SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES 



KELATING TO 



ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY 



(principally invertebrata and cryptogamia), 



MICEOSCOPY, Etc.* 



ZOOLOGY. 



VERTEBRATA. 



a. Embryologry. t 



Mendelism.J — P. C Punnett has revised and enlarged his well- 

 known exposition of Mendelism. It is, indeed, almost a new book, with 

 all the good qualities of the previous editions on a larger canvas. Within 

 the last six years there have been many discoveries (in which the author 

 has shared) in Mendelian investigation, and these are illustrated in this 

 admirable book, the lucidity of which is past praise. We may refer to 

 the parts dealing with the " interaction of factors," the new view of 

 reversion, the re-interpretation of man's achievements in the origin of 

 domesticated varieties, the Mendelian theory of sex. Very welcome, we 

 should think, to many will be the chapter on " Intermediates," where 

 the author deals with some cases that do not seem to follow the Mende- 

 lian rule. The economic and human aspects of Mendelism are discussed 

 in the two final chapters. 



Heredity and Evolution.§ — L. Plate has made a large number of 

 breeding-experiments with mice, which lead him to complete confidence 

 in the Mendelian theory of the purity of gametes. He proposes to 

 modify Bateson's " presence and absence " theory into a " Grundfaktor- 

 Supplement-Theorie." He maintains that Mendelism does not lessen 

 the importance of selection theory, and that the conception of deter- 

 minants is quite consistent with the transmission of acquired characters. 

 He distinguishes seven different modes of germinal variation and five 

 kinds of atavism, and gives a very interesting analysis of correlation. 



* The Society are not intended to be denoted by the editorial " we," and they 

 do not hold themselves responsible for the views of the authors of the papers 

 noted, nor for any claim to novelty or otherwise made by them. The object of 

 this part of the Journal is to present a summary of the papers as actually pub- 

 lished, and to describe and illustrate Instruments, Apparatus, etc., which are 

 either new or have not been previously described in this country. 



t This section includes not only papers relating to Embryology properly 60 

 called, but also those dealing with Evolution, Development, Reproduction, and 

 allied subjects. 



X Mendelism. London : 1911, 3rd ed. pp. xiv. and 176 (6 pis. and 35 figs.). 



§ Festschrift Richard Hertwig, ii. (1910) pp. 535-610 (1 pi. and 3 figs). 



