270 



NATURE 



[October 27, 192 1 



Our Bookshelf. 



Les Ressources du Travail Intellectuel en France. 

 By Edme Tassy and Pierre Leris. Pp. xxi + 7 1 1 . 

 (Paris: Gauthier-Villars et Cie, 192 1.) 50 

 francs net. 



The "instruments, aids, and measures of pro- 

 tection and encourag-ement " which the State and 

 private initiative place at the disposition of brain- 

 workers in France are, the authors of this work 

 assert, generally under-estimated and to a large 

 extent ignored because they are nowhere system- 

 atically catalogued. The present work is intended 

 to supply this want and to promote a movement 

 of federation of workers through the agency of 

 learned societies under the guidance of an " Office 

 National Scientifique." The following analysis 

 Indicates the scope of the book :— Learned 

 societies and professional associations (including 

 such particulars as dates of their foundation, 

 objects, equipment, publications) — 175 pages;, 

 societies for the promotion of various studies, in- 

 tellectual ententes, etc. ; courses provided by in- 

 stitutions for higher education in Paris, and 

 special courses in the provincial universities; and 

 " Encouragements et Aides Financiers "—100 

 pages; technical bureaux and services maintained 

 by State Departments, laboratories, museums, 

 libraries and archives, bibliographies and lists of 

 literary and scientific periodicals — 300 pages; 

 general information, being lists of annuals and 

 other books of reference, brief accounts of in- 

 formation bureaux, French and international con- 

 gresses, commissions, and other "Organes d 'inter- 

 communication scientifique," miscellaneous notes 

 as to pubHshing houses, patent and copyright law 

 and agencies connected therewith, translating and 

 stenography agencies, etc. — 75 pages. 



The chapter on " Encouragements et Aides " 

 includes detailed accounts of the prizes offered by 

 the Academies of the Institut de France, of Medi- 

 cme, and of Agriculture ; information about other 

 foundations of the academies and universities, and 

 sundry private foundations ; while brief notices of 

 a few international foundations — the Garton, Car- 

 negie (Washington), Montefiore-Levi, Nobel, and 

 seven of minor importance — are given. 



As an index to facilities for advanced study and 

 research the book serves as a useful supplement 

 to the " Index Generalis " issued bv the same pub- 

 lishers,^ and the " Universit4 et Ecoles 

 Francaises." It might easily and advantageously 

 be condensed to one-half its present size. 



The Banana: Its Cultivation, Distribution, and 

 Commercial Uses. By William Fawcett. 

 Second and enlarged edition. Pp. xi4-299. 

 (London: Duckworth and Co., 1921.) 155. net. 



The first edition of this book was reviewed in 

 Nature, vol. 93, p. 608, 1914. In the new issue 

 the opportunity has been taken to bring up to 

 date the account of the cause and treatment of 

 the "Panama disease," which has resulted in 

 great damage to the banana plantations in the 

 NO. 2713, VOL. 108] 



American tropics and the West Indies. The 

 original chapter on fungus diseases remains, and 

 the new information is embodied in an appendix, 

 in which an account is given of the present posi- 

 tion of knowledge of the disease and its treat- 

 ment, based upon the work of Brandes, whose 

 results were published in 1919. The appendix 

 appears to consist of a reprint of an article which 

 was published in the West Indian Agricidtural 

 News last year. Brandes 's investigations 

 demonstrated beyond doubt that the fungus 

 Fusarium ciibense, for long assumed to be the 

 cause of the disease, is in fact the organism con- 

 cerned, and for excellent reasons he prefers to 

 describe the disease as "banana wilt." 



Mr. Fawcett's book remains the best account 

 in English of the banana as an economic plant, 

 and the new appendix adds to its completeness. 

 The second edition appears opportunely at a time 

 when increased attention is being given to banana 

 cultivation, not only as a fruit crop, but as a 

 source of material for the preparation of useful 

 foodstuffs. 



Zentralblatt fiir die gesamte Landwirtschaft mit 

 Einschliiss der Forst- und Teichwirtschaft, der 

 Tier-Patholo gie und -Medizin. Edited by Prof. 

 Richard von der Heide and Robert Lewin. 

 Erster Band. 1920. Pp. 524. (Leipzig : 

 Gebriider Borntraeger, n.d.) 90 marks. 



This periodical gives abstracts from papers deal- 

 ing with agricultural and allied subjects ; it covers 

 the whole of the German work and a certain 

 amount of foreign work also. To some extent it 

 covers the same ground as the " Jahresbericht 

 iiber die Fortschritte auf dem Gesamtgebiete der 

 Agrikultur-Chemie," and we think the editors 

 would be well advised to avoid overlapping with 

 that periodical, which already finds a place in most 

 of our agricultural libraries. There is undoubtedly 

 room for a good annual abstract for general agri- 

 cultural papers, and if its scope could be so 

 widened as to include other work besides that 

 carried out in Germany it would serve a useful 

 purpose. 



The Story Book of the Fields. By J. H. Fabre. 

 Pp. 271. (London : Hodder and Stoughton, 

 Ltd., n.d.) 85. 6d. net. 



The little volume under notice differs widely from 

 the majority of the late M. Fabre's works. It 

 covers virtually the ground that is usually asso- 

 ciated with the term " nature-study," containing, 

 as it does, a series of chapters dealing with the 

 elements of plant physiology, their application in 

 agriculture and horticulture, and such processes 

 as grafting, layering, taking cuttings, and the 

 germination of seeds. Sundry other matters, such 

 as lime, plaster, ice, wine, are introduced here 

 and there, and the result is a very readable whole, 

 though it lacks the charm of personal observation 

 and much of the poetry that characterises Fabre's 

 insect studies. 



