salsomaggiore), Central and North -America, and of not a few in these islands–for instance, in Shropshire, -Derbyshire, Sussex, Kimmeridge and various sites in the southern -counties. The oil was, until the middle of the last century, valued -chiefly as a medicinal application, and "Seneca oil" and "American -medicinal oil" were largely sold and used as an embrocation in the -United States. - -We owe the introduction of the name "petroleum" to Professor Silliman, -who in 1855 reported upon the "rock oil or petroleum" of Venango -County, Pennsylvania. The first attempt as a commercial enterprise -to obtain rock-oil or petroleum by _boring_ into the strata in which -there was local evidence of its existence in greater or less quantity, -was made in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. After some -unsuccessful attempts, when the drilling had been carried to a depth -of 69 ft. the tools suddenly dropped into a subterranean cavity, and -on the following day the well was found to have "struck oil," and -twenty-five barrels a day were yielded by that well for some time. From -here the industry spread over the States and Canada, and in 1908 the -year's yield was 45,000,000 barrels. - -Since 1870 the industry has spread all over the globe–Russia, Galicia, -Rumania, Java, Borneo and Burma being prominent sources of the oil -supply of the world. The raw petroleum of different localities differs -in each case in the amount of solid paraffins and olefines dissolved -in the liquid paraffins. Other substances also are dissolved in it in -variable amount–such as benzene, acetylene, camphene and naphthalene. -The fact that the oil, when reached by a boring, is often found to be -under a considerable pressure, so that it rises and flows from the -surface of the well, or even may shoot up as a great fountain, is -an important feature in the oil-seeking industry, though the supply -depends largely on pumping and not necessarily on natural flow. The -borings when made, act like Artesian wells, and sometimes are carried -to a great depth. Those in Pennsylvania vary in depth from 300 ft. to -3700 ft., according to the distance below the surface at which the -oil-bearing strata (usually a sandstone) is situate. As in the case of -an Artesian well, the boring is in the first instance an exploration -subject to uncertainty as to "striking" the desired liquid, but -the uncertainty is greater in the case of the search for oil than -in that for water. The water-well is also far less likely to "give -out" when once flowing than is that bored for oil, which, even if at -first successful, may be soon exhausted owing to the small area of -the oil-bearing strata tapped. A cause of the high pressure in many -oil-wells is the gas which accompanies the oil. The pressure may amount -to as much as 1000 lb. to the square inch. In the Northern Caucasus -spouting wells caused by the high pressure of gas in the boring are -frequent. A famous fountain-well in that region, which began to flow -in August 1895, threw up 4½ million gallons a day, gradually -diminishing during fifteen months until it became exhausted. At first, -when boring was introduced, such outbursts led to an enormous loss of -the oil, for there was not sufficient means of storing or transporting -it. Ordinary cartage in barrels was the earlier method; then followed -tanks on railway trains and canal boats; and this has been supplemented -by the use of pipes along which the oil is pumped from the well to the -refinery. In Pennsylvania there are said to be no less than 25,000 -miles of such pipes in use for the distribution of petroleum. - -It will be obvious from what is here stated that the attempt to -discover an oil-supply in Derbyshire must not be regarded, at present, -as more than a praiseworthy and interesting enterprise. There is no -room for doubt that the best expert opinion has been brought to bear -on the matter. A small quantity of petroleum has already been raised; -but whether the flow will be sufficient to cover the expenses of the -boring, and how long the flow may last, or how much it may amount -to, are matters quite impossible to foretell. In any case, it is in -the highest degree improbable that such an abundance of oil will -be obtained as to count much, if at all, in the world's