Juby 2, 1914 | 
NALURE 
451 
to biology, but the authors know this as well as 
we do; they have chosen their path and their book 
has a strong character of its own, which is more 
than can be said of many. We have previously 
referred to the ‘Teachers’ Manual” by the same 
authors, and we see that there is another com- 
panion volume entitled ‘Applied Biology.” 
(3) We referred some time ago to Prof. E. 
Brucker’s “Zoology” in the “Threshold. of 
Science” series, and now we have his “ Botany.” 
Its conspicuous features are the simplicity of the 
style, the experimental introduction to the life of 
the plant, and the way in which the reader is led 
on from one cohort of natural orders to another. 
Referring plants to their natural orders is an 
educative discipline of sorts, but it seems to us to 
occupy far too large a part of this introductory 
book. There are many English introductions to 
the study of botany, and we do not see any reason 
why this translation should have been added to 
the list. A new introduction, to justify itself, 
should be in some way fresh and distinctive. The 
simplicity that we have alluded to does not always 
come off, as we may show by a couple of sen- 
tences :—" Once they have developed, even very 
dissimilar living things appear the more alike the 
younger the states at which they are compared,” 
and “Algz, mushrooms, bacteria and_ lichens 
form the four classes of the type of algae.” We 
protest against two of the lesson titles—‘ Begin- | 
nings of Vhilosophy” and “ Philosophical Con- 
siderations Again.” Needless to say, there is no 
philosophy in the lessons, nor should there be. 
The book is well illustrated. 
(4) If a book of nature-study is to be used by | 
junior pupils, which seems to us, in most cases, 
undesirable, Mr. Stenhouse’s can be recommended 
as one of the best of its kind. It is simply and 
clearly written, and it is not much too informative. 
It prompts inquiry, not only in its questions and 
practical work, but also in its style; and this is 
a great’ virtue. The subjects dealt 
common British mammals, plants as food-makers, 
flowers and fruits and common trees, pond-life, 
burrowing animals, flying animals, the work of a 
river, and common stones and fossils. Mr. Sten- 
house shows his good sense in keeping, on the 
whole, to common things and to phenomena which 
can be readily verified. 
(5) Those who are never tired of criticising the 
modern efforts to lead school children into an in- 
telligent and appreciative acquaintance with the 
world round about them should take account of 
a book like Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger’s “Weeds,” 
which appears to us very educative—in the truest 
sense—for the teacher. And happily it does not 
NO. 2331, VOL. 93] 
with are | 
| in very interesting information. 
stand alone. Those teachers who wish to make 
themselves at home with some good subjects for 
nature study would do well to take a leaf. from 
Mr. Lloyd Praeger’s book. The root-idea is here, 
and the stem and its leaves and flowers are here 
too; for the author has shown that in the study 
of “weeds,” which are always with us, you can 
get the brain-stretching discipline of precision, the 
mind-awakening. appreciation of fitnesses, the 
naturalist’s vision of inter-relations in the web of 
life, and more besides. 
well done, but it is for teachers—especially for 
teachers with a way with them. 
much too difficult; it is not in the right key. 
might become a holy terror. 
(6) Miss Kate M. Hall has written a useful and 
often skilful introduction to mammals, especially 
British mammals; but she should not have allowed 
her “good publisher” or herself to entitle the 
book externally—‘‘Common_ British Animals.” 
Mammals, to which the book is quite legitimately 
restricted, form a very small proportion of 
common British animals; so the title and title-page 
are quite misleading. Miss Hall knows how to 
The book is uncommonly 
For children it is 
It 
’ 
teach, and we find on many a page an educative 
lesson; but too often this gift has been smothered 
We think that a 
series of somewhat simpler studies on British 
/ mammals would have made a more effective book. 
But we recognise that part of the idea was to 
compare British with foreign forms. 
CHEMIS DRY. Ol OF IAIN LS: 
(1) Untersuchungen iiber Chlorophyll. Methoden 
und Ergebnisse. By Richard Willstatter and 
Arthur Stoll. Pp. viiit+424+xi plates. (Ber- 
lin: Julius Springer, 1913.) Price 18 marks. 
(2) Biochemie der Pflanzen. By Prof. Friedrich 
Czapek. Zweite umgearbeitete Auflage. 
Erster Band. Pp. xix+828. (Jena: Gustav 
Fischer, 1913.) Price 24 marks. 
(1) 
HE paper cover in which the former of 
the above books is issued contains 
| advertisements of the monographs by Emil Fischer 
on the amino-acids and proteins, on the purine 
substances, and on the carbohydrates, which are 
issued by the same publisher. The book 
Willstatter and Stoll under review is a worthy 
successor of these classical works, and will be ex- 
tremely welcome to all who have followed the 
publications during the last eight years of the re- 
searches of Willstatter and his pupils in Liebig’s 
Annalen; they will be especially grateful for the 
full experimental details given in the description 
of the various preparations. 
of 
