MAST'S " LIGHT AND THE BEHAVIOR OF 

 ORGANISMS " * 



G. H. PARKER 

 Harvard University 



This volume, the major part of which consists of an essay 

 that was awarded the Cartwright Prize by the College of Physi- 

 cians and Surgeons of Columbia University, is the outgrow^th 

 of the author's study of the process of orientation in plants and 

 animals, and deals with the methods by which these organisms 

 regulate their activities so as to bend or move toward or from 

 a source of stimulation. The book is divided into four parts. 

 The first part occupies about sixty pages and consists of an his- 

 torical account of the researches that have led to the present 

 views concerning the general problem of orientation. The 

 second part, of nearly one hundred and eighty pages, takes up 

 the question of the orientation of organisms and their movements 

 toward or from a source of stimulation. The third part, of some 

 seventy pages, contains a general consideration of the reactions 

 of organisms to light. The fourth and last part, of about sixty 

 pages, is devoted to an account of the effects of colored lights 

 on plants and animals. The volume is concluded with a biblio- 

 graphy of over two hundred titles and an ample index. 



The perusal of the book discloses a wealth of facts, many of 

 which are the results of the author's own investigations, and the 

 text consequently has an air of critical authority not often found 

 in extended scientific summaries. The facts, new and old, are 

 marshalled with great consistency and uniformity in support of 

 Jennings's well-known views on animal orientation, and this 



* Mast, S. O. Light and the Behavior of Organisms. New York. John Wiley 

 and Sons. 8vo. XI +410 pp. 1911. 



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