350 The Field Naturalists Quarterly November 



Professor Hickson of the Infusoria, and Professor Farmer on Protozoan 

 cell structure. 



The volume is liberally and excellently illustrated ; and while the 

 extent of matter included makes it impossible to even sketch the whole 

 contents further, we may say that we have been specially attracted by 

 the parts which deal with the Coccidia, the life-histories of the Sporozoa 

 (including the malarial parasites), and the description of the repro- 

 duction of the Infusorians. But the whole work is so full of interest, 

 that it is hardly fair to specify particular portions. Every earnest 

 student of the Protozoa will wish to have and study this volume. 



The Naturalist in La Plata. By W. H. Hudson, F.Z.S. London : 

 Dent. Price 5s. net. 



The fact that this is the fourth edition of a book first published in 

 1892, in itself speaks for the popularity the work has attained. The 

 present edition is a cheaper edition than its predecessors, but it has 

 not been allowed to suffer in the matter of excellence of print and 

 general appearance. The letterpress and the drawings in the text 

 have been left as they were ; the only change is in the form of the 

 book, and the substitution of new plates, one of which we are able to 

 reproduce, for the old ones. 



Mr. Hudson's plan has been to sift and arrange the facts he has 

 gathered concerning the habits of the animals best known to him, 

 preserving only that which was best worth recording. Many different 

 subjects have linked themselves together under few headings, so that 

 the scope of the book is not indicated by its list of contents, but a 

 good index has supplied the necessary headings. 



A most interesting chapter is that on Parental and Early Instincts. 

 The young bats of the common Buenos Ayrean species are attached to 

 the mother after birth, although they are only a third less in size than 

 herself, so that she carries a weight exceeding that of her own body. 

 The young bat does not change its position, or move, like the young 

 opossum, until mature enough to live an independent life. If forcibly 

 separated from the mother, they cannot fly at this early stage, but 

 flutter to the ground. They are practically, for the time, parasites. 

 This habit of this bat gives Mr. Hudson the opportunity of making some 

 remarks about the young of other mammals, which are of great interest. 



Another section of great interest is that on Mosquitoes and Parasite 

 Problems ; also that on Nature's Night Lights, and the chapter on 

 Music and Dancing in Nature. This latter subject, that of the com- 

 bination of animals to take part in amusements, is a very fascinating 

 field of investigation. 



We cordially recommend our readers to buy this book, which is 

 worth reading from cover to cover. 



A Class -Book of Botany. By G. P. Mudge, F.L.S., and A. J. 

 Maslen, F.L.S. London : Arnold. Price 7s. 6d. 

 This book, which appears under the severest title, should be in the 

 hands of teachers and students alike, to be read with considerable pleasure 



