174 



NATURE 



[Decembei 



naturally of prime importance. The ground should 

 slope both eastwards and southwards, and should be 

 sheltered from south-west winds. The land should 

 not be rich, but it must be well drained, and a point 

 of interest in this connection is that vines can be 

 grown for profit on poor land which is not suitable 

 for corn. 



Five years must elapse before the vmes may be 

 allowed to begin to bear, and the crops at first must 

 be small, so that anyone who intends to lay down a 

 vineyard will have to be prepared to wait for his | 

 profits. During the five years of waiting and aftrr 

 the vines will require much careful atlentign. 



At the end of the book there is a chapter on wine 

 but it is a matter for regret that nothing of a practical 

 nature is said about wine-making in England, though 

 it is true that allusion is made to good wines which 

 have been produced in this country, nor of the possi- 

 bilities of profit of a wine industry. A list of the best 

 vines for growing in England is given, with short ^ 

 accounts of the grapes and of the purposes for which j 

 thov nre most suitable. • 



y (a///( r Researches into Induced Cell-reprodticth u 

 and Cancer. Consisting of papers by H. C. Ross, 

 J. \V. Cropper, and E. H. Ross. (The McFadden 

 Researches.) Pp. 63. (London : John Murray, 

 ic)ii.) Price 3s. 6d. net. ! 



In this little book Mr. H. C. Ross gives a number j 

 of papers by his colleagues and himself on the lines 

 already laid down in the larger book which appeared 

 earlier in the year. Much enthusiastic work is indi- 

 cated, but it is difficult to realise that the booklet is 

 intended as a serious contribution to science. The 

 same criticisms that were levelled at the earlier pro- j 

 duction can be urged with equal or even greater j 

 cogency against this recent production, and it \ 

 is really very difficult to avoid the conviction that 

 the collaborators are gaily prancing about on danger- 

 ous ground the nature of which they very imperfectly | 

 comprehend. Thus the description of centrosomcs , 

 and the familiar structure of erythrocytes is possibly a ' 

 correct portrayal of appearances seen, but the conclu- i 

 sions as to the inducement of division in them are 

 absolutely unconvincing. That there may be dis- I 

 ruption is probable enough under the conditions em- [ 

 ployed, but the case for a true division in the sense in ; 

 which this is ordinarily understood does not appear : 

 to have been made out in the examples they describe, i 

 There is, furthermore, an absence of anything like a j 

 cautious and critical attitude towards the surprising 

 results alleged to have been obtained, and this of 

 itself is enough to arouse scepticism in the mind of I 

 anyone who has had any experience of the pitfalls | 

 that He in the path of all scientific investigation, and ; 

 thoso pitfalls are especially numerous in the field of i 

 cvtdku'V. 



\ 

 The Adventures of Jack Rahbit. By Richard Kear- 

 ton. With eight autochromes and numerous photo- 

 graphs direct from nature by Richard and Grace 

 Kearton. Pp. xii + 248. (London : Cassell and Co., 

 Ltd., 191 1.) Price 6s. 

 Although animal autobiographies do not appeal to 

 ourselves, Mr. Kearton 's attempt to describe the life 

 and experiences of a wild rabbit will probably prove 

 acceptable to a number of juvenile readers, especially 

 during the Christmas holiday season ; and if its 

 perusal results in even a few of such readers taking 

 seriously to nature-study the writer will doubtless 

 have succeeded in his aim. 



The feature of the work in which adults will be 

 interested is ^ formed by the illustrations, many of 

 which, we think, are even above Mr. Kearton's high 



NO. 2197, VOL. 88] 



average; among these special attention 

 directed to the eight "autochromes," by \wikii v 

 presume are meant colour-photographs. These ai 

 absolutely superb, whether they take the form of 

 clump of bluebells or a mass of blue speedwell, < 

 whether they depict animals. Among those of tl 

 latter type, we are more particularly pleased with tl 

 portrait of a young fieldfare, and the picture of 

 thrush's nest and eggs amid their surroundings. I 

 is, however, noteworthy in the case of the latter th. 

 (he nest, eggs, and supporting stems are much mor 

 conspicuous than they would be in nature; this, \\ 

 presume, being one of the unavoidable defects ' 

 colour-photography. The illustrations alone arc qui 

 sufficient to sell the book. 



.\s regards the text, it may be remarked 

 unnecessar\- to refer to the thrush as the 

 thrush," a' prefix, in this and other cases, bei: . 

 quired only for species other than the typical one. l; 

 would also be better to call such animals as the water- 

 rat and the field-mouse by their vernacular nam' 

 instead of alluding to them as "voles." R. L. 



The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborn 

 Bv Gilbert White. With illustrations in colour t 

 G. E. Collins. Pp. viii + 475. (London : Macmillan 

 and Co., Ltd., 191 1.) Price 105. 6d. net. 

 Sever.^l years ago Mr. E. A. Martin, in "A ! 

 graphy of Gilbert White," gave the results of 

 quirv as to the number of editions which had been 

 published of the famous "Natural History of Sel- 

 borne." It appeared that up to the end of 1895 i 

 fewer than seventy-three separate editions of the woi 

 had been issued since the original handsome c 

 was published in 1789; and this number is now 

 ably well above one hundred. There is appar< 

 constant demand for copies of Gilbert White's ( ; 

 and it is satisfactory that this should be so, lot 

 more inspiring work on natural history has ever b<' 

 written. 



As good wine needs no bush, so White's " Selborn- 

 requires no explanatory notes, and is best left to spe; 

 for itself. The present edition is free from editor: 

 interference, its distinguishing characteristic being i 

 twenty-four coloured plates representing outdoor li 

 and scenes in and near Selborne. In the selection • 

 subjects and their treatment the artist has shown syr 

 pathetic feeling and execution which are as rare 

 they are welcome. The result is a beautiful edition 

 a work which should be in every libran,'. The text 

 ever fresh, and it would be difficult to produce mr 

 delightful illustrations to it than those painted 

 Mr. Collins. 



.1 Primer of Astronomy. By Sir Robert Ball, F.R.^ 

 Pp. viii + 228+ii plates. (Cambridge Univers; 

 Press, 191 1.) Price is. 6d. net. 

 The first edition of this book was published in 19* 

 and there was a reprint in 1906. To the present is?; 

 two large charts of the northern and southern celest: 

 hemispheres have been added, and also a chapter 

 forty-two pages, entitled "Celestial Objects." I 

 means of these additions, the reader will be al 

 easily to find his way about the heavens and identi 

 objects and scenes of particular interest. It is a lit; 

 to be regretted that the text has apparently been u 

 altered with the view of bringing it up to date; t 

 though the fundamental facts relating to the solar a- 

 stellar systems remain much as they were when t' 

 book was written, a few statements, such as that, for 

 instance, referring to Halley's comet as "due again 

 about 1910," are — to say the least — anachronistic. We 

 hope that the demand for the book will be great 

 enough to justify the publication of a revised editio'' 

 at no distant date. 



