322 



remarkable. With the exception of the vertebrates, which are 

 not dealt with in this work, not a single type of European 

 fresh-water organism appears to have been forgotten. Many 

 groups about which very little or nothing is said in most of the 

 books on pond-life — such as the insects, parasitic copepods, parasitic 

 worms, the aquatic fungi, etc. — are referred to in considerable 

 detail. In nearly all cases the majority, if not all, the genera 

 are alluded to, and keys to these are also added in order to 

 facilitate the fixing of the approximate position of any specimen 

 that may be found. 



The biological part, although not nearly so long as the systematic, 

 is in some respects more important. An attempt is made, and 

 with considerable success, to give a comprehensive survey of 

 what has been accomplished, especially in the last few years, in 

 the study of fresh-water biological problems. The subject of the 

 ** plankton" of lakes and ponds, and the methods of plankton 

 investigation, necessarily receive a good deal of consideration ; 

 and those who wish to get some general idea of what must cer- 

 tainly be regarded as one of the most important recent departures 

 in biological work could not do better than read this section of 

 Professor Lamport's book. 



The illustrations are very numerous and largely original. It 

 must be confessed that the coloured plates, in spite of the skill 

 evidently expended on them, are not altogether a success ; but 

 the remaining plates and the woodcuts are excellent. 



Altogether " Das Leben der Binnengewasser " is a book 

 which can be heartily recommended to students of fresh-water 

 biology in any of its branches. It will not take the place of 

 the costly monographs and technical papers with which the 

 specialist has to work, but as a general book of reference for 

 professional and amateur alike its value would be difficult to 

 overestimate. D. J. S. 



