Makcii 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



69 



>(liO 



Fore Leg of Bee with Tibial Comb. The Cjmb more Uigblv 

 magnified. Tliree Teeth of the Comb. 



eminently popular, and suited especially for young observers. 

 The information is sound, and put in a way which both 

 pleases and instructs. A chapter on " Animals with and 

 without Combs " is especially good. The titles of a few 

 other chapters will show the variety of topics discussed : — 

 "Insects and Plants in Mid- Winter," " Snowflakes," 

 " The Moon," " Catkins," and " The Love of Mountains." 



Hnhit and Instinct. By C. Lloyd Morgan, F.G.S. 

 Arnold.) 16s. Prof. Morgan is a well-known exponent of 



would have, had it appeared at the time it was written. 

 The appearance of the volume under the editorship of Sir 

 Joseph Hooker is most fortunate ; for we venture to assert 

 that had a ballot of naturalists been taken as to the best 

 editor of the journal, the name of Sir J. Hooker would 

 have headed the list. 



It only remains to be said that an interesting bio- 

 graphical sketch of Banks, and one of Dr. Solander, who 

 was bis first librarian, and companion during Cook's 

 voyage, form an introduction to the journal ; and that 

 the portraits of these investigators are excellently repro- 

 duced in two plates. There is also an alphabetical list, 

 with biographical notes, of the earlier voyagers and 

 naturalists to whom reference is made by Banks. 



Handbook for the Bio-Chemical Lahoratorij. By Prof. 

 .John A. Mandel. (New York : -Tohu Wiley & Sons. 

 London: Chapman & Hall.) 6s. 6d. Interest in this book 

 is not limited to laboratories of physiological chemistry, 

 but there the book will be found exceptionally serviceable. 

 To have in a concise form directions for preparing the 

 most important substances that enter into the composition 

 of the Huids and tissues of the animal body, and more 

 than two hundred tests for them, will greatly facilitate 

 study, and save a large amount of time at present spent 

 in finding descriptions of the processes in works of re- 

 ference. Biologists and chemists alike will recognize the 

 value of a vade mecum of this character. 



Bound the Year : a Series of Short Natwe-Stndies. By 

 Prof. L. C. Miall, F.E.S. (Macmillan.) Illustrated. 53. 

 One might gather from the title of this book that it contains 

 an account of what might be seen or found during each 

 day or month hi the year. Such, however, is not the 

 scope of the book. As the author tells us in the preface, 

 his book is a series of sketches suggested by the natural 

 events of 1895. From the subjects which interested him 

 from day to day he has selected those which admitted of 

 popular treatment. His series of short discussions is thus 



biological problems. In the book before us the author 

 commences by lucidly explaining the difference between 

 habit and instinct. He sums up his case briefly as 

 follows : — " Instincts," he says, " are congenital, adaptive, 

 and co-ordinated activities of relative complexity, and 

 involving the behaviour of the organism as a whole ; . . . " 

 while habits " owe their definiteness to individual acquisi- 

 tion and the repetition of individual performance." The 

 author then describes a number of very interesting 

 experiments which he has lately conducted with young 

 birds of different kinds hatched in an incubator. He goes 

 on to draw conclusions from these experiments, and 

 explains and discusses many of the great biological 

 theories of the day in such an impartial and learned 

 manner that the reader cannot fail to be instructed. 

 Beyond this Prof. Morgan suggests several modi- 

 fications of antagonistic theories, which will help, we 

 sincerely hope, to bring together those great thinkers 

 whose opposing views prevent them at present from 

 combining forces and working on the same lines. 

 The book may serve yet another purpose. Again and 

 again the author deplores the want of more knowledge 

 gained from direct observation and experiment. Let us 

 hope that some readers of this book will be roused to take 

 a practical part, however small, in the furthering of 

 scientific knowledge. Whether the author's theories be 

 accepted or not by those who are leaders amongst 

 physiologists and psychologists, we do not hesitate 

 heartily to recommend a study of them to all who are 

 interested, ever so remotely, in the many fascinating 

 problems connected with habit and instinct. 



Xotei for Chemical Students. By Dr. Peter T. Austen. 

 (.John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1896. Chapman & Hall, 

 London.) We do not know whether to praise or condemn 

 this little book. Its American garb and quaint phraseology 

 interests and annoys the reader. It seems to be well up 

 to date, and the author's views on matter and energy seem 

 to be orthodox and clearly expressed, and he has not failed 

 to borrow from kindred books illustrations and arguments 

 which are useful to the chemical student. We object, 

 however, to chlorin, chlorid, sulfat, and other phonetic 

 spellings, and also to " chemism " for chemical attraction, 

 especially when it is defined as a polar force. The author 

 objects to the use of the word " bond," and suggests the 

 term " valence," which has something to be said in its 

 favour. On page 37 he, however, adds, " In my quiz 

 classes I call it a ' val.' Thus oxygen has three vals." 

 The italics are ours, but the meaning of the sentence we 

 must leave to our readers. Atomic movements are de- 

 scribed on page 41 as " a vast snarl of motions," and a 

 chapter on " rests," to our surprise, was devoted to a con- 

 sideration of " radicals." 



Rheumatism : its Xattire, its Pathology, and its Successful 

 Treatment. By T. J. Maclagan, M.D. Second Edition, 

 pp. 324. (A. & C. Black.) IOj. 6d. The last twenty 

 years has seen the introduction of many means of 

 alleviating human suffering, but no malady has been more 

 successfully softened than has acute rheumatism, or 

 rheumatic fever, by the use of salicyl compounds. When 

 Dr. Maclagan introduced salicin to the notice of the 

 medical profession in 1876, acute rheumatism was the 

 despair of physicians. Let the words of the late Dr. 

 Wilson Fox state the position today. " I never see acute 

 rheumatism now," he wrote to the author ; " as soon as a 

 case is admitted to hospital, the house physician gives 

 him salicin or salicylate of soda, and he is cured before I 

 see him." Of the thirty or forty salicyl compounds known, 

 only these two are used in practice as anti-rheumatic 

 agents, and preference is given to salicin. The mode of 



