Chapter I: 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