1907] CURRENT LITERATURE 309 



a sine qua non. Yet some statements liave a cui^ously antique flavor. Prikgs- 

 heim's old screen theory of chlorophyll appears on one page and on the opposite 

 one the modern theory is stated^ but no decision as to their merits is reported. 



amount 



and 



as C6H10O5. The work of two decades on solutions and osmosis is overlooked, 

 for its bearing on the entrance of water, salts, and gases and on the movement of 

 water and foods scarcely appears. The great advances in the last five years in 

 the knowledge of perception, perceptive regions, and the interrelations of reac- 

 tions find no reflection in this book, though they belong to its very essence. 



Dr, CLEiiENTs set himself a very difficult task; perhaps an impossible one, 

 if we do not mistake the trend of recent study. That must be allowed for. Our 

 main criticism, however, is not upon the choice of material for a brief treatise; 

 it is against the attitude of mind that can tolerate vague explanations and invalid 

 reasoning, and against a treatment of fundamental topics which is ineffective 

 and not in accord with present knowledge. — C. R. B. 



Jest's Plant physiology 



When we reviewed this book in its ori^nal German,^ we expressed the opinion 

 that it was ''easily the best work on plant physiology in any language, for the 

 general student." Further use of it has confirmed this opinion, though it has 

 at the same time uncovered some weaknesses that did not appear on the surface. 

 It still remains as adequate a presentation of the fundamental features of plant 

 activity as is likely to be made by any one author. Though it lacks the suggest- 

 iveness and comprehensiveness of Ppefeer, and can by no means replace that 

 indispensable work, its clear and picturesque style adapts it better to the advanced 

 student and teacher. Our hope that it would be translated into English has just 

 been fulfilled. The Clarendon Press secured the right of translation and Professor 

 Harvey Gibson, of the University of Liverpool, is responsible for the work.-' 



There has been no editing of the author by the translator. Even the index 

 is a translation. Dr. Josx himself has added some notes and embodied some cor- 

 rections; but these are relatively few and brief, and might well have been a more 

 marked feature of the English edition. 



A literal translation was the aim, says the preface, but that certainly has not 

 been attained. It is not difficult to find passages where wholly gratuitous changes 

 have been made, qualifiers added or omitted, or variant expressions used, that 

 leave the phrase far from a literal translation. For example: "hochstens ganz 

 gelegentlich musste erwahnt werden . ..." is rendered "we drew special atten- 

 tion to the fact . . . ." when the fact was only incidentally mentioned; and 

 "wachstumsfordernde Wirkung" appears as '^stimulating effects," with growth 



^ Box. Gazette 37:390. 1904. 



3J0ST, LUDWIG, Lectures on plant physiology. Authorized Enghsh translation 

 by R, J. Harvey Gibson. Imp. 8vo. pp. xiv + 564. fig^^ U^- Oxford: Clarendon 

 Press. 1907. Cloth 21 sh.^ morocco 24 sh. 



