232 



NATURE 



[April 21, 192 1 



Hertz, the outlying British station founded in 

 1914 in response to Chinese designs on this re- 

 mote part of Burma. Capt. Ward has much to 

 say about the isolated plain of Hkamti Long, 

 where Fort Hertz lies, and the curious dwindling 

 remnant of the Shans who inhabit this fertile 

 plain hemmed in by the Kachins. The narrative, 

 without being thrilling, has a sustained interest 

 throughout, for the author not only shows con- 

 siderable descriptive power, but he also avoids 

 boring his readers with the details of camp and 

 trail which loom so large in many travel volumes. 

 What Capt. Ward has to say about the routes on 

 the frontier in relation to Chinese policy deserves 

 careful attention, for he writes with knowledge 

 and authority on this remote and neglected corner 

 of the Empire. The illustrations are excellent, but 

 the two maps are disappointing. 



Six Papers hy Lord Lister, with a Short Bio- 

 graphy and Explanatory Notes. By Sir 

 Rickman J. Godlee. (Medical Classics Series.) 

 Pp. vii-f ig4+iv plates. (London: John Bale, 

 Sons, and Danielsson, Ltd., 192 1.) 105. net. 



Dr. Charles Singer, general editor of "The 

 Classics of Medicine " series, has made a good 

 beginning. W^e are to have, in due time, Ambroise 

 Pare, Laennec, Auenbrugger, Hippocrates, 

 Galen. Meanwhile, we have Sir Rickman 

 Godlee 's admirable selection of six of Lister's 

 papers', with a short introductory memoir — too 

 short, indeed, for those of us who are not familiar 

 with Godlee 's Life of Lister. Plainly, the diffi- 

 culty was to decide, in all the wealth of Lister's 

 published writings, what to leave out. It may 

 be that the interest of the paper on anaesthetics 

 (1861) is impaired by the progress of sixty years. 

 But the other five papers, which cover the long 

 period from 1857 to 1890, are of everlasting value. 

 They give us, in Lister's ow-n words, the coufse 

 and the development of Lister's own work. For 

 the present generation of young physicians and 

 surgeons, they are a sure guide to the principles 

 on which antiseptic and aseptic surgery was 

 founded and built. 



But this book is something more than a handful 

 of reprints, for the explanatory notes to each 

 paper are as good as good can be, and the intro- 

 ductory memoir is delightfully written. In short 

 measure, it is perfect. To all of us who knew 

 Lister it recalls with singular vividness the look 

 of his face, the sound of his voice, the temper of 

 his life and work- — a man pure in heart, gentle, 

 patient, laborious, self -critical, thankful to be of 

 service to mankind. 



A New British Flora: British Wild Flowers in 

 their Natural Haunts. Described by A. R. 

 Horwood. (In six vols.) Vol. i. , pp. ix-}-244; 

 vol. ii., pp. xi + 243-hxvii plates. (London: 

 The Gresham Publishing Co., Ltd., 1919-) 

 125. 6d. net per vol. 



The first two volumes of this work have appeared. 

 It is evidently intended for the naturalist rather 

 NO. 2686, VOL. 107] 



than for the botanist as such, although it aims at 

 dealing with British plants from the ecological 

 point of view. The first volume, which is intro- 

 ductory, includes an account of the origin of the 

 British flora and of the floral regions of the world, 

 geological and altitudinal maps of the British 

 Isles, and chapters on insect pollination, seed 

 dispersal, and similar topics. The second volume 

 deals with plants of the fields and meadows, corn- 

 fields, and the sea-coast. The work is illustrated 

 by many coloured plates from drawings by Fitch, 

 and by a large number of photographs of the 

 plants in the field, many of which are excellent. 

 The drawing (vol. i., p. 147) which is supposed to 

 illustrate heterostyly in Primula does not really 

 illustrate anything. Popular names, folk-lore, and 

 points of natural history interest are included with 

 regard to each plant. As a semi-popular work 

 this should serve a useful purpose in directing the 

 attention of naturalists to the ecological point of 

 view with regard to plants. 



The Nature of Enzyme Action. By Prof. W. M. 

 Bayliss. Fourth edition. (Monographs on Bio- 

 chemistry.) Pp. viii+190. (London: Long- 

 mans, Green, and Co., 1919.) 75. 6d. net. 

 The appearance of a fourth edition of this admir- 

 able monograph testifies to the fact that the work 

 has earned the suffrage of research workers and 

 students alike. The author has been at pains to 

 keep the successive editions abreast of the rapidly 

 growing knowledge of the subject. The present 

 issue differs from its predecessor chiefly in the fact 

 that the chapter on the mode of action of enzymes 

 has been rewritten. 



To those unacquainted with the earlier editions 

 it may be said that the object of the book is not 

 merely to give an account of enzymes, but also 

 to define the relation of these "biocatalysts" to 

 catalysts in general. 



The Practical Electrician's Pocket Book for 192 1. 

 Edited by H. T. Crewe. Twenty-third annual 

 issue. Pp. Ixxii-h522. (London: S. Rentell 

 and Co., Ltd., n.d.) 35. net. 



This pocket-book will prove useful to all en- 

 gaged in industries in which electricity is em- 

 ployed. It contains the rules and regulations for 

 electrical installations, the standard wire tables, 

 useful hints about electrical machines and ap- 

 paratus, and resumes of the theory of steam and 

 gas engines, photometry and pyrometry. The in- 

 formation given is trustworthy. 



A Book of Gardening for the Suh-Tropics. By 

 Mary Stout and Madeline Agar. Pp. 200. 

 (London: H. F. and G. Witherby, 1921.) 6s. 

 net. 

 This little book is designed for those who, living 

 abroad, wish to know something about gardening 

 under sub-tropica| conditions. It applies particu- 

 larly to the Cairo district, and includes such topics 

 as propagation, pests, roses, and chrysanthe- 

 mums, and a calendar for the flower-garden. 



