306 



DISCOVERY 



hen, laying its due quota of eggs, became a cock as 

 related by Dr. F. A. E. Crew ; several intermediate con- 

 ditions of sex are described, with a microscopical study 

 of the fowls' organs ; a critical summary of the marvellous 

 work being done in the culture of living structures of the 

 body in an artificial medium by H. M. Carleton ; and an 

 article by Julian Huxley on the basis of heredity. 



The list of names on the editorial board is a sure promise 

 that the high standard of this interesting and important 

 number will be maintained. 



Cancer : A Woyd of Hope. By Reddie M.^llett. 

 (Watts & Co., 15.) 



The only word of hope which tliis work is likely to 

 bring is to the proprietors of a strange assortment of 

 interests, mentioned in the text and advertised on the 

 back page. They include a property in Devon, to which 

 sufferers are recommended to go (apply, among others, 

 to Reddie Mallett) ; a new bread, invented by the author, 

 sole proprietors X. Y. Z. ; and a prepared lemon-juice. 

 Numerous other money-making concerns are mentioned 

 in the course of a book which reminds us of nothing except 

 those lists of recipes sent gratis by the proprietors of foods 

 and flavourings, each containing a reference to their own 

 preparations as an inevitable ingredient. It cannot be 

 too often repeated that all nations of the world suffer from 

 cancer, and that every variety of dietary — from vegetarian- 

 ism to a pure flesh diet — is somewhere to be found. The 

 main tenet of this pamphlet — that in diet is the cure for 

 this scourge — is not upheld by the experience of any 

 qualified observer ; our own opinion of its object we leave 

 to the author's intelligence. 



The Advancement of Science, 1923. Addresses delivered at 

 the Ninety-first Annual Meeting of the British Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science. (John IMurray, 

 65.) 



In this volume are collected the reports of fourteen 

 leaders of thought and research in all the branches of 

 modern science, dealing each with one problem of present- 

 day interest and importance. An account has already 

 been given in these pages of the meeting, and many will 

 doubtless be glad to possess this convenient record for 

 further study. While those portions of the volume which 

 deal with the atom may prove difficult reading to the 

 general public, the greater part is devoted to subjects 

 within the grasp of the inexpert. 



Makers of Science — Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy. 

 By Ivor B. H-\rt. (Oxford University Press, 6s.) 

 As a combination of biography with instruction this 

 book is a complete success. Amply illustrated, and 

 written in a most clear and readable style, it would seem 

 an admirable book to introduce into the higher forms 

 of schools, on the " Classical " as well as on the " Modern " 

 side. 



Handbook of Physiology. By W. D. H.^lliburtox, M.D., 



LL.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S. i6th Edition. (John 



Murray, 21s.) 



The fact that a book has gone through sixteen editions 



is a proof that it must have rare and remarkable features. 



But when we loiow that this book is in fact the 2gth 

 edition of Kirkes' Physiology, although it has changed 

 beyond recognition in the course of years, we must realise 

 that we have here that rarest of scientific works — a book 

 trustworthy in every respect as a record of modern know- 

 ledge, yet capable of adaptation and expansion as new 

 learning renders it necessary. This latest edition includes 

 portraits of the great men in the history of Physiology, and 

 has been expanded in several respects to bring it more 

 fully up to date. If a student is to be confined to one 

 textbook of physiology, this is undoubtedly the one which 

 he should — and does — select. 



A Manual of Histology. By V. H. Mottr.\m, M.A., 

 Professor of Physiology in the University of London. 

 (Methuen, 14s.) 



A most welcome book. The study of the microscopical 

 appearance of the tissues of the body is often a difficult 

 part of the medical student's training, but it is perhaps 

 one of the most essential. The excellent drawings really 

 look like the structures which the student will himself 

 see ; there is nothing about what others with better eyes 

 or imaginations claim to have seen. A few misprints have 

 crept in — e.g. " storma " for " stroma " on page 144. 

 But the text as a whole is commendably clear, particu- 

 larly in its account of the difficult Central Nervous 

 System. We should like to see more space devoted to 

 the preparation and staining of sections ; only the simpler 

 staining methods are given, but these are well described, 

 and are amply sufficient for the normal medical course. 

 We confidently e.xpect that this manual will meet with 

 success. R. J. V. P. 



Elementary Zoology. By Os\v.\LD H. Latter. (London : 

 Methuen & Co., Ltd., 125. net.) 



We cannot help feeling rather sorry that Mr. Latter has 

 written this book. He is such a master of natural history, 

 and has such skill in presenting his knowledge of the 

 living animal, that we feel he is wasting his talent on 

 anatomy, even though in this textbook it is made more 

 palatable by a modicum of physiology and natural history. 



The publishers claim that the book covers the syllabus 

 in Zoology prescribed by the University of London and the 

 Northern Universities Joint Board for those about to 

 matriculate. This subject forms but one of the five or 

 six that are required. If the other subjects can only 

 be " covered " by books of the same size and standard as 

 Latter's Zoology, we think that the Society for the Preven- 

 tion of Cruelty to Children really ought to intervene. 



We have in this book all the minute detail which has 

 turned Zoology into a matter of memory and not of 

 thought and principle. Every appendage of the Crayfish 

 has every joint named, and the unhappy beginner, not 

 being able to distinguish between what is essential and 

 what is not essential, struggles with such monstrosities as 

 " dactylopodite " and " scaphognathite." Anyone who 

 wants to knovs- the structure, say, of the second walking 

 leg, can surely look it up without having to learn it. 



The book covers 330-odd pages, some of them con- 

 taining as many as 325 words. It would make a useful 



