1899] DIARY OF TWO ORNITHOLOGISTS 367 



diaries of the friends were written up as occasion permitted, often at the end 

 of a long fatiguing day, and cannot be said to do more than sketch the bird 

 life to be found in the forests of Northern Europe ; but they are vivacious, and 

 have the merit of severe accuracy. While many of the birds that inhabited 

 the neighbourhood of Muonioniska proved to be species that can be studied in 

 the British Islands, such as the Capercaillie, Osprey and Merlin, others were 

 characteristic of the far north, such as the Lapp Owl, Pine Grosbeak and 

 Siberian Jay. Dan Meinertzhagen was an accomplished draughtsman as well 

 as a good naturalist, and he found time to make some capital sketches of birds 

 that he encountered, e.g. that of the Hawk Owl which is reproduced at p. 74. 

 Had his life been spared for a few years, he might well have ranked as one of 

 the first zoological painters of the day. The twenty-seven plates bound up at 

 the end of the volume show the pains which he had taken to master the 

 technique of his art. Perhaps he excelled most in delineating the attitudes of 

 birds of prey ; but he was also adept in preparing drawings of anatomical 

 dissections. The feeling of regret which all readers of " Bird Life in an Arctic 

 Spring" will experience, after perusing the story of a life of brilliant 

 promise suddenly cut short, is deepened by the knowledge of the amiable 

 disposition of this ardent naturalist, who readily won the regard of all with 

 whom he came into contact. The fresh and vivid impressions of Arctic bird 

 life which his rough jottings convey may well inspire others to follow in the 

 wake of his investigations. H. A. M. 



*& w 



RENAL SECRETION. 



Les Fonctions Renales. By Prof. Frenkel of Toulouse. Pp. 84. [Scientia.] 

 Paris: Georges Carre and C. Naud. 1899. Price 2 francs. 



In this little book] of eighty -four pages, Prof. Frenkel has given a very 

 interesting account of the physiology and pathology of renal secretion. In 

 the first chapter there is a short but well-written description of the structure 

 of the kidney, and this is followed by one dealing with the composition of the 

 urine, in which the biological properties of the latter are specially emphasised. 

 As one would naturally expect, seeing that the work has been largely clone by 

 French scientists (Bouchard, Charrin), a much larger amount of space is 

 devoted to the toxicity of the urine than is ordinarily met with even in far 

 more ambitious text-books in other languages. Although many of the hypo- 

 theses, which the author formulates in regard to the properties of the urine, 

 may be considered to have insufficient basis, all must admit that the author 

 has stated his case clearly. The third chapter, on the physiology of renal 

 secretion, goes over well-known ground, the theories of Ludwig and Bowman- 

 Heidenhain being shortly referred to ; but recent English work is not mentioned. 

 The fourth chapter deals with a department with which the names of Brown- 

 Sequard, Teissier, and the author are associated, viz. the nature of internal 

 renal secretions. In this country and in Germany, much more attention has 

 been paid to the secretions of the pancreas, thyroid and supra-renals, than to 

 renal secretions. The last two chapters treat respectively of what the author 

 terms, pathological physiology of the renal secretion and renal permeability and 

 insufficiency. The little book may be heartily recommended to all interested 

 in this subject. T. H. Milroy. 



The American Naturalist for September has the following articles: — "A 

 Contribution to the Life -History of Autodax lugubris Hallow, a Calif ornian 

 Salamander," by W. E. Ritter and Love Miller; "The Worcester Natural 

 History Society," by H. D. Braman ; " Synopsis of North American Caridea," 

 by J. S. Kingsley ; " The Life Habits of Polypterus," by N. R. Harrington ; and 

 " Pads on the Palm and Sole of the Human Foetus," by R, H. Johnson. 



