February 17, 1898] 



NA TURE 



363 



as it is written by ordinary people. Above all, let her 

 seek the advice of some leading man of science in whom 

 she has confidence, and get him to revise her work 

 before publication — submitting, if necessary, to a severe 

 editing of her " results." We trust that she will take in 

 good part what we have thought it our duty to say, for 

 we feel convinced that if she will but consent to put 

 a check on some of her impulses and to proceed on lines 

 that have stood the test of time and experience, the new 

 work with which she threatens us may yet prove to be 

 a real and valuable contribution to the literature of 

 protoplasm. F. A. D. 



CATALOGUE OF MADREPORARIA. 

 Catalogue of the Madreporarian Corals in the British 

 Museum {Natural History). Volume iii. The Genus 

 Montipora, the Genus Anacropora. By Henry M. 

 Bernard, M.A. Large 4to. Pp. vii + 192. Plates 

 xxxiv. (London : Printed by the order of the 

 Trustees, 1897.) 



OF the two genera, Montipora and Anacropora, 

 catalogued in this volume, the latter is stated by 

 the author to be little more than a group of specialised 

 Montipores, so that the contents of the book may be 

 said to relate nearly entirely to the single genus Monti- 

 pora, Quoy and Gaimard. This genus is one of the 

 reef-building, perforate corals, included with Madrepora, 

 Turbinaria and Astraeopora in the family of the Madre- 

 poridai. It is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific 

 region wherever coral reefs occur, and the Museum 

 collections of it have been largely added to of late years, 

 by specimens obtained by Mr. Bassett-Smith, Surgeon 

 R.N., from reefs in the China Sea, by Mr. Saville-Kent 

 from the great Barrier Reef of Australia, by Prof. 

 Haddon from Torres Straits, and by Mr. Stanley 

 Gardiner from Funafuti. 



The distinguishing structural feature of Montipora, as 

 compared with the other members of the Madreporidie, 

 is the great development of the porous coenenchyma 

 between the corallites, and the comparatively reduced 

 size and inconspicuous position of these latter. The 

 upper surface of the coenenchyma in these corals is 

 furnished with an extraordinary variety of minute papillae, 

 tubercles, and ridges, which appear to be very liable to 

 change, so that even in the same specimen the differ- 

 ences may be sufficient to constitute four or five distinct 

 types. In spite of this fact, the author has based his 

 systematic classification of the species mainly on the 

 characters of this defensive surface ornamentation of the 

 coenenchyma, and justifies his course on the plea that 

 there is no other available alternative. The result is 

 that each individual specimen, and almost every fragment 

 may, without much difficulty, be regarded as a distinct 

 species, and in practice this is approximately the case. 

 Thus of the eighty-eight new species constituted by the 

 author, fifty-four are founded on single specimens or 

 stocks, and in fourteen others, there are, in the Museum 

 collection, but two specimens or fragments to each 

 species. The remaining twenty new species are repre- 

 sented by three or more specimens each, but it is evident, 

 NO. 1477, VOL. 57] 



with regard to most of these, that the puzzled mind of 

 the author has led him temporarily to a wholesale lump- 

 ing of the specimens. These specimens or reputed 

 species are described with great care and detail, but 

 that they will be accepted as valid species seems very 

 doubtful. 



The volume is illustrated by thirty collotype plates, 

 showing the corals either of their natural size or reduced 

 to one-half or two-thirds, and by four lithographed 

 plates of the surface characters enlarged. Many of the 

 collotype figures, owing to their reduced scale, are of 

 comparatively slight value, but the enlarged figures are 

 very carefully drawn, and should prove highly useful 

 for comparison ; they would have been of still more 

 service if drawn on a more uniform scale, instead of, as 

 now, ranging between six and forty diameters. We 

 regret to note that eighteen of the new species in this 

 volume are not accompanied by any figures, and of 

 several others no enlarged surface drawings are given ; 

 it is surprising that such a deviation from the established 

 scientific procedure of figuring new forms should be 

 permitted in a work issued by our leading scientific 

 institution. It would, further, have been desirable to 

 show by figures the "middle streaming layer "and the 

 lower and upper layers of the coenenchyma with their 

 bent threads, since this terminology appears to.be new. 



We venture to remark that the numbers of the speci- 

 mens in the Museum Register are only quoted here and 

 there in this volume of the Catalogue, whereas in the 

 first volume they are scrupulously given in all cases. 

 Any one who has had to hunt up a type specimen in the 

 Museum, will acknowledge the advantage of being able 

 to quote the " registered number," and it is very im- 

 portant where, as in the case of these corals, nearly every 

 specimen is a type (and perhaps unfigured), that the 

 registered number should be given in the published 

 Catalogue, so as to be available for identification. 



The maze of variations shown in a collection of recent 

 corals call for the utmost patience, courage and judg- 

 ment on the part of the investigator, and Mr. Bernard 

 deserves the greatest sympathy and encouragement in 

 the difficult and puzzling task which he has undertaken. 



G. J. H. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Das Wachstum des Menschen. By Dr. F. Daffiifr. Pp. 

 vi -t- 129. (Leipzig : Engelmann, 1897.) 



In one hundred and thirty pages the author traces the 

 physical development of man from the embryological 

 state through that of foetal existence to childhood, and 

 thence to puberty, maturity, and decay. 



The first few chapters are devoted to the proportions 

 and weights of foetuses of various ages, along with the 

 causes which determine the sex of offspring. The view 

 adopted is that the more vigorous element prevails, the 

 argument being based upon the fact that young primi- 

 parai (seventeen to nineteen years) bear a large percent- 

 age of boys ; while women in full vigour (twenty to 

 twenty-one years) bring forth more girls, the percentage 

 of the latter decreasing again as the age of the mother 

 increases. 



Puberty, with its accompanying physical changes, 

 together with a severe condemnation of the corset and 