production -of petroleum. It must also be remembered that products similar to -those yielded by petroleum are already extracted in quantity as a -remunerative industry by the distillation of oil-shales in various -parts of the United Kingdom; and that there are oil-shales in this -country still unworked. So that we need not be in despair if we do -not tap an oil-spring of any importance close to hand. The world's -supply is still open to British enterprise. Another reflection of some -importance is that these world-wide sources of rock-oil or petroleum -are likely to be exhausted by exploitation much sooner than are the -coal-fields of the world. We cannot rely on their long duration. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE STORY OF LIME-JUICE AND SCURVY - - -From mediæval times onward a serious constitutional disease–a morbid -condition of the blood and tissues–has been known by the name "scurvy," -and the word "scorbutic" has been coined from it. It is to-day -practically unknown in the ordinary conditions of civilized life, but -formerly was common, and the cause of disablement and of frightful -mortality in ships' crews, beleaguered cities, armies on campaign, and -war-stricken regions. It begins with a certain failure of strength. -Breathlessness, exhaustion, and mental depression follow. The face -looks haggard, sallow, and dusky. After some weeks the exhaustion -becomes extreme; the gums are livid, ulcerated, and bleeding; the teeth -loosen and drop out; purple spots appear on the skin; ulcers break out -on the limbs; effusions of blood-stained fluid take place in the great -cavities of the body; profound exhaustion and coma follow; and death -results from disorganization of the lungs, kidneys, or digestive tract. -It was recognized in early times that the disease was dependent on the -character of the food of those attacked by it; and not the least of -the horrors accompanying it was the terror caused by the well-founded -conviction that the appearance of a single case in a ship's crew or -other specially circumscribed community was an unfailing index, and -meant that all were likely within a few days–owing to the enforced -identity of their food and conditions of life–to develop the disease. -Often, in past centuries, a half or two-thirds of a ship's company have -been carried off by it before a port could be reached and healthy food -and conditions of life obtained. At the present moment in view of the -actual condition of Europe, it is a fact of very grave importance that -scurvy is known to break out and cause a terrible mortality among civil -communities in time of scarcity–especially in prisons, workhouses, and -other public institutions, which are the first to suffer deprivations -when food is scarce. - -Three hundred years ago it was held that fresh vegetables and -fruit-juices were both a cure for and a preventive of scurvy, or -"anti-scorbutic." But the fact was not appreciated by Army and -Admiralty officials that _dried_ vegetables, even of kinds which were -held to be especially "anti-scorbutic," would not serve in place of -_fresh_ ones. In 1720, _dried_ "anti-scorbutic" herbs were supplied -to the Austrian Army when suffering from scurvy; but they were of no -avail, and thousands of the soldiers perished from the disease. A -few years later, the British Lords of the Admiralty (actuated by a -spirit of blundering parsimony) proposed to supply the Navy with dried -spinach, although it was well known that dried vegetables were useless -against scurvy. In the American Civil War, 1861-1865, in spite of this -knowledge, large rations of dried vegetables were supplied to the -armies, and failed to prevent outbreaks of scurvy. Even at the present -day so little attention has been given of late years to the subject, -that many ignorant officials, upon whose action the life of thousands -depends, regard dried vegetables as equivalent in value to fresh! - -A great advance was made in the second half of the eighteenth century, -when the British Admiralty became convinced by the repeated experience -of its officers that "lime-juice" _is_ a specific remedy and preventive -for scurvy, and, in spite of the great expense and difficulties -entailed, adopted its use officially. In those days of sailing-ships, -long