March, 1907.] 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



69 



some of the effects of these he suffered throughout his life." 

 On his return to England he joined the staff of the Middle- 

 sex Hospital, as assistant surgeon, and to his other 

 duties added the curatorship of the Hospital Museum, an 

 appointment destined to bear important fruit. Within a 

 year or two after this we find him curator of the museum of 

 the Roval College of Surgeons, and here he remained until- 

 he succeeded the late Sir Richard Owen as Director of the 

 British Museum of Natural History. His influence here 

 made itself felt throughout the museums of the world ; no 

 one has done so much, probably, for the development of 

 museums. Under his rule, the dreary array of stuffed and 

 pickled specimens gave place to a judicious selection of 

 examples, each of which had a definite lesson to teach, 

 while the methods of displaying these were revolutionary in 

 their novelty ; the aim being to represent the natural sur- 

 roundings of the creatures exhibited in so far as this was 

 possible. And in the case of our British birds, this was 

 done with marvellous fidelity to Nature. But Sir William 

 Flower not only displayed a profound genius in the 

 matter of the management of museums ; he also earned 

 distinction as a comparative anatomist and zoologist. His 

 achievements in these several directions are passed in re- 

 view, and appraised by Mr. Lydekker with a judgment and 

 skill that is rarely exercised. It is not surprising t^ find 

 that the trend of modern work and thought is to discount 

 many of Flower's conclusions, but there is one matter at 

 least to which we are pleased to note Mr. Lydekker draws 

 special attention, and, further, on, which he ranges himself 

 on the side of Sir William. And this concerns the vexed 

 question of nomenclature. A certain school, at the present 

 day, have adopted an attitude in this matter that at times 

 seems to reach the limit of sanity. The enthusiasts who are 

 guilty of these acts of indiscretion have set up a kind of 

 Gilbertian travesty of the Law of the Medes and Persians, 

 and have enacted that in the matter of names for species and 

 genera priority is to be followed blindly. Further, should a 

 name make its first appearance mangled by the compositor, 

 that misspelling is to be retained. Though most of us are 

 agreed that trinomials have come to stay, what it to be said 

 for such names as " Thouarsitreron dupetit-thouarsi dupetit- 

 thouarsi," or " Pternistes leucoscepus muhamed-ben- 

 abdullah,"? to say nothing of such names as " Caryoca- 

 tactes caryocatactes caryocatactes ! " And the same is true 

 of the " laws " which have lately been enunciated with 

 regard to the observance of priority in generic names. 

 At these things Flower looked askance, and sooner or 

 later rebellion will put an end to the present intolerable 

 state to which zoology is being dragged. Though Sir 

 William Flower left his mark upon the zoology of his time, 

 yet his work " is characterised," says his biographer, " in 

 the main by its conscientious carefulness and exactness, 

 rather than by brilliancy of thought, conception, or style 

 . . . . but there is no epoch-making discovery or com- 

 prehensive generalisation which can be associated with 

 his name." Finally, he remarks, " Sir William was, un- 

 doubtedly a man of high and noble character, endeared l" 

 all with whom he was brought into intimate relations by 

 his unfailing courtesy and charm of manner." This book 

 is a book to read; not only is it a most delightfully written 

 book, a model of what a biography should be, but there will 

 be found within its pages an extremely valuable sketch of 

 the growth of our present knowledge of the comparative 

 anatomy of the higher vertebrates, a growth which Sir 

 William Flower did much to assist. 



