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 The Green Bag

540

considerations

stead of leaving it to others whom he

cover both the method of disposition and the selection of beneﬁciaries. The author leaves very much to the legal

modestly deemed more competent. On the whole, we heartily commend

legal

adviser.

Those

adviser and to the wealth owner, for

this small volume to all who are con sidering the disposal of the property

obviously the best methods of disposi

that they cannot take with them to the

tion and the best selection of bene

ﬁciaries will hardly be the same in any

next world. This means that we com mend it to practically everyone for it is

two cases. If one wishes to be told exactly what he should do with his

our experience that there are very few people indeed but have at least a little

property upon his death, and precisely how he should do it, this book will not

of ment this they world's desire goods to continue whoseeven manage‘ after

satisfy him.

they have left for heavenly realms be yond.

It assumes, correctly, we

think, that practically all men are seri ously interested in the use to which

their property, whether great or little, is to be put after their death. Whether

ANT COMMUNITIES Ant Communities and How They Are Governed;

one leaves everything to his widow, or

A Study in Natural Civics. McCook.

divides his property between his several

London. (1909.)

children, or establishes

and index 7.

some

chari

table foundation, he does it only after serious and mature consideration. And to all those who are seriously consider ing such problems the present volume will furnish excellent food for thought. On the ethical side of the question the book is rather slight. The author has left that part to eminent divines of various beliefs, but as we read what they have to say we are forced to conclude

By Henry Christopher

Harper 8: Brothers, New ‘York and

P .xvii, 304 +bibnogmphy9

($2 nets

ROM Dr. McCook's popular 86 count of the habits and social life of ants, the mind not learned in natural history will discover that these beings’ in their subdivision of labor, their com

plete devotion to the collective welfare of the community, their engineering Skiu' their tender care of their own dependents, and their peaceable communal existence

unruﬁled by dissensions or violence of

that perhaps less eminent personages

any sort, come as near to dwelling in a

might have given us a deeper and a more

state of civilization, in the human sense,

thoughtful treatment. The reason for asking these men to write about the

as we can conceive it possible for any of

ethical side of disposition of wealth after death, doubtless was that their profession and habits of thought ﬁtted them especially to give us helpful ideas in that direction.

Unfortunately, how

ever, the minister of the gospel probably is so concerned with the post-mortem disposition of the immortal soul that he devotes comparatively little attention to

the post-mortem use of wealth. We wish that Mr. Remsen with his large experience and deep understanding had written on the ethical side himself in

the lower forms of animal life to attain From the author's interpretation of

those characteristics of ant life whit)I are not so clearly deﬁned objectivelyv and which may be a matter of opinion: one is led to infer that ants must have some degree, at least, of the power to

reason, that they communicate with one another by some means analogous ernment to language, in which that they crime liveand under outlaWTY a gov‘

never arise and force is never exerted to enforce any custom or regulation, that the authority of the state seems to be