6/2 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



Life-histories and Reproduction of Plants." In the latter the type system 

 has been purposely abandoned, the authors preferring to give the learner a 

 broader and more general account of the groups by describing a comparatively 

 large number of forms selected with a view of giving an idea of the " range 

 of form and reproductive methods within each group." Evolution and heredity 

 are considered at greater length and from a wider view-point than is usual in a 

 book of its scope ; the exposition of this dif&cult subject, moreover, is admir- 

 able. There is also a special chapter devoted to the ecological anatomy of 

 plants. The physiological aspects of structure are continually placed before 

 the reader, both in the special and in the more general part, a chapter, for 

 example, being devoted to a consideration of the special physiology of the 

 Fungi, Lichens, and Bacteria. Another and a very commendable feature is that 

 the economic uses of plants have been touched on at appropriate places. 

 The work is admirably illustrated with a number of reproductions from 

 photographs and drawings taken from specimens of well-known and easily 

 obtainable British plants. An Appendix on the Microscope and its uses, and 

 on elementary technique, a Bibliography of the most important works on 

 various branches of the subject, and a very full Index are provided. The 

 authors are to be heartily congratulated on their achievement. The book 

 can be strongly recommended. 



E. M. C. 



A Textbook o! Plant Biology. By W. Neilson Jones, M.A.. F..S., Pro- 

 fessor of Botany in the University of London and Bedford College, 

 and M. C. Rayner, D.Sc, late Lecturer in Charge, Department of Botany 

 University CoUege, Reading. [Pp. viii -f 262, with 36 figures and 

 6 plates.] (London : Methuen & Co., 1920. Price 7s. net.) 



This book is put forward as a supplement to the general elementary textbook. 

 The authors point out that the more extended study for which the elementary 

 work prepares the student is often not pursued ; and it is their hope to 

 provide the student " with a general grounding in biology " and " biological 

 principles." The three main divisions treat of the plant as a machine, 

 reproduction, and the plant in relation to the outside world respectively. 

 The first section is practically the physiology of nutrition ; the second, the 

 methods of reproduction, outUnes of classification, and genetics. The third 

 part is concerned with plant movements, ecology, and the soil. Each chapter 

 is provided with a series of illustrative practical exercises. 



The book, in fact, seems to be practically a textbook of plant physiology 

 with a biological basis. Considerations of expense and the need for curtailing 

 size have reduced the number of illustrations to a minimum. In view of the 

 fact that difierent students using this book will in all probability not be 

 provided with the same general textbook on Botany, and will, therefore, 

 have different requirements in the way of extra illustrations, it seems a pity 

 that the work could not have been self-contained as far as illustrations were 

 concerned : this would have added greatly to the utihty of the book. 



E. M. C. 



ZOOLOGY 



The Influence of Man on Animal Life in Scotland : A Study in Faunal Evo- 

 lution. By James Ritchie, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S.E., Assistant Keeper 

 in the Natural History Department of the Royal Scottish Museum. 

 [Pp. xvi + 550, with 90 figures and 8 maps.] (Cambridge : at the 

 University Press, 1920. Price 28s. net.) 



The title of this volume is somewhat deceptive. The book, true enough, 

 deals with animal life in Scotland, and very comprehensively, but in effect 

 its scope is much farther reaching than its title suggests. It is stimulating 



