462 



NATURE 



[August 14, 19 19 



(p. 'j'j), will be found worthy of careful con- 

 sideration. 



To those who have been so long hoping that 

 some day the importance of science in connection 

 with industry would be recognised by the State, 

 the Government scheme for industrial research 

 is a source of satisfaction. The department now 

 established has made a good beginning in afford- 

 ing assistance to many workers from the fund of 

 one million granted by the Government and in 

 encouraging the formation of research associa- 

 tions among manufacturers. Many of these are 

 already in operation and are enumerated, with 

 the names of their officers, in the comprehensive 

 volume under notice. 



THE BIRDS OF COLOMBIA. 



Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural 

 History. Vol. xxxvi., 1917. The Distribution 

 of Bird-Life in Colombia: A Contribution to a 

 Biological Survey of South America. By Dr. 

 Frank M. Chapman. Pp. x + 729 + xli plates. 

 (New York : The American Museum of Natural 

 History, 1917.) 

 T^R. CHAPMAN'S "Report on the Distribution 

 J-^ of Bird-Life in Colombia " ranks amongst 

 the most important contributions ever made to the 

 knowledge of thg ornis of the Neotropical Region, 

 the avifauna of which stands unrivalled both in 

 the wealth and variety of its feathered forms and 

 in the number of its peculiar family and generic 

 types. Colombia, thanks to Dr. Chapman's in- 

 vestigations, is now known to be the richest 

 portion of this remarkable area* so far as bird- 

 life is concerned. That this should be so is due, 

 no doubt, to the varied physiographical features 

 to be found in that equatorial repubhc, for these 

 range from tropical pasture-lands and forests at 

 low, or comparatively low, levels to .regions of 

 perpetual snow in the Cordilleras, and include the 

 uppermost tributaries of the Orinoco and some 

 of those of the Amazon. 



In the year 1910 the American Museum of 

 Natural History organised and commenced a 

 series of expeditions for the systematic explora- 

 tion of the bird-life of the republic. These ex- 

 tended over five years, and were carried, out 

 under the direction of Dr. Chapman, who himself 

 took part in them in 1910 and again in 1913. As 

 the result of these systematic and well-organised 

 explorations, 15,775 specimens, representing 

 1285 forms (species and subspecies), were 

 obtained. Hence the report is based not only 

 upon scientifically collected data, but also upon 

 intimate personal knowledge of the country and 

 its birds on the part of its author — a combination 

 which has rendered the work of inestimable value. 

 As the result of his studies on this ideal system, 

 Dr. Chapman recognises the following vertical 

 life-zones : A tropical, which ranges up to 

 4500-6000 ft. ; a sub-tropical, from 4500-6000 ft. 

 to 9000-9500 ft. ; a temperate, from 9ooo-q5oo ft. 

 to 11,000-13,000 ft.; a paramo (high plateau), 

 NO. 2598, VOL. 103] 



from 11,000—13,000 ft. to the snow-line at 

 15,000 ft. These zones he again subdivides into 

 faunal areas, so that the distribution of bird-life in 

 Colombia is worked in remarkable detail. The 

 author tells us that the uniformity of life increases 

 with altitude, and that the distinctness of the 

 various animals and plants of these several zones 

 was a constant source of surprise and joy to him. 



It is quite impossible here to enter into details 

 of the various distributional problems unfolded 

 by the author, but the portions of the work 

 devoted to them are the most interesting and 

 valuable to be found in this great work. 



The systematic p)ortion of the report treats in 

 detail of the distribution, plumage, haunts, 

 habits, etc., of the 1285 forms of bird-life which 

 constitute the ornis of Colombia. Of these, 

 twenty-two species and 115 subspecies are new to 

 science. It is much to be regretted that Dr. 

 Chapman has not included in his report the birds, 

 some 400 in number, which had previously been 

 recorded, but did not come under the notice 

 of himself or his explorers. If this had been 

 done it would have rendered his volume a com- 

 plete record of all that is known to date of the 

 avifauna of Colombia. 



The volume is enriched by a series of repro- 

 ductions of photographs of scenery depicting the 

 various life-zones, and of useful maps and charts 

 illustrating the distribution of species, forests, 

 etc. It is further embellished by four coloured 

 plates, devoted to the newly discovered birds, by 

 the well-known zoological artist, Louis Agassiz 

 Fuertes, who accompanied Dr. Chapman on two 

 of his expeditions. 



The author is to be heartily congratulated on 

 the completion of his admirable work and on the 

 masterly manner in which he has presented its 

 results. Congratulations are also due to that 

 enlightened institution, the American Museum of 

 Natural Histor\', which made this grand under- 

 taking possible.' W. E. C. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



Practical Physiological Chemistry. A Book De- 

 signed for Use in Courses in Practical Physio- 

 logical Chemistry in Schools of Medicine and 

 of Science. By Prof. Philip B. Hawk. Sixth 

 edition, revised and enlarged. Pp. xiv-l-66i-f-vi 

 plates. (London : J. and A. Churchill, 1919.) 

 Price 21S. net. 

 This book, written by one of the best known of j 

 American physiological chemists, first appeared ■ 

 in 1907. Its success is evident from the fact that " 

 it is now in its sixth edition, and is due to the 

 clearness and completeness of the practical in- 

 structions with which it is packed. It does not J 

 pretend to be a complete work of reference, but» " 

 though designed for the use of students, it is far " 

 too exhaustive for the ordinary student of medi- 

 cine, who in the few years of his curriculum has 

 to learn so many other subjects, and it is difficult 

 to imagine that the American student can devote 