voyages (such as those of Captain Cook) were safely carried -through without serious outbreak of scurvy so long as a ration of -so-called "lime-juice" (about one ounce) was swallowed each day by each -sailor. But it was not until the beginning of the nineteenth century -that the disease was practically eliminated from the Navy by the -introduction (after many foolish delays) of a general issue of what was -called "lime-juice." - -The complete control and elimination of scurvy by the use of so-called -"lime-juice" sufficed to carry us on until the introduction of steam -navigation, when it became superfluous owing to the fact that long -absence from land, where fresh food could be obtained, ceased to be -usual. Moreover, after a mutiny on the part of our defrauded sailors, -better food and greater variety of it was secured for them, and the -profits of murderous contractors were stopped. - -The history of outbreaks of scurvy for the last century is practically -confined to the experiences of Arctic Expeditions and the campaigning -of troops in remote or devastated regions. So little had scurvy been -investigated, or any serious study made of the nature of the remedial -and preventive action of lime-juice, that up to the year 1914 it was -regarded as a matter of course that the acid, the citric acid, of -lime-juice was what gave to it its virtue, and samples of lime-juice -supplied by contractors were tested solely as to the percentage of that -acid present. Eminent medical authorities proposed to use crystals of -citric acid in place of the juice; others declared that vinegar would -do just as well; others, in spite of the overwhelming record as to the -value of lime-juice, held that scurvy was due _not_ to the absence of a -food constituent–supplied by fresh vegetables and fruit-juice–but to -a peculiar poison present in the salted and dried meat served out as -rations; others again, without any study of the disease, have expressed -the opinion that it is due to a bacterial micro-organism. - -A blow to the easy-going belief of the Admiralty that they had mastered -and made an end of scurvy was struck when scurvy broke out (60 cases -among 122 men) in the expedition to the North Pole which sailed in -May 1875 in the _Alert_ and the _Discovery_, under the command of Sir -George Nares. The expedition had to return prematurely after seventeen -months' absence, and a committee was appointed to inquire into the -cause of the outbreak. The stores of food and of lime-juice were shown -to have been ample; and the action of the leader in equipping his -sledging parties was in accordance with the judgment and experience -of successful explorers who gave evidence. The cause of the outbreak -remained a mystery. The firm belief in the anti-scorbutic powers of -"lime-juice" was shaken, and this unfavourable opinion of its value has -been confirmed by medical officers who, during the recent war, have -been confronted by outbreaks of scurvy. These outbreaks occurred among -troops who, in military circumstances which rendered an adequate supply -of fresh meat and vegetables impossible, were supplied with lime-juice -prepared from the West Indian "sour-lime." - -Under these circumstances, an experimental study of scurvy has been -carried out during the last four years by a group of workers at the -Lister Institute, together with a historical inquiry as to the use -of lime-juice. The reports of these investigators have very great -practical value and far-reaching interest, as showing what disastrous -results may arise from inaccurate use of a word, and the neglect to -ascertain the exact nature of the material thing upon which the issue -between life and death may depend. - -Here let me say that the staff of the Lister Institute for medical -research has done work in its laboratories in Chelsea Gardens of the -very greatest national importance during the war. It was founded by -public subscription, and has now an endowment of some £10,000 a year. -Sir David Bruce, the chairman of its Council, gives in the Report of -the Governing Body for 1919 a very striking summary of the work done -in the laboratories and by the staff of the Institute. The successful -investigation of trench fever and of tetanus, of the destruction of -lice, and of the effects of cold storage