December 28, 191 1] 



NATURE 



77 



The Photographic Annual, igii-12, Incorporating the 

 Figures, Facts, and Formulae of Photography: a 

 Guide to their Practical Use. Edited by A. D. 

 Godbold. Seventh edition. Fourtli year of pub- 

 lication. Pp. 293. (London : G. Routledge and 

 Sons, Ltd., and Dawbarn and Ward, Ltd. ; New- 

 York : Tennant and Ward ; Melbourne : Kodak 

 Australasia, Ltd., 191 1.) Price is. net. 

 L\ the compilation of this volume a new departure 

 has been made embodying considerable alterations 

 from previous issues. Thus, for example, the interest- 

 ing glossary has this year been omitted, and the editor 

 quite rightly thinks that by this means he avoids the 

 undue repetition of matter, and that reference can 

 easily be made to previous volumes by those who wish 

 to look up such matters. The book opens with the 

 usual series of articles on special topics, and in this 

 issue they relate to the subjects of aerial, flower, and 

 night photographs, together with picture-making by 

 the bromoil and oil processes, and hints for home 

 portraiture. All these contain very concise informa- 

 tion for those who wish to take up the subject, and 

 (.ich is well illustrated by series of excellent plates. 

 Mr. Griffith Brewer's fine photograph of St. Paul's 

 Cathedral, taken from the balloon "Vivien," on May 

 22, 1909, is reproduced. 



Following tlusc articles is a series of coordinated 

 data which is always valuable and ready to hand. 

 Thus a list is given of classes for instruction in photo- 

 graphy, bibliography, railway companies' lantern 

 slides, federation lecturers, and lectures, &c., and the 

 formulae as recommended by the leading plate and 

 paper manufacturers. Pp. 163 to 291 are devoted to 

 the " Figures, Facts, and Formulae," which always 

 form the distinguishing feature of this annual ; this 

 section contains a mine of useful and up-to-date in- 

 form.ition, and should be available in every photo- 

 graphic studio. Those photographers who are not 

 acquainted with this annual, and their number cannot 

 now be man\', should undoubtedly examine the book 

 for themselves in order to form a better idea of the 

 ivcrvday information embodied in it. 



Das Phytoplankton des Siisswassers mit besonderer 

 Bcriicksichtigung des Vierrvaldstdttersees. By 

 Prof. II. liiitlimann. Pp. 213 + xv plates. (Jena: 

 Gustav Fischer, 191 1.) Price 5 marks. 

 Tins volume is intended as a general summary of our 

 |)r<'sent knowledge of fresh-water phytoplankton, with 

 a passing reference to that which is found in the lake 

 of Lucerne. The first portion of the book, which 

 deals with the methods of collection, the apparatus 

 used for this purpose, and the quantitative estimation 

 of results, is exceedingly good. The remaining live- 

 sixths of the work (about 170 pages) is devoted to a 

 biological and systematic account of the constituents 

 of the pliytoplankton, and the treatment of the Flagel- 

 lata, Pcridinira-, and Myxophyceae, which is largely 

 basfd upon the recent work of Lemmermann, is also 

 very good. The account of Ceratiutn hirundinella 

 deserves special comment, as it is perhaps the most 

 complete that ha^ so far been written. 



The diatoms are dealt with in a comprehensive way, 

 more I specially the plankton-species of the genus 

 Cycloi. 11,1, hut there is a strange omission of the genus 

 Surirfli.t, spirios of which aro constant plankton-units 

 in the lakc^ of \]v Hritish .anM .and in the large lakes 

 of Central Africa. 



TlnTc is a l)rief nir-iuion of the Dosmidiaceae as 

 plaukton-constilin-iits, hul the author's i;vnopsis of 

 the i.M'nei-,-1 i, imt c|uitr arcuiat.' in (l.i;iil, A fuller 

 treaiiuent ol ihi- ^I'onp sliouM he iM\-eii In :in\' i^eiieral 

 work (le.alin^ with fresh-water plankton, a- there ,-if 1 

 [)ro)),ihlv more species ,au(l v,tri<"lies of destnids rx- ] 



NO. 2200, VOL. 88] 



clusively confined to the plankton than can be found 

 in any other group of green algae. Moreover, with 

 the exception of a few species of Surirella (omitted 

 in this work), the plankton-desmids are almost the 

 only known constituents which give the fresh-water 

 plankton a definite geographical character, and thus 

 save it from a monotonous cosmopolitanism. 



