CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

ANYTHING from the pen of A. R. Wal1ace is snre of a hearty welcome from acienti.6.c men, and the two volnmes of Studta, Scientific and Social,l which have jnat appeared, will undoubtedly have a large circle of readera. The work consists mainly of reprints of articles from reviews and periodicals; but, as they extend over a period of thirty-five years, and some of the periodicals are not easily aooeaaible, it is a great advantage to have them in this more convenient form. The essays are on a great variety of subjects: those on plant and animal distribution and on the theory of evolution are perhaps beat known, but the political and sociological studies are well worthy of the attention of public men. Many of the topics which are now occupying public attention have at one time or another formed the subject of essays by the versatile author. On the question of the permanent colonisation of the tropics by Europeans, for instance, Mr. Wallace apeaks with the experience which a residence of twelve years in tropical climates has given him, and he is distinctly of opinion that such colonisation is poasible. This agrees with the conclusion arrived at by Mr. T. M. Donovan in our columns, who quoted Queensland as an example of a tropical country where the bulk of the work is being carried out by white workmen. On the possibility of increasing the produce per acre of our English land Mr. Wallace has mnch to say. It is estimated, on the basis of the yield from allotments and small holdings, that by means of a system of peasant cultivation an increased produce of £200,000,000 a year could be obtained from the land in Great Britain. The author advocates the nationalisation of land and the reform of the House of Lords, beginuiDg with the exclnaiou of the bishops. The article on how to civilise savages contains some remarks about missionaries which are worthy of the attention of oar diplomatists, who will in all probability be shortly engaged in forcing the unwilling Chinese to receive an increased number of zealous but tactlesa missionaries. The views of the author on the ice age and the glacial erosion of lake valleys are well known, and show an intimate knowledge of the