on food, besides the study -of scurvy and other diseases due to deficiency of what are now called -"_accessory food factors_," are, we learn, the chief matters in -which the Lister Institute was engaged in the year 1918-19. Besides -this, however, at its farm at Elstree it has prepared and supplied -to the War Office, the Admiralty, the Overseas Forces, and the Local -Government Board more than a million doses of anti-toxins (diphtheria -and tetanus), bacterial vaccines (cholera, plague, influenza), and -other similar curative fluids–requiring for their safe production the -highest skill and most complete knowledge of recent discovery. And this -is only a sample of what the Lister Institute has been doing for many -consecutive years. - -Now we return to the investigation of scurvy. Within the last ten -years the fact has been established (which was more or less guessed -and acted upon by medical men of past days) that, in order to -maintain health, the diet of man and of many animals must contain -not merely the necessary quantities of meat or cheese-like bodies, -of fat and starch and sugar, but also minute quantities of accessory -food-factors which it is convenient to term "vitamines." The name -serves (though its etymology is unsatisfactory) to indicate certain -"proteids" or highly complex nitrogenous compounds which are only to -be obtained from fresh and uncooked or slightly heated vegetables -and from some foods of animal origin. These "vitamines" are destroyed -by heat and by desiccation. They have not yet been isolated though -in some cases extracted in a nearly pure state. Their presence or -absence is demonstrated by careful experiments in feeding animals, -such as guinea-pigs, with weighed quantities of different foods. -The "vitamine" is often found to be present only in one part of a -seed or fruit or special kind of fat liable to be rejected in food -preparation. An important fact is that it may not amount to as much as -one-ten-thousandth of the weight of the food in which it occurs; and -the part containing it may be overlooked and rejected, or its value -destroyed by heat or by desiccation. A committee on these "accessory -food-factors" is carrying on experiments at the Lister Institute. Dr. -F. G. Hopkins, F.R.S., who first discovered the importance of one of -these factors in feeding young rats, is the chairman, and Dr. Harriette -Chick is the secretary. Three kinds of these vitamines, or accessory -food-factors, have up to this date been recognized. The first is the -anti-neuritic or anti-beri-beri vitamine. Its principal sources are -the seeds of plants and the eggs of animals–yeast-cells are a rich -source of it. Where "polished rice," as in the Far East, is the staple -article of diet, to the almost entire exclusion of other food-stuffs, -lassitude and severe pains like those of rheumatism set in, and a whole -colony or shipload of Chinese "coolies" may be disabled. The disease -is called beri-beri, and it can be cured by administering that part of -the rice-grain (the skin and germ) which is removed by "polishing," and -unfortunately is just that part which contains the needful vitamine. -It exists in very minute quantity, amounting to only one part in ten -thousand by weight of rice-grain. The second "vitamine" recognized is -the anti-rachitic factor (studied by Hopkins), which tends to promote -growth and prevent "rickets" in young animals. Certain fats of animal -origin (milk) and green leaves contain it in minute quantity, and are -necessary for the life of young animals and for the health of adults. - -The third vitamine recognized is the anti-scorbutic, the factor which -prevents scurvy. It is found in fresh vegetable tissues, and to a -less extent in fresh animal tissues. Its richest sources are cabbage, -swedes, turnips, lettuce, water-cress, and such fruits as lemons, -oranges, raspberries, and tomatoes; other vegetables have a less -value. Fresh milk and meat possess a definite but low anti-scorbutic -value. This vitamine (I am quoting the report of the Committee, which -has been issued to our military, naval, and medical administrators -and famine-relief-workers throughout the world) _suffers destruction_ -when the fresh food-stuffs containing it are subjected to _heat_, or -_drying_, as methods of