244 



KNOWLEDGE. 



June, 1912. 



vinciiiK account (if tin- thiMirv of N'Mliiral Srli'clinn, while llic 

 first chapter shows liow iiuillicolliilar forms arose from 

 iinicelhilar organisms. I'he l)iilk of tlii' work ilescribes the 

 phases of Ufe whidi were to be met with during tlie recognized 

 Keolojiical epochs, and we are told how creatnres appeared, 

 dcvelo|KHl and died out, or persisted, in some cases, to the 

 present d.iy, or aRain. left modified descendants whose 

 KcnealoKV we can occ.isionally trace in detail. We are 

 certainly given f.icts, and that is why, perhaps, we should like 

 to have h.id a little more theory as to how one group evolved 

 in the past from another — how, for instance, birds were 

 derived from reptiles. Iin.igination, tempered by the advice 

 of experts, has had to have some play in the many full-page 

 sketches by Miss Alice Woodward and Mr. Hucknall, which 

 illustrate the volume. There is an absence of detail in some 

 of these which is, perhaps, to be commended, for if features 

 are not supplied, they cannot well be criticised. This remark 

 one would say however, would not apply to the digits of 

 A rcliacoptcryx. 



We note that when discussing Pithecanthropus, which 

 some consider to be hardly human. Mr. Knipe, not to be 

 behind the times, calls it a super-ape. A feature of the book 

 is the printing of the names of the various creatures discussed 

 in the wide margins, and this adds to its general interest and 

 usefulness. " Evolution in the Past " should be read and 

 studied by all lovers of Natural History. 



W. M. \V. 



MEDICINE. 



Fourth Report of the Wellcome Tropical Research 



Laboratories at the Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum. 



Vol. A. Medical. — By Andrew Hai.i-our, M.D., Director. 



404 pages. 101 figures. 22 plates. lO^-in. X8-in. 



(Bailliere, Tindall & Cox. Price 21/- net.) 



It is now three years since the Wellcome Tropical Research 

 Laboratories issued their last report. The present volume 

 deals with medical subjects only, while a second part 

 is given up to general science. The laboratories are 

 situated at Khartoum, and besides a well-equipped main 

 building possess also two specially-fitted steamers which 

 are able to move wherever needed on the Nile. In his 

 Annual Report for 1909 the Director-General of the Sudan 

 Medical Department points out " what a valuable asset such 

 a well-ecjuipped laboratory, with well-trained observers, is in 

 Khartoum." and the work done in the laboratories fully 

 justifies this appreciation, for it is of the best, and the only 

 wonder is how so much has been carried out in a tropical 

 climate with so few assistants. 



A large part of the report is given up to observations on the 

 pathology of sleeping sickness, Kala-azar, " oriental sore," 

 and other tropical diseases. But subjects of more general 

 interest, such as diphtheria in the tropics, tropical sanitation 

 and the water supply of towns in the tropics are also dealt 

 with. In glancing through the report one is especially struck 

 with the excellence of the microscopic observations described 

 in it, and for readers outside the tropics the chapter on 

 " Fallacies and Puzzles in Hlood Examination " is, perhaps, of 

 the greatest interest. 



The report is well written — every page of it is readable and 

 full of interest — and the illustrations are delightful. There 

 are numerous digrams and reproductions from photographs, 

 and the twenty-two plates illustrating \arious blood parasites 

 are for the most part beautifully reproduced in colour ; there 

 is also an excellent index. The report is absolutely indispens- 

 able to research workers in tropical countries. 



S. H. 



Second Revicxc of some of the Recent Advances in Tropical 



Medicine, being a Supplement to the Fourth Report of the 



Wellcome Tropical Research Laboratories at the 



Gordon Memorial College. Khartoum. ^By .Andrkw 



BAr.i-ouu, M.D., .and C.m't. R. (',. Akciiihaij). 44.s p.-i^rs. 



10|-in.X8-in. 



(Bailliure. Tindall & Cox. Price 15/- net.) 



This is the .second time Dr. Andrew B.alfour and his 



colleagues have gone to the trouble of collecting together for 



us the results of recent work in Tropical Medicine and allied 

 sciences, the first review appearing as a supplement to the 

 I bird Voliune of their Reports in 1908. Fortunately, as is 

 pointed out in the preface, it is most improbable that anything 

 of this kind will be required again, for The Medical Officer 

 now issues a monthly review supplement giving an excellent 

 resume of the current literature on bacteriology and proto- 

 zoology. 



The subjects in the Review are arranged alphabetically and 

 at the base of each page full references of the matters 

 referred to in the text are given. Besides this, there is a ver>- 

 complete index at the end of the book. 



The value of a book such as the above depends almost 

 entirely upon the completeness with which references to the 

 subjects dealt with have been sought for and the care with 

 which abstracts have been made from them. On the whole 

 wc are inclined to think the work has been very well done, but 

 we should like to have seen at least some reference to the 

 really valuable observations made by Beauchamp Williams on 

 the bacteriology of leprosy. The only faults we have been 

 able to discover, however, are faults of omission and these we 

 think are not very numerous. We are sure that every 

 worker in Tropical Medicine will feel that they owe to the 

 staff of the Wellcome Tropical Research Laboratories a very 

 gre.it debt of gratitude. 



S. H. 

 .MICROSCOPY. 



Microscopy and the Microscopical Examination of Drugs. 



—By Ciiari.es E. GABEr.. B.S., Ph.D. 122 pages. 



71 illustrations. Sj-in.x 5i-in. 



(Charles E. Gabel, Iowa. U.S.A. Price Sl.l 



The number of books available for the student in any branch 

 of microscopy is now considerable, but it is doubtful if any 

 one of them attempts to cover so much ground in so little 

 space as that now noticed. The result is, as might be 

 expected, that the matter provided is. in nearly every instance, 

 incomplete and unsatisfying. Barely four pages are together 

 devoted to a description of lenses, microscopes, ultramicro- 

 scopes and photo-micrography, with the result that the student 

 is left with the vaguest possible idea of the subject, much less 

 of the principles governing the use of such appliances. The 

 expressed intention is to provide a book that to some extent 

 replaces the student's lecture note-book, and it may be that in 

 this sense it will appeal to some readers: but it must be con- 

 fessed that in other respects it will fail to be of service even 

 to elementary students, as the matter provided is not put for- 

 ward with sufficient scientific accuracy to forma good ground- 



"■"'■'^- J. E. B. 



Mieropetrology for Beginners. — By J. E. Whinfield 

 Rhoijes, B.Sc. 126 pages. 26 illustrations. 7}-in.X5-in. 



(Longmans, Green & Co. Price 2/6 net.) 



The microscope is now becoming a universal tool in all 

 branches of science, but perhaps in no direction has it 

 achieved such satisfactory results as in Petrology and 

 Metallurgy. No branch of work demands that the instru- 

 ment should be more thoroughly understood, to enable the 

 best work to be done, than Petrology, as its study iiuohes 

 the use of special appliances and methods. The book here 

 considered provides the beginner with just the information 

 required, the instructions on the use of the petrological micro- 

 scope and the method of handling and using its vai'ious parts 

 being concise and sufiiciently explanatory. It will 

 undoubtedly bridge over the gap that exists between general 

 text books on Geology and the specialised books on Petrology. 

 The description of a selected series of igneous rocks follows, 

 and to the amateur, at least, it will be of interest to know, sets 

 of slides to illustrate the work described can be obtained 

 conuuercially. In every sense, the object in view appears 

 to have been attained and the book may be conunended as a 

 guide to those counncncing this interesting branch of 

 microscopy. 



J. E. B. 



