c 



I 



1907] CURRENT LITERATURE 151 



inquiry, howeverj whether all these species are natives of the desert and have 

 acquired their special characters under the influence of their environment. ''Is 

 it the desert which has made them what they are, or are they perhaps only a selected 

 few from among the widely differentiated forms which arc everywhere abundant 

 on more favorable soils?" Present distribution is the result of migration, and 

 migration is directed by the given characters of the species. The qualities of 

 organisms are the causes, and the distribution is the result. 



Altog:^ther, the book is full of pregnant suggestions, and should do much 

 toward clearing up some of the evident confusion concerning the views of the 

 distingviished author. — J. M. C. 



Progressus Rei Botanicae 



Genetics. — In the valuable series of botanical reviews published by the 

 Association Internationale des Botanistes under the title Progressus rei bolamcae, 

 Bateson^ traces the progress made in the study of heredity by the pedigree- 

 method since the rediscover)^ of Mendel's principles. For this discipline, 

 which has so rapidly advanced to a place of prominence among the biological 

 sciences, he proposes the name genetics. 



The expressed object of the author, "to give an account of the progress 

 in the study of heredity and variation which has followed the rediscovery of 

 Mendel's work," has been carried out in a full and complete way, except for the 

 notable omission of all but a passing reference to biometrical work, which has 

 also made good progress during the same period, and which also belongs, at least 

 in large measure, in the field of genetics. This omission is evidently due to the 

 desire on the part of the author to avoid everjlhing of a controversial nat'.'.re. 

 The literature of Mendelian heredity is fully cited and discussed, and the bibliog- 

 raphy appended includes 140 titles. Certainly no one could have been selected 

 to present the side of genetics represented by Mendelian hybridization, who is 

 In position to speak with more authority than BateSOX, and this summary of the 

 literature to the early months of 1906 is of great value to all interested in the 

 general subject. — G. H. Shlt.l. 



Immunity. — As an introduction to this part, by R. P. van Calcar/ the 

 fundamental principles of adaptability of plasmodia to rising concentrations of 

 glucose and the general influence of chemotaxis are discussed. The reactions 

 to toxic ferments by the cells of some plants, in consequence of which the cell 

 walls increase in thickness, are considered in the sense of self-defense or immunity. 



Similar protective processes are described in reference to bacteria. From these 

 ^neral considerations the author proceeds to the more complex subject of immun- 

 ity in the animal body. After briefly explaining the theory of phagocytosis of 

 Metchnikoff, the immensely important work on hemolysis is given its proper 



2 Bateson, \V., The progress of genetics since the rediscovery of Mendel's papers. 

 Progressus rei botanicae 1:368-418. figs. 24. Vax Calcar, R. P, Die F.>rtsrhritte 

 der Inimunetats- und Specifitats-Lehre seit 1870- Idem, pp. 533-^4^ figs 20. Jena: 

 Gustav Fischer. 1907. M. x8 the volume. 



