March io, 19 io] 



NATURE 



facts. The more recent work on tellurium is not 

 adequately dealt with, nor is there a reference to the 

 calculations of Strutt in reference to Prout's hypo- 

 thesis, but there is little occasion for complaint on this 

 head and much to acknowledge. There is a good 

 deal of historical detail as well, and on all these 

 grounds Mr. Garrett's book will no doubt find its 

 way to chemical libraries and be valued as a book of 

 reference. 



When, however, we come to view the book as a 

 narrative, it suffers from its wealth of detail, and does 

 not seem to be in line with the well-known series to 

 which it belongs. This is perhaps a matter which 

 concerns the editor more than the reviewer; but the 

 periodic law can furnish a capital narrative of a type 

 which made the International Scientific Series famous 

 a generation ago, a type which is preserved in the 

 recent welcome additions. From this point of view 

 Mr. Garrett's book is not only impaired by its abund- 

 ance of statistics, but by carelessness of style. The 

 English is very far from smooth, and such sentences 

 as " Many things, no doubt, in some measure helped 

 to bring about the state of affairs which proved to be 

 the natural forerunners of such a climax " are very 

 uncomfortable to an arm-chair reader. A. S. 



Leitfaden der Pflanzenkunde fiir huhere Lehranstalten. 



By Dr. K. Smalian. Pp. 326. In five parts. 



(Leipzig: G. Freytag; Vienna: F, Tempsky, 1909.) 



Price, part i., i mark; part ii., 1.25 marks; part 



iii., 1.30 marks; part iv., 2.25 marks; part v., 2 



marks. 

 I.v these days, when many authors attempt to com- 

 press as much information as possible into their text- 

 books, it is unusual to find an introduction to morpho- 

 logical and systematic botany spread over five annual 

 courses. It should, however, be noted that each 

 course is a short one, sufficient for one term's work, 

 or possibly for two. 



The first volume contains a series of descriptions 

 of individual plants, arranged, according to their 

 flowering periods, from March to July, and, so 

 far as possible, in a sequence of complexity. A 

 further series is given in the second course, as well 

 as a few comparative summaries of related plants by 

 which family limitations are introduced. The third 

 and fourth parts are similar, except that the family 

 synopses are more numerous, and eventually plant- 

 associations are explained. In the fifth volume 

 the author describes types of the Coniferae, 

 pteridophytes, and lower cryptogams, including 

 the bacteria and myxomycetes ; he also pre- 

 sents an account of the more common plants of 

 economic value, and a brief epitome of plant 

 geography. In addition, summaries are provided at 

 the end of each volume, partly to recapitulate main 

 facts, and partly for drawing comparisons. In this 

 way the Linnean system is expounded in the third and 

 fourth volumes. Numerous artistic coloured plates 

 add considerably to the value of the book, especially 

 where thev depict the plants in natural habitats and 

 associations. 



The production of the book, the subject-matter, and 

 the arrangement all merit strong commendation. The 

 fundamental training in morphology by means of 

 practical observation leads naturally to classification 

 and ecology of plants. But two general objections 

 suggest themselves ; first, that there is need for 

 more physiologv, and, secondly, that in five annual 

 courses a schoolboy could be taught considerably more 

 botany than is contained in these volumes ; as 

 regards the latter, there is no reason why after the 

 first summer session the remaining parts should not 

 NO. 2106, VOL. S^l] 



be taken more expeditiously. It may also be sug- 

 gested that a good account of plant distribution 

 instead of so many cryptogamic types would havfe 

 been much more suitable for the last volume. 



Die Bienen Afrikas nach dem Stande unserer heutigen 

 Kenntnisse. By Dr. H. Friese. Edited by Dr. 

 Leonhard Schulze.) Pp. 85-475, ^"d plates. (Jena : 

 Gustav Fischer, 1909.) Price 36 marks. 



This important work is primarily based on the collec- 

 tions made by Dr. Schulze, who obtained forty-two 

 species in \\estern South Africa as against forty- 

 seven recorded by Bingham for the Transvaal and 

 Natal. But Dr. Friese has taken the opportunity to 

 include the Ethiopian region south of Senegal and 

 Abyssinia. Abyssinia is only included in respect of 

 Xylocopa, and Madagascar is excluded, as it has a 

 separate fauna already discussed by Saussure in 

 Grandidier's work. 



A prominent feature of Prof. Friese 's work is the 

 series of maps of Africa showing the distribution of 

 various species of bees throughout Africa ; while other 

 maps show the distribution of various important 

 genera of African bees throughout the world. This is 

 followed by a short bibliography, and even on the same 

 page the technical portion of the work is commenced 

 by a list of the thirteen African species of Prosopis. 

 This is followed by a table of five South African species 

 after Alfken and descriptions of the whole thirteen 

 species, in the original language (Latin, German, or 

 English) in which they were published. The remain- 

 ing genera and species are similarly treated, a list of all 

 the species being first given, and sometimes (but not 

 always) a more or less complete table of the species, 

 before they are described. On p. 124 an elaborate 

 figure is given of the mouth-organs of Polyglossa 

 capensis, n.sp. The book concludes with a list of 

 thirty-five genera and 783 species of African bees (in- 

 cluding the subspecies of Apis mellifica), many of 

 which are described as new in the present volume, and 

 an alphabetical index. The two coloured plates of 

 bees, &c., are excellent. W. F. K. 



Logic of Nature : a Synthesis of Thought. Bv Arthur 

 Silva White. Pp. 58. (Privately printed bv T. and 

 A. Constable.) 



This is an attempt to "outline a system of thought 

 by which unity of world-conception may be pre- 

 dicated." It is a large order — vulgarly speaking — 

 and a pamphlet of fifty-eight pages cannot be ex- 

 pected to give very clear notions of the author's views. 

 Neither can a short review give a very clear notion 

 of the pamphlet, which, for the rest, is ven.' tough 

 reading even for those who have spent much time 

 and thought on the subject. The following "heads," 

 however, will suggest the general drift. 



There are four spheres or planes in the macrocosm : 

 lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and ethersphere, 

 which last-named is " the psychosphere of mind " — 

 " the energy of thought." flatter is the vehicle of 

 energy. Intelligence is at the root of things; im- 

 manent Deity must be postulated. " Nature is the 

 thinking-process of the God-head " — a striking and 

 suegestive phrase. 



The author quotes appositely from Sir J. J. Thom- 

 son, Sir J. Larmor. Snyder, and others on the physical 

 side ; and from Spinoza, Mill, Spencer, and Hamilton 

 on the side of logic or metaphysics. His conclusion 

 is of course idealistic. "The ultimate reality of the 

 sum of things cannot — so far as man is concerned — 

 have existential import except in terms of thought ; 

 and therefore thought itself is the ultimate reality " 

 (p. 36). 



