How the Bark Breathes 493 



in most cases, with a mass of powdery function which the lenticels share with 



packing-cells, so loosely arranged that the stomata — to aid in regulating the 



air can easily pass between them. In transpiration of the plant. Indeed, 



wet weather these cells usually expand Devaux,- one of the latest botanists to 



and protrude from the opening, so give the subject careful study, concludes 



that the lenticel comes to resemble a that it is more correct to say they 



wart. regulate the amount of moisture in the 



This response to the humidity of the plant than to ascribe ventilation as 



outside air gives the clue to another their chief function. 



- Recherches sur les Lenticelles, by H. Devaux, professor at the University of Bordeaux. 

 Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Sieme serie, Botanique; t. XII, 1900. 



NEW PUBLICATIONS 



MICROBES AND MEN, by Robert T. Morris, M. D. Pp. 539, price $2 net. New York, 

 Doubleday Page 8z Co., 1915. 



It is rather difficult to think of any social question on which this book by a 

 distinguished New York surgeon does not touch. His aim is to show the influence 

 of the microbe in all evolution ; to demonstrate that ' ' the microbe limits cultivation 

 of any organism because under conditions of higher cultivation organisms become 

 more and more susceptible to microbe influence. The logical end of culture is 

 elimination of the race among plants and animals." But the book itself is far more 

 readable than one would suspect from this synopsis : one can dip into it anywhere 

 and find something to stimulate thought. Dr. Morris intimates that one of his 

 hopes is to cause readers to disagree with him, and he will doubtless attain this 

 end in many cases. But at least, the reader will be interested. The layman, 

 however, should bear in mind that the author does not always make it clear whether 

 his statements are based on fact or speculation. 



JOHN AND ELIZABETH, a Romance in Real Life, by Jay Gee. Pp. 162, price 50 cents. 

 Washington, D. C, the Volta Bureau, 1601 Thirty-fifth Street NW. 



Mr. Gee frankly declares that he has written a novel with a purpose — "to show 

 the great dangers of hereditary disease." Congenital deafness furnishes the 

 background of a simple love story, or rather, the love story serves as a vehicle to 

 carry a rather full discussion of congenital deafness. Novels with purposes are not 

 new, but Mr. Gee has performed a really extraordinary feat in writing one, the 

 scientific basis of which is perfectly sound. The book can be recommended without 

 hesitation to anyone who wants a sugar-coated statement of modern views as to the 

 inheritance of congenital defects. 



EUGENICS AND MARRIAGE, by Lee Alexander Stone, M.D. A Primer of Social Hygiene. 

 Reprinted from the Journal of the Tennessee State Medical Association, September, 1915. Pp. 64; 

 price 25 cents; by the author, Memphis, Tenn. 



