Recent Biology (I.)

Reviews the books "Année biologique" by Yves Delage (1897), "Essays" by G. J. Romanes and edited by C. Ll. Morgan , and "Darwin and After Darwin, III. Isolation and Physiological Selection" by G. J. Romanes . In "Année biologique" Delage begins the annual issue of a summary of biological progress. The two posthumous works of Romanes (the second and third books) are valuable additions to our legacy from that acute mind. The book of essays is of less importance than the other, seeing that it is a collection of papers published at various dates, which do not in all cases represent the latest and most matured opinions of the author. They all have biographical value, however--meaning mental biography, of course--especially those of a more practical character, which bring out human points of view. In the other work, we have the systematic exposition of the theory of Physiological Selection, which is possibly Romanes' most original and interesting single contribution to natural history.