W. P. P. 



BOTANICAL. 



riant Life; Studies in Garden and School ; by Horace 

 F. Jones (Methuen and Co.; 3s. 6d.). — -This book is plotted 

 on modern lines, the primary object being to lead young 

 students to look upon plants as something possess, ,1 ,, 

 life, and to ascertain for themselves, bj means of appropriate 

 experiments and observations, the why and wherefore of 

 the various structural and physiological peculiarities pre 

 sented by plants. This idea is excellently carried nut, the 

 student being led from simple to complex experiments by 

 easy grades. The method is sound. Instead of having 



to listen to a dissertation, as of old, which the student 

 vainly endeavours to understand and to remember, the 

 time is occupied in performing certain experiments which, 

 being at the same time something tangible and interesting, 

 it is difficult to forget. To a person knowing nothing of a 

 subject, it is wisest to use universally adopted terms at 

 once. The author speaks of " water-paths," presumably 

 meaning wood bundles ; his newly invented term will pro- 

 bably never occur in any other book, and the student will 

 at some time have to unlearn a wrong term and learn the 

 right one. It is stated that the examination of the " water- 

 paths " will at once determine as to whether the plant 

 under examination is a Monocotyledon or a Dicotyledon. 

 This remark proves that the author's morphological studies 

 did not extend to our common water-lilies. Notwithstand- 

 ing minor slips, we have no hesitation in recommending 

 the book to those desirous of learning how plants live, 

 move, and protect themselves. 



CHEMICAL. 



Elementary Science of Common Life (Chemistry 1, by 

 W. T. Boone, B.A., B.Sc. ; pp. v. and 249 (London : W. 1>. 

 Clive ; 2s.). — No better guide than this little book could 

 be found by a student preparing for the Board of Education 

 examination in the above subject. It is clearly written and 

 well arranged, and each step is illustrated by simple experi- 

 ments, most of which can be carried out without the help of 

 the teacher. In fact, the learner is taught how to prove 

 the truth of each statement, and to take nothing for granted. 

 Many points frequently omitted in elementary bool 

 chemistry are here dealt with in a way that must hold the 

 attention. In the section on air pressure, for instance, the 

 student is shown how to construct his own barometer, to 

 make a chart of the daily readings, and to interpret the 

 meaning of the figures. Diagrams and illustrations are 

 supplied wherever necessary, and, in short, we can 

 thoroughly recommend the book to anyone wishing to begin 

 the study of chemistry. 



A Smaller Chemical Analysis, by G. S. Newth, F.I.C. ; 



pp. v. and 147 (London : Longmans, Green, and Co. ; 2S.). — 

 The name of Mr. Newth is deservedly so well known in 

 connection with the teaching of chemistry that we know 

 beforehand that any book on the subject written by him will 

 stand the test of practical work. This is certainly true of 

 this book, which is practically a condensation of the qualita- 

 tive section of the author's Manual of Chemical An- 

 The directions are so clear and sufficient, though without 

 loss of conciseness, that they can easily be followed bv a 

 student working by himself". The scope of the book is 

 essentially the qualitative analysis of simple s.Jts, though 

 the last chapter gives a description of a few of the more 

 simple volumetric methods of quantitative anal; 



PHOTOGRAPHY. 



Lantern Slide Making and Exhibiting, by [ohn A. 

 Hodges, F.R.P.S. (London: Marshall, Brookes, and 



Chalkley, Ltd.; [aire 6d. net.). — This small volume of 37 



of reading matter, and a few illustrations is I 

 Of the Focus Photographic Manuals. The beginner will 

 find it a reliable and useful guide, and will probably regrel 

 ih.il (he author has not given him still more of his ex- 

 periences, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



1 hi Febi an \ number of the .'/ tains, 



like its predecessors, a large amount of varied and mis- 



OUS information on natural history and other suh- 



i<i|s. Some of the phenomena of frost anil the woods in 



11 the siii- rticles special!) suited to the 



season. In the notes for a lecture on swine we are told that 

 the babirusa occurs in Borneo, while the information con- 

 cerning bush-pigs and wart-hoes is distinctly ori| 

 ;is(s, in a Lit. I tph, w ill he surpi is, ,1 to 



that "the mastodon has grinders resembling those of the 



in elephants." While a great African spoilsman and 



traveller will scarce!) recognise his own name under the 

 travest) of Major Morn II Cotton. 



