February 3, 192 1] 



NATURE 



721 



the chromosomes of normally dissimilar tissues 

 not themselves dissimilar? But, apart from diffi- 

 culties to which that line of argument must imme- 

 diately lead, the occurrence of the intersexes 

 among Prof. Goldschmidt's moths can scarcely be 

 a consequence of accidental elimination, inasmuch 

 as they came with extraordinary regularity. Ap- 

 peals to the action of "hormones," from which 

 he hopes a good deal, are a mere veiling of the 

 difficulty. No one will dispute that these products 

 are part of the proximate mechanism by which 

 the effects of sexual differentiation are produced ; 

 but the problem of sex-determination is to dis- 

 cover the influence which primarily causes that 

 differentiation to proceed in one direction rather 

 than in the other; and herein, where the 

 evidence of gametic differentiation is insufficient, 

 we are left without any plausible conjecture. In 

 considering the characteristics of partly or 

 wholly sterile forms, it may be worth remember- 

 ing that in proportion as a zygote is sterile, it 

 may be retaining elements which, if it were fertile, 

 would be extruded in its gametes. May not this 

 retention influence the characters of the zygote? 



Like its predecessors, this book expressly ab- 

 lains from the attempt to deal with the problem 

 1/1 sex-determination in plants. We cannot quarrel 

 with the wisdom of that decision, for the truth is 

 that we are very far from any workable scheme 

 which can be applied to them ; but it is unfor- 

 tunate that the diagram put forward by Correns 

 IS a representation of his views on sex in Bryonia 

 hould be chosen as the model of a "digametic" 

 system of .sex-determination. The author does 

 imply that he has misgivings about that fllustra- 

 tion, which, as I have elsewhere shown, is quite 

 riconclusive. The incautious reader could 



arcely avoid the inference that the scheme of 

 aex-detcrmination applied to animals is one 

 which had been proved to hold in the case of a 

 flowering plant — a very misleading conclusion. 



Another region of the subject still altogether 

 obscure is the genetical relation of the unisexual 

 to the functionally hermaphrodite forms in 

 animals. Prof. Goldschmidt's book contains all 

 that can yet be said on that difficult question. 

 There are, of course, various sorts of monoecism, 

 and for scarcely any of them have we yet even an 

 acceptable cytological scheme, still less any 

 genetical evidence. 



The book, as. a whole, is very well done, and 

 may be recommended to all students who wish to 

 have the latest presentation of the facts in a clear 

 and readable form. ,As I have implied, there is 

 a want of lucidity in the discussion of the problem 

 of the intersexes, and trouble would be saved to 

 NO. 2675, VOL. 106] 



the reader if he were at once told that he will 

 not be presented with a real solution. If he reads 

 the book carefully he will discover that for him- 

 self; but the series of facts is exceptionally in- 

 teresting and, at the present stage of genetical 

 theory, of such vital importance that the effort 

 will not be wasted. W. Bateson. 



Anaesthetics. 



Anaesthetics: Their Uses and Admiiiistration. By 

 Dr. Dudley Wilmot Buxton. Sixth edition. 

 (Lewis's Practical Series.) Pp. xiv + 548 + viii 

 plates. (London : H. K. Lewis and Co., Ltd., 

 1920.) Price 2 IS. net. 



THE appearance of this new edition is to be 

 welcomed because great advances have been 

 made during the past few years, and also several 

 other text-books on this subject have been for 

 some time out of date and even out of print. 



Although the size of the new volume is not 

 much increased. Dr. Buxton has found means to 

 add much fresh material and to re-write a great 

 deal of the old. The chapter on the history of 

 anaesthetics remains one of the most readable in 

 the book, and will repay perusal by anyone not 

 otherwise interested in the subject. 



Within the past few years, and especitilly during 

 the war, many new methods of anaesthesia have 

 been devised or perfected, and many new problems 

 attacked with more or less success. It is 

 naturally to the chapters dealing \yith these 

 methods and difficulties that one turns with the 

 greatest curiosity. Nothing appears to have been 

 forgotten, and each subject is discussed clearly 

 and as fully as the space of one volume allows. 

 'I he advantages of the administration of warm 

 anaesthetic vapours are dealt with and the appara- 

 tus is described. Perhaps the section devoted to the 

 use in major surgery of nitrous oxide with oxygen 

 is one of the most important to the student of 

 to-day. The advantages of this method of anaes- 

 thesia are shown to be real, although it has 

 no doubt suffered from the too. hearty advocacy 

 of enthusiasts. In cases of severe shock, in both 

 military and civil practice, its merits are so great 

 as to make its use almost obligatory. On the 

 other hand, many anaesthetists, and certainly most 

 surgeons, will agree that as a routine method for 

 abdominal sections it is not suitable. Dr. Buxton 

 wisely points out that on the count of safety alone 

 its advantages have so far been assumed rather 

 than proved, and he agrees with Page that in 

 cases of marked arterial degeneration, emphy- 

 sema, or obstructed air passages its use is contra- 

 indicated. 



