January 25, 1912] 



NATURE 



411 



" those who propose to devote themselves afterwards 

 to more detailed study of zoology." 



There has been for a considerable period a great 

 need of a suitable text-book of biology for the First 

 Conjoint Examination, as the authors of elementary 

 text-books seem invariably to base the contents of 

 their volumes on the syllabus of the examinations of 

 the University of London. It is thus with consider- 

 able pleasure that we welcome a text-book that we 

 can put into the hands of students, feeling confident 

 that it will neither burden their minds with unneces- 

 sary matter, nor fail to deal with subjects coming: 

 within the range of their examination. 



Almost the whole of the book deals with the types 

 required by the Conjoint Board ; the remaining 

 chapters contain either accounts of a few other organ- 

 isms, which the authors consider necessary for the 

 proper comparison of the types, or else they set forth 

 in an elementary manner some of the general prin- 

 ciples of biology. In one or two matters the reviewer 

 does not see eye to eye with the authors. In some minor 

 theoretical points they adopt views divergent from his. 

 For instance, they unequivocably describe bacteria as 

 unicellular plants, while the extremely primitive 

 organisation and their peculiar and equally primitive 

 methods of nutrition justify. In our opinion, their 

 classification as a group entirely apart from animals 

 or plants, and certainly lower than the typical uni- 

 cellular organism. Another point is the complete 

 separation of blood from the other connective tissues 

 in a group of its own. But, after all, these are matters 

 of opinion and not of fact. 



A more serious matter is the fact that all the 

 figures, with the exception of the plates, have been 

 ruthlessly diagrammatised. We feel that whatever 

 these figures gain in clearness from this simplification 

 they will lose far more in usefulness when the student 

 attempts to apply them to the actual specimens. We 

 hope, however, to see this remedied in future editions, 

 and with this exception, and in spite of it, the book 

 is one that should prove of value to the students to 

 whom it is addressed. . R. W. H. R. 



Ihe Boy Fancier : being a Complete Manual of all 



Matters Appertaining to Domestic Pets Suitable for 



the Youthful Fancier. By F. T. Barton. Pp. xx + 



4:^5. (London : George Routledge and Sons, Ltd. ; 



New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., n.d.) Price 55. 



From his professional training as a member of the 



Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the author of 



this well-illustrated volume is thoroughly qualified to 



give sound and trustworthy information with regard 



to the general care, feeding, and treatment in illness 



of animals kept as pets, or, like poultry and goats, 



reared for profit. And although the work before us 



is primarily intended for the benefit of young persons, 



it will be found equally valuable for those of more 



mature age, who, for purposes of pleasure or profit 



—or both combined — devote their attention to the 



keeping and rearing of dogs, cats, goats, guinea-pigs, 



rabbits, squirrels, poultry, pigeons, cage-birds, &c. 



Tn the case of dogs Mr. Barton refers particularly 



^uch as are best suited for boys, especially those 



pted for ratting and rabbiting, and gives valuable 



■ i.i\ice to his young readers in the matter of proper 



fr lining. Guinea-pigs he regards as specially suit- 



■ for children, since they require much less care 



i attention than rabbits. The sections on poultry 



! pigeons, as well as that on goats, will be found 



lable to older readers, as most of the more im- 



ant breeds are more or less fully mentioned. The 



!v may be confidently recommended as one of the 



' of its kind, the only error that has come under 



NO. 2204, VOL. 88] 



our notice being that the habitat of the capuchin 

 monkey is given as Guinea, instead of Guiana, which 

 is obviously a mere misprint. R. L. 



Methodical Nature Study. By W. J. Claxton. Pp. 

 195. (London: Blackie and Son, Ltd., 1911.) 

 Price 6s. 



This book is framed with the object of indicating a 

 series of lessons on plants and animals, appropriate 

 to each month in turn, so that the qualification 

 " seasonable " would be more applicable than 

 "methodical." The author has found it difficult to 

 maintain the study of animals throughout the winter 

 months, and in some instances reverts to lessons 

 based on pictures or to instruction without observa- 

 tion. The botanical syllabus follows very ordinary 

 lines, but there is a notable omission of physiological 

 experiments. The author is not sufficiently careful 

 in his use of technical terms, as will be evident from 

 a reading of p. 16 ; nor can his reasonings be freely 

 accepted. There are many excellent illustrations from 

 photographs by Charles Reid, Henry Irving, and 

 Douglas English, which, however, are shorn of their 

 value in a book concerned with the study of nature 

 by direct observation. 



Geological and Topographical Maps : their Interpreta- 

 tion and Use. A Handbook for the Geologist and 

 Civil Engineer. By Dr. A. R. Dwerryhouse. Pp. 

 viii+133. (London: Edward Arnold, 191 1.) Price 

 45. 6d. net. 



The practical problems involved in the interpretation 

 of geological and topographical maps are here dealt 

 with in a manner likely to appeal to students of 

 geology and civil engineering. Having worked his 

 way through the book, a student should be able to 

 draw sections of the country shown upon a map, to 

 estimate the thickness of the strata of which the area 

 is built, and to understand the relations of the strata 

 to the surface of the ground and to each other. 



The volume is illustrated by ninety clearly drawn 

 figures, and tables are provided showing variation of 

 dip and the natural sines, tangents, and cotangents. 

 Some typical exercises to enable the student to test 

 his knowledge would be a useful addition to the next 

 edition. 



Flora of the Upper Gangctic Plain, and of the 

 Adjacent Siwalik and Sub-Himalayan Tracts. By 

 J. F. Duthie. Vol. ii., Plumbaginaceae to Planta- 

 ginaceae. Pp. ii + 266. (Calcutta: Superintendent, 

 Government Printing, India, 191 1.) Price 2 rupees 

 (3^-). 

 This volume treats the second and third series of 

 Hooker's Gamopetalae. The order Ericales is 

 wanting from the flora ; otherwise twenty-six 

 out of thirty families are represented. There 

 are three large families, the Acanthaceae, LabialBe. 

 and Scrophulariaceas ; paucity of species is very 

 noticeable, and many genera are unispecific; 

 Ipomoca is the chief exception, as it supplies twelve 

 indigenous and seven important cultivated species. 

 Several changes are made in generic nomenclature 

 from that followed in "The Flora of British India." 

 such as the segregation of Iponioea into four species; 

 these changes are noted without the comment that 

 one would have expected. Very few indigenou^ 

 species in these series are of much economic import- 

 ance. Diospyros tomentosa supplies the ebony of 

 northern India ; Tectona grandis is described as 

 native; Sesamum indicum is cultivated, but not to any 

 great extent. 