In contrast to the brief treatment of the Desmidia- 

 ceas, there is a somewhat extended treatment of many 

 of the Protococcales, a considerable proportion of 

 which are only casual plankton-constituents. 



The text-figures are quite good, but the plates are 

 not of a very high standard. The diatom plates are 

 the best, but the desmids, so poorly figured on plate v., 

 are, with three exceptions, not those usually observed 

 even in the plankton-community of the lakes of 

 western Europe. G. S. West. 



Peeps at the Heavens. By the Rev. J. Baikie. Pp. 



96. (London : A. and C. Black, 191 1.) Price 



is. 6d. net. 

 Mr. Baikie's "' Peeps " will, we have no doubt, lead 

 many young people to long for, and to ensure getting, 

 more than peeps into the wonderful phenomena he 

 describes so interestingly. 



The order in which the sun, the moon, the planets, 

 and the extra-solar bodies are described is the usual 

 one, but Mr. Baikie has introduced an originality and 

 an attractiveness into the descriptions which are bound 

 to appeal to all those who are children in these 

 matters. In one or two places this has perhaps led 

 to slightly inaccurate word-pictures. For example, 

 on p. 58, he says, "I do not think that there is a 

 more lovely picture to be seen in all the heavens than 

 Saturn, with his three rings and his ten moons"; 

 any beginner who looks at Saturn expecting to see 

 ten moons will probably be considerably disappointed. 



The fourteen plates in the book add greatly to its 

 value, as do the constellation figures printed on the 

 inside covers, while the picture of the great comet 

 of 19 10 on the front cover adds to the book's attrac- 

 tiveness. Many of the plates are from original draw- 

 ings by Miss Constance Baikie, who must he con- 

 gratulated upon the manner in which she has used 

 colour and form to make pictures certain to attract 

 young readers. W. E. R. 



Vergleichende Physiologie. By Prof. A. Putter. Pp. 



viii + 721. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1911.) Price 



17 marks. 

 Prof. Putter's book on "Comparative Physiology" 

 is not of the same ambitious character as the one 

 edited by Prof. Winterstein, which has recently been 

 noticed in these columns. It is nevertheless an ex- 

 tremelv useful book, and is packed full of informa- 

 tion. It is to be thorouglilv recomnieiuled as .a trust- 

 worthy and up-to-date* guide to iliosi* wlio .ue working 

 at this branch of scienc. In tarlchug a subject of 

 this nature, there are ol>\ iously two methods of dealing 

 with it. One nK^thod is to take the various groups 

 of the animal kingdom, .and describe the (unctions of 

 e,a(-h ; the otiier is to take physioloeir.il funclioiis ,as 

 tile main Iieadin^s .and deal with the variations hi 

 e.ach iiiel with in the different /ooloeical plnla. 'i'o 

 the |)h\sioloi;ist it is ohvaous that the latui" method 

 is thi' hesi, and it is ihe one Pr,.!, Putter has .idopted. 

 'I'iii' chapters are ihiielore iieaded protoplasm, iiiet.a- 

 boiisni, nutrition, n.'r\-ou< .aclivitv, and so forth. 



W(> caiHiol help i-eniai-kine; how o\er\\heltriiiie ly 

 impoitant the applications of cluaiii-li-v to^ hioloeical 

 hleius is hecomine-. Oi-anic chemisti-\- ,atid 

 a liiiiie ph\ sidkieists 1(1 eluri- 



proDlelUs 



ph\-sical cheuii-l 1 \ 



(l.lle the phenol- life ill an e\-er-UHa-ea-ui 



manner. 'I'he ^.e ; 1 of the present volume 



ocinipied in d. iliuL; with tliese que-^tion 



W. D. H. 



