Rough. Ways Made Smooth. By Richard A. Proctor. (Chatto and
Windus.)—We can congratulate Mr. Proctor on his now volume in every respect except the choice of a -title, that which he has taken certainly not leading the reader to expect a collection of "Familiar Essays on Scientific Subjects." The first eight essays deal with astronomical subjects, the two on "The Past History of the Moon" and "A New Crater in the Moon" being the most interesting. The curious information put together in "Cold Winters," if it does not enable us to endure with more comfort disagreeable weather, should at least do us the service of stopping the irritating nonsense which is talked about "old-fashioned winters," and so forth. Gilbert White, whose experience at Selborne reached from 1768 to 1792, records much the same fluctuations as we have seen during the last twenty years. In "Oxford and Cambridge Rowing" and "Rowing Styles," Mr. Proctor makes some observations well worthy of attention. We must remark, however, that the "Oxford long course" does not "extend from the ferry at Christ Church meadows to Newnham." In this, there are two locks; but there is a long course from Sandford Lock to Abingdon. Among the other essays, we may single out as specially noteworthy those on "Hereditary Traits" and "Mechanical Chess-players."
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