July i6, 1891] 



NATURE 



247 



bacteriology the study of morphology is as important as 

 any other side of the subject. 



Turning to the description of actinomycosis and 

 anthrax, we are surprised to find McFadyean taken as the 

 guide in the former. Why is not the author his own guide ? 

 Or why does he not, at least, use the recent results of 

 Bostrom ? Then in " anthrax " it is stated " that at the 

 point of inoculation in animals there is usually no evidence 

 at all that it has been the point of entrance of the bacilli." 

 This is scarcely compatible with a thorough knowledge 

 of this familiar organism. 



Again, in the opening chapter, a number of bacterio- 

 logists' names are mentioned. We think the author 

 hardly does justice to those of our own country, for 

 amongst the four names placed by the author in honour- 

 able association with the great name of Sir Joseph 

 Lister, neither Lankester, nor Tyndall, nor Lawes and 

 Gilbert, nor Wooldridge, nor Lingard, finds a place. 

 And yet not only are these amongst our highest authori- 

 ties, but the observations of Lankester and the experi- 

 ments of Wooldridge constitute cardinal points in the 

 history of bacteriology. 



Lastly, the question of illustrations is a difficult one. 

 There are very many photographic processes to choose 

 from, and considering that there are only 20 illustrations, 

 the author might have employed collotypes (compare 

 Frankel's atlas) or copper blocks ; or, having used 

 zinc blocks, should have had them printed on separate 

 sheets, for it ought to be more generally known that it is 

 of no use expecting a good impression from blocks of 

 this description when printed on ordinary paper and in 

 the text. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



Our Country's Flowers. By W. J. Gordon. (London : 

 Day and Son, 1891.) 



This volume is intended to aid beginners to ascertain 

 the botanical name of any British wild flower or fern with 

 which they may meet. After a list of local English plant- 

 names, the serious work of the book begins with an ex- 

 planation of how plants are classified, interwoven with which 

 are asufficientnumberofthe terms used indescribingplants 

 to make the book " not too technical, but just technical 

 enough " for the reader who desires to have a " nodding 

 acquaintance" with the wild flowers of his own country. 

 This is given first in a chatty style, and then repeated in 

 a convenient tabular form. Next, the essential characters 

 of the natural orders are given, after which the buttercup 

 order, or Ranunculacec-e, is treated of at some length as a 

 pattern of how identifications can be made. This is 

 followed by a glossary of botanical terms, in some of 

 which, in attempting a condensed and popular style, the 

 writer has somewhat distorted the meaning. " Cambium " 

 is erroneously described as a layer of mucilage, instead 

 of a tissue. The characters of the natural orders are 

 again stated, this time in alphabetical sequence, followed 

 by a chapter on the genera, each of which is accompanied 

 by a woodcut, intended to show its diagnostic character, 

 but it is doubtful whether (at least in some of the orders) 

 this is accomplished, as is also the case with some of the 

 specific diagnoses with which the volume closes. 



In the 33 coloured plates 509 species are depicted. 

 This crowding is unsatisfactory, and tends to obscure 

 what might otherwise be very useful. The figure on 

 plate 23, numbered 388, may possibly be intended for 

 368, the stinging-nettle, or it may be some abnormal 



NO. I 133, VOL. 44] 



state of the inflorescence of a grape-vine. Centranthus 

 ruber (204) and Flantago lanceolata (346) are also won- 

 derful specimens of those plants. The artist, apparently, 

 is amongst those who do not regard colour (unless it be 

 the quantity thereof) as of value in discriminating species. 

 The volume will, nevertheless, be a pleasant and useful 

 companion to many during a country holiday, and, with 

 the author, we hope will lead on to deeper study. 



C. H. W. 



A Summary of the Darwinian Theory of the Origin of 

 Species. By Francis P. Pascoe, F.L.S.,&c. (London : 

 Taylor and Francis, 1891.) 

 It is difficult to understand why the author of this 

 pamphlet should think it worth while to remind his 

 readers periodically that he is an opponent of Darwinism. 

 Some space was recently devoted in these columns to 

 the consideration of a book on the same subject by Mr. 

 Pascoe, and the present production is nothing more than 

 an abstract of this work, delivered in the form of an 

 address to the Western Microscopical Club. We have 

 no new facts nor arguments ; there is the same lament- 

 able display of misconception, and the author has simply 

 strung together sgme sixteen pages of excerpts from the 

 writings of Darwin and others, without any attempt at 

 connected reasoning either for or against the Darwinian 

 theory. The author's position is practically this : here is 

 the whole animal kingdom, consisting of about 600,000 

 species ; you must explain every detail of specific struc- 

 ture, down to the most insignificant, by the theory of 

 natural selection ; if you cannot do this, the theory is 

 untenable. The whole of Mr. Pascoe's writings in con- 

 nection with Darwinism amount to this, and nothing 

 more ; he has reiterated this statement, if not literally, 

 at any rate in spirit, on every available opportunity for 

 the last twenty years. The present pamphlet will, 

 let us hope, for the sake of the author's reputation, 

 be the last declaration to the same effect, for there is 

 surely nothing gained either by Darwinism or anti-Dar- 

 winism by squandering the systematic powers which he 

 is known to possess in picking out scraps of sentences 

 from the " Origin of Species,'' &c., and publishing these 

 things " of shreds and patches " under grandiloquent and 

 misleading titles. R. M. 



The Business of Travel : a Fifty Year^ Record of Pro- 

 gress. By W. Fraser Rae. (London : Thomas Cook 

 and Son, 1891.) 

 This year the well-known firm of Thomas Cook and Son 

 celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, and Mr. Fraser Rae 

 has taken the trouble to write the present work in order 

 to mark the occasion. The firm, it seems, had very 

 small beginnings. Its history may be said to date from 

 the day when, in 1841, Mr. Thomas Cook, walking along 

 a country road, suddenly reflected that a certain temper- 

 ance meeting at Loughborough would probably be a 

 brilliant success if a special excursion train could be run 

 between that place and Leicester. Apparently, no such 

 thing as a special excursion train had ever before been 

 heard of. The idea was carried out, and attracted so 

 much attention that Mr. Cook— who was at that time a 

 wood-turner — was often asked afterwards for advice in 

 the organizing of railway excursions ; and by and by he 

 devoted himself wholly to the task of developing " the 

 business of travel." His son has been for many years 

 the sole managing partner, but to the elder Mr. Cook 

 belongs the credit of having conceived the system with 

 which his name is now associated. To what vast pro- 

 portions the system has grown everyone knows ; but 

 there are probably few who know much about the various 

 stages through which it has advanced to its present posi- 

 tion. Mr. Fraser Rae tells the story clearly and effec- 

 tively, and most readers, when they have finished his 

 narrative, will be disposed to agree with him in thinking 



