228 SOME NEW BOOKS [septembkh 



wise, abnormal. Cases where the parents were known have also furnished 

 some data in regard to inheritance. The work has been carefully done, and the 

 author's scientific temper is indicated by his refraining at present from any 

 generalisations. We would echo his recommendation that the State Boards, 

 and here as well as in America, should give their official sanction and support 

 to such studies (without which our ameliorative devices will linger long on an 

 empirical level), and should extend them gradually to correctional and other 

 institutions, provided, of course, that the services of expert and unprejudiced 

 investigators can be secured. 



A PRACTICAL COURSE ON CYTOLOGY. 



Praxis und Theorie der Zellen- und Befruchtungslehre. By Dr. Valentin 

 Hacker, A. 0. Professor in Freiburg i. Br. 8vo, pp. viii. + 260, with 

 137 figures. Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1899. Price 7 marks. 



This book had its origin in the practical course of studies on the cell and 

 fertilisation given in the Zoological Institute at Freiburg i. Br. Experience was 

 thus gained in choosing the best material to illustrate particular points, and Dr. 

 Hjicker has made this available to other workers. The result is a practical 

 handbook of great utility. It consists of lessons for sixteen clays, and deals 

 with forty objects, such as staminal hairs of Tradescantia, epidermis of sala- 

 mander larva, Amoeba and Pelomyxa, Stylonichia mytilus, living nuclei from 

 the bladder wall of the salamander, ovarian ova of newts, spermatozoa of the 

 salmon and trout, leaf- epidermis of Leucojum, Stentor coeruleus, root-hairs, 

 ovarian tubes of insects, corneal epidermis, testes of salamander, ova of Ascaris, 

 Tliysanozoon, Canthocamptus, Anodonta, Myzostoma, Tegenaria, Echinus, etc., 

 hybrid larvae of sea-urchins, antherozoids of ferns, and so on. In each case the 

 methods to be followed are clearly indicated. The lessons are intended to 

 illustrate the structure of the cell, cell-division, oogenesis, spermatogenesis, 

 reducing divisions and maturation, fertilisation, etc., and short discussions are 

 interspersed dealing with the established facts and the current theories. Brief 

 historical sketches of the progress of research are also given, and carefully 

 selected references to literature. A brief general chapter on the cell concludes 

 the volume. Opinions may differ as to the choice of objects, but all will 

 probably agree that it was a happy thought on Dr. Hacker's part to place the 

 results of his experience at the disposal of workers in other schools. 



J. A. T. 



THE FRIEND OF THE FISHERMAN? 



The Lancashire Sea Fisheries : A Lecture delivered in the Chadwick 

 Museum, Bolton. By C. L. Jackson, M.Tnst.C.E., etc., Presid. of 

 Bolton Microsc. Soc. Pp. vii. + 85. Manchester : Abel Hey wood and 

 Son. London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co., 1899. Price 2s. 



This was probably an amusing lecture to listen to, and interesting because 

 of the personal reminiscences ; but, unfortunately, the author has been induced 

 by friends (so he tells us) to rush into print, and the little book, we fear, will 

 serve no useful purpose and may be mischievous. Twenty to thirty years ago 

 Mr. Jackson was evidently active as a fisherman and observer. He quotes 

 from Buckland and Walpole, " Land and Water," and Reports of Fisheries 

 Commissions of that date ; and for him these statements are evidently con- 

 clusive, and the investigation of the sea which has been carried on since by 

 nearly every civilised country either does not exist, or is only a fit subject for 

 scoff and sneer. 



The book is a venomous attack upon the Lancashire Sea Fisheries Com- 

 mittee, their methods and their administration, and is evidently written from 



