426 



NATURE 



[June 9, 1910 



Artropodos Pardsitos. By Prof. Daniel Greenway. 



Con prologo del Prof. Dr. Pedro Lacavera. Pp. 



viii + 230. (Buenos Aires : La Ciencia tredica, 190b.) 

 This work, issued in 1908, is mainly a compiled 

 account of some of the various Arthropoda that attack 

 and annoy man and animals, or which are parasites 

 or carry diseases. It commences with a description 

 of the Linguatulidae and Demodecida^. Then follows 

 an account of the Sarcoptidae, especially dealing with 

 the human itch mite {Sarcoptes scahiei). Several 

 species of Tyroglyphida^ are hgured, and also other 

 mites. Information concerning the Ixodidge, or 

 ticks, covers twenty-one pages, and two useful tables 

 of the genera are given. The piroplasma-carrying 

 Boophilus bovis is shown on three coloured plates 

 in adult male and female and larval stages. 



Some poisonous spiders are referred to and figured, 

 including the large Mygala avicularia. The insects 

 take up most of the volume, extending from p. 89 to 

 p. 221. After a general account of the Hexapods, 

 the author commences with the parasitic and blood- 

 sucking Hemiptera, dealing almost exclusively with 

 the Pediculi. 



The major part of this section concerns the Diptera, 

 including the aphaniptera, or fleas. A good account 

 of the '"Jigger" (Sarcopsylla penetrans) is given. 



This is followed by a description of the tsetse-flies, or 

 Glossinae, including a table of species, ten being 

 tabulated, including G. hocagei (G. Franca, 1902). 

 Notes are also given on the screw worm {Compsomyia 

 maeellaria), Dermatobia, and other CEstridae. A 

 considerable space is devoted to a general outline of 

 the family Culicidae, with a coloured plate reproduced 

 mainly from .\rribalzaga's "Diptera Argentina." The 

 central figure (No. 4) of Anopheles claviger {macidi- 

 pennis) is scarcely recognisable. 



Some misprints may be noticed, such as eolopus 

 for calopus (Fig. i/^<)),' hohis for hovis (p. 181), &c. 



F. V. T. 

 Der Kampf um Kernfragen der Entwicklnngs- und 



Vererhungslehre. By Oscar Hertwig. Pp. iv + 



122. (Jena : G. Fischer, 1909.) Price 3 marks. 

 With his usual clearness, Prof. Oscar Hertwig sums 

 up the situation as regards the role of the nucleus in 

 heredity. After stating the foundations of fact on 

 which theories of heredity and development must be 

 built, he enters upon a careful discussion of the 

 important question whether the nucleus is the sole 

 vehicle of heritable qualities. As Fick puts it, Has 

 the nucleus a " Vererbungsmonopol " ? The author 

 defends against dll-comers the " Hertwig-Strasburger 

 (1884) hypothesis of the localisation of the idioplasm 

 in^ the nuclear substances," and his arguments are put 

 with much force. They are seven in all, the three 

 best being the equivalence of ovuin and spermatozoon 

 as regards nuclear material, the precise partition of 

 nuclear substance in karyokinesis, and the reduction 

 which obviates an accumulation of nuclear material. 

 The case is argued with fairness, and the difficulties 

 which abound are considered carefully, the general 

 conclusion being that the 1884 hypothesis is consistent 

 with a large series of important facts, and that no 

 well-established fact is inconsistent with it. 



There is much interesting discussion in the volume, 

 which is conspicuously lucid throughout. We should 

 also refer here to the revised and enlarged edition 

 (Jena :^ Fischer, pp. 46) of a lecture which Hertwig 

 gave in 1900 on the development of biology in the 

 nineteenth century. It is interesting to notice from 

 the additions that the author is of opinion that actual 

 advances in knowledge necessitate a re-consideration 

 of the theory of natural selection, the Lamarckian 

 theory of direct adaptation, and the recapitulation 

 doctrine. 



NO. 2 I 19, VOL. 8^] 



(i) Man in Many Lands : Being an Introduction to 

 the Study of Geographic Control. By Prof. L. \V. 

 Lyde. Pp. vii + 184. (London: A. and C. Black, 

 1910.) Price 25. 6d. 



(2) Questions on Herbertson's Senior Geography. By 

 F. M. Kirk. Statistical Appendix by E. G. R. 

 Taylor. Pp. 64. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910.) 

 Price IS. 



(3) Experitnental Geography. By G. C. Dingwall. 

 Pp. vii4-i68. (London: George Bell and Sons, 

 1910.) Price 2S. 6d. 



(4) Catnbridge County Geographies. Cornwall. By 

 S. Baring-Gould. Pp. ix+164. (Cambridge: 

 University Press, 1910.) Price is. 6d. 



Though all are intended to assist school pupils to 

 learn geography, these books have very little in 

 common, so far as the methods adopted by the various 

 writers are concerned. The books show vividly the 

 present diversity of opinion as to the best way of 

 teaching geography. The teacher has a difficult task 

 just now in deciding the course his lessons should 

 take, for the examining and inspecting authorities he 

 has perforce to serve are not yet agreed among them- 

 selves. Fortunately, there is a growing conviction 

 that the best results are obtained only when the 

 pupils participate actively in the lessons ; and the 

 plan is becoming more and more common of setting 

 children to work for themselves exercises designed to 

 bring out some important principle or fact. The 

 second and third of the volumes under notice will 

 assist the teacher in this part of his work ; the third 

 especially, though it follows lines which have been 

 laid down by previous books, will indicate ways in 

 which the pupil may be taught to make his own text- 

 book. 



Prof. Lvde maintains his reputation as an experi- 

 enced teacher. His book is an excellent example of 

 the way in which the practical teacher can make 

 geography a valuable instrument for training boA'^s 

 and girls to reason intelligently. The well-selected 

 coloured illustrations add greatly to the attractiveness 

 of the book. 



The last volume is well up to the high standard 

 of the series to which it belongs. 



Highways and Byways in Buckinghamshire. 

 Clement Shorter. With illustrations bv F. 



By. 

 Lj 



Griggs. Pp. xix + 344. (London : Macmillan am 



Co., Ltd., 1910.) Price 6s. 

 A COLNTY or a country may be described from various 

 points of view, and in each case the things seen wiU 

 depend upon the temperament or sympathies of the 

 observer. In this addition to an admirable series o| 

 guide-books, the predominant view is that of pro- 

 minent persons connected with a county which is rich 

 in historic interest. Of the natural history or 

 geography of the county there is nothing, but the 

 human side, which appeals to a wider circle of readers, 

 is presented in a style that commands attention. A 

 few lines are given to Sir William Herschel in con- 

 nection with Slough, and mention is made of Sir 

 Kenelm Digby, who first brought Sir Thomas 

 Browne's "Religio Medici" into notice, but littlft 

 more is said of the association of science with the 

 county. Perhaps the mention of Hester Sandys, who 

 married Sir Thomas Temple, of Stowe, and liv^ed to 

 see seven hundred descendants from the union, will 

 interest biologists. Mr. Shorter acknowledges that he 

 is concerned only with the personal element of Buck- 

 inghamshire ; so while we may regret the limitations 

 thus imposed upon the county's attractions, it would 

 be unjust to apply to his attractive volume any other 

 standards than those of biography and history. There 

 is no lack of living interest, and the volume is surt 

 tc ix '-ead widely both within and without the county 



