Excerpt from Hardwicke's Science-Gossip, 1889, Vol. 25: An Illustrated Medium of Interchange and Gossip for Students and Lovers of Nature What an enormous advance Science has made within the period comprehended by the lifetime of science-gossip! There is, perhaps, no previous quarter of a century equal to it in the whole history of scientific research. Our past volumes record this progress - all the more faithfully because it was recorded almost unconscious of the fact that an act of evolution was going on. Perhaps one of the most striking features in the scientific history Of the last twenty-five years is its increased democratic character. It belongs to the people, without any reference to rank, wealth, or influence. For years, in our columns, peers and peasants have discussed natural history subjects on common and equal ground. Science has sprung from the people, and belongs to the people. Apart from its increasing national economic importance, it is one of their chief intellectual delights. For one person who cared enough about the multitudinous objects of nature to enquire into them a quarter of a century ago, there are at least ten now. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.