518 Journal of Applied Microscopy. 



and it would seem that the system which teaches so complex a subject as physi- 

 ology before physics and chemistry is capable of improvement. As the human 

 race passed beyond the naive stage and began to seek for explanation of the 

 world, it was the external, inorganic world which first attracted attention — the 

 falling stone, the rain, the dew, ice, fire and its effects, and other simple physical 

 and chemical phenomena. Not until a much later stage did it become evident 

 that the principles underlying physics and chemistry are illustrated in the living 

 body. It would seem that the logical method of teaching is, if we may so speak, 

 the evolutionary one. 



In this book the difficulties under which the author labors in endeavoring to 

 make clear the nature of various physical and chemical phenomena are evident, 

 and the scope of the work is thus very limited. The attempt, however, is most 

 praiseworthy, and the defects of this kind which appear should not be charged to 

 the author. 



The chapter entitled " Supplementary Work," and especially the section on 

 the study of bacteria, is exceedingly valuable, affording the student, as it does, 

 a realization of the fact that bacteria are present in air, water, dust, milk, 

 etc., and illustrating some simple methods of steriUzation and disinfection. 



The directions for observations and experiments which are to be carried out 

 by the student at home, and reported upon, constitute what appears to be a very 

 valuable feature of the book. Exercises of this kind are distinguished from 

 class demonstrations and exercises for the pupil in the laboratory. By this 

 independent work it must be possible in many cases to secure a more active 

 interest on the part of the student, and of course the advantage in the 

 increased amount of work possible is obvious. 



The style is in general concise and clear. Directions are brief and yet suffi- 

 cient. Each experiment or observation is numbered, and directions for prepar- 

 ing tables for reporting results are given wherever necessary. The type is clear 

 and of convenient size, and the book is remarkably free from typographical 

 errors. It is bound with alternate blank leaves for notes, which is always a 

 useful provision in a laboratory manual. 



Altogether, the plan of the book and the idea upon which it is based are 

 most praiseworthy. It should undoubtedly prove a very useful addition to the 

 list of laboratory manuals for the study of biological science in the secondary 

 schools. C. M. Child. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



Herrera, A. S. Recherches sur le protoplasm Herxheimer, K. Ueber die Structur des Pro- 



artificiel. Bull, de la See. Zool. de France, toplasmas, der menschlichen Epidermiszelle. 



24: 20, 1899. Arch. f. Mikr. Anat. 53: 510-546, i pL, 



Maximow, A. Ueber die Structur und Ent- 1899. 



kernung der rothen Blutkorperchen der c„u''^:„u^~ u; 1-. tx 1 1 i r\ ■ ■ 



.... p. 1 u ,• tJ 1 r. 1 Scnonichen, W. Der Darmkanal der Onisci- 



baugethiere und uber die Heikunft der , i \ n- 1 ^ -^ c wt -7 1 



T,, ° ... , » 1 r A TM den und Aselliden. Zeits. f. Wiss. Zool. 



Blutplattchen. Arch, f Anat. u. Phys. /,,, , _o ^ 100 



33-82, . pi., 1899. ^^= ^-^s-'ys, 2 fig., I pi., 1898. 



Allis, E. P On Certain Homologies of the Silvestri, F. Ricerche sulla fecondazione di 



Squamosal, Int-rcalars, Exoccipital and un animale a spermatozoi immobili. Rich- 



Kxirascapular Bones of Amia Calva. Anat. erche fatta nel Lab. di Anat. nom della 



Anz. 16: 49-72, 1899. R- ^niv. di Roma, 6: 255-265, 2 pis. 1898. 