preservation. It is habitually destroyed and -wasted by stewing fresh vegetables with meat for two or three hours. -All dry food-stuffs, such as cereals, pulses, dried vegetables and -dried milk, are deficient in anti-scorbutic properties; so also are -_tinned vegetables_ and _tinned meat_–hence the disgust to which they -soon give rise! - -The explanation of the mystery about lime-juice (which a hundred years -ago was used with absolute success to prevent scurvy, and in 1875 was -a dead failure) is shown by the workers at the Lister Institute to -be this–namely, "lime" and "lemon" are in origin the same word, and -have become applied in ways unrecognized by the Admiralty and their -medical advisers in various parts of the world to which the citron, the -lemon, the sweet-lime and the sour-lime–all varieties of one species, -_Citrus medica_ of Linnæus–have been carried from their original home -of origin, the south-east of Asia. The original effective and valuable -"_lime_-juice" of the eighteenth century was _lemon_-juice, carefully -prepared from lemons in Sicily and Italy, and from 1804 to 1860 in -Malta. When the demand for it increased in the nineteenth century, -it was adulterated and made up from poor fruit, as the commercial -enterprise of contractors and the fatuous incapacity of the naval -authorities progressed hand in hand. And then, in the early fifties, -the West Indian growers of the small sour-lime (_Citrus medica var. -acida_) in Montserrat got the naval contracts, the honest intention -of Sir William Burnett, the chief medical officer of the Navy, being -to establish a permanent and first-rate supply. Strangely enough, -the naval "lime-juice" now really was _lime_-juice and no longer -_lemon_-juice. By a natural but fatal misconception, the medical value -of the juice, whether of lemon or of lime, was by all authorities -attributed to the citric acid present; and the only tests applied to it -were chemical ones, and not therapeutic. The Lister Institute Committee -have shown by therapeutic experiment–the feeding of guinea-pigs, in -which scurvy can be produced and cured at will–that _the anti-scorbutic -vitamine remains active and unimpaired in lemon-juice from which all -the citric acid has been extracted_. And, further, that the juice of -the West Indian sour-lime (_Citrus medica acida_), although very rich -in citric acid, _contains only one-fourth the anti-scorbutic vitamine_ -which the same quantity of the juice of the true lemon (_Citrus medica -limonum_) contains. This has been most carefully established by -prolonged series of feeding experiments. It explains the failure of the -_lime_-juice in Sir George Nares' Polar Expedition, and restores the -confidence in _lemon_-juice based on the unanimous testimony of the -early records of its use. - -Whilst lemon-juice is thus justified, Dr. Harriette Chick has made a -discovery which will go far to remove it from supremacy. She finds that -an anti-scorbutic food can be prepared, when fresh vegetables or fruit -are scarce, by moistening any available seeds (wheat, barley, rye, -peas, beans, lentils) and allowing them to germinate. This sprouted -material possesses an anti-scorbutic value equal to that of many fresh -vegetables; the unsprouted seeds have none. Probably this explains -the anti-scorbutic value of sweet-wort and of beers made from lightly -dried malt; and the total failure in this respect of our modern beers -made from kiln-dried malt. Dr. Chick, amongst many other interesting -and important results published by members of the Lister Institute -Committee, states that the juice of raw swedes and of raw turnips -is a valuable anti-scorbutic (to be added to milk for the use of -artificially nourished infants); so, she states, is orange-juice. But, -contrary to the usual opinion, she finds that beetroot has little or no -anti-scorbutic value. The whole subject is of extreme importance, and -is necessarily in a tentative stage of pioneer experiment. - - - - -INDEX - - - Ages, successive, of stone, bronze, and iron, 4 - - Aitken, Dr., F.R.S., on fog, cloud, and odoriferous particles, 77 - - Alligator, simplification of, in the decorative work of the Chiriqui - Indians, 205 - - Altamira, cave of, discovery of pictures in, 28 - - America (Central), stone slab from, with