228 SOME NEW BOOKS [SEPTEMBER 
wise, abnormal. Cases where the parents were known have also furnished 
some data in regard to inheritance. The work has been carefully done, and the 
author’s scientific temper is indicated by his refraining at present from any 
generalisations. We would echo his recommendation that the State Boards, 
and here as well as in America, should give their official sanction and support 
to such studies (without which our ameliorative devices will linger long on an 
empirical level), and should extend them gradually to correctional and other 
institutions, provided, of course, that the services of expert and unprejudiced 
investigators can be secured. 
A PRACTICAL COURSE ON CYTOLOGY. 
Praxis und Theorie der Zellen- und Befruchtungslehre. By Dr. VALENTIN 
HAcKER, A. O. Professor in Freiburg i. Br. 8 vo, pp. viii. + 260, with 
137 figures. Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1899. Price 7 marks. 
This book had its origin in the practical course of studies on the cell and 
fertilisation given in the Zoological Institute at Freiburg i. Br. Experience was 
thus gained in choosing the best material to illustrate particular points, and Dr. 
Hacker has made this available to other workers. The result is a practical 
handbook of great utility. It consists of lessons for sixteen days, and deals 
with forty objects, such as staminal hairs of 7'radescantia, epidermis of sala- 
mander larva, Amoeba and Pelomyxa, Stylonichia mytilus, living nuclei from 
the bladder wall of the salamander, ovarian ova of newts, spermatozoa of the 
salmon and trout, leaf-epidermis of Leucojum, Stentor coeruleus, root-hairs, 
ovarian tubes of insects, corneal epidermis, testes of salamander, ova of Ascarzs, 
Thysanozoon, Canthocamptus, Anodonta, Myzostoma, Tegenaria, Echinus, ete., 
hybrid larvae of sea-urchins, antherozoids of ferns, and so on. In each case the 
methods to be followed are clearly indicated. The lessons are intended to 
illustrate the structure of the cell, cell-division, oogenesis, spermatogenesis, 
reducing divisions and maturation, fertilisation, etc., and short discussions are 
interspersed dealing with the established facts and the current theories. Brief 
historical sketches of the progress of research are also given, and carefully 
selected references to literature. A brief general chapter on the cell concludes 
the volume. Opinions may differ as to the choice of objects, but all will 
probably agree that it was a happy thought on Dr. Hicker’s part to place the 
results of his experience at the disposal of workers in other schools. 
8 ie 2 ed io 
THE FRIEND OF THE FISHERMAN? 
The Lancashire Sea Fisheries: A Lecture delivered in the Chadwick 
Museum, Bolton. By C. L. Jackson, M.Inst.C.E., etc., Presid. of 
Bolton Microse. Soc. Pp. vii.+85. Manchester: Abel Heywood and 
Son. London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co., 1899. Price 2s. 
This was probably an amusing lecture to listen to, and interesting because 
of the personal reminiscences ; but, unfortunately, the author has been induced 
by friends (so he tells us) to rush into print, and the little book, we fear, will 
serve no useful purpose and may be mischievous. Twenty to thirty years ago 
Mr. Jackson was evidently active as a fisherman and observer. He quotes 
from Buckland and Walpole, ‘Land and Water,” and Reports of Fisheries 
Commissions of that date; and for him these statements are evidently con- 
clusive, and the investigation of the sea which has been carried on since by 
nearly every civilised country either does not exist, or is only a fit subject for 
scoff and sneer. 
The book is a venomous attack upon the Lancashire Sea Fisheries Com- 
mittee, their methods and their administration, and is evidently written from 
