Literary Notices. 165 



us in his preface he may sometime finish. The present volume is con- 

 cerned with the Protozoa, the Coeleuterata, the Echinodermata and 

 the Vermes. 



Alter an excellent discussion of criteria of the psychic and an ex- 

 amination of various forms of activity in an introductory chapter on 

 the problems and methods of animal psychology, the author proceeds 

 to consider the materials for a psychology of the above named phyla 

 in accordance with the following plan : 



A. Description of anatomy, especially of the nervous system. 



B. Description of activities. 



I. Changes of substance: I. Taking food, 2. Assimilation and 

 dissimilation, 3. Excretion. 

 II. Changes of form: i. Adaptation and transmission, 2. Growth 

 and reproduction. 

 III. Changes of energy: i. Apparent spontaneous manifestations of 

 energy-change, movement, light, electricity, 2. Action of me- 

 chanical, photic, chemical, thermic, electric and acoustic stimuli. 



C. Consideration of the question of the existence of consciousness. 



I. Bearing of anatomical conditions, especially of the nervous sys- 

 tem. 

 II. Bearing of activities, especially of movements. 

 III. Bearing of the question of the value of consciousness for the or- 

 ganism. 



As this outline indicates, the author follows in general the 

 scheme of classification of organic processes offered by Verworn. 

 He gives brief, clear, structural descriptions, and satisfactory accounts 

 of well chosen typical modes of behavior. The work is not thorough 

 and exhaustive in its reviews of the literature of its topics, since it is 

 intended for the general biologist rather than for the specialist in ani- 

 mal behavior or comparative psychology. 



So far as materials are concerned it presents nothing new, for the 

 author has taken all his structural facts directly from the works of 

 other authors, and the only original work he claims within the field of 

 activity is the verification of the reports of other investigators. Con- 

 sequently the only portion of the book of much value to the specialist 

 in animal psychology is that which is concerned with the author's con- 

 clusions, on the basis of the facts collected, concerning the existence 

 of consciousness in the animals of the phyla mentioned, and its values. 



In brief, the conclusions stated are that the Protozoa give no 

 evidence of consciousness, that certain of the Coelenterata, the Hy- 

 roids, exhibit the first signs of consciousness in the animal kingdom, 

 while the Echinodermata and Vermes give evidences of somewhat 

 more complex forms of consciousness. The author is guarded in his 



