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The Foraminifera. An Introduction to the 8tndy of the 

 Protozoa. By Frederick Chapman, A.L.S., F.R.M.S, 

 9x6 in., 15 + 354 pages. Frontispiece, 14 plates, and 42 

 figures in the text. London, 1902 : Longmans, Green & Co. 

 Price 95. net. 



This excellent book, well printed and illustrated, and by a 

 writer with a deservedly high reputation on the subject, should 

 supply a long-felt want, and tend to increase the number of 

 microscopists interested in the subject. Not every student can 

 obtain ready access to the classical monographs of Carpenter, 

 Williamson, or Brady ; and the recent literature of the subject, 

 scattered in half a dozen languages through the publications of 

 scientific societies, is, in Mr. Chapman's own words, " outside the 

 scope of the general student's reading." 



The author has essayed, and we think with success, to bridge 

 this gap, and to lay before the general student a volume which, 

 in addition to a review of the life-history and distribution of the 

 group, also includes a brief description of all the generic an'l the 

 principal sub-generic types. 



Such a book falls naturally into distinct sections. The first 

 of these, consisting of five chapters, is devoted to the life-history, 

 shell structure, and schemes of classification. The account of the 

 life-history and reproduction of the animal is up to date and 

 good, so far as it goes ; but only fourteen pages are allotted to it, 

 and the value of the book would have been much increased if this 

 subject had been treated at greater length. The observations on 

 the structure of the shell are of great interest. Recent researches, 

 confirmed by Mr. Chapman's own experiments, tend to show that 

 the porcellanous or imperforate shell, which has long been 

 regarded as Aragonite, must be considered as "an intermediate 

 mineral condition in which the organic element is intimately 

 mixed with the mineral, and probably corresponding with the new 

 mineral species Conchite." The geological evidence seems to 

 support this view. 



The second division of the book relates to the Classification of 

 the Foraminifera under Brady's system, which in the author's 

 opinion is still the best available, in spite of several defects. 

 Mr. Chapman gives a brief but suificient description of each 

 genus or important sub-genus, and illustrates it with a further 

 description and illustration cf one or moie typical species. The 



