APRIL 28, 1904] 
NATURE 
605 
there are many features which detract from its general 
merits. We might point out, for example, that the 
description given of the important group Protracheata 
is insufficient, and the statement that the animals in- 
cluded in it are viviparous is erroneous. The classifi- 
cation of the Pelecypoda adopted in the text is old- 
fashioned and by no means the best. 
The statement on p. 206 that in Ciliata there is a 
micronucleus is misleading. It should be one or more 
micronuclei. These and many other general state- 
ments are unsatisfactory. The book, moreover, is dis- 
figured by numerous misprints. Such a misprint as 
Afrida (p. 644) may not be of much consequence, but 
the misprints in the names of animals, such as 
Mylilidze (p. 367), Chelefer (p. 450), Machrocheiroptera 
(p. 638), Strongylocentratus (p. 345), Saxicara (p. 367), 
and a great many others cannot but mislead the 
elementary student of zoology. 
A Guide to the Antiquities of the Bronze Age in the 
Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities, 
British Museum. Pp. xii+159; 148 figures, 10 
plates. (London: British Museum, 1904.) Price 1s. 
THE members of the staff of the British Museum who 
are responsible for the ‘‘ Guide to the Antiquities of 
the Bronze Age,’’ which has just been published, are 
to be congratulated on having provided the public with 
a most excellent little manual which is not merely a 
guide to the collections in our National Museum, but 
is at the same time a convenient text-book on the 
Bronze age. There had long been a lack of authori- 
tative handbooks on archzology in English, and in 
this respect we were at a disadvantage compared with 
certain other countries in Europe. Thanks to the 
energy and knowledge of Mr. C. H. Read and his 
colleagues and to the liberality of the trustees, we are 
now provided with two well written, precise, and 
copiously illustrated shilling books which supply this 
deficiency for the Stone and Bronze ages, and we are 
glad to note that a volume on the Iron age is in course 
of preparation. 
In the closely packed twenty-six pages of the intro- 
duction we have a succinct account of the evidence 
for a Bronze age and its relative chronology; the 
existence of an antecedent Copper age is discussed, and 
it is admitted that some countries do possess a distinct 
Copper age. The author leans to the view that bronze 
was first discovered in China in the fifth millennium B.c. 
The Aryans are treated to a brief discussion, and the 
position is taken ‘‘ that the Aryan language was forced 
upon the aboriginal inhabitants of Europe towards the 
end of the Neolithic period by a stalwart race with 
short skulls and fair hair, who radiated from some 
point in south-east Europe . .. the new comers are 
sometimes known as the Alpine race.”’ 
The bulk of the little book is taken up not with a 
mere catalogue of objects, but with an instructive 
guide to the objects in the collection, and for the further 
elucidation of the culture of the Bronze age descrip- 
tions and illustrations are given of hut-circles, brochs, 
and a barrow. A considerable amount of space is 
taken up with objects from various countries on the 
Continent, and by this means the finds in our own 
islands can be placed in their relative position in the 
cultural history of Europe. The numerous illustra- 
tions in this book are carefully chosen and well 
executed, and the book can be highly recommended to 
curators, students, and the general public. 
The Care of Animals. By N. S. Mayo, M.S., D.V.S. 
(Rural Science Series). Pp. xvi+459. (New York : 
The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan and 
Co., Ltd., 1903.) Price 5s. net. 
Tue agricultural reader who possesses Prof. Jordan’s 
admirable text-book ‘‘ The Feeding of Animals ”’ will 
NO. 1£00, VOL. 69] 
“ ” 
welcome this addition to the ‘* animals ’’ section of the 
Rural Science Series. The writer, Dr. N. S. Mayo, 
professor of veterinary science in the Kansas State 
College, indicates his standpoint in the following two 
sentences taken from the preface. ‘*‘ The day of the 
“horse-doctor’ book is passing. Prevention, sanita- 
tion, careful handling are more important than mere 
medication.”’ 
The first section of the volume, treating of the 
general care of animals, is a little disappointing. 
There is much common sense, but there is also a 
suspicion of padding. ‘The illustrations of farm live- 
stock in chapter i. have no particular point, and one 
feels that a dozen pages of illustration and letterpress 
transferred from the first three chapters to the chapter 
on veterinary obstetrics would have been an advantage. 
When the writer comes to his own subject, the care of 
sick animals, there is a great improvement, and 400 
pages are filled with just the kind of information that 
the stock-owner wishes to have. The chapters on the 
indications of disease and the nursing of sick animals 
are excellent. The descriptions of ailments, though 
quite free from medical terms, are pointed and so clear 
that even in the absence of professional assistance the 
farmer is likely to be able to recognise many of the 
diseases. The advice given is plain but guarded. 
The writer does not forget that there are medicines 
which may do harm, and he has given special promin- 
ence to the use of simple remedies ; he urges the owner 
of valuable stock to take no risks, and when in doubt 
to consult a skilled veterinarian. For those unable to 
do this there is a short chapter on common drugs, 
doses and recipes. The book: is likely to be popular in 
the British colonies, and its usefulness for the colonist 
would be increased if the sections on drugs and recipes 
were extended. In its present form, however, this 
addition to our agricultural text-books deserves 
popularity. To the stock-owner whose province it is 
to ‘‘nurse’’ rather than to ‘‘ treat’’ the sick animal 
Prof. Mayo’s volume will be most useful, and should 
be most welcome. 
A Text-book of Ceramic Calculations, with Examples. 
By W. Jackson, A.R.C.S. Pp. xviiit+67. (London : 
Longmans, Green and Co., 1904.) Price 3s. 6d. 
net. 
Tuts little book is designed to supply students in 
classes in pottery and porcelain manufacture with a 
collection of problems and examples to illustrate the 
application of mathematical and chemical methods to 
the solution of the problems with which the potter is 
constantly confronted in his work. The preliminary 
lists of chemical substances—with their formule, 
atomic or molecular weights, and specific gravities— 
and of minerals important from the potter’s point of 
view should prove useful. The heading on pp. 12- 
14, “‘ List of Elements,’’ is unfortunate, seeing that 
the substances tabulated are mostly compounds. More 
exercises for the student to work out might have been 
supplied with advantage, for instance, to chapter ix. 
one problem only seems to be given. 
Botany Rambles. , Part i. In the Spring. Pp. iv+ 
120. (London: Horace Marshall and Son, 1904.) 
Price tod. 
THE anonymous writer of this book for children gives 
the following excellent advice to the youngster begin- 
ning to read the little volume: ‘‘ If you have not time 
to read this little book and go out as well, then don’t 
read it, but go out instead.’? The information pro- 
vided is given in clear, simple language, and is of a 
kind that a sympathetic adult taking a child for a 
ramble would strive to make the young botanist find 
out for himself. The photographs of trees in the 
book are very good. 
