February 28, 19 18] 



NATURE 



50: 



' a much greater defect than it was (orty years 

 1,-^0, and whether one agrees or disagrees with 

 the conclusions stated by the author, he cannot 

 be accused of undervaluing the importance of 

 palaiobotanical data. The study of the develop- 

 ment of organs is deliberately omitted on the 

 ground that it throws little light on the processes 

 of evolution. The researches of Schwendener 

 gave a stimulus to the study of anatomy from a 

 physiological point of view, and the last edition 

 of Haberlandt's "Physiological Plant Anatomy" 

 admirably represents the present state of our 

 knowledge in this branch of botany. It is surpris- 

 ing that Prof. Jeffrey makes no reference to 

 Haberlandt's work. 



' ' The Anatomy of Woody Plants ' ' cannot be said 

 10 be a comprehensive text-book; the treatment 

 IS essentially eclectic, and the subject-matter is 

 to a large extent limited by the scope of the 

 author's well-known and invigorating researches. 

 The main object is to interpret the structural 

 features of recent and fossil woody plants in terms 

 of descent. An anatomical treatise on broader 

 lines, in which the anatomy of the lower plants 

 receives adequate treatment, has still to be written. 

 Prof. Jeffrey believes that the herbaceous type 

 of dicotyledon is derived from ancestors with 

 woody stems, and in this connection the different 

 types of medullary rays are fully discussed. The 

 illustrations are excellent, the. great majority being 

 new. Chaps, i.-x. treat of the cell, tissue- 

 systems, fibrovascular tissues, the epidermis, and 

 fundamental tissues. Special attention is given 

 to the structure of the secondary xylem. " We 

 have," says the author, "in the woody structures 

 past and present an almost perfect biological docu- 

 ment, carrying back the history of plants in rela- 

 tion to their changing conditions of environment 

 into remote epochs of our earth's history." 



Much interesting and to a large extent new 

 information is given about the elements of woody 

 tissue, tracheids, vessels, fibres, etc., based on 

 the examination of macerated material. Argu- 

 ments are adduced in support of the view that 

 "the distinction between spring and summer 

 tracheids did not exist in the case of Palaeozoic 

 "woods," a statement — implying, as it does, the 

 prevalence of uniform climatic conditions through- 

 out the Palaeozoic era — scarcely consistent with the 

 geological and botanical evidence afforded by the 

 ■Glossopteric flora and the rocks associated with 

 the Permo-Carboniferous plant-beds of Gondwana- 

 land. Rings of growth, though generally lacking 

 in Palaeozoic stems from European localities, are 

 far from being universally absent. An annual 

 -winter period of rest is believed to be the cause 

 of the appearance of longitudinal parenchymatous 

 •elements in wood. Attention is paid to the 

 root, stem, leaf, microsporangia, and seeds, and 

 there is an interesting chapter on the canons of 

 comparative anatomy. Chaps, xviii.-xxix. are 

 devoted to the Lycopsida, Pteropsida, Gymno- 

 sperms, and Angiosperms ; chaps, xxx — xxxii. 

 include anatomical structure and climatic evolu- 

 tion, evolutionary principles exhibited by the Com- 

 NO. 2522, VOL. 100] 



positae, and a very useful account of anatomical 

 technique. 



Prof. Jeffrey's book, which is admirably pro- 

 duced by the Chicago Press, is an original and 

 stimulating contribution to botanical literature. 

 The author discusses various controversial ques- 

 tions and raises many points on which there is 

 considerable difference of opinion. His views on 

 the primitive nature of the Abietineae and their 

 greater antiquity than the Araucarinese are stated 

 with an assurance that is almost pontifical. Too 

 little weight is attached to the study of repro- 

 ductive organs, and the very strong evidence of 

 the records of the rocks in favour of the greater 

 antiquity of the Araucarian stock is either ignored 

 or very partially treated. There are no references 

 to the published work of other authors, and no 

 bibliography — a very serious blemish in a book 

 which is presumably intended for students un- 

 familiar with the widely scattered original litera- 

 ture, and ought to be a guide to those who wish to 

 go further along particular lines of inquiry and to 

 see what has been said on the other side. 



The fact that Prof. Jeffrey is an original in- 

 vestigator whose position entitles him to speak 

 with authority increases one's regret that his atti- 

 tude is not more in keeping with the best tradi- 

 tions of scientific exposition. A. C. Seward. 



OVR BOOKSHELF. 



Telegraph Practice: A Study of Comparative 

 Method. By J. Lee. Pp. ix+102. (London : Long- 

 mans, Green, and Co., 191 7.) Price 25. 6d. net. 

 Of books on the art of electric telegraphs, cover- 

 ing more or less completely technical details and 

 principles of the numerous types of apparatus, 

 there has been an increasing, and it may be even 

 a more than ample, supply. That the science of 

 telegraphy has not been equally well served is 

 probably due to the artificial elimination in 

 England of the engineer from any sufficient prac- 

 tical direction of the method of utilising the 

 machines which he designed and installed. How- 

 ever that may be, the appearance of Mr. Lee's 

 book at once brings the fact into prominence and 

 goes a long way towards filling the gap which it 

 reveals. Mr. Lee's long association with the 

 traffic control organisation of the British Post 

 Office has placed him in an excellent position to 

 ascertain all the factors of the numberless prob- 

 lems of the science of telegraphy; and his ad- 

 mirable powers cff grasping the facts and of pre- 

 senting them in a concise and cogent manner 

 render this little book of 100 pages a storehouse 

 of valuable details and a veritable handbook for 

 the expert. It is withal a very attractively read- 

 able description of one of the most valuable of 

 modern "utilities." It is a "study" of telegraph 

 oractice which, while glancing at the past, deals 

 in a comparative sense with the present, and in- 

 dulges in illuminating conjecture in regard to the 

 future. The author regrets that the name of the 

 originator of an ingenious method of classifying 

 Press telegrams is unknown ; if he should wish 

 to know who originated the "indicator" word of 



