1899] DIARY OF TWO ORNITHOLOGISTS 367 
diaries of the friends were written up as occasion permitted, often at the end 
of a long fatiguing day, and cannot be said to do more than sketch the bird 
life to be found in the forests of Northern Europe ; but they are vivacious, and 
have the merit of severe accuracy. While many of the birds that inhabited 
the neighbourhood of Muonioniska proved to be species that can be studied in 
the British Islands, such as the Capercaillie, Osprey and Merlin, others were 
characteristic of the far north, such as the Lapp Owl, Pine Grosbeak and 
Siberian Jay. Dan Meinertzhagen was an accomplished draughtsman as well 
as a good naturalist, and he found time to make some capital sketches of birds 
that he encountered, e.g. that of the Hawk Owl which is reproduced at p. 74. 
Had his life been spared for a few years, he might well have ranked as one of 
the first zoological painters of the day. The twenty-seven plates bound up at 
the end of the volume show the pains which he had taken to master the 
technique of his art. Perhaps he excelled most in delineating the attitudes of 
birds of prey ; but he was also adept in preparing drawings of anatomical 
dissections. The feeling of regret which all readers of “ Bird Life in an Arctic 
Spring” will experience, after perusing the story of a life of brilliant 
promise suddenly cut short, is deepened by the knowledge of the amiable 
disposition of this ardent naturalist, who readily won the regard of all with 
whom he came into contact. The fresh and vivid impressions of Arctic bird 
life which his rough jottings convey may well inspire others to follow in the 
wake of his investigations. HAM: 
RENAL SECRETION. 
Les Fonctions Rénales. By Prof. FRENKEL of Toulouse. Pp. 84. [Scientia. ] 
Paris: Georges Carré and C. Naud. 1899. Price 2 francs. 
In this little book of eighty-four pages, Prof. Frenkel has given a very 
interesting account of the physiology and pathology of renal secretion. In 
the first chapter there is a short but well-written description of the structure 
of the kidney, and this is followed by one dealing with the composition of the 
urine, in which the biological properties of the latter are specially emphasised. 
As one would naturally expect, seeing that the work has been largely done by 
French scientists (Bouchard, Charrin), a much larger amount of space is 
devoted to the toxicity of the urine than is ordinarily met with even in far 
more ambitious text-books in other languages. Although many of the hypo- 
theses, which the author formulates in regard to the properties of the urine, 
may be considered to have insufficient basis, all must admit that the author 
has stated his case clearly. The third chapter, on the physiology of renal 
secretion, goes over well-known ground, the theories of Ludwig and Bowman- 
Heidenhain being shortly referred to ; but recent English work is not mentioned. 
The fourth chapter deals with a department with which the names of Brown- 
Séquard, Teissier, and the author are associated, viz. the nature of internal 
renal secretions. In this country and in Germany, much more attention has 
been paid to the secretions of the pancreas, thyroid and supra-renals, than to 
renal secretions. The last two chapters treat respectively of what the author 
terms, pathological physiology of the renal secretion and renal permeability and 
insufficiency. The little book may be heartily recommended to all interested 
in this subject. T. H. Mirroy. 
The American Naturalist for September has the following articles :—“ A 
Contribution to the Life-History of Autodaxr lugubris Hallow, a Californian 
Salamander,” by W. E. Ritter and Love Miller; ‘The Worcester Natural 
History Society,” by H. D. Braman ; “Synopsis of North American Caridea,” 
by J. 8. Kingsley ; “The Life Habits of Polypterus,” by N. R. Harrington ; and 
“Pads on the Palm and Sole of the Human Foetus,” by R. H. Johnson. 