carved swastika, 198 - - American Indians bead-work garter with two swastikas, 197 - - Anglo-Saxon urn ornamented with swastikas, 196 - - Aniline, 224 - - Animalcules, wheel, 157-172 - - Animation, suspended, 173-190 - - Anthracite, 217, 219 - - Anti-scorbutic value of germinating wheat, barley, peas, beans, - lentils, discovered, 237 - - Anti-scorbutics, no use when dried, 230 - or preservatives against scurvy described, 235-236 - studied at the Lister Institute, 233 - - Antler, engraved, from the cavern of Lortet, 1 - - Arbelus, the, of ancient Greek geometers, 215 - - Asphalt, 223, 225 - - Aurignacian negroid race, 8 - - - Bacteria, suspended animation of, 177, 186, 187, 188 - - Bear engraved on stalagmite, 48 - - Beer, modern, not so effective an anti-scorbutic (preserver from - scurvy) as older sorts, 237 - - Benzine, 224 - - Bison, pictures of, from walls of caves, 47 - - Bitumen, 223, 224 - - Bituminous coal, 219 - - Blue blood and pride of race, 154 - colour of frogs, 78 - of the Lake of Geneva, 83 - of water, 74-85 - Grotto of Capri, 82 - - Breeding and inter-breeding as a test, 102, 104, 131 - - Bridle seen in engravings of horse, 43, 45 - - Brown, Horace, F.R.S., his experiments with seeds at low - temperatures, 175 - - Bruce, Sir David, his report of the work done by the Lister - Institute in 1919, 233 - - Buddha, footprint of the, picture showing swastikas, 193 - - Bumpus, Prof., on variation in sparrows, 118 - - Burnett, Sir William, by mistake introduces in the Navy juice of the - sour-lime in place of lemon-juice, 236 - - Burning water, fountains of, 225 - - Butterflies of the genus Vanessa, 97 - several different species of white and of blue, 97 - several species united to form one larger kind–a genus, 95 - species of, 94 - the kinds of, 94 - - - Caloric, an assumed entity, 186 - - Cannel (or candle) coal, 219 - - Carbon, weight of, annually discharged over London, 218 - - Carboniferous system, the, 221 - - Cats, male, with blue eyes are deaf, 120 - - Cause of survival in the struggle for life, 118, 119 - - Cave of Altamira, 28, 47 - of Brassempouy, 51 - of Combarelles, 32 - of Font de Gaume, 29, 32 - of Laugerie basse, 46 - of Lortet, 1 - of Marsoulas (Haute Garonne), 43 - of Mas d'Azil, 43 - of Niaux (Ariège), 43 - of St. Michel d'Arudy, 45 - - Caves, pictures on walls of, 7 - - Census of species of animals, 129 - - Chick, Dr. Harriette, secretary, and Dr. Hopkins, F.R.S., chairman, - of a committee investigating accessory food-factors, 234 - - Chinese "great monad," 210 - - Circle, how to divide it so as to describe a Tomoye, 214 - - _Citrus medica limonum_, the lemon, 236 - _acida_, the West Indian sour-lime, 236 - - Coal, 217-222 - mines, annual output of, 221 - - Coal-tar, 224 - - Coffer-fish, 130 - - Cold, action of extreme, in preventing chemical combination, 177 - - Copan, circular altar-stone from, divided by an S-shaped trough so as - to resemble the Tomoye, 213 - - Correlated characters or structures, 119, 125 - - Crab, common shore, variations in, 118 - - Crag, the Red, of Suffolk, 38 - the Norwich, 38 - - Crayfish, species of, 120 - - Cromagnard race, 8, 9 - - Cross-breeding of races, 140-156 - - Crystal Palace, the, sixty years ago, 84 - - - Decorative design, 200-208 - - Deer, the picture of the Three, 13 - - Dewar, Sir James, his important experiments on action of cold and of - light on phosphorescent bacteria, 188 - - Diplodocus, a gigantic reptile, 85, 91 - - Discoveries falsely announced, and others misrepresented or - unnoticed by newspapers, 173, 176 - - Dolphins (oceanic colour-changing fish), 130 - - - Equus the horse genus, the history of, 103 - - Exuberances of non-significant growth, 127, 130 - - - Fat boys of journalism, 173 - - Fertilization, resistance to hybrid, 136, 137, 138 - - Fish drawn between horse's legs, 23 - - Fishes, examples of strangely-shaped, 130 - - Fleas, species of, 105 - - Flowers of tan survive desiccation, 179 - - Food, the accessory factors in, 233 - - Fylfot, the, 191 - - - Gammadion, the, 191 - - Geometrical properties of the Tomoye, 216 - - Germ variation, a constant process, 112 - - Gigantic reptiles, 85, 87 - - Gigantosaurus, discovery of, in Africa, 87 - upper-arm bone of, compared with that of an elephant and of man, 88 - - Gills of crayfishes, 121 - a new one