June io, 1922] 



NATURE 



741 



Ixjok of Botany," to commemorate the original founder 

 t the work. The general plan of the book remains the 

 ame. The first part, entitled " General Botany," 

 includes morphology and physiology ; the second part, 

 " Special Botany," is also in two divisions, the first 

 dealing with Thallophyta, Bryophyta, and Pterido- 

 phyta, and the second with the Spermatophyta. 



The division on morphology, which is contributed 

 by Prof. Fitting, has been entirely rearranged and 

 largely rewritten. It now begins with a consideration 

 of the cell, tissues and tissue systems, and then under 

 the heading of " Organography " deals with the 

 ternal form and internal structure of the members 

 the plant. This arrangement permits of a logical 

 ^elopment of the subject, in which some considera- 

 l>n is given to form in relation to function. It is 

 ir, however, that the subjects included in this 

 ison cannot be adequately treated in the 206 pages 

 rated to it. Such subjects, for example, as leaf 

 structure of the hypocotyl, and the phylogeny 

 the vascular system, receive very scanty treatment. 

 'In a new section six pages are devoted to the theory 

 of descent and the origin of new species. It is doubtful 

 whether such a condensed account of this subject will 

 be of value to the student even for examination 

 purposes. It is true that, as in other sections of the 

 book, there are references to the more important 

 publications on this subject, but since both here and 

 in the sub-section of physiology dealing with heredity 

 and variability the references are almost exclusively 

 to German authors, these will be of limited use to the 

 EngHsh student. 



The section on physiology, by Prof. Jost, is on the 

 same general lines as that in the fourth edition. It 

 has, however, been very carefully revised and brought 

 up to date, and provides an excellent survey of the 

 subject. 



In the Cryptogamic section, for which Prof. Schenck 

 is responsible, the most recent additions to the subject 

 have been brought under review. Among the Thallo- 

 phytes, alternation of generations is described and 

 figured in the Laminariaceae, and Kniep's work on the 

 Hymenomycetes is included. The treatment of the 

 vascular cryptogams has been much improved by the 

 insertion of the more important fossil forms in their 

 natural positions among the existing families. 



The work as a whole presents a comprehensive and 

 accurate account of the subject. Its main defect is 

 that, in including so much within the limits of a single 

 volume, the treatment of the various sections has 

 suffered from undue compression. The book was 

 written for German students and it cannot fully 

 satisfy the requirements of English teachers, since 

 it does not give prominence to those aspects of the 

 NO. 2745, VOL.. 109] 



subject with which the English School of botanists 

 has been identified. Nevertheless, it has already 

 established itself as a standard text-book, and in its 

 present revised form and at its extremely moderate 

 price it will meet the needs of many different typ4 

 of student. R. J. T. 



German Monographs on Biochemistry. 



Die Biochemie in Einzeldarstellungen. Ilerausgegeben 



von Dr. A. Kanitz. 

 (i) Ternperatur und Lebensvorgdnge . Von Dr. A. 



Kanitz. Pp. x-i-175. 54 marks. 



(2) Vber kiinstUche Erndhrung und Vitamine. Von 

 Prof. Dr. F. Rohmann. Pp. vi + 150 + 2 plates. 

 42 marks. 



(3) Vber partielle Eiweisshydrolyse. Von Prof. Dr. M. 

 Siegfried. Pp. iv-f-64. 15 marks. 



(4) Die Einwirkung von Mikroorganismen auf die 

 Eiweisskorper . Von Dr. P. Hirsch. Pp. x + 256. 

 63 marks. 



(Berlin : Gebriider Borntraeger, 1915-1918.) 



THE present may be emphatically termed the 

 period of Monographs of Science. The vast 

 accumulation of facts has long passed the bounds 

 prescribed by the general treatises on physics or 

 chemistry, in which it was formerly possible to find 

 a readable and critical treatment of the subject as a 

 whole. These were succeeded by encyclopaedic 

 dictionaries, of the type of Beilstein, which, however 

 useful and indeed invaluable for reference, make no 

 claim to be readable or even critical. In all branches 

 of science, however, the demand is insistent for a 

 comparatively brief and comprehensive account of the 

 present state of knowledge, and it is to meet this that 

 the various series of sectional monographs have sprung 

 up. Among the first of these were the admirable 

 monographs on biochemistry edited by Hopkins and 

 Plimmer from 1908 onwards, and in the series now 

 under review we have the German equivalent of these. 

 Originated as late as 1915, comparatively few volumes 

 have as yet been issued, but the promised list of 

 publications indicates, both by the subjects proposed 

 and the distinction of the authors, that they will form 

 a valuable addition to the biochemist's bookshelf. 



(i) The effect of temperature on life processes is here 

 discussed in great detail. After a general introduction 

 in which the physical chemistry of the subject is 

 considered the characteristic optimum effect produced 

 in living organisms is fully analysed. A special part 

 follows in which a summary of the literature is made 

 and the data are incorporated in tables, each class of 

 phenomenon, such as the heart-beat, the action of 