discovered by a lady student at Oxford, 123 - - Glacial period, 6 - - Goose engraved on reindeer antler, 49 - - Grammatizing _v._ naturalizing in decorative art, 202, 203 - - Grouse, the red and allied species, 116, 117 - - - Harpoons of Azilian and Magdalenian period, 3 - - Horses, cave-men's pictures of, 43, 45 - - Horses' heads drawn with bridle or halter, 44, 45 - - Hybrids, 131-138 - among allied species of fish, 133, 134 - infertile and fertile, 134, 135 - - - Inter-Glacial climate and animals, 9 - - - Kaleidoscope, the living organism compared to a, 112 - - Kelvin, Lord, on the origin of life, 186 - - Kipling, Mr. Rudyard, on primitive man, 4 - - Koban necropolis, swastikas from, 196 - - - Lake dwellings of Switzerland, 4 - - Lalanne, M., discovery by, of human statuettes, 50 - - Laussel, rock-shelter of, human statuettes from, 50 - - Life-saving qualities not alone survive in nature, 127 - - Lime-juice, action of, was not understood, 231 - and scurvy, 229-237 - on long voyages, 231 - shown to be effective when prepared from the true lemon, 236 - the original lime-juice was lemon-juice, not the juice of the - sour-lime, 236 - when prepared from West Indian sour-lime not effective, 232 - - Linnæus, his method of naming and classifying animals and plants, 99 - - Lion, wall engraving of, 48 - - Lister Institute, investigations carried on there, 233 - - Lodge, Sir Oliver, on life, 185 - - Lortet, cavern of, 1 - - - Mammoth, engraving of, on ivory, from the cave of La Madeleine, 26 - - Mammoths, engravings of, on walls of caves, 32, 33 - - Man, Isle of, and the Sicilian three-legged emblem, 203 - - Mantell, Dr. Gideon, discoverer of gigantic extinct reptiles, 84 - - Marsh-gas, 220 - - Milne-Edwards, Alphonse, his proposed experiment on cross-breeding of - races and species, 141 - - Miscegenation or cross-breeding of human races, 148-156 - - Monaco, Prince of, his researches and publications, 29 - - Mongrels defined as distinct from hybrids, 138, 145 - may exhibit fine qualities, 147 - - Monsters, 132 - - Mules between horse and ass, 103 - - Mykenæan age, swastikas of, illustrated, 194, 195 - - - Neander men, 8 - - Negro with European features disliked by other negroes, 155 - - Neolithic people, 10 - - - Ogee, a vague term, 215 - swastika, so-called, 210, 213 - - Oil, boring for, 223 - - Oil-boring industry, 226 - - Oil-shales, 227 - - Okapi of the Congo Forest, not a hybrid, 133 - - Olefines, 224 - - Osborn, Rev. Lord Sydney Godolphin, 179 - - - Pairing as a test of species, 101, 131 - - Palæolithic or ancient Stone Age, 5 - - Papilio, the genus of swallow-tailed butterflies, 97 - - Paraffin series, 224 - - Peat, 219 - - Pedalion, the leg-bearing wheel animalcule, 161, 163 - to be compared with young of certain prawns, 164 - - Petroleum, the name invented in 1855 by Prof. Silliman, 225 - - Pictet and de Candolle on suspended animation, 175 - - Picture, the earliest, in the world, 1-25 - of the Three Red Deer, 12, 13 - - Piette, Edouard, his excavations of caves, 1 - - Pigs and the paint-root, 119, 145 - - Pimpernel, red and blue, will not inter-breed, 145 - - Pine ornament of Indian shawls, 210 - - Pleistocene, a small fraction of earth's crust, 42 - series or system, 38, 39 - - Pliny the elder at Vesuvius, 58 - - Pocahontes, the Algonkian princess, 153 - - Prehistoric men, art of, 35-54 - successive ages of, 36-39 - - Printings from engraved cylinders, 11, 16, 17 - - - Race, pride of, 150, 152, 153 - - Racehorse, English thoroughbred, history of, 147 - - Races, nature of, 143 - produce mongrels by cross-breeding, 140 - - Reindeer, cave-man's engraving of, 46 - period, 7 - - Restoration of the Lortet picture of the Three Deer, 13 - - Rhinoceros drawn on wall of a cavern, 46 - - Rice, polished, the story of, and the disease beri-beri, 234 - - Rock-oil, 225 - - Romanes, Dr. George, his experiments on the suspended animation of - seeds, 184 - - Rotifer, the common, or wheel animalcule, 159 - - - Scandinavian silver work showing swastikas, 196 - - Schliemann, fragment of pottery found by, in Tiryns, 23 - swastikas discovered by, at Hissarlik, 193 - - Scurvy, description of, 229 - - Seeds, frozen, survive, 177 - - Simplification of decorative designs (figures of), 206 - - Smoke nuisance, London citizen executed for producing it in 1306, 217 - - Sparrows, variations in, 118 - - Species, an attempt to estimate their number, 129 - in the making, 108 - Latin names for, why used, 96 - not a convention, but a naturally limited group of individuals, 100 - not the same as a variety or a race, 101 - of common English plants, 98 - of crayfish, 120 - types or type-specimens of, 96 - what the word means, 91-99 - - Specific characters, 118-130 - - Spencer, Herbert, on life, 183 - - Spirals carved on mammoth ivory, 54 - - Statuette of a man, 51 - - St. Germain, museum of, 1, 11, 45 - - Stork theory of the swastika, 207 - - Strata of the earth's crust, thickness of, 40, 41 - - Streptocone, the bent cone or comma-like figure forming half a - Tomoye, 215, 216 - - Sulphuric acid, weight of poisonous, annually discharged over - London, 218 - - Sun-fish, 130 - - Survival value, 124, 125 - - Suspended animation, 173-190 - - Swastika, mode of forming a, in India, 199 - on a piece of painted pottery from Tiryns, figure of, associated - with horse and fish, 23 - possible derivation from a doubled Tomoye, 210 - related to the tetraskelion, with four curved arms, shown in - Fig. 58, 212 - the, 191-208 - - - Tapirs, the two living species of, 109 - - Temperature, measurement of, 174 - - Thoroughbred English racehorse a mongrel, 147 - - Tiger, sabre-toothed, 9 - - Time, estimate of, in geology, 43 - - Tinning of vegetables destroys their anti-scorbutic value, 235 - - Tiryns, fragment of pottery from (date 800 B.C.), and having swastika - and horse and fish, 23 - - Toads in coal, 221 - - Toleration in nature, 128 - - Tomoye, the, and its relation to the swastika, 208-216 - - Triskelion of Sicily and the Isle of Man, history of, 203 - - - Variation in nature, 110 - made use of by gardeners and breeders, 111 - - Varieties and gradational series in nature, 114, 115 - - Veliger, young stage of marine snail, drawing of, to compare with a - wheel animalcule, 181 - - Vesuvius, 55-73 - as it appeared in A.D. 70, 57 - ascent of, during eruption, 66 - eruption of 1872 witnessed, 68-70 - history of eruptions, 61-64 - - Vitamines or accessory food factors, 233 - - Volcanoes and eruptions, 72, 73 - - - Water, blue colour of, 74-85 - - Weldon, Prof., on variation in the shore-crab, 118 - - Wells, spouting and fountain, of rock-oil, 227 - - Whales, their size and its limit, 86 - - Wheel animalcule, parasitic, on the sea-worm Synapta, 172 - animalcules, 157-172 - book on, by Mr. Gosse and Dr. Hudson, 158 - compared with the young stages of growth of marine - snails, 171, 181 - minute males of some, 166 - pictures of, 159, 161, 162, 163, 169 - some survive drying up of the water in which they live, 166, 167, - 178, 179 - - Willendorf, female statuette from, 50 - - Winans, Mr. Walter, on the picture of the Three Deer, 19-22 - - Wolf, engraving of head of, 48 - - Women, carvings representing, 50, 51 - - - Zebras, 103 - - - - - PRINTED BY - MORRISON AND GIBB LTD. - EDINBURGH - - - - - ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ - │ Transcriber's Note: │ - │ │ - │ Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. │ - │ │ - │ Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. │ - │ │ - │ Mid-paragraph illustrations have been moved between paragraphs │ - │ and some illustrations have been moved closer to the text that │ - │ references them. The List of Illustrations and Index paginations │ - │ were changed accordingly. │ - │ │ - │ Footnotes were moved to the ends of chapters and numbered in one │ - │ continuous sequence. │ - │ │ - │ Italicized words are surrounded by underline characters, _like │ - │ this_. │ - │ │ - │ Use of a caret (^) indicates a superscript number. │ - │ │ - │ Other corrections: │ - │ p. 72: Suffrière changed to Soufrière (Soufrière of St. Vincent │ - │ in 1812). │ - │ pp. 153, 242: Pocahontes changed to Pocahontas. │ - └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Secrets of Earth and Sea, by Ray Lankester - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRETS OF EARTH AND SEA *** - -***** This file should be named 53751-0.txt or 53751-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/7/5/53751/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Christian Boissonnas and